DOIN' IT ALL, IDAHO STYLE

FOODIE: Bagel Sandwiches

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Way back in the day I used to work at a Noah's bagel shop at 4am every morning. I hated that damn job, but I did learn to love bagels and to make a mean bagel sandwich. Not like it's that hard, really. Now I make them at home all the time. My favorites are bagel melts, which are so much cheaper to make at home than purchase at bagel shops.

We buy our bagels in bulk from Winco Foods. (Alice and I love everything bagels, Lucy only likes plain, and Eric prefers sesame seed.) Cut them in half, pop them in the toaster, butter lightly and layer the halves with toppings of your choice. We often make 'breakfast bagels,' which consist of whipping and microwaving an egg in the microwave, putting said egg on toasted and buttered bagel half, top with thin sliced ham and a slice of swiss cheese. Place on a cookie sheet under the broiler and watch closely, warming just until the cheese melts. We also make them for lunch with all kinds of veggies, lunchmeats, and tun, all topped with cheese, of course. Makes for a delicious warm meal on cold winter days, especially when paired with soup.

ARTSY: Trey McIntyre Project 10+1 pt. 3

2011-12-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

So, I'm in this show again and I'm thrilled! A benefit for the renowned Trey McIntyre Project, a contemporary dance company based here in Boise, each year TMP invites local artists to create works inspired by dance/the company. Last year I made this. This year I made something inspired by this dance performance they did about two years ago. Here's a sneak peek:

If you're in town, you'd best come to the opening party tonight, TMP Headquarters on Fulton Street, right next to TableRock Brew Pub, 5-9pm. It's free, and sure to be fabulous!

ARTSY: Prison Art

2011-12-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

One of my most favorite places in Boise, the Old Idaho State Pen. It's creepy and wonderfully preserved and well worth a visit. Or several. I can never get enough time here. Alice and I got the rare chance to access some of the cells in the 4 House and got these pics of the incredible inmate art.

CULTURE: The 2011 Wintry Market

2011-11-25T06:00:00.002-07:00

Our inaugural Wintry Market was a huge success! Over the course of two days (Sat Nov 5 and Sun Nov 6) thirty different crafters, artists and makers filled the Ballet Idaho Auditorium space with good fun and terrific handmade gifts. Hundreds of people came through and the vibe was casual and eclectic and inspiring, by all accounts

And! You guys! The Ticky-Tacky shop did spectacular upon it's debut. Seriously, I got great comments about the quality of items and the originality. Several people even mentioned that I should have a store somewhere. As for now, though, I'm still just working the local booth/event market. I sold almost $350 worth of vintage goodness, though, in just two days. This exceeded my expectations, and totally got this girl a brand-new Kenmore vacuum.

My co-conspirators in all things crafty, Anna and Kristin. Together, we put together a pretty wonderful show and helped promote handmade and local goods in Idaho. I love these ladies. They also took way better photos than I did, so for more images of the Wintry Market, check out our blog and our Facebook page. You should also 'like' us/follow us to get info about other holiday markets in Idaho, as well as get updates on Wintry Market 2012!

STYLE: T-shirt Revamp With Men's Tie

2011-11-18T11:09:00.005-07:00

I follow Craft Gossip on Facebook and saw this link to this blog's tutorial on upcycling an old t-shirt with a men's tie. Eric happens to have a plethora of old, quirky ties lying about, so I snatched one up.

My blue tee had another stain on it (as most of my tees do) so I crafted a few little fabric rosettes to cover that up, and to adorn the tie.

In the original tutorial, she uses a vintage button, which I also think would be darling. But this turned out pretty cute, don't you think? I can't wait to make more!

ARTSY: Wintry Market + Ticky-Tacky

2011-10-19T12:23:00.008-06:00

Early last spring, my friend Kristin Montgomery and I met for brunch and discussed Boise's need for a quality handmade arts and crafts holiday market. We had both noticed that our local handmade shops and markets were expanding and seemed to be successfully operating on a grassroots level that we both appreciated and enjoyed. We knew that we could add something special to the holiday scene and thus, Wintry Market was conceived!

We quickly secured Ballet Idaho's stellar auditorium space, thanks to the community-building mindset of their new development director, Heather Langhorst, and her commitment to artists supporting artists locally. Local animator Jason Sievers created our fabulous poster and we soon had all 30 available booths at the Wintry Market filled with some of the best makers in the state of Idaho. Big City Coffee was thrilled to help our customers satisfy their caffeine fix and sweet tooth and B29 Streatery is ready to park their popular food truck in the Ballet Idaho parking lot for the weekend.

Co-creating the Wintry Market has also allowed me to finally fulfill one of my dreams of starting my own vintage shop. I call it Ticky-Tacky, and it's a carefully curated vintage shop full of reloved and reused items for the home and the holidays. Items have been thrifted, repurposed, and handmade by yours truly. You guys, I'm so excited to share the goodness!

There'll be killer vintage Christmas goods! Clothes! Purses! Kids decor! Art books! Crochet! Needlepoint! Crystal! Melmac! Ticky-Tacky is overflowing with so much greatness it's gonna be hard for me to part with all the retro lovelies I've selected. Of course, everything is one of a kind, and is certain to go fast, as I'm a firm believer in reasonable prices. Vintage homes FTW!

So, if you're local, help us ring in the holidays season by attending the inaugural Wintry Market and supporting Idaho's artists and crafters. Seriously, you're sure to find the most unique and hip holiday gifts around. And, I'd love for you to stop by the Ticky-Tacky booth and say hello.

Here's the deets:

Wintry Market Handmade for the Holidays

Ballet Idaho auditorium

Corner of 8th & Myrtle, in downtown Boise's BoDo District

Sat Nov 5 & Sun Nov 6, 2011

10am-5pm

FREE ADMISSION

+kids recycled arts corner!

+coffee and snacks!

+quirky holiday photo booth!

KIDDOS: BSU's Vertebrate Museum

2011-09-09T12:58:00.003-06:00

We did so many fun things as a family this summer, that I can't wait to share them with you. As you can tell, much of our time was spent away from the computer and out of doors, meaning a severe lack of posting. Anyhow, one of our little day trips included a visit to Boise State University's Vertebrate Museum in the Science Building.

The Science Building is right next to the Morrison Center on campus and houses biology, chemistry and nursing. They recently reinstalled the quirky collection throughout the halls on the second floor of the building, and they are open to the public.

The girls had so much fun exploring taxidermied birds and fish and checking out all kinds of seashells, a thrill as we were headed to the Oregon coast the very next day. Also, we got in a little visit with daddy, a chemistry professor with offices on the third floor of the same building.

It is truly a gem of a place to take the kiddos, and you can even grab lunch at Subway on the first floor of the building or just across the lawn there's a mini Mai Thai in the food court that is too die for. You'll want to pay for parking garage parking, though, as there are just a few metered spots around the building that only last for 30 minutes and the parking ticket folks are ON IT.

STYLE: My Five Home Favorites

2011-06-08T10:58:00.004-06:00

My friend and talented interior designer, Kristin Montgomery, hosts a lovely little blog called Inspired Designer. Occasionally, Kristin invites other stylish and crafty folks to send her five photos of their favorite spots/collections in their home and writes a feature called 'My Five Home Favorites.' I'm lucky to have been asked to participate this week! Click here to see what my current favorites are at our tiny little 1950s homestead on Boise's Bench.

And speaking of style, what do you think of my new blog layout? Having just celebrated my second blogiversary, I thought it would be fun to do something a little different and update the look.

STYLE: Black and white photo collage

2011-05-16T07:00:00.001-06:00

I've been collecting black and white photographs for quite some time. I have a nice framed collection of larger ones in a hallway, including a 1970 studio shot of the Brady Bunch family autographed by Barry Williams and one of an early 1900s parade in Boise's Chinatown. I've also quite the stash of smaller black and white photos, picked up for pennies at antique stores and garage sales, including about 30 images of historic architecture in Indianapolis.

But it was when my sister-in-law, Crystal, sent me this link to a darling San Francisco home tour featured on Apartment Therapy's website that I knew the little collection's true calling. There are so many things to take inspiration from in this couple's cute home, including the plate display on the wall (which I already have goin' on), but it was the pinned exhibit of old photos that really caught my eye.

I picked up some black and white ball-topped pins at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft up the street for under $2 and set to work. The photos aren't straight, but they do make a nice assymetrical composition that can grow as my collection does. I love that the photos are out of the drawer in the basement and next to my bed, where I can examine them and make up stories about the characters in them, including the one of the lady wearing her Sunday finest pointing a shotgun with a sly smile on her face.

FOODIE: Making Breakfast

2011-05-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

As a radical homemaker, I've been trying to make more of our food from scratch, including staples. This past month I've tried, with varying degrees of success, to make some breakfast items that we eat regularly. One is homemade yogurt. A few months ago I tried to make this recipe in my trusty crockpot, but it was a big fat fail. A few weeks ago I tried this one pictured above, using a warm water bath in a cooler. While it was more successful than my first attempt, the yogurt really never set up to the thick consistency I like it to be. We do make a ton of yogurt fruit smoothies in this house, though, and my homemade yogurt worked great for that. I'm giving it one more try, using my friend Rachel's tried and true recipe, and hoping that the third time's a charm.

I have tried to make a variety of breakfast/granola type bars in the past, and they've just been okay. When my favorite Montana blogger, Nici, posted this recipe for her homemade figgy bars, I made them the very next day. I didn't have figs on hand, but made the filling using dried prunes and some homemade apricot jam and it turned out wonderful. So good, in fact, that I gave a box as a gift to a new mama and her young family.

My girls love the Nutrigrain Eggos for breakfast. It's so easy to pop them in the toaster before school. I decided one Sunday morning to whip up a huge batch of whole wheat waffles and freeze them instead, to aid in the cost of the Eggos as well as the nutritional content. While Alice liked them the first few days, Lucy refused them. It's been over a month and I still have one or two in the freezer. Obviously they weren't a huge hit. But the figgy bars were loved by all and many were stolen by Eric for a healthy afternoon snack at work. One out of three ain't bad, right?

STYLE: Vintage souvenir travel plates

2011-05-02T07:00:00.000-06:00

It's probably only been about a year now that I've been collecting vintage souvenir travel plates. But I'm a wee bit addicted to hoarding quirky things.

I find them, typically, at rummage sales and thrift stores and have never paid more than $4.99 for one, and most are around $1. They were popular tourist trinkets in the 1950s and were made for most states, large cities, and national parks. I've found some odd ones, like for the National Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma, and, for some reason many local churches marked significant anniversaries with commemorative plates.

Events like the Seattle World's Fair in 1962 (when the Space Needle made it's debut) were also popular to memorialize in a plate, and the dimensional relief on this particular piece if pretty great. They often hung on the walls of people who bought them, servings as memories of family vacations and roadtrips, made doable by the automobile in the mid twentieth century.

The plates went out of fashion and people are getting rid of them now, gifting them to the Goodwill as they find them in old boxes of grandma's stuff. As a sucker for Americana and kitsch, I'm intrigued by the architectural features and natural wonders chosen to represent each state/city on their plate. It's telling of the time and era, and also acts as a historical document, as this New York City plate does, with the Twin Towers standing tall pre-9/11.

KIDDOS: Big Blue Birthday Bash

2011-04-26T18:03:00.005-06:00

As most of you know, both Alice's and Lucy's birthdays fall in April, just two weeks apart. Therefore, for the rest of their lives, they'll be forced to have a joint party. So far, this has worked out well, as their four year age difference hasn't really caused a thematic problem yet. This year I had the girls pick a color to coordinate the theme around and much to my surprise and delight they chose blue.

I happened to find plain blue t-shirts for them at the dollar store and ironed on letters I had in my crafty stash to spell out their names. I also found these funky blue paper hats at the dollar store, hot glued some blue silk flowers on and cut out their birthday numbers with some old Contac paper I had. We made our invitations out of paper cutouts of blue balloons tied with blue string and invited our guests to share in the celebration by wearing the color du jour.

The party was originally scheduled to be at a local play park outside, but the stormy spring weather didn't really cooperate. At the last minute we changed the locale to our house, and I set up the ever-popular recycled art station in our garage. It was a huge hit, especially with the 7-8 year old girl crowd.

I am not a big fan of junky birthday party favors for kids, so we went with these packages of fizzly fruit Skittles we found on sale for 50cents a piece at the local Rite-Aid and tied them with blue yarn. The kids also, of course, got to take home any art project they made in the garage.

I made these homemade basic vanilla cupcakes from the Fannie Farmer Baking Book with The Pioneer Woman's basic cream cheese frosting, topped with colored blue sugar. Blue and white polka-dotted cupcake papers and blue and white striped candles topped the mini cakes, as did blue plastic police officers we found at the dollar store. Two thrifted Rummikub game pieces with the girls' birthday years on them marked their cupcakes.

Of course, the decor was all blue - from tablecloths to bowls and plastic forks to platters. We kept the other decorations simple, stringing blue streamers around doorways and Eric picked up 6 or 7 blue star shaped mylar balloons that morning. As the party was from 2-4pm, we had finger foods and lemonade for snacks. Again, the best parties seem to be homemade on a budget and this time around with a simple color theme, the dollar store was really a treasure trove.

FOODIE: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

2011-04-10T16:38:00.004-06:00

I've been a fan of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for years, well before you could buy them at every gas station in town. In fact, I was a fan of them way back in the day when they were exclusively a southern chain and had to wait until I lived in South Carolina as a college student to taste my first piece of HOT NOW! gooeyness. I remember when people would buy dozens of the tasty treats and carry them home on airplanes from visits in the south. Then they went and expanded and now sell day-old boxes at Target and blueberry donut holes at Maverik. But I still love them, and will buy them there, too. It's a visit to the doughnut shop, however, that is the real treat. I'm thrilled that we have one here near Boise, even though it's clear out in Meridian on the nightmare that is Eagle Road. Because of it's location, we don't visit there are often as I'd like, which is probably a good thing.

On a recent morning adventure, Alice and I took our time at Krispy Kreme, watching the freshly fried circles make their way through the glazing waterfall. We picked out our dozen favorite donuts, including Alice's favorite - chocolate icing with sprinkles.

I tried their newest delicacy, Banana Kreme Pie, and it was as yummy as it's advertising promised. Coffee is always necessary, as is a paper bakers hat for the girl. I love the sun-filled space at the Meridian location, and at 10am, the place was pretty quiet. Alice loved standing on the tile bench watching the bakers at work. As a lifelong doughnut lover, Krispy Kreme still tops the list for me.

FOODIE: Easy Pita Pizzas

2011-03-18T16:40:00.002-06:00

This post isn't so much a recipe as it is a really easy tip for feeding kids or pulling together a quick meal on a whim. We've made these for years now, since Lucy was a wee one. My girls, like most kids, are huge pizza lovers. Also, like most kids, they are incredibly picky eaters and we're lucky if we can get them to eat one vegetable and one fruit a day. And believe me, like most parents, we try like hell to introduce new foods and keep them on a balanced diet, yadda, yadda, yadda. But guess what? These little pizzas help mama keep her sanity on the whole food issue.

We always keep a stash of whole wheat or white pitas in the freezer, along with a jar of bottled pizza sauce. I take them out as needed; I broil the pitas a bit after rubbing them with olive oil and sprinkling with a bit of kosher salt to crisp them up. I usually take the sauce out of the freezer ahead of time to defrost on the counter or, if I forget, just put it in the microwave for a minute or so. After toasting the pitas, spread on some sauce and whatever toppings we can find in the fridge, pantry or leftover. The individual sizes are perfect for kids and my girls love 'decorating' their own pizzas. They love pepperoni, so I buy large bags of the lower fat turkey pepperoni. I often add fresh veggies to mine and feta if we have it. Leftover taco fillings with salsa as the sauce instead of tomato make great Mexican pizzas, as do fresh tomato slices and basil from the garden during the summer. Toss the toppings on and pop them in the oven. I often broil mine for just a few minutes if I'm in a hurry and, if not, bake on 350 degrees for about ten minutes. And I usually use a cookie sheet to bake our mini pizzas on, not a muffin tin, but it was already out on the counter and I was being lazy.

I love the simplicity of this for a quick lunch for the girls; kitchen shears cut up tiny slices perfect for little hands. These pizzas also make a delicious family dinner paired with a quick tossed salad.

THRIFTY: Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

2011-03-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

For the past four years, I've become increasingly obsessed with consumption, reuse and recycling. I chronicled our adventures about living on The Compact in 2009 here, as well as my turn as a radical homemaker. I've recently become very interested in this zero waste home and blog - a family in California who either composts, reuses or refuses unnecessary junk into their lives, particularly in the way of food and product packaging.

This year I've decided to experiment with a few homemade household items. When we ran out of dishwasher soap last week, I researched a few homemade options. There are a ton of recipes and recommendations out there on the Internets, but I decided upon 1 cup Borax mixed with 1 cup baking soda. Put in a jar and shake. It's that easy. I use a tiny plastic scoop that I think came with some coffee once as my measure. It is probably about a tablespoon in size, and I typically use one scoop per load. For the rinse agent, I've been using plain vinegar. So far, so good. The only problem are the hard water stains on our glassware, which admittedly were problematic even before changing up the dishwashing soap. Perhaps the vinegar isn't quite cutting it? Hmmm. Again, it's only been about a week, so in a sense the jury's still out on this one. I do think my new concoction is doing the job just as well as the more expensive commercial detergent we were previously using.

Stay tuned, as I'm moving on to making more household items from scratch. I gave up shampoo and conditioner in favor of baking soda and apple cider vinegar a few years back, and am excited to try my hand at homemade deodorant and toothpowder next.

KIDDOS: Keva Blocks

2011-03-03T10:23:00.007-07:00

We discovered KEVA blocks while attending our first Discover Engineering Day at Boise State University last year. The day is free for families and full of fabulous scientific fun stuff, like playing with robots and building rockets to riding a hovercraft and understanding atoms.

It was during the BLOCKFEST event, though, that we had the most hands-on fun. It lasted about an hour, and you rotated to different stations each 10 minutes or so. Different blocks were presented at each area, from giant cardboard ones that the kids used to build towering structures they could crawl inside of to these tiny maple planks.

We loved the KEVA planks architecture set, so asked grandma to buy it for the girls' as a joint birthday gift last year because they are quite expensive. For the 200 piece set, it's almost $70.
Here's the product description from amazon.com:

KEVA planks are construction blocks that are precision cut, identical in size and shape and made of Midwest hardwood maple. Each piece is approximately 4 inches long, 3/4 inch wide and an inch thick. These perfectly cut, identical blocks will stack with surprising stability. Their simplicity is compelling. KEVA planks are used in schools, museums, art galleries and homes to teach everything from physics to language arts to design and sculpture. By purchasing KEVA planks, we hope your home will be a creative institution as well.

We have thoroughly enjoyed these at our house. They are fun for adults and kids alike, and allow for more creative play than some other blocks we have. The blocks are pricey, though, so it might be the perfect thing to ask those grandparents or Santa for.

STYLE: Vintage Holly Hobbie Lunchbox

2011-02-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

I still have my grade school lunchbox, a metal Holly Hobbie number from Aladdin. It was made in 1979, and likely purchased in 1980 when I was five-years-old by my mom for me as I started kindergarten. I used it for at least ten years, and ever since my mom has kept it for me. It even still has my name written on a piece of paper taped to the top in my mom's handwriting.

I love the schoolyard rules printed on the inside and the fact that I still have the thermos. We recently got this from my mom's storage after all these years and Lucy was thrilled to take it with her to first grade, although she has no idea who that girl with the big blue bonnet on the front is.

It was strange to discover how much larger our plastic tubs are these days, which, not surprisingly, indicates how much our portions have grown since the 70s. However, Lucy is a small eater and, like many six-year-olds, super picky. She likes her lunch packed bento-style, with things in small containers, like slices of ham, mini carrots, and baby dill pickles. Instead of pulling my name tag off, we added a new sticker with her name written in my handwriting. After school she told me that the thermos leaked her water all over, so the janitor had taken it away to clean it up. My heart skipped a beat, as I found myself suddenly quite concerned about the whereabouts of my beloved childhood container. She got it back, wiped clean, the very next day, with both our nametags still attached, marking the love between generations of brown-eyed grade school girls and their mothers.

