24 Olive Street

Oh What Fun Daily Dairy Kit // Noel Mignon

I can't believe we're nearing the end of 2016! And despite the fact that I have many, MANY unfinished crafty projects that I've resolved to finish I'm ready to see what 2017 has in store! But before heading into the new year I wanted to share my December projects using the Oh What Fun Daily Diary Kit from Noel Mignon. This kit was full of so many adorable holiday cards and embellishments and I had a lot of fun creating my pages.

In addition to the pocket pages that I created with this kit, I also updated my Christmas recipe album I created 2 yrs ago (see more about that here). Every year I add a few new recipes and old favorites that I come across. I don't decorate every single recipe card in this album, some are just printed recipes that I slip into a pocket. My favorites get a little more attention :)

I also like to add a photo here and there like the one from Christmas Eve with Santa's cookies on our new grinch plate and Santa bottle. The photos break up the book a little bit and add a bit more interest. You can see more on the Noel Mignon blog here.

If you have a few holiday projects that need finishing there are still 2 of these kits left!

Now bring on 2017!!!

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November Sweet Stamp Shop Release!!

It's time for the November stamp release from Sweet Stamp Shop!!! And oh how these stamps are so cute!!! There are 6 new stamps sets including 3 more planner sets (yay!!).

Here are some fun recipe cards I whipped up for the release. It's so much more fun to have cute recipe cards when cooking your favorite foods, don't ya think?!

I've been working on getting some of my favorite & well used recipes into a book instead of having the printouts from various websites in a pile in my kitchen cabinet. These stamps made it super fun and easy to make cute cards!

To check out all of the other design team inspiration along with all of the great stamps, be sure to head over the the Sweet Stamp Shop blog!!!

5:30am

Holy crap, that's early!

That's what time we have to get up to get my daughter to school for morning volleyball practices. Actually, it's more like somewhere between 5:15-5:30am.

It's not every day but a few times a week is more than enough to make my desire to quit Coke go on the back burner...at least a little. Need my caffeine!!! Try and try again, right??

I got back from Fancy Fall Fest Saturday night. It was a great show, met some great people, including a few people I'd met at previous shows...love that! Shows are always fun and exhausting.

My boy came with me to help :) As he gets older I'm finding he's a great help to me at these shows, especially the ones that are further away where my hubby can't help (cause he's home with the little one).

I picked up this adorable necklace for Addie from SKA Designs. Addie loved it! She wore it to church the next day and said it was her amulet so she could talk to animals. Oh my the cuteness :)

We even had a rainbow at the end of the show :)

We still haven't carved our pumpkins so today will be the day! We've had cold & rainy weather but today it's someone nice & clear. And since my daughter doesn't have an afternoon practice we're going to get to it right after school so we can have all that mess out on the back porch and not in my kitchen!

The kids actually got 2 pumpkins each (we all did)...one to carve and a smaller one to paint. I thought that'd be a fun thing to do this year!

Raindrops on leaves = pretty neat

I've been working on getting all of these apples cooked & canned. The first batch was apple butter cooked in the crockpot overnight, then blended with my immersion blender & canned. The aroma from apple butter cooked in the crock pot all night = heavenly!

Tonight I'll do a batch of applesauce. I still have some apples in the freezer bagged for apple pie so I probably won't do much of that.

I also just picked up my Zaycon order. If you don't know about Zaycon you can head to their website. I've only ordered chicken because most other foods I buy organic. But if you're interested I'll be doing a blog post probably next week about how I "process" 40lbs of chicken for freezer meals.

Oh, and I have a bunch of tomatoes that are about to go bad if I don't make a batch of salsa and soon!!

I'm not sure why I always do this to myself. I do it with flowers & gardening, too. I have all of these lofty plans of what I want to do without realizing just how busy my week is!!

By the way, subscriptions for Noel Mignon kits are open for Jan-June and if you sign up by Friday you get free gift(s) with your sub! You can head here to check it out! I've been receiving her kits for years and they are, by far, the best value for the money that you'll find out there. Plus, they're just awesome :)

I'm working on some fun layouts with the Early Autumn kit that I'll be sharing tomorrow!

salsa

Note: Be sure to check out my giveway post here to see if you were the winner!

