DIY/// A Party Garland Thats Fit for a Boy



You need:

 Fabric (size depends on how much garland you want)

 Yarn

 Rotary cutter

 Rotary mat

Instructions:

Cut your fabric into strips approx. 1-2 in. x 10-12 in. (You don't need to worry about them being perfect.) Next, take one strip and fold it over the yarn as shown in photo 3. Tie a knot. Repeat in 6 in. intervals.

I'm making several garlands like this with assorted solids and prints and stringing them with crepe paper streamer. I'll share photos after Ethum's party next weekend!

I've made a tradition of making handmade decorations for each of his birthday parties.

Here's bad photo  year one + two:

felt circle garland.

      

vintage upholstery sample bunting.



-Amanda

LIFE SAVER.

                       
The past few day have been kind of crazy. Avre is teething and hasn't been wanting to nap on his own for two days now and I'm guessing its because of the discomfort he is in. I resorted to rocking him to sleep. I have resorted to this for every nap and bed time for two days and I'm now worried that if this goes on much longer, I will have ruined all my efforts at sleep training! Agh! I am a firm believer in giving my children 'the gift' of falling asleep on their own and I start this training at a very young age. I was always aloud to sleep in my parents bed when ever I wanted as a child and shared a bedroom with a sibling or two my whole life until I was married and guess what... I'm 22 and I'm afraid of the dark- still!! Some friends have given me the name an all natural teething pain reliever, so I'll be looking for that first thing tomorrow.
Needless to say, my house work (and everything else work) has been terrible with carrying around a 6 month old all day. I stopped using our baby sling when he decided he didn't like to lie down when held and haven't used it since. Last night, an image popped into my head of a woman carrying around her toddler in a sling and then a light bulb turned on- bing! I broke out the sling and adjusted it so that he could sit with his legs wrapped around me. What a life saver! Dinner still took me almost half as long but hey- we didn't have to order pizza and he didn't make a peep!

                

We purchased this sling since it was the best looking, for $30.

-Amanda

THIS WEEK...

1) Byyyye Byyye Biiiirdieee. We took the tree down a little earlier this year since we're moving in 3 weeks!

2) Invitation doodles. 3) Coffee snobs. 4) Rearranged wall art. 5) Late night crepes.

-Amanda

FISH TACOS - A Recipe.

Ingredients:
A handful each of panko, corn flour, and corn meal
2 T. flax meal
1/4 t. turmeric
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. dried lemon grass
1/2 t. dried coriander
1 t. paprika
1 1/2 t. cumin
salt + pepper
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
about 1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 tilapia fillets, cut in half, long-ways
sour cream
salsa
tortillas
cilantro, avocado, mango (optional)

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk egg and milk together in a medium bowl or pie plate. Cover bottom of skillet with vege oil and bring to medium to medium-high heat. Dip fish in egg mixture and then toss in dry mixture. Fry each side for 3-5 minutes or until golden.

To make the sauce, whisk together equal parts sour cream and salsa.

I like to set out the tortillas, fish, and topping and let everyone build their own.

In the same fashion that most of my "i basically made this up without a guide" recipes come about was the question, "why the heck would I pay 3 dollars for a tiny bag of fish fry that is probably loaded with sodium?". One day, I just threw some things in a bowl and this was the outcome (and I say its pretty good). I highly encourage you to add or subtract any ingredients that you see fit - make it your own! :)

-Amanda

ps. I realize grilled fish might seem healthier but with a nice dose a flax meal for fiber, and cancer-fighting turmeric, I just prefer fried when making them at home.

NANCY'S MAGICAL CHRISTMAS DECOR.

My mother-in-law has some pretty adorable vintage Christmas decor, and lots of it! I couldn't resist sharing more than you probably care to see some photos of it all. It's okay, I totally understand if you think I need to let go of Christmas already. But hey, its the most wonderful tiiiiiime of the year!!!

The rest of the week will be filled with "normal" posts like 'LAST WEEK', a recipe, and maybe even a DIY. Ta-Ta!
-Amanda

NEW YEAR'S EVE and everything else on my mind.

So many festivity posts- my word! These have been a few crazy weeks for everyone, I think.. as it is every year (and thank goodness for that).
 I'm a little frazzled at the moment as we only have three weeks left in Houston before we make our trek to Pennsylvania- a new and a little frightening chapter in the life of our family. I'm sort of at a loss for what I should be doing to prepare to move across the country (besides packing). We're going to celebrate Ethum's 3rd birthday, with close family and friends, a little early this year. So, that means I won't start packing until after the party, which will allow me one week to pack. Hmmm...  I sure do love torturing myself, right? I could have the party somewhere else, but I just don't think it's as special that way.

well anyway, here's a peek at our new year's eve...

yep, our kitchen is really that smokey.

...and this is the product.

twelve candles for 2012.

Low-key, our house, and a good friend. Happy Birthday 2012!


-Amanda
ps. January 1st is our engagement anniversary. hip hip hooray!

CHRISTMAS DAY.

I just can't get them to smile in the same picture.

What a busy day!!! If you didn't know, we spent Christmas in Oklahoma City with Dave's family. In the morning we ate french toast and opened presents (of course). In the early afternoon we had a massive steak 'dinner' with Dave's parents, brothers, sister-in-law, nieces, nephew, aunt, uncle, cousin, and two sets of grandparents- whew! Then we played games, chatted, and opened more presents. That evening, we honored Grandmother for her 80th birthday. Everyone wrote her a letter and read it aloud to her. It was so amazing to hear so many stories and other wonderful things about her. After all of that we went to visit with some friends. Like I said, busy, busy... but awesome! We are so fortunate to have such a lovely family to spend peaceful days with.

I hope your day was special too!

- Amanda