Hawaiian Pretend Cafe Printable Play Menu

My girls love to play pretend. They have an amazing assortment of kitchen accessories and love to play restaurant. They are always using random books or notepads as menu's and I though it would be fun to create a customized menu for them!

My kids have a wonderful imagination and I'm always looking for ways to encourage that! This is one of many different accessories I've created for them. You can easily print out a couple of these and have them laminated, to make if feel like the real deal:).

You can download you own printable play menu for free! Click Lilo's Cafe Menu.

Kale Chips, Red Wine, and 30

Recently, I have been trying to be more conscience about my health. Last year, I made a vow to be fit by 30 and it looks like the opposite happened. I gained 15 pounds. I'm 30 years old and I'm at the heaviest I've ever been.

It started with my 5 year old informing me that I needed to take care of the mustache on my lip... It must have gone a little too long between waxes, but it was all I needed for me to take an extra second in the mirror and realize how the past ten years have really aged my face. I have found that as I age, magical black hairs pop up all over my face. I don't remember worrying so much about the hair on my face. Not a fan!

The past couple of weeks I've really committed to at least 4 days a week of 45 minutes of stationary cycling. I've not been working out for the past couple years and there is really no excuse anymore, as I continue to gain year after year. I've also picked up on some cross training and yoga.

There is something invigorating about finally taking care of yourself. I have put myself last in a lot of areas and I finally realize if I keep it up, the people I care for wont have me around as long as I would wish.

Not that I want to turn this into a fitness blog, because I am not expert at that, but my wellness has become a big priority for me recently and I hope it becomes a lifestyle change. So you may see a few fitnessy posts in the future.... I hope you don't mind.

I've also managed to take some time for myself and unwind. Relaxation is gold for me and it's made a difference in my overall well being. Friday night I had decided to indulge in a little red wine and wanted a snack to go with it. Watching my calories has been another practice, so I brainstormed what I could make.

Amazingly, kale chips rock and pair wonderfully with red wine!

Kale Chips

What you need....

10 leafs of kale
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

What you do....

Preheat oven to 375.

Chop the kale leafs and discard the stem. Lay the chopped kale out on a baking dish (make sure to spray your baking dish first)

Drizzle the kale lightly with some olive oil. Lightly season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

Bake in oven for 15 minutes.

Take out of oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!


I really liked the way these turned out. I can see these kale chips being very versatile and using then as a casual snack or dressing them up for when we entertain. Next time I might add a little chili pepper or cayenne.

2014 Baby Shower Gift Event

Amy (from This Mama’s Life) is gonna have a little girl! She teamed up with the fabulous Trista (from Andersons Angels) to host a huge Ultimate Baby Shower! They are offering a huge prize package of baby, and mama products to one lucky winner! Already they have a prize package worth over $500 and they are still signing on sponsors! 

List of Sponsors (so far)

Lullaby Earth Mattress –  $199 Value
Super Baby Food Book – $19 Value
Pretty Pushers – $90 Value
AuraWeavers – $20 Value
Buttons Diapers – $90 Value
Aveeno Gift Set – $ 29 Value
Glow Bugs Diapers – $12.50 Value
Fair Haven Health –  $61 Value
Bada Boum – $47 Value
Tommee Tippee – $20 Value
Project Pomona – $34 Value
Itty bitty BabyBundle – $30 Value

Wouldn’t you love to be a part of this event? I know that we would all love to have you come help promote it! Not only that, there are blogger prizes being given out too! Check out all the details here …

Event Details - 

• Each blogger receives one free link of choice: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram -  (** Facebook is NOT a choice for free link!**)
• Additional links may be purchased at $3 each and include: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest. 
• Host pages can be purchased for $5 each.

Blogger Prizes - 

• Blogger Referral Prize – the blogger who refers the most sign-ups will win a $10 amazon.com gift card. Remind everyone to put you as the person who referred them!
• Announcement Post Prize – There will be a $10 amazon.com gift card for one winner, chosen from all the bloggers who post an announcement on their blog. Everyone who posts about the event will be entered into the random drawing.

If you have decided to sign up, go fill out the FORM here. OH! and don’t forget to put me, Katie @3wittlebirds as the person who referred you! If you want the code for the button, let me know in the comments below and I’ll make sure you get it for your post. The html will be sent out Wednesday, February 26th, 2014 and your post must be up and live by noon on Monday, March 3rd, 2014. There will be ONE reminder email sent out to people running late, but if you don’t get your post up by noon on March 3rd, your links will be removed from the entries! So, go check out that form and sign up! don’t forget who referred you!

If you have questions you can contact me or you can contact Amy at misavings@ymail.com. 

