A nursery for our baby girl

I apologize in advance to any of my friends that end up hearing over and over about how much I am in LOVE with the sanctuary we call a nursery that we've created for our little girl.

Recently I was away for 10 days visiting friends & family in Ontario, while my hubby stayed here to take care of our fur-kids, work his butt off and create the most beautiful room I could ever imagine, the nursery. With a combined effort of a good (and generous) painter friend, a hand-me-down crib, some garage sale finds, a few things from Ikea and a lovely vinyl wall decal from Etsy, the once spare room has been transformed into something that I cannot wait to sit in, in the silent wee hours of the night, rocking with & nourishing our little girl.

I am so excited about this room that I had to write this blog post before it is complete. Truth be told we have a couple finishing touches left to tend to, but by the first weekend in July it will be ready to go, and then my friends, I'll be posting more.

A BIG thanks to my wonderful husband for taking the care and time to make our little girls room perfect. Another big thanks to those good friends Drew & Paul who helped him out.

Frozen PB & C Bananas

I found this recipe while searching thru Pinterest, and couldn't help but make it right away. It took no time at all, and I already had all the ingredients on hand (those are the best kinds of recipes to stumble upon), and best of all, everyone loved them!

Check out the recipe here for these easy to make, and semi-on-the-healthy-side gems.

I topped mine with ground pecans for a nuttier taste.

Baby Shower Cupcakes

This weekend I hosted, along with June, Chloe & Lindsay our friend Jordy's baby shower in my backyard. It was the perfect day to have to have a backyard baby shower brunch. I made some adorable (and oh so yummy) cupcakes that I just had to share.

BABY SHOWER CUPCAKE TOPPERS

What you need:
Candy Melts (you can find these at any store that sells baking supplies, Michaels has them)
Candy Mold Tray
Piping bag (disposable)

• Put the candy melts in a bowl and melt in the microwave 30sec at a time, stirring each time
• When they are all melted and smooth, scoop/pour the melted candy melts into the piping bag
• Cut the tip off the pipping bag
• Pipe the candy melts into the mold, being careful not to overflow
• HINT - If you only have one mold, only melt enough candy melts to fill the mold once
• Let the tray cool completely, cooling these in the fridge will not ruin them. Removed once cooled, and continue on with more if you need.

These are great, as you can do them ahead of time and just keep them in the fridge until you need them.

Make your favourite cupcakes, icing too. When they are done, place these fun shapes on top, and voila! Cute & yummy themed cupcakes.

A little word on Kiva

If you haven't heard of Kiva yet I suggest you check it out. About three and a half years ago I found out about Kiva, and decided to make two $25 loans, and it felt good. What felt even better, was that when my loans were paid back, I was able to make another loan, and another, and now I'm up to seven.

The idea is simple. People from all over the world, mainly entrepreneurs trying to make a living for their families, ask for loans, and individuals like me and you each donate $25, until they have their desired amount. They always give a term in which it will take to pay you pack, and that they do. They pay the loans back to each donator in small increments thru-out their allotted time, and when they are done, you get a fun email saying that you have a $25 credit available for re-loan! It really is that simple, and it really does feel amazing.

Tonight I got my fun email, and decided to help out a lady named Maribel from the Philippines with her tailoring business. Maribel has a sustained business but would like to expand, as she wants to make enough money to be able to save some and send her children to College. She also raises pigs. Thru-out the life of the loan, I'll get updates on how Maribel is doing.

If you want a really good feel good moment, and a little karma in your karma bank for just $25, that will keep on giving, check it out.

Etsy - An affair to remember

I just need to give a huge shout out to my good friend, Etsy. We became close while I was planning our wedding, but these days, with a new baby on the way, we've become tied at the hips. I have restrained myself in ways I never thought possible, but there is one (okay, maybe two, or three) things I could not pass up.

The thing about Etsy I love the most, is that you get creative, unique wonderful things, from creative unique wonderful people, all around the world. Just today I got a package in the mail that I had ordered weeks ago, from New Zealand, for our little girls room.

Thank you Miss Print from NZ, we'll enjoy this for years to come.

Stay tuned, in a few weeks you'll see more Etsy goodness when the nursery is complete.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are my favourite kinds of cookies, somehow I feel as tho, because they have oatmeal in them, how bad can they be!?

CHEWY OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

3/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 cups quick oats (raw)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 cups chocolate chips (can substitute rasins)

• Preheat oven to 375
• Lightly grease cookie sheet if not using a non-stick one
• Combine butter & brown sugar until smooth
• Add egg, milk & vanilla, beat until until smooth
• In a separate bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, salt & cinnamon
• Add oat mixture to butter mixture, mix until just blended
• Mix in chocolate chips
• Drop by tablespoon-fulls onto cookie sheets, 2 inches apart
• Bake for 10-13 minutes , or until golden brown

If you don't have a cookie scoop, I HIGHLY recommend getting one. They are great for cookies, cupcakes & muffins. 

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

This morning I woke up around 6:30, wide awake, and figured why not just crawl out of bed and get some stuff done around the house. By 9 am I had done some organizing in Alexis's room, did 1.5 loads of laundry, made 2 dozen muffins, 3 dozen cookies and cleaned the kitchen. Whew! Below is the recipe for the muffins, before you ask, most of my recipes include chocolate, no, not because I'm a pregnant women who should crave chocolate on an hourly basis, but because my husband does. Yup, I have a chocoholic hubby.

BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 lg bananas (frozen banana, thawed work best), mashed
3/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350
• Combine mashed bananas, sugar, egg & melted butter in a large bowl and blend
• In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt, mix together
• Add dry mixture into wet mixture and blend until smooth
• Scoop mixture into muffin pans (either heavily grease or use liners)
• Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 25-30 minutes.