another good egg

So i have an announcement.... Baby Watts #4 is on the way! The due date is February 14th and everything is going well - thank you Jesus.  I took a little break from blogging while i went into a state of slightly nauseous hibernation for several weeks, but now i'm feeling much better.

With this pregnancy, I've had all kinds of food aversions and cravings. One minute i want Chinese, then Mexican, then 3lbs of granny smith apples. In an effort to eat as healthfully and economically as possible, i've created some interesting dishes to satisfy the hunger beast. One healthy recipe i go to when i want mexican food is huevos rancheros. The kids love it and it's packed with protein, calcium and vitamin C from all the peppers, tomatillos, and tomatoes. Slightly spicy and super easy to make, this recipe for Mexican eggs is really cheap b/c it doesn't contain any meat! I don't think this is the traditional way to make this, but it has all of the Latin flavors i like.

You'll need*:

6-8 eggs

2 cloves of garlic

1 onion

4-5 tomatillos

1 can or 2 large fresh diced tomatoes

1 green pepper

1/2 c chopped cilantro

1 tbsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 c cheese

salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste

*this is a great way to use up left over chili too! Use the chili to crack the eggs into and top with cheese and cilantro.

Saute garlic, onion, pepper and tomatillos in a drizzle of oil until soft.

Then add tomatoes, cilantro (reserve a sprinkle of cilantro to garnish at the end), and spices. Stir together on medium heat.

Make "holes" in the mixture with the back of a spoon and crack eggs into the holes. Top with cheese and cover with a lid to trap the steam.

Cook on low for about 10-15 minutes. I like my eggs cooked through with hard yokes....i can't handle a runny egg yolk. If you like a runny yoke, cook for about 8 minutes. Top with a few dashes of hot sauce, a squirt of lime, and the remaining cilantro. You can serve this with black beans, rice, tortillas or refried beans.

Our local farmers market has a discount buggy where they bag large amounts of slightly over ripe fruit and veggies. Each bag is only 99 cents! During the summer months, it's full of tomatoes, peppers, and tomatillos. I can make this dish for less than a couple dollars if i use discount veggies.

I've heard it said that fresh food is so much more expensive than "junk" food. It can be ...depending on how you shop. However, if you shop seasonally for produce, stock up when things are on sale, and don't eat meat at every meal i guarantee you can eat healthful and fresh food on a tight budget. Granted, i don't do the whole organic thing - we just eat very little processed and convenience foods. I hope you enjoy this recipe:)

wooden crates

I really like the the texture of an old wooden crate. Rough, humble, nostalgic. I found two crates at an antique mall in hogansville a few months ago. They are full of history and purpose. They performed some useful task for many years - containing and transporting vegetables, fabric, tools, machine parts -  and now they have retired in my living room as sofa end tables. 

I also discovered FREE used food crates at our local farmer's market. They put them out front each morning, free for the taking.  It's really hard for me to resist anything labeled free. It always creates a problem that i love to solve: how can i make this free/discarded thing purposeful and beautiful? They aren't sturdy enough to function as a table, stool, or trusty carrying container so i spent some time finding a use for my thrifty find. 

The two best ideas so far:

-plant stands for my small herb garden on the patio.

-"sentimental paper clutter" boards

We all have special notes from friends, holiday cards, kid's artwork, and other sentimental paper clutter we don't want to throw out. However, this kind of stuff can often float from counter to draw without a designated area. This wooden crate board is a nice solution. I simply used binder clips to attach my special papers.

I untwisted the wire holding the crate together and unfolded the crate so it was a long flat piece, removing the side pieces. Super quick and easy. Then i just added a coat of paint. I have one in my living room and one over the guest bed.

Go pick up some of these free crates and see what ideas you can come up with - enjoy!

