Monday, May 30, 2011

#595 - big balloon

It was Parker's party this last weekend...where does time go?

I loved this big red balloon my parents got for him!  (yes, my parents were here, they flew out and surprised me...yeah!)

My parents bought a pack of six 36 inch balloons for $10 and then it cost $1 to fill it up...not a bad deal at all.

Oh, and we also had a chalkboard pinata (see the chalk he's playing with) and tres leches mini cupcakes...i'll blog about that later!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

#594 - Family Time by Ziggy Marley

I'm not a huge fan of music for kids, but this album, Family Time, from Ziggy Marley is a favorite in our home!  The music is great for both kids and adults.  Love it!  Here's one of our favorite songs.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

#593 - Scavenger Hunt

True story
Oster and I went on a scavenger hunt outside
He found everything except the basketball and stink bug
He then told me that we should go inside to find the stink bug

It's sad when you can find more stink bugs inside your house than outside.


Monday, May 16, 2011

#592 - currently reading

I love getting an email from our local library saying a book I have put on hold is ready for me to pick up.

Here are some of the ones I am currently reading, which is also helping towards my goal of reading 24 books this year.


Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook - I might buy this one someday, but for now it is just fun to look through.


Martha Stewart's Cooking School - Can't wait to dive into this one.


The Creative Family - Love the writing on this one...it's from SouleMama (I just discovered her blog about 2 weeks ago)

I've also finished about 8 other books that I need to blog about someday soon.

Do you have any good books that I can add to my list?

Saturday, May 14, 2011

#591 - you have to try these cookies - banana chocolate chip cookies

I saw this recipe on pinterest for chocolate chip cookies only sweetened by bananas and knew I had to try it.  These are going to be my go to cookie recipe for the kids (and myself), since they are relatively healthy.  They taste like a mini banana bread cookie.

Here's the recipe, with my changes in parenthesis.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed  - about 1 1/2 cups (I used 4 bananas)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warm – so it isn’t solid or olive oil (I used olive oil)
2 cups rolled oats (I used old-fashioned oats, I think rolled oats would be better)
2/3 cup almond meal (I just blended almonds in the blender until they were flour-like)
1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened (I used sweetened b/c that is what I had)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 – 7 ounces chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped (I used dark chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the top third.
In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and olive oil. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips. The dough is a bit looser than a standard cookie dough, don’t worry about it. Drop dollops of the dough, each about 2 teaspoons in size, an inch apart, onto a parchment (or Silpat) lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes. I baked these as long as possible without burning the bottoms and they were perfect – just shy of 15 minutes seems to be about right in my oven.
Makes about 3 dozen bite-sized cookies.

I highly recommend these! 

Thursday, May 12, 2011

#590 - 2 eggs in a carton

When I grab these 2 eggs from the coop today, I couldn't get over how cool the one to the left looked.  It is light grey with a hint of blue.
I'm literally amazed every time I find an egg...it's like a little miracle.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

#589 - Best Chocolate Chip Cookie in NYC - Levain Bakery

When we were in New York City last week, there were a couple of stops I wanted to make before we left the city.  One of them was Levain Bakery where they are know  to have the best chocolate chip cookies



I wanted to buy a bunch of cookies to bring them back home to everyone, but at $4 a cookie...well, you know, the economy is tough right now.
The cookies were amazing!  LOVED them!  They have walnuts in them (which I like in a cookie) and were massive.  Pepe was even impressed.

I wish I would have bought more...oh well.

Have you had these?  Someday, I might try one of the copycat recipes out there.

Monday, May 9, 2011

#588 - Sea Salt & Turbinado Sugar Dark Chocolate Almonds

I saw these Sea Salt and Turbinado Sugar Dark Chocolate Almonds on A Cup of Jo the other day.

When I walked into Trader Joe's on Saturday to grab some milk (they have the best milk there), I saw some turbinado sugar and thought, "I'm supposed to buy that."  But then thought, "why in the world do I need to buy turbinado sugar?"

Then I passed these chocolate almonds on the way out and remembered why turbinado sugar was on my mind.  I decided to treat myself to an early mother's day present...delicious!

(they are already gone, but it's not because I ate them all.  Oster dropped almost the entire carton out and walked on them with his poopy chicken shoes.)

#587 - Call Your Mom

I saw this on a friend's facebook wall.  I couldn't agree with it more.

I love talking to my mom on the phone.

And I loved listening to This I Believe essay on NPR today.  I couldn't have said it better.  Give it a listen (or you can read it) if you get a second.  It's all about calling your mom.  Here are two of my favorite quotes from it:

"I believe in calling your mother. No matter where you are, no matter what you are doing, a phone call to your mother will make the world seem less daunting and help you feel stronger."

"That’s what I believe in: the healing, strengthening connections and communications between mothers and daughters."

I love you Mom!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

#586 - 2 "tunnels" from IKEA

 We made an impromptu trip to IKEA yesterday and Oster really wanted these funnels.  2 for $.99, I couldn't pass up that kind of deal...cheaper than most toys.
Oster and Parker each have one to play with.  They have used them as trumpets, used them to see what can fit through the funnel, used them as swords, etc.  They love their 'tunnels'.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

#585 - It Will All Come Out in the Wash Print

I won this lovely print from Kantan Designs and tonight I finally got a frame for it.  I think it will go perfectly in our bathroom.  Thanks Heather!

Monday, May 2, 2011

#584 - Little Red Lighthouse in NYC

We made a quick trip to NYC to visit Pepe's cousin (in and out in less than 24 hours).
 Pepe's cousin lives about 3 blocks from the Little Red Lighthouse, so we decided to check this off our list of places to visit

It's adorable and was a fun little walk.  And I can't wait to read Oster and Parker the book The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge.
It really is a little lighthouse...really little.  Can you see it in the picture above in the bottom right corner under the bridge? (you can click on the picture to see it better)

Details: we drove and parked on 181st Street then walked to the end of 181st (going west towards the Hudson).  there is a long set of stairs, or your can take your stroller/bike to the right when facing the Hudson and that will take you to the entrance of the park.  you could also take the subway to the 181st street stop (i think the A (blue) line is the closest).
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