Breakfast with a Princess

We had another enchanted morning the other week at Elevate .  Last time it was The Cat in the Hat.  My 4 year old loved that character breakfast but it couldn't hold a candle to a Princess Breakfast.

A chance to dress up and meet princesses.  Talk about heaven for a 4 year old girl!

Her favorite was Snow White, who she later told me looked a lot like the the girl from the Cat in the Hat.  Ha, nothing gets by that girl. ;)

My baby especially liked Jasmine, she gave her the thumbs-up! 

Such a lovely morning.  Look at those smiles.  Supporting the local arts and giving my daughter sweet memories, good times! 

Fisher Price Fridays - Toy Lunch Kit

Today on Fisher Price Fridays I'd like to introduce a very small but oh-so-cute vintage children's toy.  The Toy Lunch Kit #549 is a two piece set made from 1962-1979.  The darling little red lunch box is in the shape of a barn and the grey-blue thermos looks like a silo.  The silo has lithographs of a calf and a kitten sitting on top of hay. 

 

The front has a lithograph of a horse looking out a barn door and a window on the "roof" has a rooster sitting on a pile of hay.  It also has the fisher Price logo. 

The back of the "barn" has another door and the roof has the same lithograph as the front.  The lower portion has a duck, bench and a couple birds.

The inside of the box has a metal brace that can hold the thermos inside the lid.

The set is actually quite small measuring only 5 inches long, 4 1/2 inches high and 2 1/2 inches wide.  My daughter loves playing pretend with the thermos and the little box is often re purposed as a purse. :) 

Wordless Wednesday - Glass

I'd just gone out for a minute to take out the recycling.  These sweet faces were waiting for me.

Such a welcome!

Roasted Tomatillo and Garlic Salsa Recipe

Yet another vegetable has been added to our vocabulary, this time the tomatillo.  I have eaten green salsa from restaurants made with tomatillos but had never purchased or eaten them at home.  Our CSA box last week included a pound of them so I decided to try making salsa myself.  Turns out it's pretty simple.  Now that I can make pico-de-gallo and green salsa I'm ready to throw a party!

Roasted Tomatillo and Garlic Salsa from allrecipes.com
1 pound fresh tomatillos
1 head garlic cloves, separated and peeled
1 bunch fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
*if you want a spicy salsa add 3 fresh jalapeno peppers

Directions
1. Preheat the oven's broiler.  Arrange the whole cloves of garlic and tomatillos on a baking sheet (jalapenos too if you use them).  Place under the broiler and cook for 10-15 minutes.  Remove garlic cloves first, as soon as they are toasted.  Continue to roast tomatillos (and jalapenos) for another 15 minutes, turning tomatillos occasionally until evenly charred.  Set aside to cool.  Don't remove the charred parts of the tomatillos, they add to the flavor.
2. Place tomatillos, garlic and cilantro in the blender (peppers too if you used them).  Add a little water to the mixture to facilitate blending and to keep it from getting too thick.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Refrigerate until serving.

Fisher Price Fridays - Mini Bus

I have to admit that my week has been saturated with Fisher Price Little People (FPLP).  They're in every room of our house right now while I organize and sort through them.  I've gotten to the point where I even have dreams about them at night.  Ha!  Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled about last week's amazing craiglist find.  And I'm also excited to have finally opened my own Etsy Shop.  But, I've got little people over-load. :)

That said I am excited about today's toy on Fisher Price Fridays.  This entry may be a bit picture heavy as a result. :)  Sorry, they're just so cute I can't help myself!  So without further delay here is the Play Family Mini-Bus #141.  The mini-bus was made from 1970-1990.  However, from 1986-1999 they changed the name to Mini-Van to catch up with the times.  The buses all seat 5 passengers and the seats move up and down when the bus is moving.

The mini bus set came with five people.  The ones pictured here are the original wood figures.  The figures basically stayed the same for the entire 20 years that the mini-bus was made, except for changing to plastic instead of wood.  

