Impossible!

Posted on November 4, 2019 by lexicolton

Julius ate an entire bowl of salad last night, and then asked for more!  By the end of dinner he had eaten a total of 3 bowls of salad!  Will and I eat salad almost every night with dinner, but usually Julius won’t touch it.  I’m not sure what changed his mind today.  Maybe it was that he helped me cut and wash the lettuce, or that I added cheese to it (he kept saying “Look Dada, cheese”) or maybe the fact that we gave him 2 different choices of salad dressing to dip it in.  (And no he didn’t load the lettuce up in dressing, though he did ask to drink the dressing at the end…)

Happy Halloween!

Speaking of herbivores, Impossible Beef debuted 5 weeks ago in stores on the east coast.  Wegman’s now sells the beef, frozen, in vacuum packs like you sometimes get those 1 lb packets of fancy meat like “angus” or “buffalo”.  I went out that night and bought six packs.  First impression is that it looks exactly like ground beef.  My next impression was that it is damn expensive!  Each pack costs $9, but I later realized that a package is only 3/4 of a pound bringing the actual price to a whopping $12/lb!  Sheesh!  But I must admit buying mostly vegetarian is cheaper than buying meat on a daily basis anyway, so having a pack of Impossible Beef a week still fits into our budget.

We’re definitely the target audience for the Impossible Beef.  I’m half-heartedly attempting vegetarianism, and Will eats whatever I make, but misses the meat meals I used to make.  The first meal I made with the Beef was “Hamburger Stroganoff” or as Will calls it “tasty beef stuff”.  I tried making it with Beyond Meat many months ago, and it was awful.  They add some kind of fake smoke flavoring to their Meat that doesn’t go at all with the mushroom flavor.  Perhaps they have changed that since then.  Since the advent of Impossible Beef on the east coast I’ve made “tasty beef stuff” twice (and a few other things as well).  It tastes nearly the same as “tasty beef stuff” with hamburger, and Will declared that the slightly different flavor made it “better” than the original tasty beef stuff.  I’d call that a win!

Some useful tips for cooking the Impossible Beef.  It cooks nearly the same as a pound of 90/10 hamburger except it is slightly more inclined to stick to the bottom of the pan so requires more stirring.  I usually brown hamburger at medium temp.  I’ve tried cooking it from frozen (like I sometimes do with hamburger when I’m super lazy), browning the layer touching the pan, then flipping it over and scraping off the brown bits.  I also tried defrosting it in the microwave first like I do with beef and I found defrosting on the “defrost meat” setting for half the amount of time for meat – for me that’s 6 minutes – and flipping it halfway through worked great.  They both work, but the easiest method, if you have the foresight, is to just defrost it in the fridge the night before.

Vegetarian “Hamburger” Stroganoff

  • 1 12 oz package Impossible Beef
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
  • 3 tbsp sour cream
  • 1 cup of frozen peas (or more if desired)
  • 1 package farfalle pasta, cooked according to package directions

Brown Beef in large saute pan, adding onion halfway through.  After Beef is browned and onion is soft add cream of mushroom soup and sour cream and stir to combine.  Finally add frozen peas, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes while you cook the pasta.  Serve over pasta.  (I like to mix it all together in the big saute pan to serve).

Add onions halfway through browning the Beef

 

Posted in Culinary Delights | 2 Comments

King Koopa

Posted on October 28, 2019 by lexicolton

Julius went to TWO Halloween parties last week and had a grand old time!  His daycare held a fun event with “trunk or treat”, the tumble bus and a spooky pumpkin patch!  Julius had a great time.  Then a couple days later we went to my work party where Julius got to trick or treat from cube to cube, do some pumpkin arts and crafts, get a balloon bunny, and watch a magician!  He had lots of fun!

My little guy went as Bowser this year or as Julius calls him “King Koopa”.  We thought it would be a cute costume to pose as Mario, Princess Peach and Bowser, though we pictured Julius as the tiny Mario.  When we asked him which he wanted to be he chose King Koopa, which honestly made for an adorable costume.  The costume came out great and it really didn’t take me that much time to put together.  Plus it was ridiculously cheap!  For all the fabric and accessories it only cost me about $20 after coupons from Joann Fabrics.  And of course I bought way too much material, so I could have made two or maybe three at that price.  Don’t be daunted by the large amount of steps!  You can do it!

