Pill Box Travel Container

originally posted 11/30/15 (over three years later I still carry this in my backpack and use it all the time; I don't only use it while traveling - it's an every day thing!) ~

I saw this on a camping blog and thought it was a very good idea. We just went on a road trip and I tried it out - much more compact and easier to use than other ways I've tried to organize meds in the past (especially when I would just put them all randomly together in a small baggie haha!).  Each day of the week is holding a different pill (aspirin, tylenol, benedryl, etc.) or vitamin, to remember what's what I put a piece of paper in the bottom of each compartment and wrote the name of the med on the underside. When packing for a short trip I don't need the whole bottle, this way I just have a few in case I need them and they are all organized together in one place. A little mini medicine chest!

Cork Trivet

originally posted 12/3/15:

Looking for a quick/cute/fun/practical gift for a wine lover or cook (or wine loving cook) on your Christmas list? I made this cork trivet today and it turned out great - you should make one!

I was walking thru Home Depot with a friend and spotted this 4" duct clamp -  I remembered seeing a wine cork trivet in a catalog somewhere made with one of these and thought I'd give it a try. The clamp cost less than 2 bucks so figured I wasn't out much if it didn't work...I just so happen to have a bag or two of wine corks on hand (ok, ok, I have like 5 bags of wine corks - whatever...ha!) - if you don't have any you can buy them at a craft store (or maybe a kitchen store?), hit up a friend who collects corks, or ask a restaurant if they have any to give you. 

I cut out two circles, one from cardstock paper (as the base of the trivet under the corks) and one from felt (just so the bottom looked more finished) the same dimension as the clamp.

Arrange wine corks in the clamp, fitting in as many as possible. 

After you have the clamp filled, tighten the screw on the side of the clamp until the corks are very tightly wedged together and don't fall out when you pick the trivet up.

 Turn the corks over and glue first the cardstock and then the felt to the bottom.

There you go - cute wine cork trivet! Easy :)

Around the Campfire 🔥 (week 17)

Dear Campers ~

Did you enjoy the reruns this week? Things are still very chaotic around here so I hope you don't mind if I do a few more days of re-posts before I break out the crafting and other projects!

Reruns you might have missed this week ~

4.21: around the campfire (week 16)
4.22: make a dreamcatcher
4.23: tipsy-Tuesday: makeup wipes
4.24: double chocolate oatmeal bars
4.25: topopo salad
4.26: design a spring planter
4.27: Brooke makes bubbles

What's cooking ~

• grilled individual pizzas, salad
• grilled chicken with zoodles in pasta sauce
• grilled steak, caesar salad
• chicken sausage, orzo salad (orzo, chopped tomatoes, feta cheese, greek spices, olive oil)
• buffalo salad (grilled buffalo patties, shredded lettuce, black beans, corn, chopped tomato and avocado, shredded cheese)
• pork chops, greek salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese), roasted garbanzo beans

I'm loving the happy sound of early morning bird chirping! 

Check back often this week to see some more oldie-but-goodie reposts ~ have a good Sunday!

Sincerely ~


Jill
camp counselor and early bird (who enjoys the early birds)

Bubble Maker

originally posted 3/24/17 (I miss Brooke's kid crafts, I keep asking her to do more posts but she is a very busy teenager!) ~


Hello, everyone, it's Brooke! today I was super bored and decided to ty this DIY bubble maker! So the first thing I did was cut the bottom off of a water bottle, then I took an old sock and put it over the part I cut. then in a bowl, I put a couple squirts of dish soap and water and mixed that. then I went outside and dipped the end of the water bottle with the sock in the mixture and then blew on the nozzle of the water bottle and made bubbles!!!! See sounds easy and is easy! it took like 5 minutes!!  hope you have fun with your bubble maker! see you next time! -Brooke:

How to Design a Spring Planter

originally posted 5/23/16:

Candy and I took another Wine and Design class from our local nursery, the last one we did in November (click here to see that post) was so much fun but I failed at making my centerpiece look like the instructors haha...I'm happy to report I did much better this time. Candy's of course looked great, she makes it look easy!



