Peanut Blossom

So you got an iPad for Christmas, Now What?!

  

Let's get one thing very straight: You are never too old for toys.

When my mom and dad would confer over what to get my sister and I every year for Christmas, my dad would always stop to ask, "But what toy will we be giving them?" That question is posed each and every year and has instilled my love of all manner of gadgets and techno gizmos. I still love to find clothing, perfume, kitchen items under our Christmas tree, but Handyman Tim knows the fastest way to my  heart is to give me a toy.

It was with great glee that I accepted an iPad a few weeks ago. Tim had been the owner of it for over a year but just didn't enjoy using it. Often it sat quietly in his hotel room untouched. He finally decided to put it in more eager hands. While I stared in disbelief as he passed it over, he said, "I thought it would be a great replacement for my laptop and I just haven't enjoyed using it like I thought I would." 

And then the angels wept.

I hope Handyman Tim never reads this post. He may regret handing me this awesome toy. But for your sake, I knew I had to share this. Did you get an iPad for Christmas? It seems most ladies in my Facebook feed seem to have unwrapped one of their very own in the last few weeks. Some were greeted with glee like me, but I did see a few, "What do I do with this thing now?!" exclamations. 

I'll be sharing different iPad tips over the coming weeks but today I wanted to start you off with the number one thing you absolutely need to put on your iPad right this very second:

Stop what you're doing and download Flipboard to your iPad right now. They have a version for iPhone too but the display size of the iPad is what makes this truly magnificent.

If you're an avid blog reader like I am, you're probably used to the list-style display of most feed readers. Hook up your Google Reader account to Flipboard and it turns your blog reader into a print-style magazine:

You can display your blogs by folder, by feed, or all of them mixed together:

My blog feed is extremely photo based. I buy my cookbooks based on the photography included, I make my decisions on what to cook based on the photo. Why wouldn't I want to see my blog feeds by photo?! I LOVE this easily scannable format. You swipe the screen and it turns like pages of a magazine. 

No internet browser works this way. This kind of interaction with your blog feed can only  happen in a unique app such as Flipboard. Why would you want to go to the Safari browser window to read via a traditional web site when you can have them fed to you in this gorgeous display?? 

And Flipboard doesn't just hook up with Google Reader. I set my account to grab my Facebook, Twitter feed, LinkedIn account, Instagram feed and Flickr photostream. Instead of seeing all the text based links and hashtag mess of a normal Twitter feed, look at how it pulls the images right out of the links themselves:

When I discovered how much more fun it was to read my social media outlets via Flipboard, I sat quietly squealing in our living room. Handyman Tim noticed and just shook his head and groaned. 

Stay tuned for more iPad tips and suggestions in the weeks to come. For now, Flipboard should keep you plenty busy. But are you interested in having that super cute Valentine's wallpaper for your very own iPad or iPhone? Check out Zina's post over at Let's Lasso the Moon and download yours there!

H * E * L * P!

It sure has been quiet around here lately, hasn't it? I'm so sorry, I promise it has been very unintentional. Handyman Tim is knee deep in an awful project that is keeping him away from home for 4 months. He left at the beginning of December and other than a short break at Christmas, he's been busy working 12 hour shifts, 7 days a week out of town with no end in sight until sometime in March at the earliest.

I'm no stranger to being home alone with the kids but this is something completely different than even I am used to. The girls and I have buckled down into hardcore survival mode which basically means: No fancy meals or baking, very few crafting opportunities, and an all around lack of things to write about like I normally share here! Not to mention how crazy things got over on Develop with the start of our 2012 photography projects.

I'm happy to let you know though, I have a series of posts I'm busy trying to pull together for you. I was finally inspired over the weekend. I want to get things rolling more predictably around here. Thank you for being patient with me as I sort out life in general.

That being said, I am definitely looking for some guest writers who would like to contribute some tried and true recipes. I will make and photograph your dish, you simply need to share a short intro and the recipe. Bloggers and non-bloggers are welcome! If you were in my shoes and feeding two small children, what would be on your menu? I'd love to share your ideas!

