I mentioned on Facebook that we had friends over for dinner and I needed a quick dessert. I was in a cake mood, so I thought I would try my hand at making a cake and icing from scratch.
January 29, 2015
One Bowl Chocolate Cake & Chocolate Buttercream Icing
Hey everyone, kind of a mouth full title, no? Not sure if I could have made it any longer, maybe I'll try next time. At least it's not boring, I mean it does have the word chocolate in it twice. If you're anything like me, then you didn't needed to hear it twice to be interested.
I mentioned on Facebook that we had friends over for dinner and I needed a quick dessert. I was in a cake mood, so I thought I would try my hand at making a cake and icing from scratch.
I mentioned on Facebook that we had friends over for dinner and I needed a quick dessert. I was in a cake mood, so I thought I would try my hand at making a cake and icing from scratch.
January 28, 2015
Trying to Feed a Picky Eater
Hello there and happy Wednesday. I have to say, I always feel weird with my greetings. I never really know how to start off, so I feel like I come across as awkward. Hopefully not, but being my awkward self I thought I would point it out to you guys.
Anyway today I just wanted to share a personal battle I have going on, against a picky almost 14 month old that lives in my house. I know everyone's kids are picky at one point or another, but man! This kid gives me a run for my money every day! One day he loves applesauce, then next day he acts like I'm actively trying to poison him by giving him the exact same applesauce from the same darn container.
Braxton does not want to eat anything that is not baby food unless it is pieces of chicken (turkey, pork, eggs, roast, etc..), french fries, or cucumbers. Anything else is immediately thrown off of his highchair for the dogs to battle over.
Some days it gets really frustrating because we are still buying baby food. He is still eating food that is designed for children up to 6 months younger than him. We do try to give him something with every meal, and just hope that today he will actually eat said piece of food.
Case in point: He loves bananas in baby food, he will eat the whole container and then get mad when it's gone. But, give the kid an actual banana to eat, and he hates it.
This is the "I'm not eating this and don't want it touching anything on my plate" spot. Whatever he is done with, or doesn't feel like eating ends up either here or on the floor.
We have tried everything we have read, done what other parents have suggested and even what the doctor has suggested. Nothing seems to stick, he just gets mad if we try to force anything and the meal is over. So our new motto is "just try one bite, you might like it" (if you get Treehouse, name the song). It's getting better, he is actually willing to try what we put on his plate. It's the eating part that we are struggling with. But this wasn't surprising as it took him almost a month to eat baby cereal when we started solids.
The other thing we have been battling is constant constipation as Braxton will not drink anything. Water, milk, juice? Nope. In the last week or so he has started to pick up his sippy cup and take little drinks out of it, but I'm not holding my breath that he's going to start guzzling water anytime soon. It's just as frustrating because I know that if he would just drink something, he would feel better. So we keep trying until he either starts to drink on his own, or he understands why he is feeling bad when he doesn't drink. I am crossing my fingers that the warm weather will get him drinking voluntarily and this problem will be solved.
Rant over. Sorry to have a conversation with myself at you guys, I just felt like sharing how frustrating my days can be. Does anyone else have a picky eater? Any suggestions, because I am open to anything.
Kerby
Anyway today I just wanted to share a personal battle I have going on, against a picky almost 14 month old that lives in my house. I know everyone's kids are picky at one point or another, but man! This kid gives me a run for my money every day! One day he loves applesauce, then next day he acts like I'm actively trying to poison him by giving him the exact same applesauce from the same darn container.
Braxton does not want to eat anything that is not baby food unless it is pieces of chicken (turkey, pork, eggs, roast, etc..), french fries, or cucumbers. Anything else is immediately thrown off of his highchair for the dogs to battle over.
Some days it gets really frustrating because we are still buying baby food. He is still eating food that is designed for children up to 6 months younger than him. We do try to give him something with every meal, and just hope that today he will actually eat said piece of food.
Case in point: He loves bananas in baby food, he will eat the whole container and then get mad when it's gone. But, give the kid an actual banana to eat, and he hates it.
This is the "I'm not eating this and don't want it touching anything on my plate" spot. Whatever he is done with, or doesn't feel like eating ends up either here or on the floor.
We have tried everything we have read, done what other parents have suggested and even what the doctor has suggested. Nothing seems to stick, he just gets mad if we try to force anything and the meal is over. So our new motto is "just try one bite, you might like it" (if you get Treehouse, name the song). It's getting better, he is actually willing to try what we put on his plate. It's the eating part that we are struggling with. But this wasn't surprising as it took him almost a month to eat baby cereal when we started solids.
