Earth Day: Upcycling - Making A Play Kitchen From Boxes

A few months ago, my daughter recived some hand me down kitchen playset full of dighes, pots, and pans.  She loved playing with them and sometimes we'd set up a box in the kitchen so she can "cook" with me. I started thinking about making her a little kitchen out of the cardboard boxes we had.  So with a free weekend, and a plan, and some imagination, we created one for her.  Here's how we did it.

We colllected boxes and moved them around to see which would be the best stove, sink, and refrigerator. 

 We got some supplies...  contact paper, duct tape, foam sheets, mixing bowl, and hooks.  Not seen are the glue gun, packing tape, pump from a liquid soap dispenser, foil.  I think for this project we spent approx $13 for everything.  

Before covering your boxes with the contact paper, try to figure out which side will be the front and back, where you door opening will be.  Draw them on with a black marker so that when you cover them box with contact paper, you can see lines.  For the hinges of the door openings, score  the inside of the box, where these will be, then cover your boxes with contact paper.  We used the clear packing tape to keep things in place.  Once covered, start cutting you door openings.  If you scored the hinge side of the door from the inside, your door should open easily. 

We then measured and cut holes for the mixing bowl and the "faucet".  To secure the faucet, my husband drilled a hole in the bottom of the pump dispenser and then put a screw in horizontally so it would stay put once installed.  I used the hot glue gun to secure the rim of the bowl to the box.  Remember to put the glue on the rim and then press down onto the box.  If you use the gun on the box, the heat from the gun could possible burn a hole in your contact paper.  

I added the colored duct tape to the sides of our appliances so it would help reinforce the contact paper.  I cut the foam sheets for the burners (mine are the size of a CD).  I also used foam sheets for the handles and hot glued them on.  For the oven, I made brackets out of bent cardboard and hot glued them to the sides of the oven walls.  I then covered a sheet of cardboard with foil and then hot glued the piece to the brackets.

I also secured 2 hooks on the side to hold her grocery bag, dish towel, or purse.

The box we used for the refrigerator still had the Styrofoam packing pieces still in them, so I used them to create the shelves in the fridge.  I did the same thing here as the oven...made brackets out of extra cardboard, then glued the Styrofoam shelves on the brackets.  I had an extra box that fit perfectly as a crisper drawer, so I covered it in contact paper and loaded it up with her Ikea play veggies and fruit.  I also glued a velcro circle to the door and shelf so that the door can remain close.  

 My daughter had a ton of kitchen stuff passed down to her so we just stocked up the kitchen cupboard with her extra dishes and cooking equipment.

Voila!

Here is Cora enjoying her new kitchen with her Daddy!

Off To A Good Start

I completed week two of acupuncture and week one of Bodybugg and I am down 4.2 pounds overall. I try to get to the gym at least 2 times a week for cardio and in the for next couple of weeks, I'll add strength training. I've also cut down my sodium. Most of the food show above was made with salt free seasonings (unless I added a sprinkle of cheese). I really wanted to post a screen shot of my Bodybugg stats, but I'm having issues with it since I am using my husband's computer (mine is being repaired). Once I get my computer back, I'll post those up. As far as the acupuncture goes, I do think it's working. I've noticed a big difference in my appetite and I haven't had any late night snacking. I'm hoping to have another great week!

This past weekend we celebrated the upcoming wedding for my dear friends, Melissa and Larry. We had a Jamaican themed couples shower and everything turned out beautifully. We served jerk chicken, rice and beans cooked in coconut milk, plantains, Jamaican patties, fresh fruit, rum punch, and pineapple upside down cake. I made the pineapple tree with fresh fruit and the pineapple upside down cake. Our party favors were coconut cups. Most of our guests enjoyed their rum punch in their coconut cups :-)

Of course, I can't post without mentioning my little one...

Ready for Spring!

I found this cute dress at Costco!

Someone is hogging the bed :-)

Actually just a snooze while I got ready for the day.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy day!

Save or Not?

I really didn't expect to be absent from my blog for so long, but I've had a crazy week after getting back from Corpus Christi. Life threw some curve balls and things got hectic, but all is good. I didn't take many outfit pics during the past couple of weeks, but I had one from today and one from last week to share... Funny how both outfits ended up being pink and black. Y'all have seen this first outfit before. I was running a tad late and threw this outfit on. It's easy enough and I know it works well. When you in a pinch, it's always best to go with what you know works...cute Anthro skirts!