Toddler King Koopa/Bowser Costume

What you’ll need:

  • 1/3 yd green fleece fabric
  • 1/3 yd off-white fleece fabric
  • 1/4 yd orange fleece fabric
  • 1/3 yd white fleece or sweatshirt material
  • 1/3 yd white quilted fabric
  • 1 sq foot yellow flannel fabric
  • 1 sq foot of peltex 70
  • 1/2″ white bias tape
  • 6 inches of 2″ velcro, cut into two 3″ strips
  • 1 orange boa
  • stuffing & quilt batting
  • yellow shirt and pants
  • pattern here
  1. Cut out all pattern pieces, adding seam allowance as indicated (add to pieces that say NSA/No Seam Allowance).
  2. Take the spike pieces and fold in half to form a triangle with a curved bottom.  Stitch along the unfinished edge. Turn right side out and stuff.  Repeat for other spikes.
  3. Fold small orange fabric rectangles in half and stitch to form a loop.  Fold loop in half so the loop is now a double layer.  Repeat for other rectangles.
  4. Fold a hexagon in half and quarters and then snip 1 cm into each fold to create a 2cmx2cm “x”.  Repeat for other hexagons.
  5. Insert an orange loop over a spike.
  6. Pinch the bottom of the spike and gently insert bottom first through the hexagon from front to back.  Hand stitch spike to hexagon being sure to pass needle through all layers: orange loop, spike and hexagon.
  7. Make rows of hexagons, 3 together, 4 together, 3 together.  Stitch hexagon rows together by placing right sides together and stitching a single side, then placing right sides of next hexagon together and stitching along the opposite side.
  8. When three rows are formed, pin 3 row on top of the 4 row, right sides together.  Stitch in a zig shape along the end to attach the rows to each other.  Repeat for the other row of 3 along the bottom of the row of 4.
  9. Cut 4 more hexagon pieces and cut in half.  Attach on half hexagon to all the sides of the shell so the finished shape has mostly straight edges without any zig zag edges.
  10. Pin the hexagon shell to the oval piece of quilted fabric, right sides together.  Stitch, leaving a hand sized gap at the bottom.
  11. Stuff stuffing through the gap and hand stitch closed.
  12. Take white fabric and cut into strip 37″x6″. Fold in half width wise, right sides together and stitch along the unfinished ends.
  13. Pin the white fabric loop to the green side of the shell, right sides together.  Stitch along the edge.
  14. Add rolled up quilt batting to the white loop and fold the white fabric over the stuffing so it reaches the quilted side of the shell.
  15. Tuck the unfinished edges of the fabric under and hand stitch.
  16. Fold the puffy white shell outside away from the green shell.
  17. Stack the belly pieces: quilted material, quilt batting then offwhite fleece. Stitch around outside of the belly.
  18. Stitch straight lines across the belly, 3″ wide.
  19. Open up bias tape and pin one of the folds along the stitching on the outer edge of the belly, unfinished edges matching.
  20. Trim close to the unfinished edge then fold bias tape over the unfinished edge, unfinished edge should be folded under.  Pin and stitch.
  21. Cut 6 7″x6″ rectangles of yellow fabric. Fold each one in half to form a 3.5″x6″ rectangle. Stitch across long end.
  22. Turn tube right side out and insert a 3″x5″ piece of peltex 70 inside the tube.
  23. Fold edges of each tube under and stitch closed.  Attach hook velcro to two of the finished tubes and loop velcro to two more unfinished tubes.
  24. Hand sew the strap to one shoulder on the shell side.
  25. Sew the other end of the strap to the shoulder on the belly side, stitching to the inside.
  26. Repeat steps 24 & 25 on the same side of the shell, underneath where the child’s armpit will be.  
  27. Hand stitch the strip with the hook side of the velcro to the shell side, equidistant from other strap, velcro side up.
  28. Hand stitch the strip with the loop side of the velcro to the belly side, equidistant from other strap, velcro side down.
  29. Repeat steps 27 and 28 underneath where the child’s armpits will be (across from other strap).
  30. Follow instructions for pussy hat, omitting ears (step 1, step 4-6).  I made it slightly smaller with a 20″ hat band, and moved the hat band slightly closer to the crown.
  31. Pin two curved horn pieces together and stitch across the curved side.
  32. Add the horn insert piece inside the curved horn and stitch.
  33. Turn horn inside out and stuff.  Repeat steps 31-32 for second horn.
  34. Follow steps 3 and 4 for larger orange rectangles.
  35. Repeat steps 4-6 for horns instead of spike and onto either end of the front hat panels instead of the hexagon.  Stitch through each horn to keep the stuffing in place.
  36. Hand stitch a piece of orange boa down the middle of the hat forming a mohawk.

