Pancakes!

Let me preface this post by confessing that in the two years since we've been married I have probably made breakfast twice, and they were both on Aubrey's birthday. So when I woke up last Monday, my day off for the week, and had the sudden urge to make breakfast, I'm sure Aubrey thought something was wrong with me. But he willingly played along!

I recently got a new griddle and had been wanting to break it in so, I decided to make pancakes. I wanted a homemade pancake recipe, but didn't have one so to allreciepes.com I went! The recipe was good and I will definitely use it again!

So, there I was, being a regular ol' housewife making my man breakfast, when I remembered something I saw on pinterest a while back, and that's when breakfast took a turn down fun street!

First, take some of your pancake batter (or all of it!) and put it in some type of squirt bottle, we had one laying around from Summer Snow, but I have also seen an old ketchup bottle used.

Next, use that squirt bottle to make whatever, you heard it, whatever shapes/designs you can imagine!

Let the fun begin! Needless to say, I had way to much of it!

Side note: this technique is also great even if all your after is perfectly round pancakes.

Aubrey did enjoy the fun shapes, but not as much a some way future kiddos probably would!

Fall fun, for cheap!

Every time a new season rolls around I get the itch to spruce up the house a bit in honor of the new season, and by spruce up, I mean decorate with something that represents that new season!

This fall has been no different. The stores are bursting with happy fall decorations that I just can't bring myself to spend money on. Actually, I could probably talk myself into it, but the boy would quickly talk me back out, and rightfully so!

So, I began to rack my brain and the internet for cute ways to satisfy my urge within budget! And between some inspiration online and my creative juices I came up with an idea!

I headed out to find some glass vases. I found one at the dollar store (gotta love it right?) and one at Savers. Glass vases: check.

Next I wanted something to fill the vases with. I decided on popcorn and coffee beans for some nice fall colors. Easy, and cheap enough, the coffee beans were a bit of a splurge, but now I have them and they can be reused. Filler: check

Finally I wanted something to set on top of the fillers, my first thought was candles, but I knew they wouldn't be cheap, and was therefore holding out on buying them when I stumbled upon an even better find at the grocery store! Mini pumpkins! It doesn't get more fall than pumpkins! Cute "toppers": check!

This was the end result, and I must say my fall spirit is happy!

Cost?
2 vases: $3
Popcorn: $2
Coffee beans: $4
Pumpkins $2
Happy fall decorations: Priceless!! Right? Well, not exactly but you get the point!

The vases, popcorn, and coffee beans will be gifts that just keep giving! The vases are like blank canvasses to my cheap decorators heart that can be filled with all sorts of fun things! I am sure you will be seeing more of these guys!

What do you decorate with to appease that seasonal need to revamp?

Pinterest

Have I told y'all about my new favorite place to browse for all sorts of inspiration?

Pinterest

If you haven't, you should check it out. Fun things from cute styles, activities to do with kids, recipes, decor tricks, need I say more??

In its simplest form Pinterest is like an online "story" board. You "pin" pictures to different "boards". You can organize your boards based around all sorts of different themes. You can name your boards whatever you want and pin whatever you want to them!

Some of my boards include:
Food for Thought - recipes
DIY - cool DIY projects
WAY Future kiddos - nursery ideas, activities to do with kids, cute kid clothes, etc.
Inspiring Photography - cool picture ideas
House Dreams - dream house ideas
Fun Furniture - cool pieces of furniture/ideas for furniture
and many, many more!

Seriously, if you love being creative and seeing other people's ideas you are going to LOVE this.

You need an invite to join, and lucky for you I can hook you up! Leave your email address in a comment if you want one! Enjoy!

dressed up spaghetti

we eat pasta a lot around the Hogan household, mostly because it is quick and easy and because i LOVE all pasta! but tonight we ate it because my husband is running a 50K this Saturday (that is 31 miles...and yes he is crazy) and tonight was his night to "carb up" so PASTA!

but the plain ole' jane pasta sauce gets old quick! so i wanted to share an easy way to dress up your favorite jar of marinara! it's a nice pinch of sugar to your regular pasta routine!

brown your favorite kind of ground meat, i used beef, but others would be good too, whatever you like to use! then drain the meat and add 1 chopped green bell pepper, 1/2 chopped sweet onion, and one garlic clove, minced. let all that cook together for a few minutes, then add almost a whole can of diced tomatoes to the mix and let that goodness meld together for a few minutes.

then add 3/4 of a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce.

let all that goodness simmer together while you cook your favorite pasta! we went with spaghetti for this "carbfest"

**tip for keeping the pasta from sticking all together: after your drain the water off of it, toss it in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil! adds a nice flavor that wont clash with the meal, and keeps it from becoming a giant glob of pasta!**

YUM!

method madness

so i recently stumbled upon a new line of cleaning supplies that i love.

now, you may say cleaning supplies? seriously, this girl is going to blog about cleaning supplies. well...YES i am.

i have never been too crazy about the cleaning supplies i used. again you might think i am looking for too much from my cleaning supplies. No, im not looking for sparks to fly, i just want to enjoy using them, because that will motivate me? right?

any way, i always felt like i was choking on chemicals that i probably shouldn't be inhaling and just wasn't that impressed with what i had. i dont know what exactly i was looking for in my cleaning supplies, but whatever it was i found it in Method. (i found it at target but have seen it elsewhere) Method has a whole line of cleaning supplies that cover almost every cleaning need you have!

it all started with lil' bowl blu, the toilet bowl cleaner by method. i mean how was i to resist a name that cute?! their sleek and simple labels drew me in, and their anti-harsh chemical promise sold me. not to mention the added bonus of natural fresh scents!

these were my initial buys and i have since branched out to include their dish soap, hand soap, wood cleaner (AMAZING), and much more!

i will say my favorite so far is the bottle on the left in the picture, their daily shower cleaner. you just spray your bath/shower down after your bath/shower no wiping or scrubbing necessary. such a time saver! i mean what a better pinch of sugar to your day than to have your shower cleaned by 8am?

hold the...recipe

here is a little pinch of sugar in my life that makes cooking and baking much easier!

my mom got me this little kitchen wonder when Aubrey and I got married, and i love it! it makes the perfect recipe holder!

who doesn't love objects that are not their normal size?! whether twice as big or twice as small, i am a sucker for them and this clothespin is no different!

valentine inspiration

valentine inspiration...in the form of FOOD!

think strawberries are romantic enough already, how about heart shaped strawberries?!

a heartfelt breakfast!

spice up your spaghetti with some heart shaped meatballs!

hope your valentines day is filled with little pinches of sugar throughout the day!

dishwashing wonder

Aubrey and I are currently living in apartments until we are financially comfortable enough to buy a house! one thing that we quickly learned after moving is that most apartments up here don't come with a dishwasher!

when the cold, dry weather of winter kicked in, my hands began to suffer from the constant attack of the warm water of dishwashing!

but fear not, your hands do not have to suffer any longer!

i love my platex dishwashing gloves! i really like them because they come in different sizes, so you can get the perfect fit for you!

Just a little pinch of sugar to give your hands a break!