Roasted Toasted

We have been getting a box of produce delivered to our back door (yes on the third floor) once a week and have been trying out all kinds of new vegetables.  I am just not that into veggies, I really want to be, but I'm just not.  However, I have found a way that actually makes me look forward to eating them.  Roasted.  I have learned, if you don't like 'em roast 'em.  And it's sooooo easy!

Turn your oven to 425, slice your veggies however you like, toss with a little bit of olive oil and whatever seasoning you like, lay out in a single layer on a cookie sheet and roast for 15-30 minutes.  If at 15 minutes they don't seem to be brown and crispy around the edges, keep putting them back in for a few more minutes until they do. That's it.. It's so flexible, you can use whatever seasoning you like.  And you can add cheese at the last few minutes.  We have been using Parmesan lately as our cheese of choice.

The options are really endless, some things that we have tried and loved are-
Broccoli a few dashes soy sauce (or liquid amino acids) and sesame seeds
Cauliflower and Parmesan cheese 
Root vegetable mix with rosemary and thyme
Broccoli with Parmesan cheese
Carrots and Parsnips with rosemary and garlic (from the NY times)
Zucchini boats with Parmesan and tomatoes

We had friends over this night of root vegetable medley, and I have to say that I think they were actually my favorite item on my plate.

Try them.  I think that you will be surprised.

Another Way to Curl Your Hair

A friend of mine sent me a link to this YouTube video recently and I decided to try out her method of curling her hair. Let me tell you that I love it. I wear my hair in a sock bun almost every single night because it takes close to two seconds and almost always looks great. If it doesn't look great, I just pull it back into a pony tail and no one knows the difference. A picture is worth a thousand words right? So I'll just post pictures and let you watch the video.

She does her hair with plain water, but I mix water, hair gel and leave in conditioner in a spray bottle and use that on my hair to help it hold.  When I take it out, I spray some curl spray on it, which I think is just hair spray marketed for curly hair.  The picture below is what happened after a few hours when I only used water.

This was my first attempt, it turned out pretty good for a first attempt.

And then this is today, I haven't washed my hair for a few days and it was the third day in a row that I had done the sock bun.

If you try this, how did it work for you?

The New NonMom 'Do

**You don't have to be a mom to take advantage of this great hair idea!**
My wonderful friend from Our Tiny House passed along a link to me on how to create curly/wavy hair in literally no time.  I tried it overnight last night and it truly was amazing.  Many times I have talked about my hair and so you know that I am always striving to find something fast and easy.

The Busy Mom Hair Trick That Changed My Life

It was so easy and after watching the video once I did what she said.  Here are the pictures that I took along the way.

 This was my hair air dried- not so great looking.

 All wrapped up and ready to go

 Side view

 This was what it looked like after sleeping on it all night.  Still pretty much the same as the day before.

 On a walk this morning to the farmer's market.

This was what the back looked like when we got back from the farmer's market.

UPDATE 9/6/11

I tried the hair thing a little differently.  I didn't like the way the back didn't get much wave.  So I put one headband on and took a top section of the back of my hair and wrapped it around the headband.  Then I wrapped my bangs around this headband the other direction.  Then I took the rest of my hair and wrapped it around a second headband.  I like these results much better.  It's just so easy! 

Even though I have been working to get unpacked and organized, last night I decided to use my newly purchased fabric scissors to see how quickly I could make a t shirt scarf with a functioning pair of scissors.  I sat on the living room floor and before Munchkie's Daddy could finish an email I had cut out the pieces and was showing off my new scarf to my in-laws and sister in law.  I'm not even kidding when I say that this took me under ten minutes.

T-Shirt Scarf Tutorial

This is the blog that I used for direction.  I used a large white undershirt of Munchkie's Daddy's.

Another T Shirt Idea

I am busy packing up everything I own.  Everything I, Munchkie's Daddy and Munchkie own to be exact.  It's a lot of stuff.  Our tag sale didn't really get go as well as planned, so we're going to drop a huge load of stuff off at a donation center once our new friend Irene decides to move on to play with other innocent people.  

