The Farm Chicks

Looking Forward

Hello my friend. It seems like it's been ages. I'm usually talking to you several times a week. Truth is, I've been experiencing some complications from my surgery and have needed to take it easy for a while.

Last year was one of the hardest years of my life. But somehow, I had so much strength and we all made it through. Like a charm. Now 2012 is here and I'm ready to just look forward. I really love that. The future.

Today is Colin's birthday. For a surprise, I finally decorated his home office. We did the big reveal last night. It was so much fun because he had no idea. I think he loved it but just to be sure, I kept going in there and turning on the lights. That way, every time he walked by, he could notice it again. :)

Tonight we're going on a birthday date and then to watch Cody and his band performing. I love date night so much.

And then it's the weekend. I'm going to be baking and baking and baking. All with Valentines day in mind. I'll make sure to share with you soon.

Love,

me

  

Colin - the coolest dad in the world.

P.S. I always wondered what it'd be like to have a daughter who I'd share clothes with someday. As fate would have it, I had four boys whom I adore. And now, they share skateboarding shoes with their dad. 

Mini Box of Donuts

I love each holiday, when the stores start stocking lots of different candies. Whenever I'm browsing the aisles, my mind is churning, thinking about what I can create. And more times than not, I dream in miniature. I'm not sure why, but mini is so darned cute, isn't it? This year, I dreamed up these teeny tiny donuts - perfect for Valentine treats.

To start, I whipped up a tiny bowl of icing. Just a wee bit of confectioner's (powdered sugar) and enough water to make it a nice consistency for dipping and glazing. And a bunch of Lifesavers candies.

Oh, and some sprinkles too.

All you need to do is dip the top of each Lifesaver into the icing and add a pinch of sprinkles.

A little..

..or a lot.

You can use teeny tiny heart sprinkles too.

I think the reds look like red velvet cake donuts. Let's pretend they are.

Oh! Look. Two lil' donuts sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G....

hee hee.

Then we need to box them up. Just like a teeny tiny bakery would. What kind would you like? The little sprinkleys?

Or the variety pack?

Then we just slip on the little bakery box cover. And they're all ready for delivery. (Make sure the icing is completely dry before packaging).

 

Note: These would make fun little birthday party favors or April Fools treats too!

Sources:

• Lifesavers Candies in Valentines colors: Target (These come in bags of individually wrapped candies).
• Sprinkles: Bake It Pretty
• Match box favor boxes: Martha Stewart Crafts
• Tiny pink bowl and little metal spoon: Fishs Eddy

Alternate Sources: Websites such as Etsy and Oriental Trading Company offer selections of blank match boxes as well.

Back-up Plan: Little treat bags would work great for packaging too.

Click here for more Valentines ideas, Farm Chicks Style! xo

Snow Day

We woke up to a snow day today. No school.

I think we'll take a little walk. I love the silence that snow provides. Nature's sound proofing.

And then I want to come home and bake. Make soup. Do laundry. Because it feels like the cozy thing to do.

On our snow day.

Tiny Cookbooks

My boys enjoy baking and have a selection of favorite recipes they like to whip up. I decided to make them tiny cookbooks containing their favorites all in one place, that are easily grab-able when they want to attack the kitchen. They also make great little gifts for friends or for your child heading off to college. (And they're great for dads too!)

These little books have an oilcloth cover.  Here are the supplies you'll need:

• Oilcloth (or laminated cotton)
• Copy Paper
• Fabric Pinking Shears
• Scissors or Paper Cutter
• Two-Hole Punch or Heavy Duty Stapler
• Ribbon

To begin, make a template out of paper.

Trace the template onto your oilcloth, about 1/4" wider than the template, all around.

Cut the oilcloth using your pinking shears.

Take several pieces of paper (I used 3 per cookbook, as when the stack is folded, it makes six double-sided pages.) and trace the template onto it. Cut out the stack all together using a paper cutter or scissors. Fold the stack in half, in the center.

Place the paper inside the oilcloth cover.  Make sure the paper crease is pressed up against the center crease of the oilcloth and that the oilcloth cover is slightly bigger than the paper. If you need to, you can cut the paper down a bit more.

Fold the oilcloth cover over the paper, crease, and hole punch. (If you don't have a two hole punch, a heavy duty stapler can be used).

  

Tie off with ribbons of your choice. (Skip this step if you've stapled your little cookbook).

And then, add a little label.

Sources:

Oilcloth: Cath Kidston and Oilcloth International (via ebay)

Ribbon: Michael's

Homekeeping & Happy Homes

I often talk about having a happy home. I think it's the most important part of homekeeping.

One thing I'm frequently asked about are the homes seen in magazines. Are they really as clean and perfect as they appear? The answer is definitely, NO! And in real life, they shouldn't be. Because perfect isn't comfortable. But we don't buy magazines to see other people's messes, we buy them to be inspired. And if the photos weren't beautiful and showed messes, our eyes would focus on the mess, rather than the home. So please don't beat yourself up if your home isn't always as clean as you'd like it to be, because the truth is that most homes never are.

