Summer Craft Ideas

How beautiful are these sunprints! You can see how this came together and directions on The Light Garden blog. I have been trying to find new and exciting craft ideas from different blogs and books. I recently flipped through the book, The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule. She has some amazing ideas with imagination and nature in mind. It's definitely on my wish list. She also has a recent release called The Homemade Home that I would like to get my hands on soon! We have been doing a lot of painting around our house as well as collages with paper and glue. Any favorite craft ideas you would like to share?

Double Jogging Stroller

I am searching for a double jogging stroller that will work for my 2 y/o and 10 month old. My current double stroller is just not working out and I would like to start exercising in the mornings, which means taking the kids with me. Does anyone have any advice in this area or have one that you would rave about?
Picture from Amazon.

Cheesy Mexican Eggplant

I had several eggplants from our CSA that I needed to use, so I made this recipe tonight. It was super easy AND David and I both liked it!
INGREDIENTS
2 eggplants (2 1/2 lb), cut in 1/2-in. thick rounds
Nonstick spray
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups marinara sauce
1 bottle (8 oz) taco sauce
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 pkg (8 oz) shredded Mexican-blend cheese (2 cups)
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 1/2 cups white rice
INSTRUCTIONS
1. You’ll need a broiler pan with rack and a shallow 3-qt baking dish. Heat broiler.
2. Place half the eggplant on broiler rack, evenly coat with nonstick spray, then sprinkle with half the pepper. Broil 4 in. from heat 4 to 8 minutes per side until lightly browned and tender. Repeat with remaining eggplant and pepper.
3. Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, stir marinara and taco sauce with cumin.
4. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in baking dish. Line with half the eggplant. Spoon on 1 1/4 cups sauce; top with 1 cup cheese and 1/4 cup cilantro. Repeat layering with remaining eggplant, sauce and cheese; cover with foil.
5. Bake 40 minutes or until bubbly. Meanwhile, make rice as package directs. Let eggplant rest 10 minutes. Sprinkle top with remaining cilantro. Serve with rice.

Recipe and picture from Woman's Day.

Why wait for the reception?

I'm a little disappointed in my friends that we didn't come up with something like this for any of our weddings!

Traditions

Picture from Nashville Metromix.
If you are ever trying to find us on a Friday night, this is where we will be. David and I started eating at Baja Burrito every Friday night (or Saturday if we had other Friday night plans or another week night if we were out of town) since we started dating and this has continued in to our six years of marriage. So, my question to you is, do you have any weekly traditions?

A Fun Backyard

With two boys, I would love to have a backyard like this picture above. See more creative playground ideas like this one here.

Dresser Makeover

I have had this white dresser for several years that was passed down from someone who was like my grandmother. I used it, then David used it, and now it is in Asher's room. It has been needing a makeover for quite some time. My mom helped me a couple of weeks ago to complete the project.

Above is Asher wanting to help with the painting. We gave him a paint brush with some water that I added food coloring. He then "painted" a used piece of wood in our yard. Below is the completed dresser.

Now on to some of my many other home projects.