Last week I was cleaning out my closet and getting rid of some old clothes when I came across this skirt. This skirt is about 9 years old and I hadn't worn it in a long, long time. I went back and forth about keeping it. I love the way the skirt looks. It's held up well and it's very comfortable. The only major reason of letting it go is because of the material. It's 100% polyester. The skirts has 2 layers. The first polyester layer has strips going diagonal one way and it has that weird polyester sheen. The sheen is slightly masked by the 2nd sheer layer where the stripes are diagonal in the opposite direction which creates the plaid effect. So what are your thoughts? Should I keep it?

Will struck a pose on his scooter for me this weekend. I love Will's t-shirt. For a very long time, Will refused to wear anything related to argyle. I'd pick out nice little preppy shirts and he's turn up his nose at it. Finally he agreed on the t-shirt and I think it looks good on him. As for the checkerboard Vans...that's all Will :-) The weather is starting to cool off a tiny, tiny bit so more scooter days are ahead of us.

With my hectic week, I have been really bad about cooking (something my trainer isn't too happy to hear). The one dish I did manage to cook was this recipe for cabbage rolls. I have to admit although it was tasty, it probably had a little too much tomato sauce/paste. I may change it up and try it again.

I hope everyone is doing well. I am so behind on reading my favorite blogs. I should be back to my regular routine and will be catching up this week. Thanks for your patience! Have a great day!

Monday Madness: Catching Up

It's been a busy few days so I'm going to catch up on some daily outfits and meals...

Monday

Wrap top: Charotte Russe ~ white tank: Old Navy ~ pencil skirt: Old Navy ~ grey heels: Target ~ pearls: gifted from Aunt Mae

Last Friday

Sleeveless mesh top: Anthropologie ~ 3 tier skirt: Target ~ nude peep toes: DSW ~ necklace: gifted from Lynette

Last Thursday

green dress: Target ~ pink/orange/red scarf: Old Navy ~ nude peeps: DSW

My Meals

Asian Tilapia with Brown Jasmine Rice

I had a long workout today and I knew I wouldn't be in the mood to cook. My hubby took the initiative to make me a wonderful dinner tonight. This is something I grew up eating and one of my favorite dishes. When my husband and I were dating I made this for him one night. He loved it so much that he started making it every Thurs night (when I would come over for dinner). We called it Thursday Night Special (aka TNS). It's a simple tilapia fillet steamed. Then a lite soy sauce is poured on the fish. While the fish marinates, pour about a 1/4 c olive oil to a pan and add chopped green onion. Once the green onions start breaking down, pour the oil and onions onto the fish. It's best when served with jasmine rice. I found some brown jasmine rice and it is awesome. If you hate the taste of regular brown rice, try jasmine brown rice. It has the same wonderful flavor as the regular jasmine rice. Delicious! I'm sorry I didn't type out the full recipe. Most of the time I don't measure when making this. If you'd like the recipe, shoot me an e-mail. I'll get some solid measurements down.

Tex-Mex Mac n' Cheese

Who doesn't love mac n' cheese??? We had a local grocery store open up near me. They have a wonderful deli and they gave sample of a wonderful mac n' cheese made with green chilies. It was soooo good! The stuff was selling like hotcakes! I took a look at the ingredients and I knew it wasn't something I could buy. So I recreated it to a healthier version. Basics of the cheese sauce is 2% cheese and 2% evaporated milk. Of course I also added 96% lean ground beef to punch up the protein. It turned out fab! Shoot me an e-mail if you want the recipe.

Leftover Chicken thrown into a Green Salad

i threw some left over chicken with black beans, sauteed onions and bell peppers with petite green peas, spinach, asparagus, and spinach. It was a great lunch after a workout. It kept me full for most of the afternoon!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a great day!

