This breakfast post should be a little healthier than the one I posted the other day.  Lula and I have been eating a lot more oatmeal lately for a healthy breakfast.  I've always hated the mushy instant oatmeal packets that you can buy.  But, old fashioned rolled oats are kind of annoying to make first thing in the morning when Lula is begging for a fast breakfast. I discovered this homemade instant oatmeal recipe on Money Saving Mom and decided to try it out. I changed things a little bit to make it the way I like it.

You simply mix these ingredients:

1/2 large canister old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 large canister quick oats

2 Tbs cinnamon

1/2 cup brown sugar

Take out 1 cup of the mixture and blend it into a powder. (this makes the mixture more "instant")..and mix that back in with the oat mixture.

Then pour some in a bowl (about 1/2 cup)...

Add some boiling water...

I just add until the mixture is covered by water...

Then, mix together, add milk and honey or raisins and almonds...the possibilities are endless

I will have to say that I still prefer the texture of good old fashioned rolled oats. But, this way is a lot faster.  And Lula loves it. She ate 2 whole bowls of it this morning...I'll take that!

Stylish Blogger Award

I recently received The Stylish Blogger award from Lollyquiltz, Designing Domesticity, and 20 Something Designs. Thanks ladies!


Here is how this thing works:

1. Thank and link back to the person (or people) who gave you this award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

 

 

7 Things About Myself:

(instead, I'm going to link back to homemade ginger's 7 most popular posts according to google analytics)

1. Felt Flower Barrettes

 

2. Pillowcase Curtain

 

 3. Winter Wreath

4. Felt Flower Poufs

5. How To Make Curtain Tie Backs

6. Finally There Are Four

7. DIY Wooden Picture Frame

 

 

 

 

Now, to nominate 15 other bloggers for this award. I've tried to include some bloggers that are just starting out to send you their way!

1. 33 Shades of Green

2. During Quiet Time

3. Sour Kraut Krafts

4. Meals Deals and Squeals

5. Bower Power

6. Inspired By Charm

7. Ador

8. Whimsy Lane

9. So Not Donna Reed

10. Pink Calaveras

11. Sweet November

12. The 30 Girl

13. The Toasted Coconut

14. Pickup Some Creativity

15. Little Eme

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

I wanted to share a Kapple family tradition with everyone: Cottage Cheese Pancakes. Now, I know that right now you are thinking about how disgusting that sounds.  I thought the same thing when my husband told me about them while we were dating. But, once he made them for me, I quickly fell in love with them.  I would actually venture to say that I prefer them over regular pancakes. Reid made them for us this weekend and I had to document their deliciousness. Please just give them a try!

If you don't like cottage cheese, that is ok because they don't taste like cottage cheese. Once you cook them, the cheese kind of melts and it creates a salty/sweet result.  

The end product is more similar to a crepe than a pancake.  They are very delicate.

We eat them with syrup and powdered sugar.  Reid puts a little lemon juice on his.  They'd also be delicious with berries in the summer months.

Here is the recipe:

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup cottage cheese

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup flour

2 Tbs melted butter

1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Beat eggs and mix everything in with the eggs. Oil a skillet and cut by the 1/8 cup. Serve with syrup, powdered sugar and lemon juice.

Enjoy!

I am Back!

I am so sorry for my long absence from the blogging world!  I do have valid excuses, I promise! Our computer crashed and it was being fixed for a week.  Then, the day it got back, our internet went out and we had to spend a few days fixing that. Meanwhile, baby Jane has been very sick and we've been spending lots of time at the Dr and Children's Mercy. Thankfully we figured out what she has (RSV and Bronchiolitis) and we are praying that she will heal quickly.

Anyway, I don't have an exciting blog post, but I wanted to share the newest addition to our living room. I've been searching high and low for an affordable 8X10 rug. I've looked into getting a piece of carpet, but I decided I needed something patterned. I've quickly learned that most 8X10 rugs are very expensive and I wanted something good quality for under $300.

My mom and I went into a local Home Decorators store and found this beauty for a great price!

The reason it's so affordable? It's actually an indoor/outdoor rug. But it's so soft, you would never know it. 

I'll post pictures of it in action in the room later!

Bedroom Design Inspiration

My big project to kick off 2011 is a master bedroom makeover.  We painted the room when we moved into our house 18 months ago and did nothing else. I don't even like the color, it's way too dark.  We've had pictures leaning against the wall to hang that have never been hung. I've been going back and forth about what to do, and the cheapest way to it for a long time.  I finally have money saved up and am planning the start the process very soon! 

Lately, I've been loving these "mood boards", "inspiration boards" or "color palettes" found on design sites such as design sponge, apartment therapy and young house love . They are all the same thing. So, I made one for our future bedroom. It was so fun to put together and actually really helped me see if what I've pictured in my mind will look good in real life!
 

