Butter Beer and good old Harry Potter

We have been taken over by the wizarding world at the Wood house! Callie started reading the Harry Potter series at the beginning of the school year and she has just fallen in love with these books.

Last week we finished off the third book, The Prisoner of Azkaban, which is my favorite book! So we decided to celebrate this Saturday, by watching the movie and trying to make Butter Beer.

It is quite a process let me tell you!
You need
1 cup of brown sugar
2 tbsp of water
6 tbsp of butter
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup of heavy cream
2 liter of cream soda

First in a sauce pan mix the sugar and water together and heat up over medium.

Bring the mixture to a boil and let it get good and caramel-y. One recipe I found said to heat it to 240 using a candy thermometer, but I didn't have one so I just let it boil for about 3 minutes until it was smooth and not grainy.

Removed from heat and stir in the butter, salt, cider and 1/4 cup of the heavy cream until it is smooth. Next let the mixture cool back down to room temperature. This was the longest part, waiting.

After it has cooled down, whip 2 tbsp of the brown sugar mixture with the remaining heavy cream using egg beaters. The recipe suggested about 3 minutes of whipping, you want it creamy but not totally whipped cream texture, if that makes sense.

Finally the good part... Spoon the brown sugar mixture into a cup. We used Brien's beer mugs, a big scoop for both!

 Then, pour on the cream soda, we filled the glass about 3/4 full. Stir the mixture.

Last top off with the cream! 

So the verdict is...Butter Beer is weird. It's a little like a super sweet, warm, root beer float. Callie LOVED it, I thought it was okay and Brien was NOT a fan. So maybe not for everyone, but it was worth a try! 

And by the by, the book is SO much better than the movie!

What I Wore Wednesday

This week has been a little of this and little of that and a little of cold and a little of warm. We have a few days off coming up so we are definitely ready for those nice days. Callie is about to start selling girl scout cookies. We are about to start conferences at school. Bring it on.

Sweater: Forever 21

Plaid top: American Eagle

Pants: Old Navy

Heels: Target

Top: Forever 21

Skirt: Target

Necklace: Target

Boots: Target

Top: TJ Maxx

Tights: Target

Scarf: Jane

Boots: Kohl's

Sweater: Old Navy

Tee: Target

Necklace: #whoawhatwalmart

Jeans: Target

Heels: Target

Sweater: Old Navy

Skirt: Target

Scarf:?? Present maybe??

Tights and heels: Target

Speaking of deals... I got 2, two  NEW pairs of super cute, probably a little too tall heels at Target last week for $7.48--I needed a new black pair and I had been eyeing the blue pair for months. It was fate.

More deals, steals and outfits next week!

Oven Baked Fajitas

O. M. Goodness! Y'all need to try this recipe! I have made it a few times and it is yum yum!

All you need is:
1 lb of chicken
3 bell peppers--I used green, red and yellow sliced
1 whole onion sliced
6 Tbsp of olive or vegetable oil
1 Tbsp of cumin
1 Tbsp of garlic salt
1 Tbsp of chili powder
Tortillas
Shredded cheese
Sour cream, guacamole, salsa (fajita fixins')

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400
2. Grease up a 9x13 glass pan
3. Thinly slice up your raw chicken
4. Thinly slice up your onion
5. Thinly slice up your peppers (also de-seed them)
5. Toss the veggies and chicken together in your pan
6. Mix up the oil and spices
7. Pour the oil/spice mixture over the chicken

8. Give it all a good stir to coat the chicken and veggies
9. Pop it in the oven, uncovered for about 30-35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender.
10. Serve on tortillas and let people decorate with the fixins'

So delicioso and easy-oso!

Dollar store Valentines day garland

I have a quick and easy one for ya today!
This week I just happened to be out running errands and I saw a bag of red, pink and white pom poms and I randomly grabbed it.
I am so glad I did because later that day I saw this...

I had pulled out the Valentines day decor and the mantel looked a little naked, SO crafty time ensued. 

All you need is:

a bag of pom poms

thread 

a needle

This literally took me 10 minutes. I just threaded the needle and starting pulling the pom poms through and onto the thread.

I measured out about how long our mantle is and added a few inches so it would hang down. 

Then I tied it to the mantle and spread out the pom poms a little more evenly and Voila! New Valentines decor for $1!

So cute and so ridiculously easy!!

3 days weekends

Three day weekends are just magical. I feel like if we had more three days weekends, we would be more balanced, productive and overall happier people, who is with me??

So this weekend was awesome!
Brien finished demo-ing the basement! Hurray. It's a hot mess right now, but we have all of the old walls down. Next step get rid of the debris from the old framing and drywall, pull up the old carpet, make a million Goodwill runs and get rid of a bunch of stuff. Then we can re-frame the walls and rough in the plumbing. I am liking this project, mostly because I can shut a door and not have to look at the mess! Progress is a little bit slow, but I am SO excited to get going on this shenanigans!

