Ending the Month Right: Giveaway!!

I can't believe I am about to say these words... today is MOVING DAY!! Yup. Allen is home and he brought some friends all the way from Charlotte to help us load up (we love our friends) and my sister and brother in law are on their way to help us (we love our family) and Macie - well, she's in the middle of everything... of course. 


Now that today is here, it's odd to think that soon this house will be a memory and we will be back in Charlotte. I have so much to say about the journey our little fam has been on for the last two years to get to this day, but since the cable guy is on his way to disconnect our internet and cable, I'll save it for another day and introduce you to one of my oldest friends, Alicia. I love her to death and today she is doing a super fun giveaway for us. 

Hi everyone! I'm Alicia. In my pre-marriage, pre-mortgage, pre-mommy days I enjoyed traveling, discovering new places, and having an adventure or two with Jamie. Nowadays, I spend my time hanging out with my three kids (ages 5, 3 and 5 months) which is an adventure in itself. 


I got involved with Miche about a year ago because I was looking for something that would allow me to make a little bit of money and (more importantly) allow me to get out of the house and talk about something other than Disney Princesses and Thomas the Train. I looked into several home party companies. 


Cookware was out because I don't do a ton of fancy cooking. (My kids and my husband prefer your basic kid friendly food  - shake and bake pork chops and taco night are pretty much a weekly event in our house. Once I got creative and made a delicious curry chicken with apples and stuffing. It did not go over well.) I didn't want to sell makeup or jewelry because I can encourage someone to buy something that I wouldn't buy myself. Then I stumbled upon Miche and I loved it. The product is awesome, I love meeting new ladies and participating in adult conversation and it allows me to support my bag habit. 


What is Miche? A Miche Bag is not just a handbag—it's a unique accessories concept that just might be the best thing to happen to women since waterproof mascara! Why? Because you can give the same bag dozens of different fashionable looks just by changing its exterior—no need to move all your belongings from one purse to another when you want a different look. All you need to get started is a Miche Base Bag (we have four convenient sizes to choose from)—then just add an exterior Shell designed for the size you’ve selected and you’re ready to go! The more you add to your collection of Miche Shells, the more options for chic looks you’ll have each and every day . . .

It's a concept that's transforming the way women look at their handbags. And with new styles released each month and plenty of handle and other accessory options to choose from, we really mean it when we say: Endless Possibilities. 

You want to try one now, don't you? Lucky for you Alicia is giving away a FREE base bag, any size you want! 

Good luck friends!! My next post will be from North Carolina!!

Hey guys!  Miranda here :)  Rafflecopter seems to be having a few issues  - so if you can't see the ways to enter through Rafflecoptere here they are:

- Leave a blog post comment - visit www.BestBagEver.com and tell us which shell you like best!
- Like this page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BestBagEver
- Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepinterestproject
- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Pinterest_Proj


If you do any of the above, just leave us a comment to let us know.  Thanks!

Grandma, Grape Nuts & Granola...

When I was a child, my family vacationed once a year - to the thriving metropolis of Guilford, Maine.  Guilford is where my grandparents lived, as well as all pretty much all of our extended family.  It was one of the few times a year we got to stop at McDonalds because we were in the car so long.  Even though it took us so long to drive there, I have some great memories of those car trips.

Once we got to my grandparents house, there were a few special treats that we could always count on being there in the kitchen for us.  My grandma always had sugared donut holes, chicken pot pie, homemade pickles and Grape Nut Ice Cream.

I know, you are like Grape Nut what??  And yes, I am indeed talking about the grape nut cereal.  In an ice cream.  It sounds gross - I totally think so too - but it's this surprisingly delicious vanilla ice cream, full of grape nuts that have become soft and almost chewy.

We ate that stuff up like it was going out of style.  I am happy to report that I just googled it, and Giffords (the ice cream company who made it) STILL produces it!  Now I need to see if I can get some shipped to my house to prove to my husband how amazing this weird flavor combination is.

