Category Archives: etc.

etc.

Knot and Fern Pop Up

February 8, 2023

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and the shop is stocked with great gifts, both old and new. And I’m so excited to be hosting Brittney of Knot and Fern here at the shop on February 13th and 14th. Brittney is bringing her gorgeous custom floral bouquets here for easy Valentine’s Day pick up.

Simply pre-order your bouquet before Sunday, February 12th and then you can just stop by the shop and pick up your bouquet. We are making it easy-peasy for you. You’ll have the option to add a vintage vase and we have lots of adorable cards, gourmet chocolate, French soaps and candies, handmade candles, incense and lots more.

etc. / Food & Drink

Light + Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls

April 26, 2020

Is there anything better then fresh Cinnamon Rolls on a Sunday morning? I can’t think of anything. I couple weeks ago I got on a Cinnamon Roll kick and made a few batches, trying to perfect my recipe. Baked goods are the way to my husband’s heart, and probably cinnamon rolls are his most favorite baked good of all.

After 22 years of making cinnamon rolls for him, I think I finally landed on my BEST recipe yet. This rolls are light and fluffy and loaded with cream cheese icing of course.

We are definitely eating our way through this quarantine as best as we can. I don’t know what else to do. But, baking brings a little zen.

Light + Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls

  • 3 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tbsp. sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 8 cups flour
  • 4 packages of yeast (1 package = 2 1/4 tsp.)

Place the milk, butter, salt and sugar in a sauce pan and heat just until the butter melts. The milk should be very warm, but not hot (about 120 F).

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook, place 6 cups of flour with the yeast. Mix the yeast into the flour. With the mixer running, pour the milk mixture into the flour, and then immediately add the eggs. Mix until all the ingredients are will incorporated. Then add one cup of flour at a time. Knead until all the four is mixed in.

The dough will be very sticky. Turn the dough into a greased bowl and cover with a towel.

Allow the dough to double in size (about 30 mins.)

Punch down the dough, divide it into 2 equal parts and roll out the dough to a large rectangle (about 18 x 14 inches). Or if you are looking for giant more bready cinnamon rolls, don’t divide that dough and just roll out one thicker rectangle (again about 18 x 14 inches). Spread 1/4 cup softened butter on each of the rectangles of dough. sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Roll the dough and cut into 1 inch rolls with floss or string.

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp. cinnamon

Place the rolls on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Cover with a clean towel and allow to rise another 30 mins.

Bake at 375 F for 12-14 mins. Spread a generous amount of cream cheese icing (see recipe below) on each roll while they are still warm

Cream Cheese Icing

  • 8 oz. cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste, or the one bean scraped.
  • 2-3 tbsp. half and half
  • 4 cups powdered sugar

In a stand mixer beat the butter and cream cheese on high for about 2 mins. or until it is light and fluffy. Add the Vanilla bean and half and half, beat again. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Beat until smooth and creamy. This will be a runny icing, it’s somewhere in between an icing and a glaze.

Well, if we are going to be stuck home, let’s have some yummy treats. It’s the simple pleasures in life right now. For me, I’m trying to balance home baked goods with long long walks in my neighborhood.

DIY / etc.

Spring One Room Challenge Week 5

May 9, 2019

Well, I’m a little late with this week’s One Room Challenge post. We’ve been going full steam ahead. We are SOOO CLOSE to being done. And full disclosure, I am so completely exhausted. I think I’ve cried at least once everyday (maybe that’s more hormones too – who knows). But, this room has been no joke. It’s taken a toll on my body, but I think it’s really going to be worth it in the end. And if you follow me on IG stories, you know that my brother, Ash, is really doing most of the work. I can’t thank him enough.

I’ve also missed cooking. Sometimes I get sick of making meals everyday – but currently, recipes are on my mind all the time. Like, I can’t wait to bake some chocolate chip cookies and poach an egg for breakfast.

This week some big changes happened. The tile went in! The backsplash and floors were put in just before the weekend and then both were grouted on Monday. Oh man the tile is gorgeous you guys. And one point in this renovation I thought I might just save some money and just keep the floors as is. Oh gosh I’m glad I changed my mind. These hex tiles from Bedrosians make this room! The backsplash is even better then I thought it would be and I’m so happy that I went with the matte white finish. The room feels so much bigger and brighter with light countertops and light backsplash. It’s amazing the difference it makes.

