Daycare Gift

Have I mentioned that we love Deacon's daycare??

They are always so friendly and really seem happy to see Deacon each morning. Even his therapists have commented in his weekly paperwork: "Teacher has been working a lot with Deacon and making sure he has extra help to participate with class. She reports that she is already seeing him show more understanding in general!" She also mentioned that she witnessed Deacon walk up to his teacher her and give her a hug!! (This is not a normal thing for Deacon who loves to snuggle, but doesn't typically initiate the contact!)

We wanted to do a little something to show all of the staff how appreciative we are for their kindness. I thought of this in the middle of the night last week when I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep! (One of the only crafty ideas I haven't "borrowed" from the internet)

We baked homemade bread (recipe here), printed a card created on picnik, and purchased some nutella spread to go in a dollar store basket.

Pinterest Addiction

I love being crafty and creative...the problem is I lack the creative gene. Luckily, I'm really great at searching the internet and stealing other peoples ideas and putting them together to make something that works for me. My favorites bar is overflowing with bookmarks for all kinds of discoveries I have found, but the downside is when I get a new computer or mine crashes all those wonderful sites disappear.


Pinterest.com is the greatest solution to that problem, but also rocks in so many other ways!! It is basically a website that lets you categorize and "pin" all of your favorites to a "board", along with an image and description to go with the link. What is even greater is that you can do a search on the website and it will bring back only items that other people thought were cool enough to pin to their board, giving you the best stuff on the internet! (And you can follow people who have similar tastes as you, so when they find new stuff it lets you know)



Saying I'm addicted is kind of an understatement. I have stayed up past 2am every night for the past 3 days and already have 213 links pinned...but what is the fun in having these genius ideas if I don't share a few?? Here are some of my favorite finds so far, along with their links.

Sugar Cookie Bowls

would be adorable to serve fruit, pudding, or ice cream in

Glow Stick Lanterns

cut open a glow stick and pour contents into jar; would be so cool for Halloween or evening party

Cupcake Carrier
cut "x" into the bottom of clothing gift boxes


Sifted Flour Grass Decorating
Carson would LOVE this, can work on sidewalk too

Stair Storage
I don't even have stairs, but if we ever get a house with them I want this!

Pom-Pom DIY
These would be gorgeous for a party or shower



Valentine Exchange Idea
"You Rock" printable to attach to Pop Rocks candy

The website says you they will put you on a waiting list when registering. Being impatient, I googled and found this link that lets you join without having to wait. By the way, it's free. :)

If you want to follow me click here:
(If you are my personal friend/family, please don't look under "gifts" b/c you might find future presents to you! I wish there was a way to make categories not public...)

Homemade Friendship Bread

I love summer because it gives me a chance to feel domestic; our house stays cleaner (well, less messy) and I get a chance to work on my cooking/baking skills.

Have I mentioned that Brian makes the majority of our meals?? It's not that I can't cook, it's just that I am one of those people who need to follow a recipe. Who has time to look up recipes and then make a shopping list so that all items are purchased for it?? Brian is one of those people who can look in our pantry and "throw" something together that tastes fabulous. I am SURE my creation would end up in the trash and we would order out.

Anyways, here is something even I can make:



Homemade bread sounds labor intensive and somewhat intimidating, but it really isn't and I promise it tastes a MILLION times better than store bought for a fraction of the price. Even better, it is great to share with friends because each batch makes three loaves of bread!

Since I knew I would be giving some bread to friends I went ahead and used my picniking skills to make a recipe card to attach to the bread along with a jar of starter so they can make their own too (this would make such a great hostess gift to bring to a party in lieu of wine and such). You should be able to click this image and save it as a jpg, then you can upload to any photo place. I printed 50 copies of 4x6 (true fit: 4 x 5.3) from Walgreens for like $6.

A friend gave me a loaf of bread and starter a few years back. We had loved it and made it quite a few times. I lost the recipe card, but remembered it was called "friendship bread" and used instant mashed potato flakes. After searching the internet I found the recipe here. It is a little wordy, and in my opinion slightly confusing, which is why I re-wrote parts for the recipe card.

The only thing the recipe card is missing is the starter, which you only make the very first time. I bought mason jars to store the starter in, just be sure to punch a hole in the top of the lid or it will explode from the yeast! (My mom learned this the hard way driving home with a sealed starter. It exploded while she was driving making her think a gun had gone off and leaving her car smelling like beer...)

Starter Directions-
(again, you only make this the very first time or to give as a gift)

•1 cup warm water
•1/2 cup sugar
•1 package (2-1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast
•3 level Tablespoons instant mashed potato flakes

1) Combine ingredients
2) Let ferment on counter for 2 days
3) Start step 1 from recipe card

The only mistake I could see you making in the recipe is to buy the wrong type of flour, so I've included a picture:Here are the results: