Magnets, Magnets, and more Magnets!

I have always been jealous of all my neighbors cute magnets, so I decided to end the jealousy and make my own.  It was so easy, I have no idea why I have waited all these years to make them.  I love making them so much I made 54 the first time, then I remembered that I forgot to document how to make them so you to could enjoy the magnet craze.  That made another 15.

I would of made more but my husband said that we had plenty of magnets and unless the homeless or some shelter was in need of fancy magnets I really need to stop.  I only agreed because I have no more room on my fridge to hang more.  Which gave me another great craft idea for later, a magnet board. That thought gave me another idea, I could make magnets for all my friends and family for gifts.  Which lead me to thinking I could teach it the girls I work with at my church (I'm an LDS Activity Day leader/ Primary teacher for the 10 & 11 year old girls and I know they would love cute fancy magnets). 

Plus maybe the homeless and/or shelters really do need fancy magnets, and I'm all about service. 

I hope you enjoy making them as much as I have, and if your not crafty or don't have the time to make them I do sell them at my shop.  Everyone of them is handmade with love by me.

Click photo for larger image.

Journey to Connecticut

Ryan's company gave us 2 weeks to prepare before we needed to be in Connecticut.   2 Weeks!  We had so many things to take care of.  I relied on the Lord in all things.  I knew it was where He wanted us to be because every morning I would wake up with a plan of things I need to get done to help us on our move across the country.  I would look at my list, start at the top and pray for help and guidance to be able to take care of the task.   And quickly I would be lead in the direction I needed to go and things were being handled.  Even though I was super sick during this time I was able to help get us on the path and take care of the things I needed to take care of. 

Of course many many thanks goes  out to all my family and fiends that helped me along the way I truly could not of done it without them.  And just like that we found ourselves riding across the country in a moving truck facing the unknown future with optimism.  After about day 3 of driving I started to really get into a lot of pain again.  It was very taxing on my body to make that drive. 

I forgot to mention that also at this time my little sister Heather was about to have a baby at any time.  I was excited because of the timing I was hoping I would be able to be there for her birth.  She was scared because she really wanted to do a natural birth and wanted me to be there to couch her through it.  Well we were somewhere in Nebraska when my sister called and said she was having strong contractions and would probably have the baby soon.  Ryan and I talked about and thought maybe just maybe if we drive all night without stopping we could make.  But as I mentioned earlier the drive was extremely taxing on my body and I needed the overnight stops to be able to make it the next day.  So that was not really something we could do.  Only a few hours later Heather called and she had delivered her beautiful baby girl all natural and did an awesome job without me there.  I was so proud of her.

Also at the same time my parents were moving to Maine.  So by the time I made it to my sisters house my dad was there and I was done traveling I could not get back into the truck again.  When I saw my dad all I could was cry on his shoulder.  I did not want to leave his arms.  It felt good to be with my dad and out of the moving truck.  I was in pain I was sick.  I could not even hold my new beautiful niece because I was too weak and every movement hurt me.  So I ended up staying for a week at her house.  While Ryan, my dad, and Ryan's sister Autumn went to Hartford to move us in. 

After helping us move in my dad went on to Maine.  And Ryan and his sister came back to get me and Emily.  Together we went on to Hartford and lived in a Hotel for 2 weeks until being able to move into a basement apartment in South Windsor.  With all of stuff in storage.  I was finally able to sit down and not move for a while.

My Adventure of Cakes & Decorating

I love decorating cakes.  I have always been fascinated with cake decorating and wanted to take a class to learn how to do it, but just never seemed to have the time (or the money).  Then one day I was visiting my cousins in Idaho.  I love my trips to Idaho they are always full of exciting new things.  My cousin Hailey was learning how to decorate cakes for one of her personal progress goals.  Personal Progress is a program in the LDS church for girls between the ages of 12-18. She was learning from my great aunt Sharon wwho is a awesome cake decorator and has been doing it for years.  So I asked her to teach me what she learned and how to decorate.  My sister had just had a baby and we decided to decorate a cake for the baby blessing.  Also in town was my Aunt Kristi's Mom, she is also another amazing cake decorator so I got some quick lessons, learned some neat tricks and I have never looked back.  Here is the first cake I ever decorated, for my sister's baby blessing.

Second cake I made for my daughter Emily's 1st birthday.  I learned how to layer cakes, added a filling, and colored the cakes pink and purple (her favorite colors).  It was super yummy!  I know she would of loved more if she had not been so distracted by the fun gifts she got and having all her family & friends in one place, way too many things and people to play with.