For this class we designed a "spring combination pot"; after getting some instruction and advice from the girl leading the class we were sent out into the huge nursery to pick out 7 (4") plants of our choosing - that was hard for me! Normally when I'm going to the nursery I've done planning and research and have a list of exactly what I'm going to get - being sent out to design my pot with no prior planning was stressful. Do I want a pot for the shade? For the sun? Should it be pinks and purples? Red and orange? What was the big center plant going to be - large leaves? Shootie grasses? Oh man I was on the struggle bus - it took me the longest to pick my materials of anyone in class cuz I kept changing my mind. I looked over at Candy and she had a tray full of beautiful plants before I even decided if I was doing shade or sun!

I've taken gardening and flower arranging classes before but I've never heard this "tip" or formula for designing your pot, I even wrote it down so I wouldn't forget and could share it with you. There are 3 types of plants you want to structure your pot correctly - a "pillar" (or "thriller"), a "filler", and a "spiller". For this pot we needed to pick one pillar/thriller, that's the tall or showy plant that goes in the middle of the pot; 4 fillers, those go around the center plant to obviously fill in the pot; and 2 spillers, they are trailing plants to add some interest and dimension to the pot.

For my 14" sun pot I chose a bright green 'Colorblaze Lime Time' Coleus (big leaf plant, not flowering) for my pillar, it will get 18+" tall so will be a nice anchor for the center of the pot once it grows in; 2 bright orange Gerberas will get 10-12" tall, 2 trailing white petunias will get 10" tall and also spill over the sides; one variegated soft leafed plant and one dark green tiny leafed plant for spillers (trailers).

Candy did a shade pot with a very large leaf variegated Coleus as her pillar; begonia and fuchsia for filler; I'm not sure what she used for spiller, looks like an ivy and something else. Pretty!


When choosing plants for container gardening keep in mind you want to use different shapes and textures for leaves and flowers, and also use different colored greens to add interest. You probably don't want the whole pot to be similar leaf shapes and colors, and the same sized flowers - vary it up to add the most interest.

Pillar, Filler, Spiller - this formula is "killer" hahaha!!

Copycat Recipe: Topopo Salad

originally posted 7/9/17 ~ truly, one of our favorite salads. If you've never had this El Azteco salad in East Lansing (I know, East Lansing! I'm telling you this salad is killer even if it's a mexican dish made in the midwest LOL!!) you need to make this copycat recipe and get a taste of it for yourself!

There is a little Mexican restaurant here in town that makes a stellar salad - it's so good I don't think I've ever ordered anything else. And it's HUGE so sharing is a must, it isn't a salad that's going to hold over very well but it's too delicious to waste...so if you go there bring a friend! I have adapted this salad to make it more user friendly (and smaller) at home by skipping a couple steps and changing a few things.

The original salad has a base of mashed pinto beans and cheese on tortilla chips, then spread with guacamole, and topped with (a LOT of) salad. Here's how I make it...

For the salad, mix together in a large bowl:

• -4 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
• -2 1/2 oz. diced tomatoes
• -2 1/2 oz. shredded chicken
• -2 1/2 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
• -2 1/2 oz. shredded monterey jack cheese
• -2 1/2 oz. thawed frozen peas
• -2 1/2 oz. scallions, chopped
• - 1 diced avocado
• season with oil and vinegar, salt and pepper to taste

Chip layer:

Spread tortilla chips on a baking sheet, spread mashed, whole, or refried beans on top. Sprinkle with a big handful of shredded cheddar and bake until the cheese is melted (you can also microwave this if you use a large plate instead of the baking sheet).

To serve: you have two choices - either put the chip layer on a large serving dish and top with all of the salad (then everyone helps themselves) or divide the chips onto individual plates and proportion out the salad on top of each one. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top of the salad.

Serves 4.

Note: I eyeball these ingredients - too much work to measure 2 1/2 ounces of each of those things, just wing it! It'll be good (and messy) I promise! Oh, and this is the place that only serves margaritas, beer, and tequila that I told you about, and the waitress recommended tequila over a ton of fruit - yum. Click here for that post.