If you're interested, just send me a message at: peanutblossomcreations (AT) gmail (DOT) com and we'll chat! 

How to spell "Mom": S-U-C-K-E-R

I have been at my wit's end with both my girls and their sudden and forcible pickiness. During the last couple months they seem to have clamped down on the selection of healthy fruits and vegetables they allow to pass those sweet little lips. 

So what's a mom to do? Pull out all the stops. I cracked open an Annabel Karmel cookbook I've had waiting. The thing I love the most about her books is the variety of produce she manages to work into each dish. The photography is gorgeous and super appealing as well. Knowing full well that the recipes take quite a bit more time to prepare, I sat the Peanut down with "Finger Foods" and allowed her to pick ANY recipe she wanted. Her dish of choice was the Welsh Rarebit Rabbit.

We talked about how if I went through the effort to buy the ingredients and put it together, she absolutely HAD to eat every last item on the plate whether she liked it or not. I got a slightly scared, slightly skeptical look but she agreed. Off to the store we went. 

Have you ever had Welsh Rarebit? I have not. Even I was a bit skeptical about this one: It involves shredded cheddar, an egg yolk, a bit of milk, and worcheshire sauce mixed together then spread over an english muffin and broiled. I put my doubts aside and started prepping the veggies.

The plate in the picture above is exactly what I served each of my girls for lunch this afternoon. And shocker of all shocks, both plates were CLEAN when the meal was over! My fussier than fussy girls each ate: snow pea pods, cherry tomato, raw carrot, green onions, and two servings each of blueberries. Are the quantities tiny? Yes. Does it even count as a single serving of vegetables? Probably not. But they tried it. 

I asked the Peanut what she thought of her meal when she was done. "Mommy, I didn't like it." I laughed out loud at her response. But then she surprised me with, "But some of the parts were ok." I asked her which ones: "The tomato, bunny ears, bunny eyes, and the carrot." So apparently the Welsh Rarebit part was the part she didn't like. Even funnier if you ask me.

I told her how proud I am that she cleared her plate of all the things she had been nervous about and promised that since she was so adventurous we could experiment with another recipe from the book sometime.

Do I cook like this every day? HA! No. Was I willing to try this crazy experiment to get some new veggies in? Definitely. I count it a success.

So I may be a sucker for those gorgeously unattainable serving suggestions, but there is definitely something in the magic of presentation.

How NOT to take a Christmas card photo, 3rd Edition

Will I ever learn? I'm thinking no. 

This is my THIRD annual How Not To Take A Christmas Card Photo post. You can see the original here, and the second edition here. You'd think by now I would have run out of things to say on the topic but with each year the girls give me fresh challenges! Each pair of ages brings their own set of difficulties and this year was the Year of the Wiggly Toddler.

My struggles with the Peanut are in getting her to smile and/or pose naturally without a cheesey grin or awkward body position. Generally, I can make it work because she and I can communicate and she responds to bribes. {cough, cough} 

Little Pea on the other hand?! Not only is she not interested in even facing the camera, but she has almost zero interest in staying in the spot I'm hoping to capture. 

So with that in mind, here is the 2011 list of how NOT to take a holiday photo of your toddler and young child:

1. Do NOT dress a toddler in a dress if you don't want a diaper to be on display in your photo. Believe it or not, an 18 month old does not understand why she should keep her knees together like a lady.

2. Do NOT ask a 4 year old to smile at the camera unless you're going for a bug-eyed permagrin crazy face. Instead of asking her to say "cheese", tell her to say the phrase: "Daddy wears dirty diapers." Then be ready to move quickly with a photo. This may only work one time. It does not work on an 18 month old.

3. Do NOT ask your 4 year old to hug her sister. The photo above speaks to the reasoning why. Poor girl is actually trying to follow several rules all at once: Keep ankles together, keep bottom on chair, hug sister. NOT a natural pose at all but she earned lots of praise for trying as mommy disolved into giggles and moved on to a whole new tactic. 

