Nature's Candy {Happy & Healthy Valentines}

In an effort to be completely honest here, I'll admit I'm no picture of health.  But, being a mom, I try me darndest to make healthy-er choices for my son.  Besides, I think he's wild enough without the added assistance of sugar.  Can I get an Amen, fellow moms?!  With this in mind, my inspriration for this year's valentines was born.

 

I found this idea on Pinterest, but never pinned it, and can't find it again.  Sorry, if I could, I give the proper props, I would.  Anywho, I made these cuties (pun intended) for my students and for my son's classmates.  I designed the tags using Picnik online photo editing site and printed them out on cardstock.  I dropped the little fruits into the treat bags (found at Wal-Mart) and tied on the tag with twine.  Voila!  Couldn't have been easier.  I liked that not only, they weren't a sugary nightmare, but that they were more fun than a store-bought valentine. 
And, now, it's time for me to eat all that chocolate I won't let my kiddo eat.  Can't let it go to waste, can I?!

Girls Only Project

My friend Lara over at The Farmer's Wife Tells All is a mom of two lovelies and is expecting another from Uganda pretty much any day now.  She has a huge heart for the widowed and orphaned around the world and she recently came up with an awesome project to help young orphaned girls with something most of us ladies may take for granted.

In much of the developing world disposable sanitary products for menustration are not practical or just not available.  Some girls even use trash during their periods, or they miss school all together because they have nothing to use.  Cloth pads are a desparate need for these young women.  This is what Lara's For Girls Only Project is all about.  She is trying to get cloth pads (in addition to bras, panties, and some other essentials) into orphanges and remand centers in Uganda.  Lara is recruiting her friends, family, anyone, and everyone to make pads and/or make donations to put kits together for the young women.  The plan is to put 5 cloth pads, 3 pair of panties, and one bra in each kit.  You can read more about Lara's project here.

Well, when she put the call out for help, I fired up the ol' Singer.  Using fabric I had in my stash (fleece and jersey knit for the padding and 100% cotton for the lining) I whipped up 20 pads.  Also using fabric scraps I sewed up 4 zipper pouches (for girls to keep their cloth pads in).  At Target I found cotton panties on sale (8 pair for $8) and some bras on clearance ($3.50-3.98).  All told, I spent $36 to make 4 kits (panties: $12, bras: $16, zippers for pouches: $8).  Doing the math, that's only $9 per kit (making drawstring pouches would make it even less expensive).  Not really a whole a lot for a young girl's comfort and hygiene.  Four kits may not sound like a lot, but it will help.  Lara's friends have stepped up and many more supplies have been donated to make the kits for this incredible project.

Here's the bounty I am donating....

Read all about this project, her adoption journey, and more on Lara's blog.

S.O.S. {Your Help is Needed!}

Hey lovelies, I want to elicit your help today.  My real-life friend Lara @ The Farmer's Wife Tells All is doing a Girls Only Project today and needs our help.  Follow the link over to her awesome blog and please consider helping!

Happy Friday :)

It's Good to BEE Queen: Queen Bee Market...Again!

I'm going!  Who's joining me?!

Fancy Pants {Sew Easy}

I found a fabulous and easy, fabulously easy, kids' pants tute over at Made. She even includes a FREE pdf pattern. Ah. Sum. It was sew easy that I cranked out 3 pair. There is a fourth pair in the works, but I must do some seam ripping because in my haste I sewed the wrong sides together. Curse words.


Here are my pants in action:

I made this first pair from some adorable black and white striped seercuker fabric. The little man also has a navy blue chambray pair, and a cute green plaid pair. The pair being seam ripped is red and white seersucker. I think I'm addicted.

Free pattern, $20 in fabric....that's just $5 a pair.  Sweet!

It's Wednesday and that works for me.  And my kid.  And his pants.

I'm linking up to We Are THAT Family: WFMW

Road Trip to Queen Bee Market {Um, Can We Say, FINALLY!?}

It's taken me sooo long to recap my QBM trip frankly because I was just being lazy about taking photos of some of my finds.  Well, I got the old camera out and here it is....

The BFF and I lived it up this past weekend a few weekends ago and left the men with the kids and headed west to San Diego.  On the way we discussed why we don't do this more often since our husbands seem to leave town much more frequently without spouses or children.  We still don't have an answer, but I think a precedent has been set.  A girls trip will happen again.

We couldn't get out of town fast enough.  First stop was Viejas for some outlet shopping.  We coveted many things in the Coach store.  I. Want. This.

via

Once we arrived in San Diego, our next stop was our favorite eatery:

It was worth the 30 minute wait for a table and the noise of dining inside.  We ate till we were stuffed, and our wonderful waiter, Andrew (who we are pretty sure has waited on us before at that location) hooked this fortune cookie-lover up with a big bag o' cookies.  He was awesome.

BFF and I continued on to our hotel in Del Mar.  We had the city at our fingertips and no one tagging along with a bed time, but we opted for staying in, lounging in our luxuriously comfy beds, watching TV, chatting, giggling, and eating cookies (me: fortune cookies, Brandi: the complimentary chocolate chip cookies we received upon check-in).  And then we slept.  The pillows said it all.

