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Friday, June 29, 2012

Peanut Butter Cookies

easy three ingredient peanut butter cookiesStuck at home with all three kids, and my sister and brother in law are coming over for dinner. I want to be able to offer them something sweet after dinner (roast chicken, green beans, my everyday basics). I remembered MeaningFul Nest had emailed this recipe to me.







Easiest ever Peanut Butter Cookies...ready?
1 cup Peanut Butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
Mix together, spoon onto cookie sheet, do the little criss-cross-fork thing.....350 degrees, 8-10 minutes.....yummo!!!






You do't even need a "recipe" but I'm giving you a picture tutorial.



silpat baking mat for non-stick cookies

Use a Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat these things are amazing, nothing sticks to them and you can just rinse it off, no need to wrangle your cookie sheet into the dishwasher.





My daughter demonstrating that to get evenly sized cookies we use a small ice cream scoop.



The criss-cross fork thing-y. I'm all about technical baking terms:)




3 ingredients! No flour! Stuff you always have on hand! Try it! 


Thursday, June 28, 2012

Adding a birdhouse to the deck



When we made the big cooler purchase at HomeGoods to brighten up the deck, our son (lover of all things orange) spotted this birdhouse and insisted we buy it.


Here he is filling it with birdseed. I tried to take pictures as he was pouring but I needed both hands to help him. So you get this pic of him carefully putting the spilled seeds in one by one. 



All full. We haven't seen any birds use it yet, but if I do, I'll run for the camera!




Jessica

Thanks for stopping by! 
Please feel free to follow me with all those nifty buttons in the sidebar:)




I link to these awesome parties:
Sunday: I Heart NaptimeNifty Thrifty ThingsIt's Overflowing Monday: Delectable HomeC.R.A.F.T.  DIY ShowoffBetween Naps on the PorchThrifty Decor ChickDebbie Doo'sHome Stories A to ZEvolution of Style Tuesday: Coastal CharmNest for LessTip JunkieMy Uncommon Slice of SuburbiaA Bowl Full of LemonsGet Your Craft OnKurtz Corner,  Centsational Girl Primitive and Proper  Wednesday: Savvy Southern StyleOrganize and Decorate,  Mommy SolutionsPower of PaintNewlyweds Recipe LinkySouthern Lovely , Home Happy HomeCrafty Sasse WednesdayGingersnap CraftsA Crafty Soiree  Thursday: The Shabby Creek CottageMade in a DayHouse of Hepworthsthe 36th Avenue,  Crafty, Scrappy, Happy52 Mantels Friday: Making LemonadeBlissful and DomesticOne Artsy MamaSerenity NowTatertots and JelloThe Shabby NestThirty Handmade DaysAddicted 2 DecoratingFunky Junk InteriorsFinancial FridayFurniture FridayAt the Picket FenceThe Rooster and the HenClassy Clutter


Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Engagement Chicken- It Really Works!

Quite a few yeas ago, before I was even dating my husband I read an article in Glamour magazine about "Engagement Chicken". It claimed that all of the staffers at the magazine who had made the chicken for their boyfriends wound up engaged a short time later. So, being a red-blooded-wanting-to-get-married girl, I ripped the page out. A short time later, I found myself on a ski vacation with my then-boyfriend-now-husband. We were in a ski town and were planning to eat in. I pulled out this recipe and started making a roast chicken (never showing him the page). I'm pretty sure he was building a fire or some other non-kitchen related activity. The chicken was a hit, we talked about the possibility of getting married and what we would name our children (so far only our first daughter's name has stayed the same!), and our relationship was set.

engagement chicken recipe


Imagine my surprise when I opened one of my favorite cookbooks, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics  to find this same recipe, with her tweaks, in it! Here it is for you to enjoy. I'm pretty sure that part of the reason it "works" is that in this day and age (oh my, I sound WAY older than 32 right now!) women need to show a softer side, like cooking, to appeal to a man. I think it was this recipe and my individual chocolate souffles that went a long way towards making my never-thought-of-marriage-we-are-in-grad-school boyfriend into a husband at the ripe old age of 25.

