5 Different Scarves

First, this is the finished Chocolate Cherry Bread from the last post that I gave away, I used Baked Goods Gift Tags pin from my Fonts and Printables pinboard.

It's been rather cold out and after a while I got really bored with my traditional hastily thrown on scarf, most days I avoided them because they get in the way, they looked sloppy, or the baby could constrict me with them.  I needed to find some new ways of tying a scarf to feel warm and put together.  Today's pin is one I wore and it was fabulous!

This scarf tying pattern is called Four-in-Hand, it lays flat, the baby couldn't constrict me when she pulled on the ends, and it looks chic. I used a 1 1/2 foot wide fringed scarf for it, but any rectangle scarf will do.

Another tying pattern is called Knot-Row, I used a textured thin rectangle scarf and one hint I would give is to start the knots above your bosom, that way you don't draw negative attention.  The knots will be more noticeable in a non-textured scarf.  Notice my photo bomb?

This is the simple and classic Slip-Knot, you use it for the basic step in many tying styles - like the Four-in-Hand.  I used a pashmina which is a wide fringed rectangle scarf.  The baby can still manage mischief with this one!

For this Neck Tie Knot, I wore a lovely thicker rectangle scarf my sister brought me from New York.  This tying style was difficult with square scarves.  It stays put and doesn't constrict, plus this tying style isn't bulky.

This was my most challenging style, the Muffler ll, aka the Fluffy Cowboy.  A square scarf is best, but I used what I had and was able to fold up my long rectangle scarf just fine.  Very bulky and messy looking.

That's it!  5 different scarves, one for each day of the work week to look stylish and chic.  Scarves are a great accessory because some, like a pashmina, can be worn year round.  You stay classy!

Chocolate Cherry Banana Bread

Pin for the day, Chocolate Cherry Banana Bread! I needed to make a treat for when I go visiting my friend tomorrow and I had a bunch of brown bananas in my freezer, making it the perfect opportunity to try a new Pinterest recipe.  It was pretty quick to make and smelled great.  I did alter two things from the original instructions: I did NOT use maraschino cherries, and I used two mini bread pans in place of a regular sized one.  Smaller loaves of bread are a cuter present and now that I know how maraschino cherries are made - I will not buy them!  Bleached fruit, then artificially colored and flavored, it's too gross!  I used instead my home canned cherries which are, of course, fabulous, and I feel much better knowing what they were treated with while on the tree, I picked them, and I know what sweeter is in that jar!  I love my cherries, they turned out swell in this bread.

I will be doing a lot of canning this summer and will post my produce sources and recipes, my pie cherries will be included.  

I really liked the Chocolate Cherry Banana Bread, but the Mister gave it a two-star rating.  He also is not a fan of chocolate chips in banana bread, or pumpkin bread, or zucchini bread.  You can see all the added ingredients in this shot.  

I'll wrap it up cute an give it away tomorrow!

Make it yourself and let me know your review!

Making Orange Vinegar

My toddler helped me today on my pin from my pinboard Homemade or Natural Remedies.  We made Orange Vinegar!  The peels from any citrus fruit, we used oranges, goes into a quart sized mason jar until full (two large navel or five medium) and then fill with plain old white vinegar.  Let sit for two weeks, I wrote the date on my label to remind myself when it's cured and ready, then it's perfect for cleaning!  No icky smell, no icky harsh chemicals!  I am so excited to try this out in two weeks, the natural essential oils from the peels will add a wonderful smell and cleaning power; I wonder if you can only do this with citrus?  Or can I do things like rosemary, or lavender?  Must research more.

The label and band were used on my earlier post "Making a Memory Jar", they, and many other mason jar labels, can be found on my pinboard Fonts and Printables.

Green Onions in a Bottle

My pin comes from my pin board For the Home, I had a bunch of green onions that I inherited and I needed to find a way to keep them until I made a recipe that called for them.  Tada! Frozen Green Onions in Water Bottle Shaker!

I can now freeze them and just shake them out as I need them!  I was skeptical at first, but I followed the pin back to the original blog Lunch in a Box.net and they have been using these frozen green onions in everything!  So I chopped up my bunch of green onions, they made up a little over 1/2 cup, and I used a piece of paper rolled into a funnel to get them into the bottle.  I read up that they will last about 6 months this way, but I plan to use them sooner!

How to Cut a Pomegranate

My pin today is How to Cut a Pomegranate.  I love pomegranates, I love the juice and how tart it is.  Growing up i could just pick them for free from a few wild trees in the neighborhood, it wasn't until college in another state that I realized how expensive they are!  A good pomegranate price is around .75 on sale, but I've seen them priced at $3.00 - so buy in season and follow the pin I used to figure out how to successfully get the seeds!

Pomegranate seeds are great in Greek yogurt with honey and nuts.  Pomegranate juice makes a powerful antioxidant drink, and it makes wonderful pomegranate jelly!  Hopefully this summer I will be canning some.

I followed the pin How to Cut a Pomegranate from my pin board "For the Home" so I won't post up all my step by step photos, but it worked so well and so quickly!  I will definitely be using this method in the future.

Zumba: tricking myself to workout

Today my pin comes from my pin board Body Re-Shaping, I realize that after 7 years of marriage and 2 kids that I need to get fit and I hate it.  I hate working out, I hate dieting, I hate thinking about it!  So I do classes that trick myself into working out - Zumba, yoga, etc.

I thought that all Zumba instructors taught the same dances, but today I went to a different class and it was way different, still good, but definitely not kicking my butt good.  I'll still go back, it seemed to have more of a classical dance feel to it compared to my usual class that has a kickboxing/hip hop feel.  I go to the South Jordan Rec Center and I really like it - I don't have to worry about appearances, or being late, and they have a nice child care center with a rabbit named "Bun-bun" who is now a friend we love.

Memory Jar 2013: For the Sweet Stuff

I forget sometimes what makes being a SAHM all worthwhile - the Sweet Stuff; little gummy smiles and hilarious quotes from the toddler.  Someone asked me what my most satisfying moment was and I honestly answered, "Holding a sleeping baby".  Ahhh, sappy but true.  So today I found a way to help me remember all the Sweet Stuff: a Memory Jar.

Memory Jar

Behold, my Memory Jar 2013, made by me in 15 minutes.  The pin comes from this blog originally:  inchmark, which is so cute journaling the author's daily interactions with her child.  I also used another pin, double whammy today, for the free mason jar labels with bands.  The label and band fit regular and wide mouth canning jars.  For more fun printables check out the site: limeshot.com.

For using the Memory Jar, every time there is a funny happening, or have to remember quote, I write it on a slip of paper with the date and pop it in the jar.  On New Year's Eve 2013 we read all the slips as a family and tape them in a little book, super cute right?!  Although I probably will break into it many times throughout the year when having a bad day to help pick me up!