And while tile was being put it, we were still PAINTING and working on touch up. I thought we’d never be done and as I was hanging the last couple of cabinets I realized that we had painted two of the uppers dark olive and two of the lowers white. Grrrrr. That meant sanding, priming and spraying TWO MORE TIMES! It’s not that the spraying is tough, it’s just all the set up and clean up.

While the grout dried, we couldn’t move the appliances back in, so we worked on plumbing. Plumbing is always a nightmare, as far as I’m concerned. The simplest jobs require so many parts, that you end up making 15 trips to the hardware store. Just finding a big enough basin wrench is tough, I had to go to 3 stores. Because our cabinets are older, and my sink is HUGE, there is very little space between the wall and the sink for the faucet. So, needless to say, it was not easy to get tools up in there to tighten down the fixtures.

One of the last things we have left to do is hang the lighting fixtures. I hope I love them once they are in. I really wanted something unique and had a little funk to them. These lights are not exactly the look I was going for, but they are close and they were reasonably priced. So, I’m taking a risk and installing them. I have a feeling, I’m going to be really happy with my choice.

I really can’t wait to share this whole space with you. Tomorrow I get to style the space (my favorite part). And then, PICTURES! The full reveal is coming soon friends. Thank you so much for following along.

etc.

Dream Louder

February 12, 2019

As many of your know, I’ve had a rough start to 2019. Just a lot of crap on my plate – all at once. It kind of feels like the hits just keep coming, and the latest is my health (or lack of). Anyways, I consider January a wash and February is the new New Year, as far as I’m concerned.

So, I was chatting with MJ of There’s Good in Store recently (actually we text daily), and she mentioned wanting to dream a little louder. I think a big part of being a human is having hopes and dreams. But, too often, we don’t see those dreams through, they just get stuck at the “idea” stage. And the hardest step can be saying those dreams out loud, so that the world hears what we want and what we are working towards. When you Dream Louder, there’s the risk of folks seeing you fail in the pursuit of that dream. But, on the flip side, there is also so much potential for folks to join you on a journey to success, to find courage in your vulnerability, or even help/assist you in making that dream a reality for you.

Instead of bottling up our dreams and holding onto them for a rainy day, we have chosen to Dream Louder and yesterday we got on IG Live and shared our 3 biggest dreams. (If you missed it, don’t worry, I’m going to share my dreams here as well.)

Yikes! I’m not going to lie, it was scary to say them out loud. MJ said she had a “vulnerability hangover” after sharing. And I have to agree, it feels like I said too much and a part of me wondered if there were folks out there listening and thinking I was CRAZY. Maybe they think I’m totally not skilled, equipped, or gifted to pull off these dreams. But, the other part of me was EXCITED and MOTIVATED! I actually got to work right away and spent a couple hours tweeking my book outline and testing a recipe (keep reading to hear more about this dream). The accountability aspect of sharing a dream out loud is so so so good.

Ok, so if you missed the IG Live, here’s my top 3 dreams (in no specific order):

  1. Oleander + Palm Product Line – I want make and sell a product line. It will be a home goods line and I will start with an online shop. I think it will have seasonal launches with a limited run of the items. All the items for a launch will have a central theme tying them together. Some of the goods would be handmade by me or a collaboration with another maker and some items might be more of a curation of items I love and use.
  2. Write a Camping Cookbook – I love to camp and I love cooking while I’m camping. I know there are other books out there, but I think I can bring something unique to the table. I have an outline already written and I’ve starting compiling some of my favorite recipes. I want this book to be a handbook of sorts for every level of camper – from the experienced backcountry camper to the first time car camper with a giant air mattress. I’d like to shoot all the images for the book as well. This is a huge undertaking, but I think it could be a really great challenge for me.
  3. Go on a Fully Sponsored Trip – This is a very blog related dream. But, I LOVE to travel and I think I’m pretty good at it. I see other bloggers taking trips and creating content in exchange for that trip and I think, “I could do that really well!”. So, I will be actively seeking out and pitching airlines, hotels, cruises, and travel bureaus around the world this year. And before I do that, I’m going to make sure to update the TRAVEL section of my blog to serve as a portfolio. First up, our trip to ICELAND! I have so many amazing images and even video content – I just haven’t found the time to put it all together into a blog post of 2.

Well, there it is…. and time is ticking. 2019 – I’ve got big DREAMS for you!

I’d love to hear you Dream Louder, if you’d like to share on Instagram please use our hashtag, #dreamlouder3 so we can see your dreams and share them as well.

Design / etc.

Happy New Year 2019!

