summer 'do

Do you love Miss Sophie's summer 'do?

While I was tending to the newly groomed Mophie, someone found my yarn....

I'll give you a hint. Her booty is in the picture:

Good guess.

She was in trouble in this picture and was cowering from her mother...I am so so mean.

tessert

I just love 'tessert' as MC calls it. After dinner (at home...not at restaurants) I can barely wait for dessert and expect it every night. I ask Patrick right after dinner "so are you ready for dessert?" - he always says "not yet" which can be such a disappointment at times...

I will eat ice cream (had Ben and Jerry's in a cone last night), fresh baked chocolate chip cookies (preferably nestle tollhouse break apart ones), strawberry shortcake (made this all the way homemade strawberry shortcake last week - de-licious), bananas foster (usually just a special treat), of course i'll down some bread pudding..of any type, and my newest obsession---

(I may be the last person to hear about this yummy dessert)

low fat chocolate eclair dessert

It is incredibly easy to make, and so so yummy

you need:

Ingredients

2 packages instant vanilla pudding

3 cups milk

8 ounces non-dairy whipped topping

1 (16 ounce) box graham crackers (you will have some leftovers)

1 (15 ounce) container chocolate frosting

Mix together vanilla pudding mix and milk. Refrigerate for 5 minutes.

Fold in whipped topping to pudding.

Line 9 x 13 pan with one layer of graham crackers.

Put half of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers.

Place a second layer of graham crackers over the pudding mixture.

Put the remaining pudding mixture over the graham crackers.

Place a third layer of graham crackers over the pudding mixture.

Heat the tub of frosting in the microwave for 30 seconds to soften.

Spread frosting on the top of the last layer of graham crackers.

Cover with plastic wrap and let set a couple hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Cut in squares

Yum. Yum. Yum.

and next we are having this apple dip. It is so tasty, I haven't actually had it in several years, but just found the recipe and it sounds about right. I will be trying it later! Pat loves heathbar's so I am making it for him...and I guess i'll have some too...ha

1 8oz block cream cheese, softened

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 bag Heathbar Bits (or Skor)

Apple wedges (granny smith, or roma)

Directions

Cream together cream cheese and sugar

Stir heathbar bits in with spoon

Serve with granny smith or roma apple wedges

pillows

I made some pillows for our couch

and here they are!

I started with 1 1/2 yards of linen fabric (on sale! only $7!).

I used pillow inserts from pillows that came with the couch, they were hiding in the basement because they were made from terribly scratchy material (so that was free!).

I wanted to make birds...so I did.

I drew a simple little birdy, cut him out, and traced him in the bottom corner of the square (mine was 22" by 22" so I could sew 1" in on each side to make it 20x20 for the insert to fit inside..kinda guessed, and it worked).

I thought maybe he needed a friend, so I traced him again (3" from the bottom and 3" from the side)

I bought brown yarn on sale ($2) and a huge needle (have no clue what it's really for..)

Then I started tracing my drawing. I'm not a sewer (just a beginner) and I call my stitch "looping". I am sure it has a real term. This is how I did it so there was no linen showing between the stitches.

Kind of an under and back over, then waayy under, then back over... I don't know. But it worked - see?

Always need a helper!

Or 2 helpers!

See this zipper? It was about to push me over the edge. I am a visual learner. Show me once and I've got it. Zippers are terribly confusing for me. I stole the zipper from the scratchy pillow case (free!). Thankfully after ripping it out I had the other pillows zipper to look at in order to figure out how to put this one on. I have no idea how it got on there correctly, but it did...twice! I successfully placed 2 zippers and hope to never do it again.

The 1st pillow

..and it's other half!

I decided to make the second one with just 1 bird to switch it up. I didn't want it to be too matchy.

p.s. so far Eloise has not attempted to steal or destroy either pillow...

day late

Happy Mothers Day!

This may be a day late - but we love our mamma's so so much!

burd

I love birds...or burds as I choose to call them. I don't know when this love started...I guess a few years ago?

Well, I have some birds here and there around my house. I was looking at some of the new pictures my sister posted and died when I saw this little guy. I fell in love.

And guess what!?!!

He came in a package all the way to St Louis just the other day!!

I don't remember the last time I was so excited :)

It was the perfect surprise (along with a box of incredibly funny other prizes from my oh.so.creative sister)

Here is burd's new home. My coffee table. With a bird friend and a picture of my great grandfather on a horse...in the army maybe??

Have I told you that I have the best sister in the world??

Now onto my next project. I am sewing pillows! We will see how this goes..

cinco de mayo

We avoided the long waits at restaurants for a Cinco de Mayo in forest park. Chips, dip, burritos, margaritas, corona and limes - and most important of all - a pinata!

The group with our super cool pinata. Elle has the pinata stick - this became a problem when people had their eyes closed and were ready to swing and she came flying up, jumping to steal the stick...Luke loved it too.

Chetana got first swing - and did a good job poking a hole. Those things are tougher than they look!

Elle being taken to her designated safety spot so she didn't get nailed with the stick

Spinning Seth

Elle's tree

Luke's tree

Steve's turn

Pat being spun into the branches

It finally was busted after every one had several turns. And yes - it may or may not be a pinata for a small child's birthday - but don't hate. I bet you didn't have a pinata at your Cinco de Mayo celebration....

kansas city

This weekend I drove to Kansas City to meet up with my sweet friend Nicole. We haven't been able to see much of each other over the past few years, and it was so nice to have time to catch up and just hang out together. It was rainy in KC, but we still had a great time!! She is due in June and I can't wait to meet her baby boy!

(ahem.... please ignore the fact that I am wearing light pink and dark pink together....it's a rain jacket - ok?)

Patrick is on call this weekend - so he couldn't join us. Nicole's husband had some friends in town so he didn't make the trip either. Pat said Elle was a monster yesterday and not much has changed since then. I made it home around 1ish, so she had been cooped up since around 7 this morning. Of course it's raining and nasty out today - no run or dog park in her near future...

But we did find this HUGE stick in the courtyard. See - that was after I ran around the courtyard like a crazy woman in circles trying to wear her out...only to trip over her and I bu-sted on the concrete. Yeah...I fell. Fo-real. Like an all out, small sized adult fall. The ones you laugh really hard at when you see. I came out of it with a few battle wounds and a very good laugh. Too bad there was no one to share it with. I hate wasted falls. Maybe something is wrong with me

- but -

#1 - I laugh really really hard when I see grown ups fall (no worries, I don't laugh at children or the elderly...just all those in between)

#2 - My first reaction isn't to ask if the victim from the attack of the concrete or steps is okay, it's to laugh. Then, if I see that there is an injury, I continue to laugh - of course at this time trying my best to act my age instead of acting like I am 13 yrs old - and gain my composure to see if I can help them. Usually I fail miserably with the whole acting mature approach.

#3 - I really enjoy a good fall if someone is with me to witness it. I don't like to fall alone. It's never quite as fun.

#4 - I must tell on Courtney. When she was visiting in January, we were out on a walk. She was right behind me, slipped on ice and dove face-ish/hand-ish first onto the concrete. h.i.l.a.r.i.o.u.s - I mean - one of the funniest things I had seen in quite some time..

I remember falling on our honeymoon and I was laughing, and Pat wasn't. I was very confused as to why he was acting so concerned and why he wasn't laughing...??? He explained to me that he was worried. What an interesting response....or maybe a normal one??

Does anyone else have this problem??

See - I told you that stick of choice today was HUGE. She carried that sucker all the way up stairs, smashed it through the doorway and furniture to make it right out onto her designated stick chewing area. Such an angel.