Friday Outfit/Monday Dinner

Since I dressed so casually at work today, you get Friday's outfit instead. Normally I wouldn't wear "fun" shoes like these to work, but it was Friday, everyone else was very casual, and I just wanted to wear my sparkly summer shoes :-)

Here are the details:

• Brown sleeveless cowl neck - JCP
• White denim skirt - Gifted from Holley
• Gold Necklace - Target
• White flower - Clarie's
• Beaded slide wedges - Target

So remember when I said I was about 3 lbs off from my goal? Well..umm...yeah...didn't happen. I just got too comfortable and I actually gained a few pounds. Six to be exact. Yes, I said 6! Soooo not happy about it. Darn you summertime ice cream! Even if I get the light or the fro-yo, that stuff creeps up on you if you aren't careful. I'm sure going to The Cheesecake Factory the night before weigh-in didn't help my case either. So to get myself back on track, I am wearing my Bodybugg again and tracking my food carefully. Instead of posting my screen prints of my Bodybugg stats, I will be posting my stats via BodybuggTweet which will show up on my Twitter updates. I will get to that goal!

So on to my dinner. I know a lot of people love to have breakfast for dinner. So here was my version of breakfast for dinner along with the stats...

Egg White Scrabble With Asparagus, Tomatoes, Onions, and Cheese

(Only 178 calories! Protein: 23.2 g ~ Carbs: 10 g ~ Fat: 7 g)

• 1/3 c chopped asparagus
• 1/4 c minced onions
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 1/4 c chopped tomatoes
• 1 oz 2% shredded cheese
• dash of salt and pepper

Whisk egg whites with a fork and season with salt and pepper and set to the side. Using a small skillet on medium heat, lightly mist your pan with olive oil. Add onions, garlic, and asparagus, stirring for 3-5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for another minute. Remove and set aside. Lightly mist your pan with olive oil and add the egg whites. Stir using a spatula to break up the whites for about 3-4 minutes, then add the asparagus mixture to the pan. Toss and serve. Sprinkle cheese on top. Enjoy!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope everyone has a great day!

Lucky Number 7

I'm back to wearing some summer fun colors. Today I wore a cute green top, but since I forgot to take my daily outfit picture, you get to see yesterday's outfit instead. Pink it is! Here are the details...

1. Pink cowl neck top - JCP
2. Two tone skirt - H&M
3. Gold necklace - Target
4. T-strap wedges - Target

I decided to take a break Tuesday and Wednesday. No gym, no workout, just some rest. I think my body really needed it. I didn't really cook either. I got my braces tightened today so I decided that I wanted to eat something that could bite into and chew. Once the braces got tightened, it's back to soups and softer foods. So for lunch today we ran to one of my favorite local spots, Bubba's Burger Shack. They have great burgers, but are really known for their awesome buffalo burgers. For those that didn't know, buffalo is lower in fat that turkey! Of course I'm sure the jack cheese didn't really help my calorie or fat count, but boy was this burger good! Will captured the "moment" as I sunk my teeth into my first bite. YUM!!!



The other day ShopKim (she has some gorgeous rings on her site, you should check them out)gave me a fab Kreativ Blogger Award. I am suppose to give you 7 things (I guess it can be about anything). Here is goes...

1. My sister and I are the same age for 2 weeks
2. In high school I got to go to Hawaii to preform with my drill team at the halftime show of The ProBowl.
3. I love karaoke even though I am terrible at it.
4. Through FaceBook, a long lost relative in the Philippines found me. It has been an incredible experience getting to know her. I may have to share this story one day.
5. If I open a brand new carton of ice cream, I have to make a cross on it to bless it. It's a habit I picked up from my mom. Maybe if we bless it, the fat won't stick to our thighs.
6. When I was in kindergarten, I told my class it was my birthday many times because I liked it when they sang "Happy Birthday" to me.
7. I love to have people over!

Okay so I am now going to pass this along to anyone who'd like to share 7 things with us. If you'd like to post your 7, let me know!

Thanks guys for stopping by. I hope you all have a great day!

Adjustments and Recipes

This is the very first skirt I sewed and I really love it. It's a great color and cut, but even though I thrilled I have lost weight, I am a little sad this doesn't really fit me as nicely. You can't really tell from this picture, but the elastic bottom of my white top is basically holding my skirt up. It's one of the reasons why I chose the top. In the end it was still a bit of a nuisance. I was adjusting the skirt all day long trying to tuck it back under the top. Will and I have this little joke that we call each other whatever the subject of the day is. So all day long, he was calling me "Adjustments". He'd say, "Come on Adjustments, you're making us late for work". Yeah, we are dorky like that :-) Soooo...needless to say, this will be my last wear before I take it apart and adjust it. Here are the details of the look...