Double Chocolate-Oatmeal Bars

originally posted 4/26/17 - we love these SO much, and I make them SO often (seriously, everyone loves them!) that I had to share again:

If I took "double chocolate" out of the title these might even count as a healthier dessert haha...I feel like they are better for me than they actually are ;). They are delish - call 'em what you want and eat them any time of the day, I really like them for breakfast. There's a couple steps to these and when I look at the recipe I always think "too much work" but then I make them and remember that they are easy, quick, and everyone loves them - make some and see for yourself!

Chocolate Filling
     1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
     4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
     1 tsp vanilla extract

Microwave milk and chocolate in a 1 quart glass measure on high until steaming hot. Let stand 1 minute. Stir until chocolate melts and mixture is well blended and thickened. Stir in vanilla. Set aside.

Ingredients for the bars:
     2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
     1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
     2 tsp vanilla extract
     1/2 tsp baking soda
     1/4 tsp salt
     2 cups all-purpose flour
     2 cups uncooked old-fashioned oats
     1/2 cup M&M mini baking bits

1. Heat oven to 350'. Line a 13x9" baking pan with foil, letting ends extend about 2 inches above pan. Lightly coat with nonstick spray.

2. Put butter, sugar, vanilla, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; beat with a mixer until fluffy. Add flour; beat just until blended. Stir in oats (mixture will be crumbly). Press 2/3 firmly over bottom of pan. Spread evenly with chocolate mixture, then sprinkle with remaining oat mixture and the M&M's.

3. Bake 25-30 minutes until lightly browned on top. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Lift foil by ends to cutting board. Cut into 48 bars.

Per bar: 183 cal, 3g pro, 24g car, 1g fiber, 9g fat. Store airtight with wax paper between layers at room temp up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Notes: I don't remember where I got this recipe, it's from a magazine and I've been making them a really long time.  2/3 of the mixture goes in the pan first - I measured this time and it's about 2 full cups worth. Press down on the top after you sprinkle the remaining batter and mini M&M's, if the M&M's are loose they'll fall off the bars after baked.

press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of a foil lined pan

spread the melted chocolate mixture over bottom layer

top with remaining batter and mini M&M's, press down lightly

Tipsy-Tuesday: Makeup wipes

originally posted 5/12/16 - gotta give it to my sis, this is still a great helpful idea/hack that I use everyday:

Today's tip is from my sister - she said "yay, I've finally made the blog" hahaha...and I can't believe I never thought of this. We both use makeup remover wipes only to remove mascara, and it doesn't take an entire wipe to do that. So instead of throwing out a partially used wipe she rips hers in half and puts the unused half back in the pack for the next night, smart right? I told her I was going to go one step better and actually cut all of the wipes in half (that's my little OCD showing) but that's not a good idea, then I'd have to try to put them all back in the pack so they don't dry out - yeah, even I don't have that much time. So rip them in half I do! They tear easily in one direction, if you try to rip yours and it doesn't tear then turn the square and try again. Good tip - thanks sissy!!

How to Make a Dreamcatcher

originally posted 2/22/16:

Looking thru photos recently reminded me how much fun Brooke and I had making dreamcatchers last summer before I started this blog - they turned out so cute I thought I'd make another one to show you guys. The hardest part is weaving the actual "dreamcatcher" part, this time I followed the directions I found here but there are lots of tutorials online if you search. For this one I used a small 3" metal ring (craft store in the yarn/crochet area, they have lots of different sizes), last summer we made bigger ones - all depends where you are going to hang it. It'll probably turn into some kind of driving hazard but I think it would be cute to hang a little one from the rear view mirror in my car.

Wrap the circle with material, ribbon, whatever you want. I ripped about an 1" wide piece of material from some scrap cloth I have leftover from making tote bags last winter, ripping the fabric gave me a rough raggedy edge with strings coming off that I like.

