Licuado de Platano-Mexican Banana Shake

Whew! It's hot around here! I was out sweeping my front porch and almost passed out from the heat! No, literally, passed out. So on hot days like these, or really any time of year, my boys love for me to make them a licuado de platano. I remember as a little girl in Mexico, my grandma used to make me this frothy concoction that made me feel all happy inside :) Of course back then she also used to put in one raw egg for protein. Those were the days when Rocky Balboa used to gulp down a few of those babies before his morning run, remember? Now we omit the the raw egg!! It's very simple and very yummy!! You'll need one banana 2 cups of milk sugar to taste (about 1/4 c) dash of cinnamon 1-2 drops of vanilla blender  Take your peeled banana and slice it up. Pour the milk into the blender with the sliced banana, the cinnamon, sugar and vanilla. Blend well. Serve immediately. This makes enough to fill up about 2 1/2 glasses for my boys. They love it!! I use Chocolate Almond

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My Alternative To Candy Apples...Sort Of

You know how I love to make cake pops....all dipped in creamy chocolate and drizzled with my favorite candy sprinkles or choc chips...mmmmm!!  I also love caramel apples (and so do my kiddos). So last night we were talking about how stores already have the Halloween stuff out and how ridiculous that is...and this, well, led us to talking about making caramel apples!! YAY! Except I didn't have the ingredients for that :( But we could make chocolate coated apples! "HURRAY!" said the guys {ok, that was me saying it, but they were THINKING it, alright??!!} We gathered the ingredients, which weren't much, and THIS is what's so great about making these kinds of candy apples>>they're EASY. Ingredients: White Chocolate Candy Coating Red and blue sprinkles apples (I like Gala and my boys like Granny Smith) wood popsickle sticks chocolate chips and/or nuts if you wish Wax paper Take your apples and wash and dry them. Remove any stickers. Remove the stem, an

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"And the rocket's red glare..." Liberty Wreath

To continue my posts on patriotism, I grant you my Liberty Wreath!!! TADA :D Anyway, yesterday I was on.a.roll. So after finishing our windsocks I wanted to make rockets! No, not those kinds of rockets {although my 8 year old keeps saying that's what he's going to do when he grows up..make Rockets} When I was at my doctor's office the other day (again) I was in the waiting room reading some magazine and I saw this cute little rocket made out of toilet paper rolls. Now for the life of me I can't remember what magazine it was but you can also find them all over blog land. I will give you my version here. My wreath is my burlap ruffle wreath you'll find on my side bar. I love.love.love. this wreath with a capital L. Why?? You ask....well because since it's made out of a plastic covered straw the possibilities to decorate it are endless. ENDLESS I SAY! {If you don't believe me just stick around for the rest of the summer and watch me transform this baby over

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We're Patriotic * 4th of July Windsocks

Today I am feeling very crafty! And because of this, I decided to get my kids into the craze and make some tin can windsocks!!! YAY!!! First you'll need several sizes of clean, label-free tin cans. The bigger the better I say, but any size will work.   You'll also need: some twine Red and White Ribbon Blue Spray paint White star stickers Glue The little guy helped a lot with this project. He took it upon himself to punch the holes on the tops of the cans. I marked where the two holes would go and he took a nail and hammer from his OWN toolbox and punched the holes. Meanwhile, out at the paint station... I took the cans that had the holes already and spray painted them blue. The key to the spray painting of anything is to give it several light coats so as not to have drips. While the cans were drying I went inside to the nice cool dining room (it's frikin' 100 degrees today!!!) and cut out the ribbon. I just used what we had on hand. I bought nothing. So I cut 18 i

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I'm Guessing Wallpaper Is Back?!

I never thought I'd say this but I'm digging some of this new wallpaper. GASP!! I swore three to four years ago that I would never install wallpaper in my house. NEVER. EVER.EVER. But now, I'm not so sure I'm against it. Granted, I'd rather do some stenciling which is a pain in the rear but you can easily paint over it. So browse the beautiful ideas below to inspire you to wallpaper your space or stencil your own pattern onto a wall. Source: One King's Lane This one is really cute for a kid's room. Wallpaper you can draw on! Land of Nod  And nothing beats the classic damask look. Can you picture this in a very elegant dining room? Source: Home Depot  I could really see this one in my home Source: Farrow & Ball Source: Farrow & Ball If you don't want to do a whole wall, how about adding some wall decals! I love these retro ones: Source: Land of Nod So there you go. Everything old is new again :)

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So Apparently Maps Are "In"

Yeah. I know I may be a little bit behind on the home decor fashion world. I've noticed how anything maps is so de rigeur. Here are some of my faves: I'm thinking of making one of these to put on my teen boy's desk (that is still in progress)                      Source: http://www.zettaflorence.com.au/stationery/bins-boxes.html                                      How cool would this look on your bed?                                                   Source: Etsy.shop I know my little guy would love this in his room!                                                 Illuminated Globe                                        Ohhhh, I think I may get this one :)                                                   Source: Etsy New York Map                                           You can even wear them~Adorable!                                             Source: Etsy Shop Here Click on the Source link to go see the actual shop. I hope you find some inspir

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