DIY Headband

Super Quick and Easy DIY Headband

No joke, this will take you less than an hour and doesn’t require that much focus so you can even get other stuff done at the same time. All you need is:

- A piece of leather braiding (you can find this at any fabric store – or if you can’t find any you can just braid together long strips of fabric)

- A piece of flat black elastic

- 2 small squares of black fabric

And then it’s as simple as:

1. Hold leather braiding on your head where you would wear a headband. Cut it to the length of the bony parts just behind your ears.

2. Cut the piece of elastic the length of the gap between where the braided leather pieces don’t touch.

3. With black thread sew the elastic to 1-2 centimeters of the braided leather.

4. Take your squares of black fabric. I used a sewing machine to fold the edges under in order to achieve a cleaner look but this isn’t mandatory. Then you place a drop of hot glue on the inside of the leather braid and press down one side of the fabric immediately. When this is dry, wrap the remaining fabric around the braiding and elastic and glue gun in place. Repeat on the other side. If you don’t have a glue gun this can also be done with a needle and thread.

5. There you have it! A brand new headband for a couple bucks!

Roasted Vegetables

I love roasting vegetables because there are absolutely no rules as to which ones you put in. It’s the perfect way to use up some veggies that are just about to pass their prime. For this particular batch I threw in some mushrooms that were about to go bad, baby carrots that looked too funky to eat raw and half a red onion I had no other use for. The recipe for roasted vegetables is very simple:

Ingredients:

- Chopped veggies of any kind (Carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, beans, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, etc.)

- 1-3 tablespoons of olive oil (depending on how many people you’re serving)

- Seasonings (my favorites are salt, basil and rosemary but feel free to experiment)

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place chopped veggies on a tray and pour oil on top. Sprinkle on seasonings. Combine well with either your hands or a utensil of choice.

3. Place in oven for 20-30 minutes until veggies are at desired tenderness. Remove and serve. Perfect as a great side dish or healthy snack!

Rice Pudding!

Now this isn’t the healthiest of healthy desserts but it does provide some much needed dairy and calcium to one’s diet. (And it’s great when you have a bag of milk that needs to be used immediately before it goes bad!) You can find the original recipe as well as some great pictures of the process here.

Ingredients:

- 3 cups milk (I used 1% but it’s totally up to you)

- 1/2 cup arborio rice

- 3 tablespoons sugar (I used splenda but granular our brown would work as well – and you can use more or less based on your preferences)

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1 teaspoon vanilla

- cinnamon (optional for sprinkling afterwards)

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a medium sized casserole dish.

2. In mixing bowl whisk together milk, rice, sugar, salt and vanilla.

3. Pour mixture into casserole dish and place in oven.

4. Let cook in over for about an hour and 15 minutes. Stir it well every 10 minutes. You will know it is ready when the rice is tender and a good amount of the liquid has been absorbed.

5. When done remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes to allow for the rice to absorb further. You can serve immediately with a sprinkling of cinnamon or keep in fridge for a later treat. It’s always nice to come home to rice pudding!

 

My first sewn outfit

So, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I recently received a sewing machine for my birthday. And it brings me great joy to report that today I completed my first outfit on my new machine. Here is my new business/casual dress:

I have wanted an elastic waist dress for so long but didn’t want to spend a lot of money or get one that was really bad quality. I was inspired by the instructions provided here and made the dress for a grand total of 10 bucks! And I had a ton of fun doing it! Wins all around!

Kids Behaving Like Adults

I find it absolutely hilarious and awesome how interested kids are in doing grown up things. You ask them to water some flowers or put away the dishes and it’s the highlight of their day! I know I, myself, would love a day where I take a two hour nap and have every meal prepared for me. I would love it if I could be thoroughly entertained by sorting utensils or dusting corners. I mean, don’t you wish your face looked like this every time you opened your phone?:

Unfortunately, whenever my hands are on the wheel of a car I’m usually stuck in traffic so I rarely wear this expression:

But wouldn’t it be great if I did? I think we should all do a little dance as we vacuum and whistle through a thorough bathroom scrubbing. Why not? If kids can do it – so can we!

Mushroom Corn Patties

These patties are great because they’re delicious and crispy when they’re fresh off the pan and are also easy to take with you to work the next day. Plus they nicely incorporate all the major food groups! The recipe yields 6-7 medium sized patties that can be enjoyed with ketchup or any other sauce you fancy. Enjoy!

Side Note: I am well aware this picture makes the dish look incredibly unappetizing as I have yet to invest in a really good camera. But please check out the original recipe in order to really tantalize your taste buds.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup corn (fresh or defrosted are both excellent options)

- 1 egg

- 1/4 cup milk

- 3 tablespoons oil (I used olive oil)

- 1 cup diced mushrooms

- 1/4 cup diced onion

- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1/2 teaspoon pepper

- 1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper (more or less to taste)

- 2 tablespoons bread crumbs

- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Directions:

1. Place half the corn in a blender with the egg and milk and blend thoroughly.

2. Put onions and mushrooms in frying pan with 1 tablespoon oil and cook on medium heat until they begin to brown. I would recommend putting the onions in first and then adding the mushrooms as onions take longer to cook. Add remaining corn and cook for 2 minutes. Place mixture in a bowl in the fridge to cool for 5-10 minutes.

