Knitting looms are a great tool for helping young kids make useful garments and play items out of yarn. Click through to see a variety of looms and how we use them.
Author Archives: Katie
Best Grilled Cheese Hack!
How do you think I’m going to use that mayo for a grilled cheese? Read on to have your mind blown. Continue reading
Multipurpose Garment Rack
I’m turning 40 this year. And nothing says 40 like hitting “publish” on a post titled “Multipurpose Garment Rack”. So boring adult is the role that I now fill here. That said, please (I’m begging you) read on to find out why your house, apartment, and tiny house needs this garment rack. It’s the best boring-adult-thing for everyone, whether you’re in your 20s or your 40s. Continue reading
Cranberry Rosemary Sour
This past spring we shared a variety of fizz and sour cocktails. Today we’re back with a wintry version. You can find all of our cocktail recipes here.
If you’re up for a bit of egg on your face in your drink, then I think you’ll love today’s drink. The combination of spicy ginger + tart cranberry + earthy rosemary creates a drink that encapsulates everything I feel as I watch the sun’s low rays move across our hill on a winter day. Continue reading
Christmas Lights
The holidays may be over, but there are some lights that I’m keeping up all winter!
At the top of that list are these trees. I have them in pots outside our front door, and it adds just enough sparkle to make the long winter evenings special.
When ordering these trees, I didn’t realize how particular my tastes were until a few different models arrived… and they just weren’t right.
The Hairui models that I’m linking to throughout this post is my absolute favorite. There are a few different sizes. I bought the 4 foot trees, which are currently out of stock (and that was a problem throughout the holiday season – hopefully there will be more in stock soon!).
The Hairui 4 ft model has 72 lights, and then their larger trees have more lights. There are other producers that sell 4 ft trees with 160 lights (160!). It’s blinding. I know, because at one point when the Hairui trees weren’t available, I bought one with double the lights, and I’m still seeing stars.
Besides the light count, the other main difference that I noticed between trees is that some, like this one, end each branch tip with a light. Others will have branch ends that end without lights. And some of those will have branches that awkwardly transition from thicker branches to ends that are wire thin (and again, those wire ends don’t have lights). All-in-all, it just looked more shoddily designed.
My only frustration with my favorite model is that its stock on Amazon is always absurdly low and I haven’t found another reliable place to buy them. Luckily you have 11 whole months to track some down before next winter.
Life-long Learning!
If you like learning, check out some of our DIY posts.
*This post was originally published in November of 2019. We’re republishing it now, because the new year is the perfect time to set a 2020 resolution to learn something new. It may be a new skill from CreativeBug (see our tip below for a free account!), or it may be that you want to learn some new science from a Coursera class. The sky’s the limit!*
When I was an undergrad, my university had a vibrant life-long learning program. Do you know what I’m talking about? It was geared towards older individuals that wanted to take classes, but we’re in a degree program. Maybe they’d take a History of Jazz class one semester and then a paleontology class the next.
Every time I saw an life-long learning student/senior citizens on campus, I was JEALOUS. College was stressful, but I loved learning, and I would daydream about how much fun it would be to take classes without the heavy workload or the stress of grades.
Well, I just realized this summer, that my time has come! Continue reading
Simple Stitched DIY
The countdown to Christmas is on!
Today we’re sharing a super simple and sweet DIY gift.
For these towels, I had Alex write the word LOVE on a piece of paper. We did this project a year ago to give last Christmas, and it was when he was still learning to write. You can see that I wrote “love” in the upper left corner of the paper as a guide. In my opinion his creative writing gives these towels a pile of personality and will always help us remember the phase when Alex “tied a knot in his Os to keep them closed” and made “ladder Es”.
Materials
- plain kitchen towels; I like the look and feel of flour sack towels and found these grey ones at Target
- embroidery floss
- needles
- embroidery hoop
- chalk pencil
- maker & paper for writing the original design
How-to
- Determine your design. It can be a simple word, phrase, or line drawing. You can do something more complex, but our goal is to keep this project simple!
- Using the chalk pencil, trace the design onto the towel. For these darker towels, I found it easiest to hold the design and towel up to a window for tracing.
- Embroider! You can use any stitch you prefer, and there are complete stitch dictionaries that will help you pick the right stitch for your project. For this project, I used a stem stitch, which works great for both straight and curved lines. And you can see that I took some artistic license with Alex’s original work, straightening and extending a couple of the lines in the E in spots where he ran out of room.
- Once your project is complete, iron it.
Of course, these projects make great gifts on their own. BUT since they are for the kitchen, they are also the perfect compliment to a nice mug, fancy soap, or a beautiful cheese spreader.
