i should be mopping the floor: September 2012
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In Our Lunch Box This Week {No. 11}



Only a few creations to show this week. I'm repainting/reorganizing my pantry so my kitchen is so chaotic right now...we bought more than we brought in terms of school lunches this week.

{Driving Me Batty}
The first Halloween Bento of the season...I scored the bat sandwich punch on clearance at my HEB store last week {for $.50...yee & haw, y'all}, also included are grape tomatoes, grapes and pita poppers. He also had a Greek yogurt in his lunch box. I bought the pumpkin silicone container last year at Hobby Lobby. 

{Easy Peasy}
Sandwich on bread round {cut in half and stacked}, yogurt covered fruit pieces {found at Trader Joe's in their goody area}, strawberries, grape tomatoes, celery and peanut butter for dipping.

{Another no-brainer}
I feel like my bentos are getting a little ho-hum lately...I know this since a lot of the food is still in the container when they're brought home. This one contains a sandwich on a bread round {cut in half and stacked}, string cheese, strawberries, "S'more Smasher" {another indulgent treat from the goody area at Trader Joe's}, Special K Chip-Crackers {my mom bought these and didn't care for them...so we "inherited" a box of them}, grape tomatoes.


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Friday's Freebie: GAME ON

This week's freebie is perfect for your tailgate party or pep rally. It's designed to fit in an 8x10 frame, but it will work by itself to hold up at a game. I think it would be super fun on a football mantel or table display...with pompoms, pigskins and astroturf!

As usual, a follow is appreciated before downloading any of my free printables. Please & Thank you.
To see my entire printable gallery, click here.


Choose from several colors {click on image to begin download}:


     
     
     
     
     

{The following thumbnail is for linking purposes only:}

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BIG NEWS! Iron Chef Mom Starts Tuesday!

ishouldbemoppingthefloor is teaming up with 6 fantastic mommy bloggers who love to cook, bake and share their recipes...

TO PRESENT:

Iron Chef Mom Link Party!

The following blogs will be hosting the weekly Tuesday Link Party:
Each Tuesday Iron Chef Mom Link Party will be found on one of the seven blogs listed above.

How the Iron Chef Mom Link Party Works

Weekly Hosts: Each Tuesday the Iron Chef Team will announce via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, where the party is located that week. So, be sure to follow all seven blogs on their social media so that you can easily find the host each week! Featured Ingredient:  Each week there will be a 'Featured Ingredient' for the week. You can link up any recipes that you have OLD or NEW that include that featured ingredient! Each week we will announce the following week's 'Featured Ingredient' that way you can plan ahead! Everyone Welcome: Iron Chef Mom is not just for bloggers; everyone is invited and encouraged to vote for their favorite recipes each week! Featured Recipes: Each week you will have a chance to link up and VOTE for your favorites from that week! You will have an entire week to vote and encourage your readers to stop and vote for you as well! Each week, the Iron Chef Mom with the most votes for their recipe will be named 'The Iron Chef Mom' the following week! Iron Chef Mom's recipe and blog will be featured and promoted through Iron Chef Mom link party and MULTIPLE social media outlets from all the party hosts. Join Us: This is a FUN way to challenge yourself in the kitchen each week. It is also a great way to link up and share your older posts and renew their popularity/reach online. The advantage of linking up on Iron Chef Mom is that you will be discovered and have the opportunity to gain readers from 7 different blog audiences! This is a great way to grow your readership and meet some new blogger friends!

Sound Like Fun!?!

Join us for our Kickoff Party this coming Tuesday; October 2nd!
The first party will be hosted by Cheerios and Lattes and the 'Featured Ingredient' is APPLES!
Grab a Button and Tell Your Friends to Join Us too!
iron chef mom

Duck-Taped Office Chair

 
I've been in need of an office chair for awhile. I was using an adorable red wicker chair. While it was, indeed, adorable, it felt horrendous on my back. My husband didn't understand my conundrum of just purchasing an "off-the-rack" chair from Office Depot and moving on. 

I wanted something FUN! Not just the average Office Depot chair. I've seen so many cute covered office chairs on Pinterest...but I don't sew. So, I've been in a pickle over this for quite some time. 

Then my neighbor told me about all the stuff she was getting rid of in preparation for her move. She mentioned a ripped office chair...I thought I could just use it until I found that elusive *perfect* chair I'd been searching for.

And then, I saw a pin where someone had covered some boxes in this stuff {I *think* it was from the House of Hepworths}. And the project was born.

While I'm not a huge zebra-print fan, I needed something in black and white {and apparently none of my stores carry the damask pattern}.

I started by taping over the ripped spot.

Then worked in the panels that were already on the chair. At first, I tried to keep the seams, but I ended up just taping over them, too. It was easier that way.

The crease gave me a bit of trouble. But, every time the tape was unruly, I could just pull another piece off the roll and tape over the ugly one. There are several areas that have 3-4 layers of tape on them. That was the beauty of this stuff.

Since I only wanted to mess with the front, the trick to making it look purposeful was to work with the piping. I tucked the tape under the piping for a more finished look.  I also altered the directions of my tape and that didn't seem to look weird, either {which kind of surprised me}.

 The entire project took less than two hours...and I ended up only using four of the rolls of tape. So instead of dropping a couple of hundred on a new office chair, this one cost about $16 in tape.

In a couple of months, I'll let you know how it wears. I'm sitting in it right now and it feels great! It really feels similar to the leather. And I don't think she's a "temporary fix" anymore...she's here to stay.

Easiest chair makeover ever.


{i linky-party here}


The Tuesday Ten {with Lowe's Card Give Away}


If you haven't had a chance to link up to this week's Mop It Up Mondays, you can still get in on the party action here!

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Welcome to The Tuesday Ten! I now feature my personal top ten favorites from the previous day's party every Tuesday. We still have features going on when the party comes out on Sundays, too...but now those features are the most viewed links by readers.

As I mentioned in my Fall Front Porch Fix Up post, today's Tuesday Ten features a give-away for a $25 Lowe's card, so you can join in the fall fix-up fun, too! To enter this give away, simply follow this site on both GFC and Linky as well as LIKE our Facebook page. When you've completed these items, simply leave one comment below letting me know! We'll be announcing the winner at next week's Tuesday Ten.

We also have a fun give away going on at Mop It Up Monday, if you'd like to enter it as well!
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Thank you to everyone partying with me on Monday. If you were featured, feel free to grab a button:

mop it up mondays feature

{Bunting Cookies and Recipe Cards Printable}
Aimee from Twigg Studios put together the prettiest cookies...that can be used as bunting!

{Autumn Decorating: Corn Husk and Fabric Pumpkins}
Kirsten from Craftiments shared some beautiful {and gorgeously unique} pumpkins.

{Antique Bassett China Cabinet}
Talia from ReLove gave this awesome cabinet some serious TLC. You'll have to check out the before.

{Board and Batten Backsplash}
Stephanie from Sweet Boutique Home has been busy! Check out her gorgeous new backsplash.

{Healthy Whole Wheat Bread}
Anita from Aunt Nubby's Kitchen linked up a recipe that will make your kitchen smell fabulous.

{BOO Googly Eye Halloween Frame} 
Southern Scraps put together this aDoRaBlE Halloween frame. So fun!

{Fall Spice Cappuccino Recipe}
Christine from Three Gentlemen and a Lady created a great mug mix for the Autumn months.

Cathy from My 1929 Charmer made this lamp into a work of art for her bedroom.

{Fresh Blackberry and Cream Cheese Pie}
Julie from The Farm Girl linked up a delightful pie that could also be made with peaches. Yum.

{Pumpkin Glitz and Glitter}
Kathy from Life on Lakeshore Drive linked up her gorgeously glammed out pumpkins.

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to enter the Lowe's Card give away.

{Ridiculously Easy} #Lego Cake

My big boy turned eight on Saturday. He didn't want an actual party this year, instead he requested a road trip up to the Dallas area to go to Legoland for their big Star Wars weekend. I wanted to still have a small party just for us, so I put together a super easy {travel-friendly} cake to haul up there with us.


He had a blast...not sure how we'll be able to top this one!

My kids are LEGO addicts...this was perfection.


Start by making your favorite cake recipe.
{I was in a hurry and used a box mix...using this little trick to make it taste homemade}.
Pour batter into a prepared 9x13 pan and bake according to directions.


Once your cake is cool, turn it out onto a cutting board. You'll cut it into four pieces*. The end pieces are scraps...but my family noshed on them no problem.
*Truthfully, you can create any size/shape Lego piece you'd like. I just wanted a smaller cake so I wouldn't have to haul leftovers home, so that's how I came up with this shape.


Take the middle two pieces that you're actually using and freeze them overnight {wrapping separately}.


The next day, mix up your favorite icing recipe {I have always liked Wilton's Buttercream...you can find that recipe here}. I didn't even have to double it for this recipe. Canned frosting will work fine, too {maybe add a teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract to make it a bit more homemade-ish}. I tinted my frosting with yellow food coloring gel; that's my boy's favorite color.


Add a dab of frosting to the cake plate to help the cake stay in place. Pull the cake layers out of the freezer...you'll be frosting them while they're still frozen.


Place the bottom cake layer onto the cake plate on the frosting dab. Frost the top of it {keeping it frozen makes it not so crummy/crumbly while you frost it}.


Add the top layer to the cake and start frosting the sides and top of it.


Don't worry if your plate gets messy...you can clean it up later.


There's two ways to make the Lego "buttons": Double-Stuffed Oreos or jumbo marshmallows. I, personally, think the Oreos are much easier to frost, so that's the way I went. Stick a dab of frosting on the bottom of each Oreo to adhere it to the top of the cake.


Stuck like glue.


It's easier to frost the Oreos using a plain butter knife, rather than the offset spatula.
Clean up your cake plate and you're good to go.


We have a tradition of having cake for breakfast on your birthday in our family {that way you can have the fancy restaurant dessert at your birthday dinner that night}. This is Ben's "hotel birthday breakfast" the morning of his birthday! He loved the cake. And it was a very memorable weekend for sure!

{i linky-party here}








For more information on this recipe, click the infographic to see the entire post where she goes into more details.