Sunday, June 15, 2014

Carne Asada

Carne Asada tacos with onions, cilantro, guacamole, and Cotija cheese
 Carne Asada is a delicious Mexican staple that Nick and I really enjoy. Carne Asada literally means "grilled meat" and in Southern California it is always referring to beef, even though it can be used for other types of meat. We love Carne Asada beef in our household because of the citrus and flame grilled flavor, especially when served as Carne Asada fries. In fact, I think Carne Asada fries are one of the best food creations ever made, but sadly they only exist in Southern California and so when we want them we have to create them at home from scratch, it is a lot of work but it is so worth it.
Carne Asada fries with homemade Idaho french fries, Mexican cheese mix, onions, cilantro, tomatoes, salsa verde, cabbage, sour cream, and guacamole

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Craft Corner - New Babies

In the past year we have moved from that phase in our life where all our couple friends are getting married to all our married friends are having babies. It's funny just how many babies have been born recently. Being far away from all our friends who are having babies makes it harder to give gifts because if I was in the same city and didn't have to pay for shipping, I would make big elaborate gifts like a diaper tower or a onesie bouquet. Since we are far away and on a tight budget, I have decided to invest some of my time and effort into creating unique gifts for our new baby friends. I have made enough onesies now that I want to share them, plus I think we are at a standstill for awhile before anymore babies are born. 

I hope some of you out there in the interwebs are inspired by these simple gift ideas for the growing families in your lives. These are simple, yet time consuming, ways to gift a unique personalized gift that can really impress on a budget. Sometime it's not how much you spend on a gift, but the thought that's behind it instead ;)
  

Eliana

For Eliana. Eliana's parents are both in the medical field, hence the stethoscope onesie. Plus, they had an owl theme for Eliana's nursery and so I had to incorporate owls somehow. These were my first attempt at homemade unique onesies. I used felt with washable fabric glue reinforced with stitching. I also used beading fabric paint for the dot design.
Nash
For Nash. These onesies ended up being perfect for baby Nash because his parents chose a Chevron themed nursery. I think that little boy's dressed as men are super adorable, therefore I had to make him a cardigan and bowtie onesie. Lastly, I found the cutest polka dot felt that looked great as a tie. I used felt with fabric glue reinforced with stitching. I also quadruple double threaded the buttons so as to guarantee they would not become a choking hazard, you could also opt for felt buttons instead of real buttons.
Kai
For Kai. My childhood friend is Kai's mother and so there was no way she wasn't going to get some cardigan and bowtie onesies from me. I also found the cutest "Auntie's Little Monster" set that worked out perfect for my new little nephew, I just had to buy it. 
Zane
For Zane. Zane's father was the guitar player in Nick's band and was one of Nick's groomsmen. These parents decided to wait to find out the sex of their baby for the day it was born and as soon as I found out it was a boy, I knew exactly what to do. I think this guitar turned out pretty great, the sad part is I used an 18 month onesie (because I know parents tend to get a lot of newborn sizes, I try to make older months), therefore it will be quite awhile before I see that one in use, I can't wait.

Aside from the onesies, I wanted to make something special for my nephew and for our best neighbors ever. I came up with this idea to use my scrapbook supplies to make a really unique and personalized picture frame with the babies' full name and birth date, where the photo could be swapped out easily for updated photos (if desired). I enjoyed putting my scrapbooking skills to use since they have been in hibernation for quite awhile.

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Slow Cooker Stroganoff (crockpot recipe)

Stroganoff is already a fairly easy dish to make but with this slow cooker recipe it is absolutely the easiest. Plus it is tastier than the Stroganoff recipes I have used in the past. This is definitely being added to the rotation.