my sunshine

You are my sunshine. my only sunshine.....

We all know the words. We all have probably sung it to our children. The song holds a special place in my heart since I do sing it every night to my kids before I kiss them goodnight. The soothing song lulls them into dream world and I leave them both in their beds with a smile on my lips and love in my heart.

SO, when I saw a gorgeous metal pendant on craftgawker that was adorn with a lovely sun surrounded by the words "you are my sunshine" I dreamed of a day I would own one for myself. My dilemma was that I had no clue who could make me such a precious jewel.

That was until this fall. I went to the annual craft show in New Richmond, WI and met Brittany Martell. What a gem!!! She is amazing and so are her amazing pieces. Don't believe me? Check her out for yourself here

My mom had gotten for my birthday two disks with each of the kids name on it. When my mom had accidentally misspelled Isaac's name I got in contact with Brittany. She was able to help me get that mix up fixed and I happened to mention to her the pendant I saw. She saw it and told me it would be simple for her to whip up. Ah heaven! So I just have to brag about her great work and also about how much I truly love it!

Homemade crackers

I found this yummy recipe in an old Mary Jane Farms Magazine and had to try it. I have never made crackers before so this was a major adventure! Kyla and Isaac loved to help pour in the ingredients. Kyla was also my cracker cutter. :) I think they turned out pretty tasty!

Kyla showing off her cutting skills

ready for the oven

YUM!

Here's the recipe: Makes about 3-5 dozen depending on size

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup oil( i used Olive oil, the recipe said they used grapeseed)
1/2 cup water
1 medium egg
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sesame seeds(toasted) I did not have any, nor did I want them. Tasted fine without!

Preheat oven 350 degrees.
lightly grease cookie sheet

Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. slowly add oil, mix til looks like coarse crumbs. Slowly add water until dough forms ( I didn't use a full 1/2 cup)
Turn dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out very thin.
Mix egg sugar and vinegar.
Now I cut out my crackers and brushed the egg mixture on top of each.
Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on thickness. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Store crackers in an air tight container. IF they pick up moisture you can put them in a 250 degree oven for a few minutes!

green thumb.....we will see...

I can't lie. I am no green thumb. But I do love to get my hands dirty every spring and plant my pots and my veggie garden. Two years ago I even convinced Dustin to take out the dying evergreen bushes so I could plant a lovely perennial garden. So every year, my garden gets lusher and my thumbs get greener.

Its January people. IN WISCONSIN!!! Right now it is sub zero, dead and barren. I have been craving something green. SO I finally bit the bullet and bought a little 4 inch potted plant. It didn't come with the little stick thing that tells you what it is, so I have no friggin clue what it is. All I know is it is green and it is alive. I just hope I can keep it that way!

Date Night In

I don't know about you, but with two little ones, date night out is a thing of rarity. Kyla is just shy of four and we just found a lovely teenager who lives four blocks away! We are lucky enough to have Dustin's younger sisters who can watch the kids, but the two hours of driving to pick up and drop off makes that not the most appealing option.

So, date night out is a huge treat for us! Date night in, now that is a whole different thing. Dustin and I have been making huge efforts to have a date night at home at least once a week. So it made me think, " I bet there are more people out there that would really get encouraged if I put together a list of ideas for a date night in! So here goes!

First off. We put the kiddos to bed by eight! That is our rule for date night.

Watch a movie or TV show that you enjoy
Play a game (our favorites: Cribbage, Rummy, Checkers, Chess, Scrabble, Swap, Phase Ten, Skipo)
Play a Video Game( My hubby and I don't have video games, but I BET that if my Hubby were a gamer he would love it if I played a game with him!)

Buy a simple appetizer( we like fries) and share them
Read a book together
Candle light picnic on the floor.
( MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!) wake up early and have breakfast together and watch the sun rise. ( we do this in the summer almost 2-3 days a week!)
take your laptop into the car and have a drive in movie in your driveway!
Lay a blanket outside and star gaze
Dress up and have a late night dinner
Wine tasting night, Find a 3 or 4 wines you have never tried
Make or buy a sexy dessert and enjoy it together.( maybe even feed it to each other)
Do a Crossword together
Listen to podcast and discuss after
Send the kids to the grandparents! Then you have the whole house to yourself
Get on the roof with a blanket, radio and snack and enjoy the night sky
Get out the photo albums and reminisce about the great memories

Ok, so that is about all my brain can come up with for now. I may have to make a part 2 if I think of more! But you now have quite a few ideas for a cheap fun date night in!

All photos were found in Microsoft clipart

same style different dress

I have been sewing again.... I don't know if I mentioned it on Facebook or my blog that I have been wanting to make another strapless creation once I made my first one. It was such an easy pattern and the dress fits me so well I bought enough fabric to make two more dresses. I think my second dress came out very nicely!

I have got to take some time and cut out the next one. This dress is a New Look pattern and I am not kidding, it took me maybe an hour and a half after the cloth was cut!