St. Patrick's Day Preschool Goodies

Last week, my task was to create little goodies for L to take into preschool for his pals and teachers.  They were super simple to make and took no time at all.

For the kids:
I came across these adorable tags on Etsy.  I figured rather than wasting the time to try to recreate them, I would just pay the $5 and have them emailed to me.  Needless to say, I had them in about 15 minutes after I ordered, so that expense was a no brainer for me!!

Then, I gathered up my "ingredients"...

...placed the cereal in bags....

...and stapled the cute little tags on top.

It really doesn't get much easier!!

For L's teachers, I made up little silver pails with gold wrapped treats (Rolo's, Hershey Nuggets with Almonds and Toffee, and Twix.).  I mixed the candy in the pail, dropped the pail in a clear treat bag (bread loaf size), and the used some green ribbon to close it up.

I found the adorable tags here, and used some ribbon to tie them on too.

Doesn't get much easier than that!!  Stay tuned for Easter goodies :-)

Pretty Little Camera Strap

I recently purchased a DSLR camera.  I have used said camera one time because I have no idea what I'm doing with it (this girl needs to take a class big time!!).  But, that one time I used it, I realized that I was not a fan of the strap it came with.  It rubbed against my neck and was annoying.  This had to change, and when I came across this tutorial on Pinterest, it looked easy enough.  For once, I was right and flew through this and had it together in less than a half hour.  I love the fact that there is a little pocket to hold the lens...

 ...and I just LOVE the fabric, as it's in my two favorite colors....green and blue.

This strap looks much prettier and is so much more comfortable.  You better believe I'll be making a Mickey themed one too :-)

Disney Countdown....it's on!

Our trip is officially booked, along with our airfare.  Now....we wait, ugh!  I went through our calendar and wrote all the days left till the trip on each day and when I realized it was 200+, I knew for sure I was losing it.  But, then inspiration struck.  Why just look at a boring calendar each day, when you can look at something like this?

I won the Mickey block on the top (and the Minnie block as you will later see below) on an online auction at Crafty Moms 'R' Us.  I bid on them when the trip was in the works, but, not officially planned.  I had no clue what I was going to do with them.  But low and behold, I won them, and then it hit me....I can turn them into little countdowns by painting over the Mickey and Minnie heads with chalkboard paint.  "Brilliant, Tricia", I thought to myself.  But then I decided that was not enough.  So I went to the maker of the mouse block, Around the Block, and asked if I could buy unfinished blocks from them.  They said they never had anyone ask (go figure) but were willing to do it for me.  Score!  So I got four unfinished blocks in the mail and painted them with black paint.

 

For the "Days Til" block, I glued black cardstock to the block and then using my Cricut and the Mickey Font cartridge, cut out the letters and glued them on with glue dots.

 

For the "Disney" block, I glued scrapbook paper to the block and then used my Cricut and the Mickey Font cartridge to cut out the word and layered and glued to the scrapbook paper.

 

And then that was it.  I have two sets of block...one for us and then one that I'll be giving to my parents as a surprise this Thursday when they come to visit.  L loves to point at the blocks and say "Did-ney"....wonder if he knows what is in store for him!!!

 



A Simple Slipcover

One of my big project this week has been getting L's playroom organized.  Before, it was a mish-mosh of G's medical textbooks, comic books, and other random stuff he had in there when the room was used as his office.  We got everything out, except one big piece- his grandmother's old record player.  This thing is a beast and it's one of his prized possessions, so moving it to the basement where it could run of the risk of being attacked by leaking water or whatever rodents decide to set up shop  down there (hey! we live in the country!), was not an option.  I also knew leaving it wide open in the destructive path of a 2 year old was an equally bad option, so we came to an agreement....I would make a simple slipcover for it.

I decided to use a heavier fabric from the home decor section of Joann's.  Man....this stuff is flipping expensive!!!  Thankfully it was 40% off.  Jeez!  I ended up getting 3 1/2 yards of it, which was more than I needed, but, it was the best figure I could come up with trying to do math on the fly since I forgot to plan this all out before I went to the store (spoken like a true crafter!!). 

I began cutting it- a top piece, two sides, and a front and back.  I made sure to leave a little extra on the ends to account for seam allowances and to help slip it over a little easier.  There was no need to make it a skinny slipcover!  Then, I sewed the sides to the top piece and the front and back to the top piece.  And then, sewed all the sides together.  It really came together quite easily...less than a half hour!  I think it turned out pretty good (for totally winging it and not having a pattern!!) and is very kid friendly.

Mousekeeping Tips

Alright, I'm going to be upfront and honest here.  I NEVER tip housekeeping in a hotel, ever.  And it's not because I don't want to, it's because it honestly never crosses my mind.  The only time I ever think to do it is is Disney because there is just something special about the housekeepers Mousekeepers that clean up your rooms, leave little towel animals on your beds, and turn down your blankets at night and leave chocolate on your pillow (seriously, this does happen at the Grand Floridian!).

As I was searching around on Pinterest looking for tips and such to plan our trip, I saw that people were getting pretty creative with how they presented their tips to their Mousekeepers, so I decided to make my own version!

I had a Disney font saved from L's 1st Birthday, so that got me started on these little tags.  I used red cardstock and the font to type a message and then put a little Mickey head below.  The tags measure 2"x3", roughly.

Since we have general housekeeping during the day and turndown service at night, I made two different cards.  Then, I trimmed the upper corners to make the cards look like a tag.

I punched a hole in the center...

Tied a cute black ribbon with white polka dots...

And then put a yellow paper clip on the side.  That's how we'll attach the tip to the card.

Easy peasy!  Is it necessary to do this....not at all.  But, Pinterest puts bad over-the-top ideas in my head and I just can't help myself!

My Special Valentine

I had so much fun making L's Valentine's for his preschool pals this year.  As usual, I saw the idea on Pinterest and made it happen.  One of these days I will be creative enough to come up with an original idea :-)

I started off cutting brown cardstock 3"x4" and punched a small hole in the top corner.  With my Cricut, I cut out 1" red and pink hearts.

I used glue dots to attach the hearts to the card stock...

...and a silver Sharpie to write the message on each card.

Then, we filled mini snack bags with Valentine's M&Ms and Teddy Grahams and attached the cards to the bags with ribbon.  So easy!

We also gave goodies to L's teachers and preschool mommy friends.  For this, I used two bags of Valentine Hershey Hugs, a bag of Snyder's Pretzel Snaps, and a bag of Valentine M&Ms.

First, the tedious chore of unwrapping all those Hugs.

Then, placing pretzels in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Place a hug on each pretzel and bake at 200 degrees for about 4 minutes (the Hugs will become shiny but should still look like their original shape).

Take them out of the oven immediately and press an M&M into the center of each hug.

When done, pop them in the fridge until they set.  I had to get creative on how to fit the two baking sheets in my fridge :-)

Then, put them in cute Valentine's Day bags (found at Dollar Tree) and attach this adorable printable with ribbon.  We also put conversation hearts and Hershey Kisses in the bags.  These were so easy to make and can be customized to match just about any holiday.  And, they are the perfect blend of sweet and salty...which in my world usually leads to danger.

And with that, I was also Snack Mom at school this week.  SO, after Tuesday's sugary delicious Strawberry Cookies, I opted for a semi-healthier snack today...Valentine's Trail Mix.

Pretzels, Cheerios, Chocolate Teddy Grahams, M&Ms, Yogurt Covered Raisins, Dried Cranberries, and Dried Cherries make up this sweet and salty snack.  The recipe makes a lot.  We still have half a Ziploc bag (the gallon size!) leftover, and that was after making 7- 1 cup serving bags yesterday, along with L and I both snacking on it.

 

Hope you are all enjoying this Valentine's Day!!  Instead of chocolate, here is what I am indulging in...



Coconut Banana Bread

This morning, Landon and I had some friends over to play.  I had a craving for some sort of a sweet bread, so, when I came across this recipe, I knew it was a no-brainer as it combined two of my favorite criteria....healthy and coconut.  I had most of the ingredients on hand already and it was super easy to whip together.

First, I rounded up all my ingredients.  I think the only ones I had to buy were skim milk and greek yogurt!!

 Then, mixed the dry ingredients together...

Then mashed up the bananas with a fork and mixed with the brown sugar and vanilla...

 Then, added the egg whites and mixed...

 Then, added the oil and mixed... (do you see a pattern forming?!?!)

 Then, added the flour mixture in three batches and mixed between additions...

 

 Then, added the greek yogurt, orange juice, and milk, and mixed.

 And finally, added some coconut, and mixed.

Once everything was combined, I poured it into an 8.5" loaf pan (recipe called for 9x5" but I just used what I had) and sprinkled the remaining coconut on top.

After an hour of baking and cooling, I sliced this baby up and volia....coconut banana bread.

With Spring just around the corner (hopefully...I know we still have a few months to go, but, a girl can hope, right?!?!) you will be seeing a lot of coconut recipes popping up since I have a slight obsession for the flaky sweet :-)

Coconut Banana Bread (from fitsugar.com)
Ingredients

1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1¼ teaspoon baking soda
3 Large ripe bananas, mashed
½ cup + 2 tablespoons sweetened flaked coconut
½ tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup of brown sugar
3 egg whites
2 tablespoons skim milk
¼ cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup orange juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda together in mixing bowl.
3. In separate large mixing bowl combine mashed bananas, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add egg whites and mix together until smooth. Next add oil. Then, slowly add in flour and combine until moist. Next add Greek yogurt and orange juice. (Depending on the consistency you can add two tablespoons of skim milk. If you like your bread more dense —omit the milk — but if you like it more airy or lighter you can add it.) Lastly add ½ cup of coconut and mix together.
4. Pour into greased 9×5 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle two tablespoons of coconut on top.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and the bread is golden brown.

Optional: throw in ½ cup of walnuts to batter to help keep you satisfied all morning. Another option: substitute ½ cup of regular flour with whole wheat flour