{Homemade Nutella... he hem... Hazelnut Spread}

Good Morning. Afternoon? ... Evening?

{well, that should about cover it}

To be honest, I've never been a huge lover of Nutella hazelnut spread. When I was in France I had it on crepes made on a street cart on streets Paris and those were acceptable. 

Okay, they were actually delicious! 

Beyond that experience though, I don't really enjoy the stuff. I can't tell you why. Sorry. 

So why am I posting this, you ask? 

Because I have kids. And they like it. And I'm running low on ideas for feeding them.

That's all.

{To be fair to this recipe, it's tastes just like the original. It melts in your mouth. So yes, it's good.}

This is for you Tori...

I found this recipe and adapted it from Smitten Kitchen. I changed it up a tiny bit because I didn't have peanuts but I did have hazelnuts. {Go figure.} I'm pretty sure this would be amazing with peanuts though. 

What You'll Need:

2 cups of hazelnuts {purchased at Whole Foods}

1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 c powdered sugar

1/4 tsp salt or more to taste

4 T coconut oil

What To Do:

Set your oven to 350. Spread the hazelnuts out on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until the skins begin to crack. Let the nuts cool a little. 

Remove as much of the bitter skin as you are able. I had great success with rubbing handfuls of nuts between my hands.

In a food processor, blend the nuts for 5 minutes until they liquify...

 not there yet... 

still not there... 

You'll actually hear it sound like liquid is sloshing around in there though it will look just like creamy peanut butter. 

Now, add in the cocoa, sugar, salt and 2 tablespoons of oil. Add more as needed to get the consistency you'd like. I ended up using closer to 4 tablespoons for mine. 

Ta Da! 

OH! I meant to add that this was a comparison trial. I also made the recipe found on the Tasty Kitchen's Blog on The Pioneer Woman. 

I don't know if I did something terribly wrong but this is what I got...

It looked like coffee grounds and tastes ... um... not good. 

So, that's that.

Catching Up

Life in these parts has been grand!
We've had hot days.

 

 

 

We've had cold days.

It's a veritable smorgasbord of weather around here!
We lost a tree in our front yard. NOT a product of the tornadic winds from a couple weeks back. No, this bad boy lost a big limb the day after as gentle breezes blew.

 

 

 

 

Hubs says our tree finally gave into the peer pressure.
As for the kiddos...

It has become more and more clear that CJ is a boy through and through.

He is a huge fan of all the equipment that has been in our yard lately.

 

 

 

 

 

He and Hubs have been taking daily strolls to walk around the equipment parked here at night to kick the tires a little.
Maybe that's why he and Opa are such great buddies these days.
Opa is always doing something with equipment.

 

or maybe it has something to do with Opa teaching him how to pee in the garden.
Now CJ pees on everything.
I wish I was kidding.
Thanks, Dad.

 

Mak is walking like it's her job! I've always known she was my kid but she even rushes around like I do.
And she shakes her little booty as she goes {I'm hoping that's not a trait she got from me} but, either way, I LOVE IT!

She is a girly girl! It's hard to believe she's mine!

 She loves jewely, chocolate, and shoes!

 

"shooss"

 Mak has to be the most fun 17 month old I've ever met! She makes us laugh all the time!
And then there's Bean...  

Bean slept for 6 whole hours the other night! I cannot tell you the excitement this brings me!

Mak and CJ didn't sleep through the night until they were four-ish months old. Bean is five weeks today!
Good heavens! Five weeks already!

 

I feel like she's so big already!
... and NO, I am NOT ready for another. We may be a crazy but we're not THAT crazy!

Plus, Hubs says we're done.
We'll see about that.

Super Cute Birth Stats

When I was little it was a tradition in my dad's family to buy a tile from a Dutch import store with new baby's stats. It was always some sort of sweet scene of a baby asleep with baby's name, town, and birthday on the border, the weight on a scale and the birth time on a clock in the background. Again, very sweet.
Also, very, VERY traditional.

See?
I've learned over the past few years that the number of children I have and the closer those children are in age is directly proportional to the number of things I forget regularly including when said children were born, how much they weighed, etc.

Then I found this, by Trendy Peas, and LOVED it!
Not only is it adorable, it's totally simple to copy if you're the least bit familiar with any basic image programs like MS Paint, Picasa, or Picnik. In a matter of fifteen minutes I whipped up one of these bad boys for Bean and in only ten minutes I made two more for CJ and Mak using Picnik.
If you're not interested in making your own, I also found a bunch of cuteness that you can purchase on Etsy.com by searching "birth stats" or maybe you can just find more ideas to copy!

Meet Meg

This is the part where I admit that growing up as the oldest in my family left me a bit of a perfectionist and a firm believer of right and wrong... black and white.
...and THIS is also the part where I boldly thank God for the gift of my husband who, from his birth, questioned EVERYTHING. He has always left room for gray and is slow to make judgements.
Not this girl.
It wasn't until I met Sweet Hubs that I learned to relax a little, not take everything so seriously, and enjoy life more than I ever had before.
Maybe the appropriate question here is "who cares?!"

Well, it's my way of introducing you to one of my favorite things on this planet... Meg's blog, "Whatever..."
{as in Philippians 4:8... "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure..."}. I found her one wintery afternoon last year and fell in love with the blog version of her immediately. Why? Because on some level, without knowing her in any way other than what she shares of herself daily, she's something I'm not.
She is relaxed and "cool".
She's a fantastic photographer, super creative, and she has amazing taste! {I love how she appreciates the mix of old and new together. It's like she finds value in the details without losing the big picture. NOT EASY!} Her home just might be my favorite place I've never been.
I find her kitchen particularly dreamy!
Seriously, look at the pictures! {There's more here too}

 Everything about her home makes me smile. 

It's a real home. It's warm. It begs to be lived in. There's no fear of mismatching colors here {not that I've found anything that actually doesn't "work"} and the creativity seems to flow out of everything because of it. I may envy her boldness and fearlessness but I also find it motivating. There's a bit of clutter without the chaos.

I LOVE THAT!

Anyway, I really could go on and on here but I'll spare you and encourage you to do some exploring on your own.

Oh! And she also has an Etsy shop where she has pillows, prints and other ridiculously fun stuff for your home.. Check her out!