DIY Coasters

I was trying to figure out what to get my little sister (from Salem) as a wedding gift. I had purchased wine glasses off her registry but wanted something else. I stumbled upon an idea on Pinterest and decided to try it out. Seemed simple enough, and just what I was looking for.

I loved a few things about this project. First, the tiles were SUPER cheap ($0.33 cents each from Lowes), as was the felt backing ($0.99 from Michael's). Also, the gloss and ink were a little pricey, but now that I have them, it makes the next one even more cost-effective. The stamp I chose was a 4x4, which can be a little expensive as well but it was in the clearance bin. Win-win.

I started by cleaning off the tiles with a Clorox wipe, just to erase dust and grainy texture. My first attempt at the stamp went horribly wrong, as only half of it transferred. I anticipated this and had bought a few extra tiles, but I decided to try a Clorox wipe. LIFESAVER! It cleaned the ink right off! So nearly each tile had more than one attempt.

This is what they looked like when I was done. I liked that they were all a little different, and imperfect. I like the character it gives them, instead of being uniform. Once they were inked I let them dry a LONG time to make extra sure they didn't run. After they were dry, I took them outside and sprayed a coat of the gloss to seal the ink. I did three thin coats all together, letting them dry completely between coats.

You can see here that they have a little bit of shine to them. Perfect!

After they were good and dry, I cut the felt squares to add to the back (to make them more table friendly). Later I found the round felt "feet" (circles) and would love some of those for next time, but this stuff worked just fine.

Couldn't be simpler, just cut to fit, peel backing, slap on the bottom of the coaster. Voila!

I was really happy with the finished product, and they were a big hit at the shower on Saturday. Seems like a great housewarming or hostess gift as well when paired with a bottle of wine!

2 months old

How can that be? My Lila bean is two months old already. She is such a sweet baby. We went for her two-month check up, which of course meant shots but she was really good. She turned a disturbing shade of purple, let out a howl and was not happy. But she calmed quickly and once I picked her up she just sort of melted into momma and snuggled. Bless her heart. Babies are just so sweet.

We also got a few questions answered at the doctor's appointment. She had what looked to be a rash on her face and neck; turns out it was cradle cap! I had no idea it could exist other than on the scalp! We used a little hydrocortisone and it cleared right up! We had correctly diagnosed her umbilical hernia, and the doc isn't concerned as it's small. We aren't concerned because we found out it doesn't cause her discomfort; merely cosmetic. He said it should go away on its own and if it doesn't, they won't consider surgery until age 2. We also found out that the little red spot on her right shoulder is a hemangioma, which is just a fancy word for a cluster of blood vessels. Again, no pain, merely cosmetic, will go away on its own and if it doesn't, we won't look into options until 2. It's in a place that doesn't hinder any development (like it would if it were over her eye, mouth, etc.) so for now it's just a little spot that Hayden worries is a boo-boo and is convinced needs a bandaid.

She is very alert and has a pretty firm grasp of recognition of Jay's, Hayden's and my voice. She loves to be held and can see a little bit further so she can recognize more light and other visual cues. She's working really hard to hold that head up, which means we are starting to use the high chair. Not for meals per se, but so she can be up away from the dogs and out from under feet in the kitchen by not being in her bouncy seat. She can watch me cook, and I can steal twice as many kisses. Win-win. Then I just wheel her into the dining room and she can hang out like a real member of the family instead of at ankle-biting height.

There's a reason you can't have a favorite child

My kids are awesome. After 9 weeks of being a mom of two, that still sounds weird. KidS. Plural. More than one. Two to make me proud, drive me crazy and take care of me in old age. Lately, I've had some really fun interactions with Hayden.

Yesterday in the car, he was telling me a story. I was trying to follow but got hung up on one part so I tried to whisper to Jay, "What does he mean, the bad guy bit his shirt?". Well. Nothing gets by Hayden. So he piped up from the back, "HEY. I talking to you." I apologized and he told me, "Don't do 'at again." Little dictator.

