Finally! {Marshmallows}

I feel really bad.  I can't believe I almost forgot to post this recipe.  So, I am going to do it now, before it is a whole year has gone by (don't worry. . . it hasn't even been 2 months.).  

So.  Homemade marshmallows.  At first thought, you might think:

 - she's crazy.

- uh, gross. 

- she's THAT mom.  (you know the one that makes us all feel guilty).

- That's so much work!

So first of all, I already know I am a bit crazy.  Ask my friends.  Even ask my husband.  It's true.  There's no hiding it.  In fact, if you've been reading this blog for any alloted time, you might have figured it out already. 

Second of all.  not gross.  Life changing, actually.  I'll be honest with you: the kids dove right in.  The parents. . . not so much.  They really are quite wonderful.  Espeically toasted, slightly melty, and combined with chocolate and grahams (you know. . .a S'more!).  

Thirdly, I did not do this to make moms all over the world feel guilty.  I did it because Ethan asked for S'mores and it was something on my baking bucket list.  I was in the mood for a challenge.  

And last, they were soooo easy.  (I say easy if you have a stand mixer.  If you have a hand mixer, expect it to be a tad more work, and for your arm to get a bit tired).  

We toasted them on parchment paper under the broiler for a teeny tiny bit. Just enough for them to turn a beautiful golden brown.  I sent a small batch with my friend Stephanie camping the weekend before just to see how they were with her s'mores.  She came back satisfied and wanting more.  But, she also said they got really gooey on a stick and would slide off.  So, we toasted them.  It went quick and was super easy.  We also sent the kiddos outside to enjoy their tasty treats. 

I made both chocolate and vanilla marshmallows.  I bought graham crackers in regular, chocolate, and cinnamon.  I also bought Hershey bars, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate and Caramel with sea salt, and Andes Mints.  My favorite was the vanilla marshmallow with regular grahams and dark chocolate caramel square.  So.very.delicious.  

The vanilla marshmallow recipe came from here. 

The Chocolate recipe came from here. 

Tuesday Thoughts

I am sitting here typing with the windows open and I realized I was cold.  Let me just say, it's awesome!  I even treated myself to coffee this morning because it was actually chilly when I took the oldest to school this morning.  This really is my favorite time of the year.  

I am really enjoying the Bible Study that I am in this Fall.  I get the privilege of co-leading it with an amazing Godly woman and it's a Priscilla Shirer study.  Well, It's Priscilla Shirer and she's probably one of my favorite Christian Bible study author's. 

I just ordered some new (well, new to me) books off of Abe Books. I've read them multiple times and have decided it's just time to own them so I can start it all over again.  I hope they come quick!  

I keep finding all sorts of yummy recipes on Pinterest and am finally feeling inspired in the kitchen.  Every now and then I kind of get in a slump!  Anyone else out there feel like this too?  (please don't tell me I'm the only one!). 

My fabric stash is a disaster.  I am thinking that my office needs a bit of rearranging, but I have to finish the other projects in the house before I start another room.  I really need to find some inspiration and maybe some time.  For now, I will just keep pinning inspiration and maybe clean.  

I took away the Legos this week.  They were driving me crazy!  Now, there are other toys all over and it's somewhat peaceful.  I even got a cat nap in this afternoon.  I'll take it!  I also think I need to start purging my kids toys.  I should probably start making a list of everything I need to do.  

But, for now, I am just going to go to bed.  It's calling to me.  

It's beginning to look a lot like fall {in my house}

Fall decided to come this week.   I am ready.  Believe me, October in the high 90's and sometimes 100's is no fun.  So, I decided to decorate for Fall.  I'm not really a Halloween person, but I love Fall and don't intend on changing the decor until I get the Christmas stuff out.  I looked around Home Goods and Target, for ideas and items, but seriously didn't really want to spend a ton of money.  So, I got on Pinterest and talked to my husband, and headed to Lowes.

