Pinterest Party & Link-up, Vol 3: Organizing the Boys’ Closet

By bobbi
May 6, 2013
3 Comments

NOTE: I goofed up my dates since April had 5 Tuesdays. I posted this last week although it should have been posted today, the second Tuesday of May. So I edited the link-up. It’s open for another week. I look forward to reading your posts! 🙂

Welcome to the new RoL Pinterest Party (formerly Making It Count.) Join me every 2nd and 4th Tuesday as we link up and share how we made, cooked, baked, crafted, did, or created one of the pins on our Pinterest boards.

Not on Pinterest? No problem. Link-up your own creation to inspire us so we can pin in to our own boards. It can be a recipe, sewing project, Catholic craft, homeschool project, organizing/ homemaking tip, themed birthday party, whatever you’d like.

Don’t have a post ready? The link-up will be open for a week so there’s still time. Plus, feel free to link up a new post or an older post that hasn’t had much traffic lately.

* * * * *

As you may recall, about a year ago I started trying to organize my messy, disorganized, borderline hoarder home. I actually completed a few cool projects like fixing up my bookcase and DVD shelf but while last year was the year of homemaking, 2013 has been the year of survival. One road bump after another has left all my organizing projects forgotten. I am lucky to have dinner on the table and clean underwear in the drawers. It left me disappointed in myself but I realized I had to suck it up and deal with the fact that grand schemes were not going to work. I kept thinking of Brian’s advice to “just do a little bit every day.” Then I read Dorian’s original Pinisher post and she basically said to lower your standards, take one small step towards actually doing something and then embrace imperfection. Hmmm… that’s liberating, my friend.

So on Saturday I looked around to see what little bit I should do that day. As I looked around the house and pondered, Matthew walked into the room with his tight high water pants and shirt that refused to cover his belly. The poor guy just turned two but he sort of skipped over his size 2T clothes and needed to go right into size 3T. That was it. I needed get rid of the small clothes and find the old 3T’ clothes of his brothers.

I had been really good about storing the kids’ baby clothes once they grew out of them but with three little guys close in age and size, it got out of hand. I had various clothing items and sizes shoved in spare drawers and mixed up in plastic bins. So I went through all the clothes and put the ones that don’t fit any of them into plastic bins and labeled them. (Although I don’t think we’ll be having any more bambinos, I’m not going to give away all the clothes just yet.)

I browsed Pinterest for some closet organizing inspiration. One pin lead to this site with lots of samples.

I couldn’t do anything fancy but three items really helped. The first was a hanging closet extender such as the Honey-Can-Do HNG-01816 Chrome Adjustable Hanging Closet Rod.

Second was a hanging shoe organizer such as the Honey-Can-Do SFT-01240 10-Pocket Hanging Shoe Organizer. (The one I picked up was actually from Target.)

Lastly, I liked the size organizers I saw at iheartorganizing.blogspot.com. I liked the idea of having the clothes organized by size rather than by person.

I found these simple ones (Baby Buddy “Size-It” Closet Organizers) on sale so I picked some up.

Amazon also has other cute ones such as the Sugarbooger Baby Closet Dividers in Peek-A-Boo Blue.

The Happy Closet Baby Closet Dividers come in lots of colors and patterns, such as these polka dot ones.

Although the boys play clothes and underwear went into their dresser, I hung up their other items in the closet with the double rods and size labels.

Those labels are especially great for new moms that need to sort all the new baby clothes they receive as gifts, particularly when they are in different sizes. They are also perfect to keep track of bigger sized clothes I find on sale or clearance that Andrew can wear as he grows.

It took me a good portion of the day to get everything sorted and put away in between distractions (you know, like feeding my children) and it may not seem that exciting or pinworthy but it was so satisfying knowing I was able to get it done. So Brian and Dorian were right. Lower expectations. Small and simple steps. Embrace the imperfections.

Not to mention, Matthew is much better dressed these days. 🙂

* * * * *

Now it’s your turn.

1. Choose your creation, share about it and snap a photo if you can.

2. In your post, link back the original blogger/idea, rather than your Pinterest pin. That way credit goes to the proper person. 🙂 (But feel free to add your Pinterest profile link so we can follow you!)

3. Add a link back here so others can play along. Here is the html code:

4. Link up below. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address.

You have a week to post your link, so if you can’t get things done by Tuesday, no worries, put it up when you can. We’ll be here. Have fun!

