DIY Cooking at Home

My Sweet Savannah offers a great tutorial on how to make these clever key hooks. Most homes with kids have these types of letter blocks, so this is a great way to upcycle after your babies have outgrown them but before you put them in a garage sale. Cheap and chic! P.S. Just want to add a full disclaimer for those of you who see my Craft of the Week Facebook posts. I don't come up with all this stuff! I handpick what I believe to be quick, easy, but sophisticated-looking crafts from other bloggers, give them the credit, and pass the ideas along to you. My own crafts come with full instructions, materials lists, and a nap rating. These weekly crafts, though, are not my own. Just in case you thought I was superwoman...I wanted to dispel that notion.

I missed posting yesterday because I'm working on a project of my own, WHICH I will share when it's done. In the meantime, I thought I'd show you these table runners designed with a bleach pen by Show Tell Share . I figure...I've ruined a few items of clothing with bleach in the past, it might be nice to make something intentionally bleached for a change. Plus, with Thanksgiving around the corner, you might want or need something new for your table. These seem quick, easy and cheap (but just take your time with the bleach pens!). If you're proud of the results, make one or two more to give as hostess gifts this holiday season. I'm thinking some cocktail napkins would be nice, too.

Dear Girls, You are older now, but as I write this letter, you are 4 and 2 years old, and it's been a particularly rainy fall. We've been enjoying many an afternoon of reading books, playing Old Maid, having dance parties, drawing pictures, and making stuff to display or eat. I've been giving some thought to my dream of becoming a successful blogger lately, and that has brought you two to mind quite a bit. You are, after all, my sidekicks, along for the ride as I bake, craft, decorate, and take on projects big and small, while writing about all of it. I'm wondering...did it ever occur to you to wonder why I used to take pictures of your dinner plates or the things we baked? Did you wonder why so often when you awoke in the middle of the night or got up from a nap, you could find me tapping away on our laptop? Don't worry, I'm not having some kind of existential crisis as I write this, but I am giving some thought lately to why it is I do what I do. We mad

I love my crock pot. My only complaint is that I don't have enough recipes to make in it. I know, I know, there are a ton of books out there with JUST crock pot recipes, but a lot of them only contain 8,000 variations of chili or con queso dip, or use enough condensed soup to fulfill your salt intake for the year. There is a really great blog, however, called A Year of Slow Cooking , which a lot of you probably already know about. With the hundreds of recipes on this great resource, I'm beginning to think my criteria for a good crock pot recipe are too limiting, but nevertheless...I try to stick to 'em. Here's why: a crock pot is supposed to free me from cooking, right? Therefore my number one crock pot credo is: A good crock pot recipe must only require chopping and dumping . This number one rule is closely followed by these: Browning of the meat first is not desired The fewer the ingredients, the better More than one can of condensed soup is just kinda gross, an

Kimba, from a Soft Place to Land always has great ideas and this one is no exception. She's right...don't you just want to hug these? They seem easy, yes, albeit a little time consuming if you want a nice grouping like she has here . But if you love you some Netflix like I do in the evenings (hello, Mad Men !), you can assuage your couch-potato-guilt a bit by working on these at the same time.

Do you get Family Fun magazine? If you like to make things with your kids in the kitchen or at the craft table, this mag has a wealth of original, inexpensive, ideas. I often even find a kid craft that's pretty enough to display in the house proudly, like this leaf mobile . I mean, let's face it, we love our kids but maybe would like our homes to look stylish, too, and some of the "crafts" we make here at our house don't exactly blend with the decor. But this mobile added just enough fall to our family room, which is primarily green and blue, making it hard to incorporate fall colors without looking crazy. (Come to think of it, how am I going to decorate for Christmas this year? Hmmm...) Anyway, the instructions for the leaf mobile are here . Except for the fact that clear contact paper can drive a sane woman mad, this was super simple and the kids loved helping me collect the leaves from around the neighborhood. I just happened to have a roll of the darn

