just call me patch.

after my beauty intervention a couple of weeks ago, orchestrated by my four year old son of all people, i realized i really need to keep my eyebrows tamed. & to be honest, i can totally understand why gavin thought i looked scary. i don't just have eyebrows, they are more like hairy, bushy caterpillars that grow above my eyes. so, if i don't stay on top of it, things can definitely get scary.

in light of the recent economic crunch, that i'm sure everyone is feeling, i figured i'd save a little money & do some of the "maintenance" myself. you'd think i'd have learned my lesson after my attempt at cutting my own bangs, but no... i figured at little tweezing here & there, & maybe a bit of a trim & i would be as good as new. heck - i did it for years on my own, before i ever sought a professional's help.

yeah, i think i went a bit too far. everything started out fine, let's just say i got a bit carried away with the trimming, & one eyebrow is looking a bit stubby. i think it's time to get a professional's help, although i'm definitely not looking forward to the chastising i'm going to get from the little old lady who threads my eyebrows. already, i can see her shaking her head & tsking me. & did i mention that i'm attending a big wedding next week? i'll be the big, fat pregnant lady wearing the eye patch. (maybe i can "beadazzle" the eye patch with a few rhinestones.)

making big things small.

just by looking, you'd never guess that the original size of these t-shirts were MEN'S XL. a few snips of my scissors here & there, & the sewing of a straight seam or two, & ta da! new t-shirts my little munchkins can be proud of! for a little more instruction & how-to, go HERE.

resting comfortably.

& he will continue to do so for the next two hours, until i wake him up... because, when you have a concussion, that's what you do.

as for me, i'm drained. sitting in the ER for several hours wondering if your little boy is going to be okay, does that to you. luckily, one terrifying ct scan later, everything has been checked, & little o is officially on the mend. but watching your little boy run, trip, fall, hit his head, lose consciousness, go into convulsions, calling 911 for the first time in your life, & then rushing the little guy to the ER... that's enough to make anyone tired. so i'm going to bed. but i'll be up in two hours, if anyone wants to chat.

& the winner is...

thanks everyone who participated in my little game. you have no idea how excited i am to try out all of these new recipes. if you haven't had a chance to peruse the recipes posted by everyone, i highly recommend it. i'm almost positive you'll find a new favorite or two. now, on to what you've all been waiting for - this week's randomly chosen, lucky winner is falls in the dead center of the pack: KRISTEN... i told you it would pay off to post multiple recipes.

i'm definitely looking forward to trying her chicken & broccoli casserole, the mini pizzas are sure to be a hit (& so easy!), & those club quesadillas sound delicious. &, her recipe organization idea is brilliant: "i also set up a blank recipe form that i copy & paste everything into so i always have a copy of the recipes that we all love or are willing to try. they are printed into a binder so i don't have to search through cookbooks." she also has created a cookbook binder of all the recipes that her family "know & love", then she gives it away for wedding presents. what a great gift! i know i would really appreciate an entire binder of some one's favorite recipes.

again, congratulations KRISTEN, & be sure to email me at accordingtokelly@gmail.com so i can hook you up! & thank you, thank you, thank you to EVERYONE who played along!

bathing beauty?

outside the sky is dark & the rain is coming down so hard, i actually think it might be time to start building my ark. and yet, i find myself dragging (or did i actually waddle?) my extremely round, extremely large, extremely pregnant self out to the car to go.... bathing suit shopping.

have i lost my mind? not exactly the self-esteem booster that i am desperately in need of! but, with both my doctor & chiropractor forbidding me from participating in pretty much anything that slightly resembles exercise (cycling, running, even yoga), i'm going just a wee bit crazy. so, i've decided to attempt swimming. notice, i said attempt. i'm not exactly the strongest of swimmers, but i'm hoping all this extra "insulation" i've been carrying around the last couple of months will make me a little more buoyant. if anything, i'll be the talk of the gym, as i strut my stuff... at least i won't be sporting an "itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini". although, i do find myself wishing i could look as glamorous as these lovely ladies. wonder where i can myself a ruffled swim cap and matching swim suit?

image via flickr.

it's raining, it's pouring.