KIDDOS: Homemade Playdough

2011-02-01T17:20:00.004-07:00

Since Christmas, Alice has been really into playdough. She found our shoebox filled with all kinds of bits of old playdough, mostly mixed to a gray, dry lump. They worked for her, though, and she rolled and stacked and kneaded the stuff for hours. Finally, in our winter hibernation some inspiration hit and I decided to make our own. Honestly, I can't believe I've never made homemade playdough before. It's so easy, fun and inexpensive to create at home.

I found this recipe for the World's Best Play Dough via dig this chick and was smitten. It takes just a few ingredients from your pantry and cooks quickly on the stovetop. The only thing I changed in the recipe is adding just one or two drops of food coloring instead of 2 teaspoons as the recipe calls for.

We made all the colors in our food coloring box: red, yellow, green and blue. The dough is so soft and pliable and lasts much longer than the pre-packaged stuff. We store ours in old mason jars, but ziploc baggies or plastic containers would do as well.

We shared our new found fun with the other toddlers in our playgroup. While the mamas sat around drinking coffee and noshing, the kiddos sat happily at the kitchen table creating away. The best part about playdough is that everyday kitchen tools work great for sculpting - ice cream scoops, forks, plastic knives, cookie cutters, and rolling pins. My favorite new kitchen tool for playdough, however, is the garlic press; it makes super cool noodles or hair for your little sculpted creatures. The best part is that this has kept my insatiable preschooler occupied for hours and, while I might spend lots of time sweeping up dried bits of the playdough from the floor, its a great creative outlet.

AMY & REE: Mission Accomplished!

2011-01-11T18:27:00.009-07:00

And here we have it, my 2010 New Years Resolution, to cook the entire cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl, completed. Done. Over. And I know I'm 11 days late. But, you know what? I'm cool like that. I've decided to give myself some slack, in life in general, but specifically in this goal. Because I loved this challenge.

I loved pushing myself way outside of my culinary comfort zone and learning how easy and rewarding it is to make things like your own whipped cream and pie crust and fried chicken. The Pioneer Woman makes cooking fun and easy, but at the same time teaches you down-home skills that should be part of every person's kitchen tools. And while her recipes were filled with necessary skills, they were also filled with fat. And butter. And sugar. I felt myself packing on the pounds with her solid, country foods and, sometimes, I eliminated some of the salt, butter, and replaced whole wheat flour for white. This challenge made me feel brave that way - able to take a recipe and change it up to my liking. And certainly not all the Pioneer Woman's recipes are like these; she's got an amazing website filled with lighter fare and even vegetarian recipes.

For the last two weeks of December, I cooked like crazy, making recipes out of the book. And I have to say, spending hours in the kitchen over the holidays with the Pioneer Woman was a blast. I really wanted New Years Eve to be my final hurrah, and invited lots of families to join ours in a celebration of 2011 and my big accomplishment. I planned to make the last seven recipes that night for all my friends. I did, in fact, make seven recipes and they were great, by all accounts. (We had so many guests and I had drunk so much sangria by that point that I had but a bite of each one.) The party was great fun, but I was still left with a few recipes to conquer. Here's some pics of the goodness that has been the past month of my life:

The Roasted Beef Tenderloin was a little too rare for my taste, but I'm a wussy red meat eater. The marinade was delicious, primarily because it included bacon grease (yum). Recipe link here (which also includes the recipe for PW's Burgundy Mushrooms which I served on New Years Eve but did not get a photo of because they went fast and I was too drunk. They are good, but cook all day (seriously, like nine hours) and take a whole liter of wine).

The Buttermilk Fried Chicken was kind of a greasy mess, but the breading was crunchy and tasty. I'd give it a shot if I were you, but I make a yummy oven baked version that is just as good.

This, my friends, is really damn good. It's Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich, with grilled cube steak slices and onions on a crusty roll. We added mushrooms and melted swiss on the top and served it with a green salad on the side. We now call this Our Favorite Use for Cube Steak Sandwich.

This was the first time I've ever made homemade buttermilk biscuits, and I couldn't believe how easy they were. And how much I adore using my pastry cutter and my biscuit cutter in the same recipe. Even better with homemade raspberry jam on top.

New Year's Eve menu signage taken the next morning. Yeah, you can't hardly read it now, but it listed the seven (supposed to be) final recipes: BBQ Jalapeno Poppers, Simple Perfect Chili, Potato Skins, Sangria, Guacamole, Burgundy Mushrooms and Creme Brulee.

Creme Brulee dishes, completely scraped clean, the morning after. It was THAT good.

Sangria pitcher with fruit remnants. I believe all the orange vodka, orange rum, red and white wine concoction ended up gone within the first hour or two of the party. In my glass alone. (There was more than one pitcher, okay?)

This photo of the fried Onion Strings wasn't blurry because I had drunk too much beer, but because my other hand was busy shoving handfuls of these into my mouth. One of my favorite recipes in the book, these are better than I've ever purchased at any state fair. And that's sayin' a lot.

I just thought the Cowboy Calzones were good, but my inlaws and Eric loved them. Since I was running out of time in 2010 and, quite frankly, was busting my buns in the kitchen around the holidays already, I cheated and used store bought pizza dough instead of making it from scratch.

Iny's Prune Cake was so hyped up in the book that I expected more. It was good and moist, but a little too moist, to the point of soggy. Could be my mixing of the caramel topping, but it didn't last more than one night.

I made the Breakfast Bowls for Christmas morning with my inlaws. They were easy and really dang good. Sorry, but I can't find a link to them.

Along with the Breakfast Bowls, I made the Marmalade Muffins for Christmas morning. Topped with a marmalade and brown sugar melted topping, these are too die for. They made way more than 24 mini muffins, which was good, because my father in law and I each downed about 7 fresh out of the oven.

So, now that I've made everything in the book, here's our votes for best of the best:

Eric's top five favorites are:

1) Creme Brulee

2) Rib-Eye Steak with Whiskey Cream Sauce

3) Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich

4) Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes

5) Marmalade Muffins

And mine:

1) Creme Brulee

2) BBQ Jalapeno Poppers

3) PW Breakfast Burritos

4) Cinnamon Rolls

5) Olive Cheese Bread

While the cookbook sits next to me on the couch as I type, I lovingly look at how tattered it's become. And also how loved; the book has wandered around the house with all of us over the past year. Eric's taken it to bed, choosing a recipe for me to make for the next night's dinner. Lucy and Alice have laughed at the pictures of PW's puppies and cows. I've pretty much lugged the book from room to room, studying baking times and ingredients. The pages are tagged and grease splattered and covered with penned notes. Just how a cookbook should be.

AMY & REE: Linguine with Clam Sauce

2010-12-27T15:25:00.000-07:00

I believe that PW's sister, Betsy, makes this pasta for girls' night. PW lives on a ranch with cowboys who call this girl food and prefer much beefier business. Luckily, my man loves him all kinds of food, so he's always willing to try what I make. This was very good, but I also love clams, which I know are an acquired taste for some people, my kids included.

AMY & REE: My Favorite Meatloaf

2010-12-27T13:18:00.001-07:00

I made PW's favorite meatloaf with her creamy rosemary potato recipe (posted above) one night for dinner. It is a big hamburger loaf made the traditional way, except it's covered with bacon and a spicy ketchup topping. We thought it was pretty good, but, like all meatloaf, much better the next day. I almost love meatloaf sandwiches better than the warm night-before dinner version. This meatloaf was fine, but my favorite version of this classic is still my mozzarella turkey one.

AMY & REE: Flat Apple Pie

2010-12-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

This flat apple pie recipe actually makes two pies, but I cheated a bit and used premade pie dough because, friends, I'm on a deadline here, with just a few days to so. It's pretty small, but boy is it delicious. And easy. I took PW's advice and drizzled caramel topping on the top. Add to that some homemade whipped cream and OMG, people. I took this to the BSU bowl game party and those folks couldn't stop raving about it. Highly recommended.

AMY & REE: Creamy Rosemary Potatoes

2010-12-26T13:09:00.000-07:00

These are listed as 'Creamy Herbed Potatoes' on PW's website, but in the book they are Creamy Rosemary Potatoes. Regardless of the name change, the recipe is the same. It's a really fattening, fancy version of scalloped potatoes using fresh rosemary and parmesan cheese. They were a yummy change of pace, but not something I'd probably really make again.

AMY & REE: Chicken Pot Pie

2010-12-24T15:09:00.000-07:00

This recipe for turkey pot pie on PW's website is exactly the same as the chicken pot pie recipe in her cookbook, just substituting chicken for turkey. I made this last night for dinner for the inlaws who just got in for the holiday. It was a perfect winter night recipe. The addition of thyme is perfect and she's right about salting it to taste. Again, I cheated with the pie crust, and used pre-made since I'm short on time. Give it a shot, it's worth it! Would be a perfect use for Christmas dinner turkey leftovers.

AMY & REE: Basic Breakfast Potatoes & Breakfast Burritos

2010-12-24T12:59:00.005-07:00

PW's Basic Breakfast Potatoes are a super easy way to make homemade hashbrowns and are basic enough to make a huge batch of and use in other recipes, like her Breakfast Burritos which I made with them. (The potatoes are also a perfect use for a few leftover baked potatoes from another dinner, by the way.) Anyhow, they are good alone, but are great with the breakfast burritos, which are really basic - salsa, sausage, cheese, egg and potatoes. The recipe makes a big batch, enough for a Saturday morning family breakfast and leaving you with 8-10 to freeze for later. Microwave for about 3 minutes (probably less if you don't have a 20 year old microwave oven like I do) and take them on the go. I love them.

AMY & REE: Olive Cheese Bread

2010-12-17T23:21:00.001-07:00

Okay, ladies, PW calls her Olive Cheese Bread 'cowgirl food' and I couldn't agree more. While Eric didn't love it, I did. And Alice did. While we all had a slice or two with our dinner that night, the next day she and I ate a half loaf of the stuff. It is rich and yummy and olive-y goodness. Perfect for noshing all day and is especially complimentary to wine. So, of course, there wasn't enough time to take a picture of it between shoving it's melty, salty crispiness into my mouth.

AMY & REE: Beans and Cornbread

2010-12-16T23:11:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we're just too busy eating to take pictures of the food. I always remember afterwards, though, and think, "I'll get pics of the leftovers tomorrow." Then Eric eats the leftovers as an almost-midnight-snack well before tomorrow comes, or we pack them into lunch sacks and I totally forget. This was one of those meals.

I grew up on beans and cornbread - it was a staple in my mom's kitchen repertoire and her childhood as well, which she imparted on us. I have fond memories of those pinto beans soaking for what seemed like days, and the salty, smoky hamhock falling to pieces once they were finally done. While my childhood cornbread usually came from a box (and, honestly, mine often still does), it was delicious with the meal and later with dark Karo syrup on top as a sweet treat.

PW's beans were great and easy and made a ton, so much that I still have a carton in my freezer. The skillet cornbread had a weird taste to me - I think it was the use of Crisco - so I didn't like it that much. My vote? Beans - yep. Cornbread - pass.

AMY & REE: Pineapple Upside-Down Cake (in an iron skillet)

2010-12-15T23:03:00.001-07:00

I had never made cake in an iron skillet nor had I ever made pineapple upside-down cake before, so this was new to me on two levels. It was easy and fun, but a bit stressful at the flipping the cake out stage, as it always is for me. But look how beautiful! And vintage! In my cake carrier! (I could've upped the kitsch quotient if I'd added maraschino cherries, but I dislike them so.) I took this to the ladies with babies at playgroup and we enjoyed it with coffee. I think pineapple upside-down cake is something you either love or hate, but think it was a good recipe.

AMY & REE: French Breakfast Puffs

2010-12-14T22:53:00.005-07:00

So, I just sent out our Christmas e-greeting, which captures some fun accomplishments from each of our family members throughout the year, like Lucy losing three teeth, Alice eating too many eggs, Eric watching the sun set over the Tetons and my successfully completing my Pioneer Woman cookbook challenge. Only, I lied. About myself. I'm not done with the cooking, not even close. You guys, don't judge. It was more of a 'publish a dream and it will become your reality' sort of idea. You see, I'm not going to be made a fool or a liar. I will get 'er done. Because I'm obsessive and a procrastinator and my husband will help me and I plan to cheat. Just a little teeny tiny bit.

But not yet. You see, I've been baking and broiling and beating for months now, and am just finally getting around to posting about some of the recipes. So beware, the rest of my posts for 2010 are likely to be a flurry of frantic kitchen tidbits about all the cooking that's bein' done up in here.

I made these muffins that are dipped in butter and rolled in sugar and cinnamon after baking them a while back, but they didn't last long. I've said it before, but PW sure knows her sweet stuff and I think baking is really her strong suit. These things are yummy and tasted a bit like donuts so, duh, um, I LOVE THEM. And you will, too.

Where I've Been = Manic Art/Work Mode

2010-12-09T10:33:00.008-07:00

So, I've been a pretty shitty blogger lately, but I have been writing like crazy elsewhere. My new gig as a freelance arts writer for our local indy newsweekly, the Boise Weekly, has been fun and demands lots of evening interviews and late night sessions with my laptop. I've been producing 1-2 stories a month for them this fall, writing about anything from Iraqi refugees to improv comedy.

I'm also thrilled that my first pieces came out in Treasure Valley Family magazine, our local family publication, in the December issue. My regular monthly columns include "Shop & Tell" (a local gift/purchasing guide based on different themes), "Park Playtime" (highlighting different outdoor wonderlands in the area), and "Somewhere Over the Laundry Pile" (a sort of end of the day personal story about motherhood as I see it). I also occasionally write specialty pieces, like this one about local kids theatre auditions. Soon, I'm to be the featured mommyblogger on TVF's revamped website, so stay tuned.

Right after my layoff at the Boise Art Museum, the city of Boise Department of Arts & History snatched me up to consult with them on a pretty regular basis. I work on a number of projects devoted both to public art projects and history related ones, in addition to serving on two different committees for the organization. Lately, I've been tasked with working with local signmakers on getting appropriate labels and signage made for quite a few projects, like this one by Stephanie Bacon, a collaged installation making the Collister Branch of the Boise Public Library a really cool place:

Since June, I've been organizing an exhibition with 21 different local artists for the Trey McIntyre Project (TMP), a world-renowned contemporary dance troupe based here in Boise. Each year, Trey, the artistic director, asks a group of artists to create artworks inspired by each of the 9 dancers + 1 artistic director as a fundraiser. This year, I was asked to come on board as the project manager/curator of the event and exhibition. There was much to be coordinated, and the work load more than tripled as our opening date, December 2nd, quickly approached. Not to mention that Trey asked me to participate as an artist as well. Here's a peek at my artist webpage as well as the piece I created for the show:

Amy Pence-Brown, What you see is not all you get., found fabric, thread, frames, shelf, 2010. SOLD!

Moscow, Idaho, ceramic artist Marilyn Lysohir's plates and cups

Rachel Linquist made these fantastic fabric dancer dolls. Check out her Etsy shop for more cuteness. Plus, she's a helluva a gal.

E.J. Pettinger writes this quirky cartoon called Mild Abandon and did these paintings of the dancers holding a fundraising carwash. He turned the paintings into calendars, that sold like hotcakes.

Amy O'Brien + Kerry Tullis make up Unit Eleven Design. They use reclaimed wood and steel and made stools with heights based on each dancer's inseam.

Susan Valiquette is a photographer who mounted her photos of each dancer after rehearsal, sweat and all, to really cool lucite boxes.

BSU printmaking professor Jill Fitterer made tiny etchings with chine colle on wood for each dancer.

The exhibition is still up and, in fact, I'm hosting a recycled arts project for kids this Saturday in their warehouse space. Whew. So far, this holiday season has been fun, but a bit exhausting, and not with the normal stuff like shipping packages and hanging holiday lights, but with work/art madness. While it's been interesting and fulfilling, managing these four part-time gigs with full-time motherhood has been a bit challenging lately. I've missed too many dinners with my family and Lucy's totally out of clean pants as I type. I'm looking forward to more nights by the fire reading books with my girls, digging my way out of the mountains of laundry, and baking up some goodies for my neighbors. Oh yeah, and a little sleep might be nice, too.

AMY & REE: Chicken Spaghetti

2010-11-11T11:44:00.003-07:00

So, while my mad cooking skillz are on a roll, my photography ones seem to be lacking. Not to mention that the girls (read: probably Alice) destroyed our good digital camera. Like, ripped-the-pop-up-screen-off-the-hinges destroyed. So, we are now using an old one that uses batteries and sucks the juice out of them like crazy, leaving us, most days, with a dead camera. Therefore, no photos of this dish because everyone ate it so fast I wasn't able to recharge the batteries in time!

PW's Chicken Spaghetti is basically a creamy chicken casserole with spaghetti, a very yummy comfort food dish. While PW calls for boiling a whole chicken and cutting it up and using it, we used a store bought rotisserie chicken instead. (TIP: saving the carcass to boil down with some fresh herbs into chicken stock for soup is highly recommended!) Eric's conclusion: delish. Mine: just okay. Kinda reminds me of a casserole a church might provide for a funeral service.

AMY & REE: Patsy's Blackberry Cobbler

2010-11-11T11:32:00.004-07:00

I made PW's blackberry cobbler last week to take over to a friend's house. I was feeling bad that the dinner portion I brought was take-out Papa Murphy's pizzas, and I'm on a Pioneer Woman roll here lately. The deadline looms in my future to finish out my new year's resolution to make every recipe in the book. Plus, it's fall and I always love to cuddle inside next to a warm stove in this weather. Anyhow, I had frozen blueberries my inlaws picked in the freezer and used those instead. This dish came together so quickly and easily, but it has to bake one hour, so be sure to allow for that time. I whipped some heavy cream with agave nectar for a quick and easy sweet homemade topping. By far, this is the best cobbler I've ever made. Can't wait to try it again with our frozen huckleberries from Idaho Falls!

AMY & REE: Sherried Tomato Soup

2010-11-11T11:27:00.003-07:00

This is the perfect fall soup to make for a fancy ladies lunch. Or, who am I kidding, any lunch really, as my girls loved it, too. It is so easy and the sherry just makes it too die for. I got all silly in the head and thought I needed (much more expensive) real sherry from the liquor store, but really, you can use cooking sherry as well. It gives it an extra punch of loveliness. Paired with a fresh baguette and a simple salad, it could be lunch or dinner any day of the week in my book!

AMY & REE: Chicken Fried Steak with Gravy and Creamy Mashed Potatoes

2010-10-24T15:19:00.005-06:00

I got all antsy to make these two dishes from PW's cookbook once the weather started cooling off. And, trust me, I know they are a heart attack waiting to happen. But a delicious one, if I do say so. We just happen to have some cubed elk steak in the freezer, a gift from last hunting season, which worked perfectly for her Chicken Fried Steak. The roux gravy was easy and yummy as well. Her Creamy Mashed Potatoes, though, are really time consuming, as you basically make traditional mashed potatoes then mix in a lot of butter, cream cheese, and cream and bake them again. All extra steps which take too much time and don't really enliven the flavor all that much, in my opinion. And I'm back on a roll with baking and cooking, my friends, since we just celebrated the 2nd Annual Food Network Cookoff, where I spent the last several months all about the Barefoot Contessa. And, as the weather makes my bones ache for comfort food and indoors, you can be expecting more PW cookbook posts soon. Also, I'd better get my ass in gear if I'm to make my December 31st deadline!

CRAFTY: Making Old Stuff New Again

2010-10-15T12:37:00.005-06:00

It's finally fall in Idaho, as it seems the 90 degree days are now gone for good. It was a little disconcerting, even as a sun worshipper, to be spreading our cotton spider webs around the rose bush and putting out our 'TRICK OR TREAT' doormat in shorts and tanks. And I couldn't be more happy to welcome the 60 degree overcast mornings, pull our sweaters out of storage, and cuddle up in my Snuggie with morning coffee. It's time.

