Cute Scarf

So a few days ago I had this vision of a cute idea for a scarf, now I'm not saying that it is unique because there are lots of times I've thought I invented something, only to see it later done by someone else (i.e. hot pockets (me and my cousin Tami did this using pizza dough), the concept of a cell phone, socks with fun fur, I could go on and on...).

I started with felt, which I had the store associate cut into 2 yards because I used another scarf and it was the length of my arms outstretched which I guess would be about 6 1/2 inches shy of 2 yards, assuming that it's true about the length of your arms finger tip to finger tip being the same as your height. I realized at $5 a yard and 3 colors, I was going to have a $15 scarf...wow, kind of a lot $ for a do-it-yourself project!

After she had the piece cut...I had this epiphany...I unfolded the piece as she was about to cut the second piece, oh yeah, I actually just need about a 1/4 or 1/2 a yard because the piece was folded (the other direction) so it was like 48 inches...close enough!  I asked her nicely to recut the piece and she (hesitantly) did it, so that was good.  There would be enough for at least 2 and maybe 3 scarves out of the total 3 1/2 yards ($2.50 to $3.50 a piece...better!)

I cut the length of the thickest piece the same size as I Christmas card envelope and the second color 3/4 the size of the first and the third color, half the size of the first pie.

I folded the felt cloths accordion style and then cut each side with scissors, rounding the edges.

First I sewed the first two colors together, pleating the white felt at the starting and middle of every scalloped piece.  Next I sewed on the third color while pleating small sections.  To finish it off, I made two small "flowers" and sewed them at each end.

 

My cute scarf is done!  The first day I wore it, I got a compliment from a woman in the elevator.  Of course, she did say, "cute scarf" right after she accused me of being like her and trying to get off the elevator early (5th floor instead of 1st), when all I did was lean forward! I responded with just a smile (to be polite) I think she was just trying to break the silence, so she said, "cute scarf".  I couldn't help it, I was instantly beaming and proudly said that I made it myself...but I'm sure she could already tell!

Teen Room Makeover

Too bad I didn't take before pictures, but picture this...an all white room, a bulletin board and a bunch of pictures, drawings, etc. all over the closet door.  Oh yes, and also a few marks on the walls from the previous owners from moving out their furniture and of course black mascara all over the floor from her littlest sister giving herself a "makeover".  Hailee had been complaining since we moved in that she didn't like her room because it was so boring.  Wow, how do you have a boring room with all the things kids have these days? Seriously!  When I was a teen, all I needed was a radio, a big mirror, a brush to sing in, add in makeup (fragile pink lipstick), nail polish (blue was big back then) and I was the star of my room!

I waited until a weekend she was gone, and transformed her room.  I had planned to makeover Hailee and Felicity's rooms but that ended up being more than I could tackle in one weekend. The first item I transformed was her trash can.   Add

some fake flowers...

...hot glue, and tada!  My inspiration for this came from her cousin Cate's lampshade which is covered in white roses.  For a teen room I thought she would like the splash of color.  The flowers ended up costing $7 and the trash can, which she already had, was $4. Not bad!

I used magnetic paint (where the rectangle is) and then painted over the rest of the wall a lilac and added deep purple trimmings.  At one point she said she wanted the whole room a deep purple, but hey, this is a surprise which means I get to choose :)  I found some magnetic letters and put them up which I know border lined on too young but I knew she would secretly like them and made sure to get two packs so she could spell her name with both e's.  She already had the lamp, and I used the colors in the lamp as a guide for the colors in her room. You can also see the deep purple rug which I think adds a nice accent!

I took all the "stuff" off her closet door 

and added dragonfly mirror accents. :)

She already had this comforter, we got it few weeks earlier, which she picked out herself.  I can't believe how well the paint matched the comforter, and this was just by chance.  I picked these colors because I liked them...I guess she did too!  I found the wall stickers at Target, it isn't as easy as it looks, they stick to the wall...and themselves, but it still turned out cute!  I kept the pink polk-a-dot curtains because she needed some pink to tie to the lamp...and I love polk-a-dots!

