Mrs. Benyi's Garden Rocks!

We recently went to visit one set of grandparents in Ohio and made sure to drop by our adoptive grandparents house the Benyi family. Mrs. Benyi has the most serene, beautiful garden I have ever seen. There are many little places to sit and reflect or grab a book and relax. The hanging swings on the porch are perfect for chit chatting while the wee ones enjoy the pond, equipped with fish who eat Cheerios! The work she has put into this outdoor living space truly reflects her love of gardening...it's an inspiration to us all.

Thank You Cards

Though they haven't been mailed yet, wanted to share the thank you cards I made for Zane's b-day. I like to include a picture that truly captures the child and this photo of Zane captures him right now. He is so into bubbles this summer. The design is pretty simple and basic. And took hardly any time to actually make. So don't put off writing a thank you note, the recipient will love it.

The Pittsburgh Cookie Table Wedding Tradition

I'm going to a wedding in Seattle this weekend but it is a wedding between two Pittsburghers which means there are two traditions that are almost 100% likely to occur. 1.) the band or DJ will play the Beer Barrel Polka (if not several more polkas) and 2.) there will be a cookie table. Ah the cookie table, as a child I believed it and the money dance were the only things that had to occur at wedding receptions. Now that I'm all grown up, I'm pretty sure I won't being doing a money dance at my wedding and I'm damn sure I'll have a cookie table.

Image a table, or what is in fact usually several tables, filled with the best homemade cookies on earth: Lady fingers, apricot-filled sugar cookies, bourbon balls, nut cups, Hersey Kiss cookies and more. Traditionally, the cookie table consist of all the best cookies baked by the bride's aunts, cousins, grandmothers, and mother. For days and sometimes weeks prior to a wedding the family members make dozens of their best and fanciest cookies because everyone wants their cookie to be the crowd's favorite. Once on display these cookies can often upstage the beauty of the bridal party itself.

As I grew up and went to weddings of individuals not from the Pittsburgh area, I have to say I was a little disappointed to discover that the cookie table was only a regional tradition. On the flip side, I was shocked to discover prior to writing this blog post that the cookie table has gotten quite a bit of press in the last few years. Perhaps it is growing in popularity across the country as Pittsburghers migrate. Here is a great article from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that investigates the claims of Youngstown Ohio as the home of the cookie table tradition and and an article that was broadcast on NPR. It is even popular enough to garner a Wikipedia Entry.

Personally, I am excited to be baking cookies for the cookie table this weekend. (I just hope they make it through the plane ride.) And just in case they don't play the Beer Barrel Polka sing a few bars to yourself....

Roll out the barrel, We'll have a barrel of fun
Roll out the barrel, we've got the blues on the run
Zing Boom Terrara
Join in a glass of good cheer
Now it's time to roll the barrel
For the gang's all here

Bicycle the week away

Wanted to warn you all that I won't be around much this week. Me and the kids leave tomorrow for a week of bicycling in Meyersdale PA with my parents and 2 of my sisters and their kids. I'm really looking forward to reconnecting with the family and having a lot of quiet time. There is no internet in this small town, no wi-fi starbucks or golden arches, and I welcome it! I need to force myself to step away and unplug for a bit. So I'll check back with you all next week and let you kow how my legs feel after towing 2 kids in a bike trailer weighing in at 90 pounds total up and down hills in amish country.
What am I thinking!!!

Happy 60th Birthday Tom!

My MIL, Gini, is taking my FIL, Tom, on a surprise vacation for his 60th b-day. This trip is special because she is recreating the exact trip they took when Tom proposed to her. Gini spoke with Jon and I about making cards that she could give him each night at dinner to give him clues as to what is in store for the next day. Jon creates the words and I create the actual card and together we brainstorm the concept. It truly is a gift from the both of us. The first day is a cable car since they are flying to San Francisco. On the cable car I added personal details; the number 26 is how many years it has been since they took this trip, the Marriott hotel ad is the hotel where they will be staying. The cable car line on the top of the car is the line that takes you to the Fisherman's Wharf where they will be having dinner. And I used Gini and Tom's heads on a cut out from a magazine. I made the cable car into an envelope and when you pull the ribbon, the card attached is a letter Jon wrote to Tom explaining what we are doing.
Here are some of the other "cards" we made. The wine bottle is made from textured card stock with clear vinyl sewn on the top, for when they go to Napa and take a tour of a winery. The tooth fairy pillow is because during the original trip Gini had an abscess tooth and had to see an emergency dentist in Carmel.
It was a lot of fun making these, hopefully it will inspire you to think outside of the box the next time you have to make a card.

