Let’s Talk About Chocolate Wine

Posted by Nat on Mar 5, 2012 | 1 comment

Yes, you read that right.  Chocolate Wine.

I’m watching Downton Abbey on Hulu Plus, so I can’t talk long.  I just have to tell you that you must locate a bottle of this stuff.  It is divine.  My friend and fellow blogger, Tonya, of Create-Celebrate-Explore brought it to me last week when I had some lady friends over to knit & crochet.  Tonya announced upon her arrival that she brought a bottle for us to try, and I have to say that I was quite happy when there was just enough for me to have one more glass after they left.  It is delicious.  Awesome.  Smooth.  And yes- it tastes like chocolate and wine.  At. The. Same. Time.

If you’re a wine snob and you think you shouldn’t mess with wine in it’s natural state, this is not for you.  If you love chocolate as much as you should, this is right up your alley.

Tonya got hers at Fresh & Easy.  Needless to say, I’ve found a reason to shop there again. 🙂  Thank you, Tonya!

Takin’ some time to smell…

Posted by Nat on Feb 29, 2012 | Comments Off on Takin’ some time to smell…

…Mod Podge drying

…acrylic paint drying

…dish soap (I feel like I do dishes 80 times a day- do you?)

…lotion (because I do so many dishes, I have to use lotion all. the. time.)

…poopy diapers.  (Sorry, but it’s true.)

…dry shampoo (I love it- do you?)

…ink drying (I’m working on some more printables & a new schedule for myself, which I keep having to redo and reprint)

oh, and the roses…

I’m definitely in a blog funk.  I want to blog.  I have a lot to blog about.  But I need a break.  I’m reading a book, organizing & decluttering my house, putting finishing touches on my guest room (it will have a guest soon- hooray!), and trying to just, if you’ll pardon the phrase, “get ‘er done.”  I also have a job that will earn me money, but the amount of money I will earn is directly proportionate to the amount of work I put in, so I need to work.  Blogging, as much as I love it, is not bringing me a paycheck {yet} so I need to prioritize and be real.

I do have tons of projects lined up.  Now that my guest/craft room is almost usable it’s going to be way more fun and easy to make things.

Oh, and to add to my world of chaos, Emily is getting ready to crawl at any moment.  CRAZY KID.

There’s lots to come, I promise- I think I’m just in a phase of realizing there’s only so much I can do, and it’s not worth the stress.

Lucky {free printable}

Posted by Nat on Feb 27, 2012 | 2 comments

Free printable alert!!!

This has been on my mind lately.  And I like it.  It’s good.  See, I’m lucky.  And so are you.  Did ya know?

I’ll be having a crazy moment with my three impossibly cute kids.  Usually this means at least 2 are crying and one is whining, or a combination similar to that.  Maybe we’re in the car and they don’t like the songs we’re listening to.  Or maybe they don’t want to run one more errand.  Perhaps I won’t let them have a lollipop in the car (the horror).

Whatever the case, I will be tempted to lose my temper, or snip at them in some way.  Sometimes I do- don’t we all?  I hate it when I let myself, because then it’s all about me.  But I’m human.  Lately, though, I’ve tried as much as possible, to instead remember how stinkin’ lucky I am.

I get to do exactly what I want, which is to be with my kids every day.  I get to love them, care for them, and let them be little for a while.  I also have the blessings of a home that I have grown to love, a family who loves me, a husband who cares for me immeasurably, a sweet dog, clothes to wear, food to eat…  you catch my drift.  I’m lucky.  Compared to the lives of so many others …. I’m really, REALLY lucky.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the mundane, the routine of our lives.  I fiddled around and came up with this printable to help me remember that, even if I really do hate mopping the floor (with a passion), I’m damn lucky that I have a floor to mop.

Maybe you’re lucky because you have a job you love, or an amazing partner.  Maybe you’re lucky because you follow your passion or know that someday you WILL follow your passion.  Maybe you have your health.  Maybe you went through something crazy-difficult, and now it’s in the past and you’re okay.  If so, you’re lucky.

I did a black and white, plus three colors. With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, maybe you’d like the green?  And, if you leave me a comment, I will add more colors if you don’t think you’d use one of these.  I’ll limit that to five, just to save my sanity a bit.  I’m sort of at a loss for color right now, so I’d love suggestions.

I’d love to hear what you feel lucky for or about.  It’s neat to hear positive things about other peoples’ lives, too.  Do tell!

Happiness Project Linkup: VLOG!

Posted by Nat on Feb 23, 2012 | 3 comments

Hi everyone!

I am pleased to give you my first VLOG!  I’m linking up again with Chronically Distracted and their Happiness Project.