 I did the weaving and knotting the dreamcatcher using about 4' of cream colored embroidery floss, you can use a number of different things like thin hemp or cord - I used what I have on hand. I added one bead to the floss, you can add as many as you like or none at all.

wrap the material around the ring, secure
 with a little glue

tie on approx 4' of floss to weave the dreamcatcher

weaving the dreamcatcher, I added one bead

I tied a long piece of twine to the top for hanging, then hung it on a knob above my craft table to make it easier to add the long pieces to the bottom. I cut a few pieces of ribbon and twine approx 22" or 24" inches long, fold them in half (one at a time) and then put the fold thru the dreamcatcher and pull the ends thru the folded part to hang them off the bottom - I also added some feathers to a couple of the ribbons by winding some twine around the ends of the feathers and then around the ribbon to hold (I put a little drop of glue on the end so it wouldn't unwind). Lastly I glued a shell to one of the ribbons, and tied a couple knots in the loose ends of the twine.

to make one like this - wind twine around the feathers to
attach to a ribbon, and glue on a shell to another

For the other dreamcatcher I made (below), I wrapped the circle with ribbon so it's smoother. While weaving the actual dreamcatcher I added a few shells and small beads in the netting. I did the same thing as above with flowers, beads, shells, etc. and this one is hanging in our tiny RV - I love it!

August 2015 making dreamcatchers with Brooke and then doing duck face selfies with them for some reason...notice Brooke did not care about following instructions for the weaving part and just wound the floss around the ring however she liked and glued it! Looks good to me!

Around the Campfire 🔥 (week 16)

Dear Campers ~

Happy Easter!! Enjoy your sunrise service, egg hunt, family dinner...whatever you do on Easter!

Here's a quick recap of what happened at camp this week in case you missed anything:

Posts ~

4.14: around the campfire (week 15)
4.15: eggshell candles
4.16: travel jewelry hack
4.17: baked mostaccioli 
4.18: healthier potato soup
4.19: sport paddle
4.20: pompom bugs

What's cooking ~

• baked bone-in chicken, spanish rice, coleslaw
• grilled steak, caesar salad
• tuna, roasted garbanzo beans, tomato/cucumber/feta salad
• chicken sausages, mushroom ravioli, salad
• grilled chicken, zucchini noodles with spaghetti sauce
• chicken enchiladas (I made an extra pan when I made them a couple weeks ago and put in the freezer)

Last weekend was the Long Beach Grand Prix, weather was gorgeous and had lots of fun - here's a couple pics:

We are making our cross-country migration for the next few days so not much time for blogging, I'm reposting some oldie but goodie posts that I hope you'll enjoy - I'll be back with fresh material soon!

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor and excellent road tripper 

Kid Craft: Pompom Bugs

I bought a kid's craft kit at Michaels to make these cutie love bugs while my 5-year old friend Kayleigh visited a couple weeks ago - but how easy would this be to recreate with your own supplies? Start with the body - it's a 1.75" piece of cardboard tube (theirs is made of hard cardboard but a toilet paper or paper towel tube will totally work). Cut a rectangle of felt the size of the tube, wrap it around and glue in place. Glue a 2" black pompom on one end for the head.

For the bumblebee: glue thin strips of black felt for the stripes, 2 pink felt hearts for the wings, dark pink felt circle and a mouth for the face, googly eyes, and 2 pieces of black pipe cleaner antenna topped with 2 small black pompoms.

For the ladybug: glue a bunch of small black pompoms to the body, 2 pieces of black pipe cleaner for the antenna topped with 2 small red foam hearts, a felt mouth and googly eyes.

Aren't these cute?

Sports Team Paddle...by Jenny

So my sister used to manage my little girls soccer teams.  For 20 years I’ve coached girls and I would say roughly half of those my sister has been my manager. I would like to take this opportunity to express my disappointment and ask her to turn in her Master Crafter Card.  

My daughter is now not playing for me as she is in high school.  She has officially outgrown my coaching.  This is where my disappointment in my sister comes in.  One of the moms on her new team has made something I think is AWESOME.  A great idea.  Especially since not everyone knows everyone on this new team. 

She has made a paddle with my daughters name and number. On the back of this paddle is each girls name and number.  This will allow me to properly scream the girls names with my helpful advice from the stands. It will also allow me to identify who’s parent is who’s by the paddle they are carrying.  This will help me to not bad-mouth any girls without being aware of who’s parents are sitting close to me.  