4. Do NOT assume you will be able to capture the Christmas tree in the background of your shot if there is a toddler involved. Be open minded and shoot in an area where you might be able to capture several angles and still be happy with the backdrop. However, if you tie Goldfish crackers to the branches, you might have a chance of getting some greenery in the picture.

5. Do NOT require your photo to have all of your kids in the same image at the same time if you want to keep your sanity. In the end, I did find a keeper of a shot with both girls in it for the front of our card but neither one is facing the camera. My favorite two images came from hours after the session was over and features each girl separately. I found a template that let me tie it all together: Grandma pleasing group shot on the front, personality showcasing images on the back. Our card this year is definitely a snapshot in time of what our lives are like in this moment. And isn't that the point of the card in the first place?

I think I may as well admit that I'll see you about this time again next year with the 4th edition. Stay tuned.

Pay no attention to the girl behind the curtain

(Bragging rights goes to the first person to guess which girl's ornament this is.)

I have super big plans for 2012. The funny thing? I don't have any more time than I did before. To get the big stuff done, I have to let go of some little stuff. Something has to give. 

I've decided to scale back a bit on my posting schedule here for the next 4 weeks. I plan to have 3 posts a week through the end of the year, some weeks might have more or they might not. By taking that little bit of a break I'm going to hopefully have the time I need to ramp up an exciting project for all of us starting in January. Details coming soon! Pinkie swear.

In the meantime, I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season. So far we've been busy with:

- our Advent calendar (HUGE hit--even with Little Pea who snuck a candy kiss out of Door 20's slot when I wasn't looking and stuffed it in her mouth tinfoil and all before I could catch her)
- hunting our elf Eddy each morning
- reading a huge pile of Christmas stories that St. Nick will be adding to tomorrow night
- watching countless Christmas movies (when did my stash get so extensive??) 
- and a visit to Santa himself that will happen later this week.

I didn't exactly pick the best time of year for launching big projects, but apparently that's when I'm most inspired. So, you can bet your bottom if I'm not making merry for the girls, I'll be busy writing up plans. We'll chat soon. :) 

Free Desktop Organizer: December edition

Can you believe tomorrow is December 1?? Well just in the nick of time, Miss Zina from Let's Lasso the Moon and I are back with the holiday version of our desktop organizer image file. 

I'm in love with the red and aqua theme, it is one of my favorite Christmas color palettes. So fresh and wintery and festive. 

So go on and grab your copy of this sweet little organizing trick:

1680 x 1050 Screen Resolution

1440 x 900 Screen Resolution 

1366 x 768 Screen Resolution 

1280 x 800 Screen Resolution

And if you're needing to figure out your screen resolution, try clicking on this super quick link:

What is my screen resolution?

Tuesday Tunes: A love note for Handyman Tim

Often I see letters and love notes from bloggers to their children in honor of birthdays and milestones but I honestly can't recall the last time I saw one for a husband. Does anyone do that? They should. So I'm taking my own advice today.

Life has been throwing Handyman Tim and me some curveballs lately. Stress can bring out the worst in people or it can show their strength. Such is the case with my handyman. I couldn't ask for a stronger or more supportive husband than the one I'm lucky enough to be hitched to. We may not alway agree but at the end of the debate, he always chooses me over the argument at hand. For that I am truly grateful. 

What better way to show my appreciation than to share a public playlist with you. This is me standing on my mountaintop with my megaphone. Handyman Tim Rocks and I'm so glad he's mine. These songs make my heart happy and make me think of him. 

I'd love if you would leave a comment on this blog post with a little shout out to Tim. He's been too busy to follow my blog closely lately. I'd love to have a long list of comments so that when I send him this link in a couple days I can embarrass the heck out of make him feel greatly appreciated. Let's hear it for a handy husband!

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Finding my sanity

The Peanut likes to play "Detective." She comes to me with a notepad and marker and says, "So, what's the trouble? I heard you lost something and you need me to find it."

So on one particularly busy evening, I told her, "I've lost my sanity."

"Ok, ma'am. What does your sanity look like?"

I chuckle. "It's . . . round. And . . . fluffy. With. . . purple spikes on it." before turning back to the casserole I'm prepping.