* * * * *

Also, I’m not sure if this is legal in blogland but I linked up with Dorian for The Pinishers. (I guess I’ll find out if she kicks me out. ;-)) Last week’s theme was HOME. This week the theme is ADVENTURE. 🙂

Lastly, you can follow me on Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/rol_bobbi/. 🙂

The Pinishers – Food: How to Choose Ripe Fruit

By bobbi
May 3, 2013
3 Comments

It’s the last day of The Pinisher link-up but I made it. I’d say that was appropriate for a link-up catering to procrastinators. 😉

Okay, here is some back ground info first. Last week I got an email from the infamous but sweet Dorian Speed (I’ll admit I was a little star struck.) She was apologizing because she started a Pinterest link-up without realizing that I was already doing the Pinterest Party on the 2nd & 4th Tuesdays. I was touched that she’d even give me the time of day. LOL. I told her not to worry since she does hers every week I only do mine twice a month. Readers of the blog could always link on both to share their post with more people if they’d like. I was also excited that I’d have the opportunity to link up with Dorian on my off weeks as well. This week’s Pinisher topic if food. Perfect. 🙂

I was shopping at Trader Joes yesterday and I wanted to try a few new fruits, or rather, fruit I’ve eaten at a restaurant or a friend’s house but I never bought myself. I had in mind kiwi and mangoes. However, I wasn’t sure how to figure out which ones were ripe. I wrested my iPhone out of Matthew’s hands, who was none too pleased that I paused his Blue’s Clues, and searched Pinterest for a “ripe fruit guide.” I found a pin of this article – How to Choose the Best Fruit in the Produce Section: A Guide for 15 Common Fruits.

The three products I was concerned about at that moment were…

“Kiwi: A kiwi is ripe when it gives slightly when pressed. Those that are too hard will not be sweet, while those that are too soft or shriveled are spoiled.”

“Mangoes: Finding a ripe mango can be tricky because they can be yellow, red, green or orange in color. Those that are ready to eat will usually have a yellow hue and should be slightly soft to the touch. Ripe mangoes also have a sweet aroma near the stem end.”

“Watermelon – Choose a firm, heavy watermelon with a smooth skin — and be sure it has a well-defined yellow area on one side. This is the spot where the watermelon has been resting while ripening, and if it’s not there it means it may have been harvested too soon.”

I followed the guide and brought my chosen fruit home. I haven’t opened the mango yet but I did sample the watermelon and the kiwi.

The watermelon was easy to cut open and was tasty, although not as sweet as they will be in another month or so.

I wasn’t quite sure how to peel the kiwi so I googled around and found this link and video at HowToPeelAKiwi.com/. (I’m serious. That is the actual web address.) Anyway, I did as they instructed: cut off the ends, made a slit, then worked a spoon underneath the skin and removed the peel. Viola! It’s funny how such a small, simple thing can make me feel accomplished. One day I may even tackle a pineapple that doesn’t come from a can. Baby steps. 😉

Okay, get your creative mojo flowing because Tuesday is the next Pinterest Party Link-up here at RoL. Dorian’s Pinisher link-up is the same day and the theme is “Home.” I’ll work on something homey this weekend so I can link with her too. Wait, am I allowed to link-up a link-up? Maybe not. Either way, see you back here on Tuesday! 🙂

Oh and you can follow me in Pinterest here – http://pinterest.com/rol_bobbi/. Leave your link or handle in the comment box so I can make sure I’m following you too. 🙂

Pinterest Party & Link-up, Vol 2: Preparing for A Zombie Apocalypse (or A Natural Disaster)

By bobbi
April 22, 2013
3 Comments

Don’t have a post ready? The link-up will be open for a week so there’s still time. Plus, feel free to link up a new post or an older post that hasn’t had much traffic lately. 🙂

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Welcome to this week’s Pinterest Party! I had some great recipes I was going to try this weekend for today’s post but instead I got one heck of a weekend. Here’s a recap. A water main broke in our neighborhood and we are on day three of no useable water. (First the water was non-existent and then they did get it back on but it is unsafe to use. So we’ve had to boil or use bottled. That wasn’t so bad but Matthew was sick with a flu bug this weekend. As he was throwing up on the sheets all I could think was that I cannot throw these in the washer or even stick him in the tub.