Anyway, since the actual Grape Nuts feel like they could flat out break your teeth, we don't eat it as a cereal around here.  Our recent go to cereal choice has been granola.  I am always hesitant to purchase store bought granola since it is full of fat and sugar and usually not nearly as healthy as they say it is.  That's why I love trying out new granola recipes - I get to control exactly what goes in it and I can adjust the ingredients to fit our family's tastes.  It's a win win.  And, granola is SO easy to make - why not make up a batch (or double it if you eat it up as fast as we do!) and have it around for cereal, snacking, ice cream or yogurt toppings...the possibilities are endless.

This is a recipe I found for a "clean" eating version of granola - and I promise this recipe has no weird ingredients.  I found it on Clean & Delicious.

I took out some of the seeds, added some steel cut oats, replaced the oil with applesauce and the agave with honey.  And I doubled the batch because we LOVE it!  If you're ready to make some of your own, check out the recipe below.

Clean Eating Almond & Raisin Granola
Printable Recipe

• 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats
• 1/2 c. steel cut oats
• 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
• 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• ½ cup sliced raw almonds
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp allspice
• 1/4 c. applesauce
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 tbsp honey
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• 1/3 cup chopped dried fruit (I used raisins)

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 300

Combine oats through allspice in a large bowl.

In a separate small bowl combine applesauce through kosher salt and mix well.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and combine until all the dry ingredients are coated with the wet mixture.

Spread out evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and stir.  Pop baking sheet back into the oven for another 15-20 minutes or until the granola is lightly golden.  Add chopped, dried fruit after removing granola from the oven to prevent it from becoming over cooked and chewy.

Remove from oven and cool completely before storing in an airtight container.  Enjoy!

Makes 4 cups (8 -> 1/2cup servings)

So...is there ANYONE out there who has eaten Grape Nut Ice Cream, or am I one of the only ones?

~miranda

Bread for Packing

Here is my advise of the day: Don't move. Wait, that doesn't sound right. You can move around, just don't move houses... ever. Okay, that may be a tad extreme so how about this? If you have to move then just pack everything in your closet and drawers without asking questions or deciding that it is the perfect time to sort. You ask why I am giving this advise??? Because I'm a moron and didn't follow it myself. There is nothing like sorting through all the various sizes and styles in your closet to give a girl a big ol' pick-me-up in her day. I'm lying. It's horrible. If I were not in a packing frenzy right now and I were way way braver of a person I would take you on a photo fashion show of some of the gems I have found tucked away in my closet. Scary stuff friends, scary stuff. After doing about three or four turns of horror in the closet I decided it was time for a break. I couldn't take it anymore and I came out of the closet.... and made some bread. Yup. Nothing like drowning your fashion sorrows with some carb loading. MMMMM... bread.

I have tried my hand at the no knead bread craze before and had pretty good results so when I stumbled on this pin from Simply So Good with a variation on the recipe and a ton of tips on different bread varieties, I jumped at it. Well, that and I have some ingredients that need to get out of my pantry this week... details details. 

The basic recipe only uses white flour, but I really wanted some wheat bread so I decided to make a few changes so I could get some delicious wheat bread. This bread is so easy to make, its not like that old school bread your mom made that took all day and you had to knead it forever and ever. It also doesn't have an annoying hole in it the way bread maker bread does (do people still use bread makers?) Keep in mind friends, I'm in the middle of a move and I could make this bread - SO Easy. Basically, you mix all the ingredients in a bowl and let it rise for like 12-16 hours. Heat up the oven, throw the dough in your dutch oven and bake it. That's it. I will give you this one word of warning. If you have happen to have a table in your kitchen that you mod podged years ago (what? that's only me?), don't sit your hot dutch oven onto it so you can take a picture of your fancy bread. 

You may not be so pleased with the results when you lift the hot dutch oven off the aforementioned mod podged table. Just sayin'.

Let me just show you this yummy carb goodness.

You know you want some. It was so good. I say was because Macie and I chowed through this bread. We had it with cheese, with apple butter, with chutney. Yup, we ate a ton of bread. Simply So Good has a ton of variations that I want to try. I think the top of my list is jalapeno cheddar and rosemary lemon gruyere. Isn't you mouth watering a little bit? Time to bake some bread. Get on it!!