We were giddy the next morning for Queen Bee Market and all the handmade greatness it had to offer.  It was small and intimate and worth the 3 hour drive.  There were so many fabulous items.  Here are just a few of the gems I brought home (including the birthday gift the BFF procured for me):

More delicious dining was in store for us in Carlsbad at my favorite Mexican food restaurant in the universe.  For those that are familiar, Casa de Bandini used to be in Old Town.  I spent my childhood eating there on trips and vacations.  I was blessed to find a husband who knew of its greatness, too.  We even dined there on our honeymoon.  Anywho, the restaurant closed for a looong time, but finally reopened in Carlsbad.  A relatively far cry from Old Town, but still the same yummy food, and worth the drive for two hungry girls with nothing else to do and not a care in the world.

After stuffing ourselves silly at lunch, we needed to walk off some calories.  This called for some Swedish retail therapy.  Ikea.



Ikea
This little gem is fabulous and only 99 cents.  A two-sided picture frame with so much potential. 


And even though there is a Target in our hometown, we couldn't leave San Diego without visiting the 2-story Target with an escalator.  The simplest things amuse and impress us.  Besides, they just might have different things than our Target.  And they did.  So there.

We were all shopped out, but we vowed not to leave SD before 6pm.  We wanted to get home AFTER bedtime, to maximize that on-vacation feeling.  We had to delight in one more delicious meal.  Pei Wei, PF Chang's faster, but just as delicious little brother beckoned us from the Target parking lot.  It was so convenient, and really who wants to stop to eat dinner in El Centro?

It was a glorious trip.  To sum it up, we shopped, we ate, we lounged, we shopped, we ate, then we shopped and shopped, and finally ate.  I'm still afraid to check the scale or my bank balance.  But, there was fun to had by all.  I can't wait to do it again.  Anyone want to join us?     

Update:  We ARE doing it again...August 6th!  That's the date for the next QBM.  Can't wait!

Where I Am Going Next Weekend {It Is Super Awesome}

The BFF and I are road trippin' to San Diego next weekend to delight in all that is delightful at the Queen Bee Market.  There are not sufficient words to describe our excitement.

Just me and the BFF.  No kids.  No husbands.  Shopping.  Most likley eating at PF Chang's.  It will be amazing.

You should go, too.

Blog Love {Alexandra Rose}

I am so giddy to present to you my new bloggy amiga...Alex from Alexandra Rose.

We met a week or so ago (and when I say met, I mean in the most intimate and natural of ways...via the blogosphere), and I am LOVING her blog and COVETING the handmade creations in her etsy shop.

Alex hails from Southern Oregon and is a wife and the momma of an uber-cute red-headed boy.  She is sweet and funny, a tad OCD in regard to canned goods in her kitchen cabinets, is addicted to Burt's Bees lip balm, and also loves so many of the same things that I love (except for Diet Coke. I go for the real stuff).  She is a Real Housewives watching and Us Weekly reading gal....that's my kind of woman!  And of course, craftiness is not lost on this young lady.  Check out some of my favorite delights from her etsy shop, Alexandra Rose:


I may give up my coveted Coach checkbook holder for this orange delight.



And who doesn't want an adorable elephant mini wallet in orange?!

I have baby-envy when I see these soft and sweet chenille burp clothes.

Here's her little guy.  I told you he was cute. And a red-head.

So waste no more time.
Follow her blog.
Find her esty shop.
Become a fan of her facebook page.

I heart Alexandra Rose.  You will, too.  The End.

Mini Milestone and a Snack

If you are one, or know and love a primary teacher, you know that the 100th day of school is kind of a big deal.  I like to celebrate this mini milestone with a delicious snack.  What other way is there to celebrate, anyway?!

I found this idea a few years ago, somewhere on the web.  But, now, for the life of me, I have no idea where.  I wish I did so I could give credit where credit is due.  Sorry!

Anywho, 100th day Snack Mix is super easy and can be modified to every individual taste.  You only need 10 pieces of 10 bite-size ingredients.  You'll have 100 pieces of the snack mix...get it?!

This year's recipe was....
10 Cheerios
10 Rice Chex
10 raisins
10 mini marshmallows
10 chocolate chips
10 peanut butter chips
10 macademia nuts
10 plain M&M's
10 Cap'n Crunch
10 Cocoa Puffs

Kids making their snack

Raisins

Cheerios

M&M's

Macadamia Nuts

Peanut Butter Chip

Mini Marshmallows

Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Cap'n Crunch

Cocoa Puffs

Rice Chex

TaDa...100 pieces of snack greatness!

Put the ingredients in a plastic baggie and give it a little shake to mix.  Yummy!  The kids love making it, and love eating it even more. 

Happy 100 days!

Gotta Love a Glam Giveaway

Got another giveaway for you!

The adorable and talented Nina @ Momma Go Round is hosting an awesome giveaway for her real life BFF and an equally adorable and talented Ashley @ Little Miss Momma.  Who wouldn't want to enter to win TWO FREE RINGS from LMM.  Yay!

If don't already follow these two delights, you must.  Now.  And def check out LMM's etsy shop.  She has gorgeous rings and the ever popular Moustache Necklace!