onesie decorating at a baby shower

i posted some pics back at the beginning of august from my friend, ashley's, baby shower and promised to post more about the onesie decorating craft that we did. well, i just finished stitching the last onesie and decided today was good a day as any.

sarah and i knew we wanted to do something at the shower but we did not want to do games. i am so turned off by games at any sort of shower. they are so awkward.

came across this super cute and sweet shower via pinterest...

Source: pizzazzerie.com via Kari Beth on Pinterest

...and thought how fun!  a onesie decorating craft going on while ashley was opening gifts. i was a little afraid of how it would be perceived but way more than half of the people that were at the shower made a onesie for baby cash.

basically this is what we did:
-bought onesies and picked out fabric. all you need is scraps and/or fat quarters.
-since aaron is a graphic designer i had him make templates. i gave him a list of different things i thought would be cute and kind of pertained to the kirby's (car, elephant, helicopter, tie, bow tie, initials, a big c, baseball cap) and he drew outlines of them and then we printed them off on white thick card stock. but really any piece of paper would do.
-ironed stitch witchery (the sticky backing adhesive you get at any craft/fabric store) on back side fabric.
-gathered supplies: scissors (small scissor are better) and straight pins is all you will need really.
-set up table at the shower with all the onesies, fabric and other supplies. also set up the ironing board and iron.
-at the shower, guests picked out their template, pinned it on fabric and cut it out and then ironed it on their onesie of choice.
-i took onesies home with me and either hand-stitched or ran a zig zag stitch around each design. hand-stitching took a little bit but the zig zag stitches are fast and easy and look perfectly imperfect.



the setup!



ashley's niece cutting out a fleur de lis (gary's family is from louisiana)!



cash's loot...



like i stated, imperfectly perfect!



love the bow ties!



cute lil' guy!

it was such a fun time and cash now has many fun and different onesies for the first year of his sweet life!

e-mail me (thehighlifeblog(at)gmail(dot)com) if you have questions!

one week old

my cousin is very private that's why i don't share a lot of pictures of her and her family on my blog. if i did i'm pretty sure every other post would include them because we spend a lot of time together and talk multiple times a day...she is like a sister to me.

she had a baby. one week ago today. another little girl. two precious sweet daughters. sisters. i pray that elle will have her very own sister one day!



so, a happy one-week birthday to a very sweet baby girl! love her to pieces and look forward to spoiling her with lots of love!

my country girl

one day.
my dream. land for elle to roam and play (in her skivvies if she so wish). a huge garden that feeds my family year round. chickens that produce eggs. maybe some more livestock. old farm house.
one day.

until then we will just enjoy mimi and poppy's garden and chickens.

tasty tuesday {pumpkin bread}

my favorite of all fall foods. pumpkin bread. i make this over and over and over throughout fall and winter. its great for breakfast with my coffee and then for dessert after dinner.

the first time i made pumpkin bread was 2 years ago, when stephanie at barefoot in the kitchen shared her great aunt's recipe and i have yet to follow a different pumpkin bread recipe. it's just perfect. its easy. has great flavor and is super moist. hate the word moist, btw.



pumpkin bread
barefoot in the kitchen

3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. mix all ingredients.
3. pour into two greased bread pans.
4. bake for one hour.

so yummy! try this one soon.

p.s. i hope that i haven't posted this recipe before. i don't think that i have.

p.s.s. linking up with 33 shades of green.

meal-plan monday

per the suggestion of my good friend, jessica, i've decided to start a new segment on this here ole blog. meal-plan monday will happen every monday unless we have a weird schedule or are out of town. hopefully it will inspire you in the kitchen or at least give you some new recipes to try.

i have 2 meal-planning goals every week:
1- provide my family the tastiest and healthiest meals possible. i don't always succeed because, let's face it, there are some weeks when i just want something fatty and greasy. or I want to make a pioneer woman recipe.
2- stay between $80 and $100 at the grocery store. this does not include any household items!

we very rarely eat out. we have made more of an effort to eat at home for the last couple of months. elle and i may eat out once a week for lunch with friends or family and then we usually eat out on saturday night. and sometimes sunday lunch with aaron's family, but that rarely works out due to elle's naps.

i only meal-plan for dinner. i buy elle a few breakfast/lunch/snack options and aaron and i have leftovers most of the time for lunch, cereal or oatmeal for breakfast (when we eat it). and every once in awhile i'll buy lunch meat but it kind of grosses me out so i don't buy often. and i eat smoothies a lot for lunch.