I use an organic kosher chicken that I get from trader Joe's. The kosher chickens have been slated as part of the process, which effectively makes them brined, so they are extra delicious. Ina Garten, the Barefoot COntessa, even recommends a kosher Turkey for Thanksgiving for this very reason.

making roast engagement chicken with kids

Cut up 1-2 lemons, squeeze the juice over the chicken and stuff the lemons into the chicken cavity and around the sides. Add vegetables of your choice around the chicken, I like onions and carrots, but small potatoes, are good too. Drizzle olive oil over the top of everything, and sprinkle with kosher salt. You can also add pepper, but ever since my first pregnancy I can't stand pepper in anything.

chicken drizzled with lemon and olive oil surrounded by onions

I served it with roasted asparagus and broccoli. I like any meanls where everythign is on the oven all together:)




Roast at 400 for about an hour, the chicken is done when the juices run clear (you can try cutting it right at the thigh, NOT on the breast as pictured, but I was nursing so my husband was checking it for me). If the chicken or veggies start to burn, just cover everything loosely with foil and keep on cooking. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving so the juices redistribute.



I also made an extra dish of cut up chicken pieces since I was serving so many people.

Oh, and that night we took a great picture of me, two of my sisters, my grandma, and my daughter on our deck. And by "great" I mean that we were all in it, not that one of my sister's had her eyes closed and that the lighting if off and it's blurry, but you get the idea.


Here's the view at night, just for the heck of it.




Enjoy!


Jessica

Thanks for stopping by! 
Please feel free to follow me with all those nifty buttons in the sidebar:)




I link to these awesome parties:
Sunday: I Heart NaptimeNifty Thrifty ThingsIt's Overflowing Monday: Delectable HomeC.R.A.F.T.  DIY ShowoffBetween Naps on the PorchThrifty Decor ChickDebbie Doo'sHome Stories A to ZEvolution of Style Tuesday: Coastal CharmNest for LessTip JunkieMy Uncommon Slice of SuburbiaA Bowl Full of LemonsGet Your Craft OnKurtz Corner,  Centsational Girl Primitive and Proper  Wednesday: Savvy Southern StyleOrganize and Decorate,  Mommy SolutionsPower of PaintNewlyweds Recipe LinkySouthern Lovely , Home Happy HomeCrafty Sasse WednesdayGingersnap CraftsA Crafty Soiree  Thursday: The Shabby Creek CottageMade in a DayHouse of Hepworthsthe 36th Avenue,  Crafty, Scrappy, Happy52 Mantels Friday: Making LemonadeBlissful and DomesticOne Artsy MamaSerenity NowTatertots and JelloThe Shabby NestThirty Handmade DaysAddicted 2 DecoratingFunky Junk InteriorsFinancial FridayFurniture FridayAt the Picket FenceThe Rooster and the HenClassy Clutter

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Efficient Blog Reading

Everyone has their own favorite methods for readings blogs and each depends on how many blogs you read and how much free time you have. For example, before I started blogging I read about three blogs per day, so I would just type their urls right in. My parents like getting blog posts in their email box, as do my friends with jobs which prevent them from accessing blogs at work, smart people! Some people I know like to organize their blogs in a reader, that's what happens when you want an RSS feed of a blog, that allows you to organize blogs by day of the week, category, favorites, whatever you'd like. THe downside to this is that you still have to click on the blog to leave a comment. At least, that's the biggest downside for me, I love getting your comments, and I'm less worried about getting your pageviews to "count" which only happens when you visit an actual website.

My favorite is to subscribe in Google Reader, then use the "Next" button in my toolbar to be brought to the next unread blog post on my list. So I can surf from It All Started With Paint to Crafty, Scrappy, Happy to Young House Love to Tatertots and Jello...