Along with the change in seasons and weather comes the inside time after a long summer spent under the blue skies. I like that shift indoors, even though with it comes bigger messes and the occasional bouts of cabin fever. Luckily, we've got things we love to keep us busy this time of year - our overflowing bookshelves and my trusty Singer sewing machine. As always, I'm really big on recycling old things into new and love the challenge an overlooked object presents. Over the past few months I've discovered a really great way to use the girls tattered, torn, or stained clothes and make them into something new and usable.

I've been cutting out patterns or appliques from undamaged parts of their old t-shirts and making them into 'patches' to cover up small stains or tears on perfectly good wear. You can see here I covered the bum in a pair of Alice's blue shorts with a pink ballerina and cut some hearts from another tee for her little turtleneck. I've been using whatever fun color of thread is currently in my machine to add to the funkability factor of these patchwork items and I love the way cotton jersey rolls a little when you stitch it on.

Another great idea (which I stole from this blog) was to cut off the girls' pants into shorts when they still fit everywhere but the length. We did this all summer with jeans and 'jama pants and it's a great way to prolong the life of clothes, especially with wee ones that grow so fast. (We did the same with Alice's onesies, making them into little t-shirts.) I discovered that Alice's tiny pant legs, when cut off and turned upside down, looked like the perfect doll skirts, with the elastic waists already in place.

So one night Lucy cut out patches and picked cute stitches on my machine and we whipped up four skirts in no time flat! We could've cut some shorter for baby dolls like this one (or even added straps!) but thought it looked cute as a strapless dress, even though it's a wee bit inappropriate for a baby her age.

We also could've easily hemmed the skirts, but thought the ragged denim look was hip. It would be fun to pick up some infant pants at thrift shops and add other iron on patches and the like for little girls' birthday or Christmas gifts as well.

My friend Kristyn gave me this cute idea the other day for the month of October: gather all your Halloween books into a basket for a special seasonal reading nook. This is especially great for those parents, like me, who are a little too unorganized to put away holiday books and only pull them out once a year.

Alice and I had fun rummaging through our numerous bookshelves in search of books, and came up with more than I even knew we had. We took liberties with the theme and included books on fall, monsters, and spiders, too, and put them all in one of our apple buckets. We are avid readers here and my kids (like yours, I'm sure) get hooked on one book and want us to read it TEN THOUSAND TIMES IN A ROW. So this is a fun way to rethink about books you already own and celebrate the season. I love this idea so much that I'm continuing it into the winter. So, what about you? Any hobbies you reintroduce in the fall? What are your favorite ways to make old stuff new again to your kids?

My Mighty Life List: 75 at 35

2010-10-02T21:30:00.009-06:00

I just celebrated my 35th birthday. It was a pretty mellow day, really, as all I wanted was some alone time with my hubby, a breakfast with an adult beverage in a smoky bar, uninterrupted by food being thrown or screaming, and a quiet day exploring downtown Nampa. Now I know some might cringe that this idea appeals to anyone, but when you've been with your kids 24/7 going on 18 months straight now, it's the littlest most mundane things that you sometimes miss about being an adult. Like the fact that I can actually casually explore a fruit stand at a farmers market without chucking some peaches in my bag before losing a child in the madness, or liberally covering my scrambled eggs with Tabasco without worrying about having to share them with my 2-year-old. Even though I love my girls so much that my heart explodes every night as I kiss them goodnight, I need a break. I needed to do something for myself on my birthday.

All this self-centered talk makes me feel guilty, though. Especially since I'm trying to balance four jobs on top of being a radical homemaker and a stay-at-home-mom. And I feel like I'm not on the top of my game with any of them. There's dried up cat puke next to my bed that's been there for days and Alice has watched too much Sid the Science Kid this past week. Not to mention that I've missed several of those bedtime kisses because I've been out conducting interviews for stories or meeting with artists or at historic preservation hearings lately. I'm trying desperately to work on balance, on what my family needs and what I need and be able to do it all with a little less grouchiness and a little more fun. It's hard.

As my birthday gift to myself, though, I decided to write and publish my Mighty Life List. I've been reading Maggie Mason's blog, Mighty Girl, for several years now. The Mighty Life List is an idea she came up with, writing down a 'bucket list' of sorts, laying out things she'd like to do in her lifetime. The idea is that by publishing them, she's utilizing her online community of friends to help, support, and encourage her to cross items off. Recently, she was lucky (and famous) enough to have Intel and Verizon financially sponsor some items on her list, like take tap dancing lessons and swim with bioluminescent plankton in Puerto Rico. She also hosted a weekend in northern California wine country recently for some of her friends to get together and offer each other guidance and assistance with their life lists. She's invited others in the blogosphere to join the challenge and I've been working on my list for several months now with Lucy, who's been compiling her own. So, here it is:

1. Hand churn ice cream.
2. Go to the Oscars.
3. Walk a marathon.
4. Stomp on grapes to make wine.
5. Host a dressy, adults only dinner party.
6. Sew myself a garment that I would wear in public.
7. Take a train ride.
8. Milk a cow.
9. Learn to make pasta from scratch.
10. Raise backyard pet chickens.
11. Have my hands painted in henna.
12. Get another tattoo.
13. Visit Paris.
14. Eat poutine in Quebec.
15. Take my daughters shopping for a prom dress.
16. Take Eric to a Broadway show in New York City.
17. Visit Ellis Island.
18. Own a small cabin in the mountains.
19. Take ballroom dance lessons.
20. Be in a movie.
21. Own a convertible.
22. Complete a paint-by-numbers painting.
23. Be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune.
24. Take piano lessons (again).
25. Learn Spanish.
26. Snorkel in Hawaii.
27. Rent a house in Mexico.
28. Take a painting class.
29. Have a girls-only spa day.
30. Host an under the stars movie night in my backyard.
31. Learn astronomy.
32. Have a birthday party for my house.
33. Restore a vintage travel trailer.
34. Grill salmon on a cedar plank.
35. Build a tipi.
36. Wallpaper a room.
37. Stay at the Horizon Hotel in Palm Springs.
38. Visit Bisbee, AZ just to stay at The Shady Dell.
39. Take a roadtrip along historic route 66.
40. Teach a Jazzercise class.
41. Obtain literary recognition for something I wrote.
42. Go clamming.
43. Stand inside the Taj Mahal.
44. Throw a block party.
45. Catch up on our family scrapbooks.
46. Deep fry doughnuts.
47. Try 100 cheeses.
48. Host an Oscars cocktail party.
49. Create a Halloween haunted house.
50. Own a three-wheeled bicycle.
51. Help deliver a baby.
52. Drive a bus.
53. Own a hearse.
54. Make corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day.
55. See the Watts Towers.
56. Take a class from Richard Simmons at SLIMMONS Studio in LA.
57. Visit Graceland during Elvis Week in August.
58. Watch a twilight film at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
59. Take a week and shop the World’s Longest Garage Sale.
60. Make a parade float.
61. Go kayaking.
62. Take a hot air balloon ride.
63. Enter something to be judged in the fair.
64. Own a pearl necklace.
65. Mosaic a piece of furniture.
66. Attend a Broncos football game at Taco Bell Arena.
67. Have sleepovers with my grandbabies.
68. Cook through an entire cookbook.
69. Visit the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore.
70. Rent a house for a week in Vermont at Christmastime.
71. Learn to make really good jalapeno poppers from scratch.
72. Brew my own beer with my husband.
73. Take a dip in a new Idaho hot spring each year.
74. Re-learn how to be silly.
75. Start a ladies golf league.

The ones in red were completed this summer. It gives me confidence that I'm already well on my way to making these happen. Some are more ordinary things and some are grand. And what I need from you, dear readers, is support, both moral and real. If you have any experience with anything on my life list and would like to offer me help in crossing it off, I'd love it. Have a fantastic jalapeno popper recipe? Send it my way, or, better yet, let's make them together! Have some old beer brewing equipment you no longer use? I'd love to inherit it! Own a farm? Teach me to milk your cow! I plan to write blog posts each time I complete something. I'd also love to see your Life Lists, and they don't necessarily have to contain mighty things, as you can see from mine. Nor do they have to be long. It would be great to aid one another in living to the fullest.

61. Go kayaking. I went kayaking twice this summer by myself. The first time was on Redfish Lake outside Stanley and the second was on the Payette River in McCall. It was less scary than I thought (I'm afraid of water) and was kind of peaceful. I'd surely do it again!

64. Own a pearl necklace. I've been wanting a real one for several years now and my stepsister, Angie, caught wind of it. She gave me a long, natural, cream-colored strand hand-strung by an Oregon jeweler as a thank you gift for officiating her wedding in July. I wore it to the ceremony. It's lovely and precious.

STYLE: 1970s Terrarium

2010-09-20T09:37:00.004-06:00

Yes, this is the corner of my living room. Yes, that is the arm of one of my fabulous Breuer chairs in the corner. And, yes, I know how lucky I am. I inherited this vintage 1970s white plastic terrarium from my in-laws. The tulip base and the dome are in near perfect condition and this thing has been in their southeast Idaho barn since the late 80s, I'd guess.

A terrarium is basically a miniature landscape with tiny plants and often small animals, like lizards. I opted to plant a desert garden minus the creatures. The little drift wood, plastic deer and rock painted with yellow flowers were in the terrarium when I got it, leftover from my husband's childhood. He has such fond memories of peeking into this miniscule world (much like this girl) and really wanted to share that fun with our girls.

There are lots of fantastic websites devoted to building your own terrarium out of whiskey bottles and other recycled objects. I have to admit, it was fun to landscape on such a miniature scale and I love bringing the outside world inside with something a bit more unusual than potted plants (which we already have plenty of). Plus, again, doesn't it compliment my chairs so well?

SUMMER: 2010 Wrap Up

2010-09-09T10:37:00.009-06:00

I think I mentioned this before, but this was seriously the best summer I can remember. We spent most of our time away from home, celebrating Idaho from north to south and the natural beauty of Wyoming's grand national parks. I just went through the hundreds of photos we've taken since June and was overcome with happiness of good times spent together outside, mainly, taking in the pine-scented air and the warm sun. We were in a wedding and swung sparklers, captured frogs and hiked to hot springs, caught up with cousins and started first grade. Our faces look browned and relaxed and the girls look dirty and happy. Now, as I sit on my couch drinking coffee to keep warm, my windows are open and I feel the crisp fall air seeping in. My mind is filled with tasks like cleaning and putting away camping gear and beach toys, harvesting our garden and mini orchard, and getting homework done. While I'm ready to don sweaters and bake bread and pull out the Halloween decorations, the first weeks of September are always a transitional time, filled with excitement for BSU's football season tinged with a longing for those long, hot days of the past. Here's our summer story, in photos:

THRIFTY: Marvelous Moscow Finds

2010-09-03T07:00:00.003-06:00

Our summer was pretty much spent on the road, traveling to fabulous Idaho retreats and wilderness weekends. It was absolutely the best summer I've had in years. We spent time in our tent and numerous cabins, roasting marshmallows, browning our shoulders on lakes, catching water snakes, celebrating family, slipping down water slides, and drinking beer under the stars. Of course, I made sure to stop at garage sales in Idaho Falls and every thrift store in Moscow. And, wow, did I really make a haul. These are just a few samples of the goodness that I hauled home from the northern part of the state.

First of all, I couldn't believe how inexpensive the thrift shops were in Moscow. For a college town, the prices were really reasonable and not at all jacked up like they often are. Also, I noticed how many more shops there were than when I lived there in the early 1990s. Lucky kids. Anyhow, I found several great VHS tapes (yes, we're still old school like that) for under a buck a piece, including our new favorite The Sound of Music and our not-yet-favorite-because-it-scares-the-shit-out-of-Lucy Gremlins. (A big oops on Mama's part, but we'll hide that one for now and try it next year.) Alice's new favorite is Mickey Mouse, so these Disney glasses have a great, clean, retro sensibility and fit in nicely with our others at 50cents a piece. The large green plastic platters and iron-on letters are GLITTERY! which pretty much means I'll buy them. Glitter is big in our house, and those silver letters are about to adorn some super cute Christmas gifts. And those glitter platters will also be adorned by some super yummy Christmas cookies when the season rolls around.

On that note, I also picked up some killer vintage finds for holiday and birthday gifts because I'm crafty and think way ahead. They aren't pictured here, however, because some of you lucky recipients read this blog. I've been collecting retro cake carriers lately and can't get enough of them. Especially when they are in great condition are are only $2. And I've been collecting vintage Pyrex for quite some time, so when I found these two lovelies for $4 and $2 I had to have them. The little gold frame is for an upcoming art exhibition/project I've been invited to participate in by contemporary dance genius Trey McIntyre. And those darling orange glass candlestick holders? Perfect for Halloween! All in all I spent less than $30 total at Moscow's three thrift shops, around $10 at each store. I got so much more than this, including my new favorite Idaho Vandals t-shirt and sweatshirt, a sketchbook for Lucy, and some great back-to-school gear!

AMY & REE: Red Velvet Cake

2010-08-31T12:05:00.003-06:00

For Eric's birthday a few weeks ago I let him pick from all the cakes in the Pioneer Woman's cookbook. Much to my surprise, actually, he chose this Red Velvet Cake with buttermilk cream frosting. Lucy and I whipped it up that day, and it was actually quite easy. The use of cake flour and buttermilk make it moist and delicious. And, of course, the FROSTING IS TOO DIE FOR. Lucy decorated the top with green gummy frogs because a) Daddy loves gummy candies and b) Daddy caught numerous little frogs for the girls to examine over the course of this summer. He was surprised and delighted and we invited some family over to enjoy it with us. At the end of the night we were still left with half a cake, which I pretty much took care of over the course of the next week. And I wonder how I gained 10 lbs. this summer...

Occupation: Radical Homemaker

2010-08-18T12:24:00.011-06:00

People, this book changed my life:

Or, rather, my life was already completely changed, but this book reaffirmed what I already knew, gave strong support, a voice, and a NAME to this new 'career' I had chosen. I am a Radical Homemaker.

Because Shannon Hayes, the book's author, says it so much more eloquently than I can, here's the low down on the book (and the subsequent lifestyle) from the website:

Radical Homemakers uncovers a hidden revolution quietly taking hold across the United States. It is the story of pioneering men and women who are redefining feminism and the good life by adhering to simple principles of ecological sustainability, social justice, community engagement and family well-being. It explores the values, skills, motivations, accomplishments, power, challenges, joy and creative fulfillment of Americans who are endeavoring to change the world by first reclaiming control of the home and hearth.

Mother Nature has shown her hand. Faced with climate change, dwindling resources, and species extinctions, most Americans understand the fundamental steps necessary to solve our global crises - drive less, consume less, increase self-reliance, buy locally, eat locally, rebuild our local communities.

In essence, the great work we face requires rekindling the home fires.

Radical Homemakers is about men and women across the U.S. who focus on home and hearth as a political and ecological act, and who have centered their lives around family and community for personal fulfillment and cultural change. It explores what domesticity looks like in an era that has benefited from feminism, where domination and oppression are cast aside and where the choice to stay home is no longer equated with mind-numbing drudgery, economic insecurity, or relentless servitude.

Radical Homemakers nationwide speak about empowerment, transformation, happiness, and casting aside the pressures of a consumer culture to live in a world where money loses its power to relationships, independent thought, and creativity. If you ever considered quitting a job to plant tomatoes, read to a child, pursue creative work, can green beans and heal the planet, this is your book.

For a few years now our lives have been slowly moving in this direction. We cultivated garden spaces around our small urban yard and traded produce and homemade items for free range chicken eggs. We began eating out less and when we did, we made sure to support local restaurants, dairies and the like. I even took my thrift store addiction to a new level, convincing my family to not buy anything new for an entire year in 2009.

Then there was that surprise layoff from my full-time job about a year and a half ago. While the layoff was traumatic and stressful, so was the job, so it didn't take me long to choose a completely new life path. We pulled the girls out of full-time daycare/preschool and I became a stay-at-home mom with benefits. I got to play outside all day. I got to be barefoot, bake bread, and take vacations whenever I wanted. Quickly, I became a working-at-home mom, as I was lucky enough to hand-pick one or two of the best art projects that came my way. Ones that had to fit into my new lifestyle, one that I wasn't willing to negotiate on this time around.

Eric and I sat down and examined how we could survive financially only his modest income as a college professor, as our yearly budget was now $30,000 less than it used to be. This meant some major changes including eliminating DirectTV and our entertainment budget, instead relying on free, local outdoor activities for the girls and Netflix. We cut way back on our grocery and clothing bills, by making food from scratch and relying on garage sales or clothing swaps.

Most importantly, we've made a major commitment to our Earth, by taking our recycling and reuse to a whole new level. We use reusable cloth napkins and plastic plates on our picnics and compost all food scraps in our backyard composter. Eric bikes or rides the bus to work, as we've cut back to one vehicle. Our lawn and garden use only organic materials and are watered by our neighborhood canal irrigation system. The girls and I keep food packaging materials for art projects and use both sides of paper for drawing on. I make my own shampoo and conditioner and shut off the AC every night.

We don't take fancy vacations or have lots of shiny new toys, but we also don't have any debt other than our student loans and our home mortgage. What we have truly learned (in this economic crisis oddly enough) is that money does not make you happy. Nor does money make your life better nor is it a measure of success. We are a good, no a GREAT, example of that. And we aren't the only ones. I have witnessed many friends just up and quit their successful, good-paying jobs recently in order to make their homes a healthier place. By having (and giving) time to connect with each other and our communities, we are creating a revolution. We are turning the American obsession with consumerism upside down and writing a new chapter in feminist theory.

It's a complex, amazing movement, y'all. And one that I'm so proud to be part of. And next time I have to fill out a form or someone asks me, "What do you do?" I can answer with a title, a name, an identity that sort of sums it all up nicely. I am a Radical Homemaker.

STYLE: My New 1963 Dinette Set

2010-08-09T08:48:00.005-06:00

I've been jonesing for a new dinette set for about a year now, ever since Alice has joined the table. We only have a small eat-in dining area in our little ranch house, complete with a large picture window so we can watch the neighborhood go by while we eat (or, better yet, they can watch us chow down or color pictures or do homework). We've had this little retro set for 11 years. I saved up the $130 it cost me to Beekman Place, my favorite little antique shop in Corvallis, Oregon, where Eric and I lived in an apartment down the street during his grad school years.

We've hosted many a dinner, wiped up many a toppled cup of applesauce, and bleached out many a permanent marker stain on this avocado green set through the years. But, lately, it's become a difficult fit in our tiny space and it's really started to bug me. Not to mention, one of the chairs finally gave out on Eric one night at dinner. And, when I've got a bee in my bonnet like that, there's no stopping me. I've spent the summer searching on craigslist and garage sales for the perfect round table. I think a round table is much cozier for dining together, provokes more conversation, and keeps people sitting around it longer. All I was able to find, however, were wood tables, which are lovely and perfect in many, many homes, but I just don't visualize one in mine. Plus, the girls love to write with pen and marker on the tables, so I love me some formica tabletop. After months of agonizing over how much I might have to spend on a vintage set on Ebay, I found this wonderful thing at Renewal downtown Boise:

And I fell in love. Hard. I immediately put a hold on it and made Eric go by after work to take a look. My husband's a difficult sell when it comes to furniture and his approval is totally necessary. He loved the sturdy, quality construction and the seats are super comfy. I love the orange vinyl on the chairs and the white formica. Plus! It came with a leaf! Perfect for our larger family get-togethers. We bought it immediately and to save my lovely tabletop from my destructive toddler I bought this wonderful invention from this website and several more like it. This summer has been a wealth of wonderful second-hand finds and this isn't even all of them. Stay tuned for more stylish goodness.

AMY & REE: Katie's Roasted Corn Salad

2010-08-03T23:35:00.000-06:00

This was the perfect summer dish to try for the Pioneer Woman Cookbook Challenge. Katie's Roasted Corn Salad is a bit time-consuming, as most of the veggies have to be grilled before chopping. I did add some frozen corn kernels to the dish, as I was a little light on the grilled corn, and actually would recommend them over the roasted corn - it just has a flavor I'm not thrilled about. PW says in the cookbook that it can be eaten as a side dish, with tortilla chips like a salsa, or as a fresh bruschetta. We tried it all three ways, but I LOVED it as a bruschetta; the balsamic vinegar in the dressing made it so yummy.