December 31, 2018

Last year I was stuck and just couldn’t come up with a word for the year. And until this morning, I didn’t have a word for this year either. Not that you HAVE TO have a word. I’ve just enjoyed having one that last few years. It’s given me a little focus or goal and that feels good sometimes.

This year I am bracing myself for a rough January. I’ve got a few big things ahead of me that I am not looking forward to. It’s definitely not all doom and gloom, but I do know that these “things” are going to require a lot of my time and energy. I want to feel excited about the year ahead of me, and not have this feeling of dread that I do right now.

Last year I drained myself and invested so much time and energy into client projects and local work. Some of that was great, other parts were definitely learning experiences that I am happy to have behind me. I found myself at a burn out stage more than once last year. And I had no way to quit or take a breather. This year I want to set myself up for some SUSTAINABLE success. So, that’s my word – SUSTAINABLE! It’s a simple, not very glamorous word, but I think it’s exactly what I need.

Sustainable is defined as able to be maintained at a certain rate or level. I really want less up and down in my life. I want to have a little routine and be able to start, see through, and then also finish STRONG. I’m a dreamer and love the idea and concept building stage of projects best. But, I want to sustain that energy and passion I have at the beginning all the way through. Some of that might be dreaming less “BIG”. This probably sounds the opposite of any motivational writing that you’ve seen recently. But, I know myself and I need some limits. I think there is something very practical about sustainability. That might sound boring, but as a natural risk taker and adventure seeker, I think my business and life in general could use some practicality.

January 1st I’m starting my Month of Minimizing with 30 days of cleaning out clutter in our home. I felt like this was a “sustainable” series to start the year with. I hate when I have a great idea and then I don’t follow through and finish it. This new series gives me a little accountability in seeing something through and really practicing my word for the year right off the bat. (Oh, and I’ll have lots more details about this fun new series tomorrow.

Sustainable is a great word in that it can be applied in a lot different ways. Sustainable living is something Lonnie and I have always strived to achieve. Sustainable living a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual’s or society’s use of the Earth’s natural resources, and one’s personal resources. Its practitioners often attempt to reduce their carbon footprint by altering their methods of transportation, energy consumption, and/or diet.  We aren’t perfect, but it is always a consideration in the decisions we make (remember I’m married to the biology nerd). Having this word for the year, might help us even more on our quest.

Well, I don’t know if any of this makes sense at all. In my head it does, so I guess that is all that matters. And sometimes I just like to throw ideas out there, because it might be something that resinates with one of you. Maybe SUSTAINABLE is something you are seeking as well. And if it is, feel free to save, pin or even print off one of these “sustainable” images.

So, do you have a word for 2019? I’d love to hear yours and why you chose it. Leave me a comment below.

And now, have a happy and safe New Year’s Eve! We are staying home with out kiddos, grilling a nice steak dinner and Olivia and I are going to make donuts later. Yep, that’s how we party. Thanks for following along all year, this next one is going to be a GREAT one! I know it.

Design / etc.

Dark Green Kitchen Cabinets

October 4, 2018

I’ve been itching to do some updating to our kitchen. The cabinets are really in great shape, they could just use a fresh coat of paint. For being a small kitchen, it really doesn’t have terrible storage and there really are a lot of cabinets. I’m thinking a dark green color, on at least the lower cabinets, is the route I’m going to go.

The counter tops – now they definitely need to go ASAP. It’s not just that it’s an awful dark granite, but it’s actually granite tiles with grout lines and food gets stuck in ALL THE TIME. It’s really gross, and after 2 years of working with this kitchen, I’m ready for a solid surface for baking and cooking on. I’m thinking quartz probably.

But, before we get ahead of ourselves, lets just take a look at some great examples of green kitchens. Oh, and I did paint The Moore Apartments kitchen cabinets green, so I’m feeling pretty comfortable and confident with this color choice. In my book, green is a neutral color. I’m not talking about lime green or even olive – just a good classic forest green or dark sage. What do you think?

source

source

source

source

source

Anyone else ready for a change from all the white cabinets our there? Don’t get me wrong, I still LOVE painted cabinets, I just think a darker color might be fun to play with.

etc.

The Week’s End

March 11, 2018

It’s been a while since I’ve shared a little “The Week’s End” post. If you are new around here, this is just a little update post, where I share a little bit about my life lately and sometimes some fun things I’ve found on the internet that I think you should check out.