The other thing we have been battling is constant constipation as Braxton will not drink anything. Water, milk, juice? Nope. In the last week or so he has started to pick up his sippy cup and take little drinks out of it, but I'm not holding my breath that he's going to start guzzling water anytime soon. It's just as frustrating because I know that if he would just drink something, he would feel better. So we keep trying until he either starts to drink on his own, or he understands why he is feeling bad when he doesn't drink. I am crossing my fingers that the warm weather will get him drinking voluntarily and this problem will be solved.
Rant over. Sorry to have a conversation with myself at you guys, I just felt like sharing how frustrating my days can be. Does anyone else have a picky eater? Any suggestions, because I am open to anything.
Kerby
January 25, 2015
Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake
Hey there and welcome back! I know I post a lot of recipes, but I love to bake and cook. I am really trying to do more crafty things, but until I have something to share I have another recipe for you guys. It's (another) recipe from Anna Olson, and it's pretty fantastic.
January 23, 2015
Friday Sweet Exchange #2
Hello there and happy Friday! What a busy week, and as I'm writing this I realized that I completely forgot to take pictures of my baking this week. I have no idea what happened and can't believe I forgot! It was a pretty yummy recipe, so I guess I will just have to make it again so I can show you guys.
Ready for another Sweet Exchange? I know I am!
I know last week only had one entry, but you got to start somewhere right? I didn't get a chance to try this yet, but it's on the list for dessert this weekend. I'm pretty excited about it too.
Cookin and Craftin shared their Banana Fluff with Chocolate syrup:
It sounds like something I could eat in one sitting, and then be sad that it's all gone.
Hopefully you can find a recipe that you just have to make. So stick around and have some fun!
January 22, 2015
Cheaters "Homemade" Pizza
Happy Thursday everyone, hopefully you have a relaxing and fun weekend ahead of you. I don't know about you guys, but I find that I get super lazy in regards to making dinner on the weekend. I don't know why, but it's true. If we are going to order something, it's usually Friday or Saturday night. Pizza is usually a winner, but it's so greasy and we always feel so bloated afterwards.
Awhile back we found fresh pizza dough at our local grocery store. Being brave, I picked up a package and everything that I needed to make a pizza. It was life changing people, something everyone should try.
Awhile back we found fresh pizza dough at our local grocery store. Being brave, I picked up a package and everything that I needed to make a pizza. It was life changing people, something everyone should try.
January 19, 2015
DIY Growth Chart
Hello there everyone, I decided to do a night visit with you guys. Today I want to share a project that I have been thinking about forever. It's literally been pinned on my Pinterest for 4 years, and I have been waiting for the opportunity to make it.
January 16, 2015
Friday Sweet Exchange #1
Hey everyone, happy Friday!
After much thought I have decided to start a linky party! I know I love adding to other linky parties, and have found some great ideas while browsing links. It's the perfect way to find new recipes, crafts or house related DIY things to try.
So every Friday I will be holding a sweet exchange, a place to share any recipes that people could make over the weekend. I will try to feature my favourite recipes, and will share if I tried any recipes linked in the previous week.
This week I made molasses cookies. They were so yummy, I had to give them away before I ate the entire batch in one sitting.
Hopefully you can find a recipe that you just have to make. So stick around and have some fun!
Kerby
After much thought I have decided to start a linky party! I know I love adding to other linky parties, and have found some great ideas while browsing links. It's the perfect way to find new recipes, crafts or house related DIY things to try.
So every Friday I will be holding a sweet exchange, a place to share any recipes that people could make over the weekend. I will try to feature my favourite recipes, and will share if I tried any recipes linked in the previous week.
This week I made molasses cookies. They were so yummy, I had to give them away before I ate the entire batch in one sitting.
Hopefully you can find a recipe that you just have to make. So stick around and have some fun!
Kerby
January 14, 2015
Molasses Cookies
Happy hump day everyone, a.k.a Wednesday. It seems like I have said the same thing a hundred times now, but can you believe it's the middle of January already? Feels like 2015 is going to fly by just as fast as 2014 did. Let's enjoy it while it's here, shall we?
Today I want to share a cookie recipe that I tried mainly because I had all of the ingredients, and ended up giving them away before I ate the whole batch. They were so moist, and the perfect combination of sweet and spicy. They actually tasted like gingerbread cookies, but were so much easier to make!
Today I want to share a cookie recipe that I tried mainly because I had all of the ingredients, and ended up giving them away before I ate the whole batch. They were so moist, and the perfect combination of sweet and spicy. They actually tasted like gingerbread cookies, but were so much easier to make!
January 12, 2015
Rec Room Before & After
Hello everyone, today I thought I should share the other half of the rec room with you guys. And since I've shared every other part of the basement, it's about time. I shared the built-in's with you guys here, which was one side of the rec room.