And lo and behold, look what she finds!

"Mommy!! I FOUND it! Here's your sanity." 

So the puff ball is blue and not purple. I say close enough. Like any good mother, I squealed with joy and promptly placed "my sanity" on the fireplace mantle so I don't lose it again.

And there it sits now in it's place of honor. This is one childhood treasure I am hanging onto for sure.

Tuesday Tunes: Muppets Mania

It has been a long time since my last Tuesday Tunes share. I felt it had run it's course for a while there but was newly inspired over the weekend. Our family loves to have living room dance parties. Handyman Tim is our own personal DJ and can get the Peanut dancing up a storm in no time. 

We've been talking to her for a while now about how we'll be going to see the new Muppets movie when it comes to the theater this Thanksgiving. I adored the Muppets when I was younger and still do. They bring back wonderful memories for me. So it isn't terribly surprising that I'd be suckered in to most of the movie tie-in things that are starting to pop up all over. 

For once, though, I'm ahead of the curve. I've been the proud owner of this Muppet cd since the Peanut was just itty bitty. It's been a while since we've played it but when the movie came up in conversation on Saturday afternoon, we had a very impromptu dance party set to such classics as "Bein' Green", "Mahna Mahna", and one of my favorites: "Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear."

The Peanut is smitten to say the least. But the cutest thing ever was watching Little Pea melt into Daddy's shoulder while swaying to "Rainbow Connection." Even at her tiny size, she is a total music lover and bopped her little noggin to the beat of each song. 

Do you plan to see the new Muppets movie? Which song was your favorite back in the day?

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Fitness apps wishlist from Carrie at Diet & Ridicule

Day 2 of the iPhone party brings my friend Carrie from Diet & Ridicule to share her wishlist of fitness apps. Carrie, is a wannabe Apple lover. Sheesh, friends--you think you know them. Shaking my head, Carrie. Shaking my head. What on earth are you doing with a {gasp} Motorola?!

Anyway, I knew Carrie would have some great fitness ideas to share and I'm so glad she agreed to stop by for the day. If you missed yesterday's announcement, be sure to stop over to this post here and get the details on winning your very own iPhone case:

Many thanks to my pal Tiffany for inviting me to be a guest host on her super fantastic blog. I was a little leery about the idea when she first asked me to cover my favorite fitness apps. I get the fitness part of it, since that’s the focus of my Diet and Ridicule blog. The problem is I’m kind of…er, kicking it old school when it comes to technology—that’s the cool way of saying I have an old Motorola Razr (not the current Android kind) that a friend swapped me for a knitted hat and scarf after I accidentally washed my US Cellular “free phone” (as in comes with the plan) in the laundry.

Nice.

So with all of that embarrassingness out there I can’t in good faith cast the following list as my “favorite apps” given that I haven’t actually used any of these apps. Even just saying apps makes me feel a little bit like a poser, but I’m going to forge ahead like a good trooper should.

In lieu of my “favorite fitness apps,” I give you my “these-apps-look-like-they’d-make fitness-bearable-and-possibly-even-fun” wish list. Enough with the build-up, let’s get this party started:

Om at the Office

If cube life has the choke hold on you as it does me, a little yoga can go a long way. But what if you can’t escape the daily grind to get in a downward dog? Well, there’s an app for that (that catchy phrase demonstrates just I how old school I am). Office Yoga promises 75 stress-relieving yoga poses that require no mat or spandex, and are appropriate enough for the office (i.e., won’t creep out your office mate or get you in hot water with the boss).

 

Shake It Like a Polaroid Picture

For many of us, getting in shape sucks. So if you can find an exercise that puts a smile on your face, then my advice is you stick with it. And if you can’t find that, then settle for finding an exercise that makes everyone else look like a complete jackass. The end result will be the same—a smile on your face, that is. Enter Shake Weight. If you’re not familiar with the oddly erotic dumbbell (no, not Matthew McConaughey), I encourage you to Google it. (Then immediately Google the SNL parody. All kinds of awesome!)

