Favorite Little Princess

Back in December, I joined up with others in the country to commit to 26 Random  Acts of Kindness . I've haven't been posting each individual one, mostly because of some of the criticism surrounding the movement. Yes, there are some bah-humbugs out there who think they have the right to tell people if their act is "good" enough. Personally, I think any selfless act, no matter how small, is a contribution to humanity and we need more of it. I'll put my soapbox away now. Like any crocheter, I have a stash of yarn. Please try to contain your shock. I set a goal to reduce that stash significantly and I'm making great progress by teaming up with my Acts of Kindness plans. This is also something the non-crocheter/knitter can do as well. A few years ago, I purchased a small, round loom called the Knifty Knitter made by Provo Craft. You can buy it separately or in a set. I just bought the little blue one. K2 wanted to learn to crochet, but at the time she was lit

As promised, I have a giveaway to celebrate having 200 fans on Facebook. K1 has been getting pretty crafty here lately and she has agreed to share the giveaway prize, but also instructions if you would like to make your own beautiful pendant necklace. Thanks, kiddo! These little glass pendants can be purchased at your local craft store. You can choose from different shapes as well. Extra bonus - you get to use your favorite nail polish color, too!    Apply a thin coat of base polish to a clean pendant.  Let dry completely.   Paint your favorite color of nail polish to the back, flat side of the pendant.   You may need more than one coat, so be sure to let each coat dry completely before applying the next. Finish with a clear top coat to protect the polish and keep the colored polish from contacting your skin. Look at all the pretty colors! Even easier, K1 has donated one just for you! Entering to win is easy - just use the rafflecopter widget below. There are

I'm letting this show title inspire me and giving you a behind the scenes look at our Broadway shows experience, minus my stressful commute into Downtown Tampa which is always a treat remedied by a glass of wine upon arrival.   After parking in the low ceiling, narrow mazed garage (stressor #2, for those of you counting) we always stop for a posed photo with the current show poster. K1 has been getting braver with her poses here lately. I guess when you have legs as long as hers, tucking them under you while sitting on the ground isn't very comfortable. We get our playbill and head to our seats. Photos aren't allowed during the show, so we get in what we can prior to the lights going down. Sometimes we get a nice display on the stage to photograph as well. Then the fun begins. You wouldn't believe the work it takes to get one good photo in to share on the blog. Photo #1   Whoops. Too dark to not use the flash. Photo #2 OK, but K1 didn'

This little guy is a lot of work! Not difficult, but lots of little body parts. Good thing it works up quickly. K1 just loves him and is ready for me to make another one in worsted weight yarn for a bigger size. I like the little one with the soft baby yarn. So soft and cuddly! Ready to make your own? I hope you do and share pictures with me. My crocheted Fiona hat has been such a huge hit, I wanted to do another Adventure Time project for all you fans. You may use my pattern, but please do not sell it as your own or I won't continue offering the patterns for free and if you use any of my patterns, I would appreciate the acknowledgement. I've also included a Scribd link at the end for easy printing or saving, but this is new to me so let me know if it works for you. Thanks! Adventure Time T.V. Puppy Yarn : I used left over baby yarn in light purple, white, black, yellow, pink and mint green. You only need small amounts for each. You can make T.V. a larger size by

I finally finished my Adventure Time baby T.V. and he is adorable! However, with all that color changing and body parts, it's taking me forever to get the instructions typed up. I'm hoping for tomorrow, so cross your fingers. Meanwhile, here's your sneak peek!

K2 has been participating in a running club,  the Mustang Movers,  at school and they wanted to celebrate the end of the program by competing in a race. Some of the kids ran the 1 mile fun run and others challenged themselves with the 5k. Most of these kids had never ran in a race before, so it was a big deal. K2 knew that she would do the 5k from the beginning  since she has ran in one before.  Our local running club, the Brandon Running Association , hosts the Shamrock Classic every year in our home town so we decided to not just go to support K2, but to run with her. I love our family races and this one did not disappoint. It was the 35th annual Shamrock Classic, and we are so glad we decided to join in. K2 stuck by her dad during the race. I think that we've only ran once since the Gasparilla races , so we just took it easy and enjoyed ourselves. The morning started chilly, but I quickly warmed up while running. Some day, when I get my breathing under control, I w

