Happy Easter, friends!
Enjoy the day!
And if you don't celebrate Easter...have a super Sunday! :)
xoxo
find me!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Easter bunny treat jars
I made these little bunny jars full of chocolate eggs as Easter gifts for the boys' teachers and a few other friends and family.
Really simple and easy.
Although I think I prefer jars filled with candy to jars filled with barrettes.
Haha.
When I instagrammed/facebooked pics of these yesterday I got some questions about my sources.
Here is where I found everything, but I'm sure after the Easter rush little toy bunnies will be more readily available.
Teeny photo bomber back in action. :)
sitting bunnies {Schleich} found online from Toys R Us
leaping bunnies {found locally at Michael's}, also available here
green paper shreds from Party City
jars are emptied Smucker's peanut butter containers {I think jars that don't "pop" when opened work best for this project since the surface is more even...these peanut butter jars come shrink wrapped and don't pop}
spray paint by Rustoleum, satin finish
strawflower {yellow}
French lilac {violet}
sweet pea {pink}
green apple {green, haha.}
Happy Easter, friends!
xoxo
find me!
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
The cake.
Sunday, I made a cake for my husband's birthday.
I instagrammed this picture and got a few questions...so here are the deets:
Chocolate cake.
Whipped cream cheese frosting.
It's fantastic.
And I am not a chocolate cake kind of girl.
But for this I make an exception. ;)
The cake is a Devil's Food, prepared from a box.
I usually bake it in two 8 inch round pans and then slice them into four layers, but I could only find my 6 inch pans the other day, so this cake is extra tall.
For the frosting:
Whip 1 pint of heavy whipping cream and set aside.
Combine....
a softened 8 oz bar of cream cheese
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
...in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment until smooth and creamy.
Fold in the whipped cream.
Then just alternate layers of cake/frosting/cake/frosting/etc...
I wrap a piece of waxed paper around the outside of the cake to prevent it from drying out and put it in the fridge for a good 6 hrs (but overnight is better!) before serving.
And my fabulous foodie friend {who has spent the past few months travelling around Paris and the rest of Europe...swoon!} taught me that a cake frosted like this is actually not my lazy girl solution to uneven layers and messy frosting on the sides of my cakes...but a cake frosted in between the layers but not on the outside is a tomboy cake. I really do learn something every day! ;)
xoxo
Monday, March 25, 2013
instagrammed.
***************************************************************************
A tiny peek into the last two-ish weeks in our lives through filtered iphone pics.
If you'd like to follow along on instagram, I'm @aprettycoollife :)
My little shopping buddies.
At our favorite store.
Again.
New shoes.
They all fit their little personalities, too.
My old 50mm lens found itself a new home.
I just had to send it off in washi style. ;)
Bunny sprinkles!
Working on some bunny crafts.
Plates with compartments are big around here.
Taco dinner, deconstructed.
I waited too long to order jars for my little bunny craft.
So we are now the proud owners of 12 lbs of peanut butter.
Fave pb recipes very welcome in the comments. :)
My two patient children doodling away.
My washi collection...
That I used for this.
Target popcorn.
It's like a food group around here.
Rainbow fun at the party store.
Hunting for anything green.
Ikea straw colors making me happy.
I'll never be too old for a Hello Kitty bandaid.
...but I may still not be old enough to handle a knife properly.
Ouch.
'tis the season for Shamrock Shakes!
Have a good week, friends!
xoxo
find me!
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Organizing: sprinkles in mason jars
This is one of those things that I can't believe took me so long to come up with.
My embarassingly huge collection of sprinkles was getting way out of control and unruly...not only do I have lots and lots, but they all seem to come in different shape and size packaging.
Tubes, tubs, jars, Target Dollar Spot containers...they were really messy.
So I turned to mason jars.
I have a ton.
They're stackable.
Perfect!
If you follow me on instagram, you already saw this pic this morning and know that this was the start of my spring cleaning.
Most cabinets weren't too bad...plates, cups, mugs, silverware...the kinds of things that don't stray too far from their places. But the cabinets with the miscellaneous items {like this one!} were getting out of hand.
Tomorrow I tackle the spice cabinet...fingers crossed for long naps!
xoxo
find me!
Monday, March 18, 2013
St. Patrick's Day.
We were feeling all festive today and got our green on.
{Hard to believe that Sister is now my third baby to rock those rainboots!}
The treat bags were a hit.
Somehow my children had no clue what a punch balloon was before today??
Corned beef and cabbage.
Once a year only.
I couldn't find an Irish soda bread mix this year...so I made my own.
I tried this recipe and it turned out just as good as the mix.
You all are like family to me...I didn't even wipe the counter before taking a picture. ;)
Have a good week, friends!
xoxo
find me!
Friday, March 15, 2013
celebrating St. Patrick's Day & how to print on brown paper bags
For the past few days the boys have been talking about the leprechaun coming to visit on St. Patrick's day, so I put together little bags filled with green candy and trinkets from the party store for the leprechaun to leave.
I remember when St. Patrick's Day used to be all Shamrock Shakes and wearing a green shirt...
And a green beer or two...
Ha!
But I've got to do up these holidays right while they're little and this kind of thing is magical...so if they're excited about the leprechaun visiting, then the leprechaun is darn well gonna visit. ;)
You can get the template for printing these bags right here.
Here's how I print on paper lunchbags:
I tape them flat side up to a regular sheet of paper. {and here's a great way to use washi tape for those of you who have asked what I actually do with all of it!} I've had success before printing on bags by feeding them through my printer without taping them down, but it doesn't always work...taping them down is far less frustrating.
Make sure you check which direction your printer prints before you start so you don't end up wasting ink printing upside down!
My printer needs a bit of sweet talking to feed bags or cardstock through, but it will do it...and I have the most basic HP inkjet printer Target sells.
I print them one at a time, gently pushing the bag through as it starts to feed. I let the ink dry for a minute and then untape them. That's all!
Then fill 'em up and use some more of that pretty washi tape to seal them shut.
And a warning from the girl who used to jam her parents' {fancy, laserjet} printer pretty much every night of high school because I was always shoving something in it:
Don't force it. Don't risk ruining your printer or getting a bag jammed in it the night before you need to print out important documents or a big work presentation. Use a Sharpie. Use stamps. It's all good. :)
Happy St. Patrick's Day, friends!
xoxo
find me!
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
DIY: mini succulent terrarium & washi tape bunting
I finally got around to planting the cute little succulent I bought awhile back. {It's a miracle it's survived this long! :)}
I used a wine glass {from Pier 1 many, many years ago} layered with pebbles and soil.
I trimmed them into flags and tied the ends of the twine onto wooden skewers.
My sweet photo bomber. :)
xoxo
find me!
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