Fried Rice, the healthy way

I received a package in the mail the other day. I was delightfully surprised that my good friends Tiffany and Justin, all the way in DC, mailed us a cookbook! It is called The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook: Vegetarian Recipes Carnivores will Devour by Kim O'Donnel.

I was complaining to Tiffany that I needed some more protein in my diet, being a vegetarian, and how many eggs can a person eat! I was delighted to receive this little nugget of inspiration that is filled many protein packed meals.

We are going to try a handful of recipes in the next few weeks, but I really liked the Veggie Fried Rice Bowl. And it's super simple. First you heat up wok with vegetable oil and sesame oil and fry a scrambled egg in it. Then you remove the egg and cut it up for later. Then you add some great veggies like carrots, peppers, a leak, and some bok choy, or probably whatever you want.  And don't forget cold rice! That's the secret. We actually had cooked brown rice a few days before just for this meal and it turned out perfect.

We added some fried tofu for some extra protein umph.

We mixed everything together.

And fed it to a hungry Amy!

It was muy excelente!

Crafty Things, Baby Style

In the last year a lot of babies have come into my life. Friends and family have definitely given me oodles of ooh-and-ahh moments...and I just had to give back. I made some of these awesome gifts for these babies in my life and they are too cute not to share.


I found this great fabric cube pattern here. They don't really have a blocky look so much as a rounded cube, but they are still fun and make fantastic juggling balls! I tried to play around with the textures, colors and sounds. In addition to each side being a different fabric, in one cube I put a bell and in another I made a crinkly side. I think they also taste delicious because I'm pretty sure the first place these things went was in the mouth!

It's never too early to learn that everything has its place and every place has its thing! These fabric buckets, made from some soft flannel and an old pair of jeans, is a soft and safe place to store anything, including fabric cubes! I found the pattern here, but made it much bigger. The circumference is about 12 inches I think. It can also be used as a hiding spot for small children and cats!

And for the little niece in my life, how can you pass up a cute little pink dress? I can't! When I saw this onesie dress, I  knew I had to make it. I didn't really know what I was doing, but it turned out lovely. I also made it pretty big, since babies grow fast, but also because I thought it would be a cute spring dress and I made it in the winter. Not pictured is the cute bloomers made from the bottom of the onesie I cut off. 

I love crafting, but baby crafting is way more fun! I think its because everything is cuter when it's mini-sized. So what will be next?

Molded Crayons 

Party Turtles

Stick Horse

Pumpkin Hat

The possibilities are endless! 

Where to Begin?

Its been a year since I've last updated? Where do I start?

We bought a house! It's a funky little house, but we like it.

It has great views, which we love. I'm so glad we can see the mountains and the sunset. This photo was obviously taken in the Spring. Right now we have a few feet of snow!

We've adopted a dog, Allie (she is my brothers and we have her while he is in the army).

She's pretty cute.

I became and Aunt! My brother Travis is now the proud father of a little girl named Anne.

She's a cutie and I can't wait to watch her grow up.

Andy and I took a trip this Fall to the beach to watch Justin and Tiffany get married. Beautiful all around. Congrats you two!

So that's a quick year in review! Hope to be more current as time goes on.