Starburst Mirror - My Version for about $5

I know, I know, everyone has made a starburst/sunburst mirror already. I'm a little behind the trend. Since I went to the trouble of making it, I figured I'd go ahead and share how I did it. 

Instead of making it with paint sticks, I used the smaller craft sticks, similar to Popsicle sticks only thinner. You can find them at Joann's or Michael's

While spray painting them I found they were too light and they would blow away. So i tried taping them down, it worked, but left part unpainted.- duh. So then I whipped out the spray glue and glued them down to the cardboard. That worked much better!

While the sticks were drying I cut a circle just a bit smaller than the mirror. I used the plastic lid of an ice cream bucket, but anything similar like cardboard or paperboard will work.

When the sticks were dry, I began gluing them to the circle, face up. I laid them down across from each other in an attempt to keep them evenly spaced. I made a little chart to show the pattern, something like this...

To attach the mirror, I used a strong adhesive

Laid the mirror down and let it dry.I got the mirror at the dollar store so this was a fantastically cheap project!! Only about $5 total!

After that was all dry I used a paper clip to hang it on the wall. I bent it slightly and then glued it down.

Here's how it turned out...

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Blue Cricket Design

Protein Packed Breakfast Muffins

I’ve been playing with this recipe for a while. I worry (maybe too much) that my two year old doesn’t get enough protein. He’s very particular when it comes to meats and he won’t touch eggs. So I wanted some other breakfast that would give him some protein in the morning to keep him filled and give him energy.

This is what I came up with. I adapted a recipe for fat-free muffins that I got from a church cookbook and swapped out a few things. First I used real sugar – it’s only 2/3 cup and the fake stuff isn’t good for you. Second I substituted a third of the flour with quinoa flour. What’s quinoa flour? Well I dropped some quinoa into a coffee grinder and made it into a flour. In most bread recipes you can swap out up to a third of the flour with other options – whole wheat flour, bean flour, or in this case quinoa flour. I opted for quinoa because it doesn’t have that gassy quality beans do and still has tons of protein.

Banana Protein Breakfast Muffins

½ Cup sugar free applesauce

2/3 sugar

3 egg whites

3 ripe mashed bananas

2 T. fat-free milk

¾ tsp. salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 ¼ baking powder

1 ¼ Cup flour

½ cup quinoa flour

Sift salt, baking soda, baking powder, flour, and quinoa flour together and set aside.

Mix applesauce, sugar, egg whites, mashed bananas, and milk in a mixing bowl. Add sifted ingredients into mixing bowl. Spoon the mixture into a muffin pan and bake at 325⁰F for 35 to 40 minutes. Done when you touch and it bounces back.

At the last minute I also added some frozen blueberries. Also, just so you know the texture of these isn't going to be like store bought box mixes. The quinoa gives it more of a corn bread texture, but they are still good. I recommend storing them in the refrigerator and slightly heat when ready to eat. 

There you go, a wholesome breakfast muffin with protein to start your day. I know I've only been sharing recipes lately, but really that seems like all I'm getting done these days. At least I feed my family, right?? I did do one project today and I'm going to be sharing some new spring cleaning tips soon. Check out my tips from last year if you're starting already.

Baked Pasta with Summer Vegetables

Do you have that one recipe that your husband will actually remember and request? This is one of mine. Plus it is meatless and he doesn’t even care!

Baked Pasta with Summer Veggies

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced (or substitute summer squash, carrots, or eggplant)

2 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 lb ziti or penne pasta

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

¼ cup Parmesan cheese, plus ½ cup

Pinch of nutmeg

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

½ lb fresh mozzarella, cubed

½ cup bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 425⁰F. Lightly coat a large, shallow baking dish with cooking spray. At the same time, bring a large pot of water to boil over medium-high heat.

2. Toss onion, garlic, red pepper, and zucchini in a large bowl with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and place the veggies on the dish. Bake them for 10 minutes.

3. While veggies roast, add the pasta to the water and cook until slightly firm, about 2 minutes short of package directions. Drain.

4. In a large bowl, mix the ricotta, ¼ cup Parmesan, and the nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Gently toss pasta with the ricotta mixture, vegetables, tomatoes, oregano, and mozzarella. Pour mixture into the baking dish.

5. Sprinkle the top with the remaining Parmesan and bread crumbs. Bake, uncovered, until lightly browned and bubbling, about 20 minutes.

Yummy!!

Our little man goes after this stuff like crazy!!

Directions without the pictures:

1. Preheat oven to 425⁰F. Lightly coat a large, shallow baking dish with cooking spray. At the same time, bring a large pot of water to boil over medium-high heat.
2. Toss onion, garlic, red pepper, and zucchini in a large bowl with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and place the veggies on the dish. Bake them for 10 minutes.
3. While veggies roast, add the pasta to the water and cook until slightly firm. Drain.
4. In a large bowl, mix the ricotta, ¼ cup Parmesan, and the nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Gently toss pasta with the ricotta mixture, vegetables, tomatoes, oregano, and mozzarella. Pour mixture into the baking dish.
5. Sprinkle the top with the remaining Parmesan and bread crumbs. Bake, uncovered, until lightly browned and bubbling, about 20 minutes. 

 Inspire Me Please

Making the World Cuter
Chef In Training

Our DIY Patio Cover

****EDIT: I've updated the patio cover with shade screen HERE****


A couple weeks ago my dad came into town and helped build us a patio cover. I helped as much as I could while trying to keep my boys happy. Andrew was pretty easy, he loved getting to play outside in the dirt and grandpa even got him a sandbox! He sure loves it!

So I wanted to share with you how we did ours. Now keep in mind that neither my dad nor I are professionals, my dad is just super handy and knows the basics of building so be sure to consult an expert for advice before you start your own project.

First we came up with a design idea and measured things out. We made a list of supplies and went to Home Depot to get them. It was amazing because both boys fell asleep on the way home and took long naps for us to work!

 We started by painting the wood to weather proof it and to match the house.

 Amazingly, my mom found this bucket of house paint for free on the curb in her neighborhood. Even more amazing is that it is very close to the color of the house!!

I <3 Free!

 Next up we figured out where to put our holes for the uprights and dug. This was a huge task! The soil around here is junk, all rocky. It took a lot of work to dig those three holes.

After the holes were dug and the forms were sunk in them, we made sure everything was level before pouring cement. 

The cement cured for a little bit and then we sank the post holders into the cement.

Here was another fun step. We had to find the studs on the exterior of the house to hang the board on the fascia. Normally that would be cake once you find the first one, but everything was off, some studs were 10 inches apart others 17 or more! So by the time we found enough studs it looked like someone shot up our house with a machine gun. Ok that's a little bit of an exaggeration, but not much. 

Finally we drove the anchoring bolts into the studs to hang that board and were able to move on.

After the cement cured for long enough, we got the uprights in and started with the structure.

Bracing to keep the uprights level as we put the rest together.

And finally the finished product...I hung some shade screen we had on hand for the time being. I plan on getting some heavy duty shade cloth to cover the whole structure before summer hits. And in case you're curious, it cost about $150 if I remember right (we made a couple trips to Home Depot after forgetting a few things).

Again, this post isn't meant as a tutorial to guide you through building your own patio structure, just as a general overview of how we did ours. There are lots of steps I didn't get pictures of and quite frankly forgot or didn't know we did - my dad did a majority of the work since I had to step away to take care of my littlest one. Thank you dad!!

Linking Up To:

Blue Cricket Design