DESIGN: Vintage Wassily Chairs

2010-07-25T17:20:00.007-06:00

Hello, lovelies. I've seen you in mid-century design books and architecture textbooks and on fabulous websites that I drool over daily and in my dreams. Never, and I mean NEVER, in my wildest dreams did I see you perched so comfortably in my own living room.

Yet here you sit, a matching pair of you, and we sit on you. Daily. All of us. And, wow, are you comfortable. Not to mention striking in your form and perfect in our little ranch house. And to make this whole thing even more unbelievable, you came to me one sunny afternoon as a gift. As in, FOR FREE. And we all know you can be purchased for, you know, around $1000 each. A piece.

My friend Wendy, who lives right across the street (yep, as in the house you see out the front window here), through a strange series of events, ended up with these Marcel Breuer chairs that she needed to get rid of and she knew who might love them. And was she right. Except, I don't just love them, I CHERISH them. Designed in the 1920s by a true master of Modernism architecture and furniture, Marcel Breuer, the Wassily chairs came out of the infamous Bahaus movement, of which Breuer was a student and a teacher. The Wassily chair was one of his first and most famous furniture designs, and was made of bent tubular steel and leather in a square, boxy and minimal profile. The chair was re-released in the 1960s (which was when my chairs were made) by an Italian manufacturer. It was at that time it really became known as the Wassily, named for the famous painter Wassily Kandinsky, for whom Breuer made a version of the chair for back in the 20s. Besides this chair, Breuer is also famous for designing such buildings as the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and many buildings at St. Johns University in Collegeville, Minnesota.

I cannot express in written words how excited I am to have these in my life and in my home. Everyone who's come into our house lately comments on them, first because of their uniqueness and second because of their comfort. What a treat it is to have such good friends, good fortune, and good design.

PROJECT 52 DATE NIGHTS: We kinda suck at this

2010-07-17T12:59:00.005-06:00

So, we kinda suck at date nights since summer hit. We've been too busy making smores around campfires, swimming late into the evening, playing cards and Monopoly, and drinking patio beers with friends far from home to really arrange date nights. It seems okay, though, because we both really feel we are spending quality time together anyhow. This summer is warm and lovely and so busy that it's just flown by. Did you hear that, July? Please slow your shit down.

We have fit in a few great nights out, though. We hit the National Oldtime Fiddlers Contest Grand Championship night again in Weiser. This time we double dated with my Grandma and my Aunt Terri after a long day of parades and fair food and yard sales. As always, it's held in the Weiser High School gymnasium and was hot and rocking. We loved it.

(image courtesy of The Sandpiper, Idaho Falls)

We have been on vacation more than we've been home this summer and at the tail end of our Wyoming National Parks camping adventure, Eric and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. We just happened to be in Idaho Falls around that date, staying with the inlaws, so we got them to watch the girls so we could have an adult night out on the town. We went with the locals' recommendation and tried The Sandpiper seafood and steakhouse, which has recently been awarded Best Restaurant by Idaho Falls Magazine readers for several years running now. And it was delicious. I ordered the Mahi Mahi special, which looked much like the above image I stole from their website, except my wine was red and I ordered a whole bottle of it. I did get that baked potato with all the fixins' and it was incredible. Afterwards we walked around downtown Idaho Falls and along the greenbelt before we caught a late show of Robin Hood at the cheap theatre (which, by the way, I really liked. And not only because Russell Crowe is dreamy.)

So, after a brief discussion about how we weren't really 'dating' like we were supposed to this summer, we decided to take a hiatus. We're having too much fun to focus on forcing the issue this summer, but have enjoyed the Project 52 challenge and quirky dates together in the beginning and plan to pick them up again in the fall. And it's not just date night we're slackers on this summer, y'all. It's everything. My Pioneer Woman Cookbook Challenge? It's too damn hot to cook much. Lucy's chore chart? Out the window. My weekly Jazzercise schedule? Shot to hell. Cleaning up the house? You should see the jungle of weeds we pulled yesterday and the size of the dust bunnies under our couch. What we are doing, however, is enjoying life without a schedule and allowing ourselves to be ruled by nothing more than the sun and the moon.

CRAFTY: Shoebox dollhouses

2010-07-02T08:57:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago I hosted a recycled craft party for our weekly playgroup. I collect lots of junk and it's always fun to brainstorm ideas on how to use our garbage to create something new and fun. The web has lots of ideas and photos inspiring the creation of shoebox dollhouses for creative play. To make the home designing a bit easier on our young crowd, I precut the cardboard "floors" and glued them in. I had a variety of box sizes to work with, which makes it more fun and some smaller "homes" worked better for My Little Petshops and Polly Pockets. This, of course, appealled to the kiddos.

I outfitted our patio with bins of stickers, glue sticks, scissors and a variety of magazines and store mailers to cut out furniture, decor, bedding, pets, and toilets.

The kids loved wallpapering with my leftover scraps of Contact paper and had fun flipping through the magazines finding images to fit their floorplan. Some particularly inspired designers stapled boxes together to create garages filled with recreational vehicles and cars.

They turned out super cute and the kids had a great time making them. The project cost nothing and the kids loved incorporating their handmade houses with their well-loved toys. So easy and a great way to use your recycled items for some summer fun.

KIDDOS: Holiday Inn Express

2010-06-25T10:37:00.002-06:00

We've spent a fair amount of time traveling with our girls over the past six years and after staying at the Holiday Inn Express several times now, I can't recommend it enough for families. The prices are extremely reasonable (typically around $119 a night) and the place tasteful, clean and lovely. Luckily, you can now find one in almost every American city. The rooms have always been comfortable and they offer cribs for free, although these days we opt for two queen beds. The bathroom has both a shower and a tub which, for me, is a prerequisite with kiddos. All the exciting channels are offered on the TV, including indulgences like the Disney channel and Nickelodeon, neither of which we get at home. (For mamas and papas there's HBO! OMG! BIG LOVE & TRUE BLOOD FTW!) My favorite part of the rooms, though, is the free wifi and the microwave and mini fridge. It is such a life saver to have immediate internet access for directions to the local hot spots and a grocery store so you can stock up on snacks and a dinner or two. The microwave is wonderful for warming up restaurant leftovers for lunch the next day. I don't know about you, but dining out with kids is not my favorite thing to do, not to mention it's expensive and typically unhealthy.

The hotel also usually has a lovely yard space and a killer indoor pool, hot tub, and exercise room. On our recent three-day trip to Pullman, Washington, for a chemistry conference, the girls and I swam daily for hours at a time. We also spent a nice amount of time outside playing with toys and tossing around balls and frisbees when we weren't exploring local parks.

They also have really nice patios with seating and it's much easier to eat those store bought snacks and lunches outside rather than inside your hotel room with kids (although Parent Hacks recently posted this brilliant idea). And speaking of food, the Holiday Inn Express offers a fantastic complimentary breakfast buffet and it's not just donuts and coffee, friends, it's full on eggs and bacon and biscuits with gravy and fruit and yogurt and granola and three kinds of juice and more. And the all day coffee bar also offers hot chocolate and spiced cider packets, which was a real treat for my girls and free beats Starbucks ANY DAY in my book. The highlight of the food service, though, is the just before bedtime fresh-baked cookies and milk. In the lobby from 8-9pm pajama clad kids cuddle up on the couches for a special treat. And I'll admit, I love it, too. The staff was lovely and helpful, giving me a city map and directions at the front desk, helping me locate Alice's beloved 'silky' she lost at the pool and selling me $1 laundry soap from the gift shop for some laundry (yes, they have on-site washing machines and driers, too!) after my coffee hit my cleavage and puddled into my bra instead of my mouth one morning. This hotel rocks, ya'll. I can't recommend it more.

PROJECT 52 DATE NIGHTS: Ice Cream and Eye Candy

2010-06-25T10:25:00.002-06:00

For this date night I took an idea from Simply Modern Mom's suggestion list. In theory it sounds fun and is something we all do all the time alone - rifle through magazines and pick out things we like: vacation spots, furniture, haircuts, clothing. The date part of it is sitting together and picking out items you think the other person would like or look good in or would hate. I served up some ice cream sundaes and set up the patio. We had a variety of magazines to choose from, like O, Sunset, Southern Living, InStyle, and Martha Stewart Living. Eric and I clearly know each other very well. He picked out the correct diamond ring from a wedding ring round-up in one advertisement. I knew he'd love to kayak and he knew I'd never do it in a million years. I'll admit, it got a little messy when we decided to pick the cutest celebrity or model on some pages and I got his girls wrong. Wha?! That ONE?! Really. Hmm. With the collagen and bleach job? It was there that the initially cute idea turned a little sour. It wasn't our favorite date so far. But I'm upping the ante this weekend.

CULTURE: A Button Collection at the Boise Public Library

2010-06-14T16:47:00.009-06:00

I'm a collector of things, so it's no wonder Lucy was born with the habit as well. I collect Paint-by-Number paintings and old souvenir travel plates and vintage Tupperware and Pyrex, in addition to Vera scarves and tiny bird sculptures and my old pregnancy tests. I'd have a hundred little odd collections if I didn't consciously limit myself and also have the need to purge on occasion. (I am working on being more balanced in my life rather than my usual imbalanced.) The love of teeny objects runs in the family and a little over a year ago Lucy began collecting buttons. We find vintage ones at garage sales and cute shaped ones on clearance at JoAnn's.

She started pinning them to corkboards like material specimens and labeling them in her own categorical way: plastic, metal, silk, etc. My favorite labels are 'pirate' (for nautical themed buttons) and 'stars' (for star-shaped buttons, of course). A large plastic ice cream bucket holds all her buttons until she has time to sort and pin them, and the button boards used to hang on her bedroom wall until Alice got big enough to attempt eating them.

Our favorite neighborhood library, the Hillcrest Branch of the Boise Public Library system, sits in a mid-century outdoor strip mall on the corner of Overland and Orchard Avenues. It's fairly new and we've spent a great deal of time here for storytime, art classes, selecting weekend movies and picking up requested books. This cute wooden display case sits right next to the front door.

The library allows locals to display their quirky individual collections in it for a month at a time. We always love exploring the case; during February it hosted a beautiful group of antique paper Valentines. Last month was a collection of Star Trek memorabilia, exhibited by our local Trekkie club. Lucy was chosen as the exhibitor for the month of June, and she spent several days labeling and reorganizing and planning her display.

I love that this exists, I love that people collect things and I love to explore the reasons why. It's fun, it's a hobby, it's an addiction, it's a comfort. At least, that's why I collect, and I think Lucy is just trying to make sense of the world. She's a very creative little lady, and her attention to detail is amazing. She's growing in so many ways lately that my bones are aching just watching her. Besides losing teeth, this week marks her learning to ride a bike on two wheels and her first sleepover at a friend's house. All these seemingly unconnected and small life acts are pulling her a little further from me and a little more into her own. Whether it's buttons or rocks or bottlecaps or Matchbox cars, mentoring a little collection in your little collector (or just taking your kids to see other collections at museums and such) can be a learning and growing experience for you both.

PROJECT 52 DATE NIGHTS: Rummy with Nachos / Dominoes with the In-Laws

2010-06-09T08:16:00.007-06:00

I'm a little behind posting our dates, I know, so this post includes our dates from the past two weeks. Life really gets in the way of blogging during the summer months. Which also is making it a little trickier to actually fit our alone time in between camping expeditions and leisurely evenings in the yard with family and friends. Not that we're complaining, though. Anyhow, Eric planned this nice little night a few weeks back. We hadn't eaten dinner until the girls went to bed, so he conjured up my favorite - nachos. And surprised me by setting up the table with candles and getting out the cards for a game of rummy. I grew up playing various sorts of card games, including rummy, with my Grandma Shoda. She is a serious card player, so I learned the rules early in my life. I taught Eric this game and he loves playing it as well, coming from a family of hardcore pinochle players. We've missed playing games together, as most of the game playing we've done lately includes hide-and-seek or Candyland. It's something that we hope to continue, as it seems card playing is becoming a lost art these days, especially with people of our generation. Eric and I have fond memories of going to the neighbors' houses as kids in our pajamas and falling asleep on the couch with our little friends as our parents downed beers and played hand after hand of cards.

This past weekend we had Eric's family in town visiting, and since it was the first week of June, it was once again my month to plan the dates. Sunday night we got out the dominoes for a game of Mexican Train with my inlaws. We've played lots of games with our inlaws over the years and love doing so. This date lasted for several hours, as we shared snacks and laughs. Both of us come from families who have long traditions of playing games together and we hope to pass that on to our kids. And if its Disney Yahtzee for now, that'll do.

STAYCATION: Idaho City

2010-06-04T11:05:00.007-06:00

For Mother's Day Eric planned a little road trip to Idaho City. For those of you who haven't been, it's an old gold and silver mining town that once was home to several thousand residents and something like 41 saloons and hotels. It was a thriving and thrilling Western town, complete with gunfights and burlesque dancers and a Chinese herb shop. Now, it's become a tourist attraction, as it lies about an hour outside of Boise en route to Stanley and Redfish Lake, both popular destination spots. We've been to Idaho City several times, but mainly, like I mentioned, going to or from somewhere else, so we haven't had the time to really explore it.

That Sunday morning we headed out early to get breakfast at one of my favorite restaurants in the area, Hilltop Cafe Kodiak Grill. Unfortunately for us, we didn't make reservations in advance and apparently lots of other fans flocked to the joint before us. So, we headed into Idaho City and found a saloon serving an all you can eat buffet that, um, sucked, to say it nicely.

We didn't let our bad buffet deter us, however, and were excited to find out that lots of the local touristy venues had just reopened for the summer season, including the Boise Basin Museum. Like all other tiny Idaho historical museums that I love so much, this one was filled with local artifacts donated by families and business owners. There were great old maps, stunning glass bottles, the mail slots from the original post office, and an original James Castle drawing (Castle is Idaho's most famous outsider artist and grew up in a town near there). Of course, the place was run by a super sweet volunteer who tried to answer my questions about the architectural preservation efforts of the city and sold the girls 25cent old fashioned stick candy from their gift shop.

Right near the museum grounds, in the heart of the city, also lies the old jail. You can walk through the thick wooden walls and inside the three cells and see the spot where hangings occurred. We took a break in the city park to have some snacks, kick around the ball and watch the birds. The girls ran around, up and over bridged creeks, enjoying the warm spring day.

Of course, since it was Mother's Day after all, I took advantage of it and Eric watched the girls while I perused several of Idaho City's antique shops, which also had just opened for the season. They had some pretty fun things, but, like all tourist cities, I thought they were way over-priced and left with a handful of vintage matchbooks from Waikiki and Scottsdale, AZ.

This, however, might just be the greatest junk/thrift palace I've ever seen. It holds court on a downtown street corner and has, unfortunately, been closed to the public for years. I'd love to know the status of this place and get a chance to go inside.

The highlight of our trip, however, was Pioneer Cemetery. As a death art historian, I worked for Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis in graduate school, one of the most famous cemeteries in the country. I'm a fan of these beautiful landscapes and have converted my family as well. They are so peaceful and lovely and a natural haven in the heart of the city. And the West is home to some fantastic old pioneer cemeteries that are little gems to our communities.

This one was no exception. It spreads for acres across a wooded mountainside, with winding dirt paths leading from one gated resting spot to another. It's been well preserved and is still an active cemetery, with a section dedicated to the burial of the more recently deceased. This is a haven for photographers, as the architecture of this cemetery is stunning to capture and see.

We ended our day at the Sarsaparilla Ice Cream Parlor for homemade huckleberry ice cream cones. Sitting outside on the covered wooden sidewalk of Main Street watching dogs and ATVs cruise up and down the road was the perfect way to end our Idaho City staycation. We're lucky our state boasts a number of these Old West towns, preserved for future generations, and Idaho City is a real treasure.

ARTSY: Tooth Fairy Pillow

2010-05-25T17:18:00.005-06:00

I'm a total sentimental nut. I keep everything - from every cute Post-It note my husband (then boyfriend) ever penned to a Ziploc baggie full of five used pregnancy tests I took the week I found out I was pregnant with Alice. They are in boxes, scrapbooks, or still in my bathroom drawer (the baggie of pregnancy tests; I found Alice shaking them around just the other day). I surround myself with small, insignificant items that remind me of special moments in life.

So it was no surprise when I pulled Lucy's first tooth recently (I did! With my hands! And I didn't gag!) that I headed straight for the closet and pulled out my special tooth fairy pillow.

My Aunt Barb made this for me in 1983, when I was eight-years-old. She lovingly cross-stitched this cute little pillow with a elfin fairy dressed in blue. The poem reads:

Tooth Fairy, Tooth Fairy

Please be kind

In this pillow my

Tooth you'll find

Take it out and

Leave for me

A nickel, a dime

Or maybe three
-Amy

There's a sweet tiny pocket for holding the itty-bittiest of teeth, and also a nickel or dime. While kids today expect much more from this special fairy, we talked about how she was so small and how could she possibly carry too many heavy coins? I stitched a little handmade heart with Lucy's name and date and plan to do the same for Alice when her toothless time comes.

It's my hope that my girls will pass this pillow on to their kids and I really want them to mail the pillow to each other around the country. Of course, I'm overly sentimental and am really tied to rituals and history such as this. I did, however, take into account the changes in economy over time and Lucy got upgraded to 71cents from the fairy that night. I now have that first tooth of hers safely tucked away (in a little bag in my bedroom, of course) and am already brainstorming how I'll craft a new family heirloom with all those teeth I'm soon to aquire. Just like all the baby socks and photos and pregnancy tests and swaddling blankets still floating around our house, these little teeth are physical reminders of babies that were and the girls they're becoming. And, like my pillow, I'll probably keep them all around me forever.

AMY & REE: Huevos Hyacinth

2010-05-23T21:53:00.003-06:00

I made this easy egg breakfast for Eric and I last weekend (Lucy and Alice have been on an anti-egg kick lately, wait, make that an ANTI-EVERYTHING THAT IS KIND OF GOOD FOR YOU KICK. But, I digress). The intructions are easy. In a ramekin you layer a slice of deli ham, tomatoes/salsa, crack an egg on top, sprinkle on some salt, pepper and cheese and place under the broiler for about five minutes. Seemed to be yummy and quick. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I thought these were horrible. The egg white was still super runny while the cheese on top was almost burnt. We had to throw them out. This was a big, fat fail in my book. Well, actually in PW's cookbook. But I do take all the blame for no accompanying picture for this post, as I just accidentally deleted all the pictures on my camera. BIG FAT FAIL.

PROJECT 52 DATE NIGHTS: Spa Night

2010-05-23T21:29:00.002-06:00

For our date night this past week, Eric took me to the bathroom with promises of a hand and foot massage. It didn't take much for me to make a beeline for it, especially since my feet have been killing me lately (I think my Jazzercise sneakers may be wearing thin). Anyhow, we lit the candles and busted out my favorite Mary Kay item ever, Satin Hands Pampering Kit. For those of you with a friend or family member who's a rep, get you some now. It consists of four really easy steps, including a rich emollient cream, a rough scrub, a cleanser and a thick lotion. Eric massaged my feet and I exfoliated his hands. We have done Satin Hands for years in this house; it's a favorite Saturday night ritual of mine, one I've recently introduced Lucy to. However, it's been done less and less over the past six years since the girls were born. It was so lovely to have a few quiet moments together in the bathroom (which has also become almost nonexistent since the girls were born) and just talk and enjoy each other's touch. He really did a great job with this date. (p.s. I would've had photos but I just deleted them all from the camera on accident. Major fail. Sorry.)

KIDDOS: Making Pine Cone Feeders

2010-05-18T16:38:00.006-06:00

There have been several days this spring when we've all been laid up sick. One of those days not long ago we never got out of our pajamas and spent the day lounging around, but after too many reruns of Maya & Miguel and Dinosaur Train we were all about to go crazy. So I decided to teach the girls how to make pine cone bird feeders for our backyard. This little nature craft is simple and most everyone will have all necessary tools on hand. First, I sent the girls to the backyard to find some pine cones. Next, we tied a long piece of string around the middle of each one.