Like I mentioned before, this renovation was fueled by the need to have an animal free zone for Braxton, which would also be baby proofed so that we would have some peace of mind. So most of the updates that we made had this as our number one goal. Before I get too ahead of myself though, here are a few before pictures (sorry for the bad quality, they were taken almost five years ago):
Like I mentioned before, this renovation was fueled by the need to have an animal free zone for Braxton, which would also be baby proofed so that we would have some peace of mind. So most of the updates that we made had this as our number one goal. Before I get too ahead of myself though, here are a few before pictures (sorry for the bad quality, they were taken almost five years ago):
January 9, 2015
Spray Painted Countertops - 3 years Later
Happy Friday everyone, hope you guys are staying warm & cozy. It feels like winter has been here forever, and we've only had snow for about a week. I think this might be a long winter for me.
Today I thought I would share an update to a pretty popular post from 3 years ago, before my almost 2 year hiatus. You can check out the original post here (please remember this was before the blog had a name change). And the first update post here, where I talked about how just the spray paint was holding up. We ended up using a food grade epoxy and it was so much better.
But three years later, the poor counter top is starting to show it's age. There are a few spots that just look dirty all the time. Since you guys are my friends, I'll show you a few pictures:
These spots are actually soft to the touch, where the epoxy is starting to wear away. I cannot make them look any better, so I have started to strategically place cutting boards and my paper towel holder when people come over.
I would recommend to anyone wanting to do counter tops like this, make sure that it is a temporary solution. Our plan was supposed to be temporary, until we could afford to gut the kitchen and renovate it the way we wanted. But alas, other priorities popped up. Like Braxton joining our clan, and our basement (here, here, here, here and here).
Hope this update helps anyone looking to refinish their counters in a relatively inexpensive manner. Let me know if anyone has had any luck with other products or finishes!
Kerby
Linking to:
I Heart Naptime - Link Party Palooza #75
Kathe with an E - You're Gonna Love It Tuesday 1/12/15
Someday Crafts - Whatever Goes Wednesday #256
Today I thought I would share an update to a pretty popular post from 3 years ago, before my almost 2 year hiatus. You can check out the original post here (please remember this was before the blog had a name change). And the first update post here, where I talked about how just the spray paint was holding up. We ended up using a food grade epoxy and it was so much better.
But three years later, the poor counter top is starting to show it's age. There are a few spots that just look dirty all the time. Since you guys are my friends, I'll show you a few pictures:
These spots are actually soft to the touch, where the epoxy is starting to wear away. I cannot make them look any better, so I have started to strategically place cutting boards and my paper towel holder when people come over.
I would recommend to anyone wanting to do counter tops like this, make sure that it is a temporary solution. Our plan was supposed to be temporary, until we could afford to gut the kitchen and renovate it the way we wanted. But alas, other priorities popped up. Like Braxton joining our clan, and our basement (here, here, here, here and here).
Hope this update helps anyone looking to refinish their counters in a relatively inexpensive manner. Let me know if anyone has had any luck with other products or finishes!
Kerby
Linking to:
I Heart Naptime - Link Party Palooza #75
Kathe with an E - You're Gonna Love It Tuesday 1/12/15
Someday Crafts - Whatever Goes Wednesday #256
January 7, 2015
DIY Coffee Mugs & A Housewarming Gift
Hi everyone, sorry for the lack of content the last few weeks. I cannot seem to shake the lazy after Christmas mode that I am in, except when it comes to food. But it's time to get my butt in gear!
Friends of ours bought their first house at the beginning of December, so I wanted to make them a housewarming gift that they would actually use. I know that they are both coffee drinkers, so I thought this would be the perfect way to try out DIY coffee mugs.
Friends of ours bought their first house at the beginning of December, so I wanted to make them a housewarming gift that they would actually use. I know that they are both coffee drinkers, so I thought this would be the perfect way to try out DIY coffee mugs.
January 5, 2015
Cardamom Snaps
Happy Monday everyone! Hopefully everyone has recovered from the holidays and is back and ready to start the new year.
Today I want to share another cookie recipe that I usually make around the holidays, but it had been a few years since I had made them. I don't know why, because they are actually pretty amazing little cookies. They are the perfect combination of sweet and almost spicy.
Today I want to share another cookie recipe that I usually make around the holidays, but it had been a few years since I had made them. I don't know why, because they are actually pretty amazing little cookies. They are the perfect combination of sweet and almost spicy.
January 2, 2015
2015 Goals & Resolutions
This is something I usually never do, make goals or resolutions at the beginning of the year. I know myself, and I never complete things I set for myself unless I can be held accountable. And by someone other than myself, because I am very bad at making myself do things.
