(my) Diet Friendly Cupcakes

These are so. Freakin. Good. Make them. Eat them.

With beverage of choice. 

Non-Comfort Zone Curtains

Well, I finally got around to hanging curtains in the baby room - and I totally went outside my comfort zone and went bold. Like, bright yellow bold. Eeek!

I gathered some curtains that I had around the house, all white ones, and put them in a yellow dye. I cut up a flat sheet with this great leaf pattern that I'd been holding on to for the main curtains, and added the newly yellow valances on top. Originally, I was going to hang the long yellow curtain elsewhere, but as you can see below, the windows were lacking with just the valance. Well, maybe you can't tell in the photo. But they were lacking.

lacking something

So, I cut the large yellow curtain in half, and added it to the side. Viola! Instant drama, and balance (in an asymmetrical kind of way). Whatever, it works. And they were essentially free. Yay for stuff I had in my closet!

and, done!

pre-dye

The Garage is Painted!

The garage is painted! Ohmygoodness, it's been so long, staring at that scraped paint job. Ugh. A month and half of rain (closer to two months) will do that though. Isn't it pretty? I ended up purchasing a paint sprayer for a deal on Amazon, and I'm glad I did. I did my research and got one where I didn't have to thin the paint, and it was the same price as renting one for a day without the hassle. Score!

I gave Max a paintbrush and a small bowl of paint and he helped. :) What a good boy!

side done, back to go!

progress on the front

my bestest helper

Beating the Heat

We all try to bear the heat in different ways. Max has been focusing more on potty training lately so that means a lot of no-pants days so we can get on the potty that much faster, which has the added benefit of being cooler as well. And of course, there's playing in the sink. :)

Faith, our kitty, has been spending most of her time on top of the dryer, which hasn't been used in a few weeks (one thing the heat is good for: drying laundry on the line).

And me? Well, the air conditioning in the car hasn't worked in a few years, but that's ok. I like the foot out the window deal.

Ugly Knobs

So - roses. Perfectly lovely flower. And for some, as decor. I think I even went through a brief rose phase (I know, I know, it seems unlikely).

But they do not belong on the knobs in my bathroom.

nope. not happening.

Spray paint and cardboard to the rescue! I popped the knobs through some cardboard to (theoretically) protect the screws from paint and help the knobs stay stationary.

Spritz with some paint, and done! I went a little crazy and chose green instead of my standard turquoise. I don't know if I can handle it... but paint is so low commitment that I know I can always change it later!

no roses!

Painting the Bathroom

The downstairs bathroom (which is connected to the downstairs ugly room that I've been remodeling) is getting its turn. Mostly paint (my biggest "trick" when sprucing up the house) and a tiny bit of demo. Not that I'm the tidiest painter in the world, but I didn't notice this smudge until I went to shower that night.

I'll be posting more pics of both the bathroom and the bedroom soon as I finish it up.

Strawberries - A Wordless Wednesday

Dentist (and Bribery)

Turns out Max's inhaler has decalcified his front teeth a teensy bit. Nothing to worry about, but they recommended us to a pediatric dentist to get an x-ray and a second opinion, just in case.

I've been promising Max a soccer ball for ages, and combining it as a reward with a good trip to the dentist (perhaps a bit of bribery) was an obvious solution. Not that he needed the reward/bribe - he was a total rock star and couldn't have been better behaved or more enthusiastic about going to the dentist! Such a charmer. :)

we got a softball while we were there...

french fry walrus strikes again (after the appointment, of course)

Plantings

It may not look like much in the photos - but those patches of dirt in my lawn amount to the majority of a bunch of planting that Max and I put in recently. 6 blueberry bushes, 1 highbush cranberry, 1 ginkgo tree, 1 peach tree, 1 5-way apple tree, 1 persimmon, 1 peony, and a patch of day lilies. The blueberries are already producing - Max (and I) are so excited to go check them every day for little purple berries. :)

I also got everything at a steep discount, mostly catalog orders from the spring that I just got in now. It's been wet, what can I say...

Sour Pickles

Aren't they pretty? They mellowed in color as they soured, but they were so nice to look at for the first day or so.

A friend mentioned that he doesn't like pickles - or, rather he doesn't like "sweet" pickles like we eat in the states. A pickle I hadn't tried to make? Well, that couldn't happen. So I did a quick search, figured he meant fermented pickles, and set to it.

They're in the fridge now, all done fermenting, and man are they good. I might add another grape leaf next time to see if that helps keep them crispier, but the flavor is great. Though I have a feeling he may deem them not sour enough, they make me pucker!

Meme in Progress?

One of these lumps is not a pillow.

It's our cat. Who stayed on the bed the entire time I tried to make it, and stayed under the blanket in 80+ degree weather for a good half hour. She's so weird.

Popsicles

Beating the heat is easier with popsicles. I love making them at home with molds, then I can control how much sugar is in there! This particular batch is raspberries, bananas, banilla yogurt, and a bit of juice. Max highly approves. :)

Frozen in ice cube trays, they're also a nice addition to iced tea. :)

Dentist!

Max had his first dentist appointment! I'm so proud of him, he did a great job. :)

Construction Cake

We celebrated Max's third birthday a few weeks ago - complete with a construction cake. :)

Easiest cake ever. Seriously. If you have a kid (or grown up) that likes dirt and/or construction, you must do this.

Make a chocolate cake. Flip it out onto a pan, then break it, crumble it, smoosh it, pile it up. Top with some chocolate frosting in creative ways, add a few piles of rocks (chocolate chips), accessorize with a bulldozer and candles, and you're done! It was a huge hit. :)

I can see this working really well as a groundbreaking cake, as a gardening cake, as a worms cake... so many possibilities. And no pressure to have a perfect cake!

Tasty Iced Bevs

While perusing Pinterest, I found one of the best tips: the secret to a great brewed iced tea is a pinch of baking soda. Yup, baking soda. Add a pinch to the pitcher and it takes away that acidic bite. It also works for iced coffee. Also - freeze extra iced tea and iced coffee for ice cubes that won't dilute your beverage. You're welcome. :)

Eggy Pancakes

Along the lines of pancakes, Max's favorite way to have pancakes is Eggy Pancakes with fruit on top. Yay for tasty, balanced meals!

Lightly scramble an egg in the pan until just set, pour pancake batter on top, and cook until pancake is done. Top with fruit of choice, and a bit of maple syrup. I pre-cut his pancakes for him (less mess...), otherwise it looks much more like a normal pancake. :)

Pancakes Made Easy

We love our pancakes in this house. And by we, I mean Max and I. Really, that's probably the one food that I miss the most with my low-carb-ness diet. I haven't had pancakes in... well, a long time. Months at least.

Now that I'm home in the mornings, we get to do breakfast right! And pancakes = bread = one of the major food groups. What makes making pancakes, especially pancakes for one person, even easier? An easy pour container. Put the ingredients in the bottle, shake like crazy, pour into the pan, and done. The batter will last in the fridge for 3-4 days, plenty of time for a little man to eat his fill of pancakes.

The recipe I like the most is a hybrid of a couple of recipes:

Pancakes

1 1/2 c flour (I use 1 c white, 1/2 c whole wheat)
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups milk (for a pourable consistency)
1 egg
3 Tbsp melted butter