So...It's a little hard to see the vision right now....

So. Much. Crap.

On Saturday we had a BLAST with Brien's brothers and my sister in law. We dropped off the kiddos and headed north for a brewery tour.  I had NO idea Colorado had so many breweries. My sweet sister in law planned everything and we spent the whole day hanging out and laughing so hard my tummy muscles were sore the next day!

At 300 Suns, a tiny  brewery in Longmont, one of our many fun stops!

These brothers always keep life interesting!

I had to get a picture of this sign! One of the breweries was behind this tiny little furniture rehab place. I might have to revisit just to check out the furniture!

Sunday we picked up the kids and headed home to watch the Broncos killin' the Steelers. Okay, so they barely won, but a W is W!

This lovely Monday we have been working on crafts and just hanging out at home. I have adored these cold days off at home!

I am working on some signs for my mom's kitchen...

I can't wait to get the lettering on these! They are going to be SO cute in their new kitchen!

Little miss spent the day making "Zip lines" out of her para-cording bracelets for her stuffed animals. So my house looked like an obstacle course for most of the day, but hey, kids were having fun!

3 days weekends=fun with family

=getting projects worked on

=crafts

=fun!

Cheesy potato casserole!

 It's been awhile since I have shared a recipe and I have the BEST recipe to share with you. It is just perfect for a cold winter night, so last Friday when it was super chilly this dish fit the bill. It is a little bit labor intensive, so I always make it on a week end night and it is delish!

You need: Smoked linked sausage (I actually used the turkey kind, but any kind will do)
about 2.5 lbs of potatoes (I used new potatoes, so I didn't have to peel them, but any kind will do)
4 Tbsp of butter
4 Tbsp of flour
8 oz of velveeta cubed
2 cups of milk
salt and pepper
2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese


First cube and boil the potatoes, I like them really good and cooked so I let them boil about 25 minutes until they fell off a fork. Then pre-heat the oven to 350.

While the potatoes are cooking, slice up the sausage. I should have cut them smaller, but I just sliced them and microwaved them for like 2 minutes to cook them.

Also while the potatoes are boiling start the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Then whisk in the flour. Gradually stir in the milk and whist, whisk, whisk!

Heat up the milk mixture and then add in the cubed velveeta. Stir until the cheese is melted and it's smooth and creamy.

Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and dump them into a greased 9x13 pan. Toss in the cooked sausage and mix them together and add a dash of salt and pepper.

After the cheese sauce is totally smooth and the velveeta is melted, pour the mixture over the potatoes and sausage.

Top with the shredded cheese and bake on 350 for 25 minutes or until the shredded cheese is good and melty.

It will not disappoint y'all! Enjoy!

If Crocheting is wrong, I don't want to be right....

Remember this summer when I learned to crochet?? This has become quite the fun little hobby for me! I haven't really branched out much from the comfort zone of scarves but I just love them so much and so do other people, so this has become a pretty convenient little hobby, as well!

So far I have made 6 scarves, 1 I have given away and I am working on one for my mother-in-law currently. I am by no means an expert, but I feel like I am doing pretty good.

I am going to try some new patterns this year and maybe actually stick to a pattern, now that I know what most of the stitches are and can read a pattern. I have loads of things on my Pinterest boards!

                                                            

Maybe a blanket??

Boot cuffs perhaps??

Earwarmers, bring it on!

It's Crazy easy, once you get the hang of it! My Grandma got me a book and that was great for upclose pictures. I have also found a few videos that were super helpful and easy to practice with!

So first...

The original scarf, that started it all...

It is all slip stitches SS 50 across and I didn't really count how many long it was. I just wanted it to long enough to wrap around twice. I used a thinner yarn (6.5mm) and a size N hook.

Then when I thought it was long and wide enough, I stitched the ends together using the same slip stitch...

Here's the video...

The next scarf was for Callie...

Same yarn, same hook I just used a single crochet for this one. She loves how it turned out and it is much less of a hot mess than mine! Her's was a little skinnier, like 30 stitches across and also shorter, as she has a smaller neck, so I just measured my first row of chains until it would go around her neck 2 times and then 16 rows of single stitches. Then same stitch a single crochet to tie the ends together...

Here's a helpful video...

My next projects, I got wild, okay not really... but hey it was not what I was used to working with!

I used a much thicker yarn and this mammoth hook

It's ginormous!

This is my favorite one!!

I used a half double stitch. You chain about 100 (enough to wrap around my neck 3 times) and about 10 rows of half double stitches, then weave the ends together using a half double as well.

Here's the video

Last one I promise... This one was for my sister-in-law, who loves orange! I used the same thick yarn as the maroon scarf and the same huge hook. This time I tried out  a double crochet stitch. Same pattern as the maroon scarf, as well. 100 across, 10 rows, weave together the ends using a double crochet!

