Easy Vegan Brownies

Hello all you beautiful people! Amber here! Tonight I wanted to share with you a yummy, fast, and easy brownie recipe we devoured this evening! Weather you are vegan and in search for a delicious dessert, or just simply "Old Mother Hubbard", and currently out of eggs in the house until your next shopping trip- (that's us!) -  you will love how simple and scrumtious this recipe is! 

Easy Vegan Brownies

2 C flour

2 C sugar

3/4 C cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 C water

1 C vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

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· Preheat oven to 350°

· In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Then add water, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Mix until blended.

· Spread into 9x13 inch baking pan.

· Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into squares. 

See?! Easiest eggless brownies on the planet! Nom-nom! 

-Amber

Baby Boy Nursery On A Very Small Budget!

    I recently had my first baby over the summer. My husband being a full time student and plans for me to stay at home with Anson, didn't leave us with a lot of money to spend on a nursery. So I had to think outside the box and take whatever freebies I could, and I took a lot!
    Let's start with the basics. The dresser we already had which was nice. It was from Ikea and is a few years old. The crib we got used. It's a vintage Jenny Lind which I love!! $50 for the crib with hardware, and mattress. We didn't have to do any refinishing due to its awesome condition. We used a changing pad on top of the dresser so we didn't have to buy a separate piece of furniture. That pad was from target, with a minky cover off of amazon. (American Baby Company $15) As for bedding, my amazing mom offered to make a crib skirt, quilt, curtains, and decorative pillow. The fabric probably ended up being the most expensive. It's not quite done, but I'll be sure to post the pictures when it is!
    Now for the details! Whenever someone was offering up old decor I tried to take it. So my aunt was getting rid of an old Crate and Barrel shelf with matching picture frames. These were originally pink so I had to refinish them. She also gave me a throw pillow that happened to match perfectly and a lamp base that matched well too. I threw on a cute lamp shade from Walmart and it was compete. A lamp to match the nursery. Basically all for free!!
    We wanted Anson's nursery to be rustic with a cabin-like feel. So i turned to my brother for some deer sheds he had laying around. They added a perfect touch.
    My lovely sisters threw my baby shower, and knowing I didn't have a lot to spend on decor, they decided to make some for the shower that also matched his room. They were included as gifts for me to take home and decorate with. It was awesome!!
    Here was one of the most fun parts!! I wanted to do a picture collage but not spend a lot of money. I searched Pinterest for woodland printables. I found a few, and with some of our own pictures sent them to Walmart to be printed. I got all the frames from Walmart as well. Some are super cheap to be honest. The most I spent was for the large Remington picture. (Hobby Lobby, 50% off) Then the hubby helped hang them all up. That wall is one of my favorite things! I also used some of my husbands stuff that always ends up in a corner as decoration too. (i.e. Cowboy hat, rope, fishing poles)  Last but not least... I refinished my pink childhood rocking chair.
    All in all, I think it has come together quite nicely, without spending too much money. Now we just need bedding to tie it all together! If anyone has questions on how the decorations were made, or where anything was from, feel free to leave a comment. I'd be glad to answer!

Happy decorating!!

-Becca

Affordable Winter Wedding ideas

Okay, this one is fun! These center pieces and hot chocolate bar were so cheap to do. The rustic yet elegant look is darling! 

First off, the center pieces!

We cut our own wood slabs from fire wood we had out back. Then, with a wood burner, burned sayings into each one. It takes time, but cost $0. 

Next, we got glass candle holders from the dollar store along with cream candles of different sizes. Add a little bit of ribbon, pearls, etc, (with a hot glue gun) to accessorize. Place all of that on a big wood slab. (Again we cut ourselves out back) Super cheap! This was for a wedding so we had a vase of flowers to add to this center piece. Those vases came from the dollar store and local D.I. 

Hot Chocolate Bar! The yummy part!

With this you can add whatever you'd like, but here is what we did.

-We ordered in bulk 3 flavors of hot chocolate. (milk, raspberry, & mint) 

-Marshmallows of course.

-Cinnamon candy sticks  

-Chocolate peppermint dipped spoons. 