So that way my views "count" for my friends' blogs and I can leave them fun, funny, attempting-to-be-witty comments to my hearts content.

Here is the button on my toolbar in the top left.


To get it, go to Google Reader, and click on the little gear on the right. Then scroll down to Reader Settings.



Drag and drop the Next Bookmark onto your toolbar and you are done!



I do find it harder to find time in the summer to read all my favorite blogs, but this way I also get nice surprises and sometimes wind up on a blog I might have forgotten about if I was just looking at a list.

What's your favorite way to keep up with your favorite blogs? 


Jessica

Thanks for stopping by! 
Please feel free to follow me with all those nifty buttons in the sidebar:)




I link to these awesome parties:
Sunday: I Heart NaptimeNifty Thrifty ThingsIt's Overflowing Monday: Delectable HomeC.R.A.F.T.  DIY ShowoffBetween Naps on the PorchThrifty Decor ChickDebbie Doo'sHome Stories A to ZEvolution of Style Tuesday: Coastal CharmNest for LessTip JunkieMy Uncommon Slice of SuburbiaA Bowl Full of LemonsGet Your Craft OnKurtz Corner,  Centsational Girl Primitive and Proper  Wednesday: Savvy Southern StyleOrganize and Decorate,  Mommy SolutionsPower of PaintNewlyweds Recipe LinkySouthern Lovely , Home Happy HomeCrafty Sasse WednesdayGingersnap CraftsA Crafty Soiree  Thursday: The Shabby Creek CottageMade in a DayHouse of Hepworthsthe 36th Avenue,  Crafty, Scrappy, Happy52 Mantels Friday: Making LemonadeBlissful and DomesticOne Artsy MamaSerenity NowTatertots and JelloThe Shabby NestThirty Handmade DaysAddicted 2 DecoratingFunky Junk InteriorsFinancial FridayFurniture FridayAt the Picket FenceThe Rooster and the HenClassy Clutter




Monday, June 25, 2012

Paper Handprint Flowers



As you might have seen on my 100% paper mantle, I created a bunch of flowers from paper.




Supplies: Paper, scissors, a pencil, straws for stems, pipe cleaners for stamen. Optional- green paper cut in leaf shapes, and a hole punch to thread the leaves onto the stem.


First I started with some yellow and black paper, left over from the birthday banner form my son's construction themed birthday party.

Trace adorable handprints.


Cut out the hands.


Use a pencil to roll up the "fingers", so that they will curl like flower petals.


Wrap the hands around straws to create a flower shape. Tape closed.


Add on leaves if desired.

To make the stamen, cut a pipe cleaner in half, then bend each half into a "V". Curl one or both sides, then tuck the bottom into the straw.







Conveniently, Family Fun Magazine had a great description of handprint lilies that I could follow! What did I ever do before googling?


Jessica

Thanks for stopping by! 
Please feel free to follow me with all those nifty buttons in the sidebar:)




I link to these awesome parties:
Sunday: I Heart NaptimeNifty Thrifty ThingsIt's Overflowing Monday: Delectable HomeC.R.A.F.T.  DIY ShowoffBetween Naps on the PorchThrifty Decor ChickDebbie Doo'sHome Stories A to ZEvolution of Style Tuesday: Coastal CharmNest for LessTip JunkieMy Uncommon Slice of SuburbiaA Bowl Full of LemonsGet Your Craft OnKurtz Corner,  Centsational Girl Primitive and Proper  Wednesday: Savvy Southern StyleOrganize and Decorate,  Mommy SolutionsPower of PaintNewlyweds Recipe LinkySouthern Lovely , Home Happy HomeCrafty Sasse WednesdayGingersnap CraftsA Crafty Soiree  Thursday: The Shabby Creek CottageMade in a DayHouse of Hepworthsthe 36th Avenue,  Crafty, Scrappy, Happy52 Mantels Friday: Making LemonadeBlissful and DomesticOne Artsy MamaSerenity NowTatertots and JelloThe Shabby NestThirty Handmade DaysAddicted 2 DecoratingFunky Junk InteriorsFinancial FridayFurniture FridayAt the Picket FenceThe Rooster and the HenClassy Clutter

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Cold weather, warm food; the YP App pulls through!

