Category Archives: my pad

spell out your breakfast

spell out your breakfast
When our German daughter, Jule was looking for a creative way to ask her boyfriend to the Sadies Dance, I suggested trying out our pancake pen.  Apparently pancakes aren’t normal breakfast fare in Germany and the second Jule tried them she fell in love.  So both her and her boyfriend have eaten this popular breakfast meal for lunch and dinner numerous times the past couple months. I tried out some general shapes first to .

a pair of breakfast puns

a pair of breakfast puns
After searching high & low for clever costume ideas, Steve & I finally both agreed on breakfast foods with a twist.  The concept was simple, funny & perfect for a couple’s costume.  So may I present to you, Kevin Bacon and his darling deviled egg… Here’s how I made these quirky costumes: I dragged Steve with me to the fabric store to help bring my vision to life (luckily he’s a good sport when .

one last summer soiree

one last summer soiree
Steve & I have made it a tradition to host a neighborhood get-together each year.  We’ve found that early/mid September is a perfect time since it’s technically still summer, yet everyone is back in town from their summer rendezvous.   Each neighbor brings sweet & savory finger foods to the party and this is what I whipped up this year. I’ve always noticed that cucumbers are a fairly popular choice on the traditional vegetable/dip .

add some adventure to your year!

add some adventure to your year!
As many of you know, Steve & I hosted an exchange student from Germany last year.  Our experience with Tessa was wonderful in many ways & we really enjoyed the time we spent with her.  After she left, we actually missed having that youthful energy in our home so we decided to grow our international family by hosting another lovely German girl this year named Jule. Jule has been living with us for a .

secret of life

secret of life
James Taylor sang it right… “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time” but don’t you find yourself saying “Where did the summer go?”  I’m right there with ya.  That’s one reason why I decided to start capturing the little things every day with a some help from Chantelle from Fat Mum Slim. Each month she reveals a list of daily prompts. All you have to do is use any camera you .

a journey to remember

a journey to remember
It’s been almost two weeks since Tessa, our German exchange student returned to Deutschland… sniff, sniff. Rewind to August 2011 – When we decided to have a 15 year old girl we didn’t know from another country live with us for 10 months, many people thought we were a bit crazy… and maybe we were, but don’t decisions like those make life more exciting, fulfilling & memorable? (I mean – some people also thought .

coloring more than easter eggs

coloring more than easter eggs
Inspired by Hey Jen Renee, I picked up some Kool-Aid packets to dye eggs with Tessa for Easter. I can’t say I was thrilled with the outcome, but they made the kitchen smell fruity & turns out Tessa loves Kool-Aid (something they don’t have in Germany)  After our little egg experiment, our conversation turned to dying hair with these fantastic bright colors.  Tessa had been admiring a schoolmate’s blue tipped hair & wanted to .

gus on the go

gus on the go
Ever since I saw these fantastic photos of basset hounds running, I’ve always wanted to learn how to capture Gus in motion.  Lucky for me, this week my photo class focused on shutter speed.  So I dialed it up to 640 & headed outside with some treats Sunday afternoon. I still have a ways to go on nailing the exact right ISO & aperture, however I was really pleased with what I managed to .

flower filled fool’s fun

flower filled fool’s fun
A few weeks ago, Tessa & her friend were looking for something to do Saturday night other than watching a movie, cruising facebook or painting their nails.  After some brainstorming, I suggested a little mischievous fun.  I remembered one night in middle school when I convinced my best friend to help me with the art of tee-peeing a few of the cute boy’s homes in our neighborhood.  It was an exhilarating experience & a .

my march resolution

my march resolution
Resolutions don’t have to begin in January, right?  Well at least that’s what I’m telling myself. I’ve owned a digital Nikon SLR camera for over 7 years.  I bought it to take pictures of our products in a light booth for our website & had a photographer friend dial up the manual settings for our shooting conditions.  Beyond that, I really haven’t done much with it.  I’ve always wanted to learn more, but never .