This morning he was much better and he stopped vomiting but (okay, this is even more TMI so be forewarned) he had an explosive diaper and he put his hands in it and got it all over himself. So I was trying not to freak out because I couldn’t turn on the shower and hose him down. I ran to the kitchen and turned on a pot of water to boil for a sponge bath. Then I rushed him to the bathroom, peeled off his clothes and cleaned up what I could with baby wipes.

As I am doing this I hear the fire alarm go off. I leave John-Paul watching Matthew in the bathroom and run to the kitchen to find that in my haste I accidentally turned on the wrong burner and there was a dish towel a little too close…well, you get the idea. FLAMES! I quickly put out the fire, fanned the alarms to get them to stop screeching, and opened every window and door in the house. Afterwards, I ran back to the bathroom and finish getting the poop cleaned up so I could throw Matthew and John-Paul outside so they could breathe fresh air and not smoke. (Andrew and Bella were in school.) I told Brian at this rate, by the end of the week we’ll either have an earthquake or the zombie apocalypse.

Thankfully when this happened we had plenty of bottles of water in our garage. (The first day our local grocery store ran out of gallon jugs.) However, my other emergency supplies were in a sorry state. So instead of sharing a recipe that will dirty dishes that I’ll need to wash in a waterless sink, I’m highlighting the need to prep for a natural disaster or the zombie apocalypse.

Source

It’s funny that the CDC actually has a section for zombie related info, reasoning that if you are ready for the zombie apocalypse, then you’ll be ready for pretty much any disaster.

There are a number of websites you can browse to find a list of needed items in an emergency kit. There is this one from the Red Cross, this one from the Salvation Army and the CDC’s zombie comic book has a preparation checklist on the back.

I looked over the lists and had many of the items but they were scattered all over the house and garage. I found all the medical supplies I had gathered over time – first aid kits, various bandages, alcohol, peroxide, latex gloves, hand sanitizer, ect. I rotated some of the items with expiration dates (like the alcohol and peroxide) with fresh ones.

I also found tucked in a bottom bathroom shelf a bunch of medical supplies that the hospital gave me after the birth of my kids – things like band aids, antiseptic wipes, cold packs, large and small pads, gauze etc.I gathered all the items and put them in the plastic container too. If there was ever an emergency I’m sure many of these things could be put to good use as well.

I added in some extra meds I had on hand but there are a few more items I need to add to the stock.

In another large container I placed all the emergency items such as batteries, flashlights, battery powered radios, utility knife, thermal blankets, work gloves, trash bags, matches, can opener and some other items that were buried in garage cabinets that might be useful in an emergency. (An extra hammer, hatchet, rope, etc) It may be over kill but at least this way everything is in one place and I’m known for my overpacking anyway. 😉

I wasn’t quite sure what to do about food items. We had plenty of canned goods and non-perishables stored on our garage shelves/pantry if we had to wait out the disaster at home but what if we were forced to evacuate our house? Then I remembered a link my sister posted for A Bowl of Lemon’s Emergency Preparedness. I reviewed over that and wow, that is what I called prepared! I am no where near close to Toni’s set up but I did what I could with the items I had around the house.

Toni recommended that you have a backpack for each member of the family with a change of clothes, toiletry items, a food packet and for the kids a few things to keep them entertained. I am used to making the gallon bags of food since the kids are required to have one at school in case of an earthquake. I placed in it enough food and snacks to last a day or two. It has some protein like tuna and peanut butter and as well as canned fruit, berry sauce, granola bars, trail mix etc. I added in some plasticware we had from the last time we had take out. The only thing I need to do later this week is trade out the cans of tuna for cans of chicken with those pop up lids so it can be opened without a can opener.

Here are the rest of the items in John-Paul’s backpack.

A change of clothes – pants, long sleeve shirt, short sleeve shirt, sweatshirt and two pairs of socks. For the shoes I added some old beat up ones of Andrew that would fit JP now. They should be okay in a pinch. (Since Andrew doesn’t have an older brother, I’ll have to pick up a cheap pair at Target.)

A quart size bag of toiletries – toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss (I saved the sample ones we got from the dentist), body wash, shampoo, lotion, q-tips and tissues. (Also, one of those toothbrush caps that keep the toothbrush from getting dirty.)