Bathtub Paint Soap

Rainy days mean fun in the bathtub around here. The kid's tub is equipped with measuring cups, foam letters, bathtub books, and most recently bathtub paint soap. It's ironic....they can be creative with paint while getting clean! Hannah Grace really enjoys erasing the bathtub art with her bath poof. It's part of the fun. I've seen tub paint in the stores from $5 to $20. I'm going to teach you how to make it on the cheap. This recipe is just a proportional way to measure your ingredients. You can make as much as you want.

Bath paint soap:

- 1 part water

- 4 parts liquid soap (i use baby shampoo)

- 1 part tempera paint 

Put the tub paint in a little cup, give your kids a paint brush, and go get yourself a cup of coffee! It keeps my kids busy for at least a half hour. It will clean up with water...so no mess either! Enjoy and pass this recipe on to any mom who needs a breather:)

Homemade Teacher Appreciation Gift

Asher and Hannah Grace have been attending Mrs. Bobbie's story hour (it's actually 3.5 hours) on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. They do crafts and finger plays, read books, practice handwriting and so much more. They love it. It adds nice structure to our week and they get to play and interact with a handful of other kids their age. I like that its not all day and everyday...it's the perfect balance for us. 

So the real kicker is this....Mrs. Bobbie volunteers her time, resources, and abilities to make story hour a biweekly success. When i first heard about this free program i couldn't believe it...but i took Asher last fall and found that it really did exist. Mrs. Bobbie is a retired educator with a passion for teaching little ones. She has been such a blessing to our family!

If ever a teacher deserved a thoughtful homemade gift...Mrs Bobbie does! So, my mom and i collaborated on this plant/pot/card combo. My niece Alaina also attends story hour so I had all three kids color a picture. I traced their hand prints over the picture, cut them out and mod podged them onto a terracotta pot. I also cut out shapes from some of the artwork the kids created in class and mod podged it onto the pot. I used a sharpie to write each child's name next to his/her hand print. Painted around the rim is "Thanks Mrs. Bobbie for helping us GROW! 2012" My mom found a beautiful peace lily at the farmers market to go in the pot. I placed a piece of rebar wire coiled at one end into the soil to hold up the card.

It turned out nicely. A larger pot could feature the hand prints of an entire class. That could be a neat idea for an elementary school teacher. Thanks for reading! I hope this inspires you to make a homemade gift for your child's beloved teacher.

Glass Bottle Bird Feeders

Right now we have four baby birds nesting in the purple petunias on the front porch. I hung the coconut baskets and within two days I had a bird building a nest. We kept an eye on the eggs for days and they finally hatched a few weeks ago.  Pretty neat. The kids thought it was amazing. I think the birds are teenagers in bird years now, so they should leave the nest soon.

I think the mama bird was eager to build a nest in the petunias because of the super awesome bird feeder hanging nearby on the front porch. I’m sure of it….a little bird told me…

There is something so peaceful about watching birds up close. We’ve seen cardinals, wrens, sparrows, and other varieties I can’t identify eat from the feeder daily. Better than t.v.

Our family has enjoyed the feeder so much, that I decided to make one for my mom-in-law for mother’s day. She’s a gardening enthusiast and enjoys spending time in nature, so I thought it a great gift. I wrote a bit of scripture on hers that she can reflect on while watching the birds.

This thing is so easy to make. You’ll need:

-a couple of glass bottles

- nails and hammer

-2 metal lids…I used mason jar lids b/c I like the look

- rebar wire

- ¼” drill bit to bore holes for the wire

- pliers to shape the rebar wire

- scrap wood (2x4 or 1x4 – if not pressure treated, you’ll need to paint it with outdoor paint)

Take the wood and nail together a “T” shape. Then, nail lids to the piece of wood that sits parallel to the ground. Drill two holes near the top of the vertical piece. Run the rebar through the holes and make a harness to hold the bottles in place. Twist the wire around itself using pliers. This will hold it in place. You want the harness tight enough to keep the bottle in place, but it will need to be loose enough to remove the bottle for refilling.  Drill a hole at the top center and run a string or more wire through to hang your feeder.  Decorate with paint, scripture, handprints, shells, anything.  Fill the bottles with seeds and place them in the wire harness. Keep your fingers over the opening while getting them in place so the seed doesn't spill. Enjoy! 