I bought a long piece of wood and some paint samples, spending right at 10 dollars for this project.  The letters on the sign, I just used vinyl from my stash and my cricut and painted them.  I am going to be working on some tags for us to write out Thankful's starting in November!
Sources:
Corks - Michael's
Lantern - Ikea, but from a few years ago.  You can find one like it here.
Brown paint - Divine Buck, Target
Cream Paint - Lyndhurst Estate Cream, Valspar for Lowes
Orange paint - Autumn Gala, Valspar for Lowes
Pumpkin Tutorial - here.  I didn't follow the tutorial exactly.  We used different measurements and used liquid nails instead of wood glue.

With the extra wood, I had my dad cut out triangles for some fun candy corn wedges.  I highly reccomend Frog Tape for this project!  Perfect lines!

Sources: 
wire basket - Dollar spot at Target
Paint: all from above, Yellow - Martha Stewart Satin Acrylic paint in Meadowlark from my stash.  I got it at JoAnns or Michael's.

And finally, my chalkboard.  Loving the way it came out!  I've got some sewing to do to finish some decor up.  Can't wait to share that with you! 

Do you decorate for Fall?  Please leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you. 

Thursday Thoughts

I went on a mini vacation with my husband last weekend.  Let me rephrase that: I went on a kid-free get-a-way with my husband last weekend.  I ate delicious food.  There were no kids saying they didn't like what was for dinner. I got to have conversations with my husband without being interrupted.  I got to watch cable TV.   It was awesome!  And hot.

Seriously people, who are enjoying actual fall like weather and not triple digit weather (at the beach!), I am jealous.  Seriously!  I just want to drink a hot latte without breaking into a sweat.  I want to open up my house and let the cool air flow in.  I want to wear a sweatshirt and dress in layers.

We don't have cable.  I know, weird, right?  We have netflix, and I feel like there is plenty of stuff to watch on regular TV alone (Seriously, stressing about fitting it all in. . . and I am sooo behind).  But, when we go away, I love to watch cable tv.  I love the Food Network and HGTV, and all those other crazy cable channels.  This weekend, I finally got to check out Jen Hatmaker's show My Big Family Renovation.  I LOVED it.  I think my husband did too, because we watched several episodes of it before we forced ourselves to leave during a commercial break.

Speaking of TV, here's what I am watching this season:  Castle, Bones, Big Bang Theory, Scorpian, NCIS, NCIS LA, NCIS New Orleans, The Mysteries of Laura, Hawaii 5-0, and I am probably forgetting some.  I'm also trying to catch up on Once Upon a Time from last season (It's my binge watching show),

I am currently working on some projects to decorate my house for Fall. I can't wait to show you!  I am trying some new things and even helped my husband cut some wood.  It's going to be awesome.  In the meantime, we can't find our dining room table.

I am buckling down and getting super organized, too.  It's pretty awesome.  So far.  Right now, everything is on hold until I find my house.  I'm not sure what happened, but cleaning just hasn't happened in over a week and I am going crazy.  My husband is going crazy.  I am just not sure where to start.  Good thing, tomorrow, the only plans we have are to stay at home.  First time all week.  We sure are having fun, but this house really needs to get clean.  We even have wood chips on our floor. . . I think my son brings them home.

Now, I'm off to go find my kitchen.  Dinner time is calling.  Enjoy your day!

More of Ethan's Lone Ranger/Cowboy Party

I can't believe I almost forgot to finish Ethan's birthday round-up.  I have some absolutely amazing recipes to share with you next week, so bare with me while I finish!  (there will be something yummy later this week, too!) 

Ethan didn't want to go with cupcakes or even a cake for his birthday this year.  Instead, he wanted one of his most favorite desserts. . . S'mores!  I thought it went great with the theme of the party, so we went with it!  I even made homemade marshmallows (best decision ever!).  

It actually took me about an hour before I realized the marshmallows weren't even out! ha ha  The were great!  I will share how we roasted them and how I made them.  I will even share my favorite recipe for s'mores (all in my next post!).  

I really love how my chalkboard art came out.  I copied it from Pinterest and just winged it.  Not to shabby!  To make the pennant bunting, I used this set of framelits for the Sizzix Big Shot.  Absolutely loving it.  It's actually still hanging out on our mantle. . . it's kind of fall-like, right? 

We even had photo props set up to take some fun pictures!  I got some cute ones of our family and friends.  I stuck them in a milk bottle (from this party) filled with dry beans.  I love the way it came out!