Tuesday, October 27, 2015

mermaid costume

I think I found my calling....costumes. I love love love making them. I find it relaxing and fulfilling creating something using household items, fabric and a few clothing pieces. This year our daughter wanted to be a mermaid and we built our theme around it. She likes to call herself Ariel, but we went with a Peter Pan theme and I’m having so much fun creating our ensemble.

This mermaid costume is by far the most complicated costume I have made, but it was still simple. I took to Pinterest for inspiration for what I did and didn’t want to do. I really wanted to make her costume feel like a real mermaid even though she is a little girl. She was adamant about having a bra like real mermaids so I had to be creative with how I made it, knowing she needed to still be covered up.

I started by hitting the fabric store a couple months back to get an idea for fabric. I chose this turquoise blue sequin fabric that has a teeny bit of stretch to make a basic skirt. I hemmed all my edges using a serger and added some fun elastic tulle trim to the top of the skirt. Once my skirt was made, I started on the tulle for the tail fin. I cut all my tulle into squares and just like tissue paper, I picked up each square from the middle and then twisted and ironed it. This created a wrinkle effect on the tulle so it wasn’t so princess fluffy.

To attach my tulle, all I used was my hot glue gun. A little dot and gently press each piece into place. I arranged my pieces so it was higher on the sides and dipped into a low V in the front and back to create a fin look.

The bodice is a nude colored leotard. I used the same fabric from the skirt {just a different color} to make the base for the bra. I sewed it onto the leotard using a loose straight stitch and bought different types of pearl like trim to decorate. The seashell finishes the top. I sprayed it with spray adhesive glue and dusted it with fine glitter.

Kensi loves her finished costume and I’m so excited how it turned out. I can’t wait to see all of our costumes together this weekend for our fun Peter Pan theme!

pumpkin painting playdate

This year we planned several activities for October with pumpkin painting being one of them. We always spend an evening painting and carving pumpkins, but this year was special since Kensi was able to have a friend. Last weekend we spent our Saturday visiting the pumpkin patch and I was able to hit a few places in Raleigh to pick up a few fun pieces for our parties.

While at the pumpkin patch we found the perfect sized pumpkins for littles to paint. I love these pumpkins because they have a long stem that’s easy for the girls to hold and it’s enough surface space to paint without adding gobs and gobs of paint that will eventually flake off.

Finn focused on eating his apple and that was about it.

After painting we served up individual dishes of homemade mac and cheese and hot roast beef sandwiches. For dessert our sweet friends spoiled is with pumpkin and cream cheese filled croissants. They were so delicious and only a few were left over for breakfast, but then they magically disappeared!

beach swings + apple fritters

We are so excited to have cooler weather not only because it means wearing sweaters and boots, but we plan our weekly lunch date with Mike down by the water.

We went today and although it was in the high 70's the ocean breeze made it cool enough. The best thing about dining near the beach is sitting in one of the many porch swings. They line the street and sidewalk down in Southport and boardwalk at Carolina Beach. It's so cozy.

Before packing up our lunch, Kensi, Finn and I made Spiced Apple Fritters. Yes I said Finn. He was having meltdown after meltdown not being held, so I ended up doing most of the fritters one handed. I really was cutting time close trying to get these done before we had to leave and I probably should have held off, but they sounded so good and I knew they would be so much fun to eat down by the swings.

Growing up, my mom would make apple fritters for breakfast, but instead of chopping the apples she would cut them into rings. We ate them with powdered sugar and maple syrup. This recipes I used today was adapted from one I found on All Recipes. I adjusted the sugar to make it sweeter and added some fun spices to really bring out the apple flavor.

Once we met Mike and picked the perfect swing for lunch, Kensi could not wait any longer. She was so excited to show Mike what we made. We each dove our hands into the paper bag to grab a warm cinnamon-sugar coated apple fritter dusted with powdered sugar and sipped on cider. They were the perfect way to start and finish our lunch, although I was covered in powdered sugar by the end of our date. Luckily it was well worth it.

Unfortanelty, we were in such a rush getting out of the house and too excited to eat them that I forgot to snap a photo of these yummy treats, but chances are we'll make them again this weekend and I'll share a photo. Until then, I hope you try these festive bites!

Spiced Apple Fritters

1-1/2 cups Unbleached Flour

2 Tablespoons White Sugar

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Apple Pie Spice (we like Penzy’s)

1/2 teaspoon Salt

2 Eggs

2/3 cup Milk

1 Tablespoon Canola or Vegetable Oil

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 Apples, peeled & chopped (we like Pink Lady)

Vegetable or Canola Oil

Cinnamon Sugar Mixture (1 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup cinnamon)

Powered Sugar (for dusting)

Mix up your Cinnamon Sugar mixture and place in a small paper bag. This makes it easier to toss the fritters in after they’ve been fried.

Fill a heavy pot or cast iron skillet with 1-1/2 inches of oil and heat to about 375 degrees F. I like to place one apple piece or a drip of my batter into the oil and once it starts to fry i know my oil is hot and ready.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, white sugar, baking powder, Apple Pie Spice and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl whisk together eggs, milk, oil and vanilla extract.

Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Fold in chopped apples.

When the oil is ready, drop spoonfuls of batter into the oil and fry. Don’t forget to turn the fritters to cook to an even golden brown. Once done, remove the fritters and let them drain on paper towels and cool briefly. Then toss in cinnamon sugar bag and shake. Place them on a cooling rack lined with paper towels underneath. Finish by dusting with powdered sugar.

Enjoy & Happy Friday Eve!

naylor family farm

On Friday we decided to find a different pumpkin patch and went to Naylor Family Farm in Raleigh. This farm had several fun activities and Kensi had a ball. Between the play set, train, jumping pillows, goats, corn maze, hayride and homemade pumpkin ice cream we were worn out once we left. Finn didn't get to participate too much and watched Kensi have all the fun, but I'm sure he won't let that happen next year!