A few years ago I started canning for the first time. And I have to say I'm hooked! Now don't get me wrong, I don't can a ton of things. I'm still learning and trying to expand my garden every year.

And this year, quite honestly, my garden was pretty lame. Going to Disneyland in June kind of set me up for failure when it came to my garden (and really my whole yard) because I didn't get things planted in time. I only planted some tomato plants and cabbage. And out of 5 cabbage plants I planted only one survived thanks to some pesky pests.

I did plant some pumpkin plants but only one pumpkin is growing :( So next year I will probably have to try and pollinate them myself since the bees didn't do their job this year. I noticed within the last week that I might have more pumpkins starting to grow but they won't have enough growing time between now and Halloween. Although, I might have some green pumpkins for my fall table :)

It's all a learning process for sure. But my little one loves helping me in the garden which makes it so much more fun!

Every year the one thing I always plant is tomatoes. They're easy to grow and you can do so much with them. Although this year mine didn't fare so well and I'm wondering if switching planting beds was what made the difference.

I don't usually make spaghetti sauce since it takes a ton of tomatoes for even one quart sized jar of sauce. And quite honestly, the time it takes just isn't worth it to me. But the one thing I love to make is salsa. It's pretty easy to make and my whole family loves it. Seriously, when I start making it we go through several jars! And my kids love to take it in their lunches. So I like to can a lot of it to last us til the next year's salsa making.

I love to use this salsa mix. You can find it at just about any store that sells canning supplies. When I first started making salsa I found tons of recipes online but I worried about getting the wrong balance of spices. But this one is perfect. If you're not a canner you can still make it and either freeze it or just eat a lot of salsa! hehe It makes six pint sized jars out of about 6lbs of tomatoes.

After I've cooked the salsa I like to use my immersion blender just before adding to the jars. We like our salsa a bit more on the "saucy" side & less chunky.

Btw, these immersion blenders are great for soups, too!

Then just process according to the package directions!

I also got to finally use my blue canning jars. I've been hoarding these cause they're so cute! You can barely tell they're blue but I like how it makes the salsa look like a deep red color.

You can see the difference in the regular jar vs the blue one. Well, I have another batch of salsa to make! Cause those 11 jars that we have left will not last us til next year!

2.14

I was very busy yesterday preparing some special Valentine's Day treats for my hubby & kiddos. We don't go over the top at Valentine's Day...maybe because we just got done with Christmas and 2 of my kids' birthdays. By the time February 14th rolls around I'm a bit worn out with all the planning from the last few months!

I've been a slacker the last few years with the festive decor but I do still like to do a few special things for them.

So here's a few of the treats I made for this special day :)

All recipe links at the end of the post.

I made these heart soft pretzels for my kids' lunch today & paired it with a little but of hummus for dipping (keeping it a little healthy on this candy filled day!). I was a little nervous cause the dough wasn't very stretchy so I thought I did something wrong. But when they came out of the oven they were sooooo good!

I only used all-purpose flour...wasn't even going to mess with whole wheat flour. Maybe next time I'll try half and half to see how it turns out...now that I know how a 'normal' batch tastes. I also used my Kitchenaid mixer to knead the dough instead of doing it by hand.

I baked at 400 for 7 minutes and then turned it up to broil for the last 3. That seemed to be the magic numbers for my oven...just be careful cause they can burn fast when you turn on the broiler. I set my smoke alarms off but thankfully didn't burn them!

I also brushed with melted butter when they came out of the oven. Mmmmm. Just an FYI - once they've cooled the butter gets a little mushy so I would only brush on the butter of the ones that you're eating right away & leave the other ones plain.

These cookies are the traditional peanut butter kiss cookies that a lot of us grew up with (and one of my absolute faves!). Just switch out the kiss for a Dove heart!

Since I couldn't find my recipe (or the 2 that I had from my cookie swap last December) I just hit up Pinterest to find one that was similar. Clearly this shows my recipes are in serious need of some reorganizing!!

