teacher gifts

these were probably my favorite DIY gifts that i've made to date! 

they weren't hard to assemble and fairly inexpensive! 

i picked up a few pots from walmar - along with soil and succulents. 

using my silhouette and vinyl - i put the teachers name on the front of the pot and 'thanks for helping me grow' on the backside! 

then i traced kullens hand and had him write his name. 

his teachers seemed to really like them and kullen, of course, enjoyed helping and giving them to his teachers on the last day of pre-k!

peanut butter!

when I was planning mandee's baby shower, it's safe to say that I went a little overboard in the mason jar department! that being said, expect a lot of DIY's involving them on this here blog!

my first - peanut butter!
I saw it on pinterest, of course, and knew I had to try it out! the only problem is that I don't have a food processor! I just have a single serve smoothie maker (kinda like the magic bullet but cheaper!) and I was skeptical that it wouldn't turn out right!
well - I was wrong! it is perfect and I'm never going back to store bought again!

(original pin/recipe here: http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/07/homemade-peanut-butter.html)

mine:
1 jar of planters honey roasted peanuts

pour into food pro/mixer/blender and blend until desired creaminess! I had to stop a few times and push it all down and reblend since I was working with a small machine!

the 'egg mcmuffin' of egg cups!

i have pinned a couple different varieties of 'egg cups'
and have been itching to make them! 
[especially since i picked up a double pack of eggs from BJ's at my last trip!]
i also picked up some packaged ham slices [that was conveniently half off and only 50cals a slice!]

and cheese [forgot the scallions]
and set out to make them this afternoon!


here are the ones that i pinned:

Source: thesimpledelights.com via Kaley on Pinterest

Source: familyfun.go.com via Kaley on Pinterest

and what i did was ... kinda .. combine the two!
i wasn't sure about the runny middles of the first one [for kullen anyway, i enjoy a nice run!] but wanted the ham outsides. since i had the ham outside, i didn't need to add any meat like the second one suggests but i did add cheese, onion, milk and scrambled it all together before pouring into my 'ham cups'.
i think i used too many eggs because after filling my 'cups' - i had leftover egg. i am a 'waste not, want not' girl so i just decided to over flow my ham cups ... and the result wasn't as pretty as pinterest [of course, right?!] but the taste was amazing!! 
glad i'll have twelve eleven of these to last through the weekend! :)


here's my version:
12 slices ham
11 eggs
1/2c milk
1/2c shredded cheddar
little bit of onion - chopped really thin!
salt and pepper


preheat oven to 400degrees
spray muffin tins with pam!
put ham slices into bottom

mix eggs, milk, onion, cheese, salt and pepper - mix well!

pour into ham cups - overflowing is allowed ;]

bake for 20 minutes. if they're still runny-ish - bake until done!
scrape around edges to 'pop' out!

 and as you can see, they aren't perfect - but they're REALLY good and easy. i can make one for kullen in the morning within 15 secs and the hub can grab a couple to go for breakfast on his way to work! not only that, they're healthy!
next time - i think i will double the recipe and try freezing half. i'm curious to see how they would do frozen!



thanks pinterest!
i saw, i pinned, i DID!

stripes

dude, i'm totally addicted to stripes! 

more specifically, striped curtains! 

it wouldn't be tacky to have them in every room

would it?

these would actually be PERFECT in kNa's bedroom!

totally my style nursery!!!

http://pinterest.com/kaleysalene/

most of these are pinned on my pinterest :)

because i'm obsessed like that!

i want to ...

-make my own laundry soap! as seen here


-make my own cleaning agents [de-greaser, all purpose, etc ...] as seen here

-be crafty and make things like this and this for my door.
                   and things like this and this and this for my rhys.
                   and things like this and this and this and this for my kullen.
                   and just NEATO things like this and this and this.


-be supermom and have amazing organization skills like this or this.


-have a super awesome blog like this girl and this one anddddd this one! [just to name a few]


-make my own deodorant! as seen here!


-be a SAHM so i can do fun crafts like this and this with kullen [and rhys]!


-make my own dishwasher soap and store it in a cute little jar like this!


-do THIS! especially in my kitchen!


-be an amaaaazing cook and have even more amaaazing recipes like this girl or this one!


-make adorable crochet gifts for friends - such as this or this or this!


-these curtains!


-make my own cloth diapers! as seen here!


-have long, beautiful hair so i can do all of these!

and i know

there is nothing holding me back, but myself!

[& maybe the hub - he's not into the 'making my own' stuff. according to him, he'd rather pay the extra money for detergent/cleaners - psh, whatev.]

all of these are idea's that i found on pinterest

stupid, stupid website! ;]

       

festive!!

i hope everyone has a happy 4th!

we're spending saturday with some of our best buds

celebrating a special little boy & seeing fireworks on sunday

and [possibly] indulging in the maryland tradition of crabs on monday!

i'm hoping for lots of fun in the sun

and a well-behaved little dude! [i won't hold my breath!]

just a few red, white and blue

from me to you!

[hehe, poet kaley!]

[all images via]