Recipe Share: Low(er) Fat Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you planted zucchini in your garden, then you are probably like me and have more zucchini than you know what to do with. Or maybe your neighbor has an abundance and is sharing with you. So here's a sweet way to use it up and sneak some veggies into your kids too.

Low(er) Fat Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c sugar
1/4 c butter
1/4 c applesauce
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
2 c flour (whole wheat works too)
1 c oatmeal (non-instant)
1 c grated zucchini
1 c chocolate chips (I think Guittard are the best)

Cream together sugar, butter, applesauce, and egg. Add dry ingredients. Add zucchini and chocolate chips. When well blended, let sit for at least 10 minutes. Spray cookie sheet with PAM and drop by spoonfuls on to cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen.

What's your favorite zucchini recipe? Pin It

Men's Shirt Repurposed

I love a good upcycling tutorial. It seems that men's shirts have enough material to them that there is a lot you can do. Check out this tutorial for turning a men's button-down shirt into a women's top.

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Yellow and Grey

Remember my bathroom makeover?
Looks like I'm not the only one who likes yellow and gray and stripes in a bathroom. Check this one out (they even have the same yellow towels as me!):

And in case you missed mine:

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The Littlest Tomato Plant: A Story

Like many of you, I planted a garden this year. This is my first time ever to do a garden. I was pleasantly surprised when my garden began to grow and thrive. And then one day, my cherry tomato plant was chewed off at the base. Then the thyme disappeared over night. Then my parsley began to shake and my cat was next to it staring intently. The culprit? Gophers!
Soon one bell pepper plant disappeared, then another and another and another. We couldn't find the holes though, so Ryan dug deep trenches on either side of the garden box in hopes of discouraging them. That didn't work. Then we sprinkled gopher poison in the trenches. That seemed to do the trick. But only after so many casualties.
The dead plants that weren't completely eaten were thrown in the compost box, in which I planted pumpkins and corn because I ran out of room in the garden box. So there was some good soil in there too. A few weeks later Ryan noticed a tomato plant growing in there. It was just a scrawny little twig, but he moved it over to a now vacant spot in the garden.  I laughed and said, "Good luck with that."
But whad'ya know, this little guy was a fighter. One day I looked out and saw two tiny little tomatoes growing on that single 10" stalk.

So here's to all those who keep on fighting, even amid the toughest challenges and obstacles. Pin It

Peacock Costume How-To

I'm posting this in response to numerous requests for instructions on how to make the peacock costume I made for Ava last year for Halloween. I know a lot of you want to get a head start on the costume making, so I'm jumping the gun and sharing this in August. I don't have a photo step-by-step, but I will do my best to share with you how I made it so that you can replicate it if you want. Please let me know if my instructions need any clarity.

So first the easy part. The orange tights I got at Gymboree in October (they were sold as a Halloween item, so you might have better luck finding them then) and the onesie I got from Old Navy. Much easier than making those things. And useable afterward too. Another great resource for colored tights is welovecolors.com.

Next I bought the peacock feathers, large teal feathers, and elastic sequin material at Hobby Lobby (craft store). The sequin elastic was used for the headband as well as to hold the feather part onto her waist and legs so it stayed up properly. I bought a shiny teal blue polyester type material at JoAnn's (I think). I was lucky that the onesie matched the fabric color so well. 

I'd recommend gluing or sewing some feathers onto the headband—it would have looked better.

I figured it would be easier to explain visually, so I drew up a really simple diagram for the rest. The peacock feathers were really long, so I was able to cut them almost in half and use the bottom part inside of the fabric "petals" as support. Better than wire because it's lighter and less risky for the kiddo. A lot of the costume I assembled with a glue gun, because it was only going to be used once or twice, so I figured it didn't need to be too heavy duty on the durability, but you could sew more if you like. The elastic bands I sewed into loops—I figured glue wouldn't hold those very well.

UPDATE: I've been spending so much time sending out emails with the diagram that I can't keep up. So I've got it listed in my Etsy shop, but it's only $3. It's an automatic PDF download so you will have right away. Here is the {LINK} to my shop. Thank you!

Good luck and happy Halloweening a few months in advance!

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"Up" Comes to Life

Remember my Halloween costume from last year?

I was the house from the movie UP. Looks like I'm not the only one who decided to make something from the movie. A local contractor meticulously built the real thing (with permission from Disney).

You can watch the story here. I have to go see it in person. Pin It

Baby Break

I just had a baby so I won't be posting as frequently for the next little while. Meet baby Ezra. He came a glorious 2 weeks early and weighed in at 7lbs 3oz.

But he is a scratcher, so I made him some baby mittens for his own protection.

I used one of Ryan's old shirts from my scrap pile, and utilized the sleeve which already had the bottom hemmed. I based the shape and size on some girly ones I had for my daughter, only they are too short for his hands so I made these ones longer. I figure he won't outgrow them in a week if I make them a little bigger too. They are a nice soft jersey-knit and I like that they don't have animals or footballs all over them. Pin It