week 27 of 40

Almost into the 3rd trimester! Can't wait to meet our little girl.

an easter basket

I never got around to blogging this, but I made an Easter basket for my little man this year! It was a last minute thing that I started the day before Easter, but I got 'er done!

I followed this tutorial. It didn't take me too long and it was something that I actually finished. I'm pretty notorious for starting a project and never finishing it, so it felt good to have a finished product after a day. It was a fun little project and I love the way it turned out.

I stuffed it with some bubbles, a coloring book, a plastic concrete truck, and a little sail boat. Little man's reaction wasn't huge...actually, he didn't really even care. He just liked the concrete truck. Boys!

xo,
logan

wedding invites

Lately I've been working on my sister's wedding invites. They're finally in the mail!

strawberry lemonade popsicles

I recently received a zoku quick pop maker from the hubby. and I LOVE it so far. It's perfect when you're craving something sweet and you can have a finished popsicle in 10 minutes!

These are the first popsicles of the season.

Strawberry Lemonade Quick Pops
**recipe from Zoku
Yields: 6

Ingredients:
1 cup lemonade
4 oz. hulled strawberries

Directions:
1. Add lemonade and strawberries to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a mesh sieve into a measuring cup, using a spoon to push it through faster. If the mixture is foamy, let it sit for 20 minutes to settle down. Then give it a gentle stir before assembling pops.

2. Remove The Quick Pop Maker from your freezer, insert sticks and pour the strawberry lemonade blend into molds until you reach the fill line. Let freeze completely, then remove the pops with the Super Tool and enjoy! Repeat with remaining 3 pops.

Super easy, and quite yummy. The little man even liked them!

xo,
logan

P.S. I'm on instagram! Follow me at fractionsoflove.

baby elephant

I've started a new knitting project. I'm attempting to make a baby elephant! I've never done anything like this before - I'm usually just a hat and scarf kind of knitter. So we'll see how this goes...

Those are the ears. I've knitted 7 of the 17 pieces, so I've got 10 to go. I need to go buy more yarn though, I ran out tonight. Ooops.

Wish me luck! I'm especially nervous about sewing all the pieces together. I just hope it looks like an elephant when I'm done.

xo,
logan

last night's dinner: parmesan crusted talapia

We recently joined emeals and this was the recipe we cooked last night. It was very quick and easy, which is something we always like around here.

I think it could have used a little salt in the crumb mixture, but that's just my opinion.

Parmesan Crusted Talapia

Ingredients:
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (we used panko)
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried basil
1.5 lbs talapia fillets, 4-6 pieces
2 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400. Mix breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and basil. Brush one side of fish with butter and dip into crumb mixture. Place fish, coated side up in a greased rectangular pan. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork.

and done! So easy! and it was pretty tasty too. Like I said above, it could have used a touch of salt, but was still good as is. We'll definitely keep this in rotation.

We served ours with basmati rice and green beans, but you could choose any sides to your liking. Enjoy!

xo,
logan

apple pie

This weekend I made an apple pie. It definitely put me in the mood for summer!

Apple Pie
**recipe from Adventures of an Urban Foodie, but I didn't make mine vegan

Ingredients:
1 recipe pie dough
3 pounds apples (6-8 medium-large)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (for vegan version, use Earth Balance sticks)
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon salt

Line a 9-inch pie pan with half the dough. Peel, core, and slice apples a little thicker than ¼ inch.

Heat butter in a very wide skillet or pot over high heat until sizzling and fragrant.

Add the apples and toss until glazed with butter. Reduce the heat to medium, cover tightly, and cook, stirring frequently, until the apples are softened on the outside but still slightly crunchy, 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir in sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Increase heat to high and cook the apples at a rapid boil until the juices become thick and syrupy, about 3 minutes. Immediately spread the apples in a thin layer on a baking sheet, and let them cool to room temperature.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the apple mixture into the bottom crust. Cover with a pricked or vented top crust or a lattice. Bake until the crust is richly browned and the filling has begun to bubble, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack, 3 to 4 hours.

Enjoy!
xo,
logan

surprise lantern

I wanted a fun way to reveal the gender to some of my best friends, so I attempted to make one of these surprise lanterns. It looked good and turned out quite well, but the confetti release wasn't quite as strong.

I'm not sure if it was too much fringe at the bottom, but hardly any confetti came out when we pulled the string. We had to do a little more shaking to get confetti to fall from the lantern. It was still fun and exciting, but I wish it was more of a confetti explosion.

I still love the lantern. It's sweet and pretty and will now make a new home in our baby girl's nursery.

valentine's day

I know it's late, but I wanted to share the card I made for the grandmothers. I saw this idea on pinterest and thought it was the cutest thing ever. I was FINALLY able to wrangle G into letting me trace his hand (he says tickle the whole time) and made two of them. I threw some heart confetti into the envelopes and off they went...

Also, these are the cookies I made for the hubby. They were SO good! Thanks again pinterest for the idea to switch out kisses for dove hearts. I actually thought they were better this way.

xo,
logan

week 20 of 40

Tomorrow we find out the gender of our baby. I'm so excited!!!

At first I was all girl girl girl, but the thought of another sweet little boy has grown on me.

I can't believe we're halfway through this pregnancy!

xo,
logan

I'm back!

I know it's been a long time since I've last blogged, or blogged regularly, but I needed the break.

Lately, I've had the urge to start blogging again. It is something I enjoyed doing, but I guess I was too hard on myself and the fun was taken out of it.

So I want to keep it simple and fun. Blog when I feel the urge to blog and share with you all the things that I'm doing - like growing another baby, cooking, and crafting. Oh, and chasing around an almost 2 year old.

See you soon!

xo,
logan

week 19 of 40

This week I have started feeling you a little more regularly. It’s the best feeling ever.

Your brother and I both battled a stomach bug, but I think we’re all finally getting better.

Next Friday we get to find out if we’ll be welcoming a sweet little girl or another little boy. We’re so excited. Hope you’re doing well in there! Continue growing strong and healthy!

3 + 1 = 4

Due July 19, 2012.

xo,
logan

etching glass

I’ve always liked the look of etched glass, so last Sunday I finally got around to etching some canister jars for our pantry.

Materials:
-glass jars, washed
-etching cream, I used Armour Etch
-printer mailing label sheets (or contact paper, painters tape, or other adhesive medium to create a stencil)
-rubbing alcohol
-xacto knife
-paint brush
-water

1. Prior to starting, quickly wipe down surface of jars with some rubbing alcohol so it will have time to dry before applying the stencil. Print out text onto your stencil medium. I found it easiest to print directly onto an 8.5x11 mailing label (filling up the whole page with my desired text) and then placing that directly onto the glass jar. Once you have the stencil on the jar, then very carefully cut out each letter using an xacto knife.

2. Using a paint brush, liberally apply etching cream. Take caution here. Etching cream is dangerous to the touch, so make sure it doesn’t come in contact with your skin. I also did this outside to avoid inhaling any fumes. Let sit for 5 minutes. [Note: we tried various times on a test jar to determine which worked best for our jars. I would recommend doing the same since the directions on the back of the etching cream said anywhere from 60 seconds to 5 minutes.]

3. Rinse thoroughly with water. I had a hose nearby ready to use. Again, make sure not to splash near your face and eyes. and then peel away your stencil.

4. Let dry and ta-da! Etched glass!! I gave my jars a good wash through the dishwasher before putting any food in the jars to get rid of any residual etching cream.

Now they’re filled and in my pantry :)

xo,
logan