Little Projects

I love doing little projects.  Maybe a little too much.  My mind is constantly going with things I can be doing so sometimes I choose to do something that needs to be done while other times I decide to do something that really isn't necessary.  Here are a few of my recent projects:

I found this tray for $2 at Goodwill and made it into a menu board.  I try to plan out our meals two weeks in advance to save money, save trips to the store, save time, and to save food from going bad.  I used to always misplace my menu that I scribbled down on scrap paper; now I can't lose it!

I am excited that in just a few weeks, or maybe days, my sister-in-law Kristi will be having a boy.  I can't wait for holidays so all of the little Brannan boy babies can play together!  For her shower, I had to create my first diaper cake because I loved all of the different "cakes" given to us at our showers.  I received a large cake, a bassinet, and a motorcycle.  All were adorable and very much appreciated.  Diapers are probably the best gift for new parents!  I couldn't really find good tutorials online of how to create a golf bag so I stared at Rory's golf bag for awhile and came up with a decent looking bag.  It didn't hold up too well on the ride down to D.C. but that's okay because I still enjoyed making it!

Lastly, I am happy to say that we finally baby proofed the fireplace hearth.  I really wanted a bumper on it when Deaglan was learning how to crawl, so it's a little late, but at least now it is ready for any babies that come to visit.  My mom was a rockstar with helping create the frame.  Do not get in the way of her and a power tool!  I covered the frame in foam (umm, why is foam expensive?) and then added pillow stuffing to add more protection.  I bought really cheap fabric from Walmart and used a staple gun to secure it to the foam and then added some decorative nails to make it not as bland.  We made it so that it can slide on and off of the fireplace.  Deaglan now enjoys crawling on top of the fireplace but at least he won't hit his head on the sharp corners.  Now, I just need to teach him how to not go headfirst onto the floor when he wants to get down...

I am currently working on a wall rack for some of our pots and pans.  I have a bunch of pans thrown in one cabinet and it is driving me nuts!  I don't want them to get scratched and it is so annoying to dig out a heavy pot.  My sister-in-law Katie gave me a really cute stencil for our wedding shower.  I had it up in our last kitchen and couldn't wait to display it in our new house.  Originally, I was going to paint it on a few strips of pallet and put it in the kitchen until I realized that I wanted to try and make a wall rack.  Rory's parents gave us a few peg boards so I am going to be putting one to use if all goes to plan...now it's a matter of hanging it on the wall.  Let's see how long that takes!

Jalapeno Popper Corn Fritters

A few weeks ago, I put corn on the cob in the freezer because I didn't want it to go bad.  Then I realized that it may not taste that great if I didn't freeze it correctly so I wanted to try to think of a recipe that had corn in it but not as the only ingredient.  My mom suggested a corn chowder recipe but soup and warm weather just doesn't mix even though it sounded really good.  I decided to make this recipe I found on Pinterest.  It was easy, different, and delicious!  Maybe not as healthy as simple corn on the cob...but hey, we aren't eating these all the time so I didn't feel that badly! I had a few strips of bacon in the fridge so that was a special add on but I probably wouldn't bother with it next time.  Rory and I could have just had these as the main meal and skipped the chicken breast!

Almost one year???

As we were talking about the fact that D is almost a big one year old, Rory and I noticed that we don't take as many pictures of Deaglan as we used to.  I believe it has something to do with the fact that Deaglan does not just sit still and stare at us and toys anymore.  He is a boy on the go so it's often hard to snap a picture of what he is doing.  I made it a point a few weeks ago to keep my phone handy so I could capture some of his every day activities so you guys could see the day in the life of Deaglan!

He loves playing with blocks and a wooden train that his Grandma Brannan bought for him.  He is also quite obsessed with banging on and eating the trash can.

 Deaglan will often stare at his toys in the basket, pull out every single one, then decide not to play with any of them & just crawl around in hopes that someone is chasing him.  Most days, he'd rather play with the remote, dirt from the plant, dvds, cable box & anything else that is in reach that he is not supposed to touch. Also, he likes going around the house and pointing towards ceiling fans!

