Eiffel Play

'Beneath the Tower' by Sherie Sloane. Detail. 

Mixed Media on Watercolor Paper

'Beneath the Tower' by Sherie Sloane.

Mixed Media on Watercolor Paper

I was feeling the blues a bit today, and thought a play with color and imagination will be a good pick-me-up.  How about walking under the Eiffel Tower with the moon all aglow? That already gives me a warm feeling inside.

How was your day today?

One Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

One Minute Chocolate Cup-Cake

Five minute mug cakes are increasingly getting popular.  It's a quick sweet fix, convenient and easy to clean up.  We tried different recipes and although it only takes 5 minutes to cook it, making the cake mix still takes quite a bit of time.  I also found out that eggs in a microwave is not a good idea (just think salmonella).  I searched for a mug cake recipe using store bought cake mixes and didn't found any, maybe I just have to click past the 2nd page in the google search result.

After 3 burnt cakes in a cup, we finally got the perfect timing and mix right.  So, without further ado, we (me and our little man) present to you our 1 minute mug cake.  

:: Ingredients ::

microwaveable mug or cup

8 tablespoons of Devil's Food cake mix (we used Duncan Hine's)

1 tablespoon of water

1 tablespoon of oil

drop of vanilla extract

2 tablespoons of chocolate morsels (chopped up chocolate bars work too)

:: How-To ::

mix all dry ingredients

add wet ingredients

mix in the cup or mug

microwave on high for 1 minute for 1000w ovens

let sit for 1-2 minutes

top with nutella or whipped cream

sprinkle with nuts (skip if allergic to nuts)

Enjoy! 

Let me know if you made some and how you liked it.

Thanks for Leftovers

Crunchy on the outside, warm and soft inside.

 

 A post-Thanksgiving breakfast to look forward to.

Good morning!  Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  It's the morning after, ready to tackle the leftovers?  Rise up with this simple leftover stuffing recipe idea:

Thanksgiving Stuffing Cakes

::  Ingredients ::

leftover stuffing or dressing

panko bread crumbs

olive oil

sprig of parsley for garnish

::  How-To  ::

scoop some stuffing and form into patties

sprinkle and tap panko bread crumbs on both side

heat pan with oil or spray a non-stick pan

pan-fry patties until golden brown

serve hot and top each with egg

garnish with parsley

Enjoy!

Pillow Talk

Is it a notebook or a pillow?

Handpainted Gift Tag by our Little Man

A little Thanksgiving Gift

It's Thanksgiving Week!  Time to say 'Thanks' to all the special people in our lives.  Instead of writing on cards, why not make a pillow notebook to write on - just like we did!  

:: Materials ::

plain fabric

bunting

sewing machine

thread (blue/ teal and red)

fabric markers

:: How To ::

- cut 2 pieces of fabric in either square or rectangle

- layer first fabric on top of bunting and pin in place

- sew horizontal straight lines using blue/ teal thread

- next, sew vertical line using red thread

- write your message using fabric marker or pen

- with right sides facing each other, sew both fabrics together

- leave about 5 inch opening to insert pillow stuffing

- reverse/ flip to right side 

- insert pillow stuffing

- sew opening to close

Now, bask in the joy you'll see from your special one.

And Huge Thanks for stopping by and being my friend here in the blogosphere.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Toasty Mittens

Are you snow-ready yet?

Cozy Moment

...on a cold autumn night, with my favorite cup of tea on the side.

Instant Oatmeal Pancake

One egg left, no more pancake mix & little time for breakfast.
Instant Oatmeal to the rescue!

:: Mix ::

1 egg

4 packs of instant oatmeal (1 serving packs)

3/4 cup whole milk

2 drops vanilla extract (for plain oatmeal)

Heat skillet then cook how you'd normally make pancakes. 

Makes 6 pancakes. I topped ours with caramelized nuts. 

Enjoy!

Modern Crafty Wreath

Handmade Wreath

Two White Birds :: For our Two Boys

Bird Detail :: Handpicked by our Little Man at a local craft store

Leftover Yarn Detail :: Randomly Wrapped by our Boys

Tweet! Tweet!

Hello there.  Today I want to share with you the wreath we made with our boys.  It's a super simple project you can do with your kids, in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

:: Materials ::

12 inch round styrofoam 

fabric scraps, cut lengthwise

stray yarns

raffia (or ribbons, if you prefer)

birds, or choice of accents

:: How To ::

wrap fabric scraps around styrofoam (pin or glue to secure)

randomly cross over some yarn

tie raffia or ribbon and make a bow

hook or tie your choice of accents

:: All Done! ::

Now step back and enjoy your one of a kind, handmade wreath.

Style Saturday: DIY Skinny Jeans

Eye Candy: PRPS Skinny Jeans from Italy, $617.

My eight-year old $7 flare jeans turned skinny!

 

DIY Skinny Jeans

Hello friends. It's Saturday and that means I get to have a little time to pull up my feet, relax and browse through some designer eye candies.  Today, I was into skinny jeans! 

For some of you who have been following this blog, you know by now that I'm huge on 'do-it-yourself' projects.  I've been a fan of designer Donwan Harrell for quite some time now, and the way he re-engineered the must-have jeans.  Harrell's PRPS (short for 'purpose') jeans are understandably pricey because each one is 'rare and premium' and designs run in limited editions.  A true wearable art!  That inspired me to re-design one of my old forgotten jeans, instead of breaking the bank.

I wish I took photos in the process, but it was a bit tough with two energetic toddlers ready to conquer the weekend fun.  It's actually pretty simple if you have a little experience in sewing.  There are a lot of videos you can watch out there on how to turn any pair of jeans into a skinny one.  The one I found the most helpful is by ModCloth.

It took me twenty-five minutes to finish mine, and very happy with how it turned out, especially the fit.

There you have it!  If ever you decide to alter your own jeans, share your photo.  Have fun! And thanks for stopping by again, and thanks ModCloth for the video.