I LOVE this sensory bin!  I think it is my favorite one yet, and I can’t wait to surprise The Littlest Apple with it after preschool today!

For the Mardi Gras sensory bin, I used rice for the base.  I colored the rice with Liquid Watercolors (just keep adding and stirring until you get it to the color you want), and set it outside to dry for a few hours.  This was my first time making colored rice, and I’ll definitely be doing this again!  These photos were obviously taken before The Littlest Apple had a chance to mix up all the rice, but I think it looks so neat like this!

I found all of my Mardi Gras supplies at Party City.  I was a little disappointed not to find much Mardi Gras stuff at Hobby Lobby, but Party City saved the day!

Here’s what’s in the bin:

• Green, purple, and yellow rice
• Feathers from a Mardi Gras boa
• Large ornament-like beads and disco ball beads, cut from necklaces
• Smaller beaded necklaces (uncut)
• Green and harlequin masks
• There are supposed to be doubloons (gold coins) in there too, but they didn’t make it into this photo
• A Gold Crown for the King of the Krewe to wear while playing!  The crown is predictably way too big, but we’re going to figure out something so The Littlest Apple can wear it.  He LOVES the crown (and the masks!).

I’ll be unplugging tomorrow for a little R & R, but stay tuned for more Mardi Gras fun!

Here’s a dish that would be perfect for Mardi Gras if you don’t like Gumbo or Jambalaya….this Cajun Chicken Pasta!  This is a dish my mom has been making for several years now.  I have no idea which magazine she got the recipe from (Mom, feel free to comment on that!), but I love it and so does The Picky Apple.  I’m not sure why I waited so long, but I finally tried to recreate this at my house.  I didn’t have the exact recipe, and just winged it, but I’ve listed some approximate amounts below.  The “Cajun” in this dish comes from the use of Tony’s Chacheres‘s (that’s pronounces Sash-er-ee, to all you non-Cajun speakers).

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick strips
• 3 1/2 tsp Tony Chachere’s, divided
• 1/2 onion, chopped (approx 1/2 cup)
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 bell peppers, sliced
• 1/2 package mushrooms
• 2 cups half and half
• spaghetti noodles

Melt 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle 1.5 tsp Tony Chachere’s on sliced chicken, then sauteed chicken in skillet until barely browned.  Don’t overcook chicken!  Move to chicken to a plate and keep warm.  Melt the other tablespoon of butter in the skillet, then cook onions, garlic, peppers and mushrooms for about 10 minutes.  Add half and half and remaining Tony Chachere’s.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add chicken back in and cook for another 5 minutes.  Serve over spaghetti noodles.

Since January, I’ve been planning some special Mardi Gras themed activities and meals for the month of March.  This year, Mardi Gras is March 8.  Although I live in Texas now, I spent many years of my childhood in Lafayette, Louisiana, where Mardi Gras is a school holiday!

For our playdough this month, not only did I make playdough in the colors of Mardi Gras, but I also used Kool Aid for some extra sensory fun!  Remember when I used Kool Aid for that Scratch and Sniff Paint last year?  Yeah, I’ve been itchin’ to use it again!  I’ll be honest though, I cheated a little bit.  In addition to the coloring from the Kool Aid (which in most cases will be sufficient coloring for the playdough), I also added some Wilton Icing Gel coloring.  The purple/grape looks a little blue, but the yellow/lemonade and green/lime turned out great!

The Littlest Apple is having so much fun playing with this.  His favorite way to play with playdough is to cut it, but I’ve also caught him actually trying to MAKE shapes with it, which is a first around here.  Hooray for progress!

Kool Aid Playdough

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup salt (use iodized, not kosher for smoother dough)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon cream of tartar
• 1 cup water
• Green, Yellow, and Purple Kool Aid packets

Stir first 5 ingredients together well in pot.  Over medium heat cook the dough, stirring constantly until it forms a ball.  Turn dough onto a board (or the countertop) and knead until very smooth.  Divide into thirds, and add Kool Aid (and food coloring, if needed) to each ball of playdough.  Cool.  Store in a covered plastic container.

