FREE PRINTABLE BANNER (FOR ANY OCCASION)

Here we go! My first FREE printable! Yippee!

I made this simple banner for Ellis' 1st Birthday and now you can have it too! I made it a neutral color so it will work for any occasion and I have included every letter of the alphabet so you can print whatever message you want.

I added color in with the ties. I actually cut up an old floral print dress that didn't fit me anymore and used it as the ties to connect the letters. I am weird and save things like that. I loved the fabric of the dress and wanted to use in on something. I guess this fit the ticket! You can use fabric, ribbon, whatever you want!

All you have to do is:
•  Click the letter you want (below)
• Print each letter on a piece of 8.5x11" card stock on your home printer
• Cut out the banner pieces with some scissors
• Punch a hole in the top corner of each letter with a hole punch
• Connect the banner with fabric, ribbon, etc. and hang up!

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

MIXED TAPE MONDAY: EASY LISTENING VOL 1

Happy Monday! Here is a playlist of a few of my favorite tunes at the moment. 

Easy Listening - Vol. 1

Enjoy!

Oh, and a quote. I am in love with this quote. It would be perfect for Ellis' room.

HUMMUS PLATE

I make this ALL OF THE TIME to bring to grill outs, picnics, or just to have as a quick lunch on the weekends.  Like I said in this post, I prefer to make my own hummus. Here is the recipes I use.

Ingredients
One 15-ounce can (425 grams) chickpeas, also called garbanzo beans (I usually use uncooked chick peas in the bag and quick-soak them)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, about 1 large lemon
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt, depending on taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 to 3 tablespoons water

Directions
In the bowl of a food processor, combine tahini and lemon juice. Process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl then turn on and process for 30 seconds. This extra time helps “whip” or “cream” the tahini, making smooth and creamy hummus possible.

Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin and the salt to whipped tahini and lemon juice. Process for 30 seconds, scrape sides and bottom of bowl then process another 30 seconds.

Open can of chickpeas, drain liquid then rinse well with water. Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor then process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl, add remaining chickpeas and process for 1 to 2 minutes or until thick and quite smooth.

Most likely the hummus will be too thick or still have tiny bits of chickpea. To fix this, with the food processor turned on, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water until the consistency is perfect.

To Serve: Scrape the hummus into a bowl then drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top and sprinkle with paprika.

To Store: Store homemade hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate up to one week.

(original recipe from inspired taste - go to for more pictures and a video.)

To make a quick appetizer, I spread the hummus (if in a pitch, you can just grab some store bought hummus) on a plate and throw some chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and feta on top!  Serve with chips or even better, carrots!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

TARGET DEALS & STEALS

Yes, another post from the Saturday morning routine! Found these deals last Saturday and I just had to share. I am, without a doubt, most excited about the kids books! I about died when I saw that they were $1 each! They are all the classics - adapted and fully illustrated for kids 7 and up! I know I have a 15 month old and she will not be reading for quite some time, but I am so excited to give these to her when she is older.

NORA & PAT'S CANOEING ADVENTURE

As many of you know my good friend, Nora, is getting married this month and I have the honor of being her Top Maid. (aka - Maid of Honor... no, wait.... MATRON of Honor. Yes, that makes me sound very old. Let's just go with Top Maid ;)

Nora and Pat requested a joint bachelorette/bachelor party of canoeing down the Wisconsin River and camping on a sandbar. So no, not your typical high-heel wearing, panty-line, bar hoping, penis decorated, cab ride home kind of night. That kind of night wouldn't have been very 'Nora' and it most definitely wouldn't have been very 'Pat.' ;)

It took some planning, researching, and learning how to read a map, but all in all it was a FANTASTIC day of celebrating Nora and Pat. It was a 23-mile canoe trip down the Wisconsin River with about 30 people.  The plans were to camp on a sandbar half way, but b/c the river was so high, we couldn't find a suitable sandbar until we had canoed about 19 miles. eeeek! Let's just say we had some ladies with sore arms at the end of day one.

Here are some pictures from our canoeing adventure, followed by a few tips for the rookie canoe-trip-planner. I guess it is just a list of what I would have liked to know before I started planning.

representing ;)

YES! She is making hummus, avocado, sprout and roasted red pepper sandwiches for all of us! I about died I was so excited!

The Bride & Groom

Not sure what is going on here

It was pretty beautiful that next morning. Too bad I felt like death! UGG!

