Rae Gun Finds: Gifts for Mom

 (treasured trinkets necklace by tinytokensdesigns )

Hi all I'm sharing my top picks for handmade mother's day gifts over at the Modern Handmade Child Magazine blog today. Stop by and say hi.

oops it would have helped if I had remembered the link. Here it is.

Recipe: Taco Mac and Cheese

Were you one of the many people who asked me for my Taco Mac and Cheese recipe the last couple times I posted the meal in my What's For Dinner menu? Well you're in luck. I'm guest posting over at The Gaines Gang (you remember Kate who shared her awesome Potato Casserole Recipe). So hop on over there to learn how to make my taco mac and cheese, it's oh so easy and yummy.

If you're visiting from The Gaines Gang welcome. I hope you stay and peek around. If this is your first time here let me point you to a few of my favorite posts.

• Upcycled Book Page Wreath my tutorial on how to make a freakishly cute wreath from a dollar store foam wreath, thesaurus and some hot glue
• Cinnaburst Bread trust me it's heavenly, delicious sweet dough with yummy cinnamon bursts throughout (it's my copy of Great Harvest's bread of the same name)
• Running of the Bulls well my style of it anyways, so maybe I convinced my nieces to be bulls and my husband to be a matador for Halloween last year and maybe I had them recreate the running of the bulls in full costume and giggles

Naughty Time: Under the Sea

Just for fun I found a quote I wrote down from the first time I took the girls to the aquarium.

L at 1.5 years old looking into the tank said in her baby voice "mermaid?"

I remember her looking up at me all puzzled. Oh bless her, she thought she was going to see a mermaid, gotta love kiddos.
 

What's for Dinner: Week 80

 (Creamy Chicken Enchiladas)

 For those of you are new  to my blog I write these weekly plans to help me spend less (I kinda of love grocery shopping, yea I know I'm weird), to save time and to try and help us eat in more often. Also I love knowing what other people eat so I thought it would be fun to share. For a while I'll be adding my plans for what greens. I'll be eating since one of my resolutions is to build a habit of introducing more green veggies into our diet. Maybe some day it'll be so normal for us that I won't have to mention them any more.

Happy Easter all! This is a kinda weird week we've got a lot of eating out planned with family.

Day	Main Meal	Goals (Veggies, Whole Grain, Fish)
Sunday	Big Easter Lunch (so we'll see)	Grains and nuts: Sandwich, granola bars, ww pasta Veggies: salad Fish: Shrimp and scallops
Monday	Texas Chili and Cheesey Corn Rolls
Tuesday	Seafood Mac and Cheese (skipped this last week)
Wednesday	Eat Out
Thursday	Dinner w/ cousin
Friday	Dinner w/in laws
Saturday	??

Recipe: Shepherd's Pie and a Run in with a Leprechaun

So the picture above isn't what you would call a money shot picture by any means but trust me this is really tastety, super easy and if there wasn't some drama it would have been prettier. This was part of our St. Patrick's Day dinner last month the prep was going fine and dandy when I heard the naughty nieces pull up. I decided to put some green dye in the potty and in the lemonade and tell the girls that the leprechauns had peed in our toilet and drank some of our lemonade. Fun right? Uh no. I guess I totally approached it wrong and instead of thinking it was silly they were scared and crying and freaking out. Oh my gosh. And that's when the Shepherd's pie got a little ummm dark. We finally just showed them how we did it and told them it was all pretend (not real) and even then T (the older one) didn't want to go near that bathroom and refused to drink the lemonade. Ugg.

Thankfully they did a successful Easter Bunny thing at my in-laws last week and were all happy and cheery. Obviously that presentation went a lot better.

 What You'll Need

• 1 lb.ground beef
• 1/4-1/2 onion (depending on your taste)
• brown gravy mix
• 1 carton mushrooms
• 2 C milk (divided)
•  1/2 C red wine (optional)
• 3-4 potatoes
• 1 tsp garlic 
• 1 can corn drained
• 1/2-1C shredded cheese
• Salt and Pepper to taste

What To Do
(you may want to get these both going at the same time)

meat layer

1. partially cook the ground beef
2. add onion followed by mushrooms and saute I do this with the meat  (drain any remaining grease)
3. add gravy packet and 1 C milk and stir cooking until thickened
4. add red wine (this is optional but I like the flavor it adds, it makes it special feel free to skip it or use the non-alcoholic stuff they sell in the grocery store)
5. salt and pepper if needed

potato layer

1. feel free to use your own mashed potato recipe
2. cut and boil potatoes drain
3. in pot melt butter, add garlic and milk to heat 
4. add potatoes and mash and stir
5. salt and pepper to taste

When both of those are done

1. Spray casserole dish with spray oil.
2. Pour in meat mixture.
3. Top with corn
4. Top with mashed potatotes by putting equal amount around the top of the dish and gently spread trying not to stir in the corn
5. Sprinkle with cheese
6. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes everything is cooked so you just want it all nice and hot. If the top needs more browning (not blackening like my pic) broil it a little. The browned top is my husband's favorite part.