Once I can locate some t shirts I am going to be doing this to most of them.  After loosing some weight, they all look ridiculous.  Not that I want to be wearing t shirts all the time, but I would like to occasionally wear them and be able to leave the house.   Here's a way to do it without anything more than a little bit of time, a large t shirt and a pair of scissors. 

Connect the Dotsons: DIY - Husbands Large T-shirt to fitted: I have been married for four years, all of which my husband has been a coach for the Eagles. I will embarrassingly admit that I do not own ...

Update 9/8/11

I pulled out a t-shirt and while watching a rerun of L&O SVU I followed the blog from the link above.  The t-shirt went from just for bed to maybe I'll wear it outside of the house now.

T Shirts Galore!

We have been spending a lot of time in the car lately.  Driving the five hours to the in-laws, twenty plus hours to see my family and multiple trips to and from our new home is helping me to be a little creative.  I have been finding crafts to do in the car using minimal supplies.  I have been cutting up t shirts that were headed towards a donation bin and trying out all of the ideas I've seen online using nothing more than scissors, a t shirt and sometimes needle and thread or a flourish.  I am pretty happy with what I've done so far and each thing seriously only takes minutes to make.  I take my time and look out the window often to drag out the projects because I know that I have a long time in the car and still get done quickly.  Here are some pictures of my recent crafts with the link on how to make each.  I cannot stress enough how ridiculously easy these are.  Especially the bottom one, you seriously just cut up a t shirt.

Repurposing: T Shirts into 5 Strand Braided Headbands

 I sewed my first flower to add to this one for Munchkie. 

Recycled Tee Scarf

Getting Crafty- Hipster Scarves

Fast, Easy Frugal Hair Care

Doing my hair is the most time consuming part of my day. It makes me not want to shower because then I dread actually having to do my hair. It takes me so long that Munchkie's Daddy actually suggested that I have a straightening treatment done so that I don't have to be late everywhere I go. I have done this several times and it lasts about six months each time. However, at first I was just a new mom that was so happy to have easy nice looking hair. Then I started to think about all of the chemicals that were being used to create this smooth, shiny hair and started to become hesitant about going through with it again. Then my hair started to fall out. I am very sure that these treatments had something to do with my hair loss. Needless to say, I needed to find another easy alternative.

I sent a message to my hair stylist asking about my options for my hair besides chopping it all off. She suggested I try doing the wave look and sent me a you tube video of how to do it. I tried to do the scrunching hair style and was extremely hesitant about it. I thought that with my previous hair treatments I would never be able to make it work. I found some curl enhancing mousse and sprunch spray to try and was surprised that it actually somewhat turned out.

I have been doing this hairstyle every single day since the first day that I tried.  It literally takes me minutes and may not look amazing, but it looks fine.  My sister in law is staying with us for a few days and brought with her a spray that she uses for her scrunch and go hair.  She said that she bought some online and then saw on a morning show something about making your own salt spray.  She went online and found a recipe to make.  I tried it this morning and was amazed at the results.  Her spray which costs her literally cents, gave my hair more curl than the mousse that I had purchased at the store.  I will be making my own needless to say!

Sea Salt Spray
from Livestrong.com
1 teaspoon sea salt
8oz distilled or purified water
1/2 teaspoon conditioner (coconut for a beachy smell)
1/2 teaspoon (approximately) hair gel

Shake well and spray on damp hair.  Scrunch and twirl to create waves.

First of the Goodbyes

Yesterday we went to our favorite store, Whole Foods, to get some fruit for a daycare goodbye party.  Today was the "party" and with all of the regulations at the daycare fresh fruit seems to be the best option.  While there and walking by the body section it completely hit me that I forgot about teacher's gifts.  How could I forget such a thing growing up in a family of teachers? 