The iShakeitFit app seems to have gotten its inspiration from the Shake Weight. The point is to see how many times you can shake your phone in a minute so that you can get top score. It’s like Shake Weight meets my brother playing the Pole Position arcade game at the roller rink in the 80s. My only concern with this app is shaking the phone seems as though it could be recipe for dropping and breaking. Like with all exercise, be careful and consult your doctor (well, the first part anyway for this app).

Shuffle Up and Sweat

I recently started doing CrossFit, and it’s kicking my butt! But for the first time ever, I find the “did-I-just-get-hit-by-a-bus” workouts oddly motivating. Since I’m still new, I’ve yet to try all the exercises, but I’ve been warned about the “Deck of Death.” Exercises are assigned by suit, and reps are assigned by the number on the card. It’s as “simple” as pulling out a deck of cards and working through all 52. But who wants to carry around a deck of cards when working out? That’s where Deck of Cards Workout app comes in. This app is supposed to make it simple, help you keep track of your workouts, and keep you from playing 52 pick-up when you should be doing push-ups and squats.

Long Live Recess!

Nike has turned the childhood game of Tag technical. Without ever touching another person (after all, you don’t want cooties!), you can play tag via your iPhone. With the Nike + GPS app, runners can virtually compete in a game of Tag. The goal is to not be “It,” which you achieve by not running the slowest, not running the shortest distance, and not running the latest in the day. So with the exception of running late in the day, I for sure would be the perpetual “It.” (Wasn’t that a creepy Stephen King movie? If so, I’m Carrie and It. Great.)

Brains! Brains!!!!

Zombies are after you…run for your life! Stop by my blog to see what I mean.

There you have it kids, my wish list. I’m going to get a pen and paper, write this up in a nice letter, and send it off to Santa asap—but with one addition. An iPhone! Let’s hope I’m not on the naughty list.

Good luck with the giveaway! Don’t be a stranger!

We {heart} iPhones Week!

I hit a really big milestone at the end of last week: I have 15,000+ followers over on Pinterest! What? Yep. 15,000! I'm so excited about the community over there and I wanted to do something really fun to celebrate and thank all these new pinners for joining my boards. So what's a girl to do? Throw a party! And what's a party without some friends and a prize? 

So this week I'm hosting "We {heart} iPhones Week" and I've invited three blogging buddies to share their favorite phone apps with us. And the best part? ClickinMoms has generously donated one of their super cute Leica-inspired iPhone cases for me to review and one for me to give away to you! Yay for goodies!

So let's get this party started with a look at that fancy case:

I choose my purses based on the pockets where I'll stash my phone so it only figures that I'd be equally as picky about the case that goes on it. The design on this hard case makes me grin from ear to ear. You all know my obsession with all things photography: my phone is filled with photography apps and serves as my portable point & shoot/video camera. It's only fitting to outfit it as such!

The case itself is sturdy and very smooth. It glides in and out of my purse pockets with an ease my last case did not. It molds around the buttons giving clear access to all the switches.

When looking at the front of the phone, it almost appears as if there is no case on it at all which is a definite change from my last case:

I had a silicone case by Switcheasy up until now. You can see how it covers the front button as well as the side and top buttons. It is smooth but grippy and sticks when I try to put it in a pocket. The plus side of that is that it doesn't slide around in my car or slip out of my hands as easily. I do love the silicone case (as does Little Pea who absolutely cannot resist pushing that front bubble button.)

I'm a total clutz. I've dropped my phone in both cases many more times than I'd care to admit. Both did a fantastic job protecting my phone and I haven't had any troubles so far. (Knock on wood!)

If you have a dock you put your phone in, the ClickinMom's case is far superior. The bottom piece slides off for docking where you'd have to remove the entire Switcheasy case to do the same. Both cases are extremely easy to put on and take off the phone.

My biggest concern with the CM case was that the cute design might rub off or get scratched up. My life is crazy and the case has really gotten a workout. No scratches or fading whatsoever of the cute design. 