3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, chili pepper, bread crumbs and chopped parsley. Add in corn puree. Stir in the mushroom, onion and corn mixture and combine thoroughly.

4. Spread a tablespoon of oil over frying pan and place on medium heat. Lightly oil your palms and shape dough mixture into balls. Place each ball on the pan and flatten into a patty. If your pan is small you might need to cook them in two separate groups.

5. Keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn and cook all the way through. When ready remove each patty from heat and serve ‘em up!

Rosemary Whole Wheat Crackers

I am a big snacker but I hate how many additives can hide away in snack foods like crackers. So when I came across this recipe for healthy crackers I jumped at the opportunity. This is a cut in half version of the original recipe because I wanted to make sure I liked them before doing a huge batch. But these things are so good I really should have doubled it! It’s just so nice to snack on a cracker where you know exactly what’s in it – and it also happens to be delicious. So snack away!

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup all purpose flour

- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons rosemary

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1/4 cup olive oil

- 1/4 cup warm water

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In mixing bowl combine flours, salt and rosemary.

3. Create hole in middle of flour mixture and pour in water and olive oil.

4. Starting from the inside out gently begin to combine ingredients. It should from a dough that is a touch sticky but sticks together easily.  Knead into a ball and let sit for 5 minutes.

5. Place a sheet of  aluminum foil on a pan. Put dough in center of sheet and begin to roll dough flat. The final product should be quite thin so they are crackers instead of biscuits. (Mine could have afforded to be a little thinner but we must live and learn!)

6. Using a pizza cutter or knife gently cut the dough into squares.

7. Place the tray in center of oven and check on them frequently as of the 10 minute point. Mine took 16 minutes but thin dough can burn easily so check often just to be safe.

8. Definitely try a few while they’re warm and then pack the rest away for a future delicious and nutritious snack!

Doing yoga in a new place

I definitely believe in the benefits of yoga – the lessons it provides on the value of breathing, stretching and strength are wonderful. But sometimes when I’m 45 minutes into an hour and a half long class I can’t help but stare at the clock and pray it will be over soon. Which lets face it, is the opposite of what you want to feel in a yoga class.
Then when I was away recently and didn’t have access to a gym I decided to do my own personally devised series of yoga moves outside by the water and it was without doubt the most beneficial yoga experience I have had. I was able to gear the whole routine to what I was feeling, target the muscles that needed it and go at it for exactly as long as I wanted to. And doing it in a new place meant there were so many new sights and sounds washing over me.
If you already have experience with yoga I strongly recommend finding a new spot (a park, your back yard, or anywhere else you think might be fun) and go do your own thing. You don’t even have to go with any set time or set moves in mind – just go and listen to your body. If you are new to yoga either take a quick drop in class to get acquainted or even just look up some moves on the Internet and give them a whirl.
It took me a while to get into yoga because sometimes you can get a teacher that isn’t very good and then you feel like you’ve wasted and hour. But if you stick with it long enough you can find the poses you really connect with and create your own routine you can do anywhere! And when there’s no timeline or rules it really gets to be all about you – and that’s relaxing!

It’s sewing time!

My happy happening of the day/week/ month is finally getting a sewing machine of my very own! I have been a sewer for over 10 years but up until a few days ago wanting to sew meant having to find my way back to my mom’s place to use hers. But no more! My incredibly wonderful family got together and bought me a sewing machine for my birthday. Greatest present ever! I can’t even describe how excited I am. I have already put it to good use and created a clutch for all my necessities. I have desperately needed one for months but couldn’t find a cheap enough one that I liked. But now I have this lovely creation:

Total price = 0$ because it was all scraps I had lying around
Total fun had = a whole heck of a lot!

I must also send a big thanks to the blog that inspired my clutch creation. She breaks down the steps really well so I hope you all get a chance to give this pattern a whirl as well!

Easiest meal ever = quesadillas!

This is my favourite go-to meal because it’s delicious, healthy and only requires two ingredients. All you need is a tortilla and cheese. The tortilla can be any size and any flavour. For this recipe I used cheddar cheese but I have also had excellent results with goat cheese and mozzarella cheese – you really can use whatever you have on hand! All you do is distribute an even amount of cheese on half the tortilla and fold the other half over. If you have the time I recommend baking it in an oven or toaster oven at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes because it will give it a nice crispy texture. But if you’re in a rush, microwaving it tastes great too. There is something so wonderful about melted cheese no matter what it’s in! You can even just take it to work with you and microwave it there. So easy and soooo good!