6-8 servings if served as a main dish

To Make:Top Week Take Two

Last year I was umm a little unrealistic to say the least. I'm not sure if I actually completed a single shirt during top week. Oh how I had dreams though. But in addition to all the ideas I had last year I have a few more that I've been wanting to make. Sigh. I think my goal is to make ONE shirt before the May 9th deadline. Did you feel that self restraint? I really wanted to type two but I held myself back.

Here are the ideas I'm tossing around

1.  Something like this. I found it some time ago but don't know where it's from (if you know let me know) thankfully I know have pinterest to keep track of this kind of stuff now a days (thanks to kitchy coo apparently it's from flossieteacakes)
2. Copy cat of this Anthropologie shirt from a while back
3. Grown up version of my necktie kiddo dresses but a shirt for me.
4. Or another freezer paper stenciled shirt. I'm thinking a Percy Jackson inspired one that says "Camp Halfblood" or a Hunger Games inspired one that says "Nightlock Nightlock Nightlock". 

The last option wouldn't qualify for the competition but I'm not really doing it to try to win I just want to play along and make myself a shirt. Hmmm which to do? If you want to read more about Top Week or participate yourself click over here

Rae Gun Finds: Harry Potter Gryffindor Apron

My sister instant messaged me and then called me when I didn't return her message (I wasn't at the computer) to tell me I had to look at the link she had sent me. Knowing how much of a Harry Potter Freak I am she knew I would die over this. I am so jealous. The second I have any spare time (not looking like that will be soon but whatever) I'll be making one of these babies for myself. Didn't Darla do an absolutely amazing job?! To see more pictures click over to see her post as well as other Potter goodies. She's my new Potter-crazed Blogger crush, yeah big fluffy hearts for sure.

So I know I made my own Potter-inspired aprons for me and the naughties, but I like Darlas WAY more plus you can never have too much potter stuff right? And if you need more proof of my Potter obsession you can find evidence here and here.

Customer Appreciation Pic: Goldfish Fascination

Is this not one of the best baby pictures you have every seen in your life? Crystal from Preschool Doll Designs had Sarah Lawrence of Little Tots Photography take darling pictures of her little one in a pair of my solid diaper covers. I get so few boy customer pics so besides the concept being so stinking cool and the kiddo being so stinking cute it's extra special to me.

What's for Dinner: Week 79

 (Peanut butter curry ramen 'recipe' for this is in the comment)

 For those of you are new  to my blog I write these weekly plans to help me spend less (I kinda of love grocery shopping, yea I know I'm weird), to save time and to try and help us eat in more often. Also I love knowing what other people eat so I thought it would be fun to share. For a while I'll be adding my plans for what greens. I'll be eating since one of my resolutions is to build a habit of introducing more green veggies into our diet. Maybe some day it'll be so normal for us that I won't have to mention them any more.

I'm kinda excited about my food plans for this week. These meals sounds really yummy to me right now. Let's hope they sound as good when it's time to whip them up. I haven't tried a seafood mac and cheese but we had one on vacation and really liked it so I figured I'd give it a go.

Day	Main Meal	Goals (Veggies, Whole Grain, Fish)
Sunday	Sausage Ricotta and Basil Pizza (switched with yesterday)	Grains and nuts: Sandwich, granola bars, ww pasta Veggies: salad Fish: Shrimp and scallops
Monday	Not sure yet
Tuesday	Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
Wednesday	Tomato Wine Basil Sausage Pasta
Thursday	Balsamic Pot Roast and Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Friday	Eat Out
Saturday	Seafood Mac and Cheese

Weekend Plans: Cuddles, Skor Cake and as Always Sewing

The naughty nieces and my parents are leaving for a trip to Thailand this coming week so besides sewing sewing sewing, I plan to make and eat a Skor Cake (recipe here) with the girls, and snuggle them a lot.

Hope you guys have a splendid weekend.

Fitness Journal: Week 29

I'm feeling solid this week. I've been crazy busy but still ate right and exercised reasonably. Not as much exercise as I like to do but good enough. And I'm down half a pound which is good for a week for me.

