Sunday, November 18, 2012

Pumpkin Whipped Cream

Tis the season for pumpkins! It's also the time of year when I make fresh whipped cream to put on my coffee, pies, on anything really! I had a little extra pumpkin puree, from making my Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread again last week, and I wanted to put it to good use. So I made some Pumpkin Whipped Cream. 


It's really easy to make. Here's what you need:
-1 pint heavy whipping cream
-white sugar (add to taste)
-1/3 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie puree, you need the pumpkin puree)
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
-bowl
-electric mixer

Mix the heavy whipping cream in a large bowl until it starts to form "soft heaps" on it's own. Basically, it's thickening, but if you mix it too long it will turn into butter! I've heard cold metal bowls are great to work with, but I don't have one of those. As you're mixing, gradually add in sugar. Just keep tasting it until it has the sweetness you like. With my old hand mixer from the 70's (thanks mom), it took about 5 minutes to get the consistency I wanted. Toward the end, add in the vanilla and cinnamon. When it's the consistency of  whipped cream, pour in the pumpkin puree. Don't mix in the pumpkin puree with the electric beater, fold it in with a spoon. That way you won't over mix. It will have a slightly orange color when you're finished. 

Beware
Don't overdo it on the vanilla extract! A little goes a long way!

I put my pumpkin whipped cream in a sealed tupperware container and refrigerate it right away. I COULD NOT WAIT TILL THIS MORNING WHEN I GOT TO PUT IT IN MY COFFEE! I'm about to go out and buy decaf coffee, just so I can brew another batch tonight so I can add in more Pumpkin Whipped Cream!

Aren't pumpkins just the best?! I love them! There are 8 sitting right outside my window as I type this. See? --->


 Here are some shots from when we visited the Pumpkin Patch on Halloween. This is the 3rd year I've taken Ivy. So fun. 


Have a great Thanksgiving week!
Aloha, Becca
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Thursday, November 15, 2012

ALOHA Friday Link Party #13

Welcome to Jed & Ivy's ALOHA Friday Link Party #13!

(That's Kit and Ivy on the wave up above on the right. I don't know the people on the rock.)


That's Ivy, holding Sticky Bumps (surf board wax), wearing a Roxy suit and Gap sunglasses (lil poser). My friend from work made the red dress and handkerchief for Ivy for her birthday. Ladybugs and Hearts. Aren't they cute?! I just wanted to share a few photos from life in Hawaii, since this is an Aloha Friday party!!

Hana Hou! Let's take a second look at these awesome projects:

9 Red did a great color block stool. Here's the before and after. 
I mentioned to her that she should link this stool up a few weeks back, and I'm so glad she finally did! 

Here are her Chocolate Candy Cane Cupcakes:
I love all the peppermint crumbles! 

Go ahead and grab the featured button below!

Jed & Ivy
Pau Hana! 

Link up your DIY projects, Etsy products, giveaways, Furniture re-do's (my fave), sewing tutorials, inspiring stories. I'm not picky! 
Grab the button and post it on your blog, if you have one. 
Follow this blog.
By linking up, you're allowing me to feature your photos on this blog and pin them. 
Share the Aloha and visit each other's links! 

Jed & Ivy
Aloha,
Rebecca




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Monday, November 12, 2012

Modge Podge Bracelets

I started this project MONTHS ago. Five months to be exact. But I finally put the finishing touch on it about one month ago. (No comment on how busy my life has been, except for that I hate being busy.) On the other hand, I get a lot of comments about the finished product: 


Here's what I thought you needed, 5 months ago:

*Modge Podge 
*A brush to spread the Modge Podge
*A Bracelet (open or closed)
*Scraps of Fabric (ironed flat)


I just started wrapping the fabric around the bracelet, then applying Modge Podge to make it stick to itself and the bracelet. 

On this one, I thought I was going to do a cool multi fabric style, but it looked lame. So I ended up covering all of it with the blue/white print.

This one was for Ivy. It was fabric scraps from her chair cushions (see that post here)
And I thought I was done!




But the bracelets HURT! The modge podge dried and was so stiff it scratched up me and Ivy's wrists. So uncomfortable. So, the last items you need to complete this project are:

*glue gun
*felt

I glue gunned some rectangular pieces of felt onto the inside of the bracelets and it's WAY better. Fully functional.

Aloha,
Rebecca

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Friday, November 9, 2012

A Number A Day - pre Pre-School prep


Well, we've finished "A Letter A Day" and it only seemed right to do "A Number A Day" next. 
A little background: Ivy is 3 years old and itching to learn new things! She's not yet in pre-school (see the reasons why, here) so I'm doing what I can in the meantime to foster her love of knowledge!

So here's how we approached learning A Number A Day:

1- WRITE - I write out the number on a small white board a few times, with Ivy watching me. Then I have her try and write the number herself. If need be, I make a dotted line version of the number for her to trace, or I help her write the number. 

