monday's spooky lunch

 

this monday's spooky lunch for the kiddos features homemade "lunchables," carrots, spinach, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, strawberry and apple kabobs, and zombie eyes. 

last week, the kids had salad every day. it was at their request, despite some of their friends insisting i had put them on a diet. grilled chicken salad is one of their faves. they also love taco salad, but i digress. my kids are weird, what can i say? they come by it honest, at least. 

upside down french braid

my oldest is a nerd. and before you get all butt-hurt on her behalf, she calls herself a nerd. she prides herself in this identity. when she ran for student government, her tag line was, "there's no better nerd for the job." she has plans to work for nasa one day. at 11 years old, she sat down with the college ranking issue of us news and world report and picked out her top three colleges. cal tech, mit, and stanford. in that order. no exceptions. and this isn't a pipe dream for her. the kid is smart. like really smart. like explaining my college level statistics homework to me when she was in the 6th grade smart. she won't graduate high school early, but she will be about half way through college when she gets her high school diploma in a few years. 

she's also a little bit of a jock. just a little bit. i mean, the kid swears up and down that chess is a sport, but she also plays soccer year round. she's tough on the field. she once had a coach who called her "the enforcer." 

the last time she wore a dress to school, it was black. she paired it with a ratty denim jacket and motorcycle boots. it was cute, of course. but the girly girls kind of scoffed at the whole thing. she is secure enough, though, so she was like, "whatevs, yo." but she hasn't worn a dress or skirt since then.

the point of all of this is to explain how NOT girly girl she is. she and her friends refer to dresses as "death traps." she'll wear one if she has to, for church or a wedding or something of the like, but they are not her go-to wardrobe choice. that said, she is at the age where she is experimenting with her personal style a bit. she's a skinny-jeans-boots-and-cardigan girl. usually with funky glasses. but this year, she started growing out her hair and wearing it in a side braid. she started wearing dangly earrings and asking if she could get a second ear piercing (after soccer season, of course). 

even with all this experimentation, sometimes she surprises me. when she came up with an idea of an upside down french braid, i was a little unprepared. so, i went to pinterest and checked out a few ideas and this is what we came up with.

yup. a braid. a bun. a bow. all we need is sparkles and ruffles and she'd meet her monthly allotment of girliness! still, super cute and maybe she'll let me do it for school one day.

 

zombie eyes

see these? aren't they cute? again- i need to come up with better adjectives. whatever. i'll get around to it.  

these are fun and easy to make- in fact, my kids like to help. these are a twist on the hershey kiss on a pretzel all over pinterest right now- but of course, halloweened up for the fun of it. 

this is not a photo tutorial, since the last time i made a batch, i didn't photograph the process. i figure if i explain it, you can figure it out. ;)

supplies: wilton's candy melts (your choice of color, here it's vibrant green), square pretzels, candy eyeballs.

how to: toss a bunch of pretzels on a lined cookie sheet. spread them out so they are in a single layer. eat the broken ones, they are yummy. 

at some point, turn on your oven. set it at 350. i don't preheat for this, and that's fine for my oven. use your judgment about your own oven. 

place a candy on top of each pretzel, flat side down. try to get them centered pretty well. i may not fuss about oven temp, but centered eyeballs is important, mkay?

pop the cookie sheet in the oven and check it after 2 minutes. these melt fast, and if you leave them in too long, you'll have a gooey mess on your hands. don't ask how i know. don't say you want to see for yourself. just trust me on this. 

when they are shiny, but still look solid, they are good to go. take 'em out of the oven then. 

now you get to do the fun part- make them into zombie eyes! while they are still sitting on the cookie sheet, press a candy eyeball into the melt. do it firmly, but not super hard. the candy melt will ooze through the pretzel holes a bit. you want that. you don't want ALL the candy melt to slip through the pretzel holes, though. you'll figure it out. 

once these are cool, they firm up. super easy for travel, for school lunches, for whatever. just don't carry them in your pocket. the candy melts will, uh, melt. it's kinda in the name. 

we do these with all sorts of variations- candy corn or mallowcreme pumpkins on top instead of eyes. a tiny piece of caramel on top of chocolate melts. one of those tiny pb cups on top- whatever- it doesn't matter. it's hard to mess up chocolate and sugar!