Pretzel hugs are a favorite and super easy. We've been doing these for years. If you're not trying to surprise your kids like I was it's fun to have them help out :) Seriously, unwrapping all those hugs is a pain!

Now, I will tell you, my pretzel hugs look a little weird. They should flatten more when you put the m&m's on them but I think my oven was still too warm from making the pretzels that the chocolate didn't melt right (or maybe cooked a little). I thought I had left enough time for it too cool off but oh well. They're still yummy :)

Rice Krispie treats are a pretty standard and easy treat to make. But putting holiday sprinkles makes it fun! My kids got one of these in their lunch...and I sent a few in with my hubby along with a heart pretzel :) I also tried a different recipe using marshmallow fluff and I really liked it much better. The taste wasn't dramatically different but I noticed my pan wasn't as sticky and it was easier to smooth them into my baking dish. So I'll probably make them this way from now on.

Btw, is there a difference between marshmallow creme and marshmallow fluff?? Cause if there is I made them wrong! The recipe called for 'creme' but all I had on hand was the 'fluff' and I couldn't find the other stuff in the store.

Still good :)

I haven't figured out what we're doing for dinner tonight yet. Heart shaped pizzas would be fun but we already had pizza this week and the kids also had pita pizzas one day for lunch. I'm thinking of making it a fondue night. I know the kids would dig it!! So I'll be searching Pinterest today for recipes and we'll be running out after the big kids get home from school to get all the fixin'

This one looks yummy. And this. Trying to stay away from the recipes with white wine...not a favorite of the kids.

We kept it simple for Valentine's this year. Once my son saw these Minecraft Valentine's he immediately wanted them.

My daughter only did a couple since this year her class "wasn't allowed" to pass them out in class. Don't even get me started. So she just made up a few to give to her close friends. {sigh} She used the girly version of the Minecraft Valentine's.

I hope you all have a wonderful day spending it with special people :)

For any other last minute Valentines ideas you can check out my Pinterest board here.

Recipe links:

Heart pretzels - Recipe, Pin it

Pretzel Hugs - Recipe

Rice Krispie treats - Recipe, Pin it

Dove Heart cookies - Recipe, Pin it

Halloween mini in progress...and some applesauce

Before we get into the holidays & I start working on my December Daily I really wanted to complete a project that's been on my scrappy to do list for quite a while now.

And thanks to Project Life I was able to pull this one together pretty quick.

It's not finished...yet. But at least I have photos and journaling cards in the album and I just need to find a couple more pictures that were from the pre-digital age.

I'm using the Project Life mini album in Midnight (purchased on Amazon) along with the Halloween mini kit (purchased at Hobby Lobby). After filling in 12 yrs worth of Halloween pics I discovered I probably should have bought 2 mini kits...so I'll be running back to Hobby Lobby this week to get that!

I just need to fill in some journaling and maybe some simple embellishments & this album will be done. It's already been really fun for us to look through the years of Halloween costumes!

And once that's finished (hopefully this weekend!) I'll share some more pics!

And one of the reasons why I haven't been blogging much in the last week...

Canning up lots and lots and lots of apples! I made up jars and jars of homemade applesauce and apple butter. Along with that I also made up 4 bags of apple pie and 4 bags of apple cobbler for the freezer. Now all I need to do is make up some pie crusts for the freezer and I'll be all set for Thanksgiving!

If you've ever canned or peeled a lot of apples & used one of the corer/slicer do-dads (a must have for sure!) then you know how you end up with those looooong noodle like slices of apple skin. Well, we had a little fun with the dogs...

What a nut! He slurped that thing up like it was spaghetti!! haha

Well, you know, as much as a dog can 'slurp'!

pumpkin cookies & other stuff

I love pumpkin.

I use it all year long.

Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins are a staple in this house :)

But when fall rolls around...the pumpkin recipes definitely increase!

I found this recipe (on Pinterest of course!).

Pumpkin sugar cookes? Yes please!

They definitely delivered. The only thing I would change next time is to cream the butter before adding the other ingredients. I also used milk instead of water for the frosting (why water??).