today's plan? hot chocolate floats, snuggling on the couch watching movies & cartoons (phineas & ferb is on one of my personal favorites) & lots of freshly popped popcorn.

happy president's day!

buckets 'o love.

wondering what i did with all of these buckets?

filled them to the rim with bites of popcorn heaven...
candy coated, almond crunching, chocolate drizzled popcorn. yum!

a BIG thank you to lindsey for the recipe! she even did a great pictorial how-to HERE.
but for all of you watering at the mouth for the recipe, here you go:

popcorn heaven (as my boy's called it)
1 stick of butter
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2-3 t vanilla
1 cup whole almonds
1 cup pecans (optional)
1/2 cup unpopped popcorn
milk & white chocolate for melting

pop your popcorn. then, in a saucepan mix the butter, sugar, corn syrup & vanilla. cook on medium to high-ish heat until the mixture reaches 228-232 degrees F on your candy thermometer. in a BIG bowl, mix together the popcorn, candy mixture & nuts (be careful, it's hot!) then, spread it out over a greased cookie sheet to let it harden. finally, top it all off with a generous drizzling of milk & white chocolate.

perfect for valentine's.

just ask your local pizza place to make a heart-shaped pizza.
bet the kids (& hubby too) will love it!

making rice krispie kisses

last year i posted instructions for one of my personal favorite valentine's treats to make & give... this year we snapped a few photos while making them for gavin's pre-school class, so i thought a little tutorial was in order.

step one: gather your supplies. you will need all the ingredients for your favorite rice krispie treat recipe (i always stick with the "basic" recipe which calls for 1/4 cup butter, 4 cups of marshmallows, & 5 cups of either regular or chocolate rice krispie cereal), aluminum foil, pam or other cooking spray, funnel, wax paper, a plastic baggie & your "strips of love"

step two: make the rice krispies. i always use the microwave... way faster & a bit easier, but that's just me. microwave butter & marshmallows on high for 1 minutes in microwave-safe, very large mixing bowl. stir to combine. (it helps to spray the bowl with cooking spray or grease with oil beforehand so the marshmallows won't stick.) microwave at high 1 minute longer. stir until smooth. add cereal. stir until well coated.


step three: spray your funnel with cooking spray & spray the outside of the plastic baggie (it'll keep your hand from getting all sticky). using the plastic baggie as a glove press rice krispie mixture into the funnel & then place molded rise krispie kiss on waxed paper. you may need to shape them a little more to make them look like kisses. repeat until you have used all of your rice krispie mixture. (any sized funnel works... just depends on how big or small you want your kisses.)


step four: tear off a square of aluminum foil & spray a little cooking spray on it (to keep the rice krispie from sticking to the foil, or you can first wrap the "kiss" in saran wrap, your choice). place a "kiss" in the center of the foil & then wrap it up to look like a kiss.


step five: be sure to add your "strip of love", & viola! you've got yourself some rice krispie kisses.


& if you want to get really fancy, you might want to think about dipping the "kiss" in some chocolate prior to the foil wrapping... just a thought.

you might also want to check out last year's felt fortune cookies... they were yummy too.

beauty intervention.

no time to blog... i MUST get to the salon. while squeezing my cheeks, with his chubby little hands, & gazing deep into my eyes, gavin just announced "mom, you're eyebrows are really scary." i guess there's no time to waste. when it's bad enough for the 4-year, who loves me unconditionally, to point out my flaws, it must be BAD.

hey good looking, what YOU got cooking? giveaway

lately, cooking dinner has become a bit of a chore. i've never professed to being a gourmet chef, but i do have a few favorite recipes, that have feed my family well over the years. but these days, even my old "tried & trues" just seem, well... boring. i'm definitely in need of a new recipe or two, but you know me - i've got this weird cook book phobia. so that's where YOU come in.

so here's the deal... i'm asking YOU to share YOUR favorite recipe(s). you know, your "tried & true", the one your family asks for, that special meal that you look forward to eating. how easy is that? just cut & paste your favorite recipe. it doesn't have to be fancy, it doesn't have to be gourmet (in fact, the easier, the better), it just has to be yummy (but, if it's YOUR favorite, i bet it's delicious).

