DIY WEDNESDAY: DIP DYE FLANNEL

Inspired by many dip dye flannels on Pinterest (of course!) we gave this DIY a go Saturday morning. We started with $2 flannels at the Thrift store and Clorox bleach. Just take two plastic bins side by side and fill one with bleach and a little water and the other with just water. Lay just the bottom half of the shirt in the bleach for about 20 minutes. Then rinse (using gloves - I didn't and my hands resembled those of a 90 yr old afterwards) the bottom half with water, then repeat with the two sleeves making sure the dip dye on the sleeves is the same depth as the bottom half of the shirt. Then rinse the sleeves with the water and then lay out to dry. Then machine wash in cold water and then dry. I am planning on wearing mine, sleeves rolled and open over a romper like Leandra Medine, The Man Repeller.

FOODIE: KELLE JACKSON'S GRANDMOTHER'S RECIPE

Kelle Jackson is our Nesting feature this month and when asked what her favorite cookbooks were she said her  Grandmother Vereen's recipes. So we needed one. I made it and it's amazing...

Grandmother Vereen's Sour Cream Pound Cake

2 sticks butter

3 cups plain flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

6 eggs (at room temperature)

1 8oz sour cream (at room temperature)

3 cups suger

1 tsp vanilla 

Cream butter and sugar well.  Add eggs one at a time, beat well after each. Mix in flour and baking soda, alternating with sour cream, ending in flour.  Add vanilla and pour into a greased tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until knife inserted comes out clean.

AROUND TOWN: VALENTINE'S DAY POP UP SHOP

 photos by Apryl Ann Photography

WHO:  Cakewalk Bake Shop, Photo-Wagon + Yeti and the Beast
WHAT:  Valentine's Day Pop Up Shop
WHEN: February 14th, 12:00pm
WHERE: The Bell Jar - 4908 Bryan st - Dallas
WHY: One stop shopping for Valentine's Day! One-of-a-kind macaron boxes, + Photo Booth + DIY Vday crafting kits and lovely paper goods.

Details here - See you there!

Q+A: AARON

This week we get to know Aaron. Nine-year-old Aaron is a talented guitarist with an affinity for all things Lego and big plans for the future. Don’t be surprised if you see Aaron sitting on the Supreme Court someday. Just remember, you heard it here first.

1. Favorite thing you own? Lulu, my stuffed animal, and my Wii.
2. Thing you most wish you owned: A Partick Kane US Olympic hockey jersey
3. What do you like most about yourself? I’m good at sports.
4. What do you want to be when you grow up? Why? A Supreme Court Justice. It seems like I’d be good at it and it seems fun to be debating things.
5. One word to describe you would be ____? Interesting
6. What advice would you like to give to the grown-ups in your life? Not to rush for things so much. That’s what my mom does … and then she starts cursing.
7. Who’s the smartest person to ever live? Albert Einstein
8. What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now? I’ll be 19, so going to college.
9. What is your big dream? To become famous for being a Supreme Court Justice.
10. What makes you laugh? Jokes that are funny.
11. What makes you feel afraid? Murderers
12. Where do you dream of going? Australia
13. If you could magically have any talent, what would it be? Uh …it depends on what’s happening around me. Make something fly.
14. If you could trade places with anyone in the world for one day, whom would you like to trade places with? Chief Justice Robert.
15. What is the nicest thing someone has ever done for you? Well, my friend Gavin helped me with a math problem that was really hard.
16. What is your favorite outfit? A suit and tie
17. If you could be any animal what would you be? Why? Probably a bird, so I could fly.
18. If you could travel in a time machine, what era in history would you like to visit? Ooh … that’s good. I would go to the time of the big bang.
19. What’s the hardest thing about being a kid? Well, you’re not as good as adults at things.
20. If you could make one rule that everyone in the world had to follow, what rule would you make? Why? I think a good rule would be: you can’t sell something for over $50 million dollars. Because if it’s the only place you could get something, no one would really want to get it; it’s good for both people.
21. What’s the best thing about being a kid? You have more fun

FRIDAY'S INSPIRATION: MISTER ROGERS

A few quotes from Mister Rogers that we love....

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”


“Forgiveness is a strange thing. It can sometimes be easier to forgive our enemies than our friends. It can be hardest of all to forgive people we love. Like all of life's important coping skills, the ability to forgive and the capacity to let go of resentments most likely take root very early in our lives.”


It's important to know when we need to stop, reflect and receive. In our competitive world, that might be called a waste of time….

You rarely have time for everything you want in this life, so you need to make choices. And hopefully your choices can come from a deep sense of who you are. ”

- Fred Rogers

Q+A: ELIANA

                                                                  

                                                                                    

The tired adage is true … kids really do say the darndest things. It’s in the spirit of the funny, thought provoking and sometimes shocking things kids say that we bring you Kid Q&As, a new series spotlighting cool kids in our community.

For this, our inaugural edition, we sat down with Eliana, who just happens to be little sister to our lifestyle editor Nicole Jordan. Eight-year-old Eliana loves her dog Bella, has a penchant for rubber-band jewelry and is enamored with all things American Girl.

1.    Favorite thing you own? My dog Bella.
2.    Thing you most wish you owned: An iPhone.
3.    What do you like most about yourself? That I believe in myself.  
4.    What do you want to be when you grow up? A vet.
5.    One word to describe you would be ____? Hmm … dancer.
6.    What advice would you like to give to the grown-ups in your life? That if you do
good things, then good things will happen to you.
7.    Who’s the smartest person to ever live? Taylor Swift 
8.    Who’s the strongest person in the world? Brother-in-Law Ben
9.    What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now? Being a gymnast.
10.  What’s the best thing about being a kid? That I have big brothers and a big sister.
11.  What is your big dream? To be a gymnast in the Olympics.
12.  What makes you feel afraid? When people scare me really good. 
13.  Where do you dream of going? I’ve already been there, but I want to go there again: Florida.
14.  If you could magically have any talent, what would it be? To stretch as long as I want to. 
15.  What is the nicest thing someone has ever done for you? My mom letting me have brothers and a sister.
16.  What is your favorite outfit? My short little dress that has no sleeves at all. 
17.  If you could be any animal what would you be? I’d be a dog to experience the life of being a dog. 
18.  If you could travel in a time machine, what era in history would you like to visit? Whenever mommy and daddy were born … to see what they looked like.
19.  What is the hardest thing about being a kid?  That’s easy ... the bullies. People can bully you as a kid. 
20.  If you could make one rule that everyone in the world had to follow, what rule would you make? Everyone has to have a pet. It doesn’t matter what animal. It’ll guard them and help them and keep them safe. 
21.  Anything else you want people to know about you? I’m a gymnast in training. 

By Nicole Jordan

FRIDAY'S INSPIRATION

Working as a teacher in London, teacher Guy Tarrant has collected all the items he has confiscated from his students over the past 30 years. Featured in an exhibition called “Confiscation Cabinets”, you can see the whole collection until June, 2014 at the V & A Museum of Childhood. If you can't see it in person click here to see photos.