Oh, and don't forget to flatten the cookies before baking. I may or may not have done that to one batch & they definitely don't look the same since they don't spread while baking. Kinda looked funny!

This has been a very stressful 10 days. I have been sick since Sunday and my husband is one of the federal employees who is not getting paycheck until this shutdown is over. The media talks a lot about the people who were sent home but funny how none of them mention all of the people are still going to work everyday with no paycheck.

No sick time. No vacation. No unemployment check. No benefits that have already been earned. Nothing til this is over.

I'm angry. I'm disgusted at how the current administration has been using bully tactics to make the American people 'hurt' in order to get their way. No matter what side of the fence you are are, clearly this is wrong. This affect everyone, whether in the pocketbook or not. It goes much deeper.

I usually steer clear of politics on my blog but this is the everyday I'm dealing with right now. The 'good' part of this is that it will end. Eventually. It's just a matter of wading through the crap til it does. We're certainly not the first family to have to deal with this and we won't be the last.

As a side note, I'm busy getting pictures together to go to a retreat this weekend hosted by Forget Me Not. Had I known all this crap with the govt was going to happen I would not be going. But since it's already paid for I'm going to make the best of it and enjoy some (hopefully) new friendships (since I'm going by myself & only know 1 or 2 people that will be there).

And I need a break :)

fall cooking

The fall weather is here & I am loving it. Fall is my absolute favorite season of the year!

We quickly went from this:

To this:

Lots of bundling up for practices & games!

Cold & windy (& sometimes rainy) weather which is proving difficult for me to get any furniture painted. I'm trying to figure out a good way to set up my garage so that I can get some stuff done!

And with the fall weather comes some of my favorite cooking...soups, stews, roasts, good 'ol fashioned stick to your ribs good food :)

Last night I made tomato tortellini soup (recipe here). Oh man, so good. Everyone in my family loved it. The kids asked if they could take it to school for their lunches this morning, that's how good it was!

It was simple, served with some french bread & my son had something warm in his tummy before heading off to baseball practice.

I couldn't find any sun dried tomato paste so I just used the regular stuff & it turned out just fine. Next time I want to try making it with the tomatoes from my garden & see how that goes. Usually when I try a new recipe I don't 'tweak' it til I've made it once & see how the original goes (unless it's in desperate need of immediate tweaking. ha!). Then I decide what I want to try different the next time.

And here's a time saving tip: Whenever I make soups like this I always make a double batch so I can freeze half of it for later. I figure, why not make more if I'm already dirtying the dishes for one batch! That way I can use the leftovers for a future dinner or even for the kids' lunches.

I love these Ball freezer containers that I picked up in the canning section (you could also buy them online). They're perfect for soups, sauces, etc. I just pour the soup in the container & let it cool to almost room temp, then put the lid on, label it & stick it in the freezer (don't put food in the freezer hot). When I'm ready to use it I put the container in the fridge the day before to thaw (or if I'm needing it last minute I'll defrost in the microwave for a couple minutes).

Side note: I froze the soup without the tortellini. I figure it tastes good on it's own & if I decide to add some to the soup when I reheat it I can easily add it then.

And tonight, since we have soccer practice right smack in the middle of dinner prep time, I'll have the crock pots going. One will have chicken ranch tacos (another favorite in this house!) and the other willl have refried beans. And I'm going to try making some whole wheat tortillas.

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go have some leftover soup for lunch :)

So what's on your menu for dinner tonight??

Updated: The crock pot refried beans and whole wheat tortillas turned out great! I didn't have all of the extra ingredients for the refried beans (jalapeno pepper, cumin, etc) so I just made it with 2 big cloves of garlic, salt, pepper, beans & water. I didn't have 8hrs or overnight so I cooked them on high for about 6 or 7 hrs and they were perfect. They were so good and I couldn't believe how easy it was to make. I even enlisted the help of my oldest daughter who was happy to mash them for me while I was making the tortillas :) And just like I did with the soup, I threw some in a freezer jar for later.