 

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Green Up

Posted on October 21, 2019 by lexicolton

As we already knew, Julius is a little ham.  We had our babysitter over last night so Will and I could have a date night.  Before she left she told us how he was being such a little ham, making her laugh all night.  She said he’s developed such a cute little personality now.

There is one little girl at daycare who is about Julius’ age but until recently has been cared for at home.  For the last few weeks the poor thing cried whenever a parent left after dropping off their child.  Last week it looked like she turned a corner.  She seemed much more cheerful and even said ‘bye’ to me all week without crying.   Then Friday, when I was putting Julius’ clothes in his bin, I heard the unmistakable tears start again.  Julius walked over to me from the next room, looked me in the eye and said “Hailey” and then walked away.  He put the emphasis on her name as if to say “yep that’s Hailey, what are we going to do with her”.  I almost died laughing.

I am completely inundated with projects.  Between Halloween and Julius’ birthday I have once again over committed.  I probably mentioned that I’ve been working on a play kitchen as Julius’ birthday gift, but in case I haven’t, I’m making a play kitchen from an old cast off child’s dresser I picked up off the curb.  Actually, to be precise, I finished the play kitchen last Monday!  I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I think it came out pretty great.  The problem is, since it took me a very long time to finish, it is also going to take me a very long time to write it up.  So don’t expect a post on that until I’ve got some down time.  (Read: after Julius’ birthday.)

Since I still have to finish my own costume, I’m going to leave you with a fun little project I did with Julius last week while we were home potty training.  My work is pretty awesome, and composts and recycles.  99% of the items from the cafe are compostable, which is awesome.  The not-so-awesome part is that my site is full of people who are not used to composting.  This means my site is now also full of fruit flies.  When they first started composting (about 7 years ago, wow) my co-worker would leave his food scraps on his desk until the end of the day as a form of protest.  This earned him the office name plate “Lord of the Fruit Flies”.

While I am all about composting and definitely not protesting it, I am also lazy.  I don’t feel like making a trip to the compost bins every time I eat something (which for me is like once an hour).  Sometimes I’ve even forgotten to empty my bin into the compost bins until the next Morning!  To avoid the scorn of my co-workers and a new office name plate, I’ve been using an old yogurt bin as my compost bucket.  It works GREAT.  It doesn’t smell at all, and I’ve had no fruit flies in my cube at all since I started using it a month ago.  One time I even forgot to empty the compost after a whole weekend and no one was the wiser!  I think it would work great as a home compost bin for food scraps too!  I know most compost bins (like mine) actually are not completely sealed to allow some air flow and prevent anaerobic bacteria from building up, but if you take this out every couple days or keep it in your fridge I don’t see how that could be a problem.

Recycled Compost Bin

What you’ll need:

  • 1 2lb yogurt container
  • acrylic paint and spouncer (make sure to choose colors that don’t mix to brown unless you desire that color combo)
  • stickers (my adorable ones were $1 from the dollar tree)
  • clear topcoat spray paint (make sure it is safe to use on plastic surfaces)
  1. Clean and dry yogurt container thoroughly.
  2. Let your child decorate the container with acrylic paint.  Julius decorated mine with pink, purple and white paint that blended nicely when he inevitably mushed them all into one color.  Let dry completely.
  3. After paint has dried let child apply stickers as desired.   Press the stickers down firmly.
  4. Spray lid and container with a couple coats of clear topcoat (don’t let your child by anywhere in the vicinity for this part).

This was a year ago today.

These photos have absolutely nothing to do with anything but aren’t they cute?!

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Killer Tofu

Posted on October 14, 2019 by lexicolton

Thanks for all the well-wishes and positive vibes; today was day 3 of Julius’ potty training and he has been doing great!  We’ll see how this week at daycare goes… If anyone is curious, we have been using the advice from “Oh Crap!  Potty Training”.  It was recommended to me by a co-worker, and we decided to use it since we couldn’t find any detailed information on the three day method online and they’d used the above book to successfully potty train both a son and a daughter.  We both thought the woman was pretty logical and it had the added advantage of being on audiobook, which is pretty much the only form of literature I’m able to consume lately.  (Multitasking is a necessity in my life right now.)

