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.

The simple way to make DIY Foaming Hand Soap

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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:

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Recipe: Honey Sriracha Meatballs.

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These honey sriracha meatballs are seriously delicious and easy to make. They take around 30-minutes to make from start to finish, so make for a wonderful weekday meal. That is, if your kids eat stuff like this, because lord knows mine does not. At one point in time (maybe two years ago now), The Kid … Read more

Recipe: Mini Blueberry Muffins

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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.

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Recipe: Rice Chex Treats

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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.

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Making Faces Has Never Been This Easy

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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

Recipe: Homemade Cherry Sorbet

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Looking for a deliciously sweet summer time treat that’s also a treat for the eyes? This kid-approved cherry sorbet fits the bill (and then some). Bonus: you don’t need an ice cream machine to make it. The Kid has really gotten into cherries this year and asks to buy them whenever she sees them in … Read more

Recipe: Sheet Pan Gnocchi

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Up your dinner game with sheet pan gnocchi: a quick, easy, and absolutely delicious dinner that’s perfect for weeknights AND the whole family will enjoy.

Dinner (and meals in general) have been a struggle in our house for as long as I can remember. Anna is a super picky kid who likes precisely five things and will eat them on repeat ad nauseam. So when she tried AND LIKED the gnocchi from this sheet pan gnocchi, I was floored.

FLOORED, I tell you.

And while she had her gnocchi tonight as a side with her favorite hot dog and cucumber slices, I wasn’t fussing because she ate every single piece on her plate without complaint.

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