I'm reading a mother's book from 1902 and have enjoyed discovering that the importance of a happy home has been around for a long while. In fact, I think this content is perfect advice for what I'm trying to convey.

Pleasant Homes:

Beautiful furniture on its own will not make rooms cheerful. The charm of a cozy home rests with its homemaker. If she is fortunate enough to have sunny rooms, her task is half done. In homes where the sun never shines, something must be done to make up for it. A sunless room should have bright and joyous color in its furnishings. The walls should be warmly tinted, and the curtains give a rosey glow to the light that passes through them. Ferns and shade loving plants may add cheer to the room and suggest quiet forest nooks.

An attractive room need not be too orderly. A book left lying on the table, a bit of needle-work on the window sill, an open piano, indicates the tastes and styles of those who live there, without suggesting that there is not a place for everything in that room.

There is such a thing as being too neat and nice to take comfort in everyday life, and this is anything but cheerful. And there is such a thing as being so disorderly and messy that comfort and cheer are impossible.

If a mom cannot rest while there is a fingermark on the paint or a spot on the window panes, she may have a neat home, but her tension will keep it from ever being cheerful.

A bird singing in the window, an aquarium on the table in some corner, plants growing and blooming, pets moving about as if at home, these give life and brightness to a home.

Printed Archives

After going through some of my Farm Chicks printed materials archives, I discovered a tiny stack of these car window clings we mailed out to our subscribers, once upon a time.

I have eleven and would love to mail them to whoever claims them first. To claim yours, please email me at: mail at thefarmchicks.com. The clings have all been spoken for.  I am all out. :)

xoxo,

Serena

Yesterday

It's been busy at World Headquarters. I've been working on some deadlines for My Favorite Find and getting ready for The Farm Chicks Show too.

Yesterday I had some mailings to get out.

I wonder how many people get to work in pink fuzzy slippers?

World Headquarters is sort of cold. I keep the heat turned down there, since I'm only there for part of the day. When I got back to the house, my nose felt like the polar ice cap. So I used the blow dryer to warm it up. Does that cancel out my energy savings at WHQ?

Then Colin and Cody invited me for a date. Lunch at Gordy's! I made Cody pose with us, because that's what moms do.

We talked about his school and made family plans. I feel choked up when I think about him being so grown up. I wish I could go back and re-live it all.

You know how sometimes when you run into an elderly woman in the grocery store who stops and tells you to enjoy your time with your children because you're going to blink and they'll be grown? And you know how at that moment you're feeling overwhelmed because one of them is trying to get out of the cart, one has grabbed five boxes of granola bars, the other has to go to the bathroom, and the other is complaining that you brought your own grocery bags? And you know how you think, yeah yeah, I'm just trying to make it through this shopping trip!

Well, now I understand her.

All that through my mind, and lunch hasn't even arrived yet.

                   .     .     .

                   .     .     .

                   .     .     .

After lunch, I stopped by the post office to mail all my packages. Frank tells me that he still talks about the day that I sent hundreds of packages from the Mead post office and that it was a record breaker. I tell him I took a picture of the receipt, for old time's sake.

Then I tell him that soon, I'll have a bigger mailing. A record breaker. He asks me to call him first so that he can go on his lunch break.

hahaha, I laugh. And then I tell him that he should really just stop and enjoy this time, because it only happens once a year.

Strangely, I don't think he agrees.

Sprinkle Toppers

Aren't big sprinkles adorable? The only problem is they're so hard to find. And then they're CRUNCHY, which isn't very enjoyable when you're taking a bite of a soft, fluffy cupcake, right? So, I've taken to making them myself. You can make different shapes, but today I really want to show you hearts. (Another phase of mine... Note the My Favorite Find logo, and this year's FC Show poster... :)) Love love love. It's what it's all about! hee hee

So anyway, they're really simple. Simply take a handful of candy melts in your desired color and heat for about 30(+/-) seconds in the microwave to melt:

Stir the melts until all smooth. Transfer mixture into the corner of a large ziploc bag and cut the tip off:

Line a tray with wax paper. Carefully squeeze out heart shapes, one side at a time. Squeeze briefly from the top, angling the heart side to the center, then pulling the shape, without squeezing any more out. Sort of just dragging what you've already squeezed:

  

Ohhh. So cute! And SOFT, so they won't break your teeth. Hooray!

Make as many as you like. zip. zap. zoom. And you're done! Then, top your favorite treats. Like cookies, sundaes, or cupcakes.

Just one.

Or lots. Why not? We're equal opportunity sprinklers!

.... and with a few sprinkles, she'll change the world.

Gold

Hi! It's me!

I wanted to tell you about my favorite fashion accessory right now: Gold!

