A little crafting session…

As promised, I made something for Valentine's day. Jennifer and I decided to make some things on our crafting to-do list. This is what happened...

1) COOKIES!

Warning: These cookies will make you craft for hours and your pants might not fit the next day.

2) CRAFTING

Valentine's Supplies:

   {I forgot to take pictures of everything before we put it together...opps}

The Final Product: 

 The final product with flair:

Then the other holidays happened: 

The little pup slept and barked at us to throw his ball. Oh, and he almost ate one of the bird swings. That would have been devastating.

More crafts and valentines to come...

- nicola & the little pup

Family Photo Shoot Part 2

 a M n

a little family of 3

It just so happens that the dog's name and our last name both start with the same letter...How fitting!

      

 

Little pup found a work glove and carried it everywhere. Someone's trash was his treasure. We didn't let him take this home...for obvious reasons. 

- Nicola & the little pup

Oh, how I LOVE etsy...

Recently, etsy has crept back into my life. For months, I liked things, but never found anything I wanted to actually order. Now, I’m back to my good-old-etsy-ordering-self! 

Some recent purchases:

My new birthday calendar:

source

 New packaging: 

source

 A handsome bow tie (not the dog... in your dreams):

source

These packages may have come at just the right time...when I was home, sick, and bored. This week, I have decided that I have a new appreciation for mail, a new understanding of old people who wait for it, and a love for fast shipping (this last one is not new, but worth mentioning).

My wish list/ full shopping cart:

A herringbone scarf: 

etsy

A paper garland: 

                                                                              etsy                                                                          
 A good reminder:  

                                                                            etsy
A s&p addition:

etsy

There's nothing better to do when you're sick than ordering things online and collecting the packages at the door. The little pup loves barking at the UPS guy too. Entertainment for all.

-Nicola & the Little Pup

Soup for Sick People (& others too)

 I searched high and low for a Chicken Noodle Soup recipe that looked good and simple. The challenge was that I had limited ingredients at home, and being sick, I didn't want to run to the store. So here it is...

The perfect Chicken Noodle Soup for sick people who don’t want to go to the store for tons of ingredients.

Ingredients:

·         Whole wheat egg noodles (about half of a bag)

·         One box of organic chicken broth

·         Mini carrots- cut into small pieces

·         Celery- cut into small pieces

Pre- cooked ingredients

·         Onion- cut into small pieces

·         2-3 chicken breasts

·         1 bay leaf

·         Herbs de provence

·         1 garlic clove

Directions:

Pour the chicken broth into a large pot. I added about 3 cups of water to the pot and stirred. Add all of the vegetables, chicken, garlic, bay leaf, and Herbs de Province (as much as you like). Allow to lightly boil for about 30 minutes (until the chicken is cooked). Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the soup and allow to cool. Let the rest of the soup continue to cook. Once the chicken has cooled, shred it and add back to the soup. Add the egg noodles for about 5 minutes.

Voila!

I had soup for 3 days… simple and good!

-Nicola and the little bored pup

Knot so hard.

I can make that!

Have you ever seen anything and said, "I can make that." Yea, me too.  And this time, I did it. 

These elastic hair ties are everywhere and are so pricey. People are charging $12 for 4 of them.  I did some research and it turns out that the elastic is super cheap! And I know how to tie a knot. So I figured this was a task I could tackle. I ordered the elastic on etsy and got started as soon as it came in.  The other plus is that they don't give you a headache. 

The supplies:  Fold Over elastic.

etsy elastic

more etsy elastic

 The final product: Hair ties and headbands. More colors to come.

The little pup in his crafting spot... not much help.

-Nicola & the little pup

Love is...

Buying glittery crap and putting it all over the house…

I love holidays, glitter, and little things. I have been crafting up things over the years that have created my current Valentines collection. The little animals in the pictures are made by Jennifer Murphy. I can't make stuff like that... way out of my league!  She used to make cute, affordable critters, but now she only makes the fancy pants ones. Sometimes, you can find the old (affordable) ones on ebay. 

Jennifer Murphy's fancy pants stuff

Two years ago, I made these… mini pennants! I have 2, but the other one is too long to take a picture of. One says love. The other says, I love you.

Bakers twine makes everything cuter.

Last year, I made these… mini glitter bottles. 

This year is undecided. Stay tuned. But for now, I will be happy with festive coffee.

- Nicola & the little pup

A little family photo shoot...

just the 3 of us.

I decided that it would be a good time to get some pictures taken of Andrew, Miles, & I.  I was ready to change up some of the wedding pictures that we had up and I wanted some new pictures to frame and hang around the house. I wanted a little change. 

 I planned the whole thing last week on a whim and a walk around the island.  Andrew was really excited about the whole thing {this is SO not true}.

Andrew worked for coffee and help packing. 

Miles worked for liver treats.

                          

All photo credit goes to: Sarah Szafirski

Location: Canyon Park, Costa Mesa

Cute Dog: Miles 

-nicola and the little (full) pup