Tuesday, March 29, 2011

What we're eating - Fondue Night

The last time I made fondue was for a baby shower and it was a gloppy mess! The cheese clumped together and was so thick you couldn't dip anything in it.


I stumbled across this great website called They Draw and Cook, with illustrated recipes, so cool! Looking through them I saw one called Grandma's Christmas Eve Cheese Fondue. My family also does appetizers for Christmas, so this hit home for me. I also liked that it did not involve me buying expensive, oddly named, hard to find cheese (like the last recipe I attempted). The other night we gave it a whirl and it was a home run!!!!!


The flavor was so yummy, the cheese stayed creamy the whole time, the three of us gobbled it up. Anna of course would not even try it, oh yeah... is she my picky eater!!!


We dipped bread, chips, broccoli, carrots, apples and pepperoni. Amelia and my favorite was the apples, the warm cheese with the cool sweet apple was delicious!


It makes a big pot, so if you are table of four like us you could half the recipe. Or make the whole thing... it was good the next day for lunch.


2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
4 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 T. mustard
1 T. worchestershire sauce


Heat over medium heat until cheese is fully melted. Dip away!!!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Spring Break 2011

Our spring break was crazy tempature wise. It was in the 30's to the 75's and everything in between! We spent one windy day at the park flying kites, a warm sunny day in the backyard with friends, we took a brisk trail walk at powder valley with Grammy & Papa and stood by 4 deer (they were so close I could have almost touched them), Amelia had her first friend sleepover at our house and Saturday they had snowball a fight with Pops. It was a nice busy week but not too busy. Back to school today.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Logan the Raccoon

animated gif maker
Animated gif maker

I made this fun guy for a friend who just had a baby boy. He is made of 90% upcycled materials: a super soft gray cashmere sweater (thanks to my neighbor for the sweater donation) and a black t-shirt. The felt and eyes are new. He turned out so cute I am going to make another one for my Etsy shop.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

What we're eating - Bananas

I've never really liked bananas (my Anna loves them), I never eat them raw out of the peel. My Mom doesn't like bananas and so I guess she never bought them so we never ate them. The only way I like them is with Rice Krispies cereal sprinkled with sugar. I'm pretty sure I learned this from my Grandmother. We used to visit my grandparents at the lake every summer and I remember her doing the same thing.


It's odd how our food choices are strongly formed by the people around us. My girls will probably not like avocados, since Brian and I don't like them. But maybe they will met someone who does and take the leap to try it... as I strongly encourage them to always try new things. My husband did not really eat any veggies until he met me and now he eats all that I put in front of him. He does still hate corn but he does eat it with a big gulp of his drink to wash it down.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Blue Ribbon #2

Amelia received another blue ribbon for her science fair project, this time for the school district. Now onto the big one!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Never forget this moment - Why Anna loves me



Scene: Backyard on a warm spring day. Anna picking moss from between the bricks to pretend cook with. Me taking a break from raking leaves out of the mulch.


Anna: (out of the blue) I love you Mama.


Me: Thank you, I love you too.


Anna: Do you know why I love you?


Me: Why?


Anna: Because I like how you dress and how you look everyday.


Me: Awww, thank you sweetie.


The she runs up and gives me a big hug. 


What a sweet moment with my 5 year old... she doesn't see my wrinkles, zits or frizzy hair, just a Mama who loves her.  Sometimes I wish I could freeze time.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy St. Patrick's Day


May your day be touched
by a bit of Irish luck,
brightened by a song in your heart,
and warmed by the smiles
of the people you love.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

What we're eating - Cocomotion

We received Cocomotion about 8 years ago as a Christmas gift and at first we really didn't want it because we have a small kitchen and not a lot of room for extra appliances. I have to store many of my items like my crock pot, bunt pans, etc. that I don't use daily downstairs in the basement.

But I have to say we have defiantly grown to love Cocomotion!!! It makes the best hot coco ever! You just add the milk and the coco powder, push the button and after about 3 minutes you have hot coco at the perfect temperature (you can drink it right away)! I never burns the coco and is always mixed perfectly!

We use it all winter and every time we come in from playing in the snow it for sure comes out. The girls love it! I know we'll always have a spot for Cocomotion!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Memory Monday - Our House

We've lived in this house for almost 10 years now and I remember the second day I saw it. Brian and I had been house hunting for almost a year and having a hard time finding the perfect house. We had been through many houses with our realtor and we also went to the Sunday open houses on our own. One Sunday we saw a listing "for sale by owner" in the paper and decided to drive by.

As we drove down the street we realized it was the same street that Brian's friend lived on, then looking at the house numbers we pulled up and realized it was his friend house! We did not know they were going to move! We went in and got a tour from Skip (we had been over to their house one time for dinner). We knew right away this was the house for us... you really do get a gut feeling that it's a good match. We called our realtor and she agreed to help us with the sale even thought it was for sale by owner. It was a little bit odd buying a house from a friend... and they did have another offer the same day we put in an offer, both for the full asking price.

Needless to say... we got the house and have been so happy with it and our lovely street of neighbors. Now that we have two kids I do feel the need for one more room but I can't see us moving anytime soon. The house was built in 1941 and from what I hear a family with 6 kids lived here! I guess if they were able to fit 8 people in 1,500 sq ft we can fit 4 in our little home sweet home.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

What the?... Really Martha

I've always been a fan of Martha Stewart, even when she went to jail. I receive weekly craft idea emails from her website. I got this project idea in my mail box last week.


Really Martha... this is the ugliest thing I have ever seen, did you really approve this project? Would you put this in one of your many homes... I doubt it!


They talk the project up as a magic space saver. I'm sorry but those tacky, chunky gold chains makes this look more bulk that it really is. Maybe if they used a thinner chain? But with the wide abundance of nice floating shelving out in the market, why do we need the chains?


I'm sorry Martha but I really hope your projects step it up a notch or two or you might just lose me.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

The Family Nest



I made this for my Mom & Dad. My brother just had a baby girl last month and I had this idea for a unique family tree. I was really happy with how it turned out and so I added it to my etsy shop.


Notice all the pink eggs... yep it's all granddaughters so far!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Meltdown Monday

Last weekend we set out to deliver the 176 boxes of Girl Scout cookies Amelia (and Brian at work) sold. Amelia was already in a grumpy mood, but when we talked about what she need to do when we went to the door she got upset when I told her she needed to say thank you. For some reason she did not want to say thank you. I explained to her how our neighbors were nice enough to buy cookies from her and that selling the cookies raised money so that her troop can do fun things... so she needed to say thank you. 


Meltdown... tears... red blotchy face. We didn't even make it to the first house. We went back inside, I headed up to my room to calm myself down, I was very frustrated by this point. We were having a battle of the wills over the words... thank you!


We ate lunch, played a bit and then attempted the delivery again... this time she was good and even wanted to go up to the door by herself, being all brave!


If I'm getting these mood swings at age 6 what is 16 going to be like? 


Photos: Why do I have a photo of my crying child? I had brought the camera along to get a cute photo like below, Amelia pulling her red wagon of GS cookies.



Tuesday, March 1, 2011

2011 Calendar - March


Here is a little calendar cuteness I created. I plan to make one each month, so check back for April's image. You can use this for your computer wallpaper, print one out for the office, your craft room or the fridge. Double click the image for the high res file.

All images are Copyrighted by Tracy Dorsey, 2011. Free download for personal use only. Not for resale.