homemade chai concentrate

Between pregnancy and acid reflux that was causing me to lose my voice (no good when you're a singer and music teacher), I have spent a lot of time recently as a recovering caffeine addict. These days, a bit is not such a big deal, but a few months ago I found myself pining for chai. The spicy and sweet flavor is so comforting, but decaf chai lattes are almost impossible to find! The day I realized that homemade concentrate couldn't be too difficult to make, and that decaf black tea was my answer, my problems were solved-- at least the chai-related ones.

All you need are a few whole spices, black tea bags (decaf or regular depending on your preference), cheesecloth or a very fine mesh strainer, sweetener and a container. Considering a box of chai concentrate can run $6 in Vancouver, I would say this saves a lot of money, too! It's easy to customize, too: a little more or less sweet, more or less vanilla, orange zest for a kick... let your imagination run!

P.S. I have a pet peeve to confess. "Chai" means "tea", to to call it Chai Tea is redundant. Just a thought.

Chai Concentrate

makes enough for 5 lattes

4.5 cups water

10 bags black tea

2 cinnamon sticks

10 whole cloves

7 cardamom pods

2 whole star anise

1 inch fresh ginger, grated 

   OR 1/2 tsp ground ginger

pinch nutmeg

pinch black pepper

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Bring water to a boil in a medium pot. Add tea and spices, cover, turn off heat and steep for 15 minutes. Pour over cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer, press liquid out of tea bags, and discard tea bags and spices. Stir in sugar, honey and vanilla until dissolved, allow to cool, and store in a jar or bottle in the refrigerator.

To make chai lattes, combine equal parts chai concentrate and milk of choice, and steam or heat on the stove or in the microwave. Enjoy!

cheers, Katie

the thankful tree: a kid craft + thanksgiving centerpiece

This is my favorite piece of Thanksgiving decor ever. I'm pretty sure I'm a genius for thinking of it, although someone else is bound to have already thought of it, or is going to... but whatever, I'm not googling it to find out... maybe I should get a copyright...

Anyway.

The Thankful Tree makes for an easy craft to entertain your kids for a few minutes, provides a fun and meaningful centerpiece on the table, and gives you a little keepsake from each year. Also, it is inexpensive to make and you don't have to store the whole thing in a box in your attic in between Thanksgivings.

To make the base, simply fill a large mason jar or a vase with rocks or pine cones, or a combination that you and your kiddos have collected. Next, find some large sticks with plenty of twigs to form the "tree." (Side note: While on a walk with the kids, I asked my neighbor if I could grab one of the branches he had cut from a tree he was trimming outside his house. He gave me the okay, but looked at me like I was crazy as I paraded down the street holding a large branch in the air.)

There are three ways we (James and I) have made the "leaves" of the tree:

Easy- Collect leaves (bonus: this gives you another outdoor activity). Have your kid(s) make the classic paper-over-leaf-rubbed-with-crayon leaf outline. (If you really don't know what I am referring to, click here- hint:step 6 is not necessary.) Then cut out around the leaf outlines.

Easier- Cut (or have your kids cut) leaf shapes out of paper (I used brown paper bags). Then let your kids paint the leaves fall-y colors.

Easiest- Last year I bought a couple sheets of Thanksgiving stationary and cut it into pieces. (In retrospect, I didn't even cut them into leaf shapes. Odd.)

Once the "leaves" are made, ask your kids what they are thankful for -this is my favorite part. You may need to give them some examples of things that you are thankful for (your kids, your spouse, your home, dark chocolate...). Then write what your kids say on the back of the "leaves".

I have kept the "leaves" from previous years, and I plan to continue to keep them each year so that I can remember what my kids have expressed gratitude for.

Last, attach the "leaves" to the "tree" with those adorable little mini-clothes pins. Done.

And there you have it: a fun craft, an outdoor adventure, quality time with the little ones, and a unique centerpiece that will be the talk of the table come Thanksgiving evening.
So much to be thankful for.

Happy crafting,
Ashley

checkin' in

Oh, Hi! Remember me? I am currently seated on the couch next to a passed-out little dude covered in layers of blankets with Tiggy and Mickey on his lap. Poor guy has the stomach flu. As in, the same illness that Elle was inflicted with only last week.

Thus, the blogging has been non-existent. However, there are exciting new projects brewing up in BlogWorld that I cannot wait to share with you. Hopefully I will have more news soon, but, until then, I will leave you with some photos taken by a guest photographer while at the Zoo, long before the Stomach Bug of 2013 came to live with us...