At first, he struggled to use his walkers but now he is getting the hang of them!  He also loves to sneak up the stairs when no one is watching.  He cracks up when  you get to the stairs and try to climb after him!

We went to Ocean City with our friends a few weekends ago.  I was so impressed that Deaglan stayed on the blanket to play and didn't really eat the sand!  He loved the airplanes that kept flying over and ever since then he likes to put his hand up in the air and make a noise so I pretend he is imitating a plane.  Deaglan loved having Dublin, their large chocolate lab, around to play with.  He had no fear of the dog and liked chasing him, sharing his toys, and playing in his food bowl.

I also just took him to Richmond for a few days to visit family and friends.  Deaglan loved playing with my cousin's dog.  We are thrilled to see that he does so well with dogs because we really want one.  We are trying to hold off until next summer though to get one....we will see!  Recently, Deaglan also went onto my parent's boat for the first time.  I was worried he wouldn't be able to nap but he dozed off so easily.

So for now, our summer days have been busy.  I've been trying to keep him on the go so he doesn't get bored around the house.  This upcoming week, we are going to take Dealgan to the Maryland State Fair because I know he will love walking around to see all of the sights and sounds.  It is crazy to think that school is almost in session and that almost one year ago this little cutie was born.

Homemade Hamburger Buns

On our anniversary, I felt badly that I didn't really plan a special meal.  I knew Rory would be happy with hamburgers on the grill but I decided to bake hamburger buns just to add a little more effort to the meal.  It's not surprising that I saw this recipe on pinterest (buns) and have been wanting to bake them for awhile.  Typically when I bake bread it doesn't turn out well.  It is usually dense or hard on the outside and soggy on the inside.  Tommy also joined us for dinner so we could celebrate his first day of work (woo hoo! and the little king George that was born...) so we were all very skeptical as to how they would turn out.  The men were patient as I started prepping the buns at 6:30, I read the directions wrong a few times, but they were out of the oven by 8:00.  I slid them in the fridge for a few minutes to cool down so I could cut them.  Looking back, it is a really easy recipe and it'll definitely be faster and easier the next time I make them.  So I hate when the bun is bigger than the burger! These buns were perfect because they were bigger than dinner rolls but the perfect size for burgers or sandwiches.  They were slightly crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.  I will definitely be making these again!!

(Our neighbor gave us delicious tomatoes from their garden...wish I had a green thumb!!)

Dining Room Complete!

One room is finally 100% complete!  Remember this old gem?

Let's just say the chandelier in the dining room has been my nemesis.  Rory and I have gone back and forth a lot about what our decorating style is (yes, he actually cares...maybe).  "We" have decided that we like the rustic, shabby chic country look.  Well, the original chandelier was brass with huge hurricanes = not our style.

I am always looking for a project and refused to spend money on a new chandelier.  I used my handy dandy Annie Sloan paint to create a white chandelier.  I ripped out the prongs and hid the brass chain with burlap, which drives Rory crazy but I really didn't want to paint the chain and I wanted it covered.  At Walmart, I purchased new lights since the old ones were quite long and pointy and I also found some cheap white shades.  It drove me crazy that the chandelier, rods, and shades were all three different shades of white so I spray painted the rods brown to give some contrast but I didn't like that either.  After a few weeks of staring at an 80% finished chandelier, I decided to wrap each rod with twine to give a rustic look and to compliment the wall color.  Sometime in the future, I do want to buy or make a cushion for the window seat but I settled for pillows for now. I threw together a "guest basket" so when we have people over, we can quickly grab place mats, cloth napkins, trivets, the gurgling cod, etc. Oh, and the walls are a mocha, tan color...not baby poo gold like some of the lighting makes it seem...