So here is how this past Friday went down for me. Even though it is now "officially" summer, the weather here in Northern California is not cooperating at all and both Thursday and Friday it was in the 50's. Which wouldn't have been so bad, except that this was the week that my to older children had swim lesson at 10am every morning. After being in the pool with them (then the hot tub to warm up), I needed a serious pick-me-up. Thankfully, my husband happened to be free for a quick lunch date and we headed out.

He was in the mood for sushi and I was in the mood for something warm, so I pulled out my new YP app (you know, the old Yellow Pages that were both useful for finding information and for an impromptu booster seat?). You can search for local restaurants by menu/food type, which just makes satisfying everyone's cravings that much easier. I was even able to refine the search down to vegetarian soba noodles! You can also tap the little microphone button and talk to it, especially useful if you are driving or have a problem typing coherently on your phone (I fall into the latter category!)


We settled on Oni Sushi, and headed in for a lunch of soba noodles and chirashi. I even uploaded a photo of my lunch to the YP app.



I added my review for Oni Sushi on yp.com Once I started I couldn't really stop so I decided to review al my favorite (and a few of my least favorite) restaurants in the Bay Area. I feel like the beauty of peer reviewing is that you can find out what you really need to know, like if my favorite taqueria is kid-friendly, or that by 9am it's WAY too late to head to my favorite brunch spot on the weekends. I tried at add all those types of tidbits in my reviews so they can be useful. You can find all my stayathomeista reviews here.


Of course, I couldn't leave it there, so during our small wait time I made a little origami chopstick rest out of the paper wrapper. Please tell me someone else does this too? My friend Betsy makes an elaborate fish chopstick holder with an eye and everything, but I'm sticking with this one for now:)






Jessica

Thank you to YP for being a sponsor. Check out the latest YP app or YP.com to find food nearby fast! YP is your local companion for making decisions on everything from where to eat to where to find cheap gas. This post is in conjunction with my relationship with the Clever Girls Collective, and all opinions expressed here are my own. #YPcrave

Friday, June 22, 2012

July 4th Mini-Cupcake Flag "Cake"

We are throwing a 4th of July party at our house, so the other day I decided to test out a few recipes on the kids to see if any ideas were keepers. Here is our top contender.

july 4th mini cupcake flag cake

A 4th of July mini-cupcake flag. I have the pleasure of guest posting on my friend Laura's blog, Elegant Nest today with the full blow-by-blow or bake-frost-top, if you will, so head on over and check it out.

4th of july cupcakes topped with fruit to create an american flag

You can't expect that we stopped there, right? You've seen those kids cook. So we not only made the mini-cupcakes, we also made some regular cupcakes as well.



The regular cupcakes got either white or chocolate frosting (the chocolate was left over from my son's construction machine birthday cake). A few even got a slightly spooky combo since I didn't want ot dirty up two piping bags! Then, each child got a tupperware to contain the sprinkle mess, and they got to decorate as they saw fit.



We have a new neighbor on our block, so I decided to give them a few of the mini cupcakes, creating an even mini-er flag in a tupperware.



Topped it with a quick label welcoming them to the street and we were off to greet our neighbors!





