Chai Latte Guest Post

I was a guest over at Sips, Etc a few weeks ago and here's what I shared:

I never liked chai until I started working at a coffee shop a few years ago. They made their own chai (as opposed to a syrup or powder) with real spices and it makes all the difference! It is a really flexible recipe- you can brew it as tea, steam (or froth) it with some milk for a latte, or brew it and chill it for an iced tea or latte. This recipe makes 1 serving, but you can easily make multiple batches. You can also adjust the spices to your preference.

1 tsp cloves + 1/2 tsp sugar + 1/4 tsp pepper (I know it sounds weird but it gives it a special kick) + 1/4 tsp ginger + 1/4 tsp cinnamon + a sprinkle of nutmeg

I used a Lipton black tea, but you can use any black tea (even loose leaf if you want to make your own bag). Cut off the sealed top and tag.

I mix the spices together in a small measuring cup with a spout to make it easier to pour.

Pour into either side of the open tea bag. I try to split it up pretty evenly.

I made my own pretty tag with two pieces of scrapbook paper glued together with a piece of cotton crochet thread in between.

I made a small loop at the end of the thread and tucked it into the tea bag (and, yes, spilled spices all over my machine). This ensures that the thread will catch. Using the zipper presser foot and a small stitch length (I set my machine to 2), I sewed the top of the tea bag closed.

All done! Boil some water, brew for 3-5 minutes, add some honey and/or milk, and enjoy! Or make a couple and wrap them up with a pretty mug for a gift for a friend!

Afternoon in Instagram

The last few afternoons have been rainy and dreary and in need of some creative time. One of our friends from back home has a little boy who turns 3 this month and she just found out she is pregnant again so I had a few gifts to whip up.

in progress bday shirt

mama and son shirts

They are both big Star Wars fans (in fact, they announced the pregnancy with the Storm Trooper fetus graphic) so I thought I would play with that. Yoda was definitely the smallest, most detailed graphic I've done in a while.

And I thought while I was at it, I'd whip up a shirt for myself. 

yum

I snacked on apples and caramel and got caught up on Pan Am (my new favorite show) while I worked. Pretty fun way to spend the afternoon. :)

Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa

One of the best revelations here recently: boiling sweetened condensed milk turns it into the most DELICIOUS caramel sauce. It's so perfect! All you do is pop an unopened can or two into a pot of water and boil it for 2-2 1/2 hours (make sure it stays underwater the whole time) and then enjoy! An unopened can will last up to 5 months- but I can't resist opening them and eating them immediately! We have had apples + caramel, ice cream with caramel, and homemade salted caramel hot cocoas almost every day! I adapted the recipe from Beautiful Mess to include my new yummy caramel.

Makes 1 serving:

In a small pan, heat 1/2 cup of milk, 1/4 cup chocolate chips, and a pinch or two of sea salt. Whisk until completely melted, then add another 1/2 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of your yummy homemade caramel (or store-bought caramel sauce). Continue heating and stirring until warmed thoroughly then pour into a mug. Top with whipped cream, drizzle with caramel sauce, and sprinkle a bit of sea salt on. 

So good!

Organizing, planning, daydreaming..

So today we found out that we will almost certainly be moving to Cincinnati after Brian graduates (which is in about 8 WEEKS! Seriously- how did that sneak up so quickly?) so that he can go to school for another ten years. Just kidding. Kind of. But what this really means is that A) I need to start taking this personal blog a little more seriously, and B) I get to decorate a whole new home for us. :) I've been feeling the spring cleaning urge (which will definitely be useful in weeks to come as we put our house on the market) but even more so, the decorating urge. When we bought our current home, we were still very much newlyweds and without kids. Being newlyweds, we weren't sure how to combine our decorating styles and ended up with quite the eclectic color palette. Brian has since completely handed over the reins to me (at least when it comes to decor), but even still, my style is pretty much all over the place. So the next few weeks, I'm going to be working to define what really inspires me so we can go into this new home with a game plan. Here's some of my favorites from Pinterest:

via Apartment Therapy

via Freshly Picked

via kellymccaleb.tumblr.com

Seriously, how cute is that laundry room? I think I'll probably start breaking down each individual room and doing some planning in later posts. I can't wait to see our next house/apartment/condo/whatever!

A Super Awesome Fundraiser That You Should Totally Support...

Just in case one of my nine followers here doesn't follow my much more popular blog, you should totally check out this post and then the flickr pool and do some shopping for your kiddos. It's for a good cause I promise. :)

Here's a sneak peak:

Shabby Apple Dresses = Love.

Every once in a while, I check out with Shabby Apple's website and every time, I come away with some new favorites. I love their dresses so much- they're especially perfect for young moms (modest enough to chase kiddos around, but cute enough that you don't feel mom-ish). Here's my latest favorites:

 

I love black and white stripes right now. So classic.

Ugh.

So, it turns out, I'm really bad at taking outfit photos. Combine that with being sick this past week...I'm just not feeling it. And I'm not going to scramble to re-photograph all of my last few outfits, mostly because they were kind of boring anyway. With Project Run&Play wrapping up, working on a REALLY big project to help raise some money for friends, and everything else in life- I'm backing out of my 30 for 30 pledge. (sorry to my new 6 or 7 followers who were just wanting to see some cute outfits. Maybe next time). With this being my second round of 30 for 30, I've learned a lot about remixing and how little I need to feel and look cute. That should come in handy this summer when we're (possibly) moving cross-country and only taking the essentials.

I hate posting without a single picture, so if you're interested at all in children's fashion, you should totally check out PR&P and see lots of cute things like this:

(last week's winner- Katy's Chocolate Delivery)