In honor of Mother’s day, I thought I’d offer a little printable card for you to use.
Simply print out on standard 8.5×11 paper, cut in half, fold and you’ve got a lovely card to give to your awesome mom.
This tutorial/freebie is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without the express consent of Melissa Esplin. I love getting shout outs from around the web, but please, link with love. Do not copy this post, publish more than 2 photos or outright steal this idea for commercial publications. If you would like to use this tutorial for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!
I’m also over at Rhodes Rolls blog today sharing an easy (and mini-sous chef friendly) recipe for a yummy Mother’s day treat.
A neighbor of mine brought by a starter bag for Amish Friendship Bread a few days ago. I got a bag years ago, just after Chris and I got married, but totally forgot to bake it on the tenth day. I was determined this time to stay on top of it. I’m glad I did.
I never bake bread, I’m horrible at it, but since this is more of a pound cake I gave it a go. Mmm! Mmm! Chris and I pounded down one of the loaves in a matter of minutes.
One of the things about Amish Friendship bread, is it comes with a little instruction sheet that you’re supposed to copy and send along with the starter bags. And . . . woops . . . I wrote all over my sheet before copying it off.
My first thought was to white out the writing and then copy the instructions. Then my brain woke up: Why white-out on a sheet in order to save the comic sans instructions? Gross. I’m going to redesign it.
Now I’m sharing the download with you. I figure maybe some of you out there might be looking for a prettier handout with your bread starters. So here you go. Share with your friends.
Click the download button below for the printable Amish Friendship Bread handout. Enjoy!
This tutorial/freebie is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without the express consent of Melissa Esplin. I love getting shout outs from around the web, but please, link with love. Do not copy this post, publish more than 2 photos or outright steal this idea for commercial publications. If you would like to use this tutorial for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!
Penelope turned four yesterday. The girl is growing like a weed and it makes me feel SO OLD!!
I had elaborate plans for a sweet library party for Penelope, but that did NOT happen. I swear I might have mono or something, because it’s like pulling teeth trying to get out of bed before 10am (and no I’m not prego). I’m going to blame it on my stationary lifestyle for now.
I think I will still do a big friend party for her, but sometime in May or June. It’s not like Penelope really cares when the birthday party is, right? Have any of you done something like that before?
I still wanted to make a big to do for her birthday, so we had a special dinner with presents and cake. The easiest and most delicious cake that I could think of to make was Texas Sheet Cake. It’s my late grandmother’s recipe. It’s divine.
Do you ever find that your most creative ideas come out of your laziness? I really didn’t want to make a buttercream frosting for a sweet message on the cake, so I made the message out of mini marshmallows. I thought it turned out rather cute. I could see this being even more clever on an all-white cake.
It’s not like Penelope really cares about this type stuff at four years old, but that’s just fine.
It’s still so surreal that she’s four. She’s a rad kid. I can’t believe that she’s ours. I love you, sweet Penelope!
Last week I created a little St. Patrick’s day recipe (and printable) and shared it on the Rhodes Rolls Blog.
It’s a recipe for the tastiest little corned beef slider you’ve ever had. It includes crunchy, roasted spinach, pretty much the only way I can get Penelope to eat her greens – hence the name Lucky Slider. I know you’ll like it, even though the holiday came and went faster than the blink of an eye. Click here for the full recipe.
We kept Felix’s birthday celebrations really low key, just like I did with Penelope’s. Interestingly enough, we’re in a similar work situation for Felix’s first birthday as we were for Penelope’s first birthday. Except, we didn’t have to move 800 miles.
I had originally planned on doing a monkey theme, but that quickly changed to a bear/brown/red theme. Next year we’ll do monkeys. I sent out the above invitation via facebook and called it good.
I made chocolate cookies and chocolate cupcakes with sour cherry frosting. We had a little frosting station for friends and family to decorate their own cookies. I made my sisters-in-law blow up balloons and Shelley make the “I’m with adorable.” sign. I’d say I did a pretty good job of delegating party tasks, since I never delegate when I need to.
Felix had just eaten beets. His favorite food. I think he was pretty excited for the festivities to begin.
He was so funny! At first he didn’t know what to do with the cupcake on his tray. As soon as we fed him a couple bites, he was all over that thing. He even cried for another one just after he had finished his first. This little boy is just too cute for words.
I had planned on doing a little photo booth with Felix in the middle, but this was the only shot I managed to take of felix and family. My sister-in-law, Shelley, is on the left and my sister, Emily, is on the right.
I snapped this photo just after they left. He sure loves getting lots of attention. We had a great time getting together. It also just so happened that my Mother-in-law and my youngest sister-in-law were in town for the weekend, so having them around made the festivities extra special.
I made sure to record the cupcake carnage at his party and I’ve edited it down from 25 minutes to 2 and a half minutes. This video is mostly for my mom and dad who didn’t get to enjoy his big moment, but I thought y’all might get a kick out of it as well.
Felix went in for his one year appointment yesterday and he’s doing really well. He’s 99th percentile in head size and 60th percentile in weight and height. His head is really holding him back with a lot of his physical milestones (crawling, sitting, walking, standing). He just can’t balance with that giant head on his shoulders. We’ll have to take him into a physical therapist, but that shouldn’t be too bad. As any parent, I’m really eager to see him get up and move, but I am enjoying all of the cuddles and quiet time we’re having in the mean time. Felix really is the best baby. Ever. Happy Birthday, Feli-monster!