I’d like to welcome back Thirty One consultant Cheryl Graves as a Picky Apple sponsor for the month of March!  The new Spring/Summer Catalog is out, and there is a GREAT special going on this month: For every $31 you spend, you’ll get any purse 1/2 off! Isn’t that neat?!

There are so many wonderful products and fun new fabrics for spring and summer!  For instance, wouldn’t this Market Thermal Tote and Large Rectangle Basket, both shown with the Free Spirit Floral fabric, be great for picnics as the weather warms up?

Or how about a cute Thermal Zipper Tote (love that Wild Zebra fabric!) or one of my favorites, the Organizing Utility Tote?

In fact, the whole line of thermal totes would be perfect for taking to the pool or beach this summer.

The XXL Everyday Tote would be good for groceries, overnight trips, a beach/pool bag, or to carry everything you need for kid’s sports games.  The new Circle Spirals fabric so bright and fun (available in other bags/totes too)!

Perhaps you could use some additional organization for all the stuff that comes with a new baby?  Check out the photo below for ideas on how Thirty One can help you keep the baby gear together in a stylish and functional way. (Cheeky Elephant fabric pictured)

Another cute new Spring/Summer fabric that caught my eye was the Apple Blossom print.  A perfect fit for the little apples of your eyes.  (And how could I resist an APPLE print?!).  The Cinch Sack could be used for school, dance/soccer practice, or the gym. 

There’s so much to choose from!  Please go check out Thirty One’s new Spring/Summer Catalog, and when you order please let Cheryl know I sent you.  Happy shopping!

I love fried rice, but rarely order it when we’re out getting Chinese food.  I’ve also never cooked fried rice at home, but as it turns out, it’s amazingly easy and inexpensive to throw together.  It only takes about 15 minutes to get this on the table!  I’ve used pork here, but you could also substitute ground turkey for a lighter version.

Pork Fried Rice

from Everyday Food, March 2011

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp plus 1/4 tsp soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 bunch scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 carrots, shredded (I used a handful of baby carrots instead)
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 cups cooked white rice (about 3/4 cup uncooked rice)
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar

In a wok or large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, lightly beat eggs with 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce to combine.  Add eggs to wok and swirl to coat bottom of pan.  Cook, without stirring, until almost set, 1 minute, then fold in thirds with a spatula.  Transfer cooked eggs to a work surface and cut into 1/2 inch pieces.

Add 1 tablespoon oil to wok and swirl to coat.  Add garlic, ginger, and scallion whites and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 30 seconds.  Add pork and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes.  Add carrots, peas, and rice and stir to combine.  Add cooked egg, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and vinegar and cook, stirring constantly, until rice is coated, about 1 minute.  Let cook, undisturbed, until warm, about 1 minute.  Top with scallion greens and serve.

Just a quick note to let you know that I’ve added a new cleaning calendar for March to the right sidebar.  It’s nothing fancy, but it gets the job done!  It’s a Word document, so you should be able to save it and add your own tasks to it.  Remember, Dailies are in black, Weeklies are in blue, and Zone tasks are in red.

Need more info the Cleaning Calendar?  Here’s my original post on cleaning calendars and home routines.

Please let me know if you have trouble with the document or have any questions!

As we continue the S-L-O-W process of painting the living room, I’m thinking ahead to accessories and a new color scheme for the room.  This photo, included in Better Homes and Gardens (Feb 2011) is my inspiration photo:

The homeowner uses mostly neutral and natural, laid-back pieces accented with juicy, fresh pops of color found in pillows, vases, lamps, that awesome coffee table and artwork.  I LOVE the painting over the fireplace (which I believe the homeowner painted herself after not finding anything she liked).  Now I’m on the hunt for accessories in coral/tangerine, aqua, teal, and green.  We plan to replace our dark wood coffee table with a tufted ottoman, and I’m hunting for a fabric that fits in with this palette.