WHAT TO BRING:

Each person needs to bring:
- A tent
- Sleeping bag INSIDE A TRASH BAG in case anyone tips
- Bug spray
- Swim suit... duh!
- Something to cover up - the sun will cook you 
- Long sleeves and pants for night
- Sun screen
- A hat (if you want one)
- Sunglasses
- Some sort of cup to keep your drink cold - like one of these or a koozie
- A cooler with whatever you want to drink - beer, hard alcohol, whatever floats your boat... or canoe. ;) 
  Just remember - NO GLASS on the river - buy cans
- Snacks and food to eat for breakfast on the next day (we only organized dinner on day one)
- Toilet paper
- A plastic ziplock bag for your phone, wallet, camera, etc.
- Water shoes (nice, but not a necessity)
- Extra garbage bags for your trash - you need to carry out all of your trash
- Drinking water - the recommended amount is 2 gallons per person

One person needs to bring:
- Firewood, lighter fluid, lighter, and s'more fixin's of course!
- A small grill (if you decide to grill for dinner)

Things I wish we would have known:
- We were given the recommendation on putting our sleeping bags in a garbage bags, but I wish we would have put EVERYTHING in a garbage bag.  Even though we didn't tip, water still gets the the canoe from rowing and all of Logan's clothes and most of mine got soaked.
- If you have a group as large as 30, make sure you have a canoe dedicated to being the HEAD of the group and one canoe dedicated to being the TAIL.  We kept losing people because they kept thinking they were behind everyone when they were really ahead of everyone. It made it hard to stop and hang out all together when we wanted to take a break or to all decided on the camping location.
- This one comes from personal experience - If you are going to use a clip-on bug shield, do NOT shut yourself in your tent with it running and forget to open up the windows. I am pretty sure I killed a few brain cells and it was the cause of my puking sessions. Or was that the vodka? Maybe it was both. Either way, learn from my mistake and don't do it.

The canoe rental company we used:
Blackhawk River Runs
They were so helpful! I called them several times with questions and they even sent me a hand written letter about the trip with a map! 

The trip we took:
23 miles down the Wisconsin River
Started in Mazomanie - ended in Spring Green
They will pick you and your canoe up and shuttle you back to your car

How we organized dinner:
I had the groomsmen take care of bringing the grill, meat, buns, condiments, plates, napkins and eating utensils and each of the bridesmaids made a side - fruit, pasta salad, chips and dip, etc.

Cost:
$60 a canoe (2 people to a canoe - $30 per person)
I had one person buy all of the alcohol and each person pitched in $20.  You can do that or just have everyone bring their own. If you are going to buy a barrel, bring a back up tapper.

Ok, I think that is all my canoe-trip-planning knowledge summed up in one every long blog post.  It really was a great time! I hope this helps if anyone decides to plan a trip!

PEANUT BUTTER, STRAWBERRY & BANANA SMOOTHIE

YES! I am CRAZY for smoothies! They are such a healthy way to start your day. You get your fruits in and the protein from the peanut butter keeps you full. Here is another one of my favorites! It is a little more shake-like than the last one I posted.

PEANUT BUTTER, STRAWBERRY & BANANA SMOOTHIE

Two ripe bananas
Organic plain yogurt (about 1/2 cup)
Frozen strawberries (about 2 large handfulls)
Organic natural peanut butter (about 1 heaping table spoon)
Milk (normal, soy, almond....whatever works) (about about 1/4 cup)

Put it all in a blender, blend and enjoy!
Makes two 16oz smoothies.

Note: I never measure ingredients. The above measurements are guidelines. You may have to stir ingredients in the blender a few times between blends to get it to all blend together. If it is too think, just add a little more milk until it reaches the desired consistency.

MIXED TAPE MONDAY - RUNNING MIX VOL 1

Is it really Monday? Can I pleeeeease just have one more day to recoup from yet another crazy busy, jam-packed, without a moment to relax weekend? Not sure who I am asking this question to. Is there someone I can talk to who is in charge of handing out bonus weekend days????

Anyways, people often ask me if I always eat healthy? HECK NO! I eat healthy a good 85-90ish precent on the time. I like (by like I mean love) my chocolate and truly believe throwing back a few beers (or vodka sodas w/ lime) every once in a while belongs in the "healthy" category... at least for your mental health. I guess I improved my mental health this weekend. ;)

I do have to admit, after a night out, it feels so, SO good to get back into my weekly workout routine. It somewhat throws me off and I do not quite feel "right" again until I hit the gym.  Here is what I will be listening to as a get my butt back into gear this Monday morning.  Enjoy!



And just to prove today is going to be fabulous....

Oh, and a few shots from of our weekend wedding fun! Congrats Brian and Theresa!