The body scrub that caught our eye reminded me of a body scrub I had made a while back and so I decided that I could do better than the asking $14.99 a pound.  Salt is under $2 a pound so with a couple essential oils I decided to make my own.  I tried to recreate the scent we all liked the best, but it didn't quite turn out the way I had hoped.  While I was doing that I also started working on some candles.

These aren't just any candles.  These were candles that I was going to make for Mother's Day.  We bought all of the ingredients in April and a box of ingredients has been sitting on the floor of our kitchen since about then.  I had literally everything ready to go and just never got around to doing it.  I told Munchkie's Daddy that it was because I was supposed to wait until now for teacher's gifts.  So with some sand from the beach just down the street, wax, ocean mist scent and Goodwill glasses, I made some candles.

I have to say that I was so proud of the finished product.  I hope they enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed making it.

I took them in this morning and just walking into the room I started crying.  The daycare has done so much for us in the last 8 months.  They taught Munchkie how to play with other kids and share. How to "use her words," and to "focus."  She learned to wait her turn and be patient.  She learned colors, and potty trained.  She made friends and looked forward to every day there.  They helped me be able to sleep and work without worry.  I also was able to spend a few days completely by myself, which is something a working mother is never able to do.  While most people look down on daycare, I am eternally grateful for all this daycare has been to us.  The first of our goodbyes was an emotional one.

Body Scrub
2 cups salt
1/4 cup safflower oil
several drops essential oil(s) of your choice
-Mix together until thoroughly mixed, but still powdery.  Rub over body and wash off. 

The Pasta of Summer

Last fall this Tomato Basil Pasta Salad was my favorite pasta dish to make because I love tomatoes, basil and garlic. After a recent walk we looked through our cabinets and fridge to find something to fix for dinner.  We worked together in the kitchen to quickly made some food before we all had breakdowns.  While the water was boiling, Munchkie's Daddy chopped basil from our herbs and walnuts mixing them with olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  While he was doing that I chopped tomatoes.  Once the cheese tortellini was finished boiling he drained it and I added shredded mozzarella mixing to let it melt on the hot pasta.  Then we mixed in the basil mixture and tomatoes.  It was so delicious that Munchkie asked for seconds and probably would have eaten thirds if it wasn't already past her bedtime.

Do You Cook in Cast Iron?

Do you own a cast iron skillet?  If so, do you use it?  Like good newlyweds we registered for a Lodge Logic cast iron skillet and didn't know what to do with it.  I made cornbread occasionally and that was the extent of my cast iron usage.  On the way back from my aunt's in North Carolina a few times we stopped at the Lodge Logic outlet and picked up a few more things, including a small skillet that needed to be seasoned.  Now, five years later, we don't even put the skillets away because they are used the most.

Farmer's Market sugar snap peas with a drizzle of olive oil, scoop of sesame tahini, salt, pepper, teriyaki and sesame seeds.

Lately, I've been reading about the health benefits of cast iron, especially for women.  Women are especially prone to anemia, as well as not taking care of ourselves.  If there's something we can do for ourselves that's simple, we should do it.  Everything that we cook from scrambled eggs to vegetables to chicken breast is cooked in the cast iron skillet and the extra iron gives us a little boost.  It also makes a mean corn bread in the oven.  The clean up is ridiculously easy, we just take pour a little drizzle of olive oil in the pan and wipe out.  No water, no soap and no scrubbing.  No matter what we cook in it, all we have to do is wipe it out, the seasoning makes it almost no stick.

Here are several links to articles about cast iron skillets that I found in a two second Google search. 

Anemia and Nutrition: The Importance of Iron
Anemia- Dietary Factors
Anemia and Pregnancy
Ever So Humble, Cast Iron Outshines the Fancy Pans
The Benefits of Cast Iron Cooking

If you have a cast iron skillet you should use it. Not only does it cook your food quickly and evenly, it gives you a little extra iron that you may not be getting from your diet.