With Julius home with us the last few days I actually had time to cook.  Normally, Will and I have been eating between 8 and 9 every night.  We feed Julius when we get home, and then I won’t start cooking for Will and I until after Julius is in bed.  Since we were under house arrest due to the potty training, we all were able to eat together at a decent hour.  Plus Julius loves to help me cook!  The tot tower has seriously come in handy; I’ve even lowered it to the second rung because he is getting so tall!  While muffins are Julius’ specialty in the kitchen, he helps me with just about everything.

One thing I thought I’d never be cooking at home is tofu.  I honestly thought I hated tofu until I decided to be adventurous and try the BBQ Tofu bowl at David Farmland.  (Yes, they have really great vegetarian options.)  Since then I’ve actually ordered and made tofu several times.  The first time I made the tofu Julius loved it.  Since then he’s become picky with just about everything.  Will and I, however, give this recipe 2 thumbs up!  Will even had seconds last night, definitive proof the recipe is good.   You can either fry or oven roast your tofu until crispy.  I think the oven roast method is easier but they both come out great.

BBQ Tofu Bowls

(David Farmland copycat recipe)

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb block of extra firm tofu
  • 1 tbsp corn starch
  • 1 large or 2 small zucchini cut in half lengthwise then chopped into 1/2″ pieces
  • 1 small onion, sliced
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 cup wild rice/brown rice mixture (I like Bob Red’s Mill but the pictures here are all using Rice Select Royal Blend because that’s what I had on hand)
  • 1 tsp parsley
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 cup BBQ sauce of your choice (I use Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey BBQ)
  • butter
  • olive  oil

Press tofu to remove moisture.  After 30 minutes or so cut into 1 inch x 1/2 inch x 1.5 inch chunks.  Bake or fry tofu until crispy.  (Note: when I baked it, I just tossed it in 1 tbsp cornstarch followed by 1tbsp olive oil then baked it at 400 for 15 minutes, flipped tofu and returned to the oven for 15 more until tofu was light brown and crispy.)   While tofu is cooking, prepare the rice according to package directions.  Add parsley, bay leaf, oregano and a pinch of salt as you add the rice to the pot.  Saute garlic, onions and zucchini in 1tsp oil and 1tbsp butter until zucchini is light brown and onions are tender, but not mushy.  When tofu is done, toss in bbq sauce and serve over rice and zucchini mixture.

Mmm bbq tofu and beer.

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Hanging Out

Posted on October 7, 2019 by lexicolton

Well this is it.  Will and I decided to try and start potty training Julius this weekend.  We’re sick of washing diapers I guess.  Plus he really hates diaper changes and that has lead to more rashes lately.  Poor guy.  We’ve told him that this weekend he gets to be a “nunu” (naked) while he potty trains.  He seemed excited at the prospect. Who doesn’t want to run around pantsless all day?

For the last few weeks Julius and I have been making muffins on Sunday or Tuesday mornings.  We’ve made chocolate chip zucchini, chocolate chip banana, blueberry and apple muffins.  They are all delicious.  I’ve been trying to make them slightly healthier (picture me saying that in air quotes) by using this cool article from King Arthur Flour on how to cut down the sugar in muffins.  It’s a great article, and very scientific.  The gist is that you can usually use half the weight of flour in sugar (maybe a bit less if you have other sweet things flavoring the batter) without compromising the texture of the muffin.  Julius can’t tell the difference when we lower the sugar and is constantly asking for “muthins”.  We’ve been reading If You Give a Moose a Muffin the sequel to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie which he refers to as “Moose a Muthins”.  It’s my current favorite word in Julius’ vocabulary (maybe second favorite to “tutu”).

Here’s my muffin man, mouth full of muffins.

I’m feverishly working on a present for Julius’ birthday.  I decided to make him a play kitchen and some play food.  When I decided this (about 6 months ago) it seemed like I had plenty of time.  Unfortunately, several months of procrastination later and I’m starting to run out of time!  You may be thinking, “but you have a whole month!”  You’d be right about that, but this particular month is filled with Halloween, the medieval party and all the planning for Julius’ 2nd birthday party!