greek yogurt on the cheap

Greek yogurt is a fridge staple at our house. I like to feed it to the kids instead of ice cream. It’s great on cereal, baked apples, tacos and baked potatoes. It can be substituted in any recipe that calls for sour cream to lower the calorie count.  This yummy stuff has double the protein of regular yogurt and is full of calcium. The rich creamy, texture is so satisfying. I enjoy it with a packet of splenda to indulge a late night sweet tooth.

The only downer to greek yogurt is the price. It costs at least twice as much as regular yogurt… so, of course I had to figure out how to make it on the cheap. Our local discount food store usually has soon to expire pints of plain yogurt for $1.15. Plain yogurt often goes on manager's special at other grocery stores too. Yogurt is one of those foods you can eat after expires. I feel that way about most food, but yogurt really won’t begin to sour for a few weeks after the expiration date.  I take my discount store yogurt hoard and convert it to greek in a few simple steps with supplies that are already in the kitchen.

You’ll need:

- A mesh strainer

- a deep bowl or container

- a few paper towels

- 8-12 cups of plain yogurt

Simply line the strainer with a few paper towels and place over deep bowl. Pour yogurt into strainer. Place in the fridge over night and wake up to a glorious blob of pure deliciousness! 

Dump strained yogurt into another container and remove paper towels. Stir and enjoy.

The bottom of the bowl will be filled with the excess liquid from the yogurt. I use this like buttermilk as it has a similar tang to it. It makes great waffles, pancakes, and cornbread.

In addition to seeing one’s children come into this world, one of life’s greatest joys is eating cheap, healthy greek yogurt from a giant gallon bucket at 2 a.m. I hope you like it as much as I do!

Tree of Life

It occurred to me several months ago that the spaces i use the most should be the most beautiful. the laundry room, the basement, the kitchen sink, etc. I mean, if i'm going to pass by the same wall fourteen times a day, or walk up and down the same 16 steps shouldn't they be wonderful and inspiring? So, i've recently added some beauty to the basement entry by painting a whimsical tree that branches out onto two walls at the bottom of the steps. This is our main entry from the garage so i see this wall a million times a day. I mod podged a bunch of  scripture leaves that i cut from some pocket devotionals. The paper and text in the booklets was pretty, but they were just sitting on the book shelf. It was a great way to get daily use from these old devotionals. Plus, i didn't have to design or print anything out. Check it out:

I love this tree. It restores my soul every time i walk through this area. I can pause for 2-3 seconds and read from one of the leaves and feel refreshed in spirit. It's aesthetically pleasing as well and it fills what would otherwise be dead space. 

I've seen tree decals available on line and in buy everything you need and want stores. So if you don't want to paint one freehand, you could apply the decal and just add your own scripture leaves. You could also hire me to come over and paint it for you:) The leaves could also be made from any kind of brochure, greeting card, or magazine that has scripture used in it. Just cut it out in a leaf shape that suits your fancy and glue/seal it to the wall using the mod podge. Happy wall tree making!

Easy hand painted canvas pillows

One of my favorite crafting supplies is drop cloth canvas. This versatile, natural looking material can be used to make all sorts of crafty things for the nest. Of course there is the obvious canvas painting. Then there’s monogram wall hangings, cloth napkins, table runners, window treatments, totes, no-sew tie together throw rugs, and rustic pillows! It is literally a blank canvas for any design, stencil, or hand painted embellishment. You can find this material at any hardware store or in the painting section of the local buy everything you need store. It comes in a variety of large sizes. I recently purchased a 6’ x 9’ package of the canvas for @ $10! What a value.