Watermelon Sald with Rum and Mint

Yesterday we went to a Mexican food themed picnic. I wanted to bring a fruit salad that would compliment this theme and found the perfect low calorie sweet treat.

Everyday Food's recipe for Watermelon Salad with Rum and Mint was a light sweet salad with just the right amount of zing. It went so fast I didn't even get time to snap a photo.


Watermelon Salad with Rum and Mint:

• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest plus 2 tablespoons juice (from 1 lime)
• 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons light rum
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6-pound piece chilled seedless watermelon
• 2 tablespoons slivered fresh mint leaves

1. In a large bowl, whisk together lime juice, sugar, rum, and salt.
2. Using a melon baller, scoop melon into balls (you'll get about 10 cups), or cut melon into bite-size chunks. Add melon to lime mixture in bowl. Sprinkle with mint and lime zest, and toss gently to combine. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate, up to 2 hours.

Growing a Garden

After reading Animal, Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver I was intrigued to try and grow some vegetables and fruit this year. And to be on the frugal side I wanted to grow them from seeds. Well I soon discovered that we don't have enough sun light in our house to make this possible. So a dear friend who does have sunlight pouring into her house gave me a few of her plentiful seedlings. (thanks Leah!) I planted cucumbers, tomatoes, 4 different kinds of peppers, corn (random I know), potatoes and strawberries. And so far everything is going good. We've only eaten 2 banana peppers and a few strawberries but there are tomatoes ready to be baked by the sun on the vine. And I'm still unsure about the potatoes and how to know when they are ready. Live and learn, this is quite a wonderful experience.

Totlol

One of our readers brought this site to my attention (thanks Jenn!) and I had to share it with the rest of you. Totlol is a brand new community-moderated video website designed to be enjoyed by those between the ages of 6 months and 6 years.
It's hard to motivate my son Logan to work on his summer school workbooks. I use these short videos as rewards for a job well done. Everything is approved by other parents and the videos are all pretty short and range from puppets and stories to animals. You are sure to find something for your kid to watch. I love being able to quickly pick a video and have Logan watch it and 5 mins later we are back to work on school readiness skills instead of using food or some other thing as a reward. There are even clips of some of his favorite television shows.
Check out TotLol here.

School Supplies

My oldest son will be in Kindergarten this fall. I was complaining to my sister that I wish the school would mail the school supply list (as promised when I registered him for school in April) so I could take advantage of some of the great deals going on right now for school supplies. My sister then informed me that all the local stores whether it be Target, Staples or Office Depot will have a print out of what supplies are needed for each grade in all the local schools. Good thing I have a veteran school supply shopping mom for a sister!
I was shocked to see on Logan list of required items 4 dozen #2 pencils, 24 glue sticks, 4 packs of 24 crayons. And this is just a sampling, there are actually 20 lines on my to buy list. This is a lot of stuff! Granted I am sure it will all get used in the year but it made me think of the families that are struggling to get by financially, day by day.
For those of you who read this blog and have the desire to help other people but either finances hold you back or time this would be a wonderful opportunity for you to help a kid go to school prepared. Pick a grade in your local school and go to your local store and pick up the supplies needed list and just buy a set of supplies for one kid. And drop it off at your local school office. It's that simple. And the savvy shoppers out there may find it fun to see how many items you can get for almost nothing. For example this week at Office Depot you can get 2 pocket poly folders for 1 cent each, and this is something that is on Logan's school supply list.
Help kids in your community come to school prepared and ready to learn!

Bike Wheel Pot Rack

I LOVE this bent bike wheel recycled into a pot rack with aid from some chain and a few S-hooks. I don't have ceilings high enough to have a pot rack...but when I do look out! I wonder how stable and functional it is, but still love the inventiveness of it.

This project was originally posted on a cool blog that I linked into somehow called Handmade Detroit.

Back to School

It's been a flurry of activity in my non-crafty/cooking life. It all began last week when I met with at adviser at The University of Colorado to discuss the possibility of applying to attend their Masters Plus program. I knew that I would need to accumulated credits in several different areas before I could apply to the program which results in a MA in Education and a High School Teaching License. This meeting was to determine what credits a I needed and where I could get them.