Despite my busy-ness (or maybe because of it) I’ve still made time for a few quick crafts.  This one was inspired by Julius who was constantly taking all my earrings out of the drawers and losing them.  He motivated me to reorganize my jewelry cabinet and add another earring rack.  The earring rack I made earlier has completely run out of room, and has gotten me frustrated, because there is no way to use earrings with backs on it without taking it off the wall.  This new holder made entirely from scraps, has worked amazingly well and it only took me about 30 minutes.  I wish I’d made one years ago!

Tapestry Earring Holder

What you’ll need

  • Medium/Heavyweight woven fabric (I used upholstery fabric with a wide weave)
  • 1/2″ single fold bias tape
  • 1/2″ Dowel (mine was 5″ long)
  • 2 – 1/2″ wood dowel caps
  • 1/4″ ribbon (mine was 9″ long)
  1. Cut fabric into a rectangular shape sized as you please.   You’ll want to add 2.5″ to the length for the dowel pocket.  For me this meant my rectangle was 23″x3.75″.
  2. Cut the bottom of the rectangle into a pennant shape, by finding the middle and measuring up the same distance on both sides to find the hypotenuse of the triangle you want to remove.
  3. Starting at the top side of the pennant, Open out bias tape and pin the back of one edge of bias tape to the edge of the pennant.  The right side of the bias tape should be touching the wrong/back side of the fabric.  Pin along the fold line.   Top should not be covered.
  4. Stitch.
  5. Fold bias tape over the unfinished edge of the pennant and pin to form a finished edge.  Stitch close to the edge of the bias tape.  Iron. 
  6. Fold top of pennant over by 1.5″ onto the back of the pennant.  Fold 1/2″ under again, so the unfinished edge is hiding.  Stitch through 3 thicknesses of fabric. 
  7. Drill an 1/8″ thick hole into either end of the dowel.  Sand dowel including the edges. 
  8. Wood glue dowel caps to either end of the rod. 
  9. After dowel has dried, insert rod through dowel pocket in pennant and insert ribbon through one end.  Double knot.  Insert through other end of dowel.  Double knot.
  10. To use, simply push the earring wire through the weave of the fabric and secure with earring back. 
Posted in Crafts & Sewing | 2 Comments

Fall Loves

Posted on September 30, 2019 by lexicolton

Julius has started the absolute cutest thing over the last couple weeks.  He has been spontaneously thanking me for helping him.  After I serve him dinner he’ll say “thank you mama” which sounds like “tutu mama”.  If I bring him some milk after he asks for it “tutu mama”.  I’ll help him open a container, “tutu mama”.  I’ll change his diaper “tutu mama”.  Every time he says it, it warms my heart.  The other day Will and I both helped him with his dinner and he said “tutu mama. Tutu dada.”  I’m in love with this little guy all over again!

You know what else I’m in love with? Fall!  Perhaps my first true love, I have always loved the crisp bite in the air, the changing color of the leaves, and of course, Halloween.  I love fall food too!  Cider, apples, winter squash make me hungry just think about them! Lately we’ve been getting lots of kale and potatoes in our farm share.  Normally I’d make Portuguese Kale Soup with this recipe from Yankee Magazine but since I’m still on my mostly vegetarian kick I had to make it up a bit differently.  (Will has informed me there is a word for people like me and that is “flexitarian”.)  If you try this recipe you won’t be disappointed!  It’s simple and delicious, and goes great with a loaf of crusty bread.

A bowl of this vegetarian kale soup, a pumpkin beer and some hot buttered bread are calling my name…

Vegetarian Kale Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 3 vegetable boullion cubes (I used the Knorr boullion)
  • 1 can cannellini beans, rinsed & drained
  • 2 yukon gold potatoes, chopped into large dice
  • 1 large bunch of kale
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Remove the tough stems and ribs and chop the kale leaves into 2 sq inch pieces.  Saute onion in butter or olive oil over medium heat until soft and fragrant 5 or 6 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for another minute.  Add vegetable boullion and 6 cups of water.  Bring to a simmer and add kale, cooking for a few minutes until wilted.  Add the cannellini beans,  potatoes and basil and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until potatoes are tender.  Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

If a pot of this soup doesn’t look like it will take the chill out of fall, I don’t know what will!

As Julius would say… “Tutu” to all of you for reading my blog!  I love each and every one of you!

