Riley's hooded towel

I have been wanting new towels for Riley for a looooong time.

It's one of those things that I've been wanting for her but always forget come holidays, birthdays, etc.

She has used her infant towels (the cute ones with hoods) since birth.

They are ridiculously small on her now; barely covering her very tall body.  It's a total shame!

I didn't want to give up on the hooded towels - because 1) they are cute 2) they help with warmth.

And while I could just go to a store and buy one...I found this idea on Pinterest instead.  It included a tutorial on how to make your very own hooded towel!

Source: onesimplebliss.blogspot.com via Abby on Pinterest

So, I went to Walmart.  Bought cheap towels and ribbon.  And sewed one!

I have a turquoise color towel I am going to sew one of these nights too.

My machine couldn't handle the thick fabric at certain points of the tutorial so I had to completely fake it and just do whatever I could to sew it up.  (I'm still learning.)

You can see how the seam from the towel sticks out on the inside, because it was too weird for me to sew.  Oh well.  From the back, it looks nice!

Too, I sewed the right side to the wrong side.  See the tag?  Yeah, it should be on the inside.  Whatever.  Riley is totally still using this.  A two year old does not care about a tag.  That much I do know.

And, here is my model. 

Wearing her new towel.

She loves it!

And I love how big it is and how cozy it seems after bath time.

Our little elf.

Riley's skirt

Remember that first skirt I sewed?
(with the help of a friend, I might add.)

That was back in February.

Honestly, other than paper garland for parties, I haven't sewed one thing since!

I've been afraid.  Very afraid.

I am teaching myself completely.  I know, scary.

All summer I wanted to sew a skirt for Riley. 

I had the fabric.  I had the time.  I just didn't have the guts. 

Until, now!

It's something she can wear in the fall too, with leggings.

Don't ya think?

I followed this tutorial, if you are interested.

I read a pattern once at JoAnn Fabrics and almost fainted.  So confusing.  So many terms and numbers and I had no clue what it was saying!  Extremely intimidating.

I know, I'll learn - eventually.

Anyway, tutorials are my friend.  The ones that have simple language and lots of pictures!

I couldn't wait for Riley to try the skirt on the next day.  (It took me like two hours to sew this one skirt, by the way.  Thirty minutes just to remind myself how to thread my sewing machine.  Gah!)

Here she is.  Miss Butterfly.

With her waffle PJ shirt...haha...

I tried so hard to get her to stand to the side, so we could view her profile...

And, I did learn something. 

When sewing skirts for toddlers - consider the diaper butt when measuring the length.

The back of her skirt was eek, kind of short!

She'll definitely be wearing this with leggings soon.

So cute.

Riley's first skirt that her Momma made.

So proud.

Giant Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I thought it time to add another cookie recipe to my blog!

Actually, I didn't.

I just happened to bake yesterday, and my blog popped in my mind.

I was reminiscing back to the holidays last year and how much baking and blogging I was doing!

So, I took a picture of the cookie I had baked.

And - well, here we are.

Giant Chocolate Chunk Cookies!

They aren't the most beautiful cookie I've ever made - but they sure are good.

These cookies are made using egg whites.  As a result, they are light and fluffy.  A soft cookie, for sure.

**************************************************

Giant Chocolate Chunk Cookies
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large egg whites*
1/2 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips
Cooking Spray

* I used the egg whites from a carton

Directions:

• Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.
• Place sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and egg whites; beat well.  Add flour mixture; beat at low speed until well blended.  Stir in chocolate chips.
• Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Drop dough by tablespoon on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
• Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool at least 2 minutes on pan; cool on wire rack.

Yield: about two dozen (if dropping dough by a tablespoon)

Now, lets talk about the "giant" part of this recipe.  The initial recipe suggested dividing the dough up in equal portions - to make six "giant" cookies.  I didn't like that this recipe made only six cookies.  That's silly.  So, I doubled the recipe and just used a tablespoon to drop the dough on the baking sheets.  If you want "giant" cookies - go for it! 

Source: Cooking Light, June 2009

I gave Riley half of my cookie.  She said "mmm" while eating it.

That's my girl!

Emillie's 15th Birthday

We celebrated Emillie's 15th birthday on Saturday.

It was a nice day.

We had a big, yummy pancake breakfast.  (Emillie helped me cook.)

Did some school shopping at Target.  (Riley had a huge tantrum.  No surprise there.)

Had Rita's water ice for a snack afterwards. (Emillie's choice for her birthday "treat.")

A movie during Riley's nap. (Dear John is what Emillie picked, she had never seen it but read the book.  Emillie and I cried like little babies while Daddy and Hannah laughed at us, real nice.)

Emillie opened some cards from family and a couple gifts from us.  (Her big gift was a camera!)

And ribs for dinner.  (Emillie's dinner choice!)  Riley and I had veggie burgers - ribs, double blech!!

I also surprised Emillie with cupcakes for dessert.  Her pick for a treat was Rita's...but I love baking so I had to do something fun for dessert.  It kills me not to bake for the girls' birthdays!

Emillie also had the "special" plate for dinner.  I forgot to take pics.  It's a plate that our family used growing up and I do it now with our family.  It's a big red plate that says "You're special today" around the rim. 

At the end of the day, Emillie said she had a fun day - and said she felt really special.  :)

(We mostly stayed indoors and ate too much sugar - but all in all, I would say it was a good day too!)

We love you, Emillie...Happy Birthday!!

gifts!

Emillie - birthday girl!

Hannah (only pic I had of her, sorry it's a little blurry)

Riley



new camera!!



mmm, cupcake.



cuppy cake.

Oreo cupcakes.  Ahhh-mazing.  If you like Oreos, that is. 

There is a whole Oreo at the bottom of each cupcake, crumbled Oreos in the cake and crushed Oreos in the frosting.  Oh boy.

When I saw this recipe I instantly thought of Emillie (that's why I made them!)  She's an Oreo freak.  ;)  I made mini cupcakes for Riley, which were so cute.  (Sorry, no pic.)  I also sent the girls home with cupcakes - so it worked out perfectly.

Here's the link to the recipe, if interested.  (FYI - I used half the butter it calls for, and cut the powdered sugar way down too - the frosting was perfect.)

Here's to birthdays and cupcakes!

daddy's shirt

Riley loves, and I mean loves, to play dress up these days.

Putting clothes on, and taking them off.

She dresses up her dolls, and herself. 

This is what we spend most of our days doing.  (In case you were at all wondering.)

She dresses up with her own clothes, actual "dress up" clothes, Mommy's clothes...and Daddy's clothes.

Daddy's shirts are the best because they are like dresses!

And, well, the socks are just so cool - and big.

We love dress up!

messy hair

Ha...

Riley's hair is ridiculous.

Her hair and artwork look about the same.

Tee hee.

our girls (2012)

Emillie

(14 years old)

Although, she'll be 15 very soon, ahhh!

Hannah

(11 years old)

Riley

(2 years old)



Love these girls.