I already know that I need to make myself a HUGE sign that says, “Don’t Say UM!”  I also realized that I didn’t talk too much about vitality, but that’s okay- I’ve always had a problem following directions. 🙂

I’m also learning the ways of uploading a video onto my blog.  I would love to hear how you do it, if you’ve done a vlog before. This one I did by uploading to YouTube and then embedding it into the post.  Is that right?

Can’t wait to link up and see what everyone else says!

A Blogging Brain Adjustment

Posted by Nat on Feb 20, 2012 | 2 comments

Hi friends,

I am in the process of doing lots of little things in order to do one big thing: simplify my life.  I am re-evaluating lots of aspects of my day-to-day routine and world.  How much “stuff” do I really need?  How much time can I devote to different things I want/like/need to do?  These are questions I’m asking, answering, and then moving forward with based on the answers.  It’s shaking things up a bit.  I know the end product will be awesome because I will have less stuff, more focus and (hopefully) more energy.

To add to the mix, my husband and I are laying pavers outside our patio so that we no longer have a mud pit for a play yard for the kids.  I am so excited, and so exhausted at the same time.  This weekend has been a whirlwind of back-breaking work, sweat, laughter, tears, time with just me and my man, missing my kids, and PB&J for dinner because we’re so tired (and also wondering how much money we have left in the bank).  Today is the last day- we have to finish, because tomorrow it’s back to reality, patio or no patio.

And so, then next time you see me will likely be Thursday.  I need a break from posting every day, and that is also something I’m examining- do I really need to post every day?  I’m thinking it’s not sane for me at this current time.

But guess what?!  You will SEE me Thursday because the ladies at Chronically Distracted have assigned a VLOG for our Happiness Project.  My first reaction:  “I need to put on makeup for that.”  My second reaction:  “No way.  Not gonna do it.”  My third reaction:  “Buck up, Nat.  You can do it.”  So, after I figure out the best angle for my face, I will follow through the assignment and you will actually get to see me AND hear me on Thursday.

See you then!

Nat

I have decided it’s too much for me to post every day along with all of the other things I want to accomplish.  For example, this weekend, instead of enjoying our extra day with my husband, we are

The Happiness Project: Do Nothing

Posted by Nat on Feb 16, 2012 | 1 comment

As I started to write this post I was trying to do too much at once.  What’s too much?  I was trying to read the prompt for this post while also catching up on email and watching the Grammy Awards from last weekend.  Yeah.  Too much.  I realized this and shut off the TV instantly.  Focus!

I’m having a crazy week.  A wonderful week that includes new babies (not mine) and big personal changes, but crazy.  This has been frustrating for me on one level, though, because last week I did a lot of work on my schedule and my organization.  Having this much chaos in my own brain/life after dedicating a lot of energy to downsizing my chaos feels a bit like slamming my thumb in the car door.   No wait- I’ve done that. That was way worse. Things are great!

The prompt this week from the ladies at Chronically Distracted reads:

• What are your biggest personal barriers to PROGRESS? 
• Fear?  Time?  Opportunity?  Discipline?  Knowledge? 
• Would *you* commit to setting a do nothing rule in order to achieve your goals?

(In case you aren’t in sync with these awesome ladies, they are referencing this post from The Happiness Project blog written by Gretchen Rubin.)

My answer?  Time.  I feel like a court jester, juggling little blocks of the day that are intended for one thing and then a kink happens somewhere and the time gets dropped or *gasp* disappears entirely (where did that naptime go?).  Time is amazing because it can pass so quickly and so slowly, yet it always passes.  I feel that 9 times out of 10 I find myself chasing time more than any other element of my day.

I actually have tried the “do nothing” rule without knowing it.  I’ve been practicing it the last few weeks when I go to Starbucks to write and work on my blog.  When I’m at Starbucks and I’m by myself, my focus level rockets so high– it’s amazing!  I have no little fingers asking me to fix something, no mouths to fill (except my own), no phone to answer.  I close all of my browser windows except those pertaining to my work, and I WORK.  The first time I did it I came home and told my husband, “Wow!  I accomplished something!”  There were, of course, times when my brain wandered, but I did not allow myself to check Facebook or any other techno-fun things.  I worked.  I felt like an adult.  Like an intelligent adult.  I think the trick for someone with kids is to find this time, or rather, to MAKE this time for themselves.  That is tricky at times, maddening at others, but it’s part of parenthood.

I have come to a place where I am realizing that my life, at this particular time, is just plain whacky.  I am trying to do a lot of things, and it’s been stressing me out.  I have one voice nudging me a bit, saying, “Natalie, take something off your plate.  You don’t have to do all of this.”  And I have another saying, “You can do it!  You can do it ALL!”  This voice carries a set of pom-poms with it at all times.

The reality is that I can’t do it all, and I’m trying to whittle out something that will help me at least try it.   I’m aiming to share that process with you all to help demystify a bit of the premise that blogging is a perfect fit for everyone, or that bloggers have perfect lives because they work from home.