Sunday he was enjoying a little time-out in his room for not listening, when Jay suggested that he could be bribed with ice cream (he as in Jay) and we heard the ice cream man. Unfortunately I wasn't fast enough, and we missed him. We took a walk around the neighborhood trying to flag him down but it was to no avail. Hayden kept saying, "He left us. Ice cream man left us," and then the killer, "I SO sad." You can believe there was a field trip for ice cream later that day for my disappointed little boy.

Key Lime Pound Cake

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
3 cups sgar
6 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/4 cup Key Lime juice

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons key lime juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
*when cake comes out, whisk the glaze ingredients together until smooth*

1. . Preheat oven to 325°. Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.


2. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (12-cup) tube pan.

3. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.

4. Prepare Key Lime Glaze, and immediately brush over top and sides of cake. Cool completely (about 1 hour).

This didn't last two hours at work!

The kids' rooms...the "during"

So both of the kids' rooms are a work in progress. Hayden upgraded to a full size bed shortly after Lila was born, but we hadn't decided on paint colors until just last weekend. His old room was a Toy Story room which he loved, but we wanted a little more grown up bedding for his big bed so we went with a sports theme. It's coming together slowly, but he doesn't seem to mind!

Lila's room has been a bit more work since I had a very specific vision for her room (and since she's too small to contribute an opinion!). Jay finished up the paint, wainscot and chair rail awhile back, and we had the crib in just before she was born. I picked the black and white bedding because I loved it against the green, and the contrast is good for babies (who by default have terrible vision).

We also need one more curtain for the window, and are still getting her dresser. Eventually. But I have a place to sit, she has a place to sleep, and all is well!

I love the green and white photo that we picked to go with her hand and footprints, the wall really brings it out! There's something about little girls that just makes it so much fun to decorate.

Their bathroom was easy to do, because we just transferred everything we had from the apartment. Maybe when Lila is a little older we'll change it up a bit but for now it works just fine!

I took a few ideas from Pinterest and added them along the walls on the way up to their rooms. I shadowboxed both of the hats they wore home from the hospital, and will do the same "L" project I did with Hayden's pictures and "H" when she has a few more months (and pictures) under her belt.

The water gun is there just in case bad guys make it to the third floor. The mind of a three year old...

A finished room: The dining room

Well. Slowly we finish up small projects in the new house. I think I can safely say that the dining room is COMPLETE. It's the one room we had all the furniture for when we moved out of the apartment, and the one I had a complete vision for. Before Lila, it was the one room that stayed clean all the time. Now the fourth seat is where we dump mail, books, bags, etc. But luckily I cleaned it this weekend and snapped a few pics.

Eventually we'll set up Lila's high chair but that's a ways off. For now, when we eat dinner she's in her bouncy seat just inches off the floor, with me using my foot to give her a little rocking motion.

Remember the gold light fixture? Thanks to Monique, we no longer have to look at "the ugly one" (Hayden's words. Even he knew.). I love looking at our travel pictures while we eat; it's a fun reminder of where we've been, but that home is where we want to be.

I LOVE the red in this room, and love how my blue plates look on the wall against it. I also love that the valances I adored in a warm brown were on sale the day I went to buy them. This room has so much light when the sun is streaming in, so it's hard to get good pictures in the early evening (which is when I always think to take them).

I also love the way the dark furniture gives this room its character. Who knew being a homeowner was so much fun? And expensive. In case you forgot what it looked like when we moved in...

Not bad!

March Madness

Last week, Carolina held an open practice at the Greensboro Coliseum before their first round game. Luckily, I have some awesome co-workers who covered for three of us to go see it!

We were so excited to see them out on the court, especially John Henson after his injury. We watched them shoot around, got to see all the familiar faces and enjoyed the little dunk show they put on for us. Stillman White has got HOPS!