I’ve been dressing up the front porch and needed a throw pillow for my freshly painted chartreuse wicker chair (BTW, this chair was orphaned after a tenant vacated our rental. I love finding free stuff…it kind of felt like Christmas morning that day).  I recovered an old outdoor pillow I had in the closet with come canvas. To sew up the canvas around the pillow, I used hemp twine and a darning needle.Then I finished it with a hand painted turquoise bird silhouette. 

I’m really no good with a sewing machine and I like to touch everything with my hands, so the twine worked for me. It looks very homemade. For a more finished look, you could use a needle and thread or a sewing machine.  I made one for the basement sofa that I like too. Check them out below:

Peeps Predicament

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. I celebrate it every day as I reflect on the sacrifice of my king and what that sacrifice has accomplished in my life. Isaiah 61: 1-3 is like my life’s theme scripture. It is all about the great exchange:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. 2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory. 

I feel like one of those glory oaks. I cry when I think about how kind He is.

But with Easter, comes one of our society’s greatest wastes: the peep. These things also make me want to cry…not tears of joy, but ones of despair. I mean, is there a grosser candy? They are kind of cute with their beady little brown eyes, but mostly they are a waste of ingredients. I tried to like them once when I was 12 or so. Really I did. I thought that if I rinsed of the colored sugar dusting, the inside would be palatable. Fail. 

So what do I do with these things? I can’t throw them away (I don’t throw away edible food – it’s against my religion, lol)….and then it came to me: PEEPS TRUFFLES!

This recipe will not only utilize your leftover peeps, but also the 1lb chocolate bunny and 4 dozen waxy chocolate eggs you’ve been eating even though you don’t really like them. This recipe is a framework for your creativity. You can add candy coated chocolates, peanut butter cups, crème eggs, whatever candy you have left in your or the kid’s Easter baskets. This treat is easier to share with friends and family than leftover Easter candy. It’s unique and looks pretty so you could entertain with it or give as a gift.

Basic peeps truffles recipe:

3c chocolate (whatever is in your basket)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2tbsp butter

2 cups peeps (about 8 peeps)

½ c peanut butter

Powdered sugar, cocoa, or chopped nuts to coat truffles

Step 1

Unwrap the chocolate and place in the mircrowave on %50 power for about 2 minutes. Stir every 30 seconds so it doesn’t scorch.

Step 2

Once chocolate is melted, add sweet condensed milk and butter. Stir and microwave for another minute until the mixture is smooth and melty.

Step 3

Melt peeps and peanut butter in microwave for about 60 second. Stir this sticky mixture into melted chocolate. (you don’t have to add the peanut butter, but I like it.)

Step 4:

Let combined mixture cool. When cool enough to handle, roll into 2” balls and cover in cocoa, powdered sugar, or chopped nuts. Put them in the fridge for an hour then place in a pretty box or container. Eat, share, enjoy!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I love making my own laundry detergent. Both of my girls have very sensitive skin and eczema, so mild detergent is a must. However, commercial baby detergent is crazy expensive, especially when you do 2-3 loads of laundry each day. The recipe and method I’m going to share with you is so easy! All of the ingredients are available at the local buy everything you need and ever wanted store. The recipe yields 2 gallons of detergent for $0.75.  I did some math…ouch… and found that it cost me a half cent in laundry detergent per load. What?!! That is a great exchange right there. I love making this stuff with the kids too because there’s water measuring and stirring so they can easily participate. Plus, I’m engraining creative frugality into their little minds as wellJ

What you’ll need:

-borax ($3.38/box)

-washing soda (not baking soda…two very different things)($3.24/box)

-fels naptha laundry bar soap (you can substitute ivory bar soap) ($.97/bar)

-a few empty 1 gallon milk jugs or several old liquid detergent containers

-a large container or bucket that holds at least 2gallons (I use the top to a Rubbermaid cake plate)

-a funnel

-a mixer or immersion blender

Here is the recipe:  1/2c borax + 1/2c washing soda+ 1/3 bars fels naptha + 2gal water

I know, it sounds cheap and easy already…

Step one:

Grate 1/3 bar of soap into a pot. Add the borax, soda and 6c of water. Cook over medium heat until all ingredients are dissolved.