We then scavenged our kitchen and shed for items the birds would like to eat: birdseed, nuts and Cheerios. After smearing the cones with peanut butter, the girls rolled them in the concoction.

We made a couple of them and took them out to the backyard. I tied them up in the trees while the girls directed me to the 'correct' branches.

Afterwards, we got out the binoculars and watched from the warmth of our family room through the sliding glass doors. While we were hoping for lovely little birdies, we got the aggressive urban squirrels instead, who ate the whole thing in no time. They even ripped the pine cone from the string and took that with them. Still, it was a fun way to kill an hour when you're stuck in the house and get a little nature time in. We'll have to make some more this summer when the urban wildlife is out in full force and we can just sit under the tree drinking lemonade to keep watch.

FOODIE: Mozzarella-Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf

2010-05-15T09:49:00.005-06:00

A few years ago my friend Betsy sent me this fantastic, healthy version of meatloaf she had just made for her family from a recipe she found in Shape magazine. I love ground turkey and the idea of getting more spinach into my family's diet so I gave it a shot. Plus, um, CHEESE?! It is so delicious and easy that it quickly became one of our favorite recipes.

Basically, you buy ground turkey, mix it with a box of defrosted frozen spinach and a few other essential ingredients, like onions. You mash half of it into a bread pan, top with shredded mozzarella cheese (again, YUM), and then press in the other half of the meat mixture. The recipe calls for a sauce spread over the top of it all; a combination of a mustard and some ketchup. We always eliminate that part because I don't like it.

It takes an hour to bake, though, so you have to prepare for that idea early. Also, I've made this ahead of time and frozen it with great results. (On a side note, it also makes a nice meal to give a new mother or other friends in need - the meatloaf, bagged salad and a bag of dried mashed potatoes.) We ALL love it here at the Pence-Brown house, and that's saying a lot. Slicing it cold for sandwiches with Dijon mustard the next day is wonderful. I highly recommend this healthier version of the old standard. Let's bring back the meatloaf!

PROJECT 52 DATE NIGHTS: W.

2010-05-13T09:51:00.005-06:00

Image courtesy of www.altfg.com

So, this past week was the first week of May and therefore Eric's turn to plan the date nights for a month. The poor guy got a really busy and tiring first weekend to try for, so we ended up taking the easy way out late on a Sunday night and watching a movie with popcorn on the couch in our PJs. He picked W., the Oliver Stone film on the life and presidency of George W. Bush. We are both fans of Stone's films, and I was expecting a more controversial tone than what was delivered. We both thought, however, Josh Brolin was BRILLIANT as W. I would have never guessed it, but the acting was fantastic. The story, well, unfortunately we all know it too well. We're living it.

AMY & REE: Angel Sugar Cookies

2010-05-13T09:31:00.003-06:00

I know, I know. It's been WEEKS since I've posted the latest Pioneer Woman recipe from my challenge to make everything from her new cookbook in one year. Of course I started with lofty ideals, making one recipe a week. That didn't last long, did it? Partly because I also started this project of dating my husband one night a week and also this other eight week challenge to a healthier you with my friends. Mostly because, however, I'm just not that organized. Also, as the weather is finally warming up, I find myself wanting to be in the kitchen less and in the yard more. But, don't fear, I'm not abandoning the challenge, just changing up my own s a little. I'm no longer promising to post a recipe a week or even hold myself to making a recipe a week. Instead, I'm going to try to regularly make something from the book and will keep posting about it here. It may end up that I am cooking and baking up a storm come fall and into Christmastime just to complete the challenge, but I embrace my procrastination now. It seems to be better than fighting it.

Last week for Mother's Day we decided to try out PW's Angel Sugar Cookies to give as gifts and, well, as a gift to myself (let's be honest). I enlisted Lucy in the kitchen to help, and she is really getting great at measuring and pouring ingredients. This cookie recipe was so easy, as you scoop the dough, plop it on the cookie sheet, and flatten it out with the bottom of a glass. No rolling or cookie cutters needed, which, I'll admit, is my least favorite part of making sugar cookies. So this was right up our alley.

They are super light and crumbly and delicious. Ours grew in the oven to be huge, as you can see here, so next time I think I'll make the scoops a bit smaller. Even so, the recipe made way more cookies than PW said they would.

We all loved them. They are buttery and wonderful as they are, but many others who've made htis recipe seem to love them with frosting (also: my husband). If you're looking for a yummy, flaky sugar cookie that is so easy, this is for you.

PROJECT 52 DATE NIGHTS: Foreign Food & Film

2010-05-08T18:11:00.003-06:00

I know this may be cheating a little, as we already did a movie and dinner night out for our very first Project 52 date. But when the opportunity comes up that you have a babysitter and a whole night to yourselves, YOU DON'T HESITATE. I've been missing The Flicks, Boise's local indie movie theater, like crazy, so I did a little research and came up with a unique twist on the standard date we had already attempted about five weeks ago. But this time it came out much better.

Image courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Last Friday my mom took the girls for the night, and I surprised Eric with dinner at Boise's newest sushi restaurant, Yoi Tomo. We both had bento boxes and split a spicy crab roll and it was all fresh and delicious. (I'd completely recommend the place to the locals, except the service was terrible.) We took a leisurely twilight walk from there to The Flicks a few blocks away. We were about an hour early, but ordered some glasses of wine and tried out their popcorn sprinkled with brewers yeast and tamari (interesting, but not something I'd order again). It was so decadent, reading the local paper, sipping our wine by candlelight, and chatting about life. We watched The Eclipse (no, not that Twilight thing by the same title coming out soon), a sweet little Irish film about ghosts and love. It was such an adult night - the kind of dates we used to have more often than not in our 20s pre-kids. And being surrounded by other adult couples at the 9pm showing, sipping their wine and beer, I remembered how much I've missed it.

Happy Birthday to The Pill!

2010-05-05T10:11:00.007-06:00

Image courtesy of http://www.birthcontrolbuzz.com/

The Pill turns 50 this week, appropriately on Mother's Day, Sunday May 9th. I've spent this morning reading the numerous media tributes to this medical phenomenon that changed the way we procreate (or better yet, DON'T) and the way we, as women, take control of our bodies, our sexuality, and our selves. Some of the articles focus some on the problems the pill has caused us, like it's negative physical side-effects and the fact that we have turned to an easy medication as a substitute for really getting to know and interact with our bodies in a more natural way. Several of the pieces are focused, of course, on a more religious perspective on birth control in general. Most of the written work on The Pill, however, provides a great social and medical history lesson, combining all of the above and often touting it's benefits for all of us.

My mom put me on the birth control pill when I turned 18-years-old, which also marked my first gynecological visit. I had a serious boyfriend at the time and it was a good thing she did. I was just starting college and the last thing I needed was a baby, as I was still a bit of one myself. Learning how to pay my apartment bills, manage a work and class schedule, and shop and cook my own food for the first time, I already had enough on my plate. Putting the seriousness of a possible unwanted pregnancy in my hands at that time would have been irresponsible and my mother knew it. I've been on the pill ever since, going on 17 years now. Lucky for me, I've never had some of the more negative side effects some of my friends have. It may contribute a tiny bit to some of my weight gain and a decreased libido, although I attribute the majority of that problem to my anxiety medication. I took the pill religiously until we decided to try to get pregnant in the summer of 2003 with Lucy. Both Eric and I had read all the research on conceiving a baby, and just KNEW it would take a few months for the pill's effects to leave my body, but were we ever wrong. Less than two weeks later, during my ovulation week, we made a baby. We were both shocked at how fast and fertile I was. During the four years between my two pregnancies I took the pill again, albeit a different brand my doctor wanted me to try out. The exact same thing happened with Alice's conception - I stopped taking the pill and two weeks later bam! Baby!

I know that we all have different conception stories and complications and that there are certainly other factors in the abilities of Eric and I to conceive these two little girls so quickly and without concern, but we were shocked at how quickly the pill stopped working for us. Pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood has really opened my eyes to the abilities of my body and its tenuous and severe connection to the earth and its living creatures. It's too bad that this didn't happen earlier in my life, however, like when I started menstruating at the age of eleven. I attribute this, however, to our culture's lack of celebrating, or at least educating, girls about their bodies and the wonders of being women. And I have to agree that the pill may have a bit to do with that, in both positive and negative ways. It makes me a bit sad, actually, now that I'm a bit older and wiser, on how little we are taught, or even TALK, about womanly things in this culture with other women until we've already gone through them. And while this is certainly no fault of the pill, it is both a physical and medical manifestation of our changing culture. In some ways the pill inspired a strong feminist movement and made possible a sexual revolution. The pill, too, can be seen as part of a movement AWAY from ourselves, our bodies, and our choices. I spent most of my early teen years embarrassed about menstruating and my later teens and twenties taking all the responsibility for not getting pregnant (not to mention the concern with STDs). And when I decided to get pregnant, it was books and the internet that were my advisers and confidants on those decisions, like my choice to use a midwife for my pregnancy and birth with Lucy.

Motherhood continues to be the most difficult and lonely thing I've ever done. Don't get me wrong, I have an amazing group of supportive women in my world, both the real one and the virtual one, that have provided me with more than they know. I just lament our lack of celebration and support of each other as women from a very young age and want to do it differently with and for my girls. I have notions of continuing a loving, open home with continuing conversations about girlhood and womanhood with my girls. I'd like to surround them with other women and girls who feel the same and will expand their support network. I'm already starting to plan a sort of special girls getaway, signifying the beginning of their menstrual cycles. What are your thoughts on this? Advice or suggestions? And, mothers of boys, what are your concerns or challenges regarding boyhood and manhood?

PROJECT 52 DATE NIGHTS: Chocolate Tasting

2010-04-29T09:22:00.007-06:00

Again this week we put off our date night until Monday, as we were busy having fun with our friend Michele who was in town from Oregon. I also spent much of the weekend judging the hip annual event, The Chair Affair, hosted by the Interior Designers of Idaho. It was a lot of fun, and they gave me a really fabulous bag full of local goodies as a thank you. It included a half-pound box of handmade chocolates from a downtown candy shoppe, The Chocolat Bar. Now I know our date last week consisted of sweets and I mentioned that we were starting an 8-week challenge that included no sweets. Well, we (read: I) fell off the wagon in this catagory this past week. HARD. So, what the hell. Might as well go down with the best tasting delicacies of the local chocolatier in our mouths, right?

I set up a plate with the chocolates on us and hid the labeling sheet that came in the box. We had to try to guess what the secret ingredients in each were. Eric couldn't quite figure out what herb was in the Lavender Lemon White Chocolate Bark with Almonds, but I knew immediately. We both had trouble figuring out the special spice in the Dark Chocolate Nutmeg Drop. Pairing the chocolate with a nice red wine was perfect. All the goodness transported our mindset to a more leisurely place, and we ended the date making a few more summer trip plans. It was so nice.

KIDDOS: A Ratatouille Birthday Fete

2010-04-27T09:20:00.009-06:00

Both Lucy and Alice were born in April, not by choice, but simply based on the fact that I must be extra fertile in July. Since their birthdays are just two weeks apart, they will be forced to have a joint birthday party as long as they let me. This year we decided on a Ratatouille birthday party theme, based on the darling animated kids film of the same name. We own the movie and it quickly became one of our favorites; as a foodie and someone who longs to visit Paris one day, I am especially fond of this cute film. So, I started browsing the Internet for party ideas, certain that other parents had had the same idea, but was surprised to find little inspiration there. I did find some fun suggestions from other parents who had designed cooking themed parties, though. Mostly, I ran with the idea and used my own creative means to come up with what turned out to be a super cute French bistro party.

My sweet inlaws decided to get a few spring pots of flowers planted for my porch and I made the cute recycled plastic flower wreath for our front door (it's a little hard to see from this photo, but I'm planning another post on this soon). I cut the Bonjour letters freehand from glittery printer paper I had around the house and strung them on ribbon as a little French greeting for our guests.

The food and drinks were set up in the kitchen, and I already own a couple of red and white checked table cloths that seems appropriate for a French bistro. I used an old chalkboard to write le menu on, which included things like fromage, limonade, biere, and baguettes. I knew I kept my old English/French dictionary from high school for something! We already have a stash of white paper plates, napkins and silverware, so I didn't have to purchase those either. It was fun to pull out all our fancy crystal and white party dishes to use for the food, including a great crystal punchbowl that we recently scored for free.

I served fresh fruit, veggies, several types of cheeses, breads, crackers, beer, wine, and lemonade. It was an afternoon party, so light snacks were fine, as most people had already eaten lunch. The special treat, though, was the homemade ratatouille that Eric whipped up for the party. He used this recipe from The Joy of Cooking, and for those of you who haven't had it, it is basically a fresh vegetable stew that is too die for. I purchased the 3-D Eiffel Tower puzzle you can see in the background as a table topper at Pier 1, and it was fun for us to put together with Lucy the week before the party. Also in the background you can see some black rat silhouettes on the walls. They are something we already owned - Halloween decorations by Martha Stewart Crafts - but fit perfectly with this party theme!

I made the cake to look like a slice of Swiss cheese and found some plastic rats at our local party supply store, Zurchers, to place on top. I always try to make the cake myself (it's way cheaper and more fun) and almost always use boxed mixes for it, as they are easy, moist and yummy. I made the frosting myself with a super easy recipe from my new go-to cookbook, The Joy of Cooking.

We were lucky enough to have a sunny 70 degree day, so had the party festivities in the backyard. Once all the girls arrived, they decorated pink and blue aprons with Sharpie markers, stamps and stencils. We found these cute kids fabric aprons at Joanns Fabric for $1 a piece. I made these darling chef hats from this tutorial from Family Fun magazine out of white tissue paper and posterboard. They were super easy and fun and cost only about 60 cents total for the 2 sheets of posterboard, as I already had tons of white tissue paper. I used black eyeliner to draw whiskers and rat noses on all the girls, too, which completed their party ensemble.

I made a 'Pin le Tail on le Rat' game out of an old piece of cardboard and paint and Eric nailed it to the fence. We blindfolded the older girls but let the babies stick their tails on without.

Between games the girls played in our sandbox and with our various backyard toys. Next up was the pinata, which you can see hanging from our basketball hoop. This was my first attempt at making a pinata, and let me tell you, I fought with that paper mache like mad. It only cost my 50cents to make, and that was for the balloon I bought from the dollar store to use as my form. I hung it from my patio and used the traditional method of mixing flour and water and dipping torn pages from an old phone book to create each layer. On an especially warm day, my balloon expanded, causing my pinata to bust in half and later the whole bottom sunk in (AAHH!), but I managed to salvage it. The final layer of paper mache was pink tissue paper and Lucy decided it looked like a strawberry. It helped once I painted on the black 'seeds' and stuffed green tissue paper in the top as a stem. It did turn out cute and was pretty easy, once I learned a few tricks. I highly recommend giving it a try, and there are numerous how-to sites on the Web to help you out. It's WAY cheaper than purchasing one of those pre-made pinatas and a lot more personal. We filled ours with all sorts of dollar store goodies, including candy, bubbles, jewelry, whistles, and plastic coins. These treats, along with the aprons and chef hats, acted as the party favors.

Here are the girls getting ready for a relay game where I filled one large mixing bowl/pot with water and set an empty one some distance away. I divided the girls into two teams and gave them each a ladle or measuring cup. They had to take turns taking water from the bowl and filling up the other, and the first team to empty the bowl won. The babies kind of caused mass chaos, as they, too, wanted to play, dump water on the ground, and run between teams. This, luckily, caused hilarity and the big girls didn't seem to mind the lapse in order.

I set up our patio to resemble a little French bistro for the girls. I covered our kids' tables with white 'linen' tablecloths that I made from cutting up a white bedsheet I got at a garage sale. I placed our numerous crystal candleholders and vases of roses around and put up a lovely poster of the Eiffel Tower. You can't really see them in this photo, but I spray painted an old sign (now announcing Le Ratatouille bistro) and an old chandelier gold and hung them as well. My mom bought the girls the Ratatouille movie soundtrack and we played this outdoors, adding to the French bistro air. The kids sat out here to eat their snacks, cake and ice cream.

It was a cute, easy party to put together and only cost me around $100, which was spent on food (which we got at Winco the morning of) and drinks (which also came from Winco, with the exception of the growlers of beer from our local brewery, Tablerock), and is a great deal for a party for 25-30 people. I made most of the decorations myself from things I already had around the house or picked them up super cheap at thrift stores. It was really fun being creative with what we already had and it turned out to be a lovely, low-key party perfect for ma petite chouchou.

PROJECT 52 DATE NIGHTS: Sweets & Scrabble

2010-04-20T10:37:00.004-06:00

Our date night this week had to be postponed until Sunday evening, as the girls' big birthday bash took all weekend to prepare, host, and recover from. By Sunday night, Eric and I were exhausted and I wanted to plan something mellow and easy and take advantage of the warm spring night. I lit some candles on the patio and pulled out two vintage games I picked up about a year ago at a thrift store but we had yet to open. One was a 1968 Scrabble Crosswords Cubes game and the other a 1966 Parker Bros. game called Spill and Spell. It turned out the two are almost identical games - each person takes a turn spilling the letter cubes and gets a minute to put together as many words as possible.

I busted out all the sweets we had in the house, which included some Girl Scout cookies, jellybeans and M&Ms. We gorged a little, as on Monday we started an "8 Weeks to a Healthier You" type competition with some friends, and one gawd awful rule is NO SWEETS.

It was a fun, low-key night and we even had to bust out our 1977 Merriam Webster to assist with judging on the game. It turns out Eric had never played Scrabble before that night, something I never knew about him. He was a little nervous, as I was a spelling bee champ in the 3rd grade and currently hold the self-appointed queen bee title in our family, but he held his own quite well, I'd say.

PROJECT 52 DATE NIGHTS: Would You Rather...

2010-04-12T11:13:00.004-06:00

This was our second week participating in Simply Modern Mom's Project 52 and I have to say that this night was so much easier, cheaper and more successful than our first one. Taking an idea from Tiffany's list of 16 suggestions to get you started, I set up a game of "Would You Rather." Basically, you write down a bunch of different phrases on slips of paper (Tiffany gets you started with a great printable sheet) and put them in a bowl. (You could also print them instead of write them out longhand if you were more technologically hip than we are and actually have a printer that works.) Each of you takes turns picking out two and asking the other, for example, "Would you rather live with snakes or eat the same meal for the next 10 years?" The concept is simple and the answers always spark a little interesting conversation. It was fun to find out that we answered much the same on them.

I dimmed the lights and lit some candles. I poured each of us a frosty mug of beer (obviously I've never been a waitress, as my beer pouring skills have much to be desired) and popped some popcorn. Our poor 1960s transistor radio in the kitchen is on the fritz, so the only station I could get was some some light rock/Muzack type sounds. It felt a little like we were sitting alone in a really bad hotel bar, having a drink. Which, actually, suits us perfectly.

AMY & REE: Penne a la Betsy (week 14)

2010-04-12T11:06:00.003-06:00

So, yet again, I've missed week 13. I don't know what happens, as I plan ahead and have all the ingredients on hand, it's just that now that I'm a SAHM, I don't really keep track of what day of the week it is that well, so the days all meld together before I know it. I know that doesn't make much sense, but I also don't really know when I've showered last, so bear with me. I'm trying.

Anyhow, this week was PW's Penne a la Betsy, a speciality of her little sister, Betsy. I didn't have penne on hand and used a different tube shaped pasta, which worked fine. I have to say that neither Eric nor I loved this dish; he probably liked it better than I did. It was just, well,...meh.

