DIY Homemade Bow Tie

So, do you remember awhile back when I promised I would put a bow tie tutorial on here? Well, it is finally here! Tyler (my husband) made his first bow tie a little before Christmas and has since perfected it and even made a pattern. These are the legit sort of ties, where you have to tie them and all that. I must say, Tyler does look pretty handsome and spiffy in a tie. So if you or your husband want to be brave and make your own, here is a great tutorial from Tyler:


What You’ll Need:

• Sewing Machine
• Good Fabric Scissors
• Fabric
• Interfacing (or an old tie)
• Ruler/ Measuring Tape
• Knitting Needle (or other utensil to turn the tie right side out, pencils work fine)
• Bow Tie Pattern
• Iron

In the Kitchen: Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies

Yes, I should probably have some sort St. Patrick's Day recipe up here, but I probably won't make anything Irish until tomorrow and seeing how this post is supposed to be every Friday, here is something different.




























I sort of made up this recipe. I felt like making cookies, but wanted some chocolate in them, but I did not have any chocolate chips. I did have Nutella though! I think Nutella and peanut butter go well together (I often eat both together on a spoon), so I used a basic peanut butter cookie recipe and altered it to include Nutella. I added half of the peanut butter and put in the Nutella for the other half. I also added a half cup more flour because Nutella is a little more creamy than peanut butter.

Oh, and I had a little helper.

Faces: Elanor Update

Elanor turned 15 months on March 10th. She is growing up so fast and learning how to do so many new things! Elanor had her 15 month check-up today, so here are her stats:

weight: 20 pounds, 2 ounces--11th percentile
height: 30.5 inches--51st percentile (the first time in the 50th percentile for anything!)
head: 17.7 inches--24th percentile

Elanor makes the silliest faces (thus the title of this post). Here is a taste of a few of her most recent expressions:

This is her "oh, my goodness", surprised face:

Wise Words

"I have two daughters that will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don't want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed. emaciated clones; I'd rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny--a thousand things before 'thin'. And frankly, I'd rather they didn't give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the women standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do. Let my girls be Hermione's, rather than Pansy Parkinsons. Let them never be Stupid Girls. "

~J.K. Rowling

I quite agree. There is just one thing I would clarify though. It is not a bad thing to be thin. We should always aim to be healthy and fit. Also, it is not a bad thing to care about our appearance and try to look nice. BUT being thin and beautiful is not the only thing girls are good for.  There is so much more to us, and yes, I would rather that Elanor was all those good things J.K. Rowling mentioned before being thin and beautiful. Let's not raise "Stupid Girls". Yes, this does sound a bit like this post.

In the Kitchen: Pan Seared Tilapia with Creamy Leeks and Mashed Potatoes

I needed something to make for dinner tonight and I had leeks (which I love), so I hit up Pinterest and found an awesome recipe here. Technically, it is supposed to be made with salmon, but tilapia is cheaper and that is what I had in my freezer. Salmon would be better as it is more flavorful, but this was pretty darn good too. Oh, and mashed potatoes--a perfect side to this delicious dish. 

Let's get started.

Because getting pictures taken is SO expensive

In our current situation, we don't really have extra money for getting pictures taken. Nowadays it seems like almost every female (not really, but quite a few) is starting their own photography business. Most of them just have nicer cameras than I do, and I feel like if I had nice camera my pictures would be just as good. There are a few that are genuinely talented. However, they are all so over priced! I know the camera and equipment are expensive, but the customer pays for the prints and the time and sometimes if the photographer has it, their talent. I just cannot justify paying $200 for a session and then on top of that paying for prints. Not everyone is that expensive, but with all these free lance people they have driven up the prices (I really don't have anything against photographers, I just don't see how people can actually afford them!).

I still wanted pictures of Elanor though. So, I set up my own little studio in Elanor's room (as it has the best natural light in the afternoons) and tried to take pictures. I used a white curtain and draped it over the back of a large arm chair and then collected items for Elanor to hold and look at while I took pictures. My camera, as I have mentioned many times, is just a point and shoot (and 4 years old), so the quality is just so-so.  Elanor was not all that easy to work with, as she kept walking off and did not like having to stay put. I edited the pictures a little in Picasa. I mostly just brightened them and changed the filter (B&W, sepia, antique).

Sometimes there is so much confusion....

So this is not in my usual strain of a stay-at-home mom blog, but I also feel like it is important for stay-at-home moms to keep up with current events and and use their brains. So here goes.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have a firm testimony that is is true. Recently, almost any article I have read online that mentions something about Mormons (about Romney, Mormon Girl, etc.) the reader comments are so all over the place. I feel like there are a lot of confused people on both ends of the spectrum. More often than any other topic discussed in these comments is the gay marriage issue. So many people are confused! There is everything from people being angry and rude to gay people and then others saying anything goes. The Church does not support either of these opinions. I do not want to go into this topic because I found this blog. It describes everything perfectly and uses true doctrine and the words of the apostles to support the point of the blog. I highly suggest reading it if you have ever had any questions about gay marriage, the Church's stance on it, etc.

Another point of confusion within the church (as in the members) seems to arise from the fact that many members seem to think you cannot be anything but Republican to be a good member. I am an Independent, but tend to lean more to the Democrat side. There have been many apostles including James E. Faust, who are Democrats. This great blog wrote a good essay about this, so please read!!

If you need those link again here they are:
http://mormonandgay.wordpress.com/about/
http://likebulletsbark.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/13/

They both follow true doctrine and do not try to slip their way around commandments (as some blogs I have seen have done), but are also very loving. Please read.

In the Kitchen: Sauces

I am a big fan of sauces. I especially love Italian sauces, though curries and such are quite fun too. One reason I really love to make sauces is that they vary so much and you can easily make it up and improvise based on the ingredients you have on hand. I am probably best at making Italian type sauces and learned a lot when Tyler and I worked at the Tuscany Italian restaurant in Lexington, VA (good times--if Nate Pence is reading this...).

The three most basic forms of Italian sauces are a white sauce (cream), red (tomato) and pink (cream and tomato). You can vary these sauces quite a bit. Most cream based sauces use butter as their fat and most tomato sauces use olive oil as their fat, at least that is what I do. I made a pink sauce last night, so that is the recipe I am going to share with you. I make this often and I usually just make it up as I go. When I cook, I never measure. I mostly always just add to taste, unless I am following a specific recipe. I tried to measure stuff out last night so I could give you some idea of how much goes in.