A Gentleman's Bow Tie

So I decided to test a pattern for a gal... she created a great pattern for a super cute gentleman's bow tie. My little guy has been known to sport the bow tie on occasion {debuting his style at the age of 3 at my cousin's wedding back in 2010}. 

Ugh... I want to squeeze this little guy again!   

Okay, back to 2013, right?! I used her cute pattern and made a new tie. 

I must say, it turned out so darn cute.

Now, if I can only convince my now 6 year old, t-shirt wearing guy to wear this. 

I LOVE how it turned out. Thanks Freshly Completed for the opportunity to test the pattern.

I may have made a few for our furry friends, too. 

life is a crock of beans

This was a sign in my Nanny's kitchen.  I loved it.  It was my grandparents in a nutshell. They loved beans.  Such a simple food.  Since I have been obsessing over this White Chili lately, I have been buying many cans of Great Northern beans.  We are a big bean eating family - we try not to eat too much meat, so we steer toward beans.  I decided I should try my hand at making my own to freeze, which brings me back to this saying... life is a crock of beans.  Beans run about $1 per can, a 2 pound bag is about $2 and yields about 7 cans of beans.  Today I spent the afternoon preparing 4 pounds of Great Northern beans to freeze in quart size freezer bags.

In a large pot, cover beans by 3 inches with cold water, cover and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minute, remove pot from heat and drain.  Transfer to a crock pot. Cover by 2 inches with cold water, on low heat, cover and simmer, gently stirring occasionally, until beans are tender, 4-6 hours. For a quicker method - try a Dutch Oven - cover with water 2 inches above beans, cook in oven at 325 for about 75 minutes.  Drain beans and divide into freezer containers or bags.  I divide my beans into 3-4 cup proportions.  Freeze.  

White Chili

It has been a LONG while since I have posted anything here.  Life gets super busy with kids in school, activities, work, sports... Life.  I thought about shutting this blog down, but then I decided I needed a place to put random bits.

Friends are great.  Friends share things... recipes, ideas, etc. I got this recipe from an amazing friend of mine.  I have obsessed over this chili for months now, I love it that much.  Weird- I obsess over chili?  Well, we all have our quirks.  I have used and used the recipe, the paper it is written on is about done for.  With a few modifications, I needed a place I could pin this recipe from, so here it is.

White Chili

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cooked chicken breast halves, diced (I used shredded roasted chicken)
3 cans (16 oz each) Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed (I smashed one and a half cans)
1 can (4 oz) green chilies
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 can (16oz) chopped tomatoes, undrained
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin

1. Spray dutch oven with vegetable oil. Saute garlic and onions until onions are clear.
2. Add remaining ingredients and cook on medium heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Approximate Yield:
6 servings, 1 1/4 cups each
286 calories
2 g fat
23 gm protein
49 g carbs
(I know you were dying to know the nutritional information!) It's actually a super healthy meal.

a little linen

I'm still here... just super busy.  My kiddos keep me on my toes and I love every minute.  In the mean time - we moved and now I have been organizing, crafting, trying to make this house a home.  I love linen and can't get enough of it...

nanny is busy

i have been missing in action... LOTS of action, so i barely have time to write.  if you are wondering what i am up to... most of my activities are feeding off pinterest.  yes, i know, everyone is on pinterest, but it has been fun gathering ideas and following through with lots of great results.  

so, why am i here today? my mom is back into sewing and completed a project - a duvet cover for my dad's throw. 

it turned out good, don't ya think?! someday i will post pictures of her beautiful garden. 

i will be back here and there to give you a glimpse of what we have been up to around here.  chat soon!

i am crazy like that

a bit from our easter week...

we had a cookie decorating party with our friends... school friends, ballet friends... it was total mayhem, but we loved it. 

we made easter bags and treats for the easter party at school

bunny crackers, of course and egg cookies were on the menu

  we hunted for eggs... 4 times

 i made some decorations 

 how did i make it?  