These are just ideas,  I will try to "DIY" most of the things pictured, but this is what you see:

1. Upholstered headboard. This one is from Ballard Designs.  I'm going to make my own.

2. And my headboard will be covered in a yellow and white fabric. I love this one from Dwell Studios.

3. For the walls, I'm thinking a medium gray.  This is silver lake by Benjamin Moore.

4. I would love to have a patterned drum pendant lamp for the light fixture. This one is from Shades of Light, but I think I could make my own.

5. These fabrics by Moda will be perfect for some pillows on the bed.

6. I also want to pull in a bit of orange for an accent. Hopefully I can hit up some thrift stores for a fun vase like this one I found on etsy.

7. We definitely need some new lamps for the room. This clear one from Amazon.com is very modern and understated. I saw some at a thrift store for a few dollars the other day that I should have snagged!

8. I'm thinking some sheer patterned curtains for the windows would be wonderful. I love this curtain from Urban Outfitters.

9. A pillow like this one from Crate and Barrel would be a fun pop of color on the bed.

10. To bring some fresh nature indoors, I'd like to add a houseplant as well.

I haven't decided on art for the walls, as might have noticed that is missing.  I will most likely make something myself, I just need to think through what I want.  It will probably be the last thing I add to the room.

I have a big list of things to do for this room. Here is what they are if you are interested. Of course all of this will be documented on the blog!

1. Rip wallpaper off sink area.

2. Paint room gray.

3. Paint all trim white.

4. Build headboard, covered in yellow fabric.

5. Make cushion for chest at the end of the bed.

6. Make pillows and shams for the bed.

7. Paint bedside tables white.

8. Get new hardware for the dresser.

9. Make or buy new curtains.

10. Make wall art for above the bed. 

11. Possibly make a pendant lantern for the light fixture

12. Find lamps, possibly spray paint and find new shades.

No TV for a Year?

The title might be a bit misleading, but we have taken the television out of our living room.  Two years ago we bought a Westinghouse 32" TV on black Friday. It was super cheap. I guess you get what you pay for. The remote control didn't work from day one. After dozens of tedious phone calls to Westinghouse, they still refused to do anything about the remote not working.  And last week, the TV finally just broke. I did some research and found that this particular TV breaks after about 2 years and there is nothing you can do about it. How maddening! 

We knew we couldn't afford to buy another TV right now. So, we decided just to have no TV. Yesterday, I rearranged the living room and I love it. I love how the focus of the room is no longer on a big black box

We plan on using the white chest (which I repainted last year) in our bedroom. And now, that wall looks like this:

I finally hung a little photo collage from some pictures we had taken this summer right after Jane was born.

I just spray painted the big frame white, and bought the other two at Target.

We may move our old small TV into our bedroom...and maybe we will even buy another one (NOT Westinghouse) next black Friday.  But, for now we are loving our "media-free" living room!

Organizing Project Roundup

I thought I'd round up some cute projects that I found to kick off 2011 with some organizing ideas!

Here is a fun idea from sassysites to organize your weekly menu. I've never seen anything like this before. It would take some planning, but I'm sure it would be worth it in the long run!

I really love this ribbon board from I Heart Naptime.  I wan to do this in Lula's room, as we are always constantly losing barettes and bows.  Plus, it looks so cute hanging on the wall!

This is such a cute storage solution from cottagehill.  I can picture two, each with one of my girls initials sitting in a corner holding their toys!

This mason jar pincushion serves two purposes, it also can hold buttons or any other small sewing item. Check it out at greenbean's crafterole!

What a great new years tradition, make a photo cd from the year.  You can download this free cd cover at eighteen 25.

Year in a Box 2011

Last year, we started a New Year's family tradition that we call "Year in a Box".  You can see our 2010 box here:

Basically, we decorate a box on January 1st (or 2nd in our case this time) and throughout the course of the year, we put things in the box that are little reminders of what we did, where we went and how far we have come as a family in a year. 

Since 2010 was our first year, all we did was decorate the box on January 1st. This year, we got to look through 2010's box and decorate 2011's. 

 We never peeked in the box, so we were surprised when we opened it to see all that we had collected over the months.

We found everything from ticket stubs...

yes, we saw Twilight...we are still shocked that we did

We discovered pictures

...and even receipts

that says "best date night ever...called the cops".  long story.

And of course there was one major family-changing event in 2010

Look how much she has grown!

After we went through our 2010 box, we made our shiny new box for 2011. We got a little more creative this time.  We found some leftover gold spray paint in the garage and decided to glam things up a bit.

We all chose a fabric from my stash and cut out our hands to glue on the top.

Next year, we will get to look through 2010 and 2011's boxes. 

I can't wait to see what 2011 holds for our family.  
If you feel like starting a fun tradition, try Year in a Box for 2011 and let me know how it goes!

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