The last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind. I’m sharing pictures of snow in Sequoias here, but I’m actually enjoying the tropics here in Costa Rica as I write this.

Oleander + Palm - The Week's End (Sequoia National Park)

So, here’s what we’ve been up to:

Two weeks ago we drove up to Sequoia National Park for just the day. California has not had any rain or snow and we finally got a dump. It was gorgeous. Beautiful fluffy new snow, redwood trees, and sunshine – you couldn’t ask for a nicer day. We really live in such a great location. We have very mild winters, but if we want to visit the snow, it’s less then 2 hours away.

And then the very next weekend, we woke up early Saturday morning and decided to head to LA, (which is also less the 2 hours away). I decided I wanted to check our Emily Henderson’s Rummage Sale, just for kicks. Olivia and Dylan went with me. We arrived a few hours after the sale had started, so a lot of the REALLY good stuff was gone. But, I did score a pair of West Elm chrome wall sconces (brand new, in their boxes) for $15 each. And….. a got an awesome midcentury style globe lamp for $15 as well, but the best part is that it came from Kim and Kanye’s house. I think that’s hilarious. I’m totally NOT a fan, but it’s pretty fun to say that a lamp in my house came from theirs. And since we had driven all the way to LA, we decided to head over to LACMA for a couple hours and then grab a bite to eat at the LA Farmer’s Market.

Last week we hosted a Brandwell Meet Up and it was a success! So many local folks came out and chatted business and branding. Brandwell is still keeping me very busy. It’s exciting to see this new venture of ours grow. We have so many big plans and dreams for Brandwell, in addition to the workshops, we are planning some online courses so that we can help businesses beyond just Bakersfield.

The flu finally hit our house last week. My poor husband and son were sooooo sick.  I was panicked that Olivia or myself would get it before or even during our trip to Costa Rica. I credit my recent healthy eating (I’ve been on a 28 Day Reset with Reformed Metabolics), overloading myself with Vitamin C and zinc, and sleeping in a different room from my husband for the last 3 days to staying flu free.

Speaking of the 28 Day Reset, it’s been hard to keep up the healthy eating here in Costa Rica. We really don’t get a choice of food, we kind of just need to eat what is put in front of us. I’m doing my best, eating lots of fresh papaya and trying to limit how much rice I eat (even though it’s served with almost every meal). Don’t get me wrong, the food is really good, it’s just not very low carb or as high in fiber as I’d like it to be. It’s just a week, I’ll get myself back on track as soon as I am home.

Oleander + Palm - The Week's End (Sequoia National Park)

If you are interested in our Mission trip to Costa Rica, I’m sharing details from our days here on my Instagram Stories. Saturday was spent mixing a lot of cement, today we went to church, played with kids and then got to visit a little market. Tomorrow – we are back to mixing cement. It’s not glamorous, but I feel like we are helping this little community. They are building a dining hall to help feed local kids. Many of the children in this area are from Honduras and they are being raised by single mothers that struggle to find child care and put meals on the table while working to try to earn a little income. I’m so impressed with this local church and their vision to help their community. They don’t have much themselves, but God is really using them in a big way.

Design / etc.

The Frame by Samsung

December 20, 2017

This post was created in partnership with Samsung.

The Frame by SamsungThe Frame by Samsung

Christmas came early to the McConnel house. After 10 years with the same small-ish TV, we have made a huge upgrade with The Frame by Samsung. If you recall, in the Summer I played around with the idea of hanging The Frame over our credenza in our living room (see the original post here!). I tried out a few different gallery wall options and dreamed about the possibilities of living without the ugly black box. And now it’s a Christmas Miracle, because we have a new piece of art that we can change and customize. Using the phone app, I simply uploaded one of my own favorite images. I took this picture of a giant oak tree last fall just outside of Bakersfield. I love being able to display my own work. When Spring and Summer arrive, I’m sure I’ll want to change the image to some wild flowers or a warm beach scene.

The Frame by SamsungThe Frame by Samsung

TVs can be such an eyesore when you are trying to decorate your home. I’m always trying to find ways to hide and disguise the traditional TV in a room. The Frame hangs flush to the wall, like a real framed picture, so you can treat it as another piece of art in your room. When you aren’t watching your favorite Christmas movie with 4K UHD viewing, The Frame can display your favorite family photos or you can load it with one of 100 pieces of curated art that Samsung provides.