Thursday Inspiration from Bob Marley

We've had a rough winter. The number of days below zero would account for my seasonal misery at the moment. There are many instances in our lives where we can feel this way and not just because of the weather. Things happen and we approach road blocks on a constant basis. A thing I do to keep myself going, is to hum a little song I know called Three Little Birds.....

"Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', "This is my message to you-ou-ou:"

Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', "This is my message to you-ou-ou:"

Singin': "Don't worry about a thing, worry about a thing, oh!
Every little thing gonna be all right. Don't worry!"
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing" - I won't worry!
"'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."

Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right" - I won't worry!
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing, oh no!
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!

~ Bob Marley

Perhaps the humming allow is a great stress soother but there is something about these lyrics that resonates with me.. and my kiddies too. This is their night time lullaby. We also play the Legends CD softly as they go down.

With all the hats I'm juggling right now, I've found the urge to throw in the towel on many things including my education. I'm almost done with school, and yet it seems so unbearable. It's the first time I've had to think about if I really want to finish this.

Peace. This is my Peace.

Every now and then we all need a little inspiration to get us through.

I'm looking forward to the warm weather and starting my first garden.
I'm looking forward to being done my degree.
I'm looking forward to remodeling our home.
I'm looking forward to our Disney vacation in September!

What are you looking forward to?

DIY Laundry Detergent

I'm always looking for ways to save money and go a more Eco friendly route with home products. After some research and a little experimenting, I made my very own laundry detergent that works great and is lighter on the wallet! You can also add some essential oil to this recipe to give it a custom scent. I suggest rosemary, lavender or eucalyptus.

Supplies

5 cups of Borax
5 cups of Washing Soda
1 Medium box of Baking soda
I small container of Oxy Clean
1 bar of Fels Naptha Laundry Bar

Grate the bar of laundry bar soap. Combine all and your ready to go.

I use 1 scoop for regular loads and 2 for larger or heavy dirt loads.

The Garlic Experiment

A few posts back, I talked about how I ventured into gardening garlic. I accidentally came upon some sprouting garlic bulbs in my terracotta garlic jar and decided to wing it.

What was just 3 blossoming bulbs, turned into 13 garlic bulbs that have official started rooting! I don't really have much knowledge with gardening, so I'm kinda winging it! This will be my first year with an actual garden.

I recently moved my garlic buddies to larger planters, as their roots were beginning to curl because the egg cartons are not deep enough.

Currently, I have 3 bulbs per pot sitting in my window sill above the kitchen sink. I think these babies are going to make it!!

I used seed starter planting soil and I water them every other day. I usually give the soil a moisture check to make sure it's damp.

I'm really excited to start my own edible garden this year! We just ordered or seeds for the year from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Since it is my first year, I'm researching on when and how to start the seeds indoors. I will keep you updated on the garlic!

Have you ever used scraps from your kitchen to replant a vegetable?

Valentines: Date Night Bucket List!

A friend of mine from work had mentioned how her hubby took it upon himself to do the sweetest thing ever! He created her a bucket list of dates.

When I told my hubby about the idea, he was equally excited as I was. Together we created a list of 48 exciting dates to liven up our marriage and put the spark back into date night!

I decided to take it a step further and surprise him on V-Day... Shhhh I pasted the bucket list on the inside of a smash book I created. This way we can check them off one by one and have the memories all in one place! I hope you all have a very fun filled Valentine's Day!!

DIY Digital Snow White Invitations

For some reason I am the worst person at sending out physical invitations and thank you's.

Some people do it so well but for me, I always have to resort to an email, facebook event or evite.

I go through the trouble of creating this wonderful invitation on publisher and then... opps!! It's past that acceptable deadline to send them out and now I need something like right now!

Here is the Snow white Printable invitation I did created for my little one's birthday. Perhaps, I will share on Google docs or maybe put it up on Etsy? Let me know what you think I should do:)

Sunday Chili

I made this for a chili Cook-off over the weekend. I got the original recipe here, but adapted it to my liking! My Dad really enjoyed this recipe! He mush have ate if for all 3 meals for 2 days straight:)! It's got a bit of heat to it but I'm in love!! This recipe makes a ton! It's great for Sunday pot lucks or a Chili bar at a fiesta!

What you need....

Meat
2 pounds of ground turkey

Produce
1 jalapeno pepper (minced)
2 red onions (diced)
1 Green Bell Pepper (diced)
1 Red Bell Pepper (diced)
10 cloves of garlic (minced)


Spices
3 teaspoons Garlic poweder
1 tablespoon onion poweder
1 tablespoon Cumin
2 teaspoons Cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons Chili powder
2 tablespoons Paprika
8 dried pasilla chili peppers

4 tablespoons of olive oil

Canned
2 cups of Black beans in the juice
3 cups of Pinto Beans in the juice
2 Cups of Kidney Beans in the juice
3 cups Tomato Sauce
1/3 cup of Tomato Paste
1 cup of low sodium chicken broth

What you do....