without further ado, here is the high-family menu for this week:

monday:
mexican pizza {recipe} (with pioneer woman's pizza dough recipe)

tuesday:
white chicken enchiladas {recipe}
side of chipolte-lime rice {recipe}

wednesday:
slow-cooker potato soup (recipe from cookbook)
pear, apple, walnut and bleu cheese salad with maple-vinegarette dressing {recipe}

thursday:
eggplant croquettes {recipe} (i modify this recipe a little to make healthier)
roasted asparagus
pear, apple, walnut and bleu cheese salad with maple-vinegarette dressing

friday:
thai turkey burgers {recipe}
sweet potato fries

saturday:
leftovers or eat out

sunday:
chicken, cannellini beans, turnip greens soup (mixing a couple of recipes form this one)
grilled swiss on sourdough

and that, folks, is what the high's will be feasting on this week! please let me know if you have any questions.

elle louise lately

so sweet. so funny. so challenging...



i am just thankful that she is still a twice-a-day napper because that is the only time, i mean only time, that i get anything done. morning nap i sew, craft, do laundry whatever and afternoon nap i make dinner and finish whatever i didn't get done during the morning. once my sweet girl wakes up, its just me and her hanging out. and if i do need to get something done while she is awake, i've got a helper. i have to remind myself often that this is just a phase and it is okay to sit on the floor with her every afternoon and just play. puzzles, coloring, letter magnets, kitty cat keyboard, stickers and purse for 3 hours. it is so worth. that time is too precious to give up to the nagging voice in my head.




some sweet and funny things elle has done lately that i don't want to forget...

every morning when elle wakes up she yells for me. "mmmmmmooooommmmeeee!" over and over. so on my short walk to her room i'll usually say "mommy's coming!". wednesday morning, i was getting ready for work and she was playing in the living room and talking away to her baby. so i snuck to our bedroom door and listened without her knowing i was there and she was saying to her baby, "baby, mommy coming. mommy coming!". sweetest words my ears have heard, except for "i luh lu". that's still my favorite.

elle loves her babies. which i've mentioned before. they go with us everywhere. every. where. fine with me. i love that she loves her babies. and her latest thing is rocking her babies. in the adult rocking chair in her bedroom. she sings "rocka baby, rocka baby". it is so sweet. i tried to get it on video the other day, but she told me "no!" with the pointed finger.



everything is no. or uh uh. or no no no no no no no no. followed by and uh uh. and a lot of times when we ask her to do something and she doesn't want to, she'll growl at us instead of saying no.

we were at joann one afternoon. what was supposed to be a quick in and out trip before nap, turned into 30 minutes because i couldn't make up my stinkin' mind on a fabric for a ruffle trim. anyway, elle louise was done and fed up. so, she took it out on all the joann customer. everyone that we walked by or that passed by us she would look at them dead on and say "no!" with her pointed finger. i've never apologized so much. it was embarrassing, yet funny at the same time.



elle stayed the night with my parents last friday night. nana (my mom) took her to the movie night at her school and when they got home bapa (my dad) was asleep. nana gave her a bath in their bathtub and when they finished she told elle, "shhh. bapa sleeping" and walked out of the room into the living room. she then repeated what nana had told her to my brother, she said "cracker, shh, bapa sleeping". nana was so proud at her big sentence.

lastly, elle louise number two-ed in the potty on tuesday. a real numero dos.so so proud. she has the numero uno thing down good, but was struggling with the other. she would tell me she would have to potty and i would sit her on potty and boy, oh boy, she would try but just could never do it. i always put a diaper on after that because i don't want her to poo in her panties or hold it because she was scared. as soon as the diaper would touch her booty she would go. something she's been doing for the last 3 weeks or so. tuesday was a big milestone in the potty-training department. still pretty lax about it and don't push her too hard and have yet to wear big girl pants in public. i am a little nervous about the public potty situation. yikes. not to mention, absolutely disgusting.



happy friday!

a new {fall} wreath

my friend, shannon, and i got together this morning to make fall wreaths for our homes.

the inspiration {via pinterest}:

Source: etsy.com via Kari Beth on Pinterest

the finished product:





i don't do bows. i don't know how. but it kind of is missing a bow. i think i might get more burlap and have my mom help me with a bow. she's really good at bows!

and please, take no note of my filthy white door. i asked aaron how to clean it because i tried today (for picture's sake) and nothing. i couldn't get any of the grime off. aaron's solution: paint. so i guess we will be painting our front door. i'm thinking black!

elle and westin were perfect angels. we only had to chase after each of them once. they pretty much just ran around the garage. i did a little sidewalk-chalking in their honor and then they sat pretty for a picture.





sweet sweet kids!

oh yeah, here is how we made the wreaths:

supplies needed:
grapevine wreath
spanish moss
fake pumpkins (obviously)
burlap
glue gun
and lots of glue sticks

basically all you do is glue moss all around the wreath. we just did the front and sides and left the back as is, we thought it would lay flatter against our doors. then you hot glue the pumpkins wherever you want them and then hang it by the burlap. we just made a big loop around the wreath and knotted it at the top and hung it on our hangers. easy peasy. i kid you not. i met shannon at 9:30 to get supplies, drove back to her house and made the wreaths and we were home a little after noon. yea, like i said, easy. just very very messy!