Because my degree in theatre is a BFA (rather than a BA) I thought I had gotten away with murder by not having to take a bunch of boring general credits, but it seems my date with college algebra was only postponed. I need, give or take, 12-15 credits mostly in general areas such as college level math and science. So this fall, I will be attending Front Range Community College part-time. If all goes well - pending a meeting with an adviser this Monday - I should be enrolled in two classes to begin THIS FALL. I knew that I needed to get started, but had been dragging my feet. Now, in the matter of less than a week, it looks like I'll be all setup to be back in school this Fall. I am half nervous, half thrilled.

After looking around at my options I've decided to attend Front Range Community College which is about a 25 minute bus ride from my apartment in Boulder. My opinion of Front Range Community Colleges thus far is A+. All of the staff I have dealt with have been informed and friendly. The price isn't going to kill me either. I think that if I continue to work full-time while taking two classes a semester I won't have to take out any loans until it is time to go back full time in 2010. The big hitch is getting "In-state" Tuition. My Proof of Colorado residency is pretty solid. The worst-case scenario is that I would have to wait till Spring, but I honestly don't think there is going to be a problem.

The best part is how excited I've been as I've been doing all the work. Reading through the course book and selecting my classes for the Fall might be the most fun I've had in months. It feels good to have some positive direction in my life.

The other best part...getting to have Student ID! I can't wait to get discounts at the movies and all the other great deals you get by being a student.

Pirate Birthday Party: Booty Bags

Each guest at the party received a pirate booty drawstring bag. These are so easy to make. I used 2 different fabrics from my scrap stash and cut them into rectangles. I then cut a piece of ribbon for each bag, 10 inches, and used Aleene's Stop Fraying on the ends. With right sides facing each other sew around the bag leaving one short side open, this is the top of the bag. Then using a serger or zig zag stitch, sew around the bag to finish the seams. Turn the bag right side out and fold the opening down , keep in mind this is the casement for the ribbon so make sure to leave enough room. Because these are bags for a 3 year old party I didn't concern myself with making sure each one was perfectly/correctly made. So that being said... I used a seam ripper and ripped a small hole so that the ribbon could be fed through, tied the ends of the ribbon and called it finished!

Pirate Birthday Party: Silver Nuggets

Inside the treasure box was the booty bags and "silver nuggets". The kids thought this was "so cool!" So after searching for the treasure box each kid got to pick their treasure out and enjoy. I wrapped 2 gluten free chocolate chip cookies with chocolate icing in the middle, in aluminum foil. So simple and such easy clean up. No plates and forks to deal with. Kids stood around ate their cookies and then were off playing on the playground. I had every intention of making cookies from scratch but as the party drew near I just didn't have the time, so I used a box mix from Cherrybrook Kitchen and it was fantastic. I highly recommend their coookie mix and their mix for the chocolate icing. Very yummy! And it's 100% natural, certified Kosher ingredients; peanut-free, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, wheat-free, gluten-free. It does contain soy, though. Got a thumbs up from the kids but sometimes the hardest critics are the moms and all of them were found licking fingers, finishing off the cookies their kid asked them to hold.

Pirate Birthday Party: Treasure Box And Swords

I put my hubby to work with the exacto knife and some cardboard and had him create a treasure box and swords. Each kid got a sword in their "booty bag" (which I'll show you in another post), along with their eye patch. The best part is that after the kids are finished with their sword fights it simply goes in the recycling bin. No need to contribute to a landfill with a bent plastic sword, which you know is bound to happen to plastic swords.

Love Food Hate Waste

Surfing around on the internet last night I found a great website that has a couple of very helpful features. lovefoodhatewaste.com is a British Website dedicated to cutting down on the food we waste everyday. So, as you might guess, it has tips for food storage, articles about preventing food wastes, and an area/page on the site that helps you determine the Perfect Portions. This particular page has a handy calculator that allows you to enter the food and the number of people you are serving, it then calculates the the perfect portion to make and therefore stops you from cooking too much and creating waste.

My favorite section of the website is the recipes area which is broken up into 3 areas Cook Once, Eat Twice Recipes, Time Savers, and Rescue Recipes. The Rescue Recipes are such a great idea. Simply click on the food you need to use up and the websites give you a list of recipes that can save you from throwing away those very brown banannas by giving you a Rescue Recipe.