Can’t wait to see what others post today in the Happiness Project!  I’m probably going to lay low this week and not post again until next- my brain is unsettled and unfocused, so best to leave you out of that. 🙂  Happy Weekend!

Mini Cupcake Baking Tips

Posted by Nat on Feb 14, 2012 | 1 comment

To all of my lovely readers:  thank you for visiting my blog as often as you do!  Would you help me out?  I’m working really hard on my blog and I’d love you to help if you have a few seconds.  If you like what you read, if you find it interesting or useful, please pass it along.  You could leave a comment below (be sure you’ve clicked on the post title if you’re on my “home” page), you could pin a photo to Pinterest (there’s a “Pin it” button at the bottom of this post), or you could share a link via Facebook.  Anything helps.  If you’re not a blogger yourself you may not know that the world of blogging revolves around sharing and comments- they are sort of the currency of the blog world.  Thanks so much!  And now, back to the post at hand….

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I was busy making mini-cupcakes for the kids to take to school, thus the lack of posting yesterday.  I’m capitalizing on the fact that one teacher just said to bring something, and I did not specifically hear the words, “healthy snack,” so I’m bringing mini-cupcakes.  That way, if it was supposed to be healthy, it’s just a mini-cupcake rather than a full-size one, and the teachers can eat them if they want to hide them from the kids- I don’t mind.  Ha!

While I love eating mini-cupcakes (or 7 or 8), I loathe the batter process.  All those tiny cups that have to be filled “just so,” the washing of the pans….  Today I discovered a new trick that I’ll share with you to hopefully make it go faster and neater for you, too.   I’ll also share some other tricks of my cupcake trade.  They aren’t revolutionary or anything, but if you’re a new cupcake-making person, hopefully they will help.

As I said, my issue with the process was getting the batter into the cups.  I didn’t want to waste a pastry bag, but… pouring the batter from a measuring cup into those little tiny cups was also too messy.  Spoons don’t work well- the batter falls off the spoon and doesn’t always go where you want it to.  Yesterday was my “a-ha” moment.

Here’s what you do:

Make your batter.

Also (not pictured) prep your mini-cupcake pans.  Either line them with paper or spray them with a non-stick baking spray.  Or if you’re REALLY good, smear butter all over them- I’m a spray person these days.

Line a 4-cup measure with a gallon food storage bag, preferably one with two layers of zips.  You may have to use something else if your measuring cup is too wide.  My cups are the “OXO” brand and it fit perfectly.

Pour in your batter.  (Are you impressed?  I took the photo with my LEFT hand while pouring with my RIGHT.) 

 Zip up your bag.

 Turn your bag and smooth all the batter away from one of the bottom corners.  Snip the corner of the bag.  Make it small- you can always make it bigger.

 Mine was actually a smidge too big, and it was probably about an inch wide, so next time I’ll make it 1/2 inch and see if that helps.

 Carefully move your bag over your pans and start squeezing!  The batter comes out fast unless it’s a thick cake batter, but you’ll get a rhythm going and pretty soon all of your pans will be full.  Love it!

 Here’s that red one up close:

 This made the process of mini-cupcakes sooo much easier.  And here are my finished products:

Now some other tips:

• To frost cupcakes, regular or small, the fastest way… I always use a pastry bag with a #16 Wilton tip (or some other star tip).  It is so much faster to use the pastry bag, and it really doesn’t take that much practice to make them “pretty.”  All frosting is pretty, really.  If you find yourself reading this and thinking, “No way.  There’s no way I can do that…”   If my girl scout troop leader could simultaneously teach 8-12 girls scouts, all sixth graders, to decorate cakes, then you can try it.  Just try it once.  You’ll thank me.  I frosted about 50 mini-cupcakes in 15 minutes yesterday.  Boo-yah.

• If you’re displaying your cupcakes and it’s possible, frost them AFTER you position them.  For example, I’m taking these cupcakes into school today.  I frosted them after I placed them in their containers.  The less you have to move something after it’s been frosted, the less likely it is to get messed up.  This is impossible with a cupcake stand, but with platters it works great.

• For the best tasting cupcakes on little time, I use a box mix of cake but I always make fresh frosting from scratch.  If you think about how long canned frosting sits on a shelf waiting to be used…. it’s really just shortening with sugar.  Bleh.   Buttercream or whip cream frosting is yummy and preservative-free.  My favorite is buttercream, and I love this recipe– it’s super easy.   For some reason dry ingredients sitting around doesn’t bug me as much as frosting on the shelf.  Just me.

I used that red silicone heart tray for the first time today.  For me, the jury is still out.  I was expecting them to just fall out of the silicone, but they didn’t.   Anyone love them and have any tips?

Do you have any cupcake tricks?  Please share!  I also wrote a post about making a hat cake- you can read it here.