Here’s another view of the room.  I’m including this one because I love the styling of the shelves on the left with those big green vases:

The rest of the house is wonderful too!

Here’s the amazing kitchen.  I’ve mentioned before my love of kitchens with white cabinets, and this one is just perfection!

And here’s the breakfast nook.  I’ve always loved banquette seating.

The dining room: I’m really getting hooked on all the horizontally striped curtains I’ve seen lately.  These are bold and look great against those blue walls.

One more view, from the dining room, looking back to the hallway:

Even the covered patio is well styled!

My apologies for the grainy and wrinkled images.  I scanned these images from the magazine pages I’ve been carrying around with me.

I’m really just loving this whole house!

Which room do you like best?

This post could also be titled how to clean TWO bathrooms in 22 minutes or less, because that’s actually what I did.

If you’ve checked out my Cleaning Calendar, you’ll see that every Wednesday it says “Clean Bathrooms”.  And every Wednesday, I cringe when I see that.  Cleaning bathrooms (particularly toilets) is pretty low on my list of desirable cleaning tasks.

This week, I saw that I only had 25 minutes before it was time to leave the house and instead of reading blogs for 25 minutes, I decided to see how much of the bathrooms I could get cleaned.

Here’s what I accomplished:

• Sprayed and wiped the mirrors
• Disinfected the counters and sinks
• Scrubbed hard water stains on sinks and faucets
• Disinfected the toilet lids and seats
• Scrubbed toilets
• Swept the floor
• Steam mopped the floor

In TWO bathrooms!

I was amazed at how much I was able to accomplish in such a short time!  You’ll note that the bathtub and shower didn’t get cleaned, but for a quick, weekly clean, this was very encouraging!  And I’ll share more about the products I use for cleaning sometime soon, but after reading Bonnie from House of Grace rave about Shaklee, I gave some of their products a try.  They ROCK!  I have some new favorite cleaning products!

Here’s a breakdown of how I did it all, and what I used for each task:

1.  Clean mirrors: I used Shaklee Basic H2 in a spray bottle and a cloth (Room Essentials brand from Target, purchase in packs of 5 or 6)  Time Spent: 1 minute

2.  Disinfected counters and sinks:  First moved everything (toothbrushes, hand soap dispensers, pictures) off of the counter.  Sprayed the counter and sinks with Shaklee Basic G, then wiped counters first, then sinks, all with the same cloth used for the mirror.  Time Spent: 2 minutes

3.  Hard water stains on sinks and faucets: Time for the detail work!  I used a scrubbing brush and Shaklee’s Scour Off Heavy Duty Paste to scrub the water stains.  Time Spent: 2 minutes (2 sinks)

4.  Disinfected the toilet lid and seat: Start at the top and work your way down.  I used the same cloth I used for the mirrors and the counters, along with Shaklee Basic G.  I sprayed and wiped the lid (top then bottom), then did the same for the seat.  Total Time: 1 minute

5.  Scrubbed the toilet: I used the Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush to get the job done.  Time Spent: 1 minute.

6.  Sweep: I swept using a basic old broom and dustpan (am I the only one who still uses a broom?!).  Time Spent: 2 minutes

7.  Mop: I use a steam mop, which is great for a quick clean!  Time Spent: 2 minutes

Total Time: 11 Minutes (per bathroom)

Disclosure: I have not been compensated for endorsing any of the products mentioned in this post, and all opinions are my own. These are just some products I’ve been using lately that work for me!

Nothing says “Spring is here!” like…..pumpkin!  Am I right?  I know pumpkin is traditionally a fall food, but I love pumpkin year round.  I know pumpkin waffles are not a new concept, but these were AMAZING!  This was my first time making waffles (with the waffle maker we received as a wedding gift over 7 years ago), and I honestly don’t know what took me so long!  There is nothing like homemade waffles!  I served these for dinner with eggs and bacon.