Weight:

4/7/2011 145.4
4/14/2011 144.8
I'm 5'5 but have a small frame
(I think I'm going for 135 and we'll see from there)


Nutrition Breakdown:

daily calorie average:1470

Exercise:
H: Strength Training
F: Bike 30 min 5 mi Walk 30 min 1.6 mi
S: Bike 30 min 5 mi Walk 30 min 1.50 mi
S: Day off
M: Swim 60 min class 1400 yards
T: Strength Training
W: Bike 30 min 5 mi


Linking up at

Treasury Love: Mustache Blues

You already know I'm a big fan of mustaches from my Modern Handmade Child feature so when Tricia from Sweeter than Sweets told me she included me in this adorable treasury I was thrilled. I love so many of these but I'm seriously cracking up over the mustache-ified nesting doll necklace. Ummm I think I need it! Any ways click here if you want to see the items up close or see what else these talented artist have to offer. (yeah so I totally just bought that necklace, I couldn't resist)

Read any good books lately?

Marissa's bookshelf: read




More of Marissa's books »

I come from a family of readers. My mom and sister have totes full of library books checked out at all times. I remember when the Harry Potter books were released my dad and I would sneak into my sisters room while she was asleep to steal our copy to read it. If you come to my house on the weekends you'll probably see one of my family members reading on a couch (or floor), while I ahem sew.

While I don't read during the day much myself (unless it's at the gym to keep me going on a cardio machine)  I've become addicted to reading every night when I get in bed. Even if it's 3 am (like it's been for the last month) my brain is going crazy so the reading helps it shut down and lets me sleep better. The problem is my current 'to read' list is weak. I'm wondering if any of you have some good book suggestions.

You can see some of the books I've recently enjoyed on my goodreads account (which I highly recommend if you're a reader). Some of them include the Hunger Games, Incarceron, The Host, and Percy Jackson books. My default is Young Adult fiction (usually fantasy or sci-fi, hence my Potter obsession) but I really like other books like The Help, Escape, and Water for Elephants. To be honest it's harder for me to find those kind of books (it's just more work than looking at a YA reading list you know) but I do enjoy them just as much. I'm not sure how to search for them. I'm supposed to read so much non-fiction i.e. philosophy for my stupid dissertation so when I read for fun, I mostly read fiction but I'm open to non-fiction if it's story like (if that makes sense).

So ... do you have any book recommendations for me?

Customer Appreciation Pic: Memory Quilt from Sun Suit

Stacey over at Elle Belle Creations emailed me last week to let me know about this darling quilt she made for her daughter from a bunch of the little one's outfits including one she ordered from me.

Each of those little blocks are pieces of outfits, with all different designs and textures. She used a section of ruffles from one of the rufflers that she bought from me and said that she's saving another for her daughter to pass down to her own little ones. How cool is this project and how flattered do I feel to get to be apart of their family history in this neat way? Anyways check out the whole post with lots of pictures over here.

What's for Dinner: Week 78

(Lemon Tilapia and Fresh Pasta)

 For those of you are new  to my blog I write these weekly plans to help me spend less (I kinda of love grocery shopping, yea I know I'm weird), to save time and to try and help us eat in more often. Also I love knowing what other people eat so I thought it would be fun to share. For a while I'll be adding my plans for what greens. I'll be eating since one of my resolutions is to build a habit of introducing more green veggies into our diet. Maybe some day it'll be so normal for us that I won't have to mention them any more.

It's been a long week and there aren't signs of slowing so I'm grabbing myself a rotisserie chicken from Costco on the way home from church and I'll make it last. I'll put what piece of the chicken I'll use for the meal just for fun.

What ways to you use rotisserie chickens? I'm looking for more ideas since it's such a great cheat but I tend to fall back on the same old ones.

Day	Main Meal	Goals (Veggies, Whole Grain, Fish)
Sunday	Peanut Butter Veggie Chicken  Ramen (2/3 breast)	Grains and nuts: Sandwich, granola bars, ww pasta Veggies: salad, Peas Fish:Talapia
Monday	Chicken, Tortillas and Corn (2 thighs and drumsticks)
Tuesday	Chicken Soup with Rice and Asparagus (2/3 breast)
Wednesday	Pub Quiz
Thursday	Chicken and Artichoke Alfredo (2/3 breast)
Friday	Eat Out
Saturday	Sausage Ricotta and Basil Pizza (missed this last week)

Rae Gun Finds: Butterfly Love

 (skirt by lakenandilla)

I'm posting over at the Modern Handmade Child Blog today. Check out my top picks for handmade butterfly finds for the little ones here.