Mom and Dad McCoy DIY'ed their kitchen. In the process they got rid of a few do-dads. H has always had her eye on this menu chalkboard. Since the little "Chubby Chef" isn't quite our style. I made some slight alterations.
Ta'dah...I sanded the edges and inserted white card stock into the frames. It's proudly hung in our kitchen with some tulle and ribbon.

Monday morning quote & challenge:

Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.~Grandma Moses

I am not a certified expert on flavors...but I do know what I like and I was quite taken by Casey's lavender cupcake. Overall at first glance the cupcake was beautiful and elegant. Just how Casey described it...inspired by Grace Kelly. As I held the cupcake in my hand it's floral lavender scent was soft and relaxing. In fact as I inhaled I could actually feel the muscles in my shoulders fall. The balance of butter cream frosting was perfect. Gracefully sitting on top of the frosting were two rice paper feathers, with purple piping for veining. The feathers provided the over the top, LA DI DAH, flair beside the lavender bud, huge edible pearl and glitter dust.

Can purple do desserts? Yes, it can with purple yam. In the Philippines it's called ube. H likes the cake roll made with ube, I prefer the ice cream atop the halo halo.

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Whoo hoo! Baseball season has arrived...Let the fun begin! ...Pride in Preparation!

Today is the 107 th birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel...Dr. Seuss to most of us. It has been a tradition in our house to celebrate with a special breakfast of "Green Eggs and Ham". H has been talking about it for weeks and was in charge of the grocery list to ensure I didn't forget any supplies. Despite a very, very, early conference call and staying up late to catch up on some DVR'ed shows. I woke up on time and organized myself to prepare the famous combination... (photo credit to Google)C has outgrown this tradition. He does not like green eggs and ham. He does not like it, Sam I am. It makes me a little sad, the dude is growing up. I don't think he noticed me watching but I did see a little smile from him as I scrambled the eggs for his sister.

H really enjoyed last weeks hard boiled egg face. I thought it was appropriate to create another.

Monday: Shelly H Egg , salami , fruit & rainbow goldfish.
Tuesday: peanut butter banana sandwich & fruit.
Yes, H named her Shelly. Hehehe...

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Menu Mix Up

As a busy family we have our weekly "go to" recipes on the menu for dinners. Mainly because the pantry is always stocked with staples of certain ingredients. For the last week H has been asking me to make spaghetti tacos for dinner and thought she was trying to combine two menu regulars, spaghetti and tacos.

Then I remembered the Nickelodeon episode of iCarly where Spencer cooked up a batch of spaghetti tacos. (photo credit to iCarly Wiki)

She put her spin on it by opting for a tortilla, making it a spaghetti soft taco.

Read this article from the NY Times.

Thank you to Heather for helping inspire me to pay omage to the Irish side of this McCoy family. She posted photos of her fabulous mantle on her FB page and I had to follow the leader. Best part? Total cost for mantle redeco was $0.00 because I found all the supplies around the house.
A jar full of buttons! Luv it. Heather's mantle had a jar filled with green colored candies. Very sweet and yummy! I didn't have the candy so I used what I had on hand. BUTTONS! Go here for the printable in the frame.
This garland was made in a flash! I used kitchen twine and clothes pins to hold it together. I found the printable here and the two Cricut paper dolls leprechans were constructed and save from a project last year.

Subway art is pretty hot right now! Words strategically placed in a simple monochromatic collage. Batta bing batta boom...Go here and print this one.

Casey's Cupcakes was the winner of this weeks episode of Cupcake Wars on Food Network. Congratulations to the Riverside, CA cupcakery. H and I took a field trip to pick up some yummy cake treats! By the time we arrived at the shop they had already sold out of two winning flavors. For a limited time, this weekend you can go to the shop and purchase the 4 winning flavors. As long as they're still in stock. We were a little sad...but not at all disappointed with what we brought home. We ended up adding an additional 1/2 dozen cupcakes to our order to try and make up the difference. (photo credits to Food Network and Facebook)

Last two boxes of this week... Thursday, chicken salad & avocado wrap...Friday, left over pepperoni pizza... happy packin'

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Try the newest trend...feathers in your hair. There are so many pretty colors available. These extensions are placed at the top of the hairline with silicone beads. Cool thing is that they can be treated as normal... washed, conditioned, and blow dried. If you're really careful they'll stay put for months. Click here and FB friend Feather Tree Designs. Get your custom order, email feathertreedesigns@gmail.com

Yes...dry cereal, Captain Crunch to be exact & pickles to go with the bagel sandwich & fruit.

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Box update: It's been a week & more of furlough days for our school district, hence the absence of lunch box pix. To start things of...let's do the Tuesday try...create some company for your little people with a hard boiled egg, this is...Eggbert.

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Window web shopping here I found these... The braided cord is what really caught my eye...although the color is a bit too much honey.

My personal shopper is amazing...she knows exactly my style and she lives for the bargain find! These are Nine West Vintage Americana. No braided cord here but the faux hand stitches make up for that. The leather is comfy and lends itself to absorb the treatment...meaning with age they will only get better.

Do you know what a shrug is? If you say it's, the movement of lifting your shoulders as to say, "I don't know". You are right! But I'm talking about the shrug as in a short sweater that ends at the waistline. I think it's a pretty icky word for a cute wardrobe piece. The adorable shrug pictured to the left can be crocheted following this FREE pattern, it's called the V-Stitch Cocoon Shrug . Click here. It didn't take too long to complete because the crochet hook recommended for this patten is huge and the weave is open. I highly recommend it to anyone who is ready to move up to a more substantial project. I've already finished one and am working on another.

Girls & their dolls...H & A crafted cute ribbon head bands today. I get a kick because she'll ask for some supplies from the scrap room but won't tell me what for. I just have to be patient and wait to see what she creates. She's mini me!

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TGIF! xoxo...sweetie

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Look at what you can make with some felt and buttons.

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A few weeks ago I looked at the school calendar and thought... furlough days+ annual passports=trip to Disneyland

Then I saw the weather report and thought... rain (furlough days + annual passport) = short lines/trip to Disneyland.

This is starting to look like an algebra equation? Long lines, short lines, rain, sun it doesn't matter...when you see these smiles.

The smile Emma gives me for candy...I'm a sucker. Happy tulips and pansies at the happiest place on earth.The classic...

So many are wondering where I get the supplies for H's lunch boxes. I'm a collector... so I pick things up where ever I can. If you're in a serious time crunch, impatient and need supplies now...or maybe you're like some of my other friends who hate the challenge of the hunt! Here are some suggestions for you...Laptop Lunchboxes are basic and easy. Click here. Bento supplies are plentiful on Etsy. Click here. Ebay has bento related items too. Click here. These are just some suggestions...If you can share your favorite place to find supplies please leave a comment.

Valentine's Day makes me crave cupcakes. Who am I kidding? Really...you all know that I always crave cupcakes. Ha!
But this really inspired me to bake some sweet cups. Isn't it so cool that the heart is baked right in the cupcake! So H and I followed the instructions!Ta'da ...here is our decorated super cute cupcake! Pink frosting, heart shaped sprinkles... Right? The frosting is aMaze-Zing...totally to die for! The base ingredient is what takes it over the edge.Here is the inside of our cupcake, well...not so perfect.. And although our hearts didn't quite sink to the bottom and bake in the center of the cupcakes...They were delish and we ♥ them! H and I had a blast in the kitchen together! That's the most important thing. Spend quality time with the kiddos. (I already know where I went wrong and I'll make adjustments next time). Why not...there are so many recipes to try. Whoo hoo! Look at this...she was inspired too.