No Knead Crusty Bread - printable version

adapted from Simply So Good

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon yeast

1 1/2 cups water

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast.  Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 - 18 hours (I did 16 hours).  Overnight works great.  Heat oven to 450 degrees.  When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball.  Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating.  Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough.  Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool (if you can wait that long!

Hoodiesaurus

So the other night after I put the baby down for bed, I was getting ready to take a shower when I noticed this in my bathroom garbage can...

In case you can't exactly tell what those are - they are socks.  Mostly baby socks.  Since I'm lazy, and was already about to jump in the shower, I sent a text to my husband who was downstairs.

I didn't get the answer to my text until AFTER I was out of the shower, that's how long it took him to think of such a crafty response.  Let me stop here and say that my husband does 95% of the laundry in the house.  He hates when a laundry basket has ANY dirty clothing in it, so it's become his job.  Because I hate doing laundry and am perfectly happy with him doing this chore, I rarely complain about anything laundry related.  And yes, I realize I am very lucky that he takes care of what is basically the worst household chore.

However, THIS was ridiculous y'all.  First of all, baby socks are like, their own species.  They seem to multiply when I'm not looking and I swear they change colors behind my back JUST SO I can't find a matching pair when I'm trying to get out the door quickly.  Secondly, my husband is COLOR BLIND.  (Yes, I realize it might not be the smartest thing I've ever done to let my color blind husband do the laundry but it's a chance I'm willing to take)

Let's recap, shall we?  My color blind husband decided none of the baby socks matched and threw them all out.  In the GARBAGE.  Seriously.  I pulled them all back out, and all but one had a match in there.  Which means - he threw out several pairs of perfectly matched baby socks.

Husbands.  

Anyway, I felt bad for my poor almost sockless little guy, so today I made up for his father's shortcomings by making this:

Are you already screeching at the cuteness?  I  know, I was too.  Found this awesome tutorial on Pinterest via Ginger & George.

I've been wanting to try this hoodie for awhile, and after finishing it, I'm kind of mad at myself for not doing it earlier.  It was much easier than I anticipated and it's so cute I am tempted to turn all his shirts into dinosaur shirts.

Supplies needed:

- Hoodie

- Felt or other stiff material

- Matching thread, straight pins, pencil or chalk for marking

Step 1: Cut out diamond shapes from the felt or other material you plan to use.  I free handed this, but Ginger & George gives you a template.  You'll have to adjust it for the size you need, so for me it was just easier to eyeball it myself.  

Step 2: Pin your diamonds down on the back center of your hoodie or shirt.  I actually drew a chalk line down the center to give myself a frame of reference.

Step 3: Sew down the center of each diamond

Step 4: Continue down the entire back of the hoodie

Step 5: Sew the triangles of the diamond together to form the "spike" I sewed mine up with a sewing machine and it went very quickly - but you could also do this by hand if you wanted a little more control.

Put hoodie on cute baby and giggle.

~miranda

And, if you get bored...check out my little dancing dinosaur:
I know I'm biased, but it doesn't get much cuter than that!

Hit or Miss Monday

I swear the last several times I have prepared the Hit or Miss Monday post, the mere sight of some of these pins have set me off laughing until I am in hysterics and my husband is giving me the stink eye from his recliner on the other side of the room.

Yes, he has a recliner.  And yes, he falls asleep in it.  And yes, he snores.  So I'm not sure who should be giving who (WHOM?) the stink eye.  Because the sound of my laughter is oddly close to the sound of angels singing from the heavens on high, his snoring is...well...not.

Anyway - let's get on with it.

Jamie's Hit:


This is amazing. I love it. As many of you know, we're moving (it's almost over, I promise and then no more moving talk) and I swear that realtors wait until I am in the middle of something or the house is a giant mess to call for a showing. I'll rush like a mad woman to get the entire house clean and the other members of the family will go around messing things up --- HELLOOOOOOO, I JUST CLEANED!!!! (sidenote - cleaning when the majority of your belongings are in boxes is a bit of a challenge. It's like cleaning a maze.)