These freeze wonderfully.  I can tell you that with confidence because I’ve already eaten all of the extras we froze.  I’m planning to make another batch of these soon.  Really soon.

Isn’t breakfast the greatest meal of all?  I was talking about breakfast foods with my husband the other day, and I realized that breakfast food is one of my favorite things (and I love having it for lunch and dinner, too).  I tried to come up a breakfast food that I don’t like and came up short.  Oatmeal, muffins, coffee cake, doughnuts, kolaches, yogurt, granola, fruit, egg casseroles, omlettes, hash browns, bacon, quiches, breakfast sausage, grits, cereal, hot cereals, pancakes, waffles, toast….what’s not to love?  (Although I won’t eat eggs over easy….no runny eggs for me!)

What about you?  Is there a breakfast food that you don’t like?

Pumpkin Waffles

adapted from Food Network Magazine, October 2010

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups strained pumpkin puree
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pumpkin-pie spice
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin-pie spice in a bowl.  Whisk the sugar and egg yolks in a separate bowl, then whisk in 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree, the yogurt and milk.  Whisk in the melted butter.  Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined (it will be lumpy).  Beat the egg whites with a mixer until stiff, then gently fold into the batter.

Preheat a waffle iron and grease it if it’s not nonstick.  Spoon in the batter and cook until golden brown.  Keep warm in a 250 degree F oven until serving.

I was talking with my friend recently about things we are passionate about, things we truly love.  One of those things is books!  I’m a bibliophile!  To other book lovers, many of the things I do would seem completely normal, but to someone who doesn’t love books as much as I do (like my friend and my husband), they think I’m just a little crazy.

Can you relate to any of this?

You know you’re a true bibliophile when…..

• you can’t fall asleep without reading first, even if you’re already late getting to bed
• you’re reading 4 (or more!) books at the same time
• there is a stack of unread books next your nightstand, waiting their turn…
• …and you still buy more new books to add to the pile
• you keep a running list of books you’ve read and books you want to read
• the list of books you want to read has 1745 items on it
• you stay up until the wee hours of the morning to finish a great book, even when you know your child is going to get up at 5:30
• you read while you brush your teeth.  In fact, you walk from the bathroom all the way to your nightstand and back, just to get a book to read while you brush your teeth, even though it only takes a minute or two!
• you read while you put on your makeup in the morning
• you read while you’re in the bathroom (TMI?)
• you read while you blow dry and style your hair
• you read in the bathtub.  (in fact, you may prefer taking baths for this very reason!)
• you read during your kid’s naptime, even though you should probably be doing something more productive like cleaning or taking a nap yourself (since you stayed up so late the night before reading!)
• you’d rather read than watch TV
• you read books that reflect every area of your life
• have a problem?  read a book about that topic!
• if there is a series of books, as soon as you finish one, you pick up the next one immediately
• you go the library regularly
• you are well acquainted with your library’s online book reservation policies
• you could spend hours just browsing in a bookstore
• you have trouble getting rid of old books
• you own a Kindle/Nook/Ipad, and you’ve already blown your budget for new books, so you’re reading all of the free stuff you can download (even though some of it is mediocre)
• you subscribe to a magazine that is solely about books and book reviews, then read it and carefully mark the books that sound interesting (and then add those to your mile-long wish list)
• you read blogs about books
• you look at the book section every time you go to Target or the grocery store
• your favorite present to give to others (for any occasion!!) is books
• you have pre-ordered books that haven’t been released yet
• when you were in college/law school, you got excited about buying the books for each of your classes at the beginning of the semester
• you got there early to buy the newest Harry Potter books as soon as they were released, then went straight home and read them cover to cover  (and then maybe started over again)
• you agree that the book is always better than the movie

Are you a book lover?  What kinds of crazy things have you done in the name of book-love?