Cape Cod

Last summer, Rory and I drove to Cape Cod so we figured driving was the best option for this year's first Brannan Family Vacation.  If I could do it when I was 8 months pregnant, we could do it with a 9 month old, right?  We left on Thursday night in hopes that Deaglan would sleep for most of the trip.  We hit the worst storm a few hours into the drive and drove with the storm for the remaining six hours. The rain was so hard at times, we could only drive about 30 mph. I kept watching the storm on radar and it was not budging!  Rory and I took shifts with driving but we made it safe and sound to his uncle's house at around 2:30 in the morning.  We were exhausted and did not find it amusing that Deaglan thought it was time to play when we put him in his pack n play to fall asleep.  But, how could you be mad at this face?  He was just ready for his vacation!  

The weather was cloudy/drizzly/rainy the first few days on the Cape but I actually enjoyed it.  It gave me time to read an entire book (I haven't read a book since last summer...), complete a puzzle, and gave us reason to sit inside and catch up with family.  On Wednesday, we were quite thankful though to see the sun and we were ready to enjoy the beach.  Deaglan was excited to eat his first fist-full of sand and sadly enjoyed it.  I kept thinking "oh, he will have a taste and realize it is disgusting" but NO! He kept trying to sneak in bites whenever we weren't watching.  He also loved picking up the stones on the beach and tried eating a few of those, too.  Rory took him out in the ocean a few times and D loved the big bathtub.  Days were filled with bocce ball, walks, ice cream, cocktails, and good food.  It was also fun to watch Deaglan interact with his older cousin, Stoy.  He was definitely jealous of his walking and talking ability.  It was adorable to watch them play together and sometimes give each other kisses.  It is amazing how six months at this age can make a big difference in ability.  In another year though this age gap won't make a difference!  I hardly took any pictures to document vacation but I guess that just means I was too busy relaxing (aka chasing a baby all over the place). 

In short, it was nice to have the whole Brannan family together because Thanksgiving is the only time of year we see everyone.  The rental house was really nice and equipped with a lot of kitchen and baby items.  The yard looked onto a port and we were a short walk to the beach.  I think it is safe to say that the Brannan's may have started a new tradition...

On our drive back home, we stopped by Rory's grandparents so they could visit with Deaglan.  I know they were surprised by our last minute call that we were stopping by and I know it meant a lot for them to watch D crawl and play around.  It is impossible though to get babies and elderly people to look at the camera at the same time!  

Dr. Oz 3 Day Cleanse Review

My somewhat accidental 3 day cleanse:

I have never tried to detox/cleanse before but recently I had in my head that it would be a great idea.  I still have extra baby weight that's been making me feel "blah" even though I have been exercising and eating well.  Not fitting into any of my old summer clothes is a huge bummer every day!  My sinuses have also been making my eyes quite puffy at times so I figured it couldn't hurt to do a little detox.  The original Dr. Oz detox I had found and planned on doing had regular meals but they were rich in fiber, such as quinoa and prunes for breakfast.  When I was at the grocery store to gather the ingredients, I quickly searched on my phone "Dr. Oz detox diet" and bought all of the food items on the list.  On my way home, I realized neither quinoa nor prunes were purchased....oops!  In my quick search, I bought ingredients for a drink cleanse rather than the food cleanse.  

I was up for the challenge of not chewing food for 3 days; how hard could it be? This is what my next three days looked like:

Day 1: I woke up ready to go!  I was excited to make the healthy smoothie concoction and it turned out to be delicious!  A few hours later, I was getting pretty hungry so I cheated a little and had a few bites of watermelon.  I couldn't believe I felt guilty nibbling on some watermelon!  

Around noon, I started prepping for the lunch smoothie.  I was watching Rory make a chicken caesar salad wrap while I was cutting pineapple, apple and celery.  I was cursing him & his food in my head, but it wasn't his fault I decided to do this!  I happily blended all of the lunch ingredients together and it looked colorful and smelled pretty good!  I poured it into my glass and oh my gosh.... 

Let me first start by saying, I despise pulp.  I cannot eat raw oysters either because I can't stand thick, nasty strands of something going down my throat.  Well, Dr. Oz needs to warn people about his lunch "drink."  Now I know why it isn't called a "smoothie" cleanse because there is nothing smooth about this drink at all!!!  I was still trying to stay positive so I decided to act like the drink was gazpacho and I ate it with a spoon.  After 1 1/2 hours, I choked down about 3/4 of it and cringed after every gulp.  