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Taking Care of Business

Posted on September 24, 2019 by lexicolton

Never do woodworking when you’re pissed off.  I feel like this should be the number one thing someone tells you when you buy a saw.  I was working on Julius’ birthday present last night and was in a bad mood over a particularly crappy router I purchased from Home Depot.  The thing was so horribly made that I spent a solid TWO HOURS trying to get the base to move above the collet and bit.  That is not an exaggeration. Anyway, I digress.

After being grumpy that I wasted my whole evening (and one of my drawer faces) I decided to cut off the portion of the drawer face that the router had ruined.  Problem was I didn’t want to remove the face from the drawer itself so I couldn’t cut it on my chop saw or band saw, and I decided the circular saw was too dangerous for this task.  Ultimately I decided to use my handsaw.  It was hard.  Repairing the side of drawer I had ruined meant I was ripping the wood by hand.  I also don’t own a rip saw, so I was using a cross cut saw (clearly in addition to forgetting to tell me the number one rule above, my saw benefactors also forgot to tell me about rip saws vs. cross cut saws).  I was about 3/4 of the ways through the wood and somehow the piece I was sawing broke off.  This did not deter me.  I lined the saw up with the broken edge and applied the same very firm pressure I had been using.  Unfortunately since I didn’t have a divet for the saw to follow the saw jumped the tracks and I got about 12 lacerations on my left hand.

The best part of the story is that I woke Will up for his ‘professional’ evaluation because I don’t trust my opinions with blood and guts.  I very quietly said “I don’t want you to freak out because it’s really not that bad, but I cut myself with the hand saw.”  I thought that was a very logical way to put it.  Will asked me to show him (which frankly I was impressed with because he doesn’t have the best track record with medical things) and when I did he exclaimed “you need to go to the hospital”!  So I went to the hospital (which is only 3 minutes from our house), and in the nicest way possible they told me that I’d probably be waiting all night for something that lame.

Another dose of realism for the day is that I’m a toddler push over.  I put Julius to bed 4/5 days last week because Will had to work late, and not once did I get Julius to bed at his bedtime. Honestly the closest I got was half an hour after his normal bedtime.  But really, how can you rush a little boy when he’s playing a ukelele while pooping on the potty?

If you feel like all you do is clean up poop all day I’ve got the perfect craft for you!  This is a little holder for your dog poop bags that you can clip onto a leash or stroller!  Will and I reuse the produce bags we get from the grocery store as dog poop bags while we’re on walks with Dany.  While we’re at home we use a giant pooper scooper to clean up the poop so we don’t waste bags.  You can fit about 15 produce bags in this little holder for when you need them.

Julius likes to show as much of the inside of his nose as possible now when saying “cheese”.

Waste Bag Carrier on the ready

Julius likes to pull out the bags for me… even when I don’t need them…

Doggy Waste Bag Carrier

What you’ll need:

  • 1 square foot of fabric
  • 1 small carabiner clip
  • Pattern here
  1. Cut out fabric following pattern.
  2. Cut a strip of fabric 1.25″x2″.  Fold in half length wise, pin and stitch.  Stitch along the 1/4″ mark.
  3. Using a chop stick turn right side out.  Press.
  4. Fold rectangle in half width wise (right side on the inside).  Pin the long end forming a tube.
  5. Fold small rectangle from step 3 in half width wise to form a loop and sandwich inside the pinned edges of the tube in step 4 about 1.5 inches down the tube.  The folded portion of the loop should be inside the tube and the unfinished edges should match the unfinished edges of the tube.
  6. Take the circle of material and place on one end of the tube, right side facing in.  Line up the edges of the circle with the edges of the tube, pinning where the circle meets the tube without any folds.
  7. Stitch.
  8. Take one of the half circles of fabric and fold the flat edge under 1/2″ and stitch.  Repeat for second half circle.
  9. Place finished edges of half circles on top of one another, overlapping slightly so they nearly form a circle.  Repeat step 6 using the circle you have created.
  10. Turn the whole thing right side out.