For John-Paul’s play items – I packed an extra Angry Bird plush and some Star Wars bird figures we had, two picture books, a tablet of paper, a box of crayons and a few items from the dollar section at Target – coloring book, card games, color puzzle, art packets etc.

It took some doing but I got everything into his backpack and all I need to do is add a luggage tag and place it on the shelf next to the emergency bins and the jugs and bottles of water. (Enough water for 3 days, calculating one gallon per person each day.)

A Bowl Full of Lemons also has for sale the ebook Emergency Preparedness. Included in the ebook are worksheets to put together an emergency binder. You know how I love my binders, so I will be ordering one and refining our supplies over the next few weeks.

Lastly, I also added to Brian’s backpack a Catholic pouch. It contains holy water, holy oil, a rosary for each family member, a prayer book, the New Testament, a votive candle and an icon of The Divine Mercy. If we ever need the motto “Jesus, I trust in you” it will be then.

There are still a few more things I need to add and refine and I have to finish the rest of our backpacks (luckily I had extras one in my closet of doom) but I am in much better shape than I was a few days ago. 🙂

* * * * *

Now it’s your turn.

1. Choose your creation, share about it and snap a photo if you can.

3. Add a link back here so others can play along. Here is the html code:

4. Link up below. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address.

You have a week to post your link, so if you can’t get things done by Tuesday, no worries, put it up when you can. We’ll be here. Have fun!

Pinterest Party & Link-up, Vol 1: Strawberry Coconut Cake

By bobbi
April 8, 2013
4 Comments

Don’t have a post ready? The link-up will be open for a week so there’s still time. Plus, feel free to link up a new post or an older post that hasn’t had much traffic lately. 🙂

* * * * *

For my contribution this week I wanted to make the family a dessert where I wasn’t worried about calories or fat content. I wanted to make something to celebrate Easter and the warmth of spring and give them a special treat. My father-in-law always goes to to the Farmer’s Market on the weekend and brings us back a big bag of fruit and veggies. This weekend he brought us three containers of fresh strawberries and I knew which pinned recipe I would try to make. It was the Strawberry Coconut Cake I had on my “What’s Baking” Board. The recipe is originally from Candy Jammies and I followed Michele’s recipe, except that I did not have any coconut extract so I just used extra vanilla.

Michelle lists the following Ingredients & Directions.

1 (18.5 ounce) box white cake mix
4 T. strawberry gelatin powder
2 T. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
2 T. granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. pureed strawberries
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. coconut extract
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, finely diced
1 c. coconut, finely shredded in food processor
several strawberries to fill cake and garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine dry ingredients in mixer bowl and stir together. Beat in oil, eggs, water, strawberry puree, vanilla, and coconut extract. Mix well. Stir in diced strawberries and coconut. Pour into two 8- or 9-inch round pans, greased and floured. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean and the cakes are pulling away from the sides of the pans.

Put pans on wire racks and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and leave on racks to cool completely. While cooling, make icing.

Spread some icing on first layer, then top with sliced strawberries. Place second layer on top and ice the rest of the cake. Cover entire cake in shredded coconut and garnish with fresh strawberries. I don’t tint my coconut pink like in the original recipe, because I think it’s so pretty to cut into the white cake and have the surprise of bright pink inside. I like the contrast of the white icing/coconut and pink cake.

The first time I made this, I did cupcakes. They’re really pretty with a small strawberry on each one.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
2 16-oz. boxes powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add vanilla. Slowly beat in powdered sugar until desired consistency. Add a tablespoon or so of milk if icing is too thick.

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Originally I was going to make a sheet cake or cupcakes like Michelle mentioned because the one time I tried a two layer cake it was so bad, I had to erase it from my memory. I didn’t want my debut post to be a total flop but I figured heck, go big or go home. So I went big. I got my first layer done.

And my second layer done.

It was very amateur, somewhat sloppy and looked nothing like Michelle’s fabulous photo but if you took a few steps back and squinted it didn’t look half bad for a rookie. Best of all, it tasted delicious.

* * * * *

Now it’s your turn.

1. Choose your creation, share about it and snap a photo if you can.

3. Add a link back here so others can play along. Here is the html code:

4. Link up below. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address.

You have a week to post your link, so if you can’t get things done by Tuesday, no worries, put it up when you can. We’ll be here. Have fun!

