Friday, May 30, 2014

Move Over Coco Chanel!

 
Love this outfit!  She's totally rockin' it!

 
Seriously love this girl and her style!



killer boots man gif Imgur Jim Carrey Dumb and Dumber

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Please, no! Not the Ice Cream Man again!

Is the Ice Cream Man ruining your life already, too?  Oh, good!  It's not just me then.  We've heard him once already and it sent my kids into full convulsions.  Don't get me wrong, I really have nothing against the Ice Cream Man.  He's a great symbol of vintage Americana.  I love the thought of a 1950's suburban street with kids lined up for their double scoops.  That's just not the image of the Ice Cream Man anymore.  Now you've got all of those character pops with the gumball eyes.  And before someone freaks out about me complaining about their Ninja Turtle popsicle they enjoyed as a child let me explain a bit.  I loved getting those too!  I really did.  I just don't see the point in paying $3 for one.  Not EVERY time he comes around, anyway.

I guess a lot of my frustration comes from my neighbor (yeah, don't get me started on my neighbors!).  She would buy my kids those popsicles after I told them no, and then expected me to return the favor.  So, now, much like Pavlov's dogs, when that bell, or in this case music, rings through the streets, my kids go running.  Last night, or maybe the night before (yeah, that's how bad my memory is) we heard the Ice Cream Man streets away Big Sis immediately started begging.  I told her no, and although she didn't cry she definitely made her disappointment known.  Over.  And over.  And over again!

So!  In keeping with my attempt to make our home a more happy home I went straight to pinterest and started looking up fun popsicle recipes.  I came across this one, but for some reason didn't pin it.  It turned out fantastic!  I really wish I could post a link and give credit to the blog I found it on.  The great thing about this recipe is the versatility it has.  So many possible flavor combos!
 
 



Jello Popsicles
 
1 3oz pkg Jello (we went with strawberry)
1 packet of koolaid (we went with lemonade)
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups boiling water
2 cups cold water

In a bowl, mix Jello, Kool-Aid, and sugar together.  Add boiling water, stirring until dissolved.  Stir in cold water, and pour into popsicle mold.  Freeze for 4 - 6 hours.  My molds couldn't hold all the liquid, so I poured the remainder into a plastic container and ate as a slushy before it fully froze.  It was really good!

Monday, May 26, 2014

Vanilla Memorial Day Cupcakes


I'm pretty much obsessed with cupcakes right now.  I bake some every chance I get, and try a different recipe every time.  For Memorial Day I decided to go with a basic vanilla cupcake with red, white, and blue vanilla buttercream.  Both recipes come from The Baker Upstairs.

Vanilla Cupcakes

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. 
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the egg mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk. Mix until smooth.  
Scoop into paper liners, filling 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

 
 
This batter came out so delicious, thick, and creamy.  However, Scot felt the cupcakes themselves turned out a little dry.  I think I'll try them again with a bit more milk and see if that moistens them up enough for him.  If so, this recipe will likely become my go to vanilla recipe. 
 
 
Vanilla Buttercream

 1 cup butter, softened
4-5 cups powdered sugar
2-4 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until smooth. Gradually add 2 cups of powdered sugar, and beat well to combine. Add 2 tablespoons of milk and vanilla. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Add additional milk if too thick.


Tuesday, May 20, 2014

What's in a Name?

I don't know what it is about chicken names, but I just love them!  Naming chickens can be so much fun.  Some people get really creative and go with names like Attila the Hen (one of my favorites!).  Other's go with food names like Nugget or well known characters such as Foghorn Leghorn and Henny Penny.  My personal preference is farm-ish names and famous duos (Scot likes to buy chickens in pairs). 

Here are the names of all the pullets in my newest flock.  I love taking pictures of my birds, so get used to seeing a lot of posts of them. :D


CC - Easter Egger

Ginger - Easter Egger

Goldie - Golden Laced Wyandotte

Lulu - G's Easter Egger

Petunia - Easter Egger

Daffodil and Buttercup - Little M's Buff Orpingtons.
She calls them Yeyo Chickie, and if you call them anything else
she gets pretty mad at you.
 
Lavern and Shirley - Our working girls.  Rhode Island Reds are little egg machines.
 
Ouiser and Clairee - Cuckoo Marans
 
Lucy and Ethel - Black Sex Link. 
They're always getting their noses up in everyone's business
and are serious attention hogs.

Roadrunner - M's Silver Laced Wyandotte (she's hard to catch)
 


Monday, May 19, 2014

Officially a 1st Grader!

Little Miss is officially a 1st grader!  Seems like not too long ago she was watching her brother head off to Kindergarten and begging to go with him.  That little three year old sure grew up fast!

She had a fun last day of Kindergarten.  Full of bubbles, friends, and ice cream.  You'd think there would be no tears, but......
 
