Little Boys, Little Boys

 A friend was having a baby shower this past summer and she is always dressed super cute.. so why shouldn't she tote around a baby dressed just as cute?!

I've seen photos of little boys in little ties and fell in love with the look. Since he was just a baby though I decided to attach it to a onesie as apposed to mom trying to keep such a little thing on a tiny shirt all day. Here is what I came up with..

I bought the onesie size 12 mos.. so he probably doesn't fit into it yet, so stay tuned for a picture of him wearing it.

While I was at it I made a Mickey Mouse tie for another friend's little boy who was turning one.. and of course loves Mickey.

Here is a photo of the little guy. So handsome!

Yes they are cute.. but let me tell you working with such a tiny piece of fabric.. these two may be my first and last little ties. Lets hope all my friends have girls, tutus are easier to make!

Heart to Heart

A friend was moving away to Charlotte, North Carolina and I wanted to make her something to remember us by.

This is an Ohio pillow (pre-stuffing) with a heart over Cincinnati.

She has a twin sister who she was leaving here in Cincinnati for the first time and I wanted her to have something as well.

This is a North Carolina pillow (pre-stuffing) with a heart over Charlotte.

Congratulations Heather (and Izzy) on your new adventure! 

May it be everything you hoped it would be and more.

Milestones

 A good friend of ours and Payton's Godfather turned 30 this year! Kevin and I debated on what to get him. Do you try and buy a present for the man who has everything? Do you give him a gift card to an expensive restaurant? I finally decided on this....

The man loves beer and loves his family. Why not combine both? 

Each bottle had a different picture on it, with a different saying. Of course my favorite was "30 Sucks" because I'm pretty sure it does; It means you're old! 

I'm 27.. I'm sure the pay backs will be coming in a few years.

Happy Birthday Jeff!

A month later my sister turned 21!

My mom and I collaborated on this one. She came up with the idea for this...

That is one tiny bottle of all the important liquors, shooters and wines for a 'new drinker' to try.. or should I say legal drinker to have 'for the first time'.

And I came up with the idea for this..

My sister doesn't like cake, so this is a Rice Krispie Cake. Two layers with melted marshmallow in the middle holding it together. And of course on top, a drunk Barbie!

Ignore my messy kitchen  masterpieces create quite the mess.

Happy 21st Little Sis!

Football Blanket

A birthday present for a special one year old! 

The entire back was originally supposed to be all UC fabric, BUT one yard of NCAA fabric is not the same as one yard of any other fabric. 

So he got this! Which clearly was a lot more work.. and well worth it.

Happy 1st Birthday Z!!

Inspiration from here.

Cincinnati Style Chili

Since I'm from Cincinnati this is one of my favorite recipes. Nothing beats going to Skyline and eating in but this definitely works in a pinch. And for those out of towners.. packets fit much better in a suitcase/mailed as apposed to the cans! Plus you can make a big batch for parties or freeze for later cravings.

The ingredients are on the packet if you forget.

Cincinnati Recipe Chili

One Cincinnati Recipe Packet (Don't get the Gold Star one, its not as good)

One 6 oz can tomato paste

One to two pounds ground beef

Six cups of water

And of course the secret ingredients...

Extra Chili Powder and Cinnamon

Add as little or as much as you like.

If you are calorie conscience as I am:

One cup of chili

Two tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese

Two tablespoons onions

Three saltine crackers

=300 calories

If you make it a three way

Add one cup spaghetti 

=500 calories

TEAM SKYLINE!

Black Bean & Corn Salsa

I went to a baby shower recently for a friend of mine. They had the most amazing food display I have seen at  a party in a long time. Most impressive, the food was all really good. In fact it has been my inspiration for quite a few recipes. Stay tuned for those. Until then...

Black Bean & Corn Salsa

I kicked myself when I left for not asking for the recipe. Instead I decided to just wing it.

1 small container Wholly Brand Fresh Salsa

1 can black beans (drained)

1 can corn (drained)

Simple! And tasted amazing. I want to make a fresh salsa in the future but I wanted this like right now so there was no time. Plus, Wholly brand is amazing! The salsa tastes just like an authentic Mexican restaurant. And don't get me started on how good the guacamole is.