 

Posted in Crafts & Sewing | 2 Comments

Groovy

Posted on September 16, 2019 by lexicolton

Julius learned how to hop yesterday!  He has been working SO HARD at trying to hop.  It really cracks me up.  Usually he just lifts his arms up in the air pretending to jump since he can’t quite get off the ground.  But Saturday we spent a lot of time in a bounce house.  I think that was the turning point because on Sunday he wanted to be picked up and he hopped!  Actually that was the second time.  The first time I have no idea why he was hopping, probably just being silly.  Today I asked him to ‘show me his hops’ and he got down proudly off his chair and hopped around a bunch.  I held his hands to help him with his balance while he hopped and after a few more hops he moved over and hugged my legs in what seemed like a thank you.  It was so sweet.

Julius my hopping man and mama in her new tie dye.

You know what else was pretty sweet?  The murder mystery party we just hosted!  We have been buying these ridiculous boxed murder mysteries games every time we see them at thrift stores.  Which is fairly often.  The most recent one we hosted was 1960’s themed.  They are all politically incorrect and quite silly, but they are always fun.  Even folks who aren’t theatrical can play along because they give you a set of “clues” you have to reveal about yourself during the round that are written almost like a script.  At least one person did figure out the murderer so it wasn’t a completely ridiculous plot line.  They also give you some great instructions for serving a meal while playing the game with menu suggestions.  I don’t always follow the menu, but since this one was hippie themed it was completely vegetarian, so I gave it a go.  My idea (even before opening the box) was to have special brownies for dessert and they had a silly twist on that.

Menu

  • Hummus
  • Chips
  • Crackers
  • Nuts
  • Olives
  • Garden Salad
  • Wild Rice Ring (see below – this was a hit – we just had another rice ring for dinner again tonight)
  • “Special” Brownies (sprinkle with dried parsley before serving)
  • Watermelon slices
  • Figs

    Some great costumes in front of the appetizer area…

    Look at this festive rice ring surrounded by heirloom tomatoes! Yum!

Decor

I spread incense burners all over the house and intended to host the appetizer round on the back porch where I had set out cushions on the ground.  Unfortunately it was very cold that evening, so we had to move the party indoors instead.  For dinner I set the table with my favorite paisley tablecloth and some fabulous dishes from the 60’s that I found ages ago at the thrift store.  Funny story – I went to show my mom the great dishes I had found and she told me they were the exact same pattern my grandma used as everyday ware when my mom was a kid.  She even found one that was left in the attic to go with my collection.

Check out those awesome plates from the actual 1960s!

Costumes

I love murder mysteries because they mean costumes!  I tie dyed my costume (because another excuse to dye something)!  Half way through the dyeing process I thought it was going to be ugly, but I’m really happy with how it turned out.  I just love how unique tie dye turns out.  E very time is another surprise.  Since I couldn’t help myself, I also tie dyed another shirt at the same time (see above), and I love that one even more!  I’ve worn both to work and around town and I’ve gotten lots of compliments.  The crown was made using a free Cricut pattern – the flowers are all cardstock.  The beads I actually bought from Michaels – they are prestrung and were only $3 for an insanely long string.  Ideally you probably want to restring them into your own love beads, but I didn’t have the time yet.

My costume is entirely home made, Will’s is entirely from the thrift shop!

View of my tie dye dress.

Side view – check out those sleeves!

Wild Rice Ring

serves 8

(slightly adapted from Tragical Mystery Tour Menu)

Ingredients

  • 2 c wild rice blend (I used Rice Select Royal Blend)
  • 3.5 c water
  • 1/2 c butter
  • 1 c onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 10oz package frozen chopped spinach
  • 1 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 c toasted sliced almonds
  • 1/4 c chopped parsley
  • 1 tsp poultry seasoning
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 2 c chopped fresh tomatoes

Bring water and 1/4 c butter to a boil in large saucepan.  Add rice, return to a boil then cover and cook for 30 minutes or until rice is tender and water has been absorbed.  While the rice is cooking, thaw spinach by rinsing under cool water in a strainer.  When rice is done, let sit covered while you prepare the rest of the recipe.  Saute onion in remaining butter until translucent, then add the garlic and saute for another minute more until fragrant.   Stir in parsley, poultry seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, salt and cayenne pepper.  Add spinach and stir.  Add beaten eggs, shredded cheese and toasted almonds, mixing well.  Finally add the rice and cooked rice and fold until incorporated.  Thoroughly grease a bundt pan or circular tube pan with butter.  Press rice mixture into ring.  At this point you can cover with aluminum foil and put the ring in the refrigerator until the party begins (I made mine the night before).  When the party begins, pop it in the oven and it will be ready by the second round.  Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes to an hour.   Serve with chopped fresh tomatoes.

