Mad Hatter Hat

So last Halloween I knew I wanted Caden and Brayten to be the Mad Hatter and Alice in Wonderland. My biggest obstacle was finding a top hat that was actually Mad Hatter-esque the way I wanted. I searched high and low for weeks without finding anything that worked so I decided I'd craft one!

Here's how I did it:


I started with a foam hat like this..

I picked it up from the local Hobby Lobby, I can't remember how much I paid but it was under $5.

So the first thing I did was carefully cut the brim, and the very top off.
Save the brim but go ahead and toss the top piece you removed. You should be left with a column and a brim. From there I inverted the column (and reattached it with tape) to give it that dramatic Hatter look.. like this.. and then used a piece of sheet foam for the new top of the hat.

There's a little extra on the brim you need to trim off (length wise). Next I bought some cheap acrylic paint in the shade of green I wanted and painted the whole thing (about two coats). Last. I added a ribbon, and a piece of card stock that I wrote 10/6 on, and added a piece of elastic to hold it to bubbas head because it was too small (the hat that is). lol 

Here's the outfit before it was finished...

..and here's the end result! 

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On Organic Steaks and Roasted Carrot Recipe

Made this super simple yet delish meal, grass fed organic steak and roasted carrots..this post is partly about both! Now we all know the benefits of buying organic meat but with organic grass fed steaks there's some extra differences, they taste, and smell different too! Yes honestly they do! The first time I bought some for Britt and I, I tossed them because I thought they were bad! Now it's not a bad or "rotten" smell I just knew they smelt distinctly different and I was concerned! I've been cooking and baking since before I can remember but I started on my own when I was about 10, so I know my way around a kitchen better than a great many so yes I know beef isn't some crazy hazardous meat but I'm also not into eating bad meat so in the trash it went! Lol anyway so the next time I purchased I thought OK I bought this yesterday and there is just no way I purchased bad steaks! So I took to the Google! Sure enough its super documented yes, organic steaks taste and smell different! So if this is your first time, don't throw away a perfectly good steak!

 So I don't do anything fancy with mine, and when we aren't "grilling" I cook it on the stove top. 

I start with a pretty little steak like this , I can say organic steaks are more filling so keep that in mind when purchasing! I'm super obsessed with the McCormicks Montreal steak seasoning so that's all I used with a bit of olive oil on a flat pan, I set my heat to about a 6-7 to get a nice char like you would from a grill and I use a meat thermometer so that I can take it off at exactly medium rare while I'm wrangling kids and everything else I usually have going at dinnertime! 

So the carrots are equally hands off, fast, and easy! Wash them down and put them on a cookie sheet, set your oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle some olive oil or grape seed oil on top, sea salt, cracked black pepper, garlic powder, and a bit of dried rosemary. Take them out when they look "roasted" and are soft when fork tested, I wish I could say how long exactly I cook mine, maybe ten minutes? Super great meal, if you need another side add rice :)

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Faking fresh cut peaches

So I made this cake for a friend last year and I thought I'd share how I made the peach look freshly cut as well as just share a pic of the cake, because well it's adorable ;)

So it was easy enough, I sliced a peach in half (the fuzziest one I could find), removed the pit, then used the smaller side and added a large basil leaf! Voila! Perfect "fresh picked" peach ;)

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Hamburger Soup

This is like the trash can punch recipe that everyone has a version of :) you can add or subtract anything you like and it will always turn out yummy! My grandma gave me this particular recipe and we love it :)

You'll need:

Half a cabbage

A can of corn

1 can kidney beans

1 box of chicken broth 

Or chicken bouillon 

1-2 cans stewed tomatoes 

(Can be any flavor)

Canned potatoes or diced fresh 

4 squash/zucchini 

Half an onion

1 pound hamburger 

Salt/pepper/garlic to taste

Now this recipe is so very flexible, my grandmas guidelines say to grab any veggies in your fridge or pantry that U feel like and add hamburger! If you adore one thing and loath the next, double up! 

So to start with put everything in your crock pot (except the hamburger) first thing in the am so it has time to cook! Make sure to add enough water to cover the veggies and set your crockpot to low :) if you forget and don't start it until later in the day go ahead and set it to high! After everything gets nice and soft and well cooked then cook your hamburger separate and add it AND the grease to your crockpot! This soup has a light but hearty feel to it (is that possible?!) which makes it a nice treat in both summer and winter! Hope you enjoy!

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