PROJECT 52 DATE NIGHTS: Dating My Husband, One Week At A Time (week 1)

2010-04-05T09:43:00.017-06:00

Two weeks ago I stumbled across the incredible mommyblog by Tiffany Bird at Simply Modern Mom. Like me and my AMY & REE project for 2010, where I make a new recipe from The Pioneer Woman's cookbook each week inspired by the movie and blog Julie & Julia, Tiffany wanted to do something unique and commit to a project for the new year. She came up with this really creative idea called Project 52, dating her husband one week at a time for an entire year. As parents of two tiny girls, just like me, Tiffany and her husband, Nathan, suffer from very little time alone, very few babysitters, and a very minuscule budget. Her brilliant idea was simple and included a few "rules" and she and Nathan even signed a "contract" to keep themselves in check.
I talked to Eric about joining in the project three months late, and he was as enthusiastic as I am to jump on board. I have been lamenting about us not taking enough time to nurture our relationship - to remember how we used to enjoy each other's company before there were bouts of pink eye, mountains of laundry, swimming lessons, and bathtimes. We really miss each other. This seems like the perfect way to fit it all in, especially with Tiffany's guidelines, adapted a little to fit our needs:

1) Every Friday night from 9-10pm is our date night. We usually have both girls in bed by 8:30pm. One hour is easy to commit to.

2) The majority of the time the dates will be at home so we don't need a babysitter.

3) We rotate being in charge of date nights on a monthly basis.

4) We can't do the same thing twice in one month.

5) Dates need to be free most of the time. If not free, then a budget of $20 or less. Cheaper than if we went out.

6) Need to create a date-like atmosphere. No pajamas. Mind the details and create a special event. But keep it simple.

Like all rules, a few will always be broken, adapted, etc. but we are going to try our best to stick to them. Tiffany blogs about her dates each week, and I plan to do the same. Since April was just beginning, we started our Project 52 this past week. I decided to take the month of April as mine to plan, and the first date was to be extraordinary and easy. We already had a weekend away together scheduled. Months ago I was lamenting our lack of time together alone, and how we had only gone for one night without our kids twice in the past six years. SIX LONG YEARS. So, over Eric's spring break from BSU, we planned a really cheap getaway to Baker City, Oregon. Not the most exciting of places, but neither of us have ever been there, we wanted to stay in this cool newly remodeled historic (and haunted) hotel, and, honestly, we didn't really care if we just ordered room service and never left the room.

The plan was to take the girls to my dad's place in Ontario, Oregon, on Friday night and leave them there for our Saturday night of freedom. Friday also happened to be Alice's second birthday, in which she proceeded to get crabbier and crabbier as the day progressed and ended out her special day by projectile vomiting not once, but twice. And then developed a really high fever. Disappointed, I called the Geiser Grand and explained that I was going to have to cancel our trip and reservations. The receptionist could read the sadness and desperation in my voice and let me reschedule our room at a later date for no charge. It'll now be June before I get a night away with my hubby, but sometimes life and motherhood take precedence.

So we ended up tending to a really sick baby at my dad's place all weekend, but had a great time watching movies, playing Wii, hiding Easter eggs, and taking long naps. Eric and I did manage to get away for a few hours on a date on Saturday - we spent an hour or two browsing thrift shops and a flea market in Ontario. Later that night we spent more than $20, which totally contradicts the idea of Project 52, going to the movie theater to see Hot Tub Time Machine. The movie was horrible, but come on, our other options were Clash of the Titans, The Bounty Hunter, and that new Miley Cyrus thing. The date redeemed itself with a delicious Mexican dinner at Tacos el Zarape, a little gem of a place hidden behind the Pilot gas station near the freeway. While this was totally not within the guidelines of Project 52 or our normal nights, it is always fun, every once in a while, to have an old school, traditional date. It kind of felt like we were in high school again, holding hands during a really bad 80s movie. And we actually had time during our meal to enjoy it leisurely, order a beer, and have a conversation. And we sat IN THE BAR.

I'm really excited to post about our dates each week, and hope you'll follow along, as we have some fun ideas planned. Actually, YOU should think about joining in, too, with your significant other. It is a realistic project with a focus on nurturing our most personal relationships, so what could be bad about that? And we're bound to have a good time and learn a few new things about each other along the way.

Visible M(others): The Blog as Digital Family Scrapbook

2010-04-01T07:15:00.003-06:00

I've been selected to participate in a gallery exhibition over the course of the next six weeks titled "Visible M(others): Images of Parenting in Visual Culture." The show runs March 4 - April 11, 2010 at the Boise State University Student Union Gallery and is free to the public (go see it!). I'm collaborating with Shannon Paterson over at Anchormommy.com. We'll both be writing new posts on Thursdays of each week for the six weeks of the exhibition, exploring ideas of how our "mommyblogs" act as a sort of "digital front porch swing," a place to share information and be heard, a forum for asking questions, showing off our kids and our skills. Mommyblogs act not only as an informational outlet, but a creative force in our contemporary maternal culture, as the blogs are not only loaded with verbal creativity, but photography, crafts, and other digital imagery, documenting our lives as mothers. Provoking complex questions, the exhibition presents new perspectives on traditional, contemporary, alternative or imagined parenting and how they operate in a visible/invisible landscape of maternal visual culture.

My mom has been an avid scrapbooker for as long as I can remember. As the oldest child in my family, of course, I have the most pictures, many pasted and carefully captioned in a number of scrapbooks, from one lovingly hand-quilted and cross-stitched by my mom to a puffy painted one in my high school colors just for the hundreds of cheerleading pictures I have. Both my parents are really into family history and documentation, and I certainly gained that interest from them. As my adult life gets busier and busier, I still have the good intentions of scrapbooking but never seem to get around to it. I have boxes and folders full of old love letters from my husband, concert ticket stubs, restaurant menus, city maps, positive pregnancy tests, first haircut snippets, and, of course, photos galore. Like all first time moms, my documentation of my pregnancy with Lucy and her first year or two of life is great. But, poor Alice, got the shit end of the deal, as my second baby. I still have good intentions, mind you. My mother-in-law is a rep for Stampin' Up, so I've got gorgeous scrapbooking supplies coming out of may ass. I just don't really have the time. Nor do I have the inclination to print the hundreds of digital prints that are collecting on my laptop; there lies the unfortunate dilemma of film photography vs. digital. Thankfully, great sites like Shutterfly will do most of the work for you. I just did Alice's first year baby book on Shutterfly for about $25 and 3 hours of time. I do think, though, for that amount of time, I could've done it myself for free (sigh).

What I love about this blog, however, is that it acts in much the same way as a scrapbook does because it includes photos. To me, though, it's more like a journal. I don't usually cuss in my scrapbooking - "Happy Motherfuckin' Birthday, Baby Girl!" just doesn't seem appropriate. It is, however, a more accurate portrayal of my everyday life and is more real. Which is what I love about this online journaling. I get to document some unique, silly parts and activities of our everyday lives, like this:

Earlier this week marked the 1st Annual Brown Family March Viewing of The Wizard of Oz. When I was little, the airing of The Wizard of Oz on television in March marked the beginning of spring and my parents made it special.

We all put our 'jamas on, got our sleeping bags out, and ate Jelly Bellys. In the early 1980s in rural Idaho, Jelly Bellys were gourmet candy that we only got once a year. I anxiously waited for mixing those tasty little morsels in my mouth to make flavors all my own. It's Buttered Popcorn, however, that still remains my favorite.

While you can now pick up Jelly Bellys everywhere, including your neighborhood dollar store, I've tried to keep them a special treat just for this movie viewing occasion. We all love this movie so much and never tire of watching it. I've had this VHS copy of the film for as long as I can remember. In fact, Eric and I watched it on one of our very first dates and, years later, the iconic theme song played as we walked down the aisle after saying "I DO!" in Nevada.

So out came the Sleeping Beauty sleeping bag and all our beanbags, too. Alice was so worried for Toto and Lucy realized for the first time it was all a dream. These are the sorts of things I love documenting on this blog, these sort of special, ordinary moments. And, sometimes, some extraordinary, sad things, too. This week also marks the one year anniversary of my traumatic layoff - the one that scarred me, scared me, and shook me to the core. The one it took me a year to come to terms with. My metaphorical house was whipped up in a tornado and came crashing down, killing the big bad witch, but leaving me lost in a world I'd never seen before. With a little help along the way, from new friends and old, I grew to love Munchkinland and realized that there truly is "no place like home."

Thanks for coming along on this ride with me and reading my blog as I stumble my way through it. I do see what a special document this is, not only for my sanity, but what a unique chronicle of a piece of my family's life and our story for my girls to have and share with their kids in the future. Now, if I can only find the time to print it....

Visible M(others): Exhibition Reponse, What Piece(s) Speak to Me?

2010-03-24T10:46:00.020-06:00

I first heard that Dr. Kathleen Keys and Dr. Janice Neri, professors of art education and art history at BSU, were organizing an exhibition on parenting last summer. I was thrilled; this has been an under researched and under appreciated theme in the American art world. Since my family plays such a big role in my artwork, I was excited to submit a piece for consideration. After thinking about it for some time, I decided I wanted to collaborate with someone else and explore the notion of what constitutes fine art and what plays a vital role in our visual culture - the Internet. Of course, I was already writing this blog, with a focus on parenting. I love the idea of collaboration and immediately my friend and fellow mommyblogger Shannon Paterson of Anchormommy.com came to mind. Shannon and I met probably seventeen years ago (eegads!) while undergrads at the University of Idaho. We were both studying in the communications department - me, public relations, and her, journalism. We both met and eventually married our husbands there, who were also friends and fraternity brothers. When I moved backed to Boise almost four years ago we reconnected. What we didn't know was that our lives would take such similar, but different, paths; a year ago she left her career as a news anchor to be a stay at home mom and I was forced into the situation with a layoff. It was coincidence that we both began blogging at the same time, a fun and interesting coincidence. We were both becoming new kinds of moms, blazing our own unique trails and combining our professional and personal lives in different ways. So, Shannon and I collaborated on a proposal for the exhibition and were thrilled to be selected. Especially after I attend the opening of the show a few weeks ago and saw all the other amazing works in the exhibition. Wow.

As a former local museum curator, I know many local artists already. Another friend, father, and artist, Ben Love, was participating in the exhibition with his daughter and invited me to help create a celebratory opening party event for the kids. As gallery exhibitions are typically not geared toward children, this one was an exception. Ben and I knew there would be a ton of kids there and wanted them to feel comfortable in what can sometimes be a, lets face it, stuffy event. We came up with the idea of a 'don your artsy attire' dress up room.

The curators were thrilled and rented a room for us to use. We brought masses and masses of dress up gear and costumes and the kids had a blast dressing up fancy, in their own ways.

I even ended up wearing a Snow White crown the entire evening. We brought animal crackers and pretzels as kid-friendly appetizers and covered a large table with a blanket to make a fort. Ben brought coloring books and crayons and set up a really popular coloring table. The space became a hang out for the adults, too, who participated in dressing up and art making with their children. We got so many positive comments from artists and guests alike about how this was the most fun art opening they'd ever been to. The kids were entertained so mommy and daddy could spend some time chatting with adults and actually looking at the art. But the kids didn't feel confined to the room; they ran throughout the exhibition in their fancy gear, experiencing the artworks and reminding us all what this exhibition is really about after all.

Here's a shot of our piece's physical space in the exhibition, although it's really more of a virtual performance art piece. Shannon and I decided that we'd like it to have a presence to invite visitors to sit down and use the laptop to view our blogs. We set it up to look like our work stations at home do - a simple desk and chair littered with board books and academic resources, an old coffee cup, a stray binkie, a display of our kids drawings. We also have our business cards on the desk, inviting visitors to take one home with them to continue following our blogs and the exhibition.

There are so many interesting and compelling pieces in the exhibition that it was difficult to pick my favorite for this post. I feel most drawn, however, to the collaborative nature, humor, and seriousness of this piece, by Boise artists Ted Apel and Brooke Burton. This is a photo of the wall label for their piece. I know it's a bit blurry, but I think their list of media is brilliant. It includes the more traditional listing of the physical mixed media the piece is made from - paper, glass domes, wire, and table. But it also includes the intangible forces that REALLY came to play in the creating of this artwork: 2 babies, 7 dirty diapers, 11 bottles, 21 wipes, 1 stroller, 3 blankets, etc.

It turns out that Apel, a father of an infant son, approached Burton, a mother of a one-year-old daughter, to collaborate in a unique way. He offered to watch the babies while Brooke did the physical creation of the piece they both brainstormed on. I love that new definition of collaboration as it applies to the art world, and I love the piece they came up with.

It's a lovely, clean white table with glistening glass domes covering white paper origami cranes. Some of the cranes appear to be floating alone and some are crammed into a dome together. Each of the domes have a separate title, based on familial figures Burton has either known or read about it the numerous parenting books she has recently consumed.

They represent the complicated relationships among family members, including the most tenuous one between parent and child and the fine line between nurture and suffocation. While the pieces are physically lovely, they can also easily be interpreted as putting someone on a pedestal, confining them to a glass dome where nothing and no one can get to them, which is a common fear and struggle of new parents. I know I have felt the pull between perfection and protection, and letting my girls go and experience life and pain on their own is a difficult process.

Keys and Neri's students assisted in the creation of the exhibition and have written curatorial statements on each piece of the exhibition, which adds to the educational value of the show. The exhibition is free and is open anytime the BSU SUB is open, so I highly recommend stopping by. Make a date of it - grab a coffee at Moxie Java downstairs and bring your significant other and/or your kids. It's a great and poignant example of what parenting means to a few in our local community, not to mention a stellar showing of contemporary art.

AMY & REE: Egg-in-a-Hole (week 12)

2010-03-23T22:13:00.005-06:00

I loved this easy breakfast idea when I was a kid. My parents used to make them for us on special weekends, and I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Now I make them for my kids. On Sunday morning, faced with a near empty fridge, I knew it was a perfect day to make Egg-in-a-Holes. Lucy loves picking out the cookie cutter shape we get to use and I love that it is an egg and toast all in one. It's just about perfection, except my egg design always screws up on the bottom side, as the raw egg glides under the bread, smearing my perfect star. I think I may just need to keep trying.

AMY & REE: Oatmeal Crispies (week 11)

2010-03-23T22:09:00.006-06:00

This week has been a bit rough for me, as those of you who also follow me on Twitter or Facebook already know. Eric's gone for six long days at a conference and both girls caught pink eye. Needless to say, I'm kind of a mess. But I'm still cookin'.

I made these cookies on Saturday and, in fact, have two more rolls of the dough in my freezer. One is loaded with semi sweet chocolate chips and the other with dried cranberries. The first roll I baked up was the "original recipe," although I did substitute some wheat flour for some white flour. It not only makes them healthier, but brings out a nuttier flavor. Ree writes that these are Marlboro Man's favorite cookies ever (MM is her nickname for her husband). And I can see why. They are perhaps the best oatmeal cookie I've ever tasted.

Visible M(others): Inclusive vs. Intrusive, What I Blog About (Or Don't)

2010-03-18T07:20:00.001-06:00

I've been selected to participate in a gallery exhibition over the course of the next six weeks titled "Visible M(others): Images of Parenting in Visual Culture." The show runs March 4 - April 11, 2010 at the Boise State University Student Union Gallery and is free to the public (go see it). I'm collaborating with Shannon Paterson over at Anchormommy.com. We'll both be writing new posts on Thursday of each week, for the six weeks of the exhibition, exploring ideas of how our "mommyblogs" are a sort of "digital front porch swing," a place to share information and be heard, a forum for asking questions, showing off our kids and our skills. Mommyblogs act not only as an informational outlet, but a creative force in our contemporary maternal culture, as the blogs are loaded not only with verbal creativity, but photography, crafts, and other digital imagery, documenting our lives as mothers. Provoking complex questions, the exhibition presents new perspectives on traditional, contemporary, alternative or imagined parenting and how they operate in a visible/invisible landscape of maternal visual culture.

In my first post for this exhibition, Visible M(others), I wrote a little about the beginnings of this blog, about how I got laid off and wanted to keep my writing skills sharp. The layoff also gave me the time to devote to creating a blog, something that had been suggested to me by several friends who always loved getting my emailed family updates and photos and thought my writing was funny and interesting. In my second post, I mentioned that I have been an avid reader of blogs for years now, particularly mommyblogs. They have been a source of inspiration and relief for me as a mother, learning from their creativity in the home as well as their struggles. I also knew that there were literally thousands of bloggers out there writing. So, what was to make my blog different? Why would anyone want to read it? Better yet, WHO would want to read it? And what would those people like to read about? Well, those same friends who suggested I start a blog in the first place had great suggestions. But it was truly my dear friend Betsy who helped me flesh it all out in our hours and hours of phone conversations. In between her listening to my ranting and anger and sadness over my layoff, she reminded me that I am also a creative mother and thrifty homemaker with quirky tips to share on life and adventures in Idaho. And that became a sort of "mission statement" for Doin' It All, Idaho Style. I've always searched out the unusual museums and found great little restaurants off the beaten path, so why not share them with others? At the same time, my far away friends and family can see what we're up to out West and keep up with the growing girls. So that's mostly what I blog about - thrifty finds, offbeat adventures, architecture (because I love it so), art, crafts, fun with kiddies, and food (because I love it even more than architecture). Things like this little "roadtrip" I took the girls on last Friday to see the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile IN PERSON, Y'ALL. In Boise. Clear the hell out there at the Albertson's grocery on McMillan and Eagle Road, people. And you know I must be serious about my love of this fancy rig because WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND DRIVES ON EAGLE ROAD? EVER? ESPECIALLY AT 4PM ON A FRIDAY? Spoken like a true downtowner, the devil must've built that part of suburbia, it's that bad.

Now, I've been following the Wienermobile on Twitter for quite some time and begging them to come to Boise, so I couldn't wait to ketchup with them on their cross-country route. The Bologna Song was blaring from the speakers and Lucy, who is just learning to spell, loved the lyrics. But, come on, what kid doesn't, right?

And a giant car shaped like a hot dog is enough to give anyone the giggles, especially with that classic personalized license plate.

Of course, we sat inside and oohed and ahhed at the embroidered wieners on the seats and the squiggly mustard design on the floor. The drivers gave out wiener whistles to the girls but weren't grilling up 'dogs like we'd hoped. And were we ever craving them after our visit. If Albertsons had been smart, they'd have had a stand out front and made a killing. Or at least been selling them at the deli. (Just one more example of the brilliant ideas by Amy you'll find here on Doin' It All, Idaho Style!)

What I don't usually blog about is the more mundane chaos that is 90% of my life. Like the constant cleaning up of cat puke for the past THIRTEEN YEARS OF MY LIFE. Nor do I usually take pictures of it, but there it is, above - a big nasty blob right next to the orange Barbie dress and yellow hair clip, due north of a pair of my green striped mittens. None of which belong on the floor of my living room but ALWAYS SEEM TO BE THERE.

Nor do I write about how my house looks like someone did let The Pigeon Drive The Bus - right through my life. Or how I cuss like a sailor (imagine that) every time I try to walk to the kitchen to refill my glass with more wine from my box because those goddamn Little People hurt like a motherfucker when you step on them barefooted. I don't write about how I leave it like this because I'm too tired at the end of the day to care. And why waste my time? The toys better hide the orange Goldfish cracker crumbs crushed into my carpet anyway.

Also, I don't usually blog about very many other people in my life, with the exception of my lovely little Lucy and Alice. I occasionally write about my dreamy husband, Eric, but he is shy and wants to edit/approve what I post about him first. And most of the time I'm like, dude, I love you, but you live here with me in this messy little world of ours so, sorry, you're fair game. Only that I don't ever write anything bad or negative about him because there really isn't anything to say along those lines. He's amazing. And he drives me less nuts than those two sweethearts above, both who really do spend most of their time with no shirts or shoes on. But they don't really get a say in what I write about them. BECAUSE I GREW THEM IN MY BODY FOR A REALLY LONG TIME AND THEN PUSHED THEIR BIG, STRONG BODIES OUT. OF. MY. VAGINA. And that, my friends, trumps any sort of privacy issues they may or may not have with mommy's blog. Which is what this blog is really about - mommy. It's for me and, ultimately, about me.

And while I typically post about odd, fun, budget-friendly things here, the blog topics Shannon and I are writing about for this exhibition have pushed me out of my comfort zone. And the few comments I've gotten about my more personal posts lately have been positive and making me rethink and reanalyze what this blog is about and what kind of stories I may want to include in the future. It's an evolving thing, this blog is, much like me. And we're still trying to figure it all out.