Our feet, and a clue as to who the mystery photographer could be...

The Zoo is already getting ready for Zoo Lights! (Note lights on tree above) I'm SO excited!

Eleanor's bum

He put a bird in this shot to try to make it artsy... what a little Portlander.

... if you haven't guessed yet, it's this guy:

 

... anyway, Happy Sunday everyone! Have a great week!

(Picture of  me with kiddos taken by my good friend, Elissa.)

happy weekend

Happy weekend and Go Beavs!!

photo credit: Shirley Lockhart (from about a month ago)

It has been another crazy week with Lane out of town, family in town, and plenty of outdoor soak-up-the-sunshine time.

James got new shoes, a fedora, and went on a Grandma date to a dress rehersal of the OCT's "A Night in New Orleans." Needless to say, it's been a big week.

This afternoon we are off to the pumpkin patch and then getting cozy with the laptop and some Undead Porter to watch another Beavs victory! (we hope)

Have a fabulous fall weekend!

PS I'm on Instagram and obsessed with it!

homebodies

 

Can you spy James?

The kids and I have been so strangely inactive this week, and yet such busy bodies. I'll explain what I mean with some simple stats from the week:

Number of times left front door of house: 5

Number of those times we went more than one mile from our house: 2

Destinations more than one mile from our house: play date and library

Destinations within one mile radius where we were headed the other 3 times: park and woods trail

Number of (official) crafts done: 2

I won't divulge whose pumpkin is whose; but I will say that only one of us had the creative intuition to put a mustache and freckles on their pumpkin.

Number of baking projects that James helped with: 2

almonds, oats, flax, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, coconut oil, honey, spices..mm...

Number of home runs James has scored from basement baseball: 41

Number of obscenely large forts built: 3

Number of days we stayed in PJ's until 10 am: I'll never tell

Oh, and number of blog posts attempting to make up for not blogging since last Friday: 1

I caught a glimpse of myself in the office mirror and just had to take a picture. My stay-at-home uniform: nursing tank top, leggings, droopy sweater, messy braid...sadly, this picture doesn't show the tasteful wool socks that I am also rocking. 

This weekend we are continuing to stick around the house. We will be doing our usual farmer's market, Beaver football cheering, and general joyful-life-living... 

Have a wonderful weekend!

happy weekend

 Happy weekend, everyone!

It is such an amazingly beautiful fall day! We have already been to the park once today and are fully intending to return later this afternoon.

James woke up requesting waffles, so I revisited an old recipe that has been getting quite a lot of attention on Pinterest, funny enough.

They were awfully delicious, but took a little longer than average waffles when we made them in our Belgium waffle-maker (probably due to the high liquid content).

This afternoon my mom and her boyfriend are coming over to help finish painting the basement (finally). My mom and I have been planning on cooking an epic dinner, so we will see how that goes while we paint a large room and entertain a baby and three year old boy.

Tomorrow, the farmer's market again, and then soaking up more sunshine!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Eleanor Grace is ten months old

 Eleanor (pictured here at OMSI yesterday) is ten months old today.

I know that I am supposed to say that I can't believe it. But truthfully, it has felt like ten months. At least.

She is such a joyful, giggly, beautiful baby. She is a light to our lives. But she doesn't really like to sleep. Like, at all. She does like to nurse. Like, all the time.

I know that she will start to sleep eventually (heck, James does now, and I never believed that would happen), and I would not trade the last ten months for anything, even if I won't remember them too clearly.

Here are some quick stats of things I want to remember. Then I'm going to bed:

weight: 22 lbs at 9 months (big girl, note thighs in the last picture)
favorite foods: refuses purees; loves chicken, string cheese, oatmeal, and fruit of all kinds
loves: dogs, dancing, Sophie the giraffe, the Tupperware drawer, fabric play tunnels, big brother, flushing toilets and pulling down toilet paper, eating
ticklish: everywhere, especially armpits and neck
sounds that have meaning: "Mama"; meaning: unknown (possibly "breast milk, now!")
movement: pulling up and shuffling around on everything; extremely fast crawler

That's all I can think of for now.. maybe will update this post when I have had more sleep (5 to 10 years from now)...

Anyway, I love that girl so much it hurts. In a good, exhausting sort of way.