Favorite Antique Store Finds

Here are three of my favorite antique store finds from over the years.

Blue Pyrex Amish Bowl

Glass Yellow Ombre Elephant

Patterned Wooden Duck

Self Portrait Sunday

City Biking Truth #18

Soft (and delicious!) Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I've been craving cookies recently but unfortunately do not have chocolate chips in stock! In the depths of my despair I stumbled upon a recipe that 1) looked tasty and 2) I actually had all of the ingredients on hand. Even better...they are delicious. Seriously delicious.

 
You need:

1 cup (plus maybe an additional 2TB) creamy peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 TB vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda

And do this:

Mix together peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla. Add in cocoa powder and baking soda. If your dough is really crumbly still, add in increments of the additional 2TB of peanut butter until the consistency is better.

Refrigerate dough for 2 hours before baking (ok, ok, I only did one hour...) Once cold, roll dough into balls and slightly flatten onto a greased baking sheet. Use a fork to make imprints on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 7-10 minutes. Leave on pan for about ten minutes then transfer to a rack.

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Felt Superhero Masks (Round 3)

The little guy I nanny had a birthday yesterday so I made a couple more superhero masks to add to his collection. I've made a total of seven superhero masks now and I am feeling like a bit of a professional. I whipped up Wolverine and Flash in no time!

 

For more masks and for the original link head over here. 

Oregon Sea Stars!

Stumbled on Favorites

A few of the favorite things I've stumbled on recently.

Had a great time with my parents and hubby down in the California Redwoods. So stunning!

A blog dedicated to Obama eating snow cones...so funny.

I've been having fun reading Death Comes to Pemberley...a mystery twist on the Pride & Prejudice story!

Hinge packaging tape--hilarious!

Love what Dove is doing. Such a cool idea. It really shows the difference between how we perceive ourselves and how other people perceive us!

Woodcut prints--stunning!

Can't stop thinking about my old town, Grand Rapids, and the crazy flooding going on. These pictures are crazy!

Self Portrait Sunday

A tiny shadow self portrait

My shoes

A sunny day

DIY Reversable Wine Trivet

Back in January I made one of these wine trivets and I've really loved it.  I had some leftover corks still so I decided to make another one! I like that it can either just be the cork color or...flip!...colorful cork!

M&M Cookie Bars

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and was eager to make it. I've been on a healthy baking kick but I have some visitors (my parents!!) coming to town and wanted to make something super duper tasty....so I decided to try these bars out. I made a few alterations--just for kicks--and am happy with how they turned out!

Preheat oven to 325. 9x13 pan, greased


Mix together:

2 1/8 cup flour (weird, right?)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

In another bowl whisk together:

10 T butter, melted
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
3 Tablespoons egg substitute
1 egg yoke
2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine all ingredients. Then fold in 1 cup of a 12 oz bag of M&Ms (I used dark chocolate).  Pour into prepared 9x13 pan--and top with remaining M&Ms.

Cook for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

DIY Long Distance "I Miss You" Mugs with Sharpie

So have you all been loving all of the sharpie/mug ideas on Pinterest? I sure have. I finally found myself at the Dollar Store the other day so I picked up some white mugs so I could make some of my own mugs. I live super far away from my parents so I wanted to make my mom a mug so she can think of me and I can think of her when we drink our morning cup of coffee from afar! My mom and dad are coming to visit so this is the perfect time to give her one. I saw this one and knew I had to do it. I can't wait to give it to her!

Self Portrait Sunday

I had such a phenomenal week with my friend, Rachel...just reconnecting, laughing, sharing, and listening. She is a special lady, and I'm lucky to have her as a friend! Here are just a few self portraits that I took throughout the week.

snow?!

exploring

love this girl

Reusable Produce Bag

Somebody mentioned to me the idea of reusing produce bags (somehow I never had thought of it before!) so when I saw this tutorial...I was ready to give it a try! I had some extra mesh fabric in my stash so I got to it. I've used it once so far and am happy with how it went! I probably should make more, though, because who just buys one vegetable at a time?!

Mount Pisgah Adventure

Felt Stuffed Tree

Last month we went to a friend's farm up in Washington. While we were there, her cat got stuck in a tree two times. One time the cat ended up falling quite a ways and the second time, our friend ended up crawling up after her. I figured this cat might be a bit afraid of trees because of this, so I thought I would make her a little stuffed tree that she could bond with.

Sunday Self Portrait

An ocean hug

A geocache portrait

A giant tree hug

Stumbled on Favorites

A few of the favorite things I've stumbled on recently.

I found a good fort the other day...nice and cozy!

This is what 200 calories look like...so interesting!

Oreo Separator Machine...such a great video!

Love this video on stacking wood.

A future with no potholes? What!?

Long but interesting video on the NYC underground.

2 Year Old Bedtime Bandit...so funny!

Sax battle...I wish I had been there!

First 3-D Printed 3-D Printer....it was bound to happen!

Oregon Coast

Friend Love!

One of my besties is coming to visit today and I am so excited! I've been looking at old pictures of us and found some good ones. So this post goes out to wonderful friends...and reconnecting after a long time apart! Love you, Rach!