I also painted a whiteboard for her. You can tell that these pictures were taken after she saw the room and...she obviously loved the whiteboard!

When Hailee saw her room she: screamed, jumped up and down and cried!  

She was so happy and surprised. She loves her new fun and unboring room!

(I will just love it if she keeps it clean!)

They made it look so easy!

After living in our house for a little over 2 years, everyone's room is finally decorated and painted just like I like with the exception of one...Felicity's room.  Since it's the last room to do, I want to take my time and make sure that it is really awesome, since she had to wait the longest.  So I've been "out there" looking for cute and fun ideas.

I found this cute idea for a rug, using recycled t-shirts and a hula hoop for a frame.  What a fun idea and we love to recycle, so it's perfect.

Although hula-hooping is a dying sport, the girls have multiple hula hoops and are actually, very good at it (See link below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-d_CqClsRA&feature=feedu  Aubree and Hailee Hula Hooping

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_pHhBAEpks&feature=feedu Felicity and JQ Hula Hooping

I found the biggest hula hoop my fourdarlingdaughters had, there was a bonus, it lights up too.  Fun!

Felicity doesn't look that thrilled, but she didn't have the vision yet.

Basically, you cut the t-shirts into strips and loop them around the hula hoop.  You need 12 strips for the weave part and two of them you push together so that you have an odd amount (or the weave won't work)

This is the first piece we will actually weaved in.  You can see the other "projects" we have going on at the same time.  Not because of our issues with our attention span, but because when you say the word "project" Sadie knows where to go to get the beads, craft scissors and other project items from our project pasts!  We just let her go ahead and do that.

1. It's easier than arguing with a two year old.

2. She might actually come up with a creative idea :)

Here is Felicity, joining in on the fun.  She said it wasn't that she wasn't excited about our project earlier, she just wasn't picture ready. After a change of clothes and fixing her hair, she is ready to participate :)  

It's actually starting to look like something.  At this point Felicity is getting excited.  She is remembering the shirts that no longer fit her and thinks it's pretty cool that every time she looks at her new rug she will think of old times! The instructions said it would take 2 shirts, but then in the comments under the instructions it said 12 shirts.  It wasn't easy to come up with that many shirts, so we used some lounge pants and an old skirt too.

The instructions said to keep pushing down each layer and to keep the weaving tight.  I did that, in fact, I decided it wasn't tight enough at one point, that I unweaved half of the rug and wove it tighter.  I wanted it to be perfect!...and that was my downfall...

This is the "good" side!

 I think I made it too tight!  I would have been better off keeping it on the hula hoop, like everyone in the house thought I was going to do! I had to keep explaining, that that would be ridiculous to have to step over the hula hoop part of the rug.  So instead, this is what we get!

Sadie asked me what is was and I told her a bowl big enough for her.

Felicity, Sadie, Felicity (Sadie's baby) and Felicity's new "rug".

I might make this "rug" into a pouf, or start over, but I should probably keep the hula hoops in this house for its original purpose...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGXCiz-hh4U Aubree trying to teach Sadie to hula hoop!

Pumpkin Bashing

Carving pumpkins is a pretty normal tradition in most families.  This year to mix things up, we decided to have a competition: parents vs. darling daughters.  Starting with picking out the pumpkins, choosing a design, carving and then final presentation.  The girls say that I'm the competitive one, but as soon as I mention the word competition, their eyes light up, their ears perk up, and you can see the wheels in their heads start to turn.

We tried to keep the our designs secret, but Ms. Smart A$$ubree said, "What are you guys going to do, a Chiefs arrowhead?" I said, it's going to be way more awesome than that...when she says, "What are you going to try to put a players head on a pumpkin...*my eyes shift sideways to make sure she didn't see our Matt Cassel head printed out on the counter*...because that is so old news, all over Twitter"

Well, since I was not feeling well, I showed mercy on them; we ended up carving...

a Chiefs Arrowhead and some pretty stuff on the side.  Dustin drew it, I was carving it, until I sliced my hand with the x-acto knife.  So I decided to spy on our competition. I was curious as to what they'd come up with since they were talking pretty big and bashing our pumpkin ideas...

Not bad and pretty creative! A three legged unicorn without a horn and toothpicks holding it together :)

It was getting pretty chilly, so I decided to warm up the house by roasting the pumpkin seeds.

Sadie wanted to help!

We took this ourselves using the self timer and the window sill. Not too bad for amateurs :)

Pumpkin Seeds

Fresh Pumpkin Seeds

Butter

Worcestershire Sauce

Sea Salt

Cook for 25 minutes

300 degree oven

As for the winner of the Pumpkin Carving contest, Aubree tally marked the positive comments from Trick-or-Treaters. 5 positive comments for the darling daughters/0 for parents. :)

Kidless Weekend

A rare occasion, a kidless weekend without our four darling daughters.  Early Saturday morning we left for Columbia, Missouri to watch Mizzou beat Oklahoma State and enjoy the annual Kelley Tailgate. Since it's only the best for us, we sought out the "Quality Inn" for our weekend stay...oh yes, there was only two rooms available in Columbia when Dustin booked it, and they were both at the Quality Inn.  

We dropped the car off at the "Inn" and called a taxi to take us to the tailgate.  Dustin assured me that it would be the easiest way to get around and would cost less than $10.  The taxi guy was nice and I had to wonder if I'm the only person in the world that always hears the taxi drivers entire life story in like 15 minutes.  This time was a bonus because when we got near the stadium, I confirmed that Dustin had the tickets...and he didn't.  Long story short, our $8.00 15 minute cab ride turned into a $32 (tip included) 45 minute cab ride and not only did we hear about his whole life...we got specific examples. Yay :)

We eventually made it to the tailgate, the Kelley's had good smelling food but we were full from already eating on the way up...I try to eat at McDonald's as much as possible until November 9th (because I still think that I can win at Monopoly!)

The game was good but Mizzou didn't win :(  We were on the ZOU side with the alumni (Dustin felt at home I'm sure but graduating from Missouri State, I felt a little like a traitor. This was not the most exciting place to sit, but they still appreciate a good play). 

At the tailgate after the game, we did eat and it was delicious! Thanks, Sue, Gary, Justin, Piper, etc. etc...yum!

Before going out that night, we checked into our room.  The lady at the counter explained to me how to get there, "You go outside, turn left, go up the steps and your room is on the left.  You go outside, but it's not an outside room" (What a weird thing to say, and completely false. We could've only been more outside if we were in a tent). 

We went to our room, took a short nap, I introduced Dustin to "The Dead Milkmen" (because everyone should know the song, "Punk Rock Girl"!) and we met his old college friends at Coley's American Bistro.

Coley's was delicious! Pork chop tips and apple sandwich...and you know how I feel about apples in everything.  Yay!  Dustin happily ate the pork chop with Hoisin Sauce (mashed potatoes and green beans).  It reminded me of really good conference/meeting food that you get at a horribly boring conference, where the only thing good about it is the Hoisin sauce that is drizzled on the green beans.  I don't know what Hoisin means, but I think it's a foreign word for, "a nice touch". 

We also went to Shiloh's with everyone, for a few hours and then back to the hotel.  We left fairly early the next morning.  Dustin refused to eat the "free hot breakfast" at the Quality Inn and he also refused to eat at McDonald's on the way home. #notamillionaireyet

...then a Black Cat Crossed my Path

On my way back from the airport yesterday a black cat crossed my path.  I am a little superstitious, so I nearly wrecked the van trying to see any a patch of white or anything to not make it a BLACK CAT!

My next thought was, it's nearly 8 o'clock, the night is almost over, what could possibly happen?

At 9:30 p.m. Sadie had just finished watching Rapunzel.  The credits were running, the music was playing and Sadie was dancing. Then our night takes a turn for the worse...
In Sadie's words..."I was just dancing and the t.v. broke my face and I had bled all over me".

Her face is already glued here, taken the next day

They cleaned out her owie, numbed it and said they would be back to glue it shut and it would actually be better if she was asleep.  3 hours later, she was still wide awake, climbing up and down the hospital bed, and opening and closing the room door...while her Mommy and Daddy nodded in and out of sleep.