• White sleeveless wrap top - Ann Taylor Loft
• Green skirt - me
• Unisa heels - Off 5th
• Gold medallion necklace - NY & Co

For lunch today we had leftovers form last night dinner. I changed it up a tad by toasting some bread, layering fresh spinach, spooning the turkey on top the spinach, and sprinkling it with a a little cheese and a grape tomato. I had some leftover cauliflower, which was still so good.

Sherry at The Frugal Apprentice, here is my super easy roasted cauliflower...

• Preheat you oven at 450 degrees
• Cut the tops off of a cauliflower and put into a medium sized bowl.
• Add about a tbsp of olive oil and toss
• Spread the cauliflower onto a baking sheet and bake about 20 minutes.
• The tops should get brown. Flip and brown the other side for just maybe 10 - 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle sea salt to your liking.
• Enjoy!

It's a great french fry substitute!

For dinner, I went all out. I made chicken breast with 20 cloves of garlic (which is an adaptation of this recipe. I served it grilled asparagus, and maple butternut squash. Will really loved this entire meal.

For those interested, here is the recipe for Maple Butternut Squash

• Preheat your oven at 450 degrees
• Take a medium sized butternut squash and slice in half lengthwise
• Place the the halves (with the seeds and all) faced down on a baking dish.
• Add water to the baking dish making sure to cover about a 1/3 of the squash
• Bake for 30-40 minutes. The squash should be soft and skin may brown slightly.
• Remove from the oven, drain the water, and flip over the squash.
• Scoop the seeds out and discard.
• Scoop the meat of the squash and place into a medium bowl. Be careful because it will be very hot!
• Whip up the squash and add a tbsp of milk and a tbsp of maple syrup.
• Add a dash of cinnamon, garlic seasoning, and black pepper.

Great substitute for candied yams.

Since today is Wednesday, it was a rest day from the gym for me. Tomorrow I'll be back at the gym for my last workout of the week. I'll be going out of town this weekend, so Thursday is my Friday! Thank you so much for reading. Have a great day everyone!

Red Day Tuesday

Hello everyone. Here is my simple red and black outfit today...

Black sleeveless knit - Old Navy
French Connection Skirt - Lot 8
Silver dangle earrings - Red Stitch (no longer around)
Red necklace - NY & Co (I think)
Red peeps - JCP

I had a friend/reader ask why I hardly ever have earrings on. Well there are 3 reasons.

1) My ears itch. I usually have to slather Neosporin on my ear lobe and the earring post. It's a pain. I have also tried putting a coat of clear nail polish on the post. It works too, but it chips off too.
2) I am not aligned. I know that sounds funny, but I'm not. One shoulder is higher than the other so my ear lobes are off which causes my earring to dangle weird. I keep meaning to book an appt at the chiropractor.
3) I feel cluttered when I have on too much jewelry. I feel like I have too much going on if I have earrings and a necklace on. I know this is a crazy reason because I see so many of you lovely ladies accessorize without any problems. I'm trying to work on it though. That's why I have both on today (plus the Neosporin).

So lunch was a simple chicken noodle soup that came from a can. Will had a stomach virus and he couldn't eat much. For lunch I ran home and joined him for some soup. The virus seems to have passed already. He felt good enough to have a real dinner. I had some lean turkey in the fridge. I was intending to make a healthy version of stroganoff with it, but I think that meal would have been to heavy for Will. So I basically threw a bunch of veggies and seasoning in my wok and kept it simple. So it's lean ground turkey, onions, garlic, peas, yellow and orange bell peppers, and a variety of seasonings. It's not my best dish, but it wasn't bad. The main thing was that Will was able to eat it without any issues. I served the turkey with a side of roasted cauliflower (sooo good!)

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all have a great day!

A Blogger's World

Wow, I didn't realize I let a whole week go by without a post. Sorry about that! Between working, the gym, cooking, and blogging time just seems to slip away. Now I have added Twitter to the growing list of electronic communication. So even if I don't put a full blog post up, the mini short version on my daily ongoings get posted. Do you tweet on Twitter? Let me know, I'd love to follow you!