so, by now, i'm sure you're asking, "what's in it for me?" well, one lucky person is going to win one of my (self-proclaimed) fabulous & custom, apron creations. yep! yep! the winner of this giveaway will have an apron created just for her (or him).

so here are the rules of the game:
* you have until midnight PST on tuesday, february 17th to enter.
* simply post your recipe as a comment, on this post to enter.
* multiple entries ARE allowed. post multiple recipes & you will have multiple chances to win the apron.
* anyone can enter (so tell your friends), although anonymous comments will be ignored unless accompanied by an email address.
* the winner will be randomly picked & announced wednesday.

bon appetit!

spotted at walmart.

picked up a stack of these fun valentine-ish buckets at walmart last week, for just a $1.50 each! now i just have to decide what yummy goodies to fill them with.

my favorite tee.

i LOVE these Mossimo 3/4 sleeve t-shirts from target. they are long, slim-fitting & stretchy... perfect for covering my ever-expanding belly. & at just $8.99 i can afford to buy one in all of my favorite colors, & trust me, they have plenty of colors to choose from. so check them out, they might just become your favorite too!

a play on words.

what do you get when you combine a t-shirt, a little dye, some home-made stencils & a spritz of household cleaner? the perfect birthday present for a gal who likes to "make stuff".

a child's prayer.

lately gavin's been doing a lot of praying at our house. the most recent one went like this...

"dear heavenly father, bless your heart. amen."

making soap

because you asked, here it is, a simple tutorial on making soap. & trust me, it really is simple! the first step is to gather your supplies (you should be able to pick them all up at your local craft store): a white or clear glycerin soap brick (of course, how many soaps you make depends on how large your cookie cutters are, etc. but i found one brick makes quite a few little soapies), soap dye or food coloring, soap fragrance (optional, but it's a nice touch), soap glitter (optional, it just gives that extra little bling! bling!), cookie cutters (i used lots of different sized heart shapes), a spray bottle filled with rubbing alcohol, & a non-stick pan (any size works, it just depends on how much you want to make of a particular color. i used both a 9x9" and 9x13"). now we're ready...


1. cut the glycerin bar into smaller pieces & then, using a double-boiler, or a make-shift double-boiler like i do, heat until melted. meanwhile, you'll want to determine how much glycerin you are going to need. the best way to do this is to fill your nonstick pan with water, so that it hits just below the height of your cookie cutter. you can then either measure that amount of water using a measuring cup & use the same amount of melted glycerin, or mark the height of the water on the pan (personally, i think this is the easiest). does that make sense? you just don't want your finished, hardened soap to be taller than the cookie cutters, it'll make cutting out your soaps a bit harder.


2. with the glycerin completely melted, it's time to add the soap dye, fragrance & glitter. follow the instructions on each of the packages, & go slowly... adding just a little bit at a time. trust me, a little can go a long way.


3. when you're pleased with the color & smell (that sounds funny) pour the liquid into your chosen pan (& remember, don't go above your "indicator"). although if you are going the measuring cup route, you'll want to determine how much you need with the measuring cup, & then pour it into the pan, blah blah blah. at this point you have two choices... you can either let your soap harden on your counter (& i have no idea how long that would take), or, if you are as impatient as i am, you'll put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes. whatever you decide, you'll want to spray the top with the rubbling alcohol to eliminate any bubbles that have formed. & don't worry, if you have extra glycerin left over, just use it in the next batch...


4. once your soap has hardened, turn it out, upside down on a cutting board or wax paper (you might want to use a butter knife to loosen it around the edges). & then, go crazy with your chosen cookie cutters. & when you are done, you too will be able to "spread the love... one hand wash at a time".

playing with monster trucks.

a couple of weeks ago we surprised the boys with an adventure to the monster truck jam. you should have seen it, they LOVED every minute of it, especially when grave digger came out onto to the track. this was definitely a little boys dream come true!

twitterpated.

i've often sworn that i would never twitter... i've just got too many things going on, to add "another thing" to my plate. plus, i've already tried facebook, & quickly grew bored of that. but i've succumbed to the masses, i've decided to believe my friends who have told me "everyone's doing it", & i am now tweeting. if you'd care to join the party, or rather conversation, you can now follow me on twitter HERE. hopefully i'll hear from you soon in twitter-land.

image via twitter.