#2- BOOKS - We use a few books that have to do with numbers. We only read up to the page of the number we're on. I don't want to confuse Ivy with all the other numbers at once, but I do want to review the numbers we've already done. I just found books about numbers we already had.
"Count With Me," from a mini Sesame Street collection
 "My Very First Book of Numbers," by Eric Carle
"Ten Little Ladybugs," by Melanie Gerth




#3- CLOCK - Next I use a clock (an awesome hand-me-down from my cousin!) and I ask Ivy to find today's number on the clock. I also look around to see if we can find today's number on other household items: calendar, other books, phones, microwave, etc.

#4- PLAY-DOUGH -  Here's the fun part! We get out the play-dough and use the stencil/cookie cutter things (what is the word for those?!) to make today's number in the play-dough. At this point I let her use all the numbers (0-9) to play around with, so they become familiar to her. 


TIPS
*Be patient! Numbers are new to your child, they're not going to learn them all at once or in one day. Today Ivy insisted that #4 was an 'H.' She also gets I, L, and #1 confused... haha. She'll get it as long as I gently correct her and help her remember. She also may get stuck on not being able to remember a number, but it will eventually click a few days later.

*Talk about the numbers throughout the whole day. Ivy points them out on signs, in the grocery store, on TV, license plates. Learning doesn't stop when your "number lesson" is done.

*Try to do it every day, and at the same time every day. I'll be honest, this doesn't happen for us, but when it does, it's better for all of us. Believe me, Ivy asks for it every single day, even later in the day on the days we've already done it! She asks so much that I get a little frustrated! However, if she knows she can expect it at the same time every day, you have some ground to stand on. 

*Fill in other caregivers. Ivy is watched by me, my husband and both of my parents. I let them all know what she's learning so they can be aware of it and help her out it the opportunity presents itself. 


Ivy turned 3 last month, and it's been... interesting. More emotional than age 2, that's for sure. (For example, Ivy is sobbing over the angle of her sock seam right now). I found this pin on pinterest. It's been helpful. Enjoy! 

Aloha, Rebecca

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Thursday, November 8, 2012

ALOHA Friday Link Party #12

Welcome to Jed & Ivy's ALOHA Friday Link Party #12!
I'm thankful for each one of you who link up each week! It's like I've got my own personal gallery of great ideas, at my fingertips, and you chose to link them here! Mahalo nui loa!

Hana Hou! Let's take a second look at these awesome projects:


Linda's DIY Giftpaper from Wax Paper at With A Blast.
I love the stars!!

Go ahead and grab the featured button below!

Jed & Ivy
Pau Hana! 

Link up your DIY projects, Etsy products, giveaways, Furniture re-do's (my fave), sewing tutorials, inspiring stories. I'm not picky!
Grab the button and post it on your blog, if you have one. 
Follow this blog.
By linking up, you're allowing me to feature your photos on this blog and pinning them. 
Share the Aloha and visit each other's links! 

Jed & Ivy
Aloha,
Rebecca






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Friday, November 2, 2012

Treating Our Windows

If you read my post about our DIY pallet headboard, you know that curtains are becoming an issue in our house, haha. Well, just prior to making the headboard, we got some new window treatments for our dining/living room. Correction: I bought 3 different sets of curtains/panels for our living room, because they were all on sale for just a few more hours, and I didn't want to miss out on the price, but knew I would Kit would want to see options before making a decision. Don't worry, I returned the other two... mostly

So here is what we ended up with: 

They're Bamboo Panels from Pier One. The rods are from Lowes.

These are the curtains I wanted (dead serious). Also, from Pier 1. Kit nixed them immediately. I knew he would. 
Here's a secret: I only returned 3 of the 4 panels I bought of this orange goodness. I kept one panel for myself... just cause. 

I know the ones we settled on look great, are very adult, and will go with most decor. More importantly, they slide easily and keep the right amount of light in and out of the house. 

Here's the curtains we had prior (on the right of the photo). I thought they were super cute, but we couldn't slide them open or closed. Most of the time they ended up thrown over the rod. Pardon the crazy photo of Ivy in my character shoes. I couldn't find any other photo of the curtains!

We chose to mount the curtains higher than the window (as is the decor trend right now) because they make the windows/room look bigger. We're super happy with this purchase. This is one project where my husband said, "You should probably blog about this." I love him.


Aloha, 
Rebecca

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Thursday, November 1, 2012

ALOHA Friday Link Party #11


Aloha Kakahiaka! (Good Morning)

Welcome to Jed & Ivy's ALOHA Friday Link Party #11!
Halloween and the Tsunami Evacuation pretty much wore me out... what about you?
Hana Hou! (that means, "let's see it again")

A Harp Chair Redo from Home Sweet Home. 
I chose this project, because
#1- I think it turned out great, and
#2 - I'd really like to do a chair redo that includes a fabric seat. I haven't gotten my hands on the right piece and I'm envious of this chair. :)


Go ahead and grab the featured button below!

Jed & Ivy
Pau Hana! 
(That means we're finished working for the week...)

Jed & Ivy
Link up your DIY projects, Etsy products, giveaways, Furniture re-do's (my fave), sewing tutorials, inspiring stories. I'm not picky!
Grab the button and post it on your blog, if you have one. 
Follow this blog.
By linking up, you're allowing me to feature your photos on this blog and pinning them. 
Share the Aloha and visit each other's links! 

Aloha,
Rebecca




Read more ...