We all agreed that work would be more pleasant if we could take a 40 minute basketball break every day! Right now we're all dealing with busted brackets as we watched a #1 and 2 #2 seeds go down over the weekend. Anything can happen in March!

One-dish Chicken Casserole

This is a recipe I actually found in my Real Simple magazine (not Pinterest!) and tweaked it a bit to my liking. The main thing was cutting it in half, since Jay doesn't like whole, cooked spinach. So I cut it in half initially and then froze three of the portions. I definitely liked the different textures and the twist on a boring casserole, and the absence of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken (which can get old). The original recipe didn't call for mushrooms but was delightful with them. I was also light on sour cream so I added in some ricotta to make up for it.

Chicken and Spinach Casserole



6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups whole milk

1 cup sour cream

salt and black pepper

12 ounces egg noodles

4 slices sandwich bread

2 cups shredded cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken

5 ounces baby spinach, chopped

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 cup sliced mushrooms


1.Heat oven to 400° F. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until foamy, 1 to 2 minutes (do not let the mixture darken). Slowly whisk in the milk. Bring to a simmer and cook, whisking often, until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the sour cream, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

2.Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the package directions; drain and return them to the pot. Pulse the bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a microwave-safe bowl.

3.Add the milk mixture, chicken, spinach, mushrooms and thyme to the noodles and toss to combine. Transfer to a 9-by-13-inch or some other 3-quart baking dish, sprinkle with the bread crumbs, and drizzle with the melted butter.

4.Bake until the bread crumbs are golden and the filling is bubbling, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

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I also opted for a penne-style noodle as we were out of egg noodles. I think just about anything other than long, flat noodles would work here.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

We attended a shower to welcome Mary Eileen's little girl and it fell on St. Patrick's Day. I was more than excited to dress Lila up for the occasion, and even more excited to find that Emily and Lincoln would be there. We happened to arrive at the exact same time, and Kelly was right behind us with baby Emily. The ones with babies are always 10 minutes late!

This was the first Salem event I'd been to where EVERY single one of us was already a mommy or expecting. What a fun day! We shared our birthing/pregnancy/silly baby stories and had a good time. And, of course, continued to discuss Lila and Link's arranged marriage.

Chicken lasagna roll ups

3 cups cooked chicken
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup feta
1/3 cup parmesan
Salt & pepper
Garlic (of course)
1/4 cup milk
8 lasagna noodles, boiled and drained
Jar spaghetti sauce

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Mix chicken, cheeses, spices and milk. Lay lasagna noodles flat. Spread 1/2 cup of mixture end to end, pressing to make it flat. Roll noodle from one end to the other, like a jelly roll. Repeat until all noodles have been used.

Spread 1 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9x13. Place noodles, seam side down, on top of sauce. Top with additional sauce and parmesan.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.
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For this one, I think we'd like sauce on the inside so I'm trying that next time. But still a success!

Pizza appetizer

We are always looking for new appetizers. Our family is a "superbowl food" gathering kind. We love dips and finger foods and anything you can keep warm in the crock pot. I tried out a new, simple one this weekend when my brother and his family came over.

Lay out crescent rolls, add 4 pepperoni and a string cheese (cut in half). Roll up, bake according to directions. That's it!! They were easy and tasty, but next time I think I'll try marinara sauce IN them, or maybe ranch.

Garlic Lemon Chicken and roasted potatoes

Garlic Lemon Chicken and roasted potatoes with green beans

Ingredients


6 tablespoons olive oil

2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 pound trimmed green beans

8 small red potatoes, quartered

4 chicken breasts (bones left in, with skin, about 3 1/4 pounds)

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Directions

1.Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a large baking dish or cast-iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish or skillet.

2.In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper; add the green beans and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the green beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices. Add the potatoes to the same olive-oil mixture and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, arrange the potatoes along the inside edge of the dish or skillet on top of the green beans. Place the chicken in the same bowl with the olive-oil mixture and coat thoroughly. Place the chicken, skin-side up, in the dish or skillet. Pour any of the remaining olive-oil mixture over the chicken.