Genius. Crafty.  Where was my sister with this great idea?

Healthier Potato Soup

Even though it's spring, it's still a little chilly and feels like soup weather. Since I have 2 pounds of baby potatoes left over from a giant bag I bought at Costco and I've made enough roasted potatoes lately, potato soup it is! I didn't want to make it the traditional way with lots of cream and butter (and bacon!); Tesha shared a healthy potato soup (click here for that post) but it's made in the crock pot and I wanted to eat the soup quicker than that - hers also uses light cream cheese and I don't have any - this soup needed to be made from whatever I could scrounge in the fridge, be on the healthy side, and be done in a short amount of time. So I winged it, and got lucky - this turned out so good! So good that Dave even had it for lunch and he isn't a big potato lover. And the house smells yummy, which is a bonus.

I know I said I wanted healthy, and the above picture might not look it - but I only garnished with a tiny bit of shredded cheese, small spoonful of sour cream, and sprinkled on a bit of bacon. It's not nearly as much as it looks like!

POTATO SOUP

• 2 pounds baby potatoes (mine are a mix of different colors), diced
• 1 cup baby carrots, chopped
• 1/4 cup onion, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• chicken broth or stock (enough to cover the potatoes)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups milk (I used 1 cup whole milk, 1 cup skim milk)
• pinch of dill weed (I stole that idea from Tesha's recipe)
• 1 teaspoon Emeril's Essence seasoning (it's a creole spice blend; you could use any type of chili or pepper seasoning, or omit all together), to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil and butter in a pot on the stove (I used my favorite enameled cast iron dutch oven - today's happy moment is definitely that pot), saute onion for a couple minutes until translucent. Add the carrots for another 2-3 minutes, then add the potatoes and mix everything together. Cover the veggies with chicken broth, if you don't have enough broth just add water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook until the potatoes are tender. Turn heat off. In a bowl, whisk together 1/4 flour and 2 cups milk - incorporate the milk slowly into the flour to avoid lumps. Stir the milk mixture into the cooked veggies and broth. Turn the stove back on low, cook for a few minutes stirring frequently until the mixture is thickened and hot. Add seasonings, adjust to taste - if the soup is a little bland just increase the amount of creole seasoning and salt/pepper. If it's too thick stir in more broth or water.

note the cool bowl cozy - we really do use them every day!

Cathy's Baked Mostaccioli

Cathy made this for Sunday Supper when she and Al visited us this winter - it's easy and so good, everyone went crazy for it! She says she has been making it for years, it's her go-to dish for get togethers/neighbors/potluck/etc., so of course she doesn't measure anything. You'll need to wing that part of the recipe but really, it's meat, cheese, and sauce and you can't mess it up! After you make the sauce and assemble the casserole you can always add additional jarred sauce if it seems like it might be dry - that's the only thing you need to watch out for...

Ingredients:

• 2 jars Ragu chunky onion and garlic sauce (or chunky tomato, garlic and onion)
• diced onion
• 1 package ground beef
• sugar to taste
• 1 box mostaccioli pasta, cooked according to package directions
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• grated parmesan or romano cheese

Directions:

Spray a large frypan with non-stick cooking spray. Saute an onion over medium heat, add the ground beef and break up into small pieces, cook until completely browned. Add a jar or two of Ragu (depending on how saucy you want it), and add a little bit of sugar to taste (that helps remove any bitter tomato taste the sauce might have). Meanwhile, cook a box of mostaccioli to your desired firmness. 

Spray a 13x9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray, add a thin layer of meat sauce to the bottom of the dish. Top with a layer of cooked mostaccioli, another layer of meat sauce, a generous layer of mozzarella and parmesan cheeses; repeat layering until the dish is full. This is funny - she told me "I always end up mixing it up at this point so I have no idea why I actually layer in the first place, I've just always done it this way!" So I guess you don't have to layer it like she does - sounds like you can mix it all together and then pour it into the dish, haha! Top with a final layer of mozzarella and parmesan cheese and bake in a 350' oven until it's warmed thru and the cheese is melted - everything is already cooked so you just need to get it all hot.