Light and Refreshing

In the winter I'm all about hot chocolates, hot teas and coffees to snuggle under the blankets with.  In the summer I'm drawn to cold refreshing drinks, such as my obvious obsession with ice tea.  With my new mint plants I've been experimenting to see what I can use them in.  Some drinks have been bad.  Very bad.  Tonight I decided to try out a few things after I found some coconut flavored sparkling water.  This one is pretty good.

2 sprigs of pineapple mint, crushed up
1/2 a lime's juice
small squirt agave nectar
ice cubes
coconut flavored sparkling water

Now I just need to figure out something with the chocolate mint that actually tastes good.

I Actually Won Something!

I am so excited!  I went to check my email before I hopped in the shower for work and there in my inbox was the subject "you won the snack bags from Homemade Mothering!"  Yay!  I had almost forgot that I had entered Homemade Mothering's Contest.  I have seen many reviews on reusable snack bags, but couldn't convince Munchkie's Daddy that they were worth the price.  I think that FREE Itzy Ritzy bags might help.  I am getting two free bags, and I get to choose my three favorite patterns. 
 I can't wait for them to come and although my comment that helped me win the bags was  

My daughter’s favorite thing to say now is “take it us” and she will hold whatever it is up to her cheek. This would be perfect for me to say, if it can fit in the bag, it can come with us. Whether it’s her sunglasses, a random Melissa and Doug pretend food, small book, crayon or anything else she decides to love at that moment.

 I think it will also be used frequently in Munchkie's lunches to daycare.  We tend to use a lot of ziploc bags to daycare because the foods I send are mostly finger foods.  These will be great to replace ziploc bags.

I am so excited and so thankful to Homemade Mothering for a contest that I actually won!

Simplifying the No-Knead Bread Recipe

After 6 weeks of no working oven, and a semi working oven for who knows how long before that, today has been a great day!  We have a working oven!  Of course, it had to be just when the weather started getting warmer.  I didn't realize how much I relied on baking for stress relief until there was no oven to bake in.  This recipe showed up in my blog feed a few days ago and I could not wait for the repair guy to come today with replacement parts to fix my oven.  

Munchkie's Daddy grew up overseas where fresh bread doesn't even compare to the bread here. He has made it his quest to make the perfect loaf of bread. Tonight, he said "this is just like the bread we used to get in Albania in the market" and I almost cried in relief and happiness.  I think this super easy and super delicious bread recipe will be gracing our table frequently.  It has an amazing crust, an incredible soft inside and only four ingredients.  I did use whole wheat flour, so it was 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour and 3 1/2 cups bread flour.


Simplifying the No-Knead Bread Recipe

Besides the bread I threw together a quick salad, cooked some fish on the stove top and made a pitcher of fresh ice tea from some tea we picked up at a great little tea store, Adagio, while traveling last week. It was such a delicious meal!  The perfect ending to a long day of work for Munchkie's Daddy, and a good time together as a family.

No Time to Wash My Hair

My hair this morning when I got home.

The other day when I was getting my hair cut my hair girl was telling me to try out dry shampoo.  I had heard of this before, but she said that there are many brands out there that have a version, including Suave.  I brought some a little while ago for $2-$3 and decided to try it out last night before I went into work.  I last washed it Friday morning in the shower, sprayed it in my hair yesterday evening and am heading to bed now after a night of work.  I have to say, my hair does not look greasy at all.  I think I went a little crazy spraying it, and probably could have used a fraction of what I did use, so it made my hair feel a little funny.  My scalp was also itchy, which is usually is, and I also don't know if it was as much physically itchy as it was psychological because I knew there was something there.  I don't usually use any kind of product besides some leave in conditioner or antifrizz cream so I'm not used to having stuff in my hair.  I'm definitely going to be trying it again because it cut so much time off getting ready.

 This is what the back says:

This dry shampoo spray, with mineral clay, refreshes hair to prevent a greasy feel between washes.

