day fifty nine: the best iced coffee

the BEST iced coffee :)

day fifty nine and its hot and sticky in singapore so a great day for iced coffee's don't you think!  pinned to steves furnishings board (he would happily furnish the house with coffee!) is the brewed coffee website with fantastic tips for brewing the best iced coffees.

the coffee :)

i did what the website recommended and used a really dark coffee, which i cooled then refrigerated ... i am hoping this will take away the need to make a coffee concentrate, which takes overnight to fully make. 

the evaporated milk and the condensed milk :)

i am also using the trick of mixing evaporated milk and condensed milk together instead of just using ordinary milk.  once the two milks are mixed together they are also refrigerated.  then its simply a builiding process: fill glass with coffee ice cubes, add 1/3 cup of cold coffee, and 2/3 cup of the milk mix (if you like it stronger add more coffee less milk mix!)



this was just superb :)

 outcome: oh my goodness, i have a new best friend and its this iced coffee ... i know this will be so completely addictive ... EVERYONE in adult clothes here couldn't get enough of it, one cup just isn't enough AND so far this is the BEST iced coffee i have EVER had ... seriously i can not tell you how much the milk mix adds to the yumminess!  the coffee cubes work an absolute treat because the coffee never diluted and in this heat the cubes thawed really quickly!  PLEASE, if you love iced coffees try this recipe it is devine :)

thanks so much to the brewed coffee for all the fantastic tips and tricks for making iced coffee ... you guys must really know your stuff because it worked a treat ... awesome!

day fifty eight: coffee ice cubes and sweetened strawberry ice cubes

sweetened strawberry ice cubes :)

day fifty eight and its someone's birthday ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE ... have a wonderful day my sweet husband! 



the kids decorating the cake all by themselves!



isla (my niece) couldn't wait and as her aunt
i wasn't about to stop the fun!

on with today's pinterest 365 and we are doing something that falls into the category ... why didn't i think of that :) coffee ice cubes for iced coffees are pinned to my recipe must do's board and are inspired by Ashley and Aron from hither and thither.  and for the kids sweetened strawberry ice cubes!  the strawberry ice cubes inspiration comes from erin over at scjohnson who made raspberry ice cubes. unfortunately i couldn't find any raspberries so strawberry ones it was :)



coffe and ice cube trays and you are good to go :)

i made a strong brew of coffee and let it cool completely before pouring it into some very cool shaped ice cube trays my sister has ... seriously who doesn't want an iced coffee with a lego man in it!

outcome: pending :)  tomorrows pinterest creation is to recreate the best iced coffee recipe i pinned to steve's board on pinterest ... so for how these little iced beauties work we will have to wait one more day to see!  its steve's favourite cold drink so i really hope the recipe is fantastic! 



what you need for the sweetened strawberry ice cubes

for the strawberry ice cubes i followed the recipe given by erin and heated the water and sugar to make a simple syrup before boiling the punnet of chopped strawberries with it for 5 minutes.  i then let the mix cool before spooning it into the trays.



yummo and so good for hot summer days :)

 outcome:  i served these up to the kids in lemonade ... i had a taste of polly's to see how it was and it was SO refreshing i made one for myself!  i also tried it with water and they add such a nice delicate sweetness the water is still refreshing when you drink it.  i can highly recommend having these in your freezer during summer :)

update on the fish bowls with ice bergs:  the kids loved them so much, and the icebergs went down a treat ... in fact my nephew sam told his mum and dad them needed to learn how to make them so he and isla (my niece) could have more!



fish bowl jelly/jello with icebergs on top!



happy children, good times :)



day fifty seven: on the road in singapore with a fish bowl jelly/jello



fish bowl jelly/jello

(ice cream icebergs will added when served!)

day fifty seven and welcome to pinterest 365 on the road!  we have made it to singapore and it is HOT! we have gone from 10C to 33C and there is great excitment being with my sister and her family. 



ben taking in the stunning cityscape :)



cool off time ... thank goodness for the pool

since its so hot i figured a great dessert tonight would be something the kids could have with ice cream ... luckily pinterest has come up with a gem ... a fish bowl jelly (jello), inspiration from martha stewart and its pinned to my party ideas board :)

the ingredients for the fish bowls :)

the original makes its jelly up from scratch using gelatin, flat lemon-lime soda, and blue food colouring ... since i'm on holiday i went for the even easier option of lemonade jelly and my fishes are the nice and natural marine fruit mix :)  i waited until the jelly was half set before adding in the fishes so i could place them at all different levels ... otherwise of course all your little marine life will literally sink to the bottom!

outcome:  seriously cool! i picked up some vanilla ice cream to put icebergs on top for the kids (if i remember i will take a picture and put it up tomorrow) ... the kids have hovered by all afternoon and their excitement over these fish bowls has been awesome ... so worth the little bit of extra effort.  if you are having a pool/beach themed party or its just a special occassion with a bunch of kids these would be awesome on the menu and take little time to do and can be made well in advance ... the perfect sweet treat!

