Monthly Archives: May 2013

Paint Stamps

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I attempt to entertain Reagan’s requests to do various activities.  Lately, she has been asking to paint…’I paint’.  I’ve said this multiple times, but I really do need to get my butt in gear and get a variety of colors for my daughter to work with.  Blue and pink, although lovely, are getting a bit old.

Instead of pulling out the paint brushes, I decided that we would do some stamp painting with an apple, which turned into stamp painting with a potato, animal crackers and pretzels.  Who would have thought that food could be so much fun to paint with!  Our project got cut short, when daddy started watching a motorcycle race on the computer.  I was left high and dry by my 18 month old for her daddy and motorcycles… whatever floats her boat!

Materials:

The potato, animal crackers and pretzels were afterthoughts, so they aren’t pictured with materials.
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Paper

Knife

Paint- in our case…washable

Plate- or paint dish

Apple

Potato

Animal Crackers

Pretzels

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Reagan and I talked about the color of the outside of the apple and the various colors on the inside of the apple.  We talked about the stem and the seeds and how apple trees grow from apple seeds!  I then attempted to sing her the Johhny Apple Seed Song, which I butchered, thank god for youtube!  The apple that I used was small, so Reagan was able to hold the cut half in her hand.  I showed Reagan what to do and off she went!

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Earlier that day, I pulled out a bag of 6 or 7 potatoes that I had completely forgot about that needed to be trashed.  I brought one over to the table and talked to Reagan about why we couldn’t/shouldn’t eat the potato anymore.  I cut out different shapes and designs on various potato pieces to be used as stamps.

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Reagan spotted a few pieces of her left over snack on the table and asked to paint with them…’I paint pretzel and manimals’. So we painted with pretzels and animals!

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Reagan painted for about 20 minutes before she quickly moved to her daddy’s lap to watch motorcycle racing… a girl after her dads heart!

IMG_9214Excuse the random pizza slice…whatever it takes for Reagan to eat, even if it is while painting!

Jewelry Closet

Posted in Style by

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Sounds amazing, right?! When we were looking at apartments and I saw this pre-war medicine cabinet, I had a vision. Having experimented with many different forms of jewelry storage over the years and I now know that if I can’t see it out in the open, I won’t wear it. The ability to have all of my jewelry on display but also be able to conceal it behind the doors is a dream, especially in a tiny NYC apartment! I know I have a lot…probably too much but this collection wasn’t built overnight and is comprised mostly of Forever 21 finds or deeply discounted J.Crew baubles.

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There is a lot of storage in this small space. Up on the top shelf are towels, wash cloths and sheets. I found these storage bins at TJ Maxx but they are available from a variety of retailers. The Container Store outfitted the rest of the closet including the nail polish bins.

IMG_3600 Tiered Jewelry Stands

IMG_3601Some favorites arranged by rose, gold and silver.

IMG_3602Watch stand, small compartment storage, and earring stand all from the Container Store.

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Affordable Play Clothes

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Super cute play clothes at an affordable price!  Target is a go-to-spot for play clothes for Reagan.  They fit and wash well and I don’t cringe when they are ruined by a smushed banana.
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Striped Shirt from Target (sold out online, but may be able to find in store) Tons of other super cute tops!

Triangle leggings from Target

Neon sandals from The Children’s Place – Similar

 

Brussel Sprouts

Posted in What's Cookin' by

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My eye has been drawn to brussels sprouts lately, both at the Public Market and on Pinterest.  This past Saturday, I couldn’t resist buying these beautifully green sprouts and I’m so glad that I did because they were absolutely delicious!

Ingredients:
(this recipe fed 2 adults with leftovers for the next meal)
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8 brussel sprouts
Olive oil
Minced garlic
butter

Directions:

Heat pan over medium heat. Pour two tablespoons olive oil into hot pan. Add one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of minced garlic. Cook oil, butter and garlic for 3 to 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
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While butter mixture is cooking- rinse brussels sprouts and cut in half.
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Scoop as much of the cooked garlic as you can out of the pan; being sure to leave the oil and butter mixture. I scooped the garlic and then held the spoon against the side of the pan to drain the oil mixture back into the pan.

Place the brussel spouts cut side down in the pan. Cook brussel sprouts for 5-7 minutes, pushing around on cut side, to be sure that they don’t stick to pan. I added a bit more olive oil during cooking. Flip the brussel sprouts over and cook opposite side for 2 minutes.  If you want your sprouts on the crispy side; cook for additional time.
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So Yummy!  I sprinkled parmesan cheese over the sprouts before serving!
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Lonely Toys

Posted in Kid's Corner by

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Instead of continually buying new toys, try putting toys that haven’t been played with in a while away for a few weeks. When you pull them back out…it’s like you purchased a new toy!  I’ve been ‘rotating’ toys for a while now and it’s worked out really well thus far.  Reagan hadn’t played with her Melissa and Doug dollhouse in weeks. I put it away for two weeks and when she came downstairs the other day, she was in love with it all over again! Mind you, this only works for so long…buying new toys is inevitable.

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