jelly beans, stick, styrofoam ball, glue gun, 1 hour and a small bucket

hot glue the jelly beans to the ball, stick the stick into the ball and set up in the bucket {i used homemade playdough to stand it up}

 i covered the bucket with paper to match

 used the same paper to top these mason jars and filled each with candy 

{although i should have glued the lids shut... i couldn't keep my hands out of them}

so, i am crazy like that... i glued every little jelly bean onto that ball and invited 13 kids over to frost and decorate cookies... all for the joy of my children and to see them smile so big.  it was a fun week.

homemade frozen yogurt

it is starting to get warm around here, which makes us crave frozen treats.  

who doesn't love the local frozen yogurt shop?  my budget doesn't.  not only is it expensive, but we have a peanut and treenut allergy that tends to make me a little nervous.  who can truly enjoy a treat with the kids with one hand on the epi-pen?!
like many of our foods - it's best for us to go homemade...

  here is where it doesn't get any easier... 2 ingredients  

32oz. plain yogurt {organic fat free is best, greek is even better}

3/4 cup sugar

whisk together and chill before pouring into the ice cream / frozen yogurt maker.  we use a simple cuisinart ice cream / yogurt maker.  yum.

cake pops

b was star of the week and responsible for the letter w.  we made world cake pops for the class treat.

 this is how the world looked in the end.  i used colored candy and added yellow to the blue chips to make the green.  

 this is midway with the chilled balls and sticks ready to dip.

i made sprinkles for n's class treat {so he didn't feel left out} and the world for b's class. 

 then we gathered all our w items for show and tell. 

 individually wrapped cake pops.

i have never made these little treats before however i did learn a few things... 

chocolate cake would be better  {cheesecake would ultimately be the best}
homemade frosting would taste much better, but i was pressed for time

oh modern christmas tree

so, i have been a little busy lately.  sorry.
i was however, inspired by this today...

isn't it beautiful?  as we try to make our home more allergy friendly, i think this would do the trick.  downside?  i would certainly miss the smell of our fresh tree.

coffee sack skirt

at the request of my coffee sack man... i designed and created this burlap skirt...

it was a gift for a local coffee house owner.

lined in linen.  kind of lovely and fun.  i hope she likes it.

likes :: bookhou

a few likes from bookhou.  and this is only from their wood collection.  wow.

this would be beautiful on any nursery wall.

this would be amazing in an adult version, however i love that the felt is removable.  

this reminds me of a sculpture i had growing up.  

so simple and packed with style. 

we luv u

i have been out.  way out, lately.  sorry if you missed me.  we have been busy renovating our house and enjoying time with family {which is quite rare for us, so we really enjoyed ourselves while it lasted}.  

father's day was a ball.  we did the usual bbq thing with our friends, which have become our family.  

what's not to love... fabulous friends, fresh summer food, drinks and a dash to the pool.

happy summer.

Folded :: The Origami Collection

The project Folded :: The Origami Collection with Hijiri from Heart Fish and Jack + Jen is finally seeing some real results.  

I am always looking for something new to create and design, this was a fun collaboration across the country.  With summer kicking off and so many things on my on-growing to-do list, I decided to keep it simple.  

I took this opportunity to create some new images for my baskets.  I just love how they turned out.  I especially love the crane, which is always close to my heart... it reminds me of my grandmother, who I grew up with and my wedding {we folded 1,001 paper cranes}.  

I did tackle some actual origami to get into the spirit of things and it was fun to try some new folds I have never done before.  I folded origami growing up, however I had never made something like this.  My inspiration post showed a lot of flowers, so I decided to go with it.  

I can't wait to make more.  

friends and fun

with a visit from our friends, we visited our local bakery.  yum. 

what a fun place to gaze...

someday, i would love to learn to make these.  

the girls were extra excited about the glitter on these.  

i could easily eat about a dozen of these.  

and we had a ball watching these...