In the end? I have really come to love this new case. The slippery factor took a little getting used to but it is definitely a pro for me now. I love being able to slip it into smaller pockets knowing I can get it back out without struggle! Both my girls think the design is eye catching.

So what do you need to do to win your very own case? 

Pin this post on Pinterest, of course! You're welcome to use the following image for your pin but be sure to come back and leave a comment telling me you did. (Not on Pinterest yet? Send me a message with your email and I'd be happy to give you an invite.)

Pin It

Bonus Entries:

1. Leave me a comment telling me what your favorite app is on your phone. 

2. Fan my Facebook page. Feel free to spread the word over there about this iPhone Party but simply "friending" me counts for your entry. Leave me a comment here on this post telling me you did. If you're already a Peanut Blossom friend, just let me know in another comment.

You have until Friday, November 11 at 10 a.m. to enter. The winner will be announced at 1 p.m. central time. But be sure to come back the rest of the days this week because we have lots of fun apps to share!

*Case donated by Clickin'Moms but all thoughts and opinions are truly my own.

The Peanut says "Arrr!"

Happy Halloween from the peanuts and me! The Peanut herself went as a pirate this year, Little Pea as Tinkerbell. We were on a major Peter Pan kick earlier this year and leave it to my little tomboy to want to be Captain Hook vs. Wendy or a fairy. When the costume catalogs started arriving, she specifically pointed to each and every boy pirate and said, "I want to be THIS! Not that." pointing secondly to the girl in a pirate "dress". 

I'm an open minded mommy and I try to encourage her imagination, but I did draw a certain line somewhere. So we compromised. I chose a pattern for the ruffle pants you see above hoping that the pants (vs. a dress) would appease her. Thankfully finding the fabric with the Jolly Roger on it was the key selling point and we had a winner! Outfitted with a pirate hat, hook, and eye patch and she was ready to go:

Little Pea is turning into my girlie girl. She LOVES to dress up and literally went "WOW!" when she got to put her Tinkerbell outfit on. She was the cutest little fairy if I do say so myself:

I totally cheated and bought her outfit from Babies R Us. But, I did finish it off with these homemade Tinkerbell shoes:

10 layers of Martha Stewart glitter paint. 10 layers. And then I hot glued the white puff balls for the finishing touch. I was so sad that the paint peeled off in chunks after one session of running around. Oh well, it was worth a shot and they definitely added to the costume.

The girls had a fantastic time Trick or Treating yesterday. Little Pea stopped to say "HI!" to everyone she passed. 

I hope you and your family have a spooky, chocolate filled day! What are your little ones dressing up as this year?

Disney, Here we come!

I can almost guarantee Handyman Tim is having a heart attack as he reads that headline in his Google Reader. 

No, Disney here we do not come. At least not yet. You can put down the brown paper bag, sweetie.

I have been dreaming about taking our kids to Disney World since even before we had kids! I love all things Disney and I am so excited to experience the park with tots in tow and watch their little faces light up. I think about it a ton, I've priced out vacations several times but it always ends up that it just isn't in the budget now. Or any time soon.

The Peanut just recently became aware that Disney World even exists. She has no idea what it actually entails because I hate to get her hopes up for something so far off in our future. However, I saw an opportunity to have our very first lesson in finances. 

Thus, the Disney Jar was created:

Using an old, empty, dishwasher tabs container from Costco (imagine LARGE), the Peanut and I had a fun afternoon experimenting with decoupage. I sat her down with scissors and a pile of scrapbook paper and told her to just cut out whatever shapes she wanted. 

Before:

Working together, she coated the back of the paper with Mod Podge and we covered our jar like one big puzzle. I had some leftover birthday wrapping paper from her party so we cut out the Disney characters and added them to the jar. 

What young girl's craft project would be complete without glitter?? Some Elmer's glue and some cotton swabs were used to decorate with spots and swirls for the glitter to stick to and I added the final touch of stickers for our label. 

It's not a fancy or difficult craft project and it only took an hour of our time but this was one of the smarter crafts I've done in a long time. We've entered that phase where the Peanut asks for something, anything, every time we go to the store. I have absolutely loved being able to respond, "Well, we could buy (fill in the blank small cheap trinkety piece of junk) or we could save our money for Disney." 

