Happy Holidays!

Each year for Christmas I gather my little children together for an afternoon of torture to get the perfect image to give to all of the Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and such as part of their Christmas presents.

This years picture, they are exceptionally proud of.

So if I am not back before the holiday is over ~

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

And may you all have a peaceful and joyous season!



Crockpot Breakfast... ICK!

I love cooking with my crock pot.  I only mention this... all the time.

Crockpot Applesauce, Crockpot Applebutter, Crockpot Lasagna, Crockpot Chicken, Crockpot Steak...

But let me take this time to tell you... Crockpot Breakfast... EPIC FAIL!

One of my favorite breakfast ideas is a sausage and potato breakfast casserole that I make.  I'm not sure if there is a recipe for this anywhere but it's those cheesy potatoes that everyone brings to a pot luck with sausage in them - sort of my creation but maybe not - someone else may have thought of this also.  But whatever.

This weekend while I was in the midst of a crockpot explosion with three crockpots on my counter going, I had an idea.  I would make the breakfast casserole and put it in the crockpot to cook for the night rather than getting up making it on Sunday morning. 

Brilliant. 

Genius. 

Why hadn't I thought of this sooner?

Because it was a REALLY BAD IDEA!  That's why!

The next morning when I ran into the kitchen to open the crockpot for a wonderful breakfast... I was disgusted to find a bunt, icky mess that made me gag to even think of taking a bite.  I never even tried it, just simply dumped it in the trash and tried to avoid smelling it.  It was so gross.

I should have known that breakfast casserole in a crockpot was probably not as smart as I thought it was.  I have made crockpot oatmeal and other random breakfast dishes over the years that have always been... disgusting.  Why should this be any different?

Of course this too would be far too over cooked!

So... lesson learned.  Not everything that is super awesome in the oven will be super awesome in the crockpot. 

Snowman Shirt

Do you ever read Megan at Brassy Apple? 

I love her!  She has the most fantastic ideas for re-purposing clothing, sewing patterns or just randomly awesome ideas.  And lets not forget... her style! 

A couple of weeks ago she posted her snowman shirt.

I fell in love.  I needed to make one for my youngest.  I showed him and he was so excited to help make it.  So we bought a long sleeve white tee, found some fabric and buttons and got to work.

This is such a super easy and quick project!

Cut your fabric into the shape of the nose and adhere it to the shirt with fusible web.  I then zig-zag stitched around the nose for a cleaner look and added the buttons for the eyes and mouth. 

So quick!  So easy!

We did the shirt last night in about an hour.  I had never used the fusible web before so I had to read the instructions 50 times to make sure I was doing it properly... and besides wrecking a bath towel because I was too lazy to pull out the ironing board... super easy!

The buttons were a little tricky.  They kind of floated off a little further than I would have liked.  My middle son would like one too so I think I may try taping the buttons in place and then sewing them on his so that they don't seem to get away from me again.

My youngest was so excited to wear his new snowman shirt to school today and was so proud to tell everyone that he helped make it!

For Megan's full tutorial click here.

Fabulous Find!

What did I find out on my venture today????

Six Brand NEW Flexsteel dining room chairs.

Price... $300 for the set of 6!