 
Nope!  She was given purple bubbles instead of pink.  Heaven help us all!
 
 
 
She hid under the playground until her "boy" friend talked her into coming out.
 
 
 




In the end it was ice cream that got her out. 
 
This girl had a blast hanging out with the big kids!

New hair, same cute face!

Someone got a hold of some scissors.

 
She cut the left side of her hair pretty short.  Little stinker!  The question was, do I take her somewhere or just try to fix it myself.  Most people told me to take her somewhere, but I just felt like I could do a decent enough job, so I went for it.  I figured I'd cut a little at a time and if I felt like it wasn't going well I'd stop and take her somewhere.

 
It actually turned out to be a really cute bob!  And we've gotten a lot of compliments.
 
 
I'm happy, she's happy....now let's hope she stays away from scissors.
 
 
The cutest messy face in the world!

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Feeding the Goats

I love this country life we've picked for our family!  In our town there's a goat farmer who lets you come and feed his goats, chickens, and ducks.  $0.25 for a handful of feed.  Totally worth it!


Chicken Love
 
I love this one!
But feeding chickens was not why we came.  We can feed chickens at home.  We came for the goats!


How cute is this baby goat!?!
 I never thought I'd want a goat!  Being a born and bred city girl I never thought I'd want chickens, but here we are 20 chickens later (only 14 currently).  After loving on this cute little goat, I now want a baby goat.  Luckily I can just come here anytime. 

 
 
 
 
Mama goat kept trying to get us to feed her instead of the babies.

Little M telling the mommy goat, ever so politely, that she did not want to feed the bigger goats.  She wants to feed the small ones.


Just when we thought this trip couldn't get any better we get to see a baby goat nursing!  No wonder mama goat was so hungry!

If you live in the city may I suggest you take a trip out to the country?  You won't regret it!

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Bunny Love

A year ago we ventured into bunny ownership.  The Kindergarten class I was working in had a class bunny named Lily.  Someone needed to take Lily home on weekends and that was the start of our Bunny Love.  We decided to get Lily a companion and got our sweet little Cookie (Cookies 'n Cream). 
 
 
 
Cookie
 
Unfortunately there was a dog attack.  Lily was killed and Cookie's feet were chewed up.  My poor little Cookie.  We brought her in the house and nursed her back to health.  For a long time we didn't think she'd make it and then our cat started laying with her and keeping her company, and that's when we started to see a change in Cookie.  When I got a call from a friend needing a home for some of her bunnies we decided it would be the perfect opportunity to get a new friend for Cookie.  When we got to her house we saw Juliet, who had been picked on by some of the other bunnies. 

 
Juliet. 
She gets a little nervous and likes to hide in their little den.
 

We took her home and they have become the best of friends.  They're always nibbling on and grooming each other. 


 
It's like it was meant to be.


Sunday, May 4, 2014

Our Chickens!


We've got chicken fever here!  Two years ago, and I really don't know what brought it on, I decided I wanted chickens.  This came as a shock to many since I have always been a city girl.  We moved to a more rural area, where my husband was raised, in the fall of 2010 and it must have awakened the country girl within.

In the summer of 2011 we bought, and moved into, a cute, tiny little house on .28 acre.  I guess I just needed something to fill that space.  Something that complimented my deep desire for an amazing garden.  In February of 2012 I found a breeder nearby and got myself six baby chicks.  It had begun!   

Last fall we took on some additional hens from my dear friend who was moving and had to rehome her animals (we also took one of her bunnies).  However, after a series of dog attacks we needed to make some adjustments to our set up and start a new flock.  We bought 14 chicks of various breeds thinking we'd end up with a rooster or two (that happens often) that we wouldn't be able to keep.  We're not zoned for roosters. 

Turns out we don't have any roosters, so we'll likely need to find a home for a few of them.  Our coop is comfortable for no more than 12, and you want your hens to be as comfortable as possible or they will peck each other, and cause harm.  Plus, who wants unhappy chickens?  I know I don't!


 
This is one of my Easter Eggers.  My favorite breed.  They're a mix breed that usually lay green or blue eggs, but sometimes you may even end up with pink.  We have 4 and we're all excited to see what color they'll be.
 
 
G's Lavender Easter Egger.  Her name is Princess Heart.
 

M's Silverlaced Wyandotte, Roadrunner.  She's too fast to catch.
 
 
MK's Buff Orpington named Yellow Chickie.  A pretty good name considering she was named by a 2 year old. 
 
 
And a one more of the Easter Eggers.  I sure love these puffy cheeked sweeties!

If you are considering chickens, and you were to ask me my opinion, I'd say, "Go for it!"  I know that when I'm in a bad mood I just need to grab my camera, and my 3 year old, and head out to the chicken run.  They are so great to be around and can lift your spirits in seconds.  Of course, I love anything that gets me out into the yard.