As for the whole wheat tortillas, I was shocked at how easy these were to make as well. I was a little skeptical at first cause I don't like whole wheat pasta or rice (just too chewy). But these were really good! Even my kids gobbled 'em up! Next time I'm gonna tinker with adding some spices for added flavor.

The best part about making both of these is that you know exactly what's going into them...no yucky chemicals or added junk that you don't need to be eating int he first place. And I haven't done the cost breakdown but I know for sure the beans are cheaper homemade for sure.

Happy cooking everyone!

reality

Fall finally making its appearance with some cooler temps this week...of course, not before I got sunburnt on Saturday from being outside at games all day!

Trying to keep on top of things while my Crohn's is rearing it's ugly head & giving me a lot of pain (hence the lack of blog posts!)

Getting some fall goodies in the shop...more coming soon :)

Lots & lots of baseball practices & games, soccer practices & games. Addie's 1st bee sting. Those suckers are out of control this year!

Took my oldest to her first 'scary' movie at the theater...Insidious Chapter 2. Good movie (if you like that kind of movie, which I do!). Lots of plot twists.

A huge windstorm kicked up some crazy dust and the inside of my house had a layer of dirt on everything (see the photo of my son's desk). It felt like we were doing construction or remodeling. It was crazy. And my poor corn in my garden took a beating...not sure if half of it will survive or not. I think they still have a couple weeks til they're ready. We'll see...

Getting used to being in the school routine, packing lunches & looking for fun/different/alternative options for the kids (pasta was a hit), planning out weekly dinner menus, getting my freezer stocked back up so mornings aren't too chaotic & some dinners a premade for sports days.

Dirty dishes in the sink all the time. Seriously, I can't keep up!

I made these pumpkin cinnamon rolls (click here if you want to pin it) last night for this morning's breakfast (cause I was not about to get up at 5am to make them!).

They were so good!!! And surprisingly easy to make. I've always stayed away from recipes with yeast cause it kind of scared me but I've been more adventurous lately.

The recipe is a little vague in parts (like how much flour to add, how long to knead, how long to bake, etc). So here's my little tips:

Adding this for my friend Carol :) When she says add the yeast to the warm water til it 'gets happy'...basically it's til the yeast dissolves & looks like what I would call a runny paste. You'll know it. I just remember learning years ago that if the water is too cold your yeast won't 'react' and if it's too hot you'll kill it. And, of course, if you already know this then you'll think my tips are silly and won't need to read them anyway :) haha

I think I added too much flour because my dough wasn't as stretchy as I think it should have been. I think next time I'll only add about 3 cups total to the dough.

I used my mixer to knead the dough & it worked just fine. I just switched out beaters when the dough started getting thick.

The dough is really easy to work with, no flour needed when rolling it out.

Baking for 20 min was long enough.

When making the frosting I used 3 cups of sugar and alternated that with the milk (instead of adding the milk last).

Try them!!! They're really good!!!

rainbow cake

Well, we did it!

We made a rainbow cake. And to be honest, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

I enlisted my helpers to help mix all of the colors.

I used disposable pans but didn't realize til they were baked that they had a scalloped edge which made it a little more difficult to frost. No biggie. This wasn't for a party or special occasion...just for fun :)

I went easy & used two white cake mixes. For the frosting I went with my favorite from the best chocolate cake ever recipe.

Couple tips:

Make sure the cake is cooled completely before trying to frost it. My yellow layer started to fall apart because I didn't realize that layer wasn't totally cooled. We may have been a wee bit impatient. Didn't matter though...two pieces fell off & I still managed to piece it back together & it stayed in there under the other layers just fine (even when cutting it).

Chill the cake for a few hours before cutting if you want the layers to look all pretty when you cut it. And be sure to clean the knife between each cut. We were dying to cut into it so we only held out for an hour :) Again, we didn't make this for a party so it didn't matter.

I think it'd be really fun to do this in Halloween or Christmas colors!

I have a few ideas pinned on my Cakes & Cupcakes, Halloween & Christmas boards. You can head over to Pinterest to check it out!

Although, I will confess that as pretty as it looks it's still not as good as the best ever chocolate cake. Then again, is anything better than chocolate??