A few hours later, I had my choice of a drink to have.  My stomach was still twisted from lunch, but since I enjoyed the breakfast smoothie I decided to have that again and it was still enjoyable!  I was hesitant to make the dinner drink because I was worried it would turn out like lunch.  The ingredients didn't seem that bad but I decided not to put in the cayenne pepper because I didn't want to ruin the taste and hate another meal.  Overall, the dinner drink had good flavor but it was warm which I really didn't like.  It took me close to an hour to drink but I think that was also due to the fact that I was cleaning and doing dishes while drinking it.

In the evening, I started getting a slight headache that wouldn't go away.  I am not sure if it was from the lack of caffeine, toxins leaving the body, or Deaglan banging his rattle on the coffee table but it wouldn't go away.  I was looking forward to quiet time in the bath!  I wasn't able to buy lavender oil, so I just sprinkled in some lavender bath salts and I am sure it worked out just as well.   Later that night, I read reviews on the lunch drink and found some good changes that people made to the drink and got some good tips! I also measured out my fruit for the next two days and put them baggies in the freezer so I could enjoy cold drinks.  It was so hard not to have my bite of chocolate with a glass of milk before bed but I did it!!  I started falling asleep on the couch that night by 8:30 so I finally went upstairs, exhausted with my headache still, and fell asleep by 9:30.  

Day 2:  I woke up feeling good!  No headache and I was looking forward to my hot tea even though I could smell Rory's coffee brewing.  I enjoyed my breakfast smoothie and it filled me up for a lot longer than the day before.   I was looking forward to lunch because I wanted to experiment with the drink some.  I warmed up the coconut oil, only put in half of the cucumber and eliminated the celery altogether. The drink was much more enjoyable and it gave me a chance to nibble on some cucumber & celery--it was awesome to finally chew on something.  The lunch drink was refreshing, still a little thick, but I got over it quickly.  By the afternoon, I was looking forward to snack and I had the breakfast smoothie again.  Having the fruit frozen makes the drinks so much better!  I enjoyed dinner and never got a headache which was great.  I had a lot of energy by the afternoon and was running around the house getting a lot of stuff accomplished.

Day 3:  I woke up missing my coffee routine but I still enjoyed the green tea.  Even though I was tired of the smoothies, it was easy to get through them knowing it was the last day.  I was surprised at how well the drinks were filling me up!  That afternoon, I was out and about, so I didn't have my snack drink until around 4:30.  I was feeling great though!  I decided to try on some of my old summer clothes and they fit!  I was the happiest girl!!  Rory and I had plans to go out that night so I intended to bring my dinner with me in the car but I was still full from the snack so I skipped dinner. I was able to wear an old summer dress to the bars which was awesome since I've been stuck wearing jeans the past few months.  While we were out, wings were ordered so I picked at some of the celery...and may have snuck one piece of calamari.  Since it was our first time out in awhile, I decided some red wine would be a good drink choice.  Hey, it was my last day of detox so I pretty much finished and it's full of antioxidants, right?  

It has now been a few days since I finished the detox and I am still feeling really good!  I honestly felt really weird eating food again.  I felt guilty having my first mug of coffee so I used milk & stevia instead of my usual flavored creamer.  I am going to now stick to this as my routine because the creamers & sugar always sit so heavy in my stomach.  I have noticed that my appetite has curbed some because my meals are smaller and I don't feel the need to snack during the day.  It's been a great mental game for me too because I know that I can get full from just fruits and vegetables and I don't need breads/carbs to complete a meal.  I will definitely do this detox again, especially after a vacation or football season.  I also talked Rory into doing it with me next time which will make it easier.  I will also continue using these smoothies as meal replacements or snacks during the day.  I weighed myself a few days after the detox, and I was down 8 pounds from when I started.  I am sure I will gain some back from water weight and vacation coming up, but I am just so happy to feel like myself again!!

I also love that our fruit basket & fridge look like this: