Christmas is coming!

I ordered these from Ohcrop16 on etsy the other day. She shipped them so fast that I was super surprised when I opened them! Aren't they delightful! I can't wait till Christmas!

Chocolate Veg Hominator

What? Kate's answer to my question when I asked her what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday. Turns out she was really asking for a Chocolate fudge alligator cake. Not sure why she wants alligators. Of course over the last couple of weeks she has asked for Lord of the Rings, Spiderman, Thomas Train & Dragon Tales. There is no way I am up for another Spiderman birthday party & I can't stand Thomas & Dragon Tales so those two are out. I am all about Lord of the Rings & Kate was too for about two weeks. Now she has changed her mind again. Hmm, chocolate veg hominator. How am I going to make that?

Happy Birthday!

Today is my little sister's birthday! She is twenty*-#~ years old. Hope you have a great day Kels I love you!Ok, confession. I didn't really make this cake for her. I copied the pic from here. If you remember the last fiasco with cake baking I am in no hurry to make another cake. I think She can relate too. She also has a very yummy looking cheesecake recipe posted that I am now dying to try!

Mod, Matryoshka & a New Store!

Finally getting some new things in my shop! This mod bib will be listed as soon as I get the matching set of burp cloths finished! I have in in pink too!
I have had this fabric since it came out last year. I love and collect Matryoshka dolls so when I saw this I knew I just had to have it. Trouble was I couldn't decided what to make out of it. After MONTHS of debating I finally decided to make this apron skirt and matching shirt for Kate. The skirt is listed in my store. Oh and I got a new banner too. Don't you just love it! I made it all by myself! I also made a matching one for my NEW STORE! It's for all the things that aren't for baby. It's empty right now because I haven't had time to fill it but the Grand Opening is coming soon and there might just be a give away with it!

Saturday Finds!

I went garage saleing today and found this awesome chair at the first house I stopped at! I am not sure where I am going to put it but it was only $2 and I just couldn't resist its wonderful greenness. After perusing the rest of the neighborhood and not finding much else other than an overpriced Matryoshka doll that I would have loved to add to my collection, we decided to drive to my sister's neighborhood to pick mulberries. We wanted to make a mulberry pie for my Grandpa for Father's Day. Mmm can't you just taste the combination of the sweet berries and buttery, flaky crust! I can't wait until dessert tomorrow!
Anyway when we got to her neighborhood they too were having garage sales so of course we had to shop some more. Then I found what I would consider to by my best buy. I NEW bike! For myself. I have been wanting one for years but I just didn't want to pay full price for one. This bike was only $20! Normally I wouldn't spend that much on one item at a garage sale but it was brand new! The owner got it for Christmas but had never used it. It still has the size card in the spokes of the front wheel! Yeah! Please pay no mind to the mess on the bench, I have been targeting!
After we were done picking berries I decided I wasn't ready to go home yet & we went to the market down town. Mmm, I love that place! I bought a loaf of kalamata olive & rosemary bread from a local baker, a jar of homemade hot pepper jelly (my fav!) and some homemade butterscotch oatmeal cookies (another fav!) The bread was supposed to be for Father's Day lunch tomorrow but don't tell anyone because I have already had a slice or two!

Update.. It's just too much!

Well I don't have any pics right now but I did manage to clean out the kids closet last week. Now I have a PILE of stuff in the hallway waiting to be sold in a garage sale! I think I am going to do my room this week. Any before pics would be humiliating so I think I'll just stick to after! Check back soon!

3 Cake mixes, 1 dozen eggs, 7 tubs of frosting & 2 brownie mixes later

Yes, that is everything it took to successfully bake for a Spiderman birthday party. I always go all out with the cakes for my kids birthdays. They tell me the theme, we talk about what they want the cake to be & I deliver some pretty fun cakes. This time Elijah wanted a Spiderman birthday. We discussed a few cake options and finally decided on a city scene where spiderman is fighting a bad guy in the midst of buildings made of cake. Simple right! I had the toys for the spiderman & bad guys so all I had to do was make the cake. Well it didn't quite happen as planned.
I baked 3 sheet cakes & cut them up & made "buildings" out of them by layering them. There were 6 buildings in all of various heights. The party was at my sister's house & since she has A/C and we don't I went there the night before to frost & decorate the cake. I finished the base & top layer of frosting & then went home. My plan was to come back in the morning, frost on the windows, make the streets & add Spidey.
8:30 in the morning my sister calls. The conversation went something like this.
A: "What exactly is the cake supposed to look like?" (She wasn't home the night before so didn't see me working on it)

D: "Well, it is several buildings on a street." (My husband had answered the phone)

A: "Um, I think it fell over."

D:(Relaying to me) "The cake fell over" (Back to A) Are you sure you are looking at it right?
Because there are supposed to be buildings on both sides of the street."

A: "No, I am pretty sure it fell over. The tall buildings are laying on the table & one of the
smaller buildings has fallen into the street. Also the icing is falling off the rest of the cakes."

This is what it looked like















It was at this point that I wanted to cry. At first I thought that I might be able to salvage it. But after calling my sister back & talking to her myself I knew that was not going to happen. By this time it was after 9:30. So here I am 3 1/2hrs away from a birthday party & I have no cake. I called my mom to see what she thought & she offered the brownie mixes. I spent the next 2 hours baking brownie cupcakes, which by the way were way better than a chocolate cake. Then I had to figure out how to decorate them in the Spidey theme using only the 2 tubs of frosting I had left & a small tube of black frosting like stuff. So 3 cake mixes, 1 dozen eggs, 7 tubs of frosting & 2 brownie mixes later this is what I ended up with.
And to top it all off it rained the entire time! But despite all the trouble & frustration Elijah had a good time was happy & even though I was disappointed in the cake & the rain, his happiness is really what matters.

It's just too much!

Lately I have really been feeling, well, smothered. There is just too much stuff in our little house! Of course it doesn't help that there are 5 of us living in this little 2 bedroom bungalow. After spending a few too many hours reading some of my favorite blogs over the weekend a strong desire to purge (my house not my stomach) came over me. So I decided to start here, with my kids closet.Yes, there is a closet in there. Of course I have school today so I'll have to wait and start tomorrow (I hope). But as a way to keep me motivated I'll post before & after pics for everyone to see. And when I am done there will be a HUGE garage sale! Wish me luck!

Graduation Day!

Seth graduated from Kindergarten this past week. Seems like just last year Elijah was graduating from Kindergarten. Oh wait he was!! Anyway, when I got home I was going through the pics & came across this one I took of Elijah & Seth. So cute the two of them. But a sudden flash forward twelve years and I am standing at graduation taking this exact same picture again. (Tears welling up just thinking about it.) Hopefully both the boys will be a bit taller, but I am sure just as handsome!