The Frame by SamsungThe Frame by Samsung

We are hosting a Christmas Open House, and I am soooo excited to have our credenza free of electronics so that I can make it festive and even put out drinks and snacks on it. I love when a party can move from room to room, and folks can mingle and snack in every space. Often with parties, everyone gets crowed right were the food is, usually the kitchen or dining room. But, this year I can put out treats in the living room as well. Anytime I can clear up a surface and hang things on the walls, I feel like I’m winning the decorating and organizing game.

The Frame by Samsung

I’m still playing with the gallery wall in our living room, because I just have too many favorite pieces that I still want to display. But, now I can share a favorite holiday photo in The Frame or switch out the art piece to go with the season without making anymore holes in my walls. You guys, I feel like this is such a design game changer and we actually live in the future!

The Frame by SamsungThe Frame by Samsung

The Frame also has customizable bezels that have the flexibility to perfectly complement your home décor, with three additional bezel options in wood, white or metal. I played with the walnut frame to play with all my wood trim in the house.

The Frame by Samsung

Also, to make the holidays a little sweeter, The Frame 55″ and 65″ sizes are currently $200 off in stores and online! It’s not to late to add to your Christmas wishlist.

etc.

Gingerbread Ice Cream with Crystalized Ginger

December 18, 2017

You know how folks go crazy over PSL (Pumpkin Spice Lattes), well I think they are good, but Gingerbread is where it’s really at for me. It’s my favorite holiday flavor.

If you are a fan of gingerbread like I am, you might like this Gingerbread Cake + Toffee Sauce recipe, these Gingerbread Milkshakes, these Gingerbread Cookies with Lemon Buttercream, or maybe this homemade gingerbread syrup recipe as well.

Gingerbread Ice Cream with Crystalized Ginger

There is no messing around with this ice cream, it’s bursting with flavor – sweet molasses and spicy ginger. And this is the creamiest ice cream you will ever have. It’s actually a cooked custard made with whipping cream (yep you heard me right) and 4 egg yolks.

Gingerbread Ice Cream with Crystalized Ginger

Gingerbread Ice Cream with Crystalized Ginger

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1/4 molasses
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. ginger
  • 1/4 tsp. each cinnamon, allspice and cloves
  • 2 tbsp. crystalized ginger (finely chopped)
  • gingersnap or gingerbread cookies for garnish

In a small sauce pan, combine all the ingredients except the crystalized ginger. Whisk together well. Turn the heat to medium and continue to whisk. It will take about 8-10 mins, but cook until it begins to thicken. It should coat the back of a spoon. Do not bring to a boil, keep the heat on medium.

Pour the custard into a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Cool for at least 2 hours. When the custard is completely cooled you can place it into your ice cream maker and freeze according to your machine’s specific directions. I have a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker and it takes about 20 mins to freeze ice cream. When the ice cream is done, add the crystalized ginger at the end and let the machine mix it in well. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze overnight. Because this is made with cream, it will stay a softer ice cream.

Gingerbread Ice Cream with Crystalized Ginger Gingerbread Ice Cream with Crystalized Ginger

I topped my ice cream with a couple more pieces of crystalized ginger and a Swedish Gingersnap (Pepparkakor). I bought this cute little tin of cookies in Sweden, but THESE are very similar.

Gingerbread Ice Cream with Crystalized Ginger + Swedish Gingersnaps (Pepparkakor)

 

etc.

High School Wisdom For My Teenager

October 30, 2017

The post is sponsored by OLLY, thank you for supporting the companies that help make this blog possible. 

There are so many things that I feel like a need to teach my daughter before she leaves us for college. And that day is quickly approaching. I teamed up with OLLY to share a couple fun life lessons that I could share with my daughter Denali. When I look back on my high school years there are a couple pieces of wisdom I think I can pass on to her. There are lot of things I would probably do definitely now, but I have a couple nuggets that I think will help her. Of course, the hope is by now we have raised a pretty kind, generous, and hardworking human being. These are just a few bonus tips to get you through these High School years just a little more smoothly.

Here are my 3 pieces of High School wisdom:

  1. Don’t bother with a boyfriend, stick with friends only. Life is so much easier and my High School experience was boy-drama free.
  2. Eat breakfast, even when you are in a hurry, it’s the most important meal of the day.
  3. Learn to love thrifting, you will always have be able to find unique, fun outfits, even when your budget is super tight.