AMY & REE: Homemade Ranch Dressing (week 10)

2010-03-17T20:31:00.002-06:00

I have never made my own ranch dressing before, except for mixing the dry packet with sour cream, which I don't think exactly counts. I've made all sorts of other olive oil and/or vinegar based dressings from scratch, which are delicious, but I don't know exactly why I never thought to give this a try. I wish I would have, though, because it is really great. Anything with this many fresh herbs takes the cake (or better yet, the salad) in my book. The Pioneer Woman's recipe for it doesn't even call for any sort of fancy salad, just iceberg lettuce wedges. I made it last Saturday to accompany our dinner of salmon and baked potatoes and it was wonderful. We all loved it, including the two youngest and pickiest eaters in the house. We had enough left to use it for days later, as something yummy to dip carrots and celery into, as a baked potato topping and, of course, to top more salads. I highly recommend it, but make sure to chop the herbs really well because some people (aka my husband) don't like big chunks of parsley in their ranch.

Visible M(others): Sharing the Struggles, The Blog as Support Network

2010-03-11T07:33:00.001-07:00

I think I've been following blogs since their inception, way back in the day when they weren't all fancy and frilly and were just people, writers mainly, who found the world wide web a way to get their words out there. Blogs became an increasingly important part of my search for knowledge and companionship when I got pregnant for the first time in 2007. Those of you who have children know that there is nothing more exhilarating and absolutely terrifying than carrying a child in your womb. I was living in Minneapolis, far, far from family and had no friends at the time who were yet young parents, so I was searching for answers to questions and someone to acknowledge the craziness I was feeling. That craziness became even more powerful a force when little Lucy finally entered the world and I looked to the internet for help. Luckily for me, I found some other mothers out there who weren't afraid to write about their bleeding nipples, tears of exhaustion, and their love of their sweat pants. They made me feel less alone, less nuts, and calmed my nerves. There are inspirational blogs by tattooed mothers who got accidentally knocked up and mothers who have emotional stories of losing their young baby to illness. I cry and laugh and am amazed. When I got laid off, I felt so alone and depressed and read other peoples horror stories about the wreckage that had become their life and it made me feel better. I wasn't alone. And neither were they. Many others, including myself, left comments on their sites, sharing our stories, and ideas, and sorrow. I've always been prone to the plus-sized side of life and have found myself a little heavier after each pregnancy. Realizing I'm really rotund and accepting that fact is a journey and sometimes a struggle, and it's been reassuring to find a slew of blogs by hefty ladies who are proud of their size.

(image of The Popsycle courtesy of www.sweet-juniper.com)

It's not only the ladies that I look to in the blogosphere, however. The daddy writers are also a kick in the pants to follow and have as much wit, interest, and foul language to interest me and accurately share the joys of parenthood. One of my favorites is Sweet Juniper!, written by a husband and wife team in Detroit. Like all excellent writers, they tell ordinary tales of everyday life in extraordinary ways, like lovely little details of their daughter's birthday cake and how they built their family bicycle.

(images courtesy of www.TheBloggess.com)

Nor do I only read blogs for all matters of sadness or struggle. Honestly, besides information gathering, I read them to laugh. And I cannot tell you how many times I've laughed till I've cried over The Bloggess' outrageous storytelling abilities and flat out bizarre sense of humor. Yes, she shares my love of taxidermy, but she also writes hilarious columns for a satirical sex site. And she's a mom. Who's cat sits on her head. And who spends a lot of time in bathrooms.

(image courtesy of www.zakkalife.blogspot.com)

More often than anything these days, though, my blogroll consists of about twenty art and craft sites that I peruse daily for inspiration. There are moms who make the cutest recycled girly clothes I've ever seen, moms who create magazine-worthy baby nurseries, and ladies who, like the one who runs Zakka Life, come up with the best kids crafts and holiday ideas ever. And, lucky for me, one blogger links to another crafty blogger friend who links to another and suddenly I been sucked into my couch and my laptop for hours looking at other peoples great ideas. Which, ultimately, can be the biggest problem with blogs that I see - the amount of time spent reading or watching other people's lives instead of getting out and living your own. It's a danger that I'm increasingly aware of, especially as dreary winter days and the stark aloneness that can often overcome SAHMs can easily take over. There are truly blogs devoted to anything and everything and anyone and everyone can start one of their own for free. Just like me. I've gained inspiration, education, advice, companionship and more from reading them and couldn't be more thankful that the internet has become a tool for bringing people together.

AMY & REE: Spicy Shredded Pork (week 9)

2010-03-07T13:47:00.005-07:00

So, I know I missed week 8 of The Pioneer Woman Cookbook Challenge and I apologize. I was on the couch all week with a nasty spring bug and, honestly, didn't cook much that week at all. My comfort food when I'm sick is the old fashioned original Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup from the can and tator tots. It's weird, I know. Anyhow, I'll make up a recipe somewhere along the line.

This past week, however, I made one of the most yummy recipes from her cookbook yet - spicy shredded pork. I think the pork cost us around $11. You make a delicious rub and basically roast it in the oven all day long. She recommends 1-2 tablespoons of salt in the rub mix and I'd suggest using only one, as mine turned out a little salty. By, let me tell you, our house smelled delicious and dinner was TOO DIE FOR. You shred the pork at the end and pour some juices on, warm some tortillas and make a little homemade pico de gallo and slice up some limes to squeeze on the top. It was amazing. And even better the next day. It makes so much food that we froze 3 Tupperwares full for later dates. My girls love to eat it plain and we just got some out of the freezer to make a pork spinach salad with Asian dressing. Sooooooo good.

Visible M(others): How To Be A WAHM (Working At Home Mom), My "New" Career

2010-03-04T07:46:00.007-07:00

I've been selected to participate in a gallery exhibition over the course of the next six weeks called "Visible M(others): Images of Parenting in Visual Culture." The show runs March 4 - April 11, 2010 at the Boise State University Student Union Gallery and is free to the public (go see it!). I'm collaborating with Shannon Paterson over at Anchormommy.com. We'll both be writing new posts on Thursday of each week, for the six weeks of the exhibition, exploring ideas of how our "mommyblogs" are a sort of "digital front porch swing," a place to share information and be heard, a forum for asking questions, showing off our kids and our skills. Mommyblogs act not only as an informational outlet, but a creative force in our contemporary maternal culture, as the blogs are loaded not only with verbal creativity, but also photography, crafts, and other digital imagery, documenting our lives as mothers. Provoking complex questions, the exhibition presents new perspectives on traditional, contemporary, alternative or imagined parenting and how they operate in a visible/invisible landscape of maternal visual culture.

To be frank, while I often use these types of acronyms when referring to my motherhood and my career life, I have no idea how to really define them. What exactly is a SAHM (stay at home mom) versus a WAHM (working at home mom)? Is there a difference? Does it mean that a WAHM is making some sort of financial contribution to her family while a SAHM simply works her ass off as well, just with no pay? As always, I think it is difficult to categorize what exactly these acronyms mean, and they certainly mean different things to different families. And placing a monetary value on what moms do or don't do is also a slippery slope. So, even though this post title implies that I know what I'm talking about here, or that perhaps I'm about to give some sage advice, don't be fooled. For those of you who have followed this blog previously, or know me in real life, you know I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. But, I'm happy to share my personal journey of motherhood and my career path and how I came to be a SAHM/WAHM.

A few years back (almost six to be exact), I was going to graduate school in Minnesota to get my masters degree in art history, with the intention of going into museum work. My husband, Eric, had a postdoctoral research position in chemistry at the University of Minnesota and in addition to being a full-time student, I also worked as an independent curator and part-time as a receptionist at a travel agency downtown Minneapolis. It barely paid the bills and the rent for our tiny one-bedroom apartment, but we decided to start our family. Little Lucy Valentine was born on a wild-weathered Midwestern spring day in 2004.

Thus began my introduction to motherhood and the world of being a working (both inside and outside the home) mama. I quit my job at the travel agency and took only night classes, so I could be with Lucy during the day and Eric could be with her at nights. I took no time off after her birth, and hand-pumped breastmilk in university bathrooms during class breaks. I strapped Lucy in the Baby Bjorn and toted her around the Twin Cities on extensive field research trips for my thesis, which I wrote at night after she went to bed, between the hours of 9pm-1am. Oh, how I remember that Amy fondly, the one that held on to her perfectionist ways and organizational mania. I was motivated and career-driven and determined to not only be a great mom, but KNEW I had too much to offer the art world to "just stay at home." Upon graduation, I was hired as the curator for the new downtown branch of the Minneapolis Public Library gallery.

(photo courtesy of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts)

About six months later, Eric got a position as a professor of chemistry at Boise State University and within two weeks I was flown out to Boise to interview for the position of Associate Curator of Art at this place. I was immediately offered the job, and we moved from Minneapolis to Boise in 2006, with our dream jobs secured. For the first time, we had to put Lucy in full-time daycare, but at the age of two-and-a-half, we knew she was ready to expand her social network. I, however, was surprised, as I sat in the parking lot of the museum bawling my eyes out every morning before work after dropping her off. For SIX WEEKS. I missed her, but we all got used to the routine. And our lives were fulfilling; I loved my work, was learning so much, and contributed a great deal to the Idaho art scene.

A year or two went by, and we decided to add to our family. Alice Virginia was born in April of 2008, to a four-year-old big sister who thought she was the cutest thing ever. I was lucky that the director of the museum granted my request for a five month maternity leave. While most of it was unpaid, of course, we made due with the lesser income, as it was what was best for our family at the time. I returned to work full-time, with both my babies at the same daycare center that we had grown to love. My lunch breaks were a precious, rushed hour spent nursing my baby Alice. Seven months later, in the spring of 2009, with absolutely no hint of a notion, I showed up to my beloved job one Monday morning to a surprise! You've been laid off! Much to my horror, my position had been eliminated, a result of a new director with new ideas, mixed in with a bit of an economic recession. I was told to leave immediately, and within thirty minutes I tossed some belongings in a box and left in a flurry of tears. I was devastated, to say the least. I didn't leave my house for two solid weeks, spending days chain smoking in my pajamas on the patio. And it got worse, as the news was printed on the front page of the Idaho Statesman a few days later. The layoff itself was a poorly handled - a sad, messy, terrible, awful situation that, unfortunately, dragged on for months. I lost friends, files, contacts, references, writing, books, ideas, and more. It was as though someone had died. I had lost my career. The one I was so good at. The one I deserved. The one I was still paying whopping student loan payments for each month. Only now I didn't have the income to pay them. Immediately, our financial livelihood was at stake, and Eric and I, in full on crisis mode, analyzed our money situation to see if we could still keep our house (a.k.a pay our mortgage). Second, that same day I pulled my girls from daycare and became a full-time SAHM for the first time in my life.

Like all moms, when faced with a crisis, you've got to pull your shit together in front of your kids. So, my doctor upped my anxiety medication and I tried to wait until 5pm for my first glass of wine. For their sake. The next six months were an emotional rollercoaster for me, mainly because I HAD A CAREER PATH AND THIS WASN'T IT. I had always known I wasn't made of the right components to simply care for my kids all. Day. Long. Suddenly, I had no choice. I was with them twenty-four hours a day, with little to no breaks. Ever. I had to succumb to their schedules, not mine. I couldn't wallow in my pity, depression, or pajamas. Gone were the days when I just worried about doing my own work, feeding my intellectual career goals, going out to lunch with colleagues and artists. Now I threw on jeans and flipflops, ate Cherrios for lunch, and spent afternoons at the park. And I soon discovered, IT WAS HARD. This SAHM gig is way more exhausting than the longest days I spent hanging and curating an exhibition at the museum. And, some days, I just don't feel like it. I want to call in sick. But I can't. So I let them eat popcorn in the bathtub with their cousins in the middle of the afternoon. Sometimes.

Eventually, I got used to it. And I got my shit together. Taking care of my family was my new full-time career and I took it by the reins. I joined a weekly playgroup and made wonderful new friends. I joined a book club, went to Jazzercize, and spent more time on my own artsy craftsy pursuits. And, while that over-achiever in me was thwarted a little, and my spirit surely dampened, I quickly morphed from a SAHM to a WAHM. This was mostly due to the fact that my unemployment pay was about to end, and we knew we couldn't survive financially without me bringing in some sort of income. So I picked some small, fun endeavors that allowed me bring home some bacon without compromising my time dedicated to my girls. The Downtown Boise Association paid me to create a winter window at a local business, which I also happened to win a nice cash prize for.

The City of Boise Department of Arts + History hired me on contract to do some curatorial consulting work for them, which is great. I do a bit of research, writing, helping with workshops, and have been organizing and installating the City's art collection. As an art historian and a curator, writing was something that I enjoyed and wanted to continue. I started this blog as a way to sort of chronicle my "new career" as a SAHM/WAHM and to keep my writing skills sharp. Boise Weekly's Idaho Arts Quarterly journal asked me on as a staff writer for them, and I've contributed a few pieces about the art scene in Idaho. I also write a monthly column at TreasuredValley.com called Off The Beaten Path. And I am involved in a slew of other community service/volunteer efforts locally that are unpaid. So while I'm contributing very, very little to my family's bank account, I think (or at least I hope) I'm adding something valuable to myself, my community, and my girls' idea of what being a mom is. But still, more often than not, I don't really know what I'm doing. I just try my best and take it day by day. Definitions (and acronyms) be damned.

CULTURE: Boise WaterShed Environmental Education Center

2010-02-27T15:10:00.009-07:00

My friend Kristyn and I recently took our girls to the City of Boise's new WaterShed Environmental Educational Center for an afternoon. They've created a really cool museum, of sorts, at the waste treatment plant off of Chinden Blvd. out near HP. Their mission is to teach people of all ages about water conservation in our region. We called ahead and asked for a tour and had the whole place to ourselves that quiet Thursday afternoon.

Our guide was a graduate student in biology from BSU and was sweet, entertaining, and tolerant of our wily girls. He showed us the huge wall mural of the Boise region and explained to us all how our local watershed works, and what types of things might damage our resources, like garbage, animal feces, etc.

The place is full of hands-on computer games and exhibits aimed toward helping us learn about water and how we use it, both in appropriate and inappropriate means. Our favorite was one that had a map of Boise on a computer where you can click on your house and see how long it takes your toilet waste to get from your house to the treatment plant. Surprisingly, we learned it takes our poop 7 hours and 10 miles to get to its final destination from our home on the Bench.

This little dollhouse-like set up was another of the girls' favorites. You can push buttons in different rooms in the house and see how much water all of our various household activities, like doing laundry and taking baths, uses. Not surprisingly, watering your yard is outrageously wasteful of water. We're lucky up here on our part of the Bench to have a neighborhood irrigation system courtesy of the New York Canal.

They also have a few of these large concrete sewage pipes to climb around in and see how and where they are buried in our city. The guide put on a cute video for the girls with dancing raindrops and catchy tunes all about poop and other important stuff. This, of course, was a huge hit with the kindergarten crowd, as "poop" and "pee" seem to be among their favorite vocabulary words. The women at the front desk were also great, and gave us this great list of 101 Things to Do Outside put together by the Be Outside! statewide campaign to get children in the outdoors more often. They also gave the kids stickers to put on their bathroom mirror, reminding them to conserve water by turning the faucet off when brushing their teeth. In the library there were coloring pages, books about weather and free maps of the Boise WaterShed. It was such a great, educational experience for all (including us mamas!) that we plan to go back for one of their free educational Saturdays soon and take a tour of the whole plant. There is also a great little outdoor patio that would be a nice place to have a snack when the weather warms up. The place also boasts some of the most stellar public artwork by local artists in the city. How could a free educational center focused on poop not be good, solid family fun? Get there!

AMY & REE: Comfort Meatballs (week 7)

2010-02-19T19:58:00.004-07:00

So, The Pioneer Woman's cooking is all about comfort food, which is probably why I love it. I decided to give her Comfort Meatballs a try this week. I paired them with mashed red potatoes, and it was a nice, hearty meal on a gray February night. They meatballs themselves were yummy, and I especially likes the moist texture the quick oats provide. Neither Eric or I were a huge fan of the homemade BBQ-like sauce that covers them. It's primary ingredient is ketchup, and was a little too strong and overpowering for me. We both found them to be great leftovers the next day, as the sauce was less potent. They kind of taste like mini meatloaf bites, so I'd recommend trying them if you are a meatloaf lover.

CRAFTY: Handmade Kids Toys

2010-02-19T19:23:00.004-07:00

Since we were still operating on The Compact this past Christmas, all of our gifts were either handmade or purchased second hand. I thought I'd highlight a few of the gifts for our girls that we made, as they turned out to be very cute and some of their new favorite things. They are certainly gifts that would be ideal to give at any time of year, especially for birthdays.

I found the idea for these adorable and easy handmade stilts on one of my favorite mama craft blogs, www.zakkalife.blogspot.com. She has a whole slew of darling kiddie crafts and other ideas that I've also used. I decided to use coffee cans for Lucy's stilts, as they are a bit larger and more study. I covered them with some scraps of vintage Contac paper I got at a thrift shop. Eric drilled small holes in the sides to loop some rope through and voila, they were done in like 20 minutes. They are great for indoor and outdoor fun and her friends have come to love them as well.
I got the idea for this dolls-sized log table and stools from this cute website for green, recycled kids craft ideas. "Santa's elves," also known as Eric and his brother Dominic, took some of our firewood into Dom's shop and fashioned this little set for Alice's Santa gift. They are rustic and are also great for imaginative play both indoors and out. I found the stuffed creatures and tableware are a variety of antique and thrift shops for super cheap. The best part, however, are the handsewn felt cookies I found from local Boise Etsy seller, Vivian, who owns and makes the best culinary creations on Time To Play. They were around $10 for 6 cookies, and I got to pick the "flavor" and frosting colors. The cookies are really well made and SO DANG CUTE I can't even tell you. Her work is stellar and I can't recommend purchasing from her enough.

Santa brought Lucy a similar set up, but her wooden table and chairs were an amazing thrift shop find. Her ballerina dolls also came from thrift shops, and both girls' table linens came from my mother and grandmother's collections.

Lucy and Alice were thrilled with these gifts, and they have really sparked their imagination with play. The cookies are a constant hit, and the table settings have already hosted a number of tea parties for other stuffed pets and Barbie friends. I find these simple toys to often be the most interesting in the long run. They may not be the fanciest or the flashiest, but they are heartfelt gifts that kids are sure to love.

FOODIE: Handmade Valentine Goodies

2010-02-13T09:49:00.004-07:00

My dear friend Kristyn invited the girls and I to join in on her tradition of making homemade chocolate candies for Valentines Day treats. I was thrilled, as I don't have a lot of experience with making candy and was excited about the possibilities. She bought the ingredients and provided the expertise and the kitchen, and I brought my girls and some crafty supplies for making cute recycled containers for the candies to go in.

Being a southern belle herself, Kristyn has grown up eating and making Food Network chef Paula Deen's goodies. On the menu were Deen's Almond Chocolate Balls, her peanut butter Buckeye Balls, and some mini red velvet cupcakes (these were from the box because, seriously, we're amateur chefs and mothers, not crazy).

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of the candy creating process, as it was a bit chaotic in Kristyn's kitchen with two demanding babies under our feet and two kindergartners asking for more glitter and sprinkles. Also, candy making is a bit of a time consuming process, especially melting the chocolate in a double boiler and dipping each one quickly. Anyhow, when you click on the above links for the recipes and tutorials, you'll notice immediately that my Buckeyes look not near as nice and polished as hers. Clearly, my Almond Chocolate Balls above, which basically taste just like Almond Joy bars, are not ball-y at all. Have you been reading this blog a while? I'm CLEARLY not a perfectionist.

I was surprised how easy the candies were to make, and how few ingredients they required. Additionally, we came up with some really darling containers, handmade by our children, to box up the candies in. The silver painted container is a baby formula can with the label stripped off (the lid is also cute with pink paint and tons of glitter, but is currently lost somewhere in my girls' playroom). The red containers formerly held sliced deli meat and are decorated with felt, glitter and stickers. A cream cheese container is covered with Contac paper, gingham fabric hearts and glitter (in the foreground).