It has worked like a charm. I feel great that the jar has gotten the Peanut really thinking about money and it's consequences. I love that she is learning to forgo immediate gratification for a longer term bigger prize. 

And selfishly? The Disney freak in me is excited to be taking even these very small baby steps towards that future trip. Even if it is just nickel by nickel. 

Have you tried money lessons with little ones? Any great tips to share?

A perfect snack for a not so perfect day

The Peanut had a rough day at school yesterday morning. I can't believe that happens in pre-school, but it does. Her feelings were hurt more than anything, but she obviously needed a little extra lovin'.

I spent the afternoon sorting summer/fall clothing for both girls and had a rough time retiring the last of the true "baby" clothes for Little Pea. I can't believe how big she's getting and seeing the new bin of hand-me-downs she is supposed to wear in the coming months took my breath away. Wasn't the Peanut JUST wearing that shirt last year? Nope. Time is truly flying.

So not that I condone emotional eating for any of us, but it was just "that kind" of day where a batch of homemade cookies was required. Since we went from 80 degrees to 45 degrees outside in exactly one evening, a nice hearty peanut butter cookie sounded just about perfect. 

Did you know that I never buy store bought cookies? Other than the extremely rare package of Oreos used for cookie crusts, I honestly don't remember the last package of cookies I purchased. With so many amazing cookie recipes out there, I just can't handle the thought of little dry crusty preservative-filled cookies.

I also have a major problem with self-control around snacky foods. My solution has just been to not have them in the house. If I want a cookie, I have to make it! So it usually takes a special occasion (or a really bad day like yesterday) to warrant the effort. 

It's been a while since I've tried a new cookie recipe. I found this one for Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies over at Brown Eyed Baker. I'm not sharing the full recipe here because I made no adjustments whatsoever.

My only note of warning is that you want to be sure to flatten your cookies just a smidge--they do not flatten and spread in the oven as I assumed they would. Mine came out nearly perfect little mounds and were raw in the center. I also added an extra 3 minutes of baking time and they were still a bit underdone. Take that for what it's worth.

Underdone or not, you're looking at photos of what was the perfect snack for a not so perfect day. What sets you in the mood to bake?

The 100 Things Project

My friend Zina has started up an awesome blog in the last couple weeks: Let's Lasso the Moon. She'll finally be sharing a peek into the awesome activities she does with her two little girls. Even though I hear about what her family is up to, I'm super excited to see more photos and get the step-by-step instructions she'll be giving. 

One of the activities first up on her blog is the 100 Things Project. She explains it more in depth here but in essence you just need to grab a garbage bag and find 100 things to remove from your house permanently. It is an easy decluttering inspiration activity. 100 things might sound like a lot, but it took me less than 15 minutes to go through the house and fill my bag. 

Our garbage day is Monday. I'm vowing for the next few weeks to participate in the 100 Things Project on Sunday afternoons. Yesterday I tackled our kitchen "junk drawer" and my utensil drawer, my bathroom drawers and cabinets, and the bathroom towel closet. I didn't stop to think too hard, just grabbed the junk and pitched it. I honestly focused more on the counting than anything else.

I can imagine it will get a little bit trickier to do after a few weeks, but that's a good thing! That means most of the surface junk will have finally been removed. 

Some of the things that made my list:

- broken kitchen gadgets that haven't been touched in years
- expired medicines
- half-filled bottles of soap that haven't been used
- random plastic eating utensils
- a large pile of junk mail
- a few small McDonald's Happy Meal toys
- a couple suspicious bathtub squeeze toys 

The largest thing to go was an old ugly lampshade. I don't know why it hung around as long as it did. Maybe I was thinking of repurposing it? Not worth the space it was taking up.  

From where you're sitting right now, can you see a few things you could add to a 100 Things bag? Set a timer and see how much you can fit in that bag in 5 minutes. I bet you'll be shocked. And relieved. So so liberating.