our week up to this point

in instagram photos. but, of course!



we ate chicken noodle soup on a cool fall day.

recipe is as follows:
4 chicken breasts
1/2 onion, chopped
4 celery stalks, sliced
1/2 bag crinkle cut carrots (found in produce)
6 chicken bullion cubes dissolved in 6 cups water
1 tbsp of each: thyme and parsley (and/or whatever else you fancy)
throw all in the slow-cooker and cook on low all day (6-8 hours)
shred chicken, add about 12 oz of egg noodles to cooker and turn on high and let cook the noodles. add salt and pepper to taste.
you must serve this delicious soup with garlic-butter sourdough toast. yummy!



daddy and elle louise shared some silly time at dinner.



i cleaned up a very messy sewing/craft room. this is the after.



and...the before. not a proud moment for me. the after, however, was!





had a play-date with some cuties while mommy took the oldest to gymnastics. i now know what it's like to be a mom of 3 under 3. pause for a quick pet peeve. because i know you all would love to know my pet peeves. ok, adult to child ratios. either of the spoken or the written kind. but, i do have to share that "parenting" 3 kids under the age of 3 (2 1/2 mos, 19 mos, and 2 months shy of 3) is hard. ratio: 1 adult, 3 children. i was beat, but would do it again in a heartbeat because it was fun. sort of made me want more kids, sort of made me not want anymore kids. it was for only 2 hours people.



indulged in my first pumpkin-spice latte of the season. tis the season to drink pumpkin-spice lattes. fa la la la la la la la la la.



discovered yo gabba gabba on netflix. elle is a big fan. as am i! as is the daddy!

tomorrow morning we are meeting shannon (and westin) at hobby lobby to gather goodies to make fall wreaths. its guaranteed to be a messy time. oh, and 2 adults to 2 kids...not sure if we can handle it! i'll take my camera and share the fun with you!

tasty tuesday {recipes via pinterest}

hmmm...

well i don't have a recipe for you today. big shocker, huh? its all about the picture taking. i always forget to take pictures in the kitchen.

but here are some recipes that i've made recently (in the last month or so) that i think you will like.

Source: rx4foodies.wordpress.com via Kari Beth on Pinterest

Source: theartofdoingstuff.com via Kari Beth on Pinterest

we love sweet potatoes, but sometimes i just can't get them crispy. the cubed and skewered way is great and the cornstarch way is awesome. try either for crispier sweet tater fries.

Source: mybakingaddiction.com via Kari Beth on Pinterest

crockpot pulled pork. i am not a pulled pork fan. i got sick on it one time after eating at a local barbecue place and will not eat barbecue anymore. but, this is good. it has a vinegar marinade rather than a barbecue marinade. i froze half. we ate on it for a week and then had the frozen meat the week after. it was that good. aaron loves pulled pork so i was really excited when i found this easy recipe for him. he raved. i love when he raves about my cooking. what wife doesn't?

Source: m.myrecipes.com via Kari Beth on Pinterest

zucchini and squash pizza. ha ha! can this picture be any more tiny (or is it tinier)? made this last week using pw's pizza dough recipe. mmm mmmm mmmmmm. good stuff.

Source: oureverydaydinners.com via Kari Beth on Pinterest

turkey meatballs. we also had these last week. another favorite of aaron's!

Source: boulderlocavore.blogspot.com via Kari Beth on Pinterest

egg salad with radish sprouts. good stuff!

Source: realmomkitchen.com via Kari Beth on Pinterest

baked zucchini. there is no way this can be healthy but it sure is yummy!

Source: acouplecooks.com via Kari Beth on Pinterest

greek pizza. i may have shared this recipe before. if so, sorry. but its a good 'un. yummy! again i use pw's pizza dough recipe when making all pizzas. if there is one that you think is better than hers please share!

Source: mybakingaddiction.com via Kari Beth on Pinterest

made these chocolate chip pumpkin cookies. a sweet treat indeed!

Source: yourhomebasedmom.com via Kari Beth on Pinterest

banana chocolate chip muffins. another sweet treat we enjoyed last week.

this week we are having the following...

Source: drizzleanddip.com via Kari Beth on Pinterest

pear, apple, blue cheese and walnut salad with a maple syrup vinaigrette recipe.

Source: acouplecooks.com via Kari Beth on Pinterest

black bean and sweet potato enchiladas. a favorite around these parts!

Source: budgetbytes.blogspot.com via Kari Beth on Pinterest

spinach lasagna rollups!

its a good food week in our house. i can seriously not express enough how much i love pinterest. makes cataloging and finding good recipes so easy.

i love food!