This made a decent size batch so I experimented different ways to eat it. 

My favorite was on a grilled wheat tortilla with lettuce and a drizzle of light ranch. And because I love the Wholly salsa so much I used it for dipping. I love dipping!

All for about 225 calories!

(Half cup of just the salsa is about 50 calories)

Onesie Quilt

After months of putting it off.. it complete! 

A blanket made entirely of either an outfit once warn by Alexis or a blanket or bib she used. The binding and the reverse side are also pieces of a favorite blanket.

This was one of the most stressful things I have ever done. Not only is making a quilt for the first time stressful, but add to that using tiny pieces (8x8 to be exact) of baby clothes that if you ruin, you can never replace. This will probably be the most rewarding and cherished thing I will ever make; Therefore it was all worth it!

This is the site for the tutorial.

Here are pictures of my daughter wearing a few of the outfits...

Crock Pot 'Beer Butt Chicken'

I got the idea from a post I saw on Pinterest that lead me to this site. 

The directions:

2 LBS SKINLESS, BONELESS CHICKEN BREASTS 

1 BOTTLE OR CAN OF YOUR FAVORITE BEER 

1 TSP SALT 

1 TSP GARLIC POWDER 

1 TBSP DRIED OREGANO 

1/2 TSP BLACK PEPPER 

CROCK POT 6-7HRS

Simple right? Yes! Too simple. Let me tell you the smell of beer mixed with raw chicken cooking in your house for 6 to 7 hours is not a good one. I love beer just as much as the next borderline alcoholic.. but this was enough to make me never have a beer again. With that said the chicken tasted pretty good, but the lingering smell in my house is enough for me to say no to cooking this again.

I'll stick to the Beer Butt Chicken my grandfather has been making for years over the 'Easy Man's' version any day.

Breakfast Grilled Cheese

Not sure it gets much better than this...

Breakfast Grilled Cheese!

The only problem with this recipe is that you have to do everything in stages, but trust me its worth it!

My husband thinks every sandwich should come in Double Decker form; This is modified to accommodate my picky husband!

Three slices of bread

Three slices of bacon

Two eggs

Three pieces of cheese

Butter

First, fry the bacon and then set aside. Then fry the eggs, leave them as runny (or not so runny) as you'd like. As you can see from the picture we like it runny! Then set these aside. I chose to butter the toast and fry for a few minutes before I put the sandwich together. Then build the sandwich and continue frying until the color you prefer/cheese is melted.

Now, as delicious as this is... I prefer to not gain 100 pounds from eating it! So I adapted the recipe to follow along with my diet plan.

Two slices of  Healthy Life 35 Calorie/Slice Bread

Two slices of bacon

One egg

VERY small amount of butter

No cheese (call me crazy!)

Result:

About 350 calories of goodness!

Inspiration originally came from here.

Peanut Butter & Jelly

Saw a twins onesie set where one onesie said 'peanut butter' and the other said "jelly". I don't know anyone who is pregnant with twins or any twins under the age of twenty five that I could duplicate this for. So I just kept the idea in the back of my mind. Halloween came near and finally I knew what I was going to make the girls for costumes; Peanut Butter & Jelly.

My friend sent me a tutorial on how to put the pieces together to make the bread and how to add the pb&j. Now something you'll learn is that I hate to hand sew (I will machine sew any day).. don't even wanna learn how to do it. Yuck! So... Hello Mother! My mom who only knows how to cook a few simple things and can do a few things DIY (but we love her anyway). But gosh darn it she can sew; at least enough to get her by or to make adorable faces for this pb&j project. Didn't she do a great job?! 

P.S. In my mom's defense why cook or do household projects when you have a carpenter for a husband who is a self proclaimed Master Chef?

A dressed in her Peanut Butter costume

.. and P dressed in her Jelly.

Who am I? And Why?

Who am I?

I am a stay at home wife and mother. I am from Cincinnati, Ohio. 

I love DIY projects, crafting, baking and a little cooking.

Why?

I wanted to start a blog.. for myself! 

I love the projects that I complete. When I'm finished (in most cases) someone else gets to enjoy them. 

I work hard on these things and I am proud of them! I wanted a place I could keep them to enjoy and possibly even inspire someone else.

Thank you for reading!

Ashlei