You Should See the Other Guy

I got a call today as I left work on my lunch break. It was from my son's school. I freaked out, knowing it had to be bad. His after-school teacher called to say that he'd fallen at school and had a gash on his face that would likely need stitches. I could hear him screaming in the background. They said he was in the office and they were trying to contain the bleeding. I was 30 minutes away.

Twenty minutes later, I was at his school. I flew. It was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be, but it was nowhere near what I hoped it would be.


My buddy. It wasn't anywhere nearly as bad as when he fell last year and banged up his face on the curb.

Ouch. That was a bad fall.

But it was still really hard. He didn't need stitches, even though my husband thinks the doctor was just trying to get out of holding down a 4 year old. Instead, the doctor gave him what my son called "fire glue" because it burned when the doctor put it on and my kiddo cried for me to blow on his face while he breathed through the pain.

But it's glued and taped up he's good. Clingy and comforted more than usual by his blankie. But good.

Whew.

Ruffle Skirt

I bought a dress at the thrift store about two months ago that I loved. I didn't really need to do anything with it except take out the shoulder pads, fix a small rip and shorten it by about a foot.

But it's so pretty. Black with white polka dots and mini pearl buttons down the front. Love.

I kept the scrap of fabric I cut off the bottom and wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with it. But last night, I made a really adorable skirt for my little girl.

Guys, I really need a better camera.

That said, here's what I did, in case you want to make something similar.

Measure your little girl's waist and double it. In my case, hers was 20", so I cut two strips of fabric 40" long and 9" tall. On my fabric, I was able to keep the bottom hem of the dress to use as the bottom of each ruffle. But if you don't have that luxury, you'll need to hem each strip.

For the top of the ruffle, you'll need to fold the top over .5", then fold again another .5", so you'll strip will be about 7" or so, depending on how deep you made your hem.

You don't want to secure the stitch at the top because you're going to ruffle the top by pulling the top string and pushing the fabric toward the center. See here for more specific tutorials on the ruffle. She explained it better than I could! You'll want to continue to gather until the top of the strip is 2" longer than your daughter's waist.

Ruffle each strip, then sew the sides together, making sure you secure the top where you ruffled the fabric so the ruffle doesn't come undone. Each strip should be about 1" wider than your daughter's waist.

Next, I took a pair of bloomers and attached the ruffles to them. One went around the elastic on the top, and the other went about 4" down, right above the leg holes.

And that's it. I put two buttons from the bottom of the dress on the top of the skirt. Now we have matching outfits! So excited!

I added two of the pearls to the front of her skirt. Now we can wear matching outfits! I'm SO excited!

Pleated Scarf

Ala Ruffles and Stuff.

I love this scarf. I'm going to make 20 and wear them all the time.

Probably not. You need 175" of fabric.

But I'll make one for me and some for Christmas gifts, for sure!

I started with this one I did last night for my little girl using old scraps from her quilt. It's cute -- and I can't wait for her to wear it this winter!

It's was really easy. I think it took MAYBE 20 minutes. And cheap. So, a winner in my book.

Old Nailpolish = New Toy

I've seen this a lot of places lately, and thought it was a brilliant idea. My girl is only 3, and still too young, in my opinion, for play makeup. But that doesn't stop her from asking every morning if she can put some on when I'm in the bathroom getting ready.

Enter this quick fix. You take nail polish, old makeup containers and create pretty pretend makeup perfect for little girls.

Start with a cleaned makeup case and your choice of nail polish.

Carefully fill the slots with nail polish.

And let dry. Quick and Easy.

Give it a try! Took less than 5 minutes and now she has something she can use that we're both happy about.

At Least We're Safe ...

We had superheroes visit our house ...

He's super fast.

IRON GIRL.

The fan helps him fly.

Lollipop T-Shirt!

Want to make a quick, ADORABLE lollipop t-shirt for a little girl you love?

OK!

Go here for the tutorial. I love Ruffles and Stuff!

Here's what I whipped up for my little lady last night ...

Quick, cute and perfect for my sweet girl!

Banana Spiced Cheesecake

Last fall I had a strong hankerin' for cheesecake. Partly because I wanted to eat it, but mainly I wanted to make it. I also had a ton of bananas that needed to be used somehow, STAT.

Put your hands together, my friend.

This thick banana cheesecake has a smooth texture — and is VERY filling! It's topped with a thin layer of thick chocolate ganache and cinnamon whipped cream ... guys, it's so tasty!

I'm not going to lie, though. It's in-depth. Don't let that dissuade you. It's WORTH IT!

Ingredients:
For the Crust:
1-¾ cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
3 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
½ teaspoons Cinnamon
½ teaspoons Salt
4 Tablespoons Melted Butter

For the Filling:
3 whole Ripe Bananas (overly Ripe Is Best)
24 ounces, weight Room Temp Cream Cheese (light Works OK, But Full Fat Is Best)
3 whole Large Eggs
1 whole Large Egg Yolk
¼ cups Sour Cream
1-½ cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
¼ teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla

For the Ganache:
½ cups Heavy Cream
½ Tablespoons Light Corn Syrup
¼ teaspoons Cinnamon
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

For the Whipped Cream:
½ cups Heavy Cream, Very Cold
¼ teaspoons Cinnamon
1-½ Tablespoon Sugar
Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9″ springform pan with cooking spray.

Crust:
Combine dry ingredients with the melted butter and combine with fork until the mixture is moist throughout. When the mixture is crumbly but will hold together when squeezed, it’s ready to be pressed into the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan. Bake the crust for 8 minutes, then let cool completely.

Filling:
Place a roasting/baking dish LARGER than the springform pan in the oven and fill halfway with water. While you’re preparing the filling, the water will heat to the perfect temperature. Wrap the bottom of your springform pan with a double layer of aluminum foil to safeguard from water getting in the pan.

In a bowl, mash the bananas and set aside (note-the texture is better the more you mash. This is why overripe bananas work best).

Add the cream cheese to a separate bowl and beat until smooth. Dump in the bananas and mix until incorporated. Add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, mixing thoroughly before adding the next. Add the sour cream and mix until combined. Finally, add the sugar, spices and vanilla and beat until well mixed.

Pour the filling into the crust. Place the pan in the oven, inside the roasting pan filled with water and bake until the cheesecake has a light golden color and the center is set (but can still have a slight jiggle). This will take anywhere from 80-90 minutes.

Cool the cheesecake to room temperature in the pan, then cover and place in the refrigerator overnight (or at least four hours).

Ganache:
When the cheesecake is cooled completely, heat the heavy cream and corn syrup over medium low heat. Add the cinnamon and pull off the heat. Add the chocolate chips and mix. When the mixture is slightly cooled, remove the sides of the springform pan and add the ganache to the top to the edges of the cake. Since the cheesecake will be cold, smooth the ganache quickly to prevent it from hardening up. It looks lovely when the ganache drips over the sides.

Whipped Cream:
Whip the cream, cinnamon and sugar in a bowl for around four minutes, or until they form stiff peaks. Add to a decorating bag fitted with a tip and decorate as you’d like. Or just lop some on the top and call it good. You worked hard on this!
Eat!