First you need to re-hydrate the pasilla chili peppers for about 30 minutes in hot water. Although these are a sweeter hot pepper, don't let that fool you. Wear gloves when handling these peppers, especially after you have rehydrated tehm.

After you have re-hydrated them, take the seeds and gooey stem, and give them a nice chop.

Warm a large pot and heat the oil on high. Once the oil is hot add the onion, peppers, garlic, jalapenos, and pasilla chile peppers. Saute for 8 minutes until you have a nice caramelizing going. You house will be smelling real good at this point!

Gently turn in the ground turkey until browned, about 4 minutes.

Stir in the tomato sauce and tomato paste for about 4 minutes.

Add chicken broth and seasonings. Once combined add the remain black, pinto, and kidney beans in their liquid.

Stir and lower heat. Cook the chili uncovered for at least one hour.

Serve with your favorite garnishes.... cheddar cheese, sour cream, oyster crackers, avocados....

What do you like to garnish your chili with?

Sneek Peak: Tangled Party Invitation

Here is a preview of some exciting Tangled Birthday Party goodness!!! I created these invites myself with the Rapunzel graphic I purchased here. It's so easy to create your own digi invites!

You can also purchase backgrounds, frames and fonts to make your invitations unique and custom!

If you don't have the fancy Adobe Illustrator or any CS6, you can simply use Microsoft Publisher, which should be included in a Microsoft Office package you probably purchased with your computer.

I am thinking about writing a post for a step by step on how to create your own digital invites. Is this something you all would be interested? Email me if you have any questions on this!

Where did January go?

You mean I can climb out from under my rock now?

I really wanted to post some cool crafty Christmas ideas on here last month but the problem was, I only really did one cool crafty Christmas thing. I also failed to post it before the big day. I figured a xmas crafty blog topic post xmas would be.... like the guy that is still running the marathon but everyone is packing up to leave.

So this year is about getting organized and setting goals...

NO.... this is not a new years resolution post because I don't make those anymore. I promised myself back in early December I would not write a goal setting post.

With this crazy arctic cold we are having here in the midwest, that seasonal depression is really setting in. I've been watching a ton of Hawaii Life on HGTV and I fantasize about moving there! I am a sandal wearing, warm weather junkie and after living in both Florida and Arizona for several years, I'm getting a little sick of the snow!

Anyone interested in going halfsys on this dream home?....ANYONE?

We did have some fun the past month, when it wasn't -17 degrees. Yes... that is an accurate reading on my care thermometer! With that temp, I probably should have had more then a half a tank of gas... wouldn't you agree?

Even though the holiday season is my favorite time of year, I'm kinda glad that this year went by so fast...Here are a couple of pictures to show you what we have been up to...

Sledding
My little baby (I guess 4 is not a baby anymore) went down the sled hill all by herself. This was not my idea... In fact, when my father let her sled go as I tried chasing it down the hill. I ended up catching a patch of ice and my feet went over my head as I fell on my back. That was the painful moment I realized I needed to stop babying my kids and just let them be kids!!! And yes, that is my Dad in the background with his arms up in this pic! He's just so funny, isn't he?

Garden
Since buying our first home in November, I have been so impatient and excited to start my Spring garden. I found this little gem in my terra cota garlic jar... looks like I have been lacking the cooking department.

I attempted to do a semi-non-organized experiment, with no knowledge of planting garlic and go for it! That would be an egg carton.... I will keep you posted on the progress!

I Choose Archery!
Ever since Bella saw the movie Brave she has been begging for her very own bow and arrow. I decided to skip the cheap Disney replica of Merida's bow and really use this as an opportunity to encourage a more non-traditional sport! So we went with this one, equally affordable and much better quality!She's a pretty good shot!

 

Baking and Crafts
After xmas, we managed to bust open the gingerbread kit that didn't get made before the holidays. I was pretty impressed with how it turned out with two little hands helping construct.

Schooling 
Even though many families take the month of December off for homeschooling, we don't use a traditional schedule due to my full time job. We take the most of our free time and do school all year round. We dived into our Saxon K math and she is really enjoying the manipulative kit.

Even Ryleigh got to play along with her own version of manipulatives. She's become quite the builder.

While I have been MIA, which I have heard is a big no no for the blogging world, I have been busy hand crafting the perfect birthday party for my little sweetheart! Stay tuned.... I promise the next post will not be as far between as the last!