My friends sons 5th birthday cake.  I tired some different pipping techniques and made a swirled chocolate & vanilla cake, it looked really neat when you cut into it .  "Under the Sea" was the theme for his party.  The one thing he wished for on his cake was a dolphin.  Wish granted! 

After that there was no stopping me.  I tested and tried several recipes for making cakes from scratch, discovered my favorite and started stacking cakes.  My cousin Eva was my very first paying client.  I made her 10th birthday cake.  I loved how it turned out, some of my very best work.  Oh, and she loved it as well.

My cousin James asked for a less elaborate but super yummy Oreo truffle cake for his High School Graduation.  The result was so rich only a teenage boy could devour multiple slices of the cake.  The rest of us ate a small sliver and loved it.  Next time I think I will make it a little less rich, even though James thought it was perfect.

After so many successes with my cakes I thought I was unstoppable.  My husband asked for a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cake for his birthday.  I thought no problem, I was wrong.  I got too adventurous and while it tasted really good, it looked super bad.  Nobody complained and my husband was so happy to have his favorite candy in cake form.  Overall I gave myself a pat on my back for good flavor.  The cake plate was literally licked clean.

And with 10 months of planning and preparation, and hundreds of revisions I made my cousin Libby's 16th Birthday cake.  She loved it, it was everything she ever wanted and MORE, complete with a fountain.  It was my first Topsy Turvy cake and carving cake, a skill I think I can work on.  You can't see all my mistakes because I covered them up with decorations, but I will improve over time with more practice, and hopefully won't need to cover my mistakes with decorations in the future.

Since then I have taken a small break in cake decorating to pursue other hobbies, plus there has not been any really events calling for a fabulous cake recently.  But when the call come I will be there, trying out something new, you can count on that.

5 Cool Not Often Seen Kitchen Gadets

#1 Ultra Flex Faucet

I watched the commercial for Kohler's new kitchen faucet and thought that was super cool, so I had to go check it out.



I love that you can also wall mount it as a pot filler over your stove, how amazing would that be?



The price $1,250!  I have expensive dreams.

#2 Two Drawer Dishwasher

It would be so nice to just have a dishwasher right now in our home, but since I'm dreaming it mine as well be a Two Drawer Dishwasher, they are super cool.



This one is made by Fisher & Paykel and cost around $1,250 same price as the faucet.

#3 Digital Kitchen Assistant

It has video cooking techniques, recipes, lessons, calendar, MP3 player and digital photo frame. 



Made by Belling MediaChef, cost $99.  Nice thing about it is that you can stop, pause, rewind, and play it at your speed.  Easy to use and super cool.

#4 UV Disinfecting in the Kitchen

OK I'm a germ-a-phob, I'm super crazy about keeping the kitchen and bathroom disinfected, so this sounded pretty cool to me, although I'm not sure if it really works.



They say it disinfects in just 10 seconds, and kills 99.99% of germs including lice, fleas, and dust mites.  It can be used in other areas of your house like door handles, bathroom, mattress, phones, etc. 

Made by Zandro, cost $160!

Another UV product that if it really works would be awesome is the UV cutting board system.



Made by Pure Living, cost $130.

#5 Voice Operated Shopping List

You tell it what you want on your shopping list and keeps track for you, when your ready to go shopping, press print and you have your list.  I'm usually a fan of the old fashion system (pen and paper), so I'm not sure I'm sold on having a voice operated shopping list.  I think my husband would love it and kids.



It not only stores your shopping list but also notes, coupons, and even quantities.  If I was a coupon person I think that would be pretty cool, although I'm not sure how it stores your coupons but the idea is cool.

Made by Smart Shopper, cost $150.

Hope you enjoy dreaming or just looking at some super cool kitchen gadgets.  Enjoy!

My Normal Life?...

I was forced to take a break from my blog and lets face it life all together because I found out I was pregnant an had ovarian cyst.  The cyst were very painful and being pregnant on top of that pain made it almost impossible to do very much in my life.  All my energy went into taking care of myself and my basic needs.  What energy I had left went to helping my daughter Emily and taking care of her.  At one point I could not even take care of myself let alone my 3 year old so I went to die on my in-laws couch, at least that is what it felt like. 

Eventually I came off of the heavy narcotics that I was taking and could return home.  For about half a week I really thought I would make it.  My family came out to visit me and that was very nice, but still hopped up on so many drugs I was very limited as to what I could do.  On top of all of this the doctor kept telling me that I would most likely lose the baby I was carrying. 