And Jamie's Miss:

"You know, just wearing my pizza shirt. Doesn't it look good??" Ummm.... NO!!! It doesn't look good. It makes you look greasy and like you smell funny. This is the kind of shirt that makes me want to walk FURTHER away from you. It's the kind that says you haven't showered in weeks. What? Too harsh?? That was my tamed down version. This is plain nastiness in clothing people and I even like pizza. This shirt gives pizza a bad name. 

And my Hit:

This is a handy little guide for those of us who have relocated South from other places.  The first time I said "y'all" after I moved to North Carolina from Vermont was on a message I left on my parent's answering machine.  They said they laughed and laughed and saved the message for awhile to mock me in my absence.  But as much as I love my home state - I gotta admit, Y'all and All Y'all are much nicer on the ears than YOU GUYS.  

And my Miss:

This is another one of those sort of a hit and sort of a miss things.  The only reason I'm calling it a Miss is because it's very clearly mislabeled.  The description on this pin is nowhere near what the picture is.  Which kind of also makes it a Hit.  In fact, Jamie's the one who sent this to me via gchat the other night.  We were up.  Late.  And, I may have been so tired I was punch drunk.  I laughed so hard I cried.  And then I snorted.  Which, as you can imagine, also invoked the stink eye from my husband.  Which  made me laugh even harder.  I invited him to come look at what I was laughing at, but he didn't see the point in getting up to see what was so funny.  His loss.  That said, I'm sure the dress that should have been pinned here was truly beautiful.

What did ALL Y'ALL see this week?  

~miranda & jamie

Roll the Fruit... Up

Packing has struck again. I have tried to do about million things today (okay like six) and ended up missing one small part of what I needed because it's in a box. There are so many boxes. I think Macie is even tired of the boxes because she got mad at something today and tried to push one. Poor kid. What was she mad about you ask? Food. My child could eat forever. She is never ever full. At first I thought it was good that she was always willing to eat whatever I gave her, but now I am starting to wonder. She has a little temper and she wants food, watch out!! 

Because of her massive appetite, I've been on the lookout for some snacks that I can give her throughout the day. She hardly ever has sugar and I am happy to keep it that way so when this pin from Our Best Bites for fruit leather (formerly known as fruit roll-ups) came up, I jumped on it. I had seen a few before but that was before Macie started trying to eat me out of house and home so I wasn't as eager to try them. The best part of this pin, I thought I had everything I needed on hand to try it... thought is the key word in that sentence. 

A couple weeks ago I had gotten a ton of blueberries and strawberries and didn't use them all fast enough so I froze them. This was the perfect time to use them (since I'm trying to clean out the fridge and freezer) so I grabbed them and thawed them just enough to get make sure they would blend. The food processor is already packed - shocking, I know - so I used the blender instead. I threw the fruit, a little honey and some lemon juice in the blender and let it do its magic. By magic, I mean, I shook it and muttered under my breath until it got through all of the strawberries -after that it was smooth sailing. If the kitchen gods are listening, I would like a fancy ninja blender that doesn't test my religion - just saying. 

Anyway, back to the blender. Once the fruit was blended smooth, I grabbed the cookie sheet and silpat. Wait, the silpat was packed too - again, the shocked face - so I after some contemplation I decided to use the plan B from Our Best Bites and got the plastic wrap out. I covered the cookie sheet in plastic wrap and then poured the blended fruit onto the cookie sheet. After shaking it a little so that it was nice and even on the cookie sheet and popped it in the oven and waited... and waited... and waited. Yeah it takes a LONG time. After about 8 hours, it was time to take it out.  YAY! Time to cut and wrap them up and call it a day (or night since it took so long).