-Soft Caramels 

We got large glass jars from Walmart for the hot chocolate. Add decorative spoons for serving, fancy labels attached with ribbon, and they are complete!! 

Dip spoons in melted chocolate of your choice with sprinkles, peppermint, etc. cute for displaying.

We bought white hot drink cups, plain cup sleeves, and with stamps, stamped the bride and groom's initials with a "Thank You" on each sleeve. The venue actually provided large drink dispensers with hot water. 

This idea is so fun for winter weddings! You could even do this for  Christmas parties, birthdays, or whatever else you choose. Who doesn't love hot chocolate during the cold winter months? We sure do and this was so fun to have at the wedding as guests left on their way! 

(Photography: Courtesy of Green Apple Photography)

Hope you enjoy!

-Becca 

Breast Feeding Tips & Tricks

    I know everyone has their opinions on breast feeding. Some are good, some bad. I am no expert on the topic, but I thought I'd offer up my experience and advice for those who may struggle like I did. Over time you learn what works best for you. In my experience I had no clue how hard it would actually be. I wanted to breast feed and had that goal from the beginning but who knew I would struggle with it. Out of all the ups and downs of pregnancy, birth, etc., this was the hardest thing for me. I hope my thoughts and advice can help whoever is willing to read this.
     Right after my little guy was born I was anxious to try and nurse. Within an hour or so I asked the nurse to help me and try it out for the first time. It is not an automatic thing. It felt awkward and unsuccessful. I just thought, okay I'll try again a little later. The nurse in the hospital offered me a nipple shield for help. It sure helped him latch on so I started using it every time. For the first day I thought I was doing great. We would "nurse" for about 30 minutes. Little Anson would suckle almost the whole time so I thought all was well. Then... The lactation specialist stopped by my hospital room for pointers. When we got talking and she took a look she brought to my attention that basically no colostrum was coming out. I was sadened at this. We then had to supplement. That was really hard, time consuming, and not ideal for me. So.. When I got home I immediately began power pumping in hopes that my colostrum would come in. GUESS WHAT?! The very next morning I was engorged and it had come in. I was really excited!! But the down side was little Ans wouldn't latch on without the nipple shield that I was still using. I would get frustrated without it. It became a crutch but I didn't want to use it forever!! Then of course my nipples cracked, bleed, I got a horrible sore on one, and it just wasn't too fun. Then my wonderful mother introduced me to the nipple SHELL. A lot of people get these confused. The shell is a hard plastic, half circle type of thing that goes around the nipple to help draw it out so baby can latch better. I saw them and couldn't imagine wearing them under my bra. But I did it. Within a couple hours it had worked. My nipples were more drawn out and Anson started latching on. I wore them for about a week. I was so relieved.
I then had another problem. One breast seemed to do great when the milk came in. The other, not so much. I would pump and one was white like milk with a couple ounces. The other was less than an ounce and still golden like colostrum. (The one breast was always bigger than the other!) Anson acted hungry ALL the time until we would give him a little formula. I was so frustrated and discouraged. Some days I wanted to just call it quits and do formula instead. But... I kept trying every day. It was a struggle so many times and so annoying honestly. With patience, and constant prayer to be truthful, it ended up working out and now my little guy would rather nurse over anything else. He loves it!
    My mom recently asked me what advice I would give a first time nursing mom. I replied in saying, have patience!! It can suck at first and be really frustrating. But it's supply and demand. If you stop, or supplement often your own supply will decrease. If you keep trying and give it 100% it will get easier! It took me about 2 months before we both had in down and didn't need any assistance from any equipment. I stressed all the time over if he was getting enough too. But trust me when I say... Keep trying and it will happen! It will become natural and routine.

My number one tips:

1. Don't use a nipple SHIELD for latching purposes.

2. If you have latching issues use a nipple SHELL

3. PUMP, PUMP, PUMP if your colostrum/milk hasn't come in

4. Use nipple creams for the cracking and tenderness

5. It's supply and demand, keep at it!

5. Keep trying, give 100%, and have patience! It will get better!!

6. Don't be embarrassed of breast feeding, or asking for help, its dang hard! 

I have attached some pictures of the things I used. Hopefully this post will help some with their struggles too!!

Until next time! -Becca