I love how it turned out and I hope she loves it too!

Here's the video...

So there you have it, scarves, glorious scarves. Who knows, maybe by this time next year, I will be onto knitting and making sweaters. That would be a sweet deal,  oh to never buy another sweater!

The Walking Dead

This week has been rough. I know I have said that many times, but this one kind of takes the cake!
Last Thursday Callie came home from school and was fine, did her homework and was fine, ate dinner and was fine. Then she went to bed and threw up everywhere! Oy Vay. She spent the rest of the night dry heaving into a bucket.

That girl she had best sense on humor. Even after all that, she said, "Mom, it feels like I am giving birth!" and wanted to go to school the next day. Needless to say, I stayed the day home with her. It was snowy and a Friday so it was really a perfect day to get sick.

Saturday, everyone was feeling great! Hurray! We even went to our sweet friends', kiddos' birthday. It was a blast! It was at the smallest bowling alley in all the land. I am talking six lanes of fun. The kids were so cute! Kellen loved bowling and he kept saying, "It's my turn now!" and would run up there ready to go!

So much fun!

The rest of Saturday was just fine, everyone was healthy, we did dinner with parents, Brien was on call so he unfortunately ended up having to go in for a few hours. But for the most part a red letter day!

Then Sunday came... DUN, DUN, DUN! Brien AND I both were plagued with the horribleness that was the tummy bug! It was vicious, let me tell you. 

I loathe being sick. I mean, no one really enjoys illness, but there were points when I was sure I was going to die. Being sick always makes me go to a weird place. My mind races with crazy thoughts, like what if I never get better? What if there is something really wrong with me? Does anyone else do this besides me?! And everything is in a funk. You don't get to do your normal routine things! My parents very graciously took my children so Brien and I could wallow in our illness and hopefully not spread it to the youngest member of our family. And I am so thankful they did. I literally could not move from the couch, let alone take care of Kellen. Thank GOD for amazing parents 

Monday, everyone was on the mend. I had survived! 

Tuesday, I got the fateful call from Brien. Kellen barfed at the babysitter's house. So we had finagle our schedules and take half days home with him. 

Now everyone is better and I need to de-germify once more. But I am so thankful for our health, modern medicine, family who is loving and flexible and sick days from school. No more sickness please!

What I wore Wednesday

It seems to me like the only thing I have been posting about is getting dressed everyday, which for the past few days, after being ravaged with illness, is about the only thing I actually accomplished.

So here goes more January clothes...

First day back from break...

Blouse: J. Crew, Thrifted

Skirt: Target, Thrifted

Heels: Target

Lounge-y Saturday!

Sweatshirt: Wal-Mart #whoawhatwalmart, I know right?

Yoga pants: TJ Maxx

Boots: Christmas gift from the parents!

My sweet student teacher gave me this necklace and top for Christmas she has great taste!

Top: Kohls

Necklace:???

Cardigan: Old Navy

Pants: Old Navy

Heels: Target

My kids said I looked like a hippy in this outfit, sweet Kellen asked me if I was wearing my furry blanket to school, yet here I am still wearin' this thing!

Dress: Old Navy

Vest: Target

Boots: Kohls

Necklace: I made it!

 This week I was supposed to got to a workshop for my advanced kiddos on Monday and Tuesday and district told us they would "Take care of it". Well I guess that meant entering our absence into the computer and nothing else. Please, I could've done that! So when five of us showed up at the professional development center we were immediately turned around and sent back to school, because there were no subs to cover our classes. So much for "taking care of it"!

Top: TJ Maxx

Jeans: Target

Scarf: Jane

Boots: Kohls

Necklace: Charming Charlie's

That's all for this week. I am praying that next week will better!

What I wore Wednesday

I needed to get caught up on these posts over the break, but I made myself busy enjoying the kiddos and getting my house back in order. It always seems like a huge task to get the Christmas stuff put away, clean out the closets, get organized and find new places for new things!

I also am proud to report that I cleaned out my closet and actually got rid of things, I am weird about holding on to clothes. So this was a big step for me!!

On to the outfits...

I love how this outfit turned out and it was super warm for some freezing days before the break!

Sweater: Target, clearance

Plaid: Old Navy

Jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Amazon

This was for a another cozy day on our freezing winter break!

Sweater: Old Navy

Scarf: I made it!

Leggings: Jane

Tee: H&M, thrifted

Boots: Target

My Christmas eve, eve festive running last minute shopping errands!

Tunic:  Jane

Leggings: Jane

Scarf: Gift

Boots: Amazon

Back when the tree was still up..Yikes!

Top: Target

Scarf: Target

Jeans: Target

Boots: Kohls

My Christmas boots finally came and I love this SO much! How have I lived in CO for the past 7 years, without real snow boots??

Sweater: ???, thrifted

Jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Amazon