  

lunchy, lunchy, lunchy

so, my name is heather and i have a confession. i am one of *those* moms. you know, one who makes cute lunches.

i know, i know. but i promise, i am not packing my kiddos' lunches AT you. i promise. it's just that i enjoy making healthy treats that my kids will eat- and i discovered that the cuter i make their lunches the more they'll eat. really. if i stick a cherry tomato on a stick, my tomato-phobe will ask for two the next day.

also, i love halloween. it's my favorite holiday ever. i mean, i love it more than christmas. more than arbor day. i celebrate from the first day of autumn until the first day of november. one way i celebrate is with the kiddos' lunchboxes. 

i can't resist. i dork out EVERY YEAR when the stores start filling up with halloween decorations. usually, it's right after school starts. because i am about as big a dork about school supplies as i am about halloween, i stay pretty excited from late july through november. it might be why autumn is my favorite season.

there is so much cute going on in these photos. the roll up thingies on the far left are homemade pizza rolls. i'm lazy, so i use the premade crescent rolls (immaculate baking co makes an all natural version, and i think trader joes does as well). unroll them in a sheet and cut into strips. then i put a spinach leaf and a pepperoni slice on the dough, then roll up. i don't put cheese or sauce inside, as i've found they make the roll ups soggy. i send in some sauce for dipping. kids love to dip.

kids love food on sticks. this mom loves cute. put those together, you get food on cute sticks. i made these (i graduated nursing school and have too much time on my hands now- must. find. job). aren't they cute? gosh, i need to come up with a better adjective. whatever- these are bamboo skewers with monster stickers on the top. i can't remember where i found these stickers- maybe at target? who knows. 

 

yes, those are little cauldrons of grapes. and yes, the dressing containers have googly eyes. because i want to. because i'm huge halloween geek. because sometimes i like to embarrass my 7th grader.

i am fortunate enough that my kids think salads are a perfectly acceptable meal choice. and see the cherry tomato? remember what i said about my tomato-phobe? yup, that afternoon, my 6 year old asked if i would put TWO in his lunch the next day. 

so. it works. i'm having fun. i am dodging some side eyes from other moms, but that's okay. my rule of thumb is that as long as your kid is fed and happy, then you are doing just fine. there are plenty of times the kids are instructed to make a pb&j and grab a water bottle for lunch- i just don't take photos of it. maybe i should do that once or twice. here guys, this is the time i packed lunchables! just kidding. i don't take photos of that, either. ;) 

 

 

 

 

more fun with wine glasses

as if wine glasses couldn't get any more fun... well, they COULD get more fun... if you fill them up to the brim with a cool glass of wine. what's your favorite? personally, i like something semi sweet- not overtly fruity like a flavored wine, but not with a bite to it either. my favorite is riesling, but i'll drink moscato. ah, hell, whoami kidding? if you hand me a glass, i'll enjoy whatever it is! ;)

in addition to wine, i also adore birdies. so much so that i actually have three tattooed on me at the moment! in particular, i love these stylized cuties. to make these stencils, i used my big shot machine and sizzix die cutters to cut out the birdies out of contact paper. instead of using the positive images, i used the negatives to stick on the glasses as sort of a "resist" for the armour etch cream. remember that this is super caustic and needs to be used in a ventilated area. if it gets on your skin, wash it off with soap and water.

this was the finished product! little love bird wine glasses... perfect for gifts for your favorite couple or just to make for yourself. ps: my contact paper had been left in the garage in near 100* heat and lost much of it's sticky, so it didn't have a great seal with the glasses. as a result, you can see that some of the etching cream seeped around the edges of the stencils. that's okay since these were a practice run and will be used for the mister and i. when you make these at home, make sure you have a really good seal around your stencil! :)

front porch prettying-up

lately, i've been spending a lot of time on my front porch and i've been taking note of what needs to be done to make it more enjoyable. in talking to the mister about it, we have decided to make it more like a grown-up clubhouse. we had a bench that we had inherited from my folks, that we sanded and painted a year ago, but that was pretty much it for the porch. i wanted to make it a pretty place that i enjoyed being, as i often hide out there when the kids get to be too noisy for me, or when i need to study a bit, or when i'm checking my emails, or when i'm enjoying an evening glass of wine.