I have to tell you, I was a little disappointed in a few of the pieces, not in the taste... they are good - really good, but in the consistency. I think that I need to work on this a little bit more. I also think that I need my silpat. The plastic wrap wasn't smooth (user error) so there were some thicker spots in the fruit and that made the drying a little uneven. I had one area that was nice and thin and it came out great, but then another area that may have been too thick so it didn't dry out enough and was still a little wet on the under side. I'm not going to give up on this one though, it's a pin in progress. The taste is really good so I think I just need to master the fruit leather pouring technique. Have any of you tried fruit leather? How'd it go? Have any tips? Bring them on!! 

A jarring week...

It's been a big week around here people, a big week.  Today, my littlest is 11 months old (what?!) and while my oldest was taking his first steps by now, this one seems to find talking more fun than walking.  He's like his Dad in that way, I guess.  He's been saying "light" and "hi" for a little while but this week he has begun confidently saying "Mama".  (I know all you moms out there are secretly high five-ing me because he said Mama and not Dada first...my husband and I were in a competition to see who could influence him the most - I would whisper in his ear Mama...Mama...)

Not only is he speaking, he's now performing death defying stunts in his crib that include blood and bruises and well, basically terrifying me.  It's been a week of frazzled nerves, highs and lows but I guess that's the joy of parenting, right?

When he FINALLY went down for his nap, I was happy to get started on this project.  Is there anything prettier than a colored jar?

I found this pin from Gingerbread Snowflakes by way of Under the Table and Dreaming.  There was a whole list compiled of 50 ways to repurpose jars and this was one of them.

This tutorial is going to show you how you can make your own colored jar with the simplest supplies.  I'd seen tutorials for this project with special glass paints and they required 48 hours and baking the paint on, etc etc.  This one took me less time than Beckett's nap did and used supplies I already had on hand.

Make sure your jars are clean, mix a good dollop of mod podge and a few drops of food coloring together until you get the desired color.  Then you simply start painting the colored mod podge on the outside of your jar.  This is me attempting to make an "ombre" effect jar...

It's really cool to watch how the paint and colors change as the Mod Podge dries.

I think they make gorgeous vases or even candle holders!

(that's the ombre effect jar...kind of hard to see it)

Are you sick of pictures yet?  I seriously couldn't stop taking pictures of these pretty jars!  I'm thinking about changing the name of the blog to The Jar Project and just featuring lots and lots of pretty jars.  I wonder how Jamie would feel about that...

You will definitely need to seal the jars with some spray sealant to help keep the color from rubbing off.  And hopefully this goes without saying, but don't use the jars for food - especially after they have been sprayed with the sealant!  The original tutorial used the Outdoor Mod Podge so you could hang them or use them outside as lanterns which is also an adorable idea.  

Ok, last one...

So, there it is - a fun and easy tutorial with endless possibilities.  I was starting to look around my house wondering what glass item I could paint next...

~miranda

Swing Batter Batter...

It's been a busy week here in the casa. My parents came down to help me pack ---HALLELUJAH! Sidenote - my mother could be a professional packer. It's almost scary how good she is (especially considering she hasn't moved in 30 years or so) and how much she can pack in a short period of time. If Macie had stayed still for more than 5 seconds, she could have ended up wrapped in a box. While my parents were here, my dad was bemoaning how his beloved Phillies have started their season. My dad is a giant Phillies fan, I mean HUGE. He loves baseball, he even gave me a baseball, bat and glove when I was about seven. After a bad game of catch that ended with him having a pair of broken  glasses, it became safe to assume I would not be a baseball star. I don't have the deep love for baseball that my dad does, though he is trying pretty hard to indoctrinate Macie at a young age. 

I think she's studying up on the rules of the game. 

Since my parents are so baseball crazy, (my dad has sucked my mom in) I saw this pin for a new spring wreath and knew exactly what front door it belonged on... theirs. I love the idea of how Caught My Fancy did this one. I thought it would be a snap, and if I had a bunch of baseballs lying around it would have been! The hardest part of the entire project was gathering some balls. I finally found a sports equipment shop that sold used baseballs and softballs. (We live in a lacrosse town so baseballs are oddly hard to find.) Once I grabbed some baseballs and softballs it was time to get started. 

I got out my handy dandy drill and drilled holes through seven baseballs and three softballs. WARNING BASEBALL FANS - graphic image below.

