Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Tips for Tueday- Rearranging A Room

Why does blogging feel like a chore this week? I usually love to blog and enjoy finding great things to share, and still do, it's just the getting it posted part that is annoying. For example, yesterday I took all the pictures and thought up the post for my cooking blog but I just never got around to publishing the post. *sigh* I am in cram mode now!

Anyhow, today is a post on something I plan to be doing in my office/craft room in the very near future. Rearranging! Sometimes, you have a room in your house that no matter what, just does not stay organized. And it's not always the fault of people who use the room, sometimes, the room is just not set up to optimize organization.
So where to start? First off, don't move anything!

Grab some graphing paper and measure the room. Figure out a scale that will work on the sized paper you have draw out the the room include any columns if they are in the room, windows, doors, etc.,

Then, get another sheet of graphing paper and some scratch paper. On the scratch paper, measure all of the furniture that you want in the room, sofas, desks, chairs, EVERYTHING! One by one, draw out the perimeter of the furniture/item to go in the room on your spare graphing paper (to the same scale as your room paper) and then cut-out each item.

The fun and easy part is next. Now you can arrange all the furniture on the paper without straining your muscles moving something to one side of the room only having to push it somewhere else later! This is what I did for our son's nursery and it was a lifesaver!

When you chart things out this way, you will be surprised how much furniture you can fit in a room without it feeling crammed or cluttered.

Once you have figured out your furniture arrangement, think about accents. Would shelves on the wall above a dresser make the room more functional? How will you utilize closet space? Plan out a place for as many items as possible, and then get to work making your mental image a reality.

It is so much easier to make sense of things spatially and organizationally when you can think out before just going in there and moving stuff around!

Good luck! I promise to post my office makeover when it is complete.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Make It Yourself Monday - Apple Pie Pops and mini apple pies!

In honor of Labor Day, today's make it yourself is getting a little American with some great apple pie variations!

You can start with your favorite prepared apple pie filling. I usually just do cut up apples with cinnamon, brown sugar, and a little bit of nutmeg. Set the filling aside in a bowl and prepare your pie crust, you can use any pie crust but for the pops you will want enough to line a baking sheet twice.

Now comes the fun part!

Apple Pie Pops:
1. On a greased baking sheet roll out your pie crust and use cookie cutters or another shaped object to cut out the dough. This can get really fun because you can use star shapes for 4th of July, hearts for valentine's (use cherry pie filling for red!), and just get creative!
2. Drop a spoonful of your apple mixture into the center of the each pie dough shape and then add your lollipop stick.

3. Cut out a second copy of your pie crust shape and place this over your pop. Crimp the edges securely, you may want to fold it over a little.
4. You can brush whisked egg yolk and water over each pop for a brown, flaky crust and sprinkle a little cinnamon and sugar over it too.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Mini Apple Pies:
1. Get a muffin pan and grease it. Cut out circles in your pie crust slightly larger than the muffin tin, and press the crust into it as you would to a regular pie pan.
2. Add filling.
3. Add lattice topping
4. Bake according to your pie instructions, or until crust is browned.
And if you want to go all out you can make cute little apple shaped personal pies with the mold from Williams-Sonoma

A perfect treat, that happens to be as easy as pie.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Transitioning to Milk

Well, the day has finally come and we have gotten permission from the pediatrician to start our 10 month old on milk.
He said to start giving him 4oz. of formula mixed with 2 oz. milk for 1 week, and see how he does.
The first week is almost over and he's been great! Loves his food, no upset tummy as far as I can tell, and our formula is lasting a bit longer which is nice.

Next week, I think we are supposed to start doing 2 oz. formula with 4 oz. milk. I honestly can't remember if it was that or half milk half formula though. So the plan is to start with half and half for a few days and if he does good then maybe switch it around Wednesday or Thursday.

This has also been a gerat way to start transitioning to a sippy cup. I've noticed he won't drink his regular formula out of a sippy cup, it's like he needs a different drink. So I have started giving him his combo formilk in the sippy cup and it is a great success!

I'm really excited to not have to spend money on formula anymore, but honestly, we are now going through milk really fast! Regardless, the milk is definitely cheaper. I guess i'll just have to buy more milk at a time :)

Hope you all have a great week, I am working on some fun crafts for next week.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Adding Pockets to Clothes Tutorial

What mom, or kid for that matter, doesn't need more pockets? I know many a times at church I have tried to stash my cell phone in my dress or skirt only to have it fall straight to the floor because my skirt had no pockets!

Well, lament no more. I bring you a fabulous tutorial to add hidden pockets to clothes (although personally, i think front pockets are cute and fun). Sometimes it's nice to have a secret pocket somewhere for you know, phones, rocks, seashells, marshmallows (for secret eating)...

Notes From A Very Red Kitchen is here to deliver that for you. Enjoy the tutorial!