So let's talk about the the daily outfit. This is the last minute throw on. Last night was one of those nights where I had the perfect outfit in my head. I woke up excited to put it on and found it to be a complete disaster. What was I thinking??? I was still determined to wear this skirt, but no matter what I put on it just wasn't working for me. In the end, ave up on the skirt and opted to go a bit casual. Here is my last minute throw on outfit...

Short sleeve black jacket - Target

Dark pink tank - Old Navy

Jeans - Target

Peeps - Rack Room

Fab necklace - gifted by the lovely KT

Today's lunch was a little different. I rarely buy frozen foods unless it's veggies or ice cream. For some reason I had a hankering for some dumplings, but no time to make any from scratch. So I bought a small bag of frozen chicken and veggie potstickers. Instead of following the instructions on the package, I steamed mine and served it with a mixture of Bragg's Liquid Aminos mixed with a little olive oil. I also had a side of spinach and watermelon for dessert. It was delicious!

Tonight I raced home after an early workout and was able to catch a free sneak preview of Meryl Streep and Amy Adam's new movie, Julie & Julia. Whole Foods sponsored the sneak peek and we all got cool little shopping bags for coming. For those that don't know, the movie is about a girl who decides to blog her way through Julia Child's Mastering The Art of Cooking. I never actually read the blog, but I did hear about the book. I heard it was being made into a movie a while back. Being a cook and a blogger, this was a movie I wanted to see. Meryl Streep does a wonderful job playing Julia Child. You couldn't help but to love her personality. As for Amy Adams... there were times where I totally related to her character. The exciting, but nervous feeling about setting up your blog, wondering if anyone is really reading it, wondering why would they read it, and getting your first comment from a stranger...these were all the things I felt when setting up this blog. I think a lot of fellow bloggers would appreciate and enjoy the humor.

Thank you again to all my readers! I am still amazed there are people besides my family and friends reading. I have always enjoyed sharing my pictures and thoughts with you. I'd love to hear how you decided to get into the blogging world and how your experience has been. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Cooking Things Up!

Whew! What a day! I had so much I wanted to do today...work, gym, grocery shop, cook, bake, swim, and blog....and maybe a load of wash. Seriously it's amazing what you can cram into a day. Well I got all of it done (even the load of wash), except for swim. No worries though since I had a cardio day at the gym. Swimming was like going for extra credit. Not necessary, but beneficial if I could get to it. Oh well...

So here I am at the start of this long day. I was pretty in pink in this cute forgotten skirt. Here are the details...

Black sleeveless - NY & Co (gifted by Michelle)

Pink and black skirt - Anthropologie

Loooong necklace - gifted by my sister

peeps - Rack Room

I am trying to shop in my closet since I am putting myself on a super budget. I was so happy to find both of these items while digging through the trenches that is my closet.

So after a weekend of running around and eating out, it was time to buckle down and get cooking good food. Here are what my meals have been like:

The first pic is wild sockeye salmon with a chile lime seasoning, salad with mandarin oranges, and roasted grape tomatoes.

The second pic is the leftovers the next day. I just added the salmon to the salad and had some sweet potato mash on the side.

Dinner tonight was pasta. Will has been on a pasta kick. The whole wheat penne pasta is topped with turkey, mushrooms, onions, yellow bell pepper, Ragu Light and too much red pepper flakes. Will likes a little heat in his spaghetti sauce, but I think I over did it. It did clear my sinuses though :)

And last but not least... My bosses are having a birthday and we are having a potluck. I volunteered to make a cake. It's a Marble Toffee Cake. There isn't anything good for you in this cake. It's pure sugar!

Well before I close, I need to give a big thank you to my husband! Not only is he patient enough to take my daily outfit pics, but he ran to the store for me 3 times on Tuesday without any complaining. I really appreciate everything he does for me. I am a very lucky girl :-)

Thank you for stopping by. I hope I didn't make you too hungry :-)

Have a great day!

Go-To Outfit and Mystery Shopping

It seems that every time I'm really rushing to get to work, I am throwing on this dress. It's a favorite...comfy and instant outfit. Here's the simple go-to outfit:

Dress - Ross

Standard peep toes - Room

Sorry to be a bore on the shoe thing, but they are just my most comfortable pair of heels and they are a great height. I also trying to save money, so this means no new shoes for a little while.