Yum!

Posted in Crafts & Sewing, Culinary Delights, Parties, Thrift Finds | Leave a comment

Pretend Play

Posted on September 9, 2019 by lexicolton

Yesterday I went to yoga in the evening.  Before I left I explained to Julius that Dada would be giving him a bath and putting him to bed because I was going to yoga.  He got super excited.  I asked him for a kiss before I left and he got all sad.  Eventually I realized he wanted to do yoga!  They have a yoga instructor come in every once in a while and teach the kids yoga.  A couple weeks ago after I saw the pictures of Julius doing yoga I asked if he liked it and he said “yeah”.  After which I took him through several yoga poses that he was pretty darn good at!  This time I did a few more and he really liked it and was smiling the whole time.  He is VERY good at following instructions!  I guess I found a new yoga buddy.

Julius doing yoga at daycare

Julius has also been doing a lot of play with his stuffed animals in the morning.  The last few days he tells me stories about his animals when I get in there.  Will said this morning Julius refused to get out of his crib when he woke up (singing).  Instead he wanted to play with his toys.  And Sunday after his nap Will sent me a picture of Cookie Monster wrapped up snug in Julius’ blanket.

Since Julius has started to get into imagination play, I decide to make him a silly bib for his “bunnies”.  (We call all his stuffed animals “bunnies” since 70% of them are actually bunnies.)  He loves to feed his animals breakfast in the morning, and even though they are pretty clean eaters, I thought a bib would be fun.  He liked it and has moved it around to different animals a couple times but now it’s almost a permanent addition to “Big Bunny”.  He does have some trouble with the velcro, so if I make more I may use snaps instead, which he is quite good at.  This project is super quick so I have no excuse for why I haven’t made more…

Pretend Play Mini Bib

What you’ll need:

  • scrap square of PUL fabric
  • 1/2″ square of velcro
  • pattern here
  1. Cut out PUL fabric using the pattern provided.
  2. Stitch hook portion of velcro to position marked on the pattern, on the top (right side) of the fabric.
  3. Stitch loop portion of velcro to position marked on the pattern, on the bottom (wrong side) of the fabric.

    Julius is feeding Big Bunny a carrot!

 

Posted in Crafts & Sewing | Leave a comment

Peppas

Posted on September 2, 2019 by lexicolton

We’ve spent the last few days at Will’s grandparents’ house in east Tennessee celebrating Grandaddy’s birthday.  Will has a large family and Julius loved the constant attention he received.  Grandmother joked when we left that we were going to have to invite the neighborhood over when we got home to give him the same amount of attention.

Julius has been picking up words almost daily it feels like.  We can’t always understand him, but once he says it ten or twelve times we usually get it.  He can even tell us all his daycare friends’ names.  The other day Will asked him what his best friend’s name is.  He replied “Sheepy” (his favorite stuffed animal).  Will laughed and clarified with “who is your baby best friend?”  He then responded “Baby Sheepy”  (which is the name we use for the mini version of Sheepy).  Will had to ask who his “daycare best friend” is to get the final answer of “Connor”, his buddy at daycare.  I cracked up when I heard that.

As I think I’ve mentioned, I’ve been modifying some of our favorite recipes to work with our slowly developing vegetarian diet.  We have been getting LOTS of peppers this season from our CSA (awesome) and stuffed peppers is one of our favorites.  Let’s be honest though, they’re just a pile of ground beef.  Well I started making this super easy recipe that Will declared “at least as delicious as the original”.  I hope you like it too.  The best part?  It tastes even better the second day.

Ingredients

  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 15.5 oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 15.5 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 24 oz jar of tomato sauce
  • 4 bell peppers (your choice of color)
  • shredded cheddar cheese
  • olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Saute onion in olive oil until softened and fragrant.  Add beans and tomato sauce, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  Cut tops off peppers and discard the stems, ribs and seeds.  Sprinkle cheese in the bottom of each pepper, fill halfway with bean mixture, sprinkle more cheese on top and fill to the top with more bean mixture.  Top with cheese and the pepper top. Cook for 30 minutes, or until tops of peppers are slightly brown and peppers are soft.

Finished peppers

Peppers ready to be cooked

Bean mixture ready to fill the peppers

Posted in Culinary Delights | 2 Comments