From my heart and soul

I have a friend who recently adopted one of the cutest little boys ever from Korea. I've had a heart for adoption since elementary school as well and my hus and I talk about it often. My cousin has also adopted 3 children of her own and is the most beautiful mother and has the most beautiful family ever. It's an awesome calling and it deserves a lot of love from your "heart and soul."

When this particular little boy got adopted they had a coming home celebration that included an airport fanfare with a few posters that read "born in my heart and seoul:" (Seoul, Korea). So I decided to stick with that theme for his first birthday present. I knew that he would get a lot of clothes and toys...and his parents have already spoiled this little one with TonS of goodies and even his first Ferrari to match his daddy's so ~ I gifted him a quilt to keep him warm and bundled along with one of my favorite gifts to give: a personalized hoodie towel. These gifts were simple but I hope that it's a daily warmth and cuddle from us. He has a doggy of his own so I decided to go with a doggy theme.

Close up. It took 7 fabrics. 18 6 1/2"x6 1/2" squres, 1 18x20piece, boarder fabric and one large backing flannel fabric.

Entire blanket. Wish I took a picture of the corresponding piece on the back.

All wrapped and ready to go.

I love giving home made gifts because I know it's one of a kind. I always worry that people might think that it's cheesy or not significant but I put in my effort because it was worth it. :)

I missed you SEW!!!!!~

Guess what I've been doing? 

SEwiNG! :)

 

I eased my way back to sewing with an easy Go-Baby-Go set. The pattern was already on the large fabric with the prints already there so all I had to do was cut, put top sides together, sew, and flip.

End Results:

(I wish I took pictures of the coordinating fabrics on the backs and insides)

diaper & wipes carry sleeve

Bib with coordinating colored fabric on the back and velcro latch on the neck

All wrapped and ready to be gifted to my dear friend Lina who is ready to be a first time mom. Hope she likes it.

I'm Back~

But, fruit flies really need to be gone!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but I've been busy trying to get some summer projects out of the way before I go back to work in 8 days :(

One of the projects was to get rid of FRUIT FLIES from our kitchen! Gross! I hate fruit flies!...more than ants.

I usually try to use homeopathic methods before resulting to chemicals b/c of my kiddos but I've read about remedies that say to put red wine vinegar in a shallow bowl and to cover with foil with holes in it BUT they've never worked when I've tried.

One of my sisters was visiting and said she's done that remedy but in a wine class with a funnel and she said it worked. SO~ here's our version:

Materials:

Wine glass

Paper

tape

Red Wine Vinegar 

OR any Wine 

(we used merlot that was already opened...we're high class like that)

:wink:

Instructions:

Pour a little wine in a wine glass

Make a funnel out of paper

(we used one of addy's drawings...we're all about reusing & recycling)

Tape the funnel to seal it to the glass on the outside

Place the glass at the problem source or the trash can area

Then,

watch the flies accumulate and eventually drown

Sorry Fruit Flies.

Big opening at the top. Little opening into the wine. Huge entrance, slim exit.

End result? We caught dozens and dozens! OMG over a span of 5 days we caught probably 6-8 at a time and we slowly saw them drowning. Now there are no more fruit flies in our kitchen! :) Thank you natural remedies! I love Wine!!!! Wine (in moderation) cures all things. :P

Obesses with me

Another friend started a CUTE blog called Obsess with Jess. She's got cute fashion taste with make up talent that will blow your socks off.

On the side of fashion and make up, she got me obsessed with the yummiest drink on earth! It probably has a billion calories but we won't acknowledge that part. lol.

 

 I <3 Phoenix Cafe's Mixed Fruit Drink.

Ingredients (that I know of)

Ice

Coconut Milk

Pretty sure it has condensed milk

Tiny Clear Tapioca Balls

Watermelon

Mango

and mixed fruits.

YUMMY I'm OBSESSED with MIXED FRUIT DRINK!!!

::Featured blog: Obsess with Jess

Donations

My initial interest in couponing began with an interest to be a good steward of my financial spending. Since I've began, I saved 50% of my typical spending for household products (not so much foods yet). Yay. BUT!~ then I joined a fb Christian Couponing group and it dawned on me that we could be good stewards of our couponing to donate things to church. I was a little behind some of them so I didn't get to coupon to donate snacks to VBS or send of the India team with deodorant or cleansing wipes...but I caught onto the tail end for the Haiti Team. :) They just e-mailed a donation list for beauty products and school supplies so~...

this is what I'll be sending off. I wish I could've done more but now I know to utilize things around me to send of with prayer and consideration. In this batch I have :

2 scotch tapes, 2 sharpies, John Frieda Shampoo, glue, 3 nail polishes, 1 make up remover, 2 twizzler candies, cottenelle wipes, 2 neutragena chapsticks, 2 packages of pens, 2 nail files, nail clippers, and tweezer. 

You'll notice that I have 2 of each b/c I was only limited to coupon 2 of each product. Next time I can accrue more or gather church friends to coupon too. :)

Stay at Home ART!

Are you a stay at home mom and always on the look out for a creative project for the kids to explore on a cheap budget? A friend of mine, who is a fun & creative kindergarten teacher, started her own blog. In her well designed blog page she just featured an art project recycling things that may be lying around your own home. Try this project at home and have a beautiful day!

Got an empty gift card floating around?

Use it in the original form

OR trim the edges and gift it a unique texture

That tree needs a little more life...What about rubber bands? 

Cut, bundle, and tie it together

Dab and paint!

Give it the finishing touch and voila! Recent trainings for teachers have been to raise 21st century thinkers who use the things around them to be innovative. By doing this project...You've got a creative 21st century artist who re-uses the things around them in innovating ways! After it's all done, do what I do in class and KiSs that BrAiN!

::Guest Blog Featured: It's a Beautiful Day

Thanks Lynn, Kiss that brain of yours for sharing!

Vietnamese Vermicelli...my way

A great summer dish that's easy to make is Vietnamese Vermicelli...my way. :) My way = with Korean Bulgogi.

I used the sauce recipe from Serious Eats  and I altered the Vermicelli Salad recipe by using Korean pre-marinated Bulgogi. I also used the white daikon instead of shallots. So here's my altered version below:

Serving Size of 6 adults and 2 children

Ingredients

•  For the marinade meat:    
• Korean Pre-marinated Bulgogi

Preparation: Broil and chop

• For the sauce (also known as nuoc cham):
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup fish sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced or julienned (depending on your preference)
• 1 to 2 teaspoons chili paste

Preparation: Mix together and refrigerate while preparing all the other dishes.

•  Salad 
• 1 Shredded Lettuce
• 1 Shredded Daikon (Japanese Raddish)
• 2 Shredded Carrot  
• 1 small bag Bean Sprouts
• Cilantro

Preparation: wash, chop, shred, and set aside. Shredding the carrots and daikon make it thinner and softer so that it was easier for my 16 month old to enjoy this meal. Vermicelli takes only 2 mins to boil. Make sure to take off the heat and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. It will still look clear but will take on a white color as it dries.

Preparation: wash, take off the bean and tail. I rinsed it one more time b/c everyone's hands were helping to prepare this.

• Served With 
• Hoison Sauce
• Sriracha Rooster Sauce
 

 ENJOY!

Preparation: Pile all the ingredients into a large bowl and arrange it to look pretty to serve.

This is a great summer dish that leaves you feeling refreshed and healthy...unless you eat 2 & 3 servings like we did tonight. :P