“Hoo” Needs an Owl Hat?

So. I went a little crazy making hats. You might remember my post from the other day about our vacation…and how I crocheted in the car…and made owl hats for my boys. Well, I made a few more hats. Making the hat is the easy part. Adding the eyes, ears and beak proved more challenging. But once I had the hats made, I just had to finish their features.

LifeLock: Protect Against Identity Fraud.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of LifeLock Facebook for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
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Do you think LifeLock is necessary for protecting against ID theft for your your family members?

Crocheted Owl Hats

To catch up with what my family was doing a week or two ago, see my post on our trip to Charleston. I made a bunch of recommendations for places to eat and go that we enjoyed. I also mentioned we drove about 12 hours each way. 

My husband drove most of it...I maybe drove three hours each way. He said he didn't mind. That way I got to pick up the dropped toys, switch DVDs for our boys, hand out snacks...you know how it is! 

That meant I needed something to do when I wasn't folding myself into the backseat to reach someone's lost bunny. 

So I started crocheting. I have really wanted to make owl hats for my boys for a long time. I dusted off my crochet hook and got to work. Owls are so much fun for kids and their rooms...I made owl pillows a year ago for my kiddos. 

Travel Post: Charleston, SC

Have you been to Charleston, South Carolina? We just took a trip to Edisto Island, SC, which is located about an hour south of Charleston. We spent a few days in the Charleston area (my brother lives there) and I thought I'd give you a quick run-down of places we enjoyed visiting. 

Accidental Gardening.

This week, we discovered we are growing pumpkins in our backyard! If you've followed my blog for long, you know from my failed herb garden that I am not much of a gardener.

Chalkboard Topped Desk

We've started homeschooling at our house. Our oldest is only three, so it isn't exactly rigorous. I wanted to make him a fun workspace. But I didn't want to spend much money. We decided to start with this desk we've had in our garage for a year. My parents were going to burn it, but I thought we might want it. This is the before:

We decided on a chalkboard top. I had some chalkboard spray paint on hand, so I used it. 

Solution for Too-Short Pants

My three-year old is tall. And skinny. He fits into a 3T very well but that size is often too short. But we have several pairs of 3T pants that a friend gave us that he barely wore in the spring. I wanted to lengthen them so he can wear them this fall. 

Got Tomatoes?

Make some fresh tomato sauce to enjoy over some pasta!

4 large tomatoes, finely chopped

1/2 cup basil, chopped

2 T olive oil

1/2 t salt

1/4 t freshley ground pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced 

Combine all ingredients and gently toss. Serve over freshly cooked pasta and top with some sort of tasty, freshly grated cheese. 

Kitchen Desk/Command Center

When we moved into our home, I wanted a desk in the kitchen. My wonderful husband and father decided to make the desk themselves. My husband also restored the white cabinets from the house that was torn down to build our new home. (Read more of that story here.)

Thrifted & Spray Painted Mirrors

 I got these mirrors at a thrift store. I am not usually one for thrifting. However, I went into the store looking for something specific. I didn't find what I was looking for. But I found these. I knew that with a little paint, they would make a good birthday present for my mom. 

I failed to take a 'before' picture. But I spray-painted these black, so they looked like the went together.

And for a few dollars, I have a pretty cute gift for my mom. 

Quinoa Salad: Recipe

Quinoa is a great thing to have in your pantry. It is a seed, not a grain, and is gluten-free. This salad is a great way to incorporate it and in-season veggies. It is really easy to make.

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, cooked and cooled

1 cup chicken breasts, cooked, chopped and cooled

1 cup frozen or fresh corn, cooked and cooled

1 large tomato or 15 cherry tomatoes, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, minced

dressing ingredients:

2 limes, juiced

1/3 cup olive oil

salt & pepper to taste and a pinch of sugar

Mix the quinoa, chicken, corn, tomato, bell pepper, and cilantro in a large bowl.

Mix dressing ingredients together and pour over salad.

Serves about 4.

Have you cooked with quinoa before?

Frosted Shortbread Cookies

You can't judge a recipe by its title. Meaning: I wasn't too excited to make shortbread cookies. But these are amazing. 

I made these cookies last week for a church function and received more than one request for the recipe.  I thought I'd share it with all of you. 

Glass Dry-Erase To-Do List.

For my birthday (which was in January!), my dad made me this big picture frame. I had asked for something this size to use as a dry erase board in our kitchen. (Glass can be used as a dry-erase board.) I wanted to have a giant to-do list but wanted something more decorative than a plain white dry erase board. I had envisioned organizing it with different grocery store lists, a to-clean list, etc.

However, I couldn’t decide what to put behind the glass. This is what I’ve finally settled upon.