Really this is totally up to Denali, but I have really recommended not wasting her time with the whole boyfriend game while in High School. Boyfriends often bring drama and stress. I watched my friends with boyfriends, and was happy that I just had lot of guy friends instead. It was easier and I really didn’t feel like a was missing out. High School already has so much stress, with activities and academics. It just one less thing to worry about. These things can wait. Friendship, now that’s definitely important. I also think it’s important to learn how to have friends with the opposite sex at a young age.

In my early teens I was not a breakfast eater. I just wasn’t a morning person and having to figure out what to eat and fuel my body with felt overwhelming. But, then I was crabby and worn out until lunch hit. I attended boarding school my last two years of high school. My boarding house parents were from Texas and they made BIG breakfasts everyday! Having that fuel first thing in the morning definitely helped give my body and mind what it needed. I realized that I wasn’t doing myself any favors skipping this meal. Denali’s day starts early with 7 am classes and usually ends pretty late. By the time she finishes cross country practice and puts in a solid 3 hours or more of homework, often she’s crawling into bed around 11 pm. We try to have grab-and-go breakfast options on hand. She doesn’t have time to sit and eat breakfast at the table. So, a hearty breakfast burrito and a OLLY Girl Multivitamins is a great way to give her fuel for the day and she can eat it on the walk to school. Lately we have been making Green Chili + Corn Breakfast Burritos (see the recipe at the end of the post). It’s one of our favorite combinations when we are camping. Now, I make a dozen and then wrap them up and freeze them so that the kids can just grab them, warm them and then hit the road.

OLLY Girl Multivitamins have quickly become a part of our morning routine. These yummy, chewables are made especially for girls 12-17 years old. OLLY Girl Multivitamins support strong bodies and bones, immune system health, and energy production. They are formulated with biotin to help with hair and nail growth and work for the inside to support clear, healthy skin. Denali is working and playing hard these days and OLLY Girl Multivitamins are helping her maintain a healthy body.

As a high schooler I was an avid thrifter. As I’ve shared before, I grew up overseas in Papua New Guinea. Really there was no other shopping to be found, so I really perfected the art of finding a great outfit for just a couple dollars. I even bought more Junior formal dress for just $2. It was a white flapper dress, and definitely no one else was wearing one in 1994. There something really fun about wearing something you know no one else will ever have. Over the years I’ve taken my kids to many a thrift store, but only recently has Denali realized how great the hunt of thrifting is. She sees that with $20 you can find a whole outfit and often if you shop at the mall, you can’t find a single piece of clothing under $20. It’s fun to see Denali’s style develop. And I love that she wants to do something different and not look like everyone else her age.

I have a few tips of thrifting clothing like a pro. Here what I’m teaching Denali:

  • Accessories –  these are items that are often overlooked. But, a great leather belt can be very expensive to buy brand new. And really, can you have too many scarves?
  • Jeans – with vintage styles always making  a come back, why would you ever pay $50 for a pair?
  • Out of Season – even if it’s Summer, still sift through the sweaters. Shopping out of Season when thrifting can often reveal some hidden gems.
  • Special Occasions – shop for formals and dances. Often these dresses are only worn once, so consignment stores usually have a lot of formal wear that is in great condition. I hate the idea of spending $100 or more on a dress you will only wear once, it feels so wasteful.

Ok, here’s the recipe, as promised.

Green Chili + Corn Breakfast Burritos

  • 1 dozen eggs
  • 1 cup grated cheese
  • 1 small can of diced mild green chilis
  • 1 cup of frozen corn or canned corn
  • salt + pepper
  • 1 dozen flour tortillas
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • hot sauce (optional)
  • foil and parchment paper

Start by beating the eggs in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a non stick fry pan. Scramble the eggs, cooking on a low heat. When the eggs are almost done, add the corn, green chilis, and cheese. Stir and continue to cook until the the cheese is melted. If the eggs seam a little wet or undercooked slightly, that is ok. These burritos will be reheated in the microwave and this will prevent them from being over cooked and tough.

Divide out the egg mixture to make 12 burritos. Add a dash of hot sauce if you like a little kick. Roll the tortillas and toast both sides in a pan with a little butter. Allow the burritos to cool, then wrap in parchment paper and then foil. Store in the fridge for a couple days or in the freezer.

When you are ready to eat one, remove from the freezer and peel off the foil wrapping. Leave the burrito wrapped in the parchment paper and microwave on defrost for 2 mins and then on high for 30 secs. Wrap the burrito back in the foil to keep it warm and make it easy for eating on the go.

As parents, we definitely don’t have this teenager stage of life all figured out, but we are doing our best to give our kids a healthy start and some life tools to help them be happy and successful.