Sheetrock

We all know that babies like to put everything in their mouths, from dried out apples to pieces of tape, to bits of lint. Most of the time, I just let Elsie be, because whatever she has can't really hurt her. Well... last week she found something quite disturbing to eat. My child has a fascination with the bathroom, especially loving the height of the tub for walking along. Right on the outside of the shower is a piece of wall that has repeatedly gotten wet, and the paint has peeled off.
What happened the other day follows-

Me: Cleaning up while Elsie plays, then looking for her when I notice she is missing. I peek inside the bathroom. "What are you doing princess?"

Elsie: Looks up at me, with a smear of white across her face. Shakes her head. (This means she doesn't want to be caught in the act of whatever she is doing.) Elsie is scratching her fingers on the exposed sheetrock, getting a little off, and eating it! Gross! Whatever even possessed her to do that?!

Whenever I don't pay attention, she heads for the bathroom, and sometimes even makes it to her special little spot. It seems she liked the taste of sheetrock. But don't worry, I'm making sure to repaint it tomorrow!

Win a FREE Trip!

I am always on the lookout for clothing companies who have cute pieces that are reasonably priced. Impel Clothing is one of these great companies. I'm in love with the grey and yellow tunic show above. Check out their simple, beautiful, and MODEST clothes here. They are also doing an amazing giveaway right now where you can Win a FREE Trip!

Living Thrifty

I have started to become a very thrifty person. I frequent the D.I., department store clearance racks, and even stop by the sale food grocery cart in the back of the store. Here are some ways I stay so cheap, and I would love to know about your ways to save as well!

1. Choosing to use cloth diapers will save us $2000 every year, and I actually have come to love them. It cost about $150 to purchase 30 diapers. This is enough to clean a load every other day. Elsie hardly ever gets diaper rashes, and she looks so cute sporting several different colors or prints.
2. Dropping our phone plan and adding additional lines to my parent's plan has saved a lot. We were paying $85 a month for a very basic plan for the two of us. Adding an additional line to their existing family plan only costs $10 a month.
3. I've gotten $100s of dollars of free items from freebies and giveaways. Find facebook/ twitter pages of your favorite stores, and follow them. There are so many great companies that do tons of giveaways. Some of my favorites are: Bearpaw, Sanuk, BareMinerals, Sephora, Lime Ricki Swimwear, Fabulous Fun Finds, and The Vintage Pearl. This helps to satisfy my shopping fix.
** Now let me know what you do!

Chicken Farfalle with Broccoli and Peppers

Creamy pasta with chicken and veggies?! YUM! My mouth is watering right now, and the leftovers in the fridge are calling to me. This recipe is so easy, and super delicious. You'll need:

* 2 cups farfalle (bow tie) pasta

* 2 chicken breasts, grilled and cut into strips (I seasoned it with cajun spices for a little heat)

* 2 cups cut-up broccoli

* 1 red pepper, cut into 2 " strips

* 2 T butter

* 1 cup heavy cream

* 1 container Philadelphia cooking cream (this is a new product, found by the cream cheese)

* Salt, Pepper, & Garlic Salt

1. Cook pasta until al dente, then add broccoli and cook for 1 minute. Drain.

2. In a large pan, saute peppers in butter. Add pasta, broccoli, and chicken.

3. Mix in Philadelphia cooking cream and heavy cream.

4. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste, and stir around all that wonderful creamy goodness! Serves 4.

** Add in any other spices you want, or pine nuts, parmesan cheese, or other veggies.

5. Devour!

The best part? Princess E. couldn't get enough. Here she is slurping and munching happily.

High-Chair Redo

My child loves to attack me any time she sees food in my hands, so I finally decided to get her a high chair and give her some much needed independence. The prints on all baby products are so bland and generic, so I bought a used chair off ksl.com for $10, and decided to cover it.

Ugg! Unfortunately, my camera deleted all my pictures from the past couple weeks, so I have no before pictures. I'm sure you can imagine an ugly, outdated high chair with sesame street print on it. I'll do my best to describe what I did as it was pretty simple.

All you need is a glue gun, 5-6 glue sticks, and about 1 yd of plastic covered/ vinyl fabric. (Mine is Moda, Central Park, bought at Quilter's Haven in Bountiful.)

Remove the pad, and place it on top of new fabric, and trace a pattern on the wrong side of the fabric, making sure to leave about 2"-3" extra all around. Next, draw line of glue on the old pad, where the seams already are (see below picture.) Place the new fabric over the old, pushing it into the seams. Make sure to pull the fabric tight as you are gluing. Then put a line of glue around the edges, and pinch the new fabric together to the old cover. Make sure to smooth everything out as you go. (I didn't cover the back besides the small piece at the top that slides over the chair.) After cutting off the access fabric, you are finished! The only way this high chair is looking any cuter is if I put Princess E. in it! Love how easy it was! Plus, my kitchen is vintage-looking so the purple and orange are perfect!

Cupcake Affair

I've been digging the cooking channel lately, where cupcakes seem to be all the rage. I am currently trying to lose a few, but am dying to make these sour cream chocolate cupcakes with NUTELLA frosting. What could be better?! I may just have to splurge this weekend. There are 33 amazing recipes (with pictures) found HERE.