Do not disturb until July 16th.

Wow, a whole week since my last post.
You know why don't you? You probably have already deduced that July 15th is mere weeks away and what time isn't already devoted to family, home, and design projects goes to reading and watching all the Harry Potters in very serious fashion*. You are so clever. 10 points to your house!
I told myself that I wouldn't this time.  Especially since I just did it October of last year.  Especially since a very small voice keeps telling me that HP is not exactly credible reading at my age.  Oh, Hogwash! I saw the final trailer and all grown up restraint was out the window.  And anyways it's the last time.
Wouldn't these new covers be nice to have right about now though? Very classic.

* Read books 1-7, watch the corresponding movie after each completed read, and refrain from all other fiction and movies that might conflict with the Very Harry aroma my brain is mulling and stewing in, all building up to of course, the last movie.

image source

Time out.

It's been one big day of time-outs, "No ma'am!" and adventures in discipline. Yeesh!
But these made me smile...
If you haven't heard the low down on Honey Badgers, you really should check them out, they're pretty unassumingly bad ass.
Super cute family picture...I like little Art Garfunkel over there. (via Happenstance)






































But if nothing else does, I will always crack a smile over llamas. They are just too goofy and adorable, and these Hipster lamas  are almost too much awesome.
Well, my time out is up! I've got a toddler in the next room taking a "nap" (read- rolling around under her bed and talking to herself) and it's time to jump back into the game.
Happy Thursday!

Bath Time!

Since the majority of our bathroom renovation is finished (just finishing up the trim) we got to hit one of those awesome childhood milestones this week (albeit a little late)...baby's first bath!
She's had a few baths in her early days in her little plastic pink tub, and one failed attempt at grandma's house* but this was the first time we got to put her in our own bath tub with toys and fizzy bubbles for splashin' and squealin' and getting clean with the help of a plastic cup.
To celebrate we ordered one of those fun bath bombs from Fresche on etsy. They have the most delicious scents (I ordered "naked in the woods', because c'mon who wouldn't want to know what that smells like?...turns out it smells delicious.) But the best part is that when they are done fizzing there is a fun toy at the center. In our case, a very friendly monkey which was a big hit with little Thing.
She had a blast and the only low points were getting out (I kind of saw that one coming) and being scared of her wrinkly fingers (nope, didn't see that one.) When she gets hurt, it's usually from bonking her head or elbow, so having no better word for this new phenomena (pruney fingers) she calls them "UH-OH! Bonky fingers!" and kisses on all ten are required.
It feels like the most luxurious thing in the world to have a bath at our disposal now for fun moments like this. 

*Have you ever given a cat a bath? It was like that.

Happy Father's Day!

I love you!

Vegan Cupcakes

As I don't consider myself a vegan or a baker, it's funny that my newest food infatuation are these straight from heaven vegan cupcakes.

I first came across them at Dear Meg's house and back flipped. Seriously, I talked about them all the way home (35 minutes). And as she was gracious enough to send me home with the recipe, a new and wild idea began to take form....I could bake these myself. Now the idea of taking a recipe, following it, and eating whatever happens to come out at the end of it, isn't a new concept to me. But the wanting to do it myself, was*.

These were easy breezy. They don't require you to have any perishable ingredients on hand (milk, eggs) so they are perfect to make at the end of the pay period (when all that's left in the cupboard are condiments) and they are stress free to make with your small ones who might otherwise get into that raw egg.

But most importantly they hold the two secrets to great cake: they are dense, and not too sweet (so that there is actually a point to putting sweet frosting on top).

Go ahead...these vegan folks who otherwise have my sympathy for not eating cheese, know what's going on with cupcakes.

Cup Cakes

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar (I like to use a 1/2 cup instead)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup non dairy milk, coconut milk, or water

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients in separate bowl, combine wet and dry ingredients, pour batter into cupcake liners, and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Frosting (*Not technically vegan because of the butter)

2 oz softened unsalted butter

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons fruit jam

1 or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat the butter until it's pale, beat in fruit jam, sift powdered sugar into the mix, beat in the vanilla until frosting is smooth.

*I love to cook! But where I see cooking as an art (creative and instinctual), I see baking as science...and I'm no scientist.

Windy days like today remind me of these drawing trees by Tim Knowles...

Neat huh?

Birthday Boy

 Yesterday was my main man's birthday. Never mind which one (not that he's the type to care too much). Which means several things in this house. The Birthday Book & presents in bed, doing what you want, eating what you want, and of course no unpleasant parenting duties ie: diapers etc.
A pretty simple equation.
For Kent, this meant taking the day off work. Woot! A morning of eating corn beef hash from a can* and two eggs cooked to his specifications (which means he happily does it himself since every egg I cook ends up scrambled.) and then listening to records and Kentsperimenting in the kitchen. The recipe: a made from scratch Red Velvet Cake!

The rest of the day included all his favorite "dude foods", lazy outings, Portal 2 on multi player, and meeting up with some friends for pizza and putt putt (A long running birthday tradition of his that dates back to small boyhood...which sadly we had to postpone due to an unforeseen mob of 40 highschoolers who squeaked in right before us around closing time....youths.)

But it was such a happy day and a great time to point fingers at, and sing to, my boy who is always so eager to be good to us.

Happy Birthday!

*Which he fully acknowledges is sketchy at best. But the heart wants what the heart wants.

Homemade Play Dough

I love the simple fun of playing with play dough. My mama used to make play dough for me and my friends and we would sit at the kitchen bar for hours making play dough pizzas and cherry pies and then daring each other to take a bite.

We made some of our own today and it was easy as pie (the eating of pie, not the making of) and spent a good while quietly revisiting this childhood favorite.

Mama's Recipe

One cup flour

1/2 cup salt

2 Tsp Cream of Tartar

1 Tbs Cooking oil
Food coloring

One cup water

Mix the the dry ingredients in a bowl, stir in the wet and heat on the stove for about 3 minutes.

Then quickly knead it a few times, you are set!

Sunny Weekend

I love these little sunshines from Ben Javens.
I think this weekend is going to be like that second fella, the one with the mustache. He looks to be in the middle of saying "Ho ho ho! Let's get something cool to drink and eat outside!"
We are having ourselves a little heat wave the next few days (in the 75 range) and since no one around here takes days like that for granted I expect to have plenty of fun in the sun.
We have been doing work work work on the bathroom renovation the last couple weeks, and things are finally starting to come to a place where the end is in sight. I haven't wanted to post pictures since it takes away from the general shock of before and after, ( and who is really that interested in pictures of us sealing tile with silicon anyway?) but we have made heaps of progress and I don't think it would hurt for us to take some time off (during the day at least) and enjoy a little of Mr. Sun!
I hope you do too... Happy Weekend!