Jessica

Thanks for stopping by! 
Please feel free to follow me with all those nifty buttons in the sidebar:)




I link to these awesome parties:
Sunday: I Heart NaptimeNifty Thrifty ThingsIt's Overflowing Monday: Delectable HomeC.R.A.F.T.  DIY ShowoffBetween Naps on the PorchThrifty Decor ChickDebbie Doo'sHome Stories A to ZEvolution of Style Tuesday: Coastal CharmNest for LessTip JunkieMy Uncommon Slice of SuburbiaA Bowl Full of LemonsGet Your Craft OnKurtz Corner,  Centsational Girl Primitive and Proper  Wednesday: Savvy Southern StyleOrganize and Decorate,  Mommy SolutionsPower of PaintNewlyweds Recipe LinkySouthern Lovely , Home Happy HomeCrafty Sasse WednesdayGingersnap CraftsA Crafty Soiree  Thursday: The Shabby Creek CottageMade in a DayHouse of Hepworthsthe 36th Avenue,  Crafty, Scrappy, Happy52 Mantels Friday: Making LemonadeBlissful and DomesticOne Artsy MamaSerenity NowTatertots and JelloThe Shabby NestThirty Handmade DaysAddicted 2 DecoratingFunky Junk InteriorsFinancial FridayFurniture FridayAt the Picket FenceThe Rooster and the HenClassy Clutter



Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Paper Mantle Display


100 percent paper mantle display

A mantlescape made out of 100% paper? That is going to be tough for me. You see, I'm not really a mantle-scaping type of girl. And my husband is for sure, not a mantle-scaping type of guy. He's incredibly happy with out mantles as they are, and it took me a lot of effort to put those up! 

So I wasn't about to take down the Z Gallerie deer head over our living room fireplace...


So the kitchen fireplace it was.



The books that live on the mantle all year long are a great backdrop for the display. Plus, books are still made of paper, right?



All of my crafting is done in concert with my children, my daughter who is almost 5 and my just turned 3 year old son. The baby is only 7 months old so her crafting will just have to wait:)

For summer they decided on flowers and baskets of fruit. Here in the Bay Area, summer is all about farmer's markets and fresh fruit, so we went ahead with it as a theme.

paper baskets from paper plates

To make the baskets, we took paper plates and trimmed the edges with pinking shears.



Then I drew 4 lines on the back and cut the paper to create a pinwheel effect.





Next I folded up each section, securing it to the one next to it with a paper clip.



Once all 4 sides had been folded up and secured, you can see how the basket is taking shape.

washi tape to hold together a paper plate basket

One quick time around with the washi tape and the basket is all set.

paper plate basket with paper fruit

Except if you are one of my children, then you go around and around and around with many different colors...



To make the "fruit" I used my scallop punch to punch out red construction paper.



Then, cutting it halfway, I put two together to create a 3 dimensional raspberry.





Got this from this pinterest link, it's not letting me get to the original source, so let me know if you recognize it!

Stop over here where I share the tutorial for making the paper flowers out of your child's handprint!






52 Mantels



Jessica

Thanks for stopping by! 
Please feel free to follow me with all those nifty buttons in the sidebar:)




I link to these awesome parties:
Sunday: I Heart NaptimeNifty Thrifty ThingsIt's Overflowing Monday: Delectable HomeC.R.A.F.T.  DIY ShowoffBetween Naps on the PorchThrifty Decor ChickDebbie Doo'sHome Stories A to ZEvolution of Style Tuesday: Coastal CharmNest for LessTip JunkieMy Uncommon Slice of SuburbiaA Bowl Full of LemonsGet Your Craft OnKurtz Corner,  Centsational Girl Primitive and Proper  Wednesday: Savvy Southern StyleOrganize and Decorate,  Mommy SolutionsPower of PaintNewlyweds Recipe LinkySouthern Lovely , Home Happy HomeCrafty Sasse WednesdayGingersnap CraftsA Crafty Soiree  Thursday: The Shabby Creek CottageMade in a DayHouse of Hepworthsthe 36th Avenue,  Crafty, Scrappy, Happy52 Mantels Friday: Making LemonadeBlissful and DomesticOne Artsy MamaSerenity NowTatertots and JelloThe Shabby NestThirty Handmade DaysAddicted 2 DecoratingFunky Junk InteriorsFinancial FridayFurniture FridayAt the Picket FenceThe Rooster and the HenClassy Clutter

The Pinterest Challenge by Young House LoveBower PowerCentsational Girl and Ten June