While my mom was visiting me she had a opportunity to get a great job in Maine, while she was busy interviewing and applying for this opportunity.  It was exciting times for our family.  I enjoyed having my family and especially my mother at my side to take care of me and comfort me in this time of need.  I told my husband that I would love to live closer to my family I need them at this time in my life.  After they left and went home my husband and I prayed about it and felt that we needed to move to Maine. 

A few weeks after she returned home, back to Georgia my mother had gotten the job in Maine.  And I wanted to be close to them so I could have their support during this trying time in my life.  Ryan, my husband, went to his supervisor and asked if there was any way we could move to Maine and he could continue to work for his company.  They came back and suggested Washington DC, I said No that I wanted to live in Maine by my parents.  They came back and said how about Hartford, CT.  I prayed about it and by lunch time that day I told my husband that Hartford, CT would work just fine.  After all it was only about 5 hours to my where my parents were going to be living in Maine and about 5 hours to where Heather, my sister,  lives in Pennsylvania. 

That one decision started a whirl-wind of stuff happening so fast I could barely keep up.

To Be Continued...

The Lake House

I'm on a Lake House kick!  I love the movie and I love house that remind me of the movie.  So here is another beautiful home featured this month in Artictural Digest's Extrandorinary Homes for Sale.

I just think it would be awesome to live on a lake or near the ocean.  Its one of my dreams, of course when my children are old enough I don't have to worry about them falling in the water and drowning.

I'm not sure if the yacht comes with the house or not, but I love it.

I love the look of the clean white kitchen, as if it would stay that white once you introduced my family but the look is great. same in the bathroom.

Only 17.5 million!  5 Bedrooms 5 Baths.  For more information you can visit the following sites:

http://mcalisterproperties.com/residential-listings-f18125.html

http://www.architecturaldigest.com/homes/homes/2011/10/estates-for-sale#slide=3

1 Year Dinner Menu (easy to create, stick to and follow)

I'm really not kidding when I say I have created a year menu for family that is so easy to stick to and follow.  I love it!  I'm not sure what I did before I created this but I know I don't want to go back.  I have adapted my year menu from one made by Marie Ricks, a Professional Organizer, visit her website here House of Order.

I'm sure your thinking "Yeah right, a year menu? That would take weeks or months of planning and will be way to hard to do."  Wrong.  It was easy and here's how to make it happen. 

1. Generate a list of 7 different food categories such as Mexican, Italian, Easy to Cook, Casseroles, American, Poultry, Beef, Seafood, Asian, Family Favorites, New Recipe's, etc.
2. Assign a food category to everyday of the week.  For example Monday-Italian, Tuesday-Family Favorites, Wednesday-Easy to Cook
3. Now under each category come up with 4 to 5 different meals that you could cook.  It looks a little something like this.

          Tuesday - Family Favorites

               Pizza

               Meatloaf

               Chopped Chicken Cabbage Salad

               Chicken Curry

               Shepard's Pie

The idea here is that on Tuesday (yes every Tuesday) you choose one of the meals listed and cook it.  Which theoretically means your family is only eating that meal once a month.  Brilliant!

Now you never have to wonder what's for dinner, it is all mapped out for you on one simple page posted on your fridge. The best part is that now when my husband asks me, "What's for dinner?" or what he can cook for dinner?  I can refer him to the menu to pick a meal.

If that is enough work for you STOP here...but if you want you can  goa little further. As you can see above I decided to be more like Marie Ricks and go just a little further by adding a side(s) that stays consistent no matter what you make. Generate a list of 7 different sides or less you can repeat sides if you need to.  My list goes a little something like this rice, potato, veggies, fruit, salad, bread, dessert.

1. Assign a side to everyday of the week.  Example: Monday-bread, Tuesday-Rice

OK here is another stopping point, OR you can get a little bit more advanced again.  Because I like to grow a garden and eat seasonally I have created 2 different menus one "Spring & Summer" the other "Fall & Winter". 

I still have a year menu I have just broken it down in 6 month categories.  Big differences in my menus are:

Spring & Summer Menu Categories

• Salad/Garden Meals
• Sandwiches
• BBQ/Cookout/Camping Meals (we go camping a lot, or cook outside a lot in the summer)
• Non-oven Meals (so I don't heat my house up using the oven)

Fall & Winter Menu Categories

• Soups
• Crock Pot Meals
• Comfort Foods
• Pantry Meals

I hope that you too can easily make a year menu for your family and enjoy a much simpler lifestyle.