Quick and Easy Halloween Frame

Halloween decorations are everywhere right now...and I am having the hardest time getting in the fall mood when it is 90 degrees outside! But I decided that despite the high temps, my house needed to lose the summer decor and get some new fall/halloween stuff in it's place.

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This is a SUPER easy craft project that even the kiddos can help with. I used an unfinished wood frame that I picked up at Micheals for $1, a can of black spray paint, and some really cute Halloween stickers. I spray painted the entire frame black.
Then simply embellished the front of the frame with my SUPER cute Halloween letters. You could spell out a ton of different spooky words, or even add your kiddos' name or the year.
And that is how you make a quick and easy Halloween frame!

Wordless Wednesday: The One That Got Away

The Bagel Debacle

Wikipedia defines a debacle as an event that turns out as a disaster.

The majority of my recent trip to New York was amazing....with one major exception: my attempt at finding the perfect New York bagel!

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I was determined to find a SUPER yummy and truly authentic bagel the first morning we were in NYC. So I pulled out my trusty phone and googled "Best place to eat a bagel in NYC" with great results. I found two places both within a few blocks of Grand Central.
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First we headed to Daniel's Bagels.

Unfortunately when we got there, we saw this on the door:

In case you can't read the sign, it says they are closed for the day! I figure it must be my awesome luck that they just happen to be closed the one day that I am in NYC and looking for a bagel...especially since we walked more than a few blocks out of our way just to get bagels.

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Now I was more determined than ever to get a good bagel, so instead of giving up we headed uptown to Ess-a-Bagel. We had to backtrack about 6 blocks from Daniel's and continue up another 8 blocks or so to get to Ess-a-Bagel's. But again we see no line, no customers...just a note on the door:

Yep! They were closed for the day too!

Apparently Jason and I don't keep up with our Jewish holidays as well as we should, because the one day that I was determined to find a bagel {which are usually made in kosher bakeries} was Rosh Hashanah.

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I gave up that day, and settled for a SUPER delicious croissant instead....but I was still determined to get that bagel.

So bright and early the next morning we head back to Ess-a-Bagel....only to realized we should have read their sign a little more closely.

Yep! They were closed on Friday too!
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It only took three attempts, but I finally got that awesome New York bagel that I was hoping for! And it was totally worth it...plus all that walking was surely enough to burn off all the calories in the HUGE bagel loaded down with strawberry cream cheese!

A 1st Time Tourist's View of New York City!

Our first view of NYC came in the form of Grand Central Terminal.

Jason and I stayed outside the city near the New York/Connecticut state line, which means to get into the city we took the commuter train into Grand Central. This place is HUGE and SUPER busy. From Grand Central, we took our first of many subway rides. We took the S train, which is a shuttle from GCT to Times Square.
The first thing on our list of things to do was to see a Broadway show...and we did! We even got a great deal on tickets by using the TKTS booth.
The next day was all about seeing as many famous sights as possible. We caught a quick glimpse of The Empire State building from below...we had plans to see the top later in the day.

We walked by The New York Public Library and took a quick picture with either Patience or Fortitude...I'm not sure which is which:)

We walked by Bryant Park. No Fashion Week here, this year it was being held at The Lincoln Center.

Then we took a two hour boat tour around the city and got some great views of the Statue of Liberty,

the NYC skyline,

and Ground Zero.

After the boat tour, we took a quick subway ride over to Brooklyn and then a {not so quick} walk back across the Brooklyn Bridge.

We ended our second night in the city with amazing views from the top of the Empire State Building.Over the next few days, we checked out some pop culture sights:)

I took some pictures of buildings that I have no idea what their names are...

....and some that everyone knows!

We took a ride to the Top of the Rock,

and saw unbelievable views of the city and Central Park.

After that view, we had to experience a little bit of Central Park on foot too!

We even managed to squeeze in a visit to a museum...
or two.

We saw this masterpiece in person....it is gorgeous!

We ended our trip to NYC with a night at the Waldorf-Astoria.

And this view {out our hotel window} was one of our last views of NYC before heading back to Mississippi.

Wordless Wednesday: NYC!

BANANAS!

What do you do when you get a really great deal on a big bunch of too brown to eat baby bananas? Make banana bread of course:)
Banana Banana Bread
from allrecipes.com
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas
chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2.In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3.Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.


I have also used this recipe{Banana Crumb Muffins} and it is really yummy too!

Wordless Wednesday: Milk Bubbles

Crafty Way to Organize for School 2

Last year in an attempt to get a little organized for school, I made these SUPER easy folders. I planned to keep track of all the important papers and notes that came home with the boys from school...and the folders actually did their job really well! I think I only lost maybe two papers all year:)

This year, Henry is participating in his school Accelerated Reader program. The kids read books, take tests on the books, and earn points. At the end of the year there is a celebration for all the kids who earned 100 AR points. I knew that in order to stay organized, we needed a place to keep all our library books and the master list of AR books.

I picked up a pack of magazine boxes at Ikea this summer. I got five boxes for $3, which is an awesome deal...I really wish there was an Ikea closer to us!

Anyway, I knew these magazine boxes would be great for holding library books, they were just a little too plain. So, I got out the Mod Podge and some scrapbook paper and got busy making the boys some SUPER cute library book holders!

I measured the paper and cut it to size. I also traced the little circle on the front of the box so that it could be cut out.

Using my circle cutter, I cut out the circle in the paper to just the right size.
I added a layer of Mod Podge to the box with a foam brush.
I adhered the paper to the boxes and the coated the paper with a thin layer of Mod Podge.
After the first layer of Mod Podge was dry, I added the boys' initials to the bottom of the book holder. I used my Cricut to cut the letters, but any chipboard or scrapbook letter would work too. I added another layer of Mod Podge and made sure to coat the letter well.
I also added a little bit of paper to the top just to emphasize my color coding system:)

Now the boys have a great organized place to keep their library books, and hopefully this will help Henry met and exceed his AR goal for the year!