Sadie: Where's the doctor? I'm just gonna leave.  When's the doctor gonna glue my face? Where's the doctor?
Me: (on the hospital bed) Come lay by Mommy and take a little nap.
Sadie: I don't want to take a nap, where's the doctor.
Dustin/Daddy: (in the chair, blanket over him) *sigh* Sadie
Sadie: What? I'm trying to find the doctor's at.
Dustin/Daddy: *sigh*

4 hours later we were back home from the Emergency Room, our sweet baby with the gaping cut in her forehead glued shut.  It's 1:30 a.m. and she's still awake...I assume she went to sleep as soon as she laid down but I don't know because Dustin and I were both asleep when our heads hit the pillow.

8 o'clock in the morning, "Hi Mommy, Hi!"
How does she not require any sleep?

Above her left eye, poor baby!

The next time a Black Cat tries to crosses my path, I will stop the car, back up and turn around!

1st You Take the Grapes & You Squish em...

For several years, my Mom & Dad's grapes have not done well, but this year, thankfully, we have plenty of grapes and I can once again cross off grape jelly from the grocery shopping list! I can proudly say that in the past my grape jelly has taken first place every time I put it in the Holden Fall Fiesta Fair!  My secret is (was, :) ) instead of straining the grape juice with cheesecloth, I use a flour sack towel.  The jelly comes out very translucent this way and that is what the judges love!  This time when I made jelly, it wasn't for a contest, so I didn't strain it at all.  Not straining it, cut down my processing time immensely and I'm sure there are extra vitamins and "good stuff" that didn't get tossed out.  

 I used a combination of white grapes and concord grapes.  I cooked the grapes down and the whole house smelled delicious! (lol, recognize the pot above?  If you look at my cute laundry room blog, it's "home" is on the top shelf and is only allowed to come down on canning days :) )

 After you cook the grapes, you put them through the Foley Food Mill.  As far as food mills go, this one is pretty big, which fits perfectly on my 32 cup Tupperware "That's a Bowl".  In the past, the girls would help me turn the handle on the food mill to "help out" but this time, they helped me stem the grapes.  Stemming the grapes is a pretty sticky, messy job.  I was happy to have the help and they were happy to be in a perfect grape sneaking position. 

 It's funny how, having several years to reflect on my jelly making, made me realize that while I was taking extra time to press out every last bit of the grape through the food mill (see picture above) and then I would pour it through the flour sack towel twice...hmm completely counter active and it only took me like 15 years later to realize it. :)

Instead of making the jelly immediately, I froze the juice and made it a few days later.

Not translucent, but completely delicious!  The recipe comes straight from the Ball cookbook (with my additional hints).

Grape Jelly
5 cups grape juice (about 4 1/2 lbs. of Concord grapes (White Grapes) and 1/2 cup of water)
1 package of powdered pectin
5 cups of sugar

To prepare juice: Select 1/4 firm-ripe and 3/4 fully-ripe grapes. Wash and stem grapes. Crush grapes, add water; cover; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes. Strain juice through a damp jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth (I didn't do this).  Let juice stand in a cool place for 12 to 24 hours (I just froze the juice and it worked fine); strain again.  Cook the juice and pectin on high heat until boiling (stir the whole time).  Add sugar stirring continually until sugar is dissolved. Boil mixture to a rolling boil and continue to let it boil for one minute. Ladle hot jelly in clean sterile jars. (I timed it just right for the dish washer to finish sterilizing the jars right when the jelly was ready. As soon as I put the jelly in, I skim off the bubbly stuff and wipe the rim of the jar.  Place the two-piece flat and lid tightly on the mouth of the jar and turn upside down. Let it sit upside down for 20 minutes and then flip upright. You should start hearing the tinging of the lids.  This is the jelly's way of saying, "Good job, you at least got it sealed right!"  I made 6 times the amount of the recipe but only added 5 times the sugar.  Wow, 30 cups of sugar...yep, 25 was plenty enough!