Stylist recommendation

Shake can well.  Hold 8-10 inches from hair.  Spray directly on oily roots.  Use heat from the palm of your hand to rub in excess powder.  For oil prone hair, apply on first day hair is washed to give extra volume and texture as well as to absorb oil throughout the day.

This makes me think that if you have oily hair you can also use this after you dry and style your hair to keep it fresh looking throughout the day.

If anyone tries this out, let me know what you think.  I'm interested to hear!

Oven Free Homemade Pizza

What happens when you don't have a working oven and haven't had one for a few weeks now.  You can't (or at least shouldn't) get take out every night and there is only so many nights that you can cook chicken on the stove top.  Munchkie's Daddy was really feeling pizza, so we decided to get creative.  For Munchkie's birthday we made individual pizzas and so we did the same tonight. 

Normally we would make our own pizza dough, but since there was no oven to cook that dough, we used some sandwich thins that were left over from last week. Then some pizza sauce was added, reduced fat cheese sprinkled on top and turkey pepperoni strategically placed.  Into the toaster oven it went, set up the temp to 400 degrees and a few minutes later once the cheese was melted and bubbling it was finished.

Easy, quick and actually not too unhealthy, compared to a piece of pizza from the deli down the street.

Per individual pizza (approximate)
Calories 220
Fat 8.5
Carbs 25
Fiber 6
Protein 16

Hair Clip Review

Recently a blog that I follow had a giveaway of a hair clip by Lilla Rose and so I of course entered the contest.  I went to the website to check them out and part of the contest entry was to "like" it on Facebook, which I did.  These clips sparked my interest and I decided that although I didn't win the giveaway, I wanted to try it out.  I get bored very quickly with my hair and then tend to do something that I regret later that usually involves dye or scissors.  I thought that these clips might be a way to change things up for less money and not be quite as permanent.

After pouring through all of the option,s I selected two different kinds in two different sizes and bought them on Monday.  They arrived in the mail yesterday (Thursday)!  And I choose the cheapest mailing option.  They are speedy!  I tried out several styles last night, making Munchkie's Daddy take pictures, and also tried the small sized one on Munchkie.  She was able to wear it well until she wanted to exercise with Munchkie's Daddy and I, then it just slid out of her smooth baby hair with the jumping around.

Then I put the clip to the test.  I put it in my hair when we got to the aquarium today, chased Munchkie around the aquarium all day, came home, took a nap and then took pictures in my bathroom mirror to see what it looked like.  I have to say that I am impressed with how well it held my hair, it did take a couple attempts to get it to feel tight.  And it was much more comfortable than wearing a ponytail.  The only thing is that I'm not sure if it makes my hair look fun or if I look like a Duggar. 

I decided the best way to show these clips was just to post a lot of pictures.  So here I go.

I didn't quite understand how these clips work.  The two parts are attached and then the pin part has grooves in it that keeps it in place.

See how it's attached to the figure eight part?  Then you push the pin under your hair, as close to your scalp as you can, and push it through the loop of the figure eight part on the other side.

The figure eight part is very flexible and so can bend around different styles of hair.

I tried out the small one on Munchkie.  It's small, but just a little too big/heavy to stay in her hair like this.  I think it will work out well on my hair if I'm just going to do it halfway or maybe even just a ponytail if I can get all my hair to fit.

I did a twist with Munchkie's hair and stuck it in.  This was the hairstyle that held up until Jillian's 30 Day Shred started, and the jumping jacks were just too much for it.

These are my hair in just a simple twist.  My hair stood up a little too much for my liking. 

And then the basic ponytail.  Nothing too exciting.

Here's a random twist.

And then of course the classic french twist.

And then this is my hair after today's activities.  I didn't look in the mirror and had no idea what it looked like until I got home and took pictures.

So.  Tell me your thoughts.  What do you think about this clip?  How does it look?  Do I look like I should be wearing a long skirt?