We lined all the containers with valentine themed cupcake papers and stacked the candies inside. Here you can see we used individual apple sauce containers covered with plastic wrap and ties with pretty satin bows. These sweet little packages were valentines for Lucy's three teachers.

Valentines Day can be a sweet holiday when filled with heart-felt lovely surprises. All our candies are accompanied by hand-colored cards that Lucy made for our family members. I have to say, it is way less stressful to make homemade candy on a holiday other than Christmas. It's made these gifts much more special to make, give, and receive thus far. And my two little cupids have a few more deliveries to go.

AMY & REE: Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes (week 6)

2010-02-13T09:40:00.004-07:00

It was Super Bowl Sunday morning, and we were planning on lounging in our 'jamas all day, taking in some good eats and a little football. (I was wishfully thinking it would be a little football, but it turned into an entire day devoted to football.) We started off the morning perfectly with this recipe from The Pioneer Woman's grandma-in-law, Edna Mae. These homemade pancakes' secret ingredient is sour cream. That, combined with the eggs, make these pancakes YUM-O. They end up tasting a bit like french toast in pancake form which, according to Eric, makes them PERFECT. These are his new favorite pancakes ever, he says. Actually, the girls loved them, too, and with a side of bacon, this may actually be perfection on a plate in breakfast form. And we all know that I love breakfast more than any meal of the day, and plan on making these again soon. Hopefully for dinner, if Eric will allow it. You can find the entire recipe here on this girl's lovely noshing site.

AMY & REE: Lasagna (week 5)

2010-02-06T15:45:00.004-07:00

So, this week I was totally organized in my shopping, had all ingredients on hand and spent one entire afternoon crafting The Pioneer Woman's homemade lasagna. The one thing I was NOT organized about was remember to take a photo, so I apologize for this little post with no images to look at. (Click on the link above to the recipe on PW's blog and her much more amazing photography skills.) Anyhow, the recipe was a bit time-consuming and makes a HUGE pan of lasagna so, instead, I split it into two 8x8" pans and froze one for later. My girls both loved this basic lasagna and Eric thought it was delicious. I thought it was just okay, but I'm a sucker for lots of fancies and veggies in my lasagna, which would be easy enough to add next time around. Also, it made for great leftovers, which is very important in my book.

KIDDOS: Robot-o-Mania

2010-02-01T10:50:00.009-07:00

One of our fun weekly playdates for our Sun and Fun Playgroup last month was a robot-themed party at my house. I stole the idea to make robots from this blog and started collecting materials, both from the garbage and the tool shed.

I set up the supply station in my garage. We used a variety of cans, from old pie tins, pots, baby formula cans, and soup cans for the bodies. The accessory parts were displayed in an old game box tray as well as my muffin tins and included things like buttons, bolts, Monopoly game pieces, bottle caps, plastic bread clips, bobby pins, paper clips, wire, magnets, and beads. There were also Sharpie markers, pipe cleaners and stickers.

The kids had a blast picking out their bodies and crafting their versions of robots, aliens, and UFOs.

The parents had a station set up with hot glue guns and applied the items as directed by the kids. We had so many supplies and such fun creating, that the kids each made 2 or 3 robots a piece. In fact, I made 2 or 3 myself. And Eric made one that night when he got home from work. We now have a whole heard of recycled sci-fi characters lining our fireplace mantel.

While the kids created, the parents ate and ate and ate and talked the afternoon away. After the robot making, we made popcorn and watched the movie WALL-E, which happens to be one of my favorite kid films of late. It was a really fun, creative afternoon and a great way to get kids experimenting with found materials in an unusual way. The whole event cost nothing to put together but a little time and imagination and turned out to be one of our most memorable January days.

AMY & REE: Pizza Dough + Potato-Leek Pizza (week 4)

2010-01-29T15:31:00.005-07:00

Now that I'm brave about the yeast, this week's Pioneer Woman cookbook recipe was her homemade pizza dough that later turned into her Potato-Leek Pizza. The dough was super easy, but required some planning, as it has to rise on the counter for about 2 hours. It makes enough for 2 pizzas, so we made a pepperoni one for the girls and an "adult" one from the cookbook, which includes leeks, goat cheese, BACON!, and red potatoes. I've had yummy pizzas with unusual toppings before, including potatoes. In fact, I love pizza so much that I'll eat it with almost anything on it (except pineapple). I have to say, however, that neither Eric or I were in love with this pizza. It was just okay, in my book, and I preferred the girls' pepperoni. Could've been the mood I was in. You give it a shot and let me know what you think.

AMY & REE: Cinnamon Rolls (week 3)

2010-01-29T15:07:00.006-07:00

I apologize for this being a week late and, for that matter, that nothing has been posted on this blog for as long. Our family was asked to partake in a "back to the basics" type survivalist regime for a whole week, part of which included no television or computer use. What kind of madness is that, you ask? Don't worry - you'll be reading more about what we learned in the near future.

Anyhow, last Thursday I began making PW's homemade Cinnamon Rolls from scratch. I had never made these delicious treats from scratch before and, to be honest, I'm a bit scared of using yeast. My fears, however, have been conquered by the delicious, gooey goodness that was these rolls.

Many of you, undoubtedly, have made rolls like these before. I was excited to try them for Lucy's little after school pajama party last week, where the kids wore PJs, watched cartoons, and ate breakfast. Before making the recipe I should've noticed that it made 40-50 rolls, but, of course I didn't. Therefore, I ended up with about 5 extra trays in my freezer, which is alright by me. I split the dough in half and rolled it out into this massive rectangular shape before pouring massive amounts of butter and sugar on it. To be honest, I was a bit taken aback by the amount of white flour called for (9 cups!), so I used half whole wheat flour instead. Also, I only poured 1/2 cup melted butter on the dough instead of the 1 cup it called for. Even that was a lot.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of the finished product, but you can see one by clicking on the link to PW's recipe on her blog, highlighted above. Here is one pan of the rolls rising on the counter before I plopped it in the oven. Mine were slightly long and narrow when I sliced them, but puffed up during the baking. No one even noticed that I used less butter, as the wonderful maple icing you pour on top after they're done is delightful. Also, the wheat flour gave them a nice, nutty flavor that was a hit with all the mamas and kiddos alike. Lucky for us, we'll be reaping the benefits of this baking extravaganza for weeks to come.

AMY & REE: Simple Perfect Enchiladas (week 2)

2010-01-19T16:18:00.004-07:00

I actually made these enchiladas for dinner last Friday night, but, after the long weekend, am just getting around to posting about them today. We love Mexican food at this house, and any excuse to make margaritas is good enough for me. So, I embarked upon Pioneer Woman's Simple Perfect Enchiladas, one of the recipes found not only in her new cookbook, but also on her website. They are, as described, simple beef enchiladas using corn tortillas because she claimed flour tortillas often get soggy in the making, which I happen to agree with. I don't think these enchiladas can really be described as perfect, though. Although Eric and I thought they were good, they weren't anything I'd necessarily make again. They did hold up as leftovers, however, and proved to be just as good warmed up in the microwave the next day.

ARTSY: Vintage Record Bowls

2010-01-14T10:40:00.003-07:00

This is seriously the easiest crafty project ever and has become my favorite go-to gift of the past few months. I've seen these around at art fairs, etc. and always wanted to try my hand so I Googled instructions. There are several sets of instructions out there now, including a few YouTube videos as well. We made these at a recycled Christmas crafts girl party I held in November and they were a huge hit with my arty friends and, again, so easy.

First you start with the records. My neighbor gave me two huge boxes of old records that didn't sell at her garage sale last summer, so I already have a great stash, but you can pick them up for around 50cents a piece at any thrift shop. For the holidays, I used lots of old Christmas albums, but it's fun to select a group based on the gift receiver's tastes. And don't worry, I went through the boxes first and pulled out the all the albums worth keeping because I love listening to vinyl.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Find two glass mixing bowls that nest together nicely, and place the smaller one upside down in the oven to preheat as well. Then, center the record on top of the bowl and close the oven door. Check on it, oh, 5 minutes later and it should look something like this:

Please PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE DIRTY OVEN FLOOR, but do notice how the vinyl has softened and is drooping over the sides. At this point, carefully place the larger glass nesting bowl on top to smoosh down the sides. Leave them like this in the oven for about 1 minute. Remove the whole shabang with oven mitts and let sit for about 1 minute on top of the stove to cool. The vinyl will harden quickly and pop easily out of the glass bowl molds, resulting in the cutest things ever:

It's hard to tell from this picture, but the ruffles on each bowl are darling and unique to each bowl. They look like ribbon candy, especially if you're lucky enough to come upon the colored records at the thrift shop. While they are not food safe, they look great on a buffet to toss keys or spare change into or in the bedroom as a jewelry catch-all. I lined them with newspaper and filled them with microwave popcorn, nuts and hot cocoa and handed them out as New Years gifts for my extended family. There are wonderful artists doing more elaborate and cool things with reused records, especially here in Boise, but this is an easy, make-it-yourself gift for all ages.

AMY & REE: Maple Pecan Scones (week 1)

2010-01-09T14:53:00.004-07:00

For those of you with The Pioneer Woman's new cookbook in hand, you'll notice right off that I am not going straight through, making each recipe as listed. Oh no, I'm hand picking the one I want to make/eat each week, and for some reason these Maple Pecan Scones appealed to me. Um, could it be that I didn't learn my lesson when the scale shouted "YOU'VE GAINED GAINED FIVE POUNDS OVER THE HOLIDAYS, LADY!"? I guess my sweet tooth was shocked into overdrive or something, because I decided to make the sweetest, butteriest, melt-in-your-mouth scones ever as my first shot with my new cookbook and my new New Year's Resolution.

It was a challenge for me, though, as this was my first time making scones (I told you, I'm an amateur chef). First off, I don't own a pastry cutter and decided that I should invest in one after trying to use a metal spatula to chop the cold butter into the flour mixture. I should probably also check to make sure I have all ingredients on hand before starting a recipe, but that's not how I roll. Some things slip my mind, like how we'd used all the eggs in the house for breakfast that morning instead. So, I sent Eric on a grocery emergency to pick some up while I chopped and chopped incessantly with that damned metal spatula. Once the egg was mixed in, the dough was crumbly, which PW said it would be. However, I couldn't even get the stuff to stick together long enough to roll it out with my rolling pin. Finally, however, after making several small dough balls and mashing them quickly together I was able to create a sort-of shape that I could cut the large triangular scones from. It turned out that this didn't matter, because they baked to perfect, golden perfection and the amazing maple frosting sauce that I literally smothered them with (see above photo) was too die for. My girlfriend, Kate, and I had one with tea that afternoon and oohed and ahhed. I had to take some to my neighbors so I wouldn't eat the whole pan, they are that good. Next time, though, I think I'll cut them slightly smaller because they turn out to be really rich (could be the 1/2 lb. of butter, no?).

AMY & REE: A New Year, a New Cookbook

2010-01-07T20:05:00.006-07:00

So, I mentioned in a previous foodie post that I loved the movie Julie & Julia. I also enjoyed the original blog, "The Julie/Julia Project" written by writer and food lover Julie Powell, where she documents a year of her life cooking her way through Julia Child's classic, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, making all 536 recipes in 365 days. I was inspired by Powell's ambition and her contentment in the kitchen. I'm also a bit obsessive and love the challenge of committing to doing something for an entire year. With The Compact complete, I need something new to set my mind to. I have a slew of other traditional New Years Resolutions which are all serious, not that fun, and not likely to last, so I was looking for something intriguing and interesting. Like Powell, I love to cook, but I'm not nearly as adept in the culinary realm as she is so there was no way in hell I was taking on Julia Child.

I am, however, a huge fan of Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, and have been a fan of her cooking website for several years now. I've made a good many of her recipes in the past and they never fail me, like her sinful Apple Dumplings and her yummy Simple Sesame Noodles. So when she announced her first cookbook was due out this fall, I immediately put it on my Christmas list. And guess what I found under the tree on December 25th?

Damn straight. I was thrilled! And then I thought, wait, Ree is right up my alley. Accessible, down-home cookin' with great pictorial step-by-step directions. Her ingredients are easy to find and don't break the bank. She didn't go to culinary school, she makes a big mess, and feeds her family with love. It doesn't hurt that she's funny, quirky, and a great writer, either. As I read the book cover to cover, I began my plan of attack. Her cookbook contains around 60 recipes, which is perfectly doable in a year. This means I have to make about one a week, which is all I can commit to, considering the chaos that is my life with toddlers as a new SAHM.

In the beginning of the book, she also offers up some "must haves" in her kitchen for us amateur chefs, which included both a cast iron skillet and a dutch oven. I have now excitedly purchased these lovelies in red and am getting used to using them. They are wonderful to cook with, and I can't believe we have lived without them. I can't wait to expand my culinary arsenal and push myself in the kitchen in new ways. So stay tuned, as I'm inviting you all along on this delicious journey with a new weekly column called "AMY & REE." You'll get tales of my attempt to become a better person, or at least a better cook, in 2010. It should be full of follies, treats, laughs, and, undoubtedly, a few extra pounds.

Mission Complete: The Compact 2009

2010-01-02T09:26:00.010-07:00

Last May I wrote a post on this blog about our family's 2009 New Year's Resolution to live The Compact for an entire year. For those of you who are new readers, you can click on the link above to read more about The Compact but, in a nutshell, it's a philosophy and a lifestyle that combats our increasingly consumerist culture, the one that got us into this nasty recession in the first place. Basically, there is one basic tenant: buy nothing new for an entire year, with the exception of food, medicine, underwear and the like. You must borrow, barter, or get everything used, as a means of reusing, recycling and reserving resources. When purchasing services, The Compact suggests supporting local businesses. Admittedly, I am extremely thrifty and have a keen eye at flea markets, so this concept appealed to that part of my personality. We were already avid recyclers, so that part of The Compact seemed easy enough, too. I had to talk my husband, Eric, into it, as he was a little leery about living an ENTIRE YEAR without purchasing power. As it turned out, a few months into 2009 I was laid off from my job, in which we lost nearly half of our income. At this point, The Compact took on an important role in our financial health, as frugality became key to our survival. All in all, I've never had a New Year's Resolution be SO MUCH FUN. What could've been seen as a struggle or a setback turned out to be so much more refreshing and rewarding than we thought imaginable. Here are a few highlights:

Making new things out of old items really fueled our creative juices. I sewed clothing and library book bags. The girls really got into making objects for their friends' birthdays. We made Christmas gift tags out of old greeting cards and gift containers from old yogurt tubs.

We also began eating at home more and took pleasure in making our meals from scratch with our own hands. The library offered a great resource, as we explored different cookbooks, especially for foodies on a tight budget. Our friends offered their talents as well, sharing their knowledge on canning and gifting us fresh produce from their summer gardens.

As I mentioned earlier, thrifting is a pastime I was already passionate about, but The Compact took it to a whole new level. Before, I would go to garage sales or thrift shops for fun to see what I could find, but this past year I learned how difficult, yet exciting, it is to search for specific objects. Like white Little League baseball pants. Or large flower pots. I also learned to really utilize other local resources, from online forums like craigslist , Ada County Freecycle and the Boise Barter group on Facebook, to local shops that specialize in gently used gear like Play It Again Sports and Kid to Kid.

Our family has always explored fun, free family-friendly activities in our community, but with my new non-paying gig as a stay-at-home-mom, this was imperative. Not only for my mental health, but for our financial health as well. Lucky for all of us, the Treasure Valley offers a plethora of cheap activities to do, especially outdoors. We spent most of our summer exploring the local parks and watering holes with our bright blue picnic basket in tow. The cooler months have offered much of the same, but we've traded our picnic basket for sleds and thermoses.

I'd be remiss, however, if I didn't acknowledge the difficulties we encountered via The Compact. It was a little hard to find quality used adult shoes when Eric or I needed them. We found out the hard way that not everyone appreciates thrifted or handmade gifts for their birthdays or Christmas, which just goes to show how consumer oriented our society has become. I don't mean to be preachy, but it would better us all, and our Earth, to take at least one or two of The Compact's notions to heart. Even something simple like support our local businesses and get a delicious, thick handmade lasagna at Cucina di Paolo instead of The Olive Garden next time you're craving Italian. Or wrap your holiday gifts next year in newspaper and top with these cute creative bows rather than spending a fortune on shiny giftwrap at Walmart. Little steps go a long way in taking care of our environment, our economy, and ourselves. After reflecting on this past year I can't believe how fulfilled we are with less and what a great journey it's been. And like all good and successful New Year's Resolutions, The Compact has become such an ingrained and important part of our daily lives that we aren't giving it up at all. That's not to say I might not succumb to the occasional sale on tank tops at Old Navy or the McDonald's Happy Meal with the new Alvin & The Chipmunks toy that Lucy keeps begging for. We're all human (and young American parents) after all. But the important part is that we are making informed, conscious decisions that we feel, in a small way, will help make us, and our world, a better place.

p.s. We did not buy that little black taxidermied bear at the garage sale pictured above, although Alice would've been thrilled if it lived in her bedroom. And after reading this hilarious post, I wish I'd had $500 to fork over for it.

THRIFTY: Christmas Decorating on the Cheap (and one expensive one)

2009-12-17T08:34:00.005-07:00

My two favorite holidays are Christmas and Halloween, and I love decorating for both equally. Especially over the past five years since we've had the girls in our lives, it's become increasingly fun and important to create a festive home for the holidays. As a young family, we are still adding to our arsenal of tchotkes, especially since someone has a lot of fun doing it and is a compulsive thrift shopper. (Ahhem.) Anyhow, I try to be selective about what we collect for the holidays, and I tend to focus on vintage and handmade items. And let me tell you, right now the thrift shops are ripe with goodies.

I just scored this handmade plush JOY sign from a new little local treasure of a thrift shop I just discovered. It was 50cents and is a a perfect, whimsical addition to my girls' room.

I got this pink and red tinsel tree at a yard sale for a couple of bucks in Minneapolis years ago. The vintage tree topper was a recent score for, again, 50 cents. The color combos match perfectly, and pink is one of my favorite colors ever. It sits atop our guest bathroom counter.

Since Lucy is in kindergarten this year, her craft and art making skills have not only improved but have become something she really enjoys. We find it important to showcase her work around the house. One cold, gray afternoon she and I made paper snowflakes adorned with lots of glitter, of course, which we both love. We strung them on yarn and hung them in the dining room window. She loves seeing them when we drive up from outside and the glitter shimmers in the sun when it's shining.

Instead of purchasing a door swag or wreath this year I made my own from tree trimmings, a recycled wire bow and some pine cones I found. It turned out cute and is way cheaper than spending $15-$25 on one at the grocery store.

Some of our holiday decorations have come in the form of gifts. My stepmom got me a set of these light up twigs after I was admiring hers. I found the large glass base at a thrift store and pulled the other twigs and rocks from my yard. The glitter leaves are from the dollar store and the cute beaded initial ornaments were this year's gift from my fabulously crafty sister-in-law Crystal. It's hard to tell from this photo, but it is a really cute and fun little display on our bookshelf in the living room.

But this has got to be the piece de resistance of my Christmas decorations: behold Elvis Presley's Graceland. All decked out for the holidays just like Elvis did it back in the day. I am a huge fan of The King, so much so that we spent our honeymoon in Memphis. And it just so happened that the year we got married and visited Graceland for the first time, in 2000, was also the year that Department 56 released this limited edition beauty. My new mother-in-law, a Department 56 junkie, found out and bought it for us as a wedding gift. And as you can see, it wasn't cheap. The house lights up, and with the pink Cadillac in the drive, you can almost feel that Elvis is in there shootin' up a TV while his Mama is in the kitchen fryin' up a peanut and banana sandwich for her boy. And sweet Priscilla is probably swiggin' on her secret bottle of brandy while applying her black cat eye makeup in the bathroom. The tree lights blink and the "Merry Christmas to All, Elvis" sign strung between two trees is an authentic little replica of the original.

So, I love me some Christmas decor and the cheaper and kitschier, the better. And if I ever become one of those people who install the flag post on the outside of their house, you can bet this will be added to my arsenal that year.