Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, add milk amount stated on box mix, with added 1/2 cup of milk and 2 tbsp culinary lavender. Bring to boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes, then turn off and allow to cool completely. Pour milk mixture into a glass cup and allow to sit in the refrigerator overnight to allow the flavors to really absorb.
2. Strain the mixture to get the milk free from any lavender. Continue to follow box directions to make the cake and use the lavender milk in the batter.
Note: I boil more milk than the box directions call for because I find that some evaporate and get absorbed into the lavender. When it comes time to put together the batter, I only use the amount of milk needed in the ingredients.
3. While cake is baking, squeeze out the juice from two lemons, and mix with the 1 tbsp of sugar. Once cake is done baking and cooled, poke holes on the top of the cake with a fork, and drizzle with the lemon juice.
4. Put your cake together. We used whipped cream as the frosting between each layer and on top. Lightly sprinkle the top with lavender.
It’s tradition and so Soul just had her 8th birthday breakfast in bed! My pancakes and French toast didn’t come out as planned, so she got tiny little, mishmosh stack. Of course, part of that tradition is a fruit/veggie animal on the tray, and made this cute pup from an old banana. Our little cutie was so excited her birthday was finally here!
We use this book for ideas on how to make our fruit/vegetable characters.
Thankful True is finally feeling better. She spent most of the week on a liquid diet because of a stomach bug. Also, I’m very glad no one else got it.
Excited we were way under our grocery budget for the month of November. Ben uses Mint to keep track of every dollar and it’s been sort of a game lately to see if we can go under budget. We ended up spending $330 for November and part of it was because we were gone for Thanksgiving week.
I wish it got cold enough to warrant getting a cozy jacket like this. I’ve seen some at the thrift store, but it just wouldn’t get enough use in my closet.
Our front yard garden renovations are finally coming along and we will be getting ready to plant soon. YAY!
Going on vacation threw off our Christmas decorating schedule. Hopefully, we are able to get it up soon, but this weekend was busy prepping for Soul’s birthday, and next weekend, it’s Ben’s birthday.
Everlane Day Heel’s are back. If you’ve been eyeing a pair, snag one before they sell out again. I have ballet pink and they’re so comfy.
Directions:
Place a pin at the top, from there continue to place your pin points on each side to make the shape of the tree. See template to determine pin points. Once the points have all been created, join the ends of two garlands together and place that at the top pin point of the tree. Continue shaping the tree, draping the garland on the next pin point until your tree is completed.
We used 3 garlands total and our tree is about 4 feet tall. If you want to make a larger tree, use more garland.
Isn’t so cute?! It’s so easy to make and gives such a fun holiday vibe. You could make it with a tinsel garland, tassel garland, or even simple string lights. Better yet, make an even bigger one with more garland attached. Maybe a giant wall one should be our tree this year! We are a bit behind in the Christmas decorating and this is the only thing we have up so far.
Also, I love this pom pom garland because I can use it way past Christmas. I’m all about things that have multiple uses, so you’ll probably see this garland repurposed in other DIYs throughout the coming year. Of course, you could certainly make your own felt ball garland, but with it being $5.99 at Michaels right now, I’d rather buy it than make it. So who’s going to give this festive, simple DIY a whirl?
Supplies provided as part of the Michaels’ Makers Series. Santa’s MAKEshop is open at Michaels! From holiday décor to trimmings for your tree to DIY necessities, you can find everything you need to make your holiday magical!
***WARNING*** If you don’t care to read about someone’s monthly menstrual cycle and lady parts don’t proceed any further. This is my review on using the cup and period panties for the first time.
So… Aunt Flo came and went, and I got to take my cup and Thinx out for a spin. I was mentally preparing myself for the weeks leading up to it. In my head, I would say, “Okay, you popped out four kids, you could get this cup in and out.” Over and over again. Also, I watched lots of YouTube videos and read all the things to prep myself, but I would still get the heeby jeebies imagining a cup up there. Then, the day finally arrived (and she came 3 days early!). And let me tell you, I was pleasantly surprised how easy it is to put in, and that’s what I was most afraid of. What caught me off guard was taking it out! I thought it would be as easy as a tampon, but yeah, nope. It takes a little more maneuvering than that (and can be messy at first), but by day 3, I think I got a system down.
After one cycle, do I believe in the cup? Yes! I had light spotting, so Gabe told me that maybe I didn’t go high enough (even though I’ve never met her, I feel like she should be my best friend with all the personal cup questions and fears I was relaying to her via instagram). And since it was my first time, I’m definitely still familiarizing myself with it and my (inside) parts. On day one, I couldn’t feel the cup, but thought I did, but I think it was because I was thinking so much about it. I panicked a bit when it came time to take it out; this part takes patience and skill. By the way, the C-fold doesn’t work for me and I found the punch down fold the best way to get it in. On day two, I couldn’t feel the cup at all, and I felt so much cleaner, and loved that I didn’t have to change it that often (or worry about chemicals all up in me). For day one and two, I had to get in awkward position to take the cup out (one leg on the tub). It’s weird. Day three… it felt natural going in and coming out, and all this was done over the toilet. Easy peasy! I mentioned the light spotting, so I think it has to do with placement, but other than that, it almost felt like Aunt Flo wasn’t even here. If you’re thinking about it, give it a try. After having kids, I no longer got menstrual cramps, but some say that using a cup somehow lessens them. After one cycle, I’m already a fan and I’m looking forward to it getting easier with time. I’ve been preaching the cup gospel to all my friends and trying to convince them to at least try it. (Most cup vendors, like Blossom, say love it or your money back, which is not a bad deal.)