the ladder in the above photo was one that the mister made for the kiddos' bunk beds when they were little. they haven't used them in a few years and i found it in the garage yesterday. wanting to put some plants on the front porch, i grabbed the ladder, painted it white and then faux distressed it with the sander and some "antique stain." this is an awesome tool that you spread on with a brush and then wipe off with a rag and leaves the wood looking aged. i found the tin sign at hobby lobby for 50% off and the colors will match the outdoor rug that should be here tomorrow. the cans are simply food cans that we've recycled into flower vases and herb planters. i sprayed them with a butter yellow paint and they look really cute. other cans are sprayed green and others are blue. it's a thrifty way to recycle some planters for herbs and other small plants. plus, it's great for those little wildflowers that the kids are always bringing me.

these little chairs were given to my twins when they were babies... and my twins are getting ready to turn EIGHT this month! they'd never been painted and quite frankly were not my favorite chairs. but, the kiddos loved them, so i kept them around. to fit in with the new porch, i painted them a light blue (those of y'all living in my area would refer to this as 'carolina blue') and then distressed them.

if you stick around the blog very long, you'll notice that i like the 'distressed' look. the simple answer is yes. it reminds me of farms and simple living. i am not the shiny, polished, elegant kind of girl... i prefer cotton and denim, clean lines and things that are worn in. i am also the youngest of 6, so almost everything i've ever own was previously loved before i got hold of it. maybe it all goes back to that. maybe it's because i have 5 kids of my own and i know that shiny and new doesn't last long in my house. 'distressed' is just giving things that will eventually get beat up a reason to look beat up. but really, i like it because i'm a bad painter and i like instant gratification, and the sander fixes a multitude of sins! i have spent time to make pieces have professional finishes and all that sanding and painting, waiting to dry, sanding and painting, etc. is so boring. with the distressed look, i can put on a coat, sand it and beat it, put on some antiquer and wipe it off (if it needs it), and be done. i love it!

instigator and enabler

to fully get the humor behind this post, you're going to need some of the back story.

you see, i look a little bit like a rebel. i am heavily tattooed- both of my arms are very full; my left arm is nearly completely sleeved. my feet are tattooed. my legs are tattooed. i have tattoos in places you can't see. now, they are all tasteful- pretty flowers, girly-ed up sailor inspired pieces, and my newest tattoo, a crafty tattoo. seriously. a ball of yarn and knitting needles, spools of thread, buttons, scissors, a tomato pin cushion, etc. my hair is always different colors (though because of nursing school, it has to be in the "realm of natural colors" and thus is staying a shade of red or black for the time being) and i have a few visible piercings. i'm loud and i've been told i have a big personality, for what's it's worth.

i have a friend who looks like my complete opposite. she is always well put together and polished, and though she has tattoos (including a very large one on her back), they are not as visible as mine. she is the vice president of the honor society at school, active on campus, was mentioned by name by the college's president during his speech at graduation. she's a wonderful person whom i adore, but for some reason, she has repeatedly been called a "bad influence." i think it started out as a joke by a professor and just grew from there, but everyone we've talked to about it says, "yeah, i can see that." maybe it's because she's so clean cut and you just KNOW that those girls have a wild side. even my four year old agrees, calling her a "party girl." what HE knows about party girls, i've yet to figure out, but when i do, you'll be the first to know. for whatever reason, it's been a running joke for us for a while now.

while on the phone with her this week, her husband chimed in on the topic. he said she's not a bad influence, she's just the "instigator." and if she's the instigator, he said, then i am the "enabler." this made perfect sense to me, though my friend immediately took offense to it. ;) which of course meant that i had to take the joke and run with it. my first thought was: wine glasses. because, well, i had a wine glass in my hand at the time. and the planning started right then and there.

the next day, i went to visit another friend who has a cricut machine. side note: if you don't have one, get one. they are super cool and make my big shot manual crank cutter look like a joke. if you can't afford one (ahem, like me), then make friends with someone with one and have craft parties at her house. seriously worth it. at any rate, we cut out the letters for "instigator" and "enabler" out of self adhesive vinyl and stuck them on the wine glasses:

the vinyl didn't stick very well to the glass, and i was concerned that one wash and they'd come off, so i decided to use glass etching to make it permanent. this stuff is caustic and not meant to cover large areas, i had a really hard time getting it even, but that's okay.

they are not beautiful by any means, but still pretty cool personalized wine glasses for my instigator and me. i think i'm going to keep at it, playing around with designs and cheapo wine glasses to see what other kinds of designs i can come up with. next time, i will follow the directions a little better and not cover the WHOLE glass with the etching cream and instead will just do small areas like it suggests.