Step two:

Add 4c of hot water to your large bucket or container. Pour in the dissolved mixture and stir.

Step three:

Add 1 gallon plus 6 more cups of water and stir. Let sit for 24 hours.

Step four:

The mixture will turn into a solid gelatinous mass…fun to squish! Use electric mixer or immersion blender to break up the mass and achieve a “goopy liquid” consistency. It should be a little thicker than normal liquid detergent.  

Step 5:

Use the funnel to pour the detergent into washed out milk jugs or old laundry soap containers.

That’s it! Simply use ½ cup/ load or 1c for heavily soiled loads. This stuff smells wonderful, light floral and citrus notes. It makes a great gift for new moms: add a bow and a cute card with the recipe and you’ll have the most unique gift at the baby shower for less than a dollar! Happy detergent making!

around the nest

     I wanted to post some pictures of items i have created or modified around the nest.  One of my favorite pieces is my bookshelf turned "china cabinet." I own 2 pieces of actual china (one porcelain teacup that i found in a quaint french pottery store and bought for a euro, the other given to me by a dear friend of my grandmother). I feel like if i'm going to own something special like china, it should have a neat story behind it. It's all about the sentiment, you know? 

     So the evolutionary process of this "china cabinet" is as follows....received from friends when we got married - it needed a home and we had a new one.....did a fine job as a bookshelf for 5 years....moved into house with a dining room....wanted to display my sentimental pottery....didn't want to spend money. Stephen found some old wood from a dilapidated building on Whitfield road and sprayed them for bugs. Always spray for bugs when using old wood indoors. Stuff can hatch...yikes.  i painted them black and he hung them on some modern Celtic looking brackets in our living room. Looks great and fits the space much better. You can see it below. 

     We also mounted a piece of the old lumber to the wall left of the shelves. I added knobs from my dad's old kitchen cabinets and shabam, a convenient place for purses, coats, and kid paraphernalia. 

     
I then took the bookshelf, white washed and distressed it. I also painted a subtle organic design on the backboard for a little added detail. I love stamping, especially circles...i'm not sure why...it's just really gratifying. My stylized flowers are stamps from peanut butter lids and shampoo bottle tops. Stephen added some ledgers to the length of the center of the top three shelves to hold the dishes in place. He helps me a lot...i think that guy might like me or something:)

Mason jars make nice china. They also look beautiful filled with tea lights on a dinner table. My mom gave me those really interesting clay bowls on the top shelves. Thanks mom.

   So, shelves for the living room, a coat rack, and a china cabinet for around $80, which i still think is kind of expensive. I couldn't figure out how to weld metal brackets from scrap or create an aerosol can, so we had to purchase brackets and a can of black spray paint. I really like the results. 

i'm back...and more creative than ever

so, i've been gone for a while (been a little busy:) But now, i think i'm ready to be a blogger. I make stuff all of the time...i cant help it, its like breathing for me. The key is to document it so i can share it with everyone, yay! Stephen and i  purchased a foreclosed home last summer. It was in need of some creative touches, so i've spent several months making, painting, and rearranging with the goal of not spending any money...or very little. It's so fun; i've discovered the joys of spray paint and scrap lumber. I just have to make sure the wood doesn't have dog poop on it....yikes. It has also occurred to me that everyday spaces like the basement entry and the laundry room need to be beautiful and inspiring, as i spend much of my time there. Hints of scripture painted on signs and bird feeders are a gentle reminder of the Lord's sweet presence in my everyday life with Asher, HG, and new baby Canaan.