Create a Plate {kid craft}

Sweet Phee has been sick all week.  Last night, after dinner, the exhausted kid was asking to paint which neither one of us was actually up to tackling.  So, I sorted through my tired mommy brain and came up with a quick project that would satisfy her and fit with her sick-kid attention span.

I'm pretty sure I've seen something like this somewhere in the last few years and it's something I just filed away for later.  It's a very flexible, fun project that could fit different criteria for a range of ages.  For toddlers, it's just a fun way to explore food and get to play with stickers.  Phee loves sticking stickers on paper.

For older kids this could be an exploration of healthy food choices and creating balanced meals.  Or, perhaps you have a garden or frequent the farmer's market.  In that case, this would be a fun project to talk about what foods are in season at any given time of the year.  If your kids have a play kitchen, try laminating the plates for them to play with later.  Another fun way to use this project is paired with a book, like The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Cut out, or even print out, pictures of the foods in the story and let kids create their own book-themed feast!

One of the best parts? You probably have all the supplies you need lying around the house right now.

Supplies

• old magazines (best are those that contain recipes)
• scissors
• glue or some sort of adhesive
• paper plates
• packing tape

Directions

• Cut out pictures of food items from the magazines
• Glue them onto the plate
• Use the packing tape to laminate the plate

Laminating the plate may be tricky depending on how rounded and raised the edges of your paper plates are.  For toddlers, you probably will want to do the gluing yourself and let them do the sticking.  Older kids, of course, can do it all.

That's it!  A super simple, fun project for many ages.  Kids love to cut, paste and flip through magazines and this lets them do it all!

Austin Love

I love Austin. Not every day. But most days.

There's so much going on all the time. Music, of course, but so much more. Austin has the cultural institutions of a big city: opera, ballet, symphony. Some festival seems to be happening every weekend; SXSW, ACL, Fun, Fun, Fun Fest. Shopping, restaurants, tourist attractions, landmarks, museums... Austin has it all.

Better than all those things, though, are the small, unique, local places. The heart of the city.  Boutiques, coffee shops, record stores... places where people are. You find yourself in these places. You find what you love, your style, you spend time working on what matters to you in these places. You can show people around all the usual vacationer, touristy spots when they visit, but you're doing them a disservice if you don't spend a little time really showing them the city.

This is a funky place. And these small business are Austin. They are full of people. Young people. Old people. Off the wall and run of the mill. They are exactly what you're looking for when you want a quiet afternoon to read. Or a fun outing with friends. Or need to show off the city to visitors.

My favorite for a nice afternoon of coffee and reading is Epoch.  The eclectic collection of comfy chairs and tables ensure that you always have the space you want for working.  The little strip mall houses a record store and vintage clothing store, too.  And, though I haven't explored the area much yet, just down the street is another little block of funky shops and restaurants.  I'm going to have to branch out at some point and look at everything.  I do love my coffee, though...

These small places are the city- any city. But here, in Austin, they are especially so. Seek out the small places. Find your favorite off-the-beaten-path restaurant. The city becomes so much more meaningful and interesting when you see it through the local flavor. Take some time to explore and enjoy the city.

I'm sure you'll find your Austin love, too.

Wordless Wednesday {rain's end}

Homemade Apple Juice {recipe}

Ophelia loves applesauce.  She'll eat bowls and bowls of it at a time if you let her.  I try to make her homemade applesauce whenever I can.  Last fall we lucked out and her Nana and Gramp sent her two boxes (!) of apples from New Hampshire.  Two very large boxes.  We made tons of applesauce and froze it.

It wasn't until my mom was visiting in January that I thought about making apple juice.  Turns out, my grandma used to do this all the time with the leftover bits when she made applesauce.  I'd completely forgotten about it until my mom mentioned it.

It's simple.  Super simple.

{the apple juice supplies}

After you've made the juice, you can sweeten it if you plan to just drink it.  It takes a lot of sweetening.  I leave it as is and use it to make oatmeal for Ophelia.  I also use it when we make juice from concentrate.  I wouldn't recommend using it in place of all the water, but if you use it for about half, it doesn't alter the taste too much.

This is such a fantastic way to use the entire apple.  And it gives Phee's bedtime oatmeal an extra boost.  I'm sure there are any number of other ways it could be used- I just haven't come across any others in our kitchen.

{the apple bits ready to simmer}

Homemade Apple Juice

apples
water
clean jars or bottles

Put the peels, cores and other leftover bits from making applesauce into a large pot.

Cover your apple bits with water plus a couple more inches of water.

Boil the apple bits for a while.  (I've never timed this.)  I would guess about 30-40 minutes if you're making a big batch.

Let the juice cool, then scoop out as many of the apple bits as you can.  Strain the juice to get all the seeds and other pieces out.

Pour the juice into clean jars or bottles and store it in the fridge.

{finished apple juice}

Linked up on

Wordless Wednesday {naptime}

No Buying!

This month, I'm attempting a buy-nothing challenge for myself.  It's taken a little bit of planning ahead already and it's only the fifth day of March.  So far, so good- for the most part.

Day one I bought a birthday present for a birthday I'd sort of forgotten about since I'd been out sick two days.  With being sick and home, while I might have had time time to make a fun present, it didn't cross my mind and I probably wouldn't have felt up to it anyway.  So, I bought a plant in a pretty planter (which I wanted myself!).

Since then, I haven't bought anything extra for myself.  We got breakfast tacos on Saturday, which we always do and Doug and I got lunch on Friday which we often do when he has Fridays off.  Is that cheating?  I'm undecided.  I guess it depends on your reasons and goals for a buy-nothing challenge.

For me, specifically, I'm trying to cut out some of the little extras.  I usually make coffee at work, except for Monday mornings when a specific group beats me to it and makes decaf.  So, Phee and I usually stop for coffee on Mondays.  And, if you're getting coffee, why not get a big muffin or a bagel, too, right?  Not something I need.  I can easily make breakfast at home or eat oatmeal at work.  I can also plan accordingly and bring coffee with me, too.  It's not difficult, I just need to get into the habit.

Another thing I do is buy myself a little treat just because I had to run errands or go grocery shopping.  Guess what?  I don't need that diet Coke either.  Sure, it doesn't cost much, but I don't need it for any number of reasons.  It's being cut out this month.

This weekend I realized that I'm going to run into another "want to buy" situation- St. Patrick's Day.  As you know, Phee and I like to make little decorations and fun things for holidays.  Normally, I'd find something fun to make and go buy whatever supplies we don't have on hand.  I've just cleaned out, organized and taken stock of what crafty supplies I have, though, so we will be getting creative with our stash instead of going to buy more things to add to that stash. 

And the big, ongoing project that has me wanting to buy stuff all the time- cleaning out and organizing the house.  I've already been working on that large project keeping in mind that I didn't want to spend a lot of money on it.  Especially since it's not a one time project.  I've been trying to work smart, take stock of what bins, baskets, extra disposable tupperware, etc we have on hand and then using what we have to organize and contain as I clean out different cupboards and closets.  So far, it's working well.  I cleaned out the pantry, a couple cupboards and a closet using things that we already had in the house.  I managed the same with my craft supplies.  I'm looking forward to tackling the rest of the house in the same creative manner.

So, for the first five days of the month, I'm going to say I'm doing well.  I will be checking in again at the end of the month to take stock of how my little personal challenge has gone.  Hopefully I will have found a couple tricks and shortcuts to share, too!