Not real gold, silly. Faux is just fine, and affordable too. Faux is still just as pretty to me.

Here are some of my current faves:

Gold Lace Pocket Watch Pendant (Spool No. 72) $22

Fan Disc Earrings (Forever 21) $1.50

Athena Bracelet (Etsy Seller Cosette) $20

Well, that's what's making me smile right now. Do you have accessory phases too?

What Do You Love?

Chances are, you'll find it at The Farm Chicks Show!

Have you ever been? Come on, I'll show you around! It's set-up day (2011) and all the trucks and trailers have come pouring in from all over the United States, packed to the brim with what you love.

It's dirty work, but these girls (and over 200 more! ..and a few guys too) are all ready to put together the most beautiful booths and displays around.

The goods are all coming in now, and it's beginning to look like an extravaganza. Piles of wonderful things abound, just waiting to be displayed.

Slowly, the spaces are coming together as these amazing vendors whisk all around, doing what they do best - DISPLAY!

And before we know it, it's here. The show. The show that I love.

And I think you that will too.    * Sigh *

The Farm Chicks Show is held just once a year, the first weekend in June, in my hometown of Spokane, Washington.

I'm crossing my fingers that I'll see you here!

Click here to find out more about this year's show - June 2nd & 3rd, 2012.

Click here to RSVP for the show.

Images by Samantha Cabrera.

The Lemon Steamer Cleaner

The microwave really needs a washing.  This is what happens when children heat food until it explodes. I won't use cleaners that are full of chemicals because I don't want those fumes seeping into our food. Here's what I do instead.

I remove the tray and give it a wash in hot soapy water. (I love Mrs. Meyers dish soap!)

Sparkley!

Next, I slice a lemon in half and squeeze it into a little microwave safe bowl of water.

I place it into the microwave and cook it on high for 4 minutes. The lemony water boils and steams.

When it stops, I don't open the door for 10 minutes, allowing that citrusy steam to loosen up the grime.

When I open the door, I wipe everything down with a clean cloth, and just like that, it's lemony clean.

Hooray!

 

A Little Cuteness

I thought I'd share this little sketch I received from an old friend of The Farm Chicks.  Cute, no?

Hearts of Palm Salad

I have an obsession with hearts of palm and am always trying new ways to incorporate them.  This salad is one of my favorite creations.

Hearts of Palm Salad

(Prepare your desired amount of salad fixings, for one or several servings).

Romaine lettuce, washed and torn

White onion, thinly sliced (optional)

Canned hearts of palm, sliced thinly

If making a single salad serving, mound fixings on a plate and drizzle with dressing (recipe below).  If making a full salad, place fixings in a salad bowl, toss with dressing and serve immediately.

Dressing:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon light sour cream

1 small clove garlic, squeezed through garlic press

Salt & pepper to taste

Whisk dressing ingredients together until thoroughly combined. Store any leftover dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Note:

Canned hearts of palm can be found in most grocery stores, usually near the canned artichoke hearts.

New Year's Inspiration

My friend, Heather, reminded me of this clip that anyone who leads a creative life should read - by my favorite radio host, Ira Glass, of This American Life.

Happy new year!

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

One Small Step For Me...

 

... one giant leap for Farm Chicks kind:

Click here for an invitation.

 

Ten Pounds of Sugar

Getting back to myself after the surgery was much harder than I expected. My doctor told me I'd be exhausted but I didn't fully comprehend what she was talking about. I thought tired as in sleepy. And I was so sleepy, but even worse was the physical exhaustion. Just walking across the house left me breathless. And that was a terrible feeling.

Healing has been a long process, but I'm finally healthy enough to resume my exercise routine, which coincidentally, is how I discovered the tumor in my abdomen in the first place.

The timing to begin again couldn't be better, what with the new year and all, and because I've begun to feel like ten pounds of sugar in a five pound sack.

I'm not going to pretend that I'm one of those super motivated exercise-wise kinds of girls. I'm not. But I value my health and life too much to not take care of myself. (Thank you, Colin, for inspiring me!) So, I'm back at it.

Want to join me?

I'll think of you, if you think of me, okay? :)

My thoughts on being healthy:

I like to get my workout in first thing in the morning, preferably before the boys wake up. And although I'm not a morning person, it sort of works like my caffeine and wakes me up.

I feel better about myself by getting it out of the way first thing.

I try to drink more water, and adding slices of cucumber or orange makes it more appealing to me.

I never drink pop. I think it's horrible, terrible. However, I love fizzy drinks. A great substitute is sparkling water with a splash of fruit juice or a squeeze of lemon, lime, or orange. I call it a "Spritzer".

I believe that by being healthy parents we can inspire our children to be healthy too, without saying a word.

Exercise is like sunshine for the brain. It's true.

-     -     -     -     -     -

..... and with a little exercise, she'll change the world.