Camp Whimsy

Following My Heart

Dear Camp Whimsy readers, I'm going to be taking a break from blogging, perhaps a long or even permanent one. I will continue to read my many favorite blogs and I'll let you know what I end up doing with Camp Whimsy when I make that decision. My mom says the most courageous thing you can do is to follow your heart, and right now my heart is telling me I just need to be able to focus on my family and everyday life. Blessings, Kim

The Playhouse Revealed!

 

Welcome to our playhouse reveal party! The playhouse is finally finished, just in time for my daughter's fourth birthday party. Come on in and take a look...

 

 

We've been tidying up just for you!

 

 

...here is the little dining area...

 

...right next to the kitchen...

 

...where we prepare...

 

...breakfast...

 

...lunch...

 

...and dinner.

 

Here is a view of the pattern in the floor. It is the same flooring we have in the kitchen in our big house.

 

And here's a peek at the vaulted ceiling. We (the grown ups) decided against the chandelier because we like being able to stand up and not bend over or hit our heads on anything. A simple flat lighting fixture is just perfect.

 

This is a small reading area for now, though we plan to build a bench with toy storage underneath. I will sew a pad for the new bench to match the curtains I made. The kids love this little spot.

 

 

 

This is the view from the side window, which overlooks the garden.

 

And here is a picture of the side window from the outside. The front window faces the rear of our house.

Here are some shots of the building process:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We love our new playhouse. It is just what I envisioned for our back yard, it looks like it has always been there. The kids adore it.

 

Thanks for coming! Come again anytime, we'll leave the light on for you!

Your invited to the playhouse reveal party!

 

Don't forget to join me tomorrow morning for the big playhouse reveal party! And please invite your friends! See you then! Kim

Oatmeal Raisin (or chocolate chip) Cookies

 

Every time I open the tub of Quaker rolled oats there is the same recipe mocking me on the inside of the lid. It's been there for a while, and I finally gave in and tried the "Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies" recipe. I'm glad I did! It's the best oatmeal cookie recipe I've tried. Of course I couldn't see the point of actually using raisins and opted for bittersweet chocolate and butterscotch chips instead, but do as you like.

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

 3 cups Quaker old fashioned oats, uncooked

 1 cup raisins (or chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, etc.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together butter and sugars until light and creamy.

 

Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

 

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt;

 

add to mixer and mix well.

 

Stir in oats and raisins (or chips).

 

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet. The recipe says an ungreased cookie sheet, but I prefer to line my cookie sheets with my bff parchment paper. Bake 10-12 minutes until golden brown. If you prefer a chewier cookie (like me) remove when just the edges are golden brown, for a crispier cookie let the whole cookie brown. This recipe yields about 4 dozen cookies. That is too many cookies for my  family to eat at once, so....

 

I take about 2/3 of the dough, line it out on plastic wrap...

 

roll it up and place it in a gallon size freezer bag in the freezer. Now we can enjoy fresh baked cookies anytime...

 

just slice frozen cookie dough with a sharp knife and add about one minute to the baking time.

 

Happy baking!!

Birthday Party and Playhouse Reveal Countdown

 

I know I've been a little quiet lately. I've been getting everything in order for my daughter's fourth birthday party this coming weekend. We are having a tea party luncheon and dessert. I have the house and yard cleaned up tidy, party favors in bags, six little aprons sewn for tea party attendees, and best of all the playhouse is FINALLY done! I am so excited for the little girls to play in the new playhouse. I will be having a playhouse reveal party next Tuesday, September 15th, right here at Camp Whimsy, so invite your friends and I'll meet you here next Tuesday! I think you're going to love the new playhouse! Blessings, Kim

Magpie Ethel's Halloween Etsy Offering

Head over to Laurie's blog to see what she'll be listing in her Etsy shop tomorrow morning. If you want to see what I purchased from her last Halloween, click here. 

   

Images:Magpie Ethel of course!

My Kitchen

 

Here's a peek at my kitchen. We are not actually done with the kitchen. We still need to install a backsplash. I would like white subway tiles. But first we have to decide on countertops, probably granite or some other type of stone. Currently we have concrete countertops. The other thing we are going to change about our kitchen is we are going to remove the large pantry...

 

...I love my huge pantry but it takes up too much space. Once we remove the pantry we will slide the fridge all the way over to the wall on the far right of the picture. We will build new lower cabinets where the fridge is currently which will give us more counter space. I want the new cabinets to have open shelving on the bottom, which I will make curtains for, and I really want a large chalkboard or sign and open shelving above the new counterspace.

 

...I'm going to miss you pantry...but don't worry, husband will build a new one...

 

I love my Kitchen Aid stove...

 

 

Here's my sink, to the right I can look into my living room, and to the left I can look...

 

... into the dining room.

 

My cupboard and pantry shelves are lined with oilcloth. I love oilcloth because it is cheerful and easy to wipe down.

 

 

 

I love being in the kitchen. I spend more time in the kitchen than any room in my house. I prefer a small kitchen to a large one, it is easy and effecient for cooking. We aren't planning on doing our pantry removal/remodel any time soon, maybe in a year or two, but I'll be sure to share when we do!

Pendleton Favorites

 

Here are a few of my favorites from Pendleton. 

Skinny Ice Cream

 

A few months ago Beth shared her story of working at becoming healthy. I was truly inspired and realized I needed to make some changes too. I have a passion for baking, a HORRIBLE sweet tooth, and unfortunately it shows! So I've made a few changes and for the past five weeks or so I've been working hard at watching my diet. I've never done this before and what once seemed impossible to do (not constantly snacking on baked goods) has now become a routine. I'm saving the baking for really special occasions and events where I can share what I make with others, rather than eating a whole pan of brownies all by myself. But I still crave a little something sweet for dessert. I found these Skinny Cow Skinny Dippers in the freezer aisle. Most of the skinny cow products have 100-150 calories per serving, but these skinny bars are only 80 calories each! Awesome. Plus they're a better deal, the box was $4.79 at the local market and it contains 12 bars. Boxes of Skinny Cow ice cream cones and truffle bars were the same price and only contained four servings in a box. So there's the skinny on skinny bars. Here's to living a healthier lifestyle! I'm not good at extremes, and I know I am not going to give up sweets completely, but this is a good shift in my approach to them. And I've never had this much energy in my life, it finally occured to me that all of the sugar I was consuming was literally bringing me down.

 

80 calories of pure, guiltless, skinny pleasure.

Starting School

 

We're back from our summer vacation to San Diego and Phoenix. The trip was absolutely, completely wonderful. It was the first time we've stayed in a hotel with our children. My little girl was in heaven. She thought the entire experience from the hotel to the zoo to the ocean to visiting our family in Phoenix was magical. My little boy enjoyed the trip as well, except for the dining part which he preferred to skip entirely (except for the McDonald's hamburgers he inhaled during our pit stops while driving). This week is back to school, or in our case, the start of school. My little girl had her first dance lesson today. She was very wiggly and not the best listener, but she was absolutely darling in her little tights, tutu and slippers. Tomorrow she starts preschool. She is ready. I am not. I remember being so excited to start the first day of school as a little girl that I could hardly bring myself to eat my Cocoa Pebbles for breakfast. I don't think that tomorrow I could eat my Cocoa Pebbles (if I had any Cocoa Pebbles). Summer vacation is wonderful. Back to school is wonderful too. If you are four. If you are the mommy it is not so wonderful. If you are the mommy it is a bit scary and hard to let go. Even if only for a few hours twice a week. It's hard to let go. Can't imagine what you gals that are sending kids off to college are going through. I can hardly handle two mornings a week! Back to school blessings, Kim