But I figure that you guys can hold me accountable, even if I just think that you do. So, hopefully this will give me the kick in the pants I need to set some goals and keep them in 2015. I have a few personal and a few blog related, just to ease myself into this. Baby steps guys.
1. Make more time for friends and family. Luis and I tend to be homebodies, and stay in a lot. This year I would like to go and visit people more often, if only for Braxton's sake. He needs to know that there is more to the world than our house and car. We always use the excuse that "they could come see us". But at the end of the day everyone likes to be at home, so if we want to see people, we need to get out of the house. Maybe if we make the effort, it will be returned and we can stay home some of the time too. You have to start somewhere.
2. Get back into reading. I love to read, like love it. I can devour an entire book in one night and one sitting. But since I got pregnant in 2012, I don't think I have even picked a book up. I miss it desperately, and would love to start reading whenever I feel like it again. So the goal is to try to read (or re-read) one book a month. I may even go get myself a library card, see if I can mold Braxton into a reader too. Get to him early.
3. Post at least twice a week. I hope this won't be too difficult of a goal, and hopefully I can keep it up all year. I need to stop worrying about what I am posting, if you guys will like it or hate it. Just start posting for myself, because that is the whole point of my blog. A place for me to share my thoughts and creativity.
4. Try to make one new meal or baked item a month. I tend to stick with what I know because I know I can make it, and it's good. But this year I would like to try some new things. With so much I can't eat it makes it hard to try new things at restaurants, so I need to try at home. Then I can control what is in the recipe, and I know that I won't get sick from it.
5. This one is a weird and very personal (as in I am probably the only person who has this irrational fear), I need to get over my fear that chicken is always undercooked. Seriously, I am convinced that every piece of chicken is pink and I will be dying any moment after my first bite. I can actually make myself sick over this sometimes. So my goal is to trust that no one is trying to kill or poison me, and just enjoy chicken again.
I know they are not super amazing goals about climbing mountains or running marathons or doing a huge re-haul of everything in my world, but they are realistic. And by keeping them small, maybe I can make bigger ones next year.
Did you guys set any goals for this year?
Kerby
But I figure that you guys can hold me accountable, even if I just think that you do. So, hopefully this will give me the kick in the pants I need to set some goals and keep them in 2015. I have a few personal and a few blog related, just to ease myself into this. Baby steps guys.
1. Make more time for friends and family. Luis and I tend to be homebodies, and stay in a lot. This year I would like to go and visit people more often, if only for Braxton's sake. He needs to know that there is more to the world than our house and car. We always use the excuse that "they could come see us". But at the end of the day everyone likes to be at home, so if we want to see people, we need to get out of the house. Maybe if we make the effort, it will be returned and we can stay home some of the time too. You have to start somewhere.
2. Get back into reading. I love to read, like love it. I can devour an entire book in one night and one sitting. But since I got pregnant in 2012, I don't think I have even picked a book up. I miss it desperately, and would love to start reading whenever I feel like it again. So the goal is to try to read (or re-read) one book a month. I may even go get myself a library card, see if I can mold Braxton into a reader too. Get to him early.
3. Post at least twice a week. I hope this won't be too difficult of a goal, and hopefully I can keep it up all year. I need to stop worrying about what I am posting, if you guys will like it or hate it. Just start posting for myself, because that is the whole point of my blog. A place for me to share my thoughts and creativity.
4. Try to make one new meal or baked item a month. I tend to stick with what I know because I know I can make it, and it's good. But this year I would like to try some new things. With so much I can't eat it makes it hard to try new things at restaurants, so I need to try at home. Then I can control what is in the recipe, and I know that I won't get sick from it.
5. This one is a weird and very personal (as in I am probably the only person who has this irrational fear), I need to get over my fear that chicken is always undercooked. Seriously, I am convinced that every piece of chicken is pink and I will be dying any moment after my first bite. I can actually make myself sick over this sometimes. So my goal is to trust that no one is trying to kill or poison me, and just enjoy chicken again.
I know they are not super amazing goals about climbing mountains or running marathons or doing a huge re-haul of everything in my world, but they are realistic. And by keeping them small, maybe I can make bigger ones next year.
Did you guys set any goals for this year?
Kerby
January 1, 2015
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Hey there all, hope everyone had a great New Year's! We went out for dinner with friends, then had a quiet night at home playing Mario Kart 8 on our Wii U. Nothing like Mario Kart to get your blood boiling!
Today I want to share another recipe that is a regular in our menu plan, and as usual, it's pretty easy to make. I found the original here, but I have changed it to suit our tastes.
Today I want to share another recipe that is a regular in our menu plan, and as usual, it's pretty easy to make. I found the original here, but I have changed it to suit our tastes.
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