Flower Child

Excluding allergies, I love spring. Everything is new and bright...and the flowers! Our little walking path has been garnished with splashes of Japanese magnolias, daffodils, irises, camellias, dogwoods, and azaleas (to name a few). If no one's looking, I'll pick one and stick it in my hair. The other day I "borrowed" a beautiful pink dogwood bloom and tucked it under my bobby pin. But by the end of the day it was all sad and droopy.
These cute paper flowers were hanging out in the craft section at the grocery store. I just wired them to a bobby pin and ta-da! Instant spring! And this way you don't have to worry about a bug crawling in your ear.

Happy Birthday Jenn!

My best friend, Jenn Kilpatrick is celebrating her birthday today in Africa. That's right, AFRICA. She and Britton, along with their 6 month old, Siriana, went to visit his parents (they are missionaries in Malawi) and help out at the school, crisis nursery and other various places for a month.
I've been sitting here contemplating whether or not to write a long, mushy, how-much-I-love-Jenn kind of post, or just show you what I made for her b-day. Let me just say, that I know for certain, with out a doubt, that I will never again have a friend like Jenn. How does one even begin to describe her? She is the most thoughtful, selfless, creative, loving, giving, fun, quirky, strange, beautiful, hard-working, Christ-like friend I have ever known. She is one of the few people on this earth that I know will love me no matter how ugly, selfish, grumpy, or evil I tend to be. I will miss her greatly when we move. I can't say much more...due to the tears.
Thank you Jenn. I love you and hope your African birthday is the best one yet.

These gifts were sent via Britton. I made her a scarf out of some sheer plaid fabric. And by "made" I mean "hemmed." I have a scarf from the other half of the fabric. ("BE FRI" "ST ENDS," if you will). Judah helped me pick out the green beads for her bracelet. And the little bag I made is from an old shirt we discovered we both had (because we used to accidentally wear it on the same day). Then I lined it with a swatch from some scraps her mom donated to me.

Overall Overhaul

I did some more cover-up patchwork...



















this time on a pair of Judah's overall shorts. I used the left-overs from Old Blue Eye and some striped chenille for his teeth. Bug or alien? I can't decide.

Indian Oatmeal

I just made a bowl of yummy soy oatmeal topped with sliced bananas, chopped pecans and a dash of...curry.
Ooops.
Read your labels folks. Or at least glance at them. A quick glimpse could have told me that C U R R Y was not C I N N A M O N.
My bad.

Headbands

I realized in the middle of my most recent project that I seem to make everything in multiples of about a dozen or more. Bibs, birds, and now headbands. Why is that? I have some theories, but I don't really know for sure.
Any whom.
Like I said: headbands. Dozens of headbands. I gave a few away before I could photograph them. And I lost the Starbucks one! I made it for John Jay's "sister" at work, and it vanished. I'm sure it'll turn up. That's what people say when they can't find something but have to give up the search before they go insane. I'm at that point.
My favorite one is the upside-down Hawaii one. I used one of John Jay's old t-shirts for it. It's pretty rad. The one with four straps I made by sewing four zig-zag stitches in a row and then cutting them apart, except for at the base.
I didn't use elastic (in the scrunched part) so they wouldn't give me a headache. I prefer my headbands to basically hover around my head.
I'm sure I'll make more. But for now, I think I'll try a few dozen dresses. Stay tuned.










































*Dad: do you recognize my t-shirt in this picture? I stole it at Christmas!

A Blankie for Rowan

Our dear old friends (the friendship is old, not the people), Daniel and Rebecca Bene, are expecting their first baby, Rowan, in a few months. Judah insisted that we make her a blanket with a silky side (his favorite). The other side is dotted swiss.

We love you guys! Can't wait to meet you Rowan!

I can't get out of the kitchen!

