Emily

Hi, I’m Emily and I love making things with my hands. I always have a project (or ten) in the works and love to draw, paint, cook, sew, cross stitch, and make soap. This year, I’m focusing on using what we already have and wasting less.

Chocolate chip chickpea bites make for a great snack

by

High in protein and high in flavor, these toddler and kid friendly chocolate chip chickpea bites make for a great snack the whole family will love.

With The Kid in camp this summer, I’ve been trying to find healthy snacks to pack for her each day. Last week, she chose blueberry mini muffins (which she continues to ask about) and finished the batch in 4 days. We moved onto blender muffins (I even made a double batch!) and everyone devoured them in 3 days flat, so they didn’t even make it to the week’s end.

Read more

The simple way to make DIY Foaming Hand Soap

by

If you’ve ever wondered whether you should make your own foaming hand soap, the answer is YES. You should. It’s super easy and incredibly customizable. It’s also a cost effective alternative to buying fancy hand soaps.

I don’t remember what got me onto the homemade bath and beauty product bandwagon, but I am on it hardcore. I’ve made lip balms and lip gloss galore, shampoo bars, apple cider vinegar rinse for my hair, make-up remover, home made deodorant, and even oil diffuser refills for our bedroom and bathrooms. But my very first foray into making my own products? Foaming hand soap.

Anna loves when we make our own foaming hand soap because she gets to measure and pour the ingredients into our jar (always a favorite activity for her). She also gets to choose her scent for the soap that goes into her bathroom. Hey, anything that gets her excited to use actual soap when washing her hands is a bonus in my book.

I love it because:

Read more

Mini Blueberry Muffins so good you’ll need a double batch

by

Mini blueberry muffins are the perfect bite-sized treats that your kids will reach for over and over again. Great for school lunches or a quick snack when the hangries strike, this is a recipe you’ll want to keep in rotation for years to come.

I’m not sure what it is about mini muffins, but The Kid cannot keep her hands off of them. It doesn’t matter what I put in them or how often I make them, they are her absolute favorite. So when it came time to make her some snacks for camp, the first thing she asked for was muffins. Mini blueberry muffins to be precise.

Never one to refuse her requests for cooking together, I added muffin making to our #the100dayproject list for the week.

Read more

Try something new with these Rice Chex Treats

by

A fun twist on Rice Krispie Treats, these Rice Chex Treats are crunchy AND chewy, sweet, and 100% satisfying. Kids of all ages are sure to enjoy these.

There are few things that make me more annoyed than wasting food. It’s like throwing away money to me. Which kind of sucks, because having a picky eater for a child and a husband who doesn’t love leftovers means there is the potential for a LOT of food waste. So when Anna told me that she was over her Rice Chex obsession 1/8th of the way into a huge box of it, I almost lost my cool.

Thank God for Pinterest is all I have to say.

Read more

Making Faces Has Never Been This Easy

by

This portrait drawing project started out as a Father’s Day craft and has morphed into one of our favorite drawing exercises. We’ve done close to 20 of them between us and each one we create is our new favorite. I’m not sure what it is about having a blank face that inspires creativity for us, … Read more