update on the travel kits:  a ten hour flight is a really LONG time for little peeps and the kids were awesome, thanks in a big part to the travel kits.  ben and pollyanna sat next to eachother and entertained themselves so well, steve and i relaxed the whole trip.  the lovely people sitting behind us even mentioned to us how impressed they were with their behaviour ... its worth the effort to do a little preparing most definitely!

pollyanna and her travel kit .. it was a brilliant success
thank goodness :)

fyi .. i am really sorry if today's blog post has taken ages to load, i wasn't able to downsize my photos today, but will sort out for tomorrow :)

day fifty six: stitched gift tags

the ... uumm ... finished gift tag :)

day fifty six and its 5.30 in the early morning ... i know many of you get up much eariler but for me this is early :)  todays pin is found on my gift wrapping and gift ideas board and is from the simple + pretty website where she found them for sale on etsy by pilosale.  if you don't sew but love hand crafted things HEAD to her etsy site, there are the most amazing jute, natural coloured sewn home goods and if i will be heading to her store to purchase when i return from singapore ... actually this is what i will be getting (cute aye)

on to today's creation, i chose to do these stitched tags today because i knew i would be so excited and so rushed for time i wouldn't dwell on the fact i had to sew straight lines!

well they are done ... look for them on a gift near you in the
future ... if you are family :)

outcome: well these might be for family only and i will purchase some from pilosale for everyone else!  who knew sewing cardstock would be so hard!  the seams are sort of straight but the hardest thing was getting the tension right, never mind ... i actually needed these tags for some gifts i am taking with us today so they will have to do .. handmade requires rose coloured glasses sometimes :)

thanks so much to simple + pretty for finding such wonderful inspiration and a very special thanks to pilosale for truely inspiring products ... i really look forward to getting home and purchasing so of her absolutely stunning products :)

day fifty five: peanut butter cookies with m&m's

the picture doesn't do these cookies
justice ... they look beautiful and
golden :)

day fifty five and we are leaving for singapore in less than 24 hours :) ... ok enough about my excitement and on with todays p365!  some really yummy looking peanut butter cookies with m&m's pinned to my recipe must do's board from the lovely website blog chef.  this website has a huge archive of recipes ... i am sure you could do a recipe a day from the blog and love every one for a year :)

did you know one large packet of m&m's equals one cup?

this recipe DOES require heavy machine ... a mixer to be exact so be aware you will need to clean the mixing bowl and the beaters for this one once you have pulled it out of the back of the cupboard and hauled it onto the bench ;)  very easy recipe though, all the wet ingredients get beaten together and then you fold in the dry ones with the m&m's (which are optional ... that really wasn't an option in my house!).  then spoon the mixture onto the trays and flatten down a tad ... into the oven and about 12 minutes later you have yourself some very good looking cookies.

cookies in the oven :)

outcome:  outstanding ... if you like pretzel hugs (melted chocolate on pretzels) you are going to LOVE these, they have the same salty and sweet thing going on ... so good.  i have hidden some for tomorrow otherwise i suspect they may all be gone burgers by nightfall!

this is an awesome recipe from blog chef and if all their recipes are this good, i may never by another recipe book again!  a big thanks from my family and i for sharing such great recipes :)

our plane to singapore leaves tomorrow morning so i will be up early creating something quick! catch you all tomorrow, have a wonderful day wherever in the world you are :) 

day fifty four: travel activity packs

travel activity packs ready to go :)

day fifty four and can i first say to all the new people stopping by ... THANKS for taking the TIME it means a lot :)

** update: full tutorial at the end of this post **

today we are continuing on for taking pinterest 365 on the road in a couple of days to singapore!  but first we need to get there and entertain the kids on the way so it will be a pleasant 10 hour flight without whinning ... right kids?  actually they are very good travellers and while they have travelled this amount of time in a car plenty of times, it will be their first long haul flight, so best to be well prepared!

luckily pinned to my home school projects board are lots of travel games and travel kit ideas .. thank goodness for pinterest in moments like these!  i am going to use the lovely stitch craft creations idea of a travel game folder and the ideas from the original cloth one by creating my way to success.  both of these girls have fantastic sites if you love crafting or sewing :)   i am also using the free printables from free puzzles, family fun, and game ideas for kids.

the basics for what you need to make the fabric folder and
some of the free games i printed out in A5

first up i printed all my free (love that) travel printables at A5 size so the travel folder will be about 15" x 10" when laying open and flat ... i thought if it was any larger it wouldn't fit comfortable on the tray table on the plane :)  the kids then chose the fabric and ribbon they wanted and i began cutting all the material contemplating the number of straight sewing lines i would have to undertake for this project. luckily most will be hidden :)

pinning the pockets to the inside panel

once the pockets were sewn down the side of the inside panel, i pinned the two full panels together right sides together and sewed around the outside (make sense?) ... ooohhh and don't forget to add the ribbon that will tie your folder together at this point.  i left a small gap so i could turn it out the right way, which was then hand sewn together.  i then measured and pinned a halfway line, closed my eyes and hopped for a straight sewing line as there was no way of hiding this one and put my foot down on the sewing machine!  luckily the middle seam is straight enough that the kids won't notice any of the small deviations :)

pinning the dreaded straight seam required down the middle!

i waited until the kids were busy and then filled the pockets with the printables, some new books, pencils, and other goodies so when they get them on the plane it will hopefully be a nice surprise for them.

all the goodies for inside the travel folder

outcome: we shall wait and see ... from a making point of view i am completely happy with the outcome and love how easy it was to fit SO much stuff into them without it all rolling around in their cabin bags ... all sorted and all in one easy pull out folder, love that!  whether they work as activity packs, i'll let the kids assess that for you in two days time :)

thanks so much to the wonderful creations from stitch craft creations and creating my way to success, i have made some travel activity packs i am really proud of ... their websites are full of fantastic craft creations which are totally inspiring.  and thanks to some awesome free printables from ree puzzles, family fun, and game ideas for kids these folders were a breeze to fill with fun games :)

updated full instructions:

You need to cut five pieces of fabric and one piece of stiffening:

·         2 pieces of fabric 15” x 10” and one piece of stiffening the same size . 

·         1 piece of fabric 15” x 7” … with this piece iron in half right side out so you have a piece that is 3 ½” x 15”

·         1 piece of fabric 15” x 11” … and do the same with this piece, iron in half right sides out so you end up with a piece 5 ½” x 15”

·         1 piece of fabric 15” x 16” … and do the same with this piece, iron in half right sides out so you end up with a piece 8” x 15”

·         Cut two pieces of ribbon 12” each

Once you have all the pieces cut go to your ironing board or a flat surface as we are going to put the top and pockets together before you start sewing.

·         Start with the piece of 15” x 10” piece right side up

·         Next put the 8” x 15” piece so the bottoms match up, there will be about a 2” gap at the top, pin in place

·         Next the 5 ½” x 15”  piece so the bottoms match up once again, pin in place

·         Next the 3 ½” x 15” piece so the bottoms match up, pin in place

It should look like this:

pinning the pockets to the inside panel

Then sew ¼” seams down the short sides,  this will attach your pockets in place

Next step is to add the back, interfacing, and ribbon

·         If you have iron on interfacing, iron it onto the piece of 15” x 10” yet to be used on the wrong side, obviously!

·         If not using iron on interfacing, using a flat surface again place the interfacing down

·         Then lay the unsewn piece of fabric 15” x 10” on top right side facing up at you

·         At half way along the shorter side put the ribbon on each side so that an inch is out past the width of the fabric … this will sew the ribbon in place

·         Then grab the piece of fabric with the pockets and place it right side down to finish the material sandwich 

·         Pin all pieces together around the outside.  If you pick it up you should have interfacing on one side and the wrong side of the fabric facing you on the other side, with an inch of ribbon hanging out at either short side J

·         Sew around the perimeter of the sandwich but leave a 3” gap so you are able to turn it inside out once sewn.  Sew using a ½” seam.

·         I then zigzagged around the entire perimeter (except the gap) to reduce any fraying.

·         Before turning inside out cut off the corners, being carefully not to cut into your stitching … this step is totally optional but it makes it less bulky in the corners when you turn it right side out J

Once you have sewn around the perimeter, turn right side out and iron.  You may need to poke the corners out with a pencil or closed scissors or something similar.  Hand sew the gap used to turn your creation inside out.

The final step is to pin down the centre of the travel pack and sew the straightest line you can!

Once this is done you are finished!  Good luck and if you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to email me  J

day fifty three: peanut energy bars

peanut energy bars :)

day fifty three and i am SO excited to see my sister and her family ... only three days to go so its time to start thinking about travelling and packing :)  we are flying the ultimate in cheap airlines, no hospitality, no inflight services, but it does mean we could afford to get to singapore! so i need some good things to take on the flight to entertain and feed my children!

today we are starting with the food because, lets face it, if you don't feed a child for 10 hours it could be a REALLY long flight!  pinned to my recipe must do's board are peanut energy bars from the eating well website that look ideal for travel.  if you have a peanut allergy and can't use this recipe there are so many wonderful recipes on this site for healthy eating you will find something to satisfy you i am sure!

the dried ingredients

this is one of those wonderful one bowl wonder recipes too!  i did actually use a small pot as well, the microwave and i have a love/hate relationship so i melted the sugar, honey, and peanut butter on the stove (just make sure if you do use the stove to stir it continuously and have the heat at medium high).  i made a couple of changes to the recipe for personal choice and because of what was in the cupboard :) i used two cups of dried cranberries instead of the raisins because we love them, unfortunately didn't have any wheat germ or sunflower seeds so i used chopped roasted almonds instead.  i also used honey because, well, our bees make fantastic honey in nz so it seemed like a top idea :)

the cooling slab of energy!

outcome:  oh so delicious :)  actually my mum and husband declared they were better than the lemon and blueberry bars that were demolished yesterday .. my kids however disagreed and said the lemon blueberry bars were more delicious ... so i suggest everybody go and make both and then you can decide yourselves!  the energy bars are totally delicious and i have wrapped the rest, ready for our munchies on the plane :)

thanks so much to the eating well website for an awesome recipe, i don't need to buy muesli bars any more ... your recipes are fantastic and its good to know they are healthy too :)