Making It Count (Vol 13) & Meatless Meal: Katie’s TJ Chili Cornbread (& Vegetarian Chili)

By bobbi
March 12, 2013
4 Comments

AND

Today we have a Making It Count Tuesday (Now known as The RoL Pinterest Party & Link-up) and Meatless Meal Mash-Up! If you are new to Making it Count, you simply start with any one of those fabulous ideas you’ve found online. Then, do it. Make it. Cook it. Create it. Take it from the screen, give it life and let it bless your world. When you’re done, snap a photo, write about it and share it with us. Make your time online count! (*NOTE: This is the last Making It Count I will be hosting. Starting in April I will be doing a new Pinterest Party link-up. Details below.)

I am also linking up with Beth Anne’s Best and Tales from Astoria for Meatless Mondays.

Katie’s Trader Joe Chili Cornbread

A couple weeks ago I went to a Mom’s Night Out at my friend Katie’s house. She made a delicious spread of food and my favorite dish was a chili cornbread. I asked for the recipe with pen and paper in hand ready to write down all the ingredients. I laughed when she said all I needed was a box of Trader Joe Cornbread Mix and a can of Trader Joe Vegetarian Chili. (For the cornbread you will also need milk, oil and an egg.) Wow, it tasted a lot more complicated than that!

I mixed together the cornbread mix with the milk, egg and oil. I then added the can of chili.

Katie recommended that I use a cast-iron skillet (or stone wear.) I popped it into the oven according to the box directions and about a half hour later this is what I got.

To round out the meal I tried one of my Pinterest chili recipes I had pinned.

Vegetarian Chili from The Curvy Carrot.com

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine ( about 1 cup)
1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine (about 1 1/4 cups)
8 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons chili powder (I used 3 tsp so it wouldn’t be too spicy for the kids.)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 cups canned beans, drained and rinsed (I used 1 can of red kidney beans and 1 can of pinto beans)
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed (I used fresh corn I had leftover.)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (I ran out of cilantro. Grr.)
1 tablespoon lime juice
Cheese, optional
Sour cream, optional (I’m not a big sour cream fan so I left it off.)

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until about shimmering.

2. Add the onion and cook until translucent and slightly softened, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the red pepper and cook until it and the onion are soft and slightly browned around the edges, about 3 minutes.

4. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

5. Push the vegetables to the perimeter of the pot so that the center of the pot is clear.

6. Sprinkle the cumin seeds (or ground cumin) into the center of pot and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

7. Stir the cumin and vegetables together and let cook until the cumin is fragrant, about 1 minute.

8. Add the chili powder and cayenne pepper and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

9. Add 2 cups water and stir well to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

10. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

11. Stir in the tomatoes, oregano, and brown sugar, and bring back to a simmer. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 25 minutes.

12. Add the beans and corn and stir gently to incorporate.

13. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in salt, cilantro, and lime juice immediately before serving.

Here is the finished product.

The photo is not great but the end result was yummy!

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

Now it’s your turn.

1. Choose a tutorial, recipe, or idea that has inspired you. Do it and blog a little about it. It doesn’t have to be elaborate — we just want to see what you’ve been up to!
2. In your post, rather than linking to your Pinterest pin, link back the original idea/blogger. We want to be sure that cool idea credit is given to the proper person. 🙂
3. Link back here so others can play along.
4. Link up below. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address. And please use your own original photo (not someone else’s!) as your thumbnail image. Copyright issues, you know. 😉

Since this is the last Making It Count for March I will leave it up the rest of the month.

Save the date! On April 9 we debut the new RoL Pinterest Party Link-Up where you can showcase a pin you brought to life or link up your own project/creation to inspire others to pin it to their boards. More info coming soon!

Have fun!

* * * * *

Revolution of Love

Do small things with great love.

Tag Archives: pinterest party

Pinterest Party & Link-up, Vol 3: Organizing the Boys’ Closet

The Pinishers – Food: How to Choose Ripe Fruit

Pinterest Party & Link-up, Vol 2: Preparing for A Zombie Apocalypse (or A Natural Disaster)

Pinterest Party & Link-up, Vol 1: Strawberry Coconut Cake

Making It Count (Vol 13) & Meatless Meal: Katie’s TJ Chili Cornbread (& Vegetarian Chili)

Katie’s Trader Joe Chili Cornbread

Vegetarian Chili from The Curvy Carrot.com