I copied this recipe to try last year and just now got around to trying it. It was so long ago, I can't even remember where I found it. I think I put it off because I thought it was going to be too hard. Then blueberry season was over, so I put it off again.  Boy was I surprised when I discovered how easy these were to make.  Want to make some, too? INGREDIENTS : 1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls 1/4 cup blueberry (or blackberry) preserves 1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, lightly toasted 1 round (8 oz) Brie cheese, rind removed, cut into 24 chunks Fresh blueberries, if desired DIRECTIONS : Heat oven to 350°F. Unroll dough and separate into 4 rectangles; firmly press perforations to seal.  Cut each into 6 squares. Gently press squares into mini muffin cups (dough will not completely cover inside of cup; do not press too much). Spoon 1/2 teaspoon preserves into each cup. Top with rounded 1/2 teaspoon nuts and 1 cheese chunk. Bake 16 to 19 minutes

Oh, what a feeling! Surprisingly, this wasn't K1's favorite show. I think she might have seen it differently if she had seen the movie. It was rather nostalgic for me. I knew what to expect from the story and she did not. It did seem like  there was a lot of the story line lost with the restrictions of a stage versus the film version, but I still enjoyed it. Funny how it doesn't seem to matter if she knows the story with the classic Broadway  shows. Something must just get lost in the translation and I can't put my thumb on it. Regardless, K1 wasn't impressed. Good thing she brought a book.

  K1: "Wait, what?  You won a trip to any Sandals resort?" Me: "Yes. We picked Jamaica."   K1: "Oh, this is going to be so much fun! This will be a great spring break." Me: "It's only for two. You aren't going." K2: "What about me? You know I'm your favorite."   K1: "That's not fair.  You know you would rather take me." Me: "That's true, but it's for adults only."   K1: "So, you'll bring me back something great, right?" Me: "Of course. You know I will." K1: "Ok. I guess you can go then." Me: "Gee thanks...I'm glad I have your permission." Ok, so that's not exactly how it went, but pretty close. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to post these pictures of my beautiful girls. But, I am going to Jamaica for spring break. Without them. They will survive with grandma and grandpa for the wee

Hooray for Gershwin!  We love his music, so we knew we would love this Broadway Musical. It's an all music, all dancing show that moves non-stop. The pianist was incredible and I still can't figure out how he was able to play for that long. My fingers would have been screaming out in pain. This show was in the Jaeb Theater, which is set up with tables and chairs for a more "dinner theater" type atmosphere. It was a nice change to be in a more intimate setting. K1 got the opportunity to pose with the cast after the show. What a great group! The woman on the far left, Tai Jemison, is actually a USF graduate (where I work now) so it was 'S Wonderful to see her perform. Her stage presence was hard to ignore and her sultry voice chilled me when she sang "Summertime", my all-time favorite Gershwin tune. I heard some complaints about the show, but more praise. If you want more acting, this isn't where you'll find it. However, if you lov

Facebook followers saw that I was making this for dinner Monday night. Tuesday got away from me and I didn't get this posted, but Wednesday is just as good, right? I pinned this little gem from All Recipes Pinterest Boards. If you aren't already familiar with the All Recipes web site, you should really go. It huge! Anything and everything you could ever want to eat is there with plenty of reviews and reader feedback. Too bad I didn't read all the feedback before I started.  Pinterest Pin Mine didn't turn out so crispy, but there are some suggestions to help that on the All Recipe site. Regardless, I'm a big fan of edamame and I liked it. Want to try it? Crispy Edamame Ingredients 1 (12 ounce) package frozen shelled edamame (green soybeans) 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese salt and pepper to taste Directions Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Place the edamame into a colander and rinse under cold w

Happy Friday!  The local weather has predicted that we will be having a cold weekend, with a slight possibilty of snow. I know it's winter, but I live in Florida. This is BIG news. I'm sure it won't happen, but I'm ready to spend my weekend indoors as much as possible. Cooler weather means that I have the opportunity to catch up on projects that were left unfinished. Hard to believe that it was way back in October that I started this baby afghan. I have all the squares done and most of them sewn together. I have one row left and then will just need to put a pretty edging around it. I hope to show you the final project next week.  I also have plans to sew up some napkins this weekend. Isn't this pretty fabric? I think this would make a great tutorial. Maybe I can get that up next week, too. K1 has been asking me to make some more Adventure Time related items, espeically withe popularity of my Fiona hat . I can't even remember where I got th