The Last of the Decorations

One of the favorite Christmas decorations in our home this year--and the last one to be taken down--was the advent calendar I made. I started it at the end of November, took a break to make a Christmas dress and suit, then finished it with only a few days left until Christmas. The kids don't seem to have a solid grasp of counting down anyway, so in my opinion the calendar did its job since Clark played with it all month long on my sewing room floor. I based it off of the pictures and templates from a sew-a-long that homemadebyjill did a few years back. The background is linen from Ikea and the backing is heavyweight muslin. I made three original ornaments unique to our tree: a cat (Lana seems to LOVE cats), the pinecone (I might replace this one next year with a robot for Clark), and the baby Jesus in a manger. The ornaments were fun to make and I had lots of help from Clark. Sometimes a little too much help when he accidentally ripped some of the hangers off. I'll keep my fabric glue handy next year. 

Consploding Into the New Year

We're starting 2015 off with a bang. bang, bang! I let the kids do some party poppers with some help from Dad. Lana didn't care for them, but Clark liked the confetti and "consplosions." Then we admired our gingerbread houses one last time before taking them outside and smashing them to smithereens. 

Dressed in Holiday Style

I dressed Clark and Lana to the nines this holiday season with a homemade suit and dress, respectively. I worked hard (and some late nights) to finish the outfits in a week. They turned out just as I had envisioned. It's so fun seeing something I dream up come to life. I was pretty sure that Lana wasn't going to let me put the ruffled caplet on her, and she did indeed protest, but after a few minutes she forgot about it and wore it just fine. My favorite part of her dress is the black velvet bodice--it's so soft!

All the fabrics for these looks came from JoAnn's. (as usual!). I used the following patterns/tutorials:
Clark's pants - Ottobre Design Magazine | Blazer - Basic Blazer by Blank Slate Patterns | Bow Tie & Pocket Square - self-drafted | Lana's caplet - this tutorial | Dress - Caroline Party Dress by Mouse House Creations

A Tiny Party for a Tiny Girl

Lana turned two last week and we celebrated her birthday on Sunday. It was a tiny party with a few simple decorations but we had all the party staples: cake, presents, candles, and the Happy Birthday song. Lana is pretty good at singing Happy Birthday to herself, we discovered. It goes something like "Hap' Day L'Na." She opened her gifts slowly, which drove her impatient brother crazy, but luckily Grandma K sent him a gift as well to keep him occupied. It was a sweet, simple party and I loved every minute. Lana was thrilled with all her gifts (thank you grandmas and the nice man at Kohl's that gave us a discount!)

At two Lana says quite a few words, and uses a wide range of inflections and dramatic elements. She's heard her brother count so often that she can count to ten. She has a few unique-to-Lana words which have proven to be a stumbling block for babysitters. For instance, she refers to her beloved blanket as "me" and calls her cup "go buh" (as in cold cup). When she goes to bed she must have "me", "go buh", and her Elmo and Minnie dolls. She still sucks her thumb when she's cuddling her blankie. Being a little sister, she's determined to keep up with her brother "La" and loves playing cars with him, coloring, running around the house like airplanes, and going along with any and all the other games Clark comes up with. She's very affectionate and loves giving kisses on the cheek, sitting in mama's lap, Anna and Elsa from Frozen, cheese, kitties, and her daddy. She loves to point out buses on the road and has the cutest little lisp on the "s." She is very outgoing and Clark will often bring her along as his wingman on social ventures since she loves meeting new people. We love our little Lana so much!

The Most Delicious [Vegan] Chocolate Cake Recipe

There are a lot of chocolate fans in this house so for birthdays we have a favorite vegan chocolate cake recipe. I made these yesterday but used the wrong frosting recipe and ended up with burned-and-hard-as-a-rock stuff...which I later scraped off. Today I found my good allergy-friendly ganache recipe and had a do-over. And my little helper man decorated them with star sprinkles. So, future self, here is the allergy-friendly recipe we like:

Cake Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use regular or dutch-process)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp distilled white or apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients together. Add liquid ingredients and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips (optional). Pour into an 8x8 pan or 12 cupcake liners. Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes for cupcakes or 30 minutes for an 8x8. Check that a toothpick comes out clean before removing from oven.

Glaze Ingredients

2 T rice milk
1/2 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips
1 T agave nectar
pinch of salt

Bring rice milk to a simmer over medium high heat. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips, agave, and salt. Let cool to room temperature before spreading on cupcakes.