Autumn…the year's last, loveliest smile.-- John Howard Bryant, poet and politician I'll be sharing a way to bring fall's "smile" into your house Thursday. Stay tuned! photo of leaves in bud vases from Better Homes & Gardens

Hi loyal readers! Remember how I froze all that shredded zucchini a month ago? I mentioned then that I wanted to try the zucchini chocolate chip cookie recipe from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Well, the girls and I whipped up a batch and yum! They're really soft cookies (as opposed to crunchy) and we loved the cinnamon-chocolate combo. We got a kick out of telling people they had zucchini in them 'cause it was virtually undetectable unless you looked really closely. I'm thinking of making them with all whole-wheat flour next time, just to up the nutrition factor a bit more. Here's the recipe . I've mentioned this book at least 3 times by now...are you inspired to read it yet? Trust me, it's worth it for the recipes alone, but you'll be blown away by the writing and the ideas, too. Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies (via Animal, Vegetable, Miracle ) (Makes about two dozen) 1 EGG, BEATEN ½ CUP BUTTER, softened ½ CUP BROWN SUGAR

You've seen those massive wall hangings featuring quotations or just typography, right? They're all the rage, but sometimes...quite expensive because of their size. I LOVE this idea from Being Brook because the same look is achieved with just a little time and even less money. You go, Brooke!

Last year, I think our fall decor consisted of some construction paper bats and pumpkins the kids made that I stuck on our mantel. I tried for something a bit more sophisticated this year, although I've gotta say, my efforts still aren't up to par with most of what I see in blogland. It's hard to decorate for holidays when we don't have enough furniture, and what we do have is being made to fill in in awkward spaces. But anyway, I do like the way the porch looks right now and I've got a quick DIY project for you. Here's the outside...let's pretend our concrete porch has been powerwashed. I'm seeing that it needs it. Badly. Buy anway, you can see in the foreground that our morning glory vine is still full and green... and the purple sweet potato vine in my pots still had life in 'em, so I just pulled out the pitiful petunias and replaced them with orange mums. I like the purple vine with the orange...I think I'll use a bright green vine n

If you've never tried dried tomatoes, this is your introduction. It's SO easy and completely changes the flavor to something much deeper and sweeter. Today, I put some on my turkey sandwich, but you could also just put them in salads or eat by themselves as antipasto with olives, hummus, crackers, etc. They're kinda elegant that way. Dried Tomatoes Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Thinly slice large tomatoes or halve cherry/grape tomatoes and arrange in a single layer on the parchment. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 1 hour or until they've reduced in size by about half and look like they've dehydrated. Store in fridge but can also be frozen.

Here are some great project ideas for anyone needing a "craft fix." This is my first linkup party...woo-hoo!

Today it finally feels like fall. The rain has dispersed (for now), the sky is blue, and the colors are brightening up outside. Here are the some of the pins from my Fall Decor Pinterest board. If you haven't felt very fall-ish yet, maybe this will help get you in the mood for apple cider and doughnuts, trick or treating, pumpkin picking, and football. If you like what you see here, check out my Pinterest board for more ideas. Love the idea of having a chalkboard at the front door that you could write something seasonal on every couple of months. I love black front doors, especially in the fall. This simple monogrammed door plaque looks spooky by stylish. Individual s'more packs with a ghost-ly Peep as the marshmallow. Too cute! Martha Stewart's leafy luminaries A feather wreath Jack-o-"lanterns" I've been wanting to do this to our front door but just haven't found the time. Great idea! Find some pumpkins at the dollar store to glitter. Can't go wrong

This cute craft from The Ivy Cottage packs a one-two punch: it's kid-friendly AND seasonal. I love finding fun things to do with our kids for each holiday. Creating decorations that we can unearth each year are especially great because it will remind us of the time we spent creating them together. I had originally thought I'd try this and put it on our front door but then...it might not hold up to the elements. Come to think of it, the candy corn is perishable I suppose. Should we consider spraying it with clear-coat to seal out moisture? Anyway, I love the idea!