If you enjoy this project, make a few extras. These are great to have on hand as a hostess gift.
On top of their simplicity, these this project doesn’t cost much and can be paired with something for the kitchen for a nice DIY touch.
Winter Layers for Kids
We spend a LOT of time outside between hikes, playground visits, and nature play sessions. The one thing that I always notice at this time of year, is the drop-off in kids at these different events.
I totally get it. It can be hard to motivate to get outside once winter weather arrives. BUT, after playing through the seasons for the past few years, I’ve come to rely on a few specific brands and types of gear.
Here are our favorite laying options for winter adventures.
- Oaki rain suit: I bought these a little bit big so that they’d last for at least two years, and so far they’ve held up wonderfully. This is a water and wind-proof suit and makes for a nice thin outer layer. It’s great on rainy days, snowy days, or even just blustery days. I prefer it over snow suits because they are often super bulky, and with this suit, you can add your own layers underneath to get the insulation just right for the day’s weather.
- Bogs: We’ve been using bogs for the past 5 years, and again, this is a product that I love. Bogs are waterproof and come with different insulation levels. The boots are a little bit heavy, but my boys have never minded.
- Puffer: When it comes to layering under the rain suit, I opt for a puffer. We have puffers that are thin but warm, perfect for allowing the boys to stay agile and warm.
- Smartwool socks: Good wool socks are worth the money. Wool provides fantastic insulation, even when it gets wet – perfect for those days when they are too adventurous near the water. I only have a couple pair of wool socks for the boys, enough to have one pair at the ready while the other is washing.
- Sunscreen : In Colorado, the winter sunshine is no joke. When we don’t have our homemade supply on hand, we love Badger sunscreen for its equally simple ingredients.
- Wool Base Layers : wool base layers are an investment, but if you’re going to be spending a lot of time outside, there’s nothing like the temperature regulation provided by wool.
- Fleece Bottoms : We love these fleece-lined leggings! The boys will often wear them alone or as a layer under the rainsuits. These are from Primary, and if you’re interested in buying some, I have a friends and family code ( PRIMARYKATHRYND539 ) that will get you 25% off your first order.
I didn’t include a hat or gloves on this list. For hats, we’re always wearing something that I knit. When it comes to gloves, I feel like I’m still on the hunt for a perfect pair for small hands. My boys don’t love mittens because of the limited dexterity, but I haven’t found the perfect gloves yet.
Fortunately, we have our winter layers so dialed in that we can head out the door with minimal effort, but I’d love to hear from you – anything that you consider essential that didn’t make my list?
Sweet and Spicy Mixed Nuts
{This post was originally published in 2015. We’re reposting it now because you should whip up a batch for Thanksgiving. Whether you’re hosting or visiting, these will be a welcome snack.}
Nuts are our ingredient of the season. We’ve been using them for sweets, drinks, snack bars and savory condiments!
With summer approaching I began fantasizing about the hiking, camping, and other outside fun that we’re going to have. I also started thinking about snack ideas for those adventures, and having nuts on hand are a great, healthy option, but to keep things interesting, I like to swap out basic roasted nuts for this sweet and spicy option. A bag of roasted or spiced nuts holds up much better than our favorite fruit and nut snack bars, when stuffed into a pack, but those snack bars do make a great fast breakfast when you’re running out the door to get an early start on that hike!
Roasted Chicken with Vanilla Bean Butter Sauce
{This post was originally published in 2016. We’re reposting it now because it’s delicious cold-weather comfort food.}
Vanilla is our ingredient of the season. So far we’ve made some vanilla-infused vodka (great for milkshakes!) and a double vanilla cake. Today we’re turning our attention to a savory dinner.
Do you have any snow on the ground? We had a fantastic snow day yesterday! I read that Boulder’s 16+ inches in yesterday’s storm is more than the average snow for the month. I was so distracted by the sledding, matinees, and requests for banana cream pie, that I forgot to post. And I think Sarah’s off taking photos of staircases and doorways, so who knows when we’ll hear from here again ;-)? Anyway, today we’re sharing an amazing use for vanilla, and I really hope you’ll give it a try.
When we picked vanilla as the ingredient of the season. I knew I wanted to experiment with some savory dishes. That said, I didn’t have anything in particular in mind, and never in my wildest dreams did I see this savory roasted chicken on the horizon! We eat a lot of roasted chicken, and I’ve become so partial to our chicken with the flavors of preserved lemon and olives, but this dish is far on the other end of the spectrum. The flavors are more subtle, of course there’s the vanilla, but there’s also a mild nutty-ness from the browned butter. It’s a nice compliment to our repertoire of chicken dishes.