I found it easier to drill through the ball in one direction and then drill through it in the opposite direction to clean the hole out. If you decide to use softballs, make sure you have a longer drill bit because as you can see from the picture, a normal size bit barely gets through the baseball. Once you've drilled all of the balls out, grab a metal coat hanger and straighten it out. I used some handy dandy plier and it made the whole thing much easier. Once the coat hanger is straightened, snip the curly ends off so you are left with the straight wire.. like this.

Now just randomly string the baseballs and softballs on the straight wire. I would love to tell you I have an amazing picture of this step but well, I don't. Macie woke up and I got completely distracted. Sorry about that. You should only be left with a little bit of the hanger on either side of the soon to be wreath. Twist one side to make a loop and then curl the wreath so it creates the wreath shape and the other side of the hanger meets the loop. Wrap the remaining section of hanger through the loop you created and close so that it's secure. See?

Technically you are done at this point, but I thought my wreath needed a little something (and a way to hang it on the door... small detail) so I added some ribbon to hide the joined metal and a bow for a little extra something. 

Even after the bow, I still thought that this didn't really have the vibe that screamed Phillies fan the way I had hoped. It needed a little something extra to make it fit to hang on my parent's door. 

Wait for it....Wait for it.... 

Perfect. Bring on the baseball season! 

 

Sweet Cheat Treat

I'm pretty sure I have had a sweet tooth since I came out of the womb 33 years ago - I have always, ALWAYS loved sugar.  You know how some people talk about craving salty snacks?  I don't get these people.  The people who would rather sit down to a bag of potato chips than a pan of brownies...that's like another language to me.  Why go for crunchy, greasy, salty chips when you can have ooey, gooey, soft and delicious chocolate brownies?

Anyway, when I was growing up we did not have much junk food in the house.  This is part of the reason I developed a knack for baking - if I wanted something sweet, I was going to have to create it myself.  Some of my earliest memories involve making pancakes on Saturday mornings, whipping up a batch of chocolate chip cookies, or my Dad's favorite - the No Bake Cookie.  

One other thing I did a LOT was to melt chocolate chips in the microwave, add a healthy dollop of peanut butter, mix well and pour onto a piece of tin foil.  Then I'd stick that in the freezer for as long as I could stand it and have myself a homemade treat similar to a peanut butter cup.  

It should be no surprise that I love all things peanut butter and chocolate.  Heck, I even made my own peanut butter recently - yum.

But the shift in our nutrition habits recently have really forced me to get creative.  Gone are the days of white sugar, chocolate chips and store bought peanut butter.  You can imagine my excitement when I stumbled across this recipe from A Small Snippet.  It is a "clean" recipe (ie, no white sugar...) and it reminded me of what I thought was such a genius creation of my own so many years ago.  

For this recipe you will need:

3 Tblsp coconut oil

1/4 c. + 2 Tblsp cocoa powder (the baking cocoa)

3-4 Tblsp peanut butter (if you really want it to be sugar free, make sure to pay attention to labels and look for no sugar in the ingredients list)

honey (to taste...probably 1-2 Tblsp)

3/4 tsp vanilla

pinch of kosher salt

You will start by melting the coconut oil, cocoa powder and peanut butter in a pan on low heat.  Stir frequently and don't let the melting chocolate burn.  Once this is smooth, you add your vanilla and honey to taste.  Yes, you get to taste test while cooking.  WIN.  Then, add a good pinch of kosher salt and spoon into a mini muffin tin.  Freeze for at least 10-15 minutes before indulging.  

I did not have any mini muffin cupcake liners (blaspheme, shame...I ALWAYS have some!  Oops) So I just greased my tin with a little coconut oil and it worked great.  Less waste, right?  I'm just being green!

Now obviously I am not toting this as a HEALTH food - but hey, I need a cheat treat every now and then and I'd rather it be full of ingredients I can pronounce.  My family gobbled these up!  This recipe makes approximately 12 mini sized peanut butter cups.

What's your go to cheat treat?

~miranda