oh, and she cooks too

sort of! 

Cooking:  not my favorite thing, but hey we've got to eat and someones got to do it.  When Terry is in town I am totally hands off, but when he's gone its all me – all the time.  Here's a favorite at our house that I shared last week with my new friend Sarah and thought that you might like too.  This is one of the only things that all 4 of my kids will eat without at least 1 of them turning their nose up at. 

Start with 2 sauce pans, one is to boil water and cook the noodles in the other is to make your rue (cheese sauce) in.

731-1
While your water comes to a boil and your noodles cook (TIP:  instead of putting a dollup of butter in your boiling water, to help the noodles stay stick free, add a dash of salt)

combine

2T butter

2T flour

wisk until melted and combined add

2C milk

1tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

More or less s and p to taste

stir until it comes to a boil.  It's my understanding that as soon as it comes to a boil that's as thick as it'll get so you can turn it off

add 2 C cheddar

731-2

drain the water from the noodles and combine into a baking dish.  You can use any size from 8×8 – 9×12. 

Now, it's time for the secret ingredient, the one that takes this mac and cheese from good to great…

741-3

crush roughly 1 cup of cheese-it's, sprinkle them across the top, and then finish with a bit more grated cheese.

This is serious business and because it's working with cheese-its I can always count on help!

731-4

Yum, Yum!

731final

Terry makes a much more gourmet version with fancy cheeses.  Maybe one day he'll share ;-)

-C

oh, and she cooks too

sort of! 

Cooking:  not my favorite thing, but hey we've got to eat and someones got to do it.  When Terry is in town I am totally hands off, but when he's gone its all me – all the time.  Here's a favorite at our house that I shared last week with my new friend Sarah and thought that you might like too.  This is one of the only things that all 4 of my kids will eat without at least 1 of them turning their nose up at. 

Start with 2 sauce pans, one is to boil water and cook the noodles in the other is to make your rue (cheese sauce) in.

731-1
While your water comes to a boil and your noodles cook (TIP:  instead of putting a dollup of butter in your boiling water, to help the noodles stay stick free, add a dash of salt)

combine

2T butter

2T flour

wisk until melted and combined add

2C milk

1tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

More or less s and p to taste

stir until it comes to a boil.  It's my understanding that as soon as it comes to a boil that's as thick as it'll get so you can turn it off

add 2 C cheddar

731-2

drain the water from the noodles and combine into a baking dish.  You can use any size from 8×8 – 9×12. 

Now, it's time for the secret ingredient, the one that takes this mac and cheese from good to great…

741-3

crush roughly 1 cup of cheese-it's, sprinkle them across the top, and then finish with a bit more grated cheese.

This is serious business and because it's working with cheese-its I can always count on help!

731-4

Yum, Yum!

731final

Terry makes a much more gourmet version with fancy cheeses.  Maybe one day he'll share ;-)

-C

garage art

Hot Summer days have been the backdrop to many a picnic in the back yard, or the garage as seen below.  G received a really cool little picnic basket set for her birthday and all the girls have had fun putting it to use. 

The after snack activity this day was a little bubble art, seen first over at My Little Hen, as a craft inspired from her book: Homemade Fun: 101 crafts and activities to do with kids which fits squarely in the "MUST HAVE" list for summer survival. 

All the girls and their friends had fun mixing colors, finding the best cookie cutters and fighting the wind (until we moved into the garage), to make super funky, grungey garage art.  I ripped off big sections of white paper from the bulk butcher paper we've been tearing on for a couple of years now.  Rocks served as the perfect paper weights and now that we are done my garage floor is still colorful, which makes me smile everytime we take the van out.  

Bblowing

 

Bblowing1

Bartinprog 

Bart 

Bwand

some stretchy combinations

Don't get stuck in a rut!  I love to mix fabric from different collections, designers and even countries.  While sometimes it's easiest to play it safe and sew directly from a collection (thank you designers for grouping like fabrics together for those days when we want a sure bet or to grab and sew)  I tend to lean toward mixing things up a bit more.  It's a little risky but can be a lot rewarding! 

Right now I'm itching to sew up some of our new knits.  Are you tired of hearing about knits yet?  I sure hope not, if you are pick some up and sew with them I think you'll have a change of heart.  Here are just a few combinations I'm really digging on right now.

Carnivaldaisydot 

Carnival, Stenzo dots and Daisy

Pycampanhilco

Blossoms, Gimnast, and campan

Naycampan

Nay Roses on super light pink ribknit with campan

Skirting Around

I'm certain now that living in a fabric store can soften even the strongest "I can't sew" spirits, get the creative juices flowing and even make a person dive into action!  My sister and her girls were recently here for a long overdue and fabulous vacation.  This sister doesn't sew, hasn't sewn and has had NO desire to sew

… dun dun dadun…

Until she spent time at our home.  When we weren't checking out small towns, playing in the river, or getting poured on at 6 flags she helped her 13 year old make a skirt, stitched the LAUGUNA skirt with no trouble and even helped me with Olivia's random patchy mish mash skirt.  I think, and hope, that she has been bitten, and bitten hard, and that even though we're far apart she'll continue to nurture that creative spirit that she really does have!

Hopeskirt 

Ho

Hg

Hg2

Opeace 

skirts are Laguna and a random mash up of PEACE collection fabrics. Marilyn with Stenzo dots and Big flower scroll with Picnic Checks

little old German town, here we come

To celebrate Independence Day, we made the decision to ditch the big city and grand fireworks in favor of a small German town about an hour north-ish from us, Fredricksburg.  I can't wait to go back

We did a little browsing, had a super yummy Authenic German dinner in the basement of an old hospital and picked up a few souvenirs. 

I have to say that I am totally in love with small town fireworks.  We drove into the large, lovely park, played soccer, danced to the tunes and "chilled" until the show, which didn't disappoint, without being squashed in like sardines.  This, my friends, is the way to go!

A little sampling of our day…

Austen

 

Typewriter 


Shake 


Tempest 


Dinner 


Kuchen 


Alldiva 


Abhope
Absmiling 


Jreally
Allcrazy 


Greaching 


Mine


Dmstrolling 


Mribbon 


Blooming-fence

little old German town, here we come

To celebrate Independence Day, we made the decision to ditch the big city and grand fireworks in favor of a small German town about an hour north-ish from us, Fredricksburg.  I can't wait to go back

We did a little browsing, had a super yummy Authenic German dinner in the basement of an old hospital and picked up a few souvenirs. 

I have to say that I am totally in love with small town fireworks.  We drove into the large, lovely park, played soccer, danced to the tunes and "chilled" until the show, which didn't disappoint, without being squashed in like sardines.  This, my friends, is the way to go!

A little sampling of our day…

Austen

 

Typewriter 


Shake 


Tempest 


Dinner 


Kuchen 


Alldiva 


Abhope
Absmiling 


Jreally
Allcrazy 


Greaching 


Mine


Dmstrolling 


Mribbon 


Blooming-fence