On the food thing...

Even though it is so hot, hot, hot outside, I made some homemade soup the other night. It's easy on the braces on the diet. I cranked up the a/c and ceiling fans and enjoyed my yummy homemade chicken soup, In it is shredded chicken breast, onions, mushrooms, and chinese cabbage. I added spinach to the soup when serving so it stays fresh and full of vitamins. For dessert, I had a small bowl of fresh cherries.

As for my workouts... My trainer has been on vacation, leaving me to push myself on my own. I have to admit, I slacked a bit last week. I should have gone to the gym 4 days, but I only ended up going 2 times. Well hopefully this week I've made up for it a bit. I pushed myself mixing my weights and cardio the past 3 days. I'll rest tomorrow, but will finish the week with my trainer on Thursday and Saturday. All in all, it looks like it'll be a 5 day workout week for me. I am 3lbs away from reaching my next goal. I have till the end of the month to get there. Thanks to all the sweet comments on my changing body. It's a constant work in progress for me. I have my good and bad days, but I really appreciate all your motivating words and tips.

Okay quick question for you guys... Has anyone every done mystery shopping? I signed up a few weeks ago after a good friend referred me to a reputable company. I've always been curious and it seems easy enough. My first assignment is this weekend. If you've done this before, do you have any tips for me? Thanks so much.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Don't Stop Till You Get Enough

I think this is my absolute favorite top. I love the brightness of it. Brightness is what was needed this rainy morning. Don't get me wrong. I was so happy to see the much-needed-rain, but I still wanted a little brightness in my day. Here's the whole outfit...

Green top - Banana Republic
V pencil skirt - Anthropologie
Black peeps - Rack Room

I have been a cooking mood lately. Last night I was in the mood for Mexican food. I found a simple, yet great recipe for spinach enchiladas at All Recipes. Of course I did a little altering to the dish.

1. I used lowfat greek yogurt instead of the sour cream.
2. I added chicken. I boiled 2 chicken breast, shredded them, and then mixed it in the yogurt mixture.
3. I added chopped onions and also mixed in the sauce.
4. The spinach is rolled in each enchilada, but also added to the top.

Here is the finished product. I served it with a side of black bean mash. Yummers!
Today's workout was 30 minutes of resistance training focused on my legs (I did my upper body the day before) and cardio on the treadmill. I'm not sure what was up, but I had so much energy today. I even bounced on the Bosu Ball when I got home. Maybe it was the MJ playlist that kept me movin' and groovin'... Like he says, "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough". I felt it was only right to pay tribute in my own way.

Okay, I'll admit it... I watched the MJ memorial service via webcast today. V and my other girlfriends had e-mails flying throughout the program. I thought it was a moving service and I was brought to tears when his daughter spoke. Despite the many questions that revolved around his life, he was so talented. His music always bring me fond memories of my 80's childhood.

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the web. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Happy 2nd Half of The Year!

Can you believe 1/2 of the year is over? Where does the time go??? Actually this post is a day late. This was suppose to post on July 1, so I am catching up a bot.

Here is one of my favorite summer skirts...

palm skirt - Gap

cowl-neck sleeveless - JCP

beaded long necklace - Target

brown wedge heels - Rack Room

Again, my hair is pulled back. I really need to cut it asap. I love having long hair, but it's just so hot here. All I ever do is end up putting it up in a ponytail. That's when I know my hair is too long. Hopefully I'll have a new cut by next week.

As for food, you can probably tell that I love a colorful plate. I'll cut fresh fruit or veggies just to give it a pop of color. So here is my some-what healthier version of fried rice. I just mixed some brown jasmine rice, leftover salmon, spinach, reb bell pepper, onions, garlic, and some Bragg's Liquid Amino's. Added the cucumber slices with a drizzle of balsamic vinegarette. It turned out pretty tasty!

For dinner, we had Italian night. I took a recipe for chicken parmigana from All Recipies and changed it up a bit. In stead of flour, I used course corn meal, I used egg whites, whole wheat egg noodles, 2% cheese, and Ragu Light. Will loved it.