Now, let’s talk about Thinx. First night of my cycle, I wore the cup to sleep and regular underwear. No issues. I was impressed, though still weirded out knowing I had a cup inside me. Second night of my cycle, I was brave and did the period panties alone (I got this hip hugger one). Lo and behold, there were no incidents to note the following morning. Night three, did traditional pad and panties route because I was feeling lazy, and it was a big mistake. Let’s just say things got messy. Then, for part of day 3 (during the day), I wore Thinx out and about while doing errands for a few hours, and again, no problem.
My cycle lasts for 3 heavy days and then about 4 light days, so after the 3 heavy days, I was done with the cup and switched solely to Thinx. I ordered 3 pairs to start with, so I used them for days 4-7 (I soaked them in cold water and hand-washed them). Now, we were on vacation during this time and doing a lot of outdoor things. I was nervous because I was solely relying on these period panties to hold me in. It’s kind of weird and I was skeptical, but I’m happy to report, it did its job. Mostly. My only complaint is that I think sizing might be slightly off (for me, maybe I didn’t measure right), so I’m going to try a smaller size and see how that does. The size I got (small) didn’t feel as secure on while doing all the outdoor things.
I know you might be skeptical, but I say it’s worth the try. When I first started seeing the ads for Thinx awhile back, I thought it was a joke. Underwear that soaks it all up sounds kind of weird and gross. Like it was some silly, fake product SNL would make a skit for. Similar to the menstrual cup companies, Thinx says that within 60 days, if you aren’t satisfied, no questions asked, you’ll get your full refund. It’s what pushed me to try it. No harm with that kind of guarantee, right?! You better thinx about giving it a try.
If you order Thinx through this link, you get $10 off and I get $10 credit. I wish I had looked into finding someone online with a $10 off link to share prior to placing my order.
Resources if you’re thinking about it:
– This post on New Age Nesting is what convinced me to try and prepare for it.
– A quiz to help you determine which menstrual cup is right for you. Take it here. I bought the Blossom cup before I found out about this quiz. According to the quiz, I should use a Lena cup, but I’ll keep using my Blossom cup for now. I have no problems with it.
One of the girls has a birthday coming up, which means a birthday dress needs to be made, but I haven’t had time to go to my favorite fabric store (it’s about 40 minutes away with no traffic, and in SoCal, there’s always traffic), so online fabric shopping it is. I got introduced to Fabric.com and I’ve been impressed with the wide array of choices they have. I was looking at their designer apparel fabrics by the yard and there’s so much to choose from. They even have Amy Butler stuff. I went through a big Amy Butler phase when I first started to sew. Typically, with fabric, I like to touch and feel it before I decide, but these days I don’t have time to drive out to my go-to shop, so I’m giving online fabric shopping a whirl.
My go to fabrics are always cotton and linen. I’m eyeing this natural denim and this linen rose blend. I love sewing apparel with denim for myself and the girls (see here and here), and linen is a common fabric I stock up on too. This Anna Maria Horner pattern give me Ace & Jig vibes and would be fun for a dress for one of the girls. For me, I’d love this pinstripe linen for a tie front top. I’m thrilled to see designer apparel fabrics that I’m familiar with. Makes online fabric shopping easier because I already know that designer and its quality are reliable. Fabric.com also has so many more linen choices than my go-to shop and this makes this seamstress super excited. It’s taking some real constraint to not fill my cart with lots of fabric.
Now that I think about it, I haven’t sewed myself anything to wear this year. I’ve altered thrifted things, and I’ve made the girls plenty of things for their wardrobe (I’ve been using fabric from old dresses I no longer wear to make them something), but nothing for myself. I think I have to change that before the end of the year and pick out some fabric to sew myself something. I’m thinking something in a soft indigo denim with a tie front. Although, before I can do that, I need to make Soul’s birthday dress. That’s top on my to-do list.
Do you sew? If so, where’s your go-to place to get fabric? Have you ordered fabric online or are you a must touch and feel fabric shopper?
I have a large growing pile of fabric scraps. I refuse to throw them away because I am sure they can be used for something. I have been seeing different types of interesting necklaces made of buttons, beads, and fabric. Then, I figured why not make one out of my scraps...
I think it made my white shirt a little less boring. This was so quick and easy to make.
How to make a recycled scraps necklace (which is very similar to the straps on my braided tablecloth bag):
1. Take your scrap fabric, I cut a .5''-1'' snip and tear the rest of the fabric down for a nice frayed edge. Used 3 different fabrics for each strand.
2. Take 3 of the torn pieces and tie the ends together with a rubber band.
3. Braid the 3 pieces together and tie ends together with rubber band when done.
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 for more strands. Remember you can make the strands any length you want, if run out of fabric, just weave more into the braid.
5. Once all the strands you want are braided, gather one end of each strand together and straight stitch together with sewing machine. Repeat for the other ends of the strands. Snip off any excess.
6. Gather ends of the necklace and sew together (snip excess) or a ribbon can be sewn at the ends to be able to tie the necklace closed, but I just sewed both ends together.
7. Voila! A nice way to make use of all your lovely scraps.
Sorry if the directions get you a little lost, but it really is easy. I promise. Maybe I should put some in the shop. Please share any other good ideas you may have of things that can be made with scraps. I would love to hear (read) them!
Lavender Lemon Cake