3.Roast for 50 minutes. Remove the chicken from the dish or skillet. Place the beans and potatoes back in oven for 10 minutes more or until the potatoes are tender. Place a chicken breast on each of 4 serving plates; divide the green beans and potatoes equally. Serve warm.

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My variations on this recipe were to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts and leave out the fresh green beans (Jay won't eat them). I also added some basil because I thought it was just screaming for the sweet herb. But it was light, delicious and different!

Grilled Corn and Cheese cakes

Grilled Corn and Cheese Cakes


2 cups fresh cooked corn, taken off the cob

3/4 cup shredded  mozzarella


1 cup plain breadcrumbs, divided

1/3 cup chopped fresh chives

1 tablespoon sour cream

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup sour cream, for serving

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In a food processor, pulse the corn into a chunky puree. Place in a medium bowl. Add the cheese to the corn and mix.  Add a 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, chives, sour cream, salt, and pepper.  Stir until combined.  Form the mixture into 9 balls and then flatten into patties, each about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and 3/4-inch thick. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Coat the patties in the remaining 1/2 cup breadcrumbs and drizzle with olive oil. Place a grill pan over medium heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Brush the patties with olive oil and grill until toasted, 4 minutes on each side. Serve with sour cream and chives.

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I did these on the stove instead of the grill, since we weren't grilling anything else that night. I really liked them, something a little different than just plain corn, and great for summer!

New recipes

Thanks to Pinterest, I've tried new recipes every night for almost two weeks! We've had some really good success, and only a few tweaks here and there. It's really nice to try a few new things and mix up some of the usual stuff we eat. My house can be a tough crowd, especially when they're used to the same old, same old.

The two recipes I did last night are so simple, they aren't really "recipes".

The first was a roasted pork loin. I browned the pork loin on all sides in some olive oil on medium heat. Once it was done, I tossed it in the roasting pan, squeezed dijon mustard from end to end a few times and let that sit a minute (since it was still pretty warm from the stove). Next I added brown sugar up and down the pork loin and put that in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Pulled it out, let it rest for 10 minutes and it was perfect! Great flavor, juicy and a little different!

To go with that, I did a few roasted sweet potatoes. Tossed diced sweet potatoes in olive oil, sprinkled a little salt and sesame seeds and spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Roasted for about 30 minutes at 400. I pulled them out and drizzled a mix of soy sauce and honey, placed under the broiler for about 3 minutes. These tasted great! I would have liked to cook them about 5 minutes longer to crisp them up a bit but overall I was pretty happy with it.

Now, what to cook tonight...

Sleep walker

Last week, Jay woke me up when he got home at 2:30am.

Jay: Get up, you have to come see this.
Me: I'm tired, take a picture.
Jay: Just get up.

I grumbled and stumbled up the stairs to Hayden's room. He was fast asleep on his belly...naked from the waist down. I blinked. Yup, naked. We searched the floor, tested the bed for wet spots, nope. Finally I went into his bathroom and found the missing pants and underwear in the floor. Apparently he got up to go pee, didn't quite make it and took his pants off in the bathroom. He then went right back to bed.

At 7am, he came into my room (still naked).

Hayden: Where's my 'jamas?
Me: You took them off baby.
Hayden: No I didn't. You need to find them.
(pause)
Hayden: I COLD, mommy *shiver*

Yeah, I love this kid.

Chocolate Pound Cake with Fudge Glaze

This is a recipe I found on Pinterest and had to try, mainly because I had everything on hand. Here's the recipe, and at the end will be my suggestions.

CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE:


3 sticks margarine or butter

3 teaspoons vanilla

3 Cups sugar

1/2 Cup Cocoa

5 Eggs

1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

3 Cups All Purpose Flour

1 Cups Milk

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GLAZE:

1 1/2 Cup Sugar

7 Tablespons Milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoon Shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons Margarine

1/2 Cup Cocoa

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Instructions

1.Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour bundt pan, set aside. Cream butter in large mixing bowl. Add sugar, beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, and baking powder. Measure milk and stir vanilla into it. Add milk and dry ingredients alternately, mixing after each addition. Pour into pan and bake for one hour and twenty minutes. Let cool for ten minutes before removing from pan and allowing to cool completely before adding glaze.

1.For glaze, Combine sugar, cocoa, milk, shortening, margarine, and salt in heavy saucepan. Bring to a rolling , stirring constantly. Once it reaches a boil, allow to boil without stirring for two minutes, no more. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stirr until cooled just slightly. Spoon over cooled cake.

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For starters, I've never baked anything from scratch that didn't require 1/4 teaspoon of salt, so I definitely added that. I have also discovered that room temperature butter AND eggs result in a better pound cake. I'm not sure if I should let the milk come to room temperature as well, or if that's food poisoning waiting to happen. Every oven is different so I need to cut the cooking time by ten full minutes. I pulled it out five minutes early and it wasn't over done, but might have been better if I pulled it out at the ten minute mark. And for the glaze, I definitely should have sifted the cocoa first. But I'm not a baker by trade, so I'm still pretty proud of the work!

Crock Pot Coke Chicken

Last night I needed a quick and easy recipe for dinner, since I had somewhere to be and the boys needed to be fed! I found this on Pinterest (obsessed) and decided to try it out. I LOVE a whole fryer, because you can do so much with it, and there's leftovers for wraps, salads, etc.

1 whole fryer
1 medium onion
1 lemon
1 bottle BBQ sauce
1 can Coke

Add fryer to the crock pot. Quarter your onion and lemon, place in the crock. Pour the whole bottle of BBQ sauce on the chicken. Pour the can of coke over it. Slow cook 6 hours, be ready for it to fall right off the bone!

I actually did this on high since I was in a time crunch. Perfect!

Still not done, but trying!

Nothing happens quickly in our house these days, except messes. We're slowly getting Lila's room together, and this weekend I got to add some of the fun "finishing" touches, though the room is far from finished!

On her due date, we did her hand and foot prints for this sweet frame my aunt gave us. Once we got our pics from the photographer, a quick print finished up this little project. It looks SO good on the green walls!

I'm really excited about these frames for her wall. The two on the end I ordered a week or so ago, they are part of her bedding and I love the black and white against the green wall. The middle is a Creative Memories magnetic frame I bought FOREVER ago and totally forgot about. I found it two weeks ago when going through my scrapbook stuff and thought it would be perfect for her room. I didn't realize until the black and white frames came in that it was the exact same size!

We got this sweet little lamp at my baby shower but were lacking the shade that matched her bedding until last week. I love it! Now, to get the dresser to put it on...

Getting there

So. I've been back at work since mid-week last week, and we're getting through it. Next challenge? Getting through it more easily. This is all transition for all four of us (five including Oscar) but so far I think we've all had a reasonable number of meals and baths. Here's where my organizational skills need to kick in so I can keep things relatively clean and running at home, and meals planned. We've been pretty good about meal planning and shopping for meals instead of just shopping, but I have a long way to go before I'm where I want to be.

Logically, I'd like to be like my friend Val and use Sunday as my prep day for the week. Prep and portion out breakfast and lunch for me for the week, while meal planning for dinner and making sure Hayden has easy access to healthy choices for snacks. He's very independent of course, so if we have to help him get something he gets frustrated. I have gotten smarter and sliced the banana/pumpkin/zucchini bread after it cools and put it into individual bags so he can grab one when he wants one.

I have a cleaning schedule that I want to tweak, but it really only works if a) your house is totally clean to start and b) if you stick to it. Some days, it's nice to just sit down and do a puzzle with Hayden at 8 o'clock instead of folding laundry. So I do that. But when I skip a day of laundry, it's like it multiplies. We'll get it together eventually!