When 5:00pm rolls around, my house turns into a baby feeding, bath-time giving, dinner-making machine. Everything needs doing at 5:00pm. So today, when Judah went down for his morning nap, I thought I'd make dinner ahead of time and try to shrink our 5:00 list. We're having stuffed shells, (see recipe below) which is great to do in advance. After the first batch was complete, I still had about a dozen shells left over. So I made a different kind a filling, stuffed those, and froze them for later. Then I saw the pile of extra grated zucchini I didn't need. Can't waste! So I made up a batch of our favorite muffins, whole wheat apple-zucchini (recipe also below). I found a recipe at gardenguides.com and altered it just a bit. But as I was grating apples, mixing up the muffins, draining and stuffing a few dozen pasta shells, and making a huge mess...you can guess...Judah woke up. And with cries coming through the baby monitor, John Jay called and was on his way home for a lunch break.
AHHHHHHH!
In my efforts to lighten my load, I just moved 5:00pm to 11:00am.
But all is well. John Jay was home just in time to rescue Judah, who then played in the kitchen long enough for me to wash the giant load of dishes I dirtied and eat a few yummy muffins.
Try 'em!

Stuffed Shells:














A box of jumbo pasta shells
1-2 jars marinara sauce
grated mozzarella
(Filling:)
fresh spinach, 2-3 cups chopped
1 grated zucchini
one container ricotta cheese (12-16 oz.)
1 1/2 t. oregano
1/2 cup Parmesan
one can of sliced mushrooms
a little salt and pepper

•Boil shells according to box instructions (recipe makes about 20 shells, but boil a few extra in case they break) and drain
•Grease casserole dish
•Mix all ingredients for filling and stuff in (cooked) shells.
•Pour marinara over and cover with foil
•Bake at 350˚ for 20 minutes, uncover and top with a little mozzarella and bake about 10-12 more minutes.

Whole Wheat Apple Zucchini Muffins:













2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
3/4 cup brown sugar packed
2 eggs
3/4 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1/2 t. vanilla
1 cup grated zucchini
1 peeled and grated apple (or 2 if they are small)

•Preheat oven to 350˚ and grease muffin tins or use liners
•Mix all dry ingredients
•Beat eggs until pale yellow and add rest of liquid ingredients. Then fold in apples and zucchini.
•Stir wet ingredients into dry just until blended
•Bake for 25-30 minutes
(makes 1 dozen)

5 Years Today!

John Jay and I are celebrating our 5th anniversary today. 5 years of marriage, almost nine years together! We were high school sweethearts (awe.....). He gave me a chance and set me straight. It's been the best 5 years...I hope we have 75 more!
The Gifts: he got me a beautifully simple gold band (like his) from greenKarat. I got him a fleur de lis from an art gallery in the French Quarter, (since he reminds me literally everyday how much he misses New Orleans).




























And now for a little John Jay and Corrie photo montage:

[1] When we "hooked up" at 16!!! Scary
[2] Prom or something
[3] Getting married in City Park, in New Orleans
[4] 2006, I think
[5] Judah!
[6] A few days ago




















































































Okay, I'd better stop. John Jay's going to kill me.
Happy Anniversary Babe!!!

It's That Time of Year Again!!!

I love peeps. I LOVE peeps. I get so excited when I see them stock that ridiculous, disgusting, pastel-colored isle at the grocery store because I know that somewhere amid the rows and rows of high-fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated goo, some little yellow bunnies and chicks sit and wait to be eaten by me.
"Just one box this year," I say (every year) at the beginning of peeps season. So I buy one. But then my hubby sees them, thinks of me, and buys two. Then a friend brings me some...and on and on it goes until the last box is sold off the shelf - to me, of course.
I had a little fun with these in the microwave. Try it! I bet you can't watch these little guys swell up in there without smiling at least a little. You may even chuckle.


































Here's me last year, using pregnancy cravings as an excuse for more peeps. (sorry for the wash-out...blasted disposable cameras!)






















One can even go to the peeps website for recipes, crafts, fun facts and a factory tour. You can even join their fan club!
P.S. Should you choose to buy me some peeps, yellow is the best.