There are many many variations to the mini-bus look, in color combinations and subtle lithograph changes (wording of where manufactured).  So many variations that there is a chart to help you figure it out at thisoldtoy.com.  The bus pictured for example was made in the USA but they were also made in Mexico and Belgium.

The roof could be yellow, white or red. 

My other mini-bus (I don't have any of the more recent mini-vans) is yellow on yellow.  This bus was assembled in Mexico.  Pictured is the plastic version of the family.

My yellow bus has been in a few accidents and needs a new paint job. Ha! ;)

There is only one exclusive figure from this set (meaning it was made only for this set).  It is the smiling green boy with a red cap.  He was (only) included in a Pampers promotional van sold in 1988.  The Pampers van had just the three figures pictured above instead of a family.  As a result the green boy is a little harder to find.  I just happen to have two. ;)

My collection expanded a little bit after last weekend.  Hmmm, do you think I have enough?  Don't worry, I have plans to include at least one of these sweet rides in my Etsy Shop soon!

I got a little silly and filled each bus with a different theme.  Can you see or guess them all?

Have a great week everyone.

Re-using boxes for crafts

My 4 year old is going through a crafting and art stage.  She starts her day by coloring in the kitchen before we're even awake.  She continues to cut, color, glue and decorate whenever possible.  She asks for things from the recycling bin including mail, magazines, egg cartons, coupons, etc.  I have to keep her from going thru my trash!

One week she pleaded for a empty box so that she could make a "puppet theatre".  She spent awhile feverishly working on it and then treated us to a few adorable puppet shows.

Today she's been working on a helicopter.  Yes, that's right she wants to build a "real" helicopter. She was inspired after one of her bedtime stories The Flying Hockey Stick by Jolly Roger Bradfield.  She's asked us to get her "real" wheels for it whatever that means.

She's only been working on it for a little while today.  It will be interesting to see how this one turns out.

What I love about reusing boxes is that I don't have to buy anything. :) After she's played with it for a couple days it goes in the recycling (she knows this ahead).  She's fine with moving on since there will be more boxes to come.  Ah, how I love my little creative girl.

Wordless Wednesday - Cherry Tomatoes

These beauties were so lovely I had to take a photo.

What should I do with them?  So far I've been popping them in my mouth like candy.

Soy and Sesame Kale Chips

We've been eating a lot of kale around here.  Every week our CSA includes kale so it just keeps coming and coming. ;)  My family has discovered that the only way we really enjoy kale is in chip form.  So we regularly have Sea Salt Kale Chips and although they're good we're ready for something new.

Fortunately I was catching up on my Sunset Magazines recently (it takes me forever to get to magazines these days) and saw two new kale chip recipes!  Love!

This first one was a hit.  I'll let you know how the next one turns out.

Soy and Sesame Kale Chips from Sunset Magazine May 2012

1 small bunch of kale (they recommend Lacinato)

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Rinse kale and thoroughly blot dry with a kitchen towel (or leave out in a colander for awhile like I do).  Tear leaves into 4-in pieces.  Pour oil and soy sauce into a large bowl, add kale and toss to coat evenly.

2. Arrange in a single layer on 2 rimmed baking sheets (the secret to crisp chips is not crowding the leaves on one baking sheet).  Bake, switching pan positions after 13 minutes.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake until leaves are crisp but not browned, 5 to 7 minutes more. (35 minutes all together)

Etsy Store Launch!

The baby may not want me to sell any of these. :)

I had a very busy and exciting weekend.  On friday afternoon I hit the mother-lode of vintage fisher price toys in one craigslist lot!  There are far more pieces and sets than my girls can enjoy so I decided to finally open the Etsy shop I've been hemming and hawing on.

Can you believe all this?  There are 19 sets plus pieces including a couple that I've had my eye on for awhile (record player and a merry-go-round).  I'll have toys to feature on Fisher Price Friday's for the next few months!

Right now I have only a few vintage FPLP pieces in my store but I hope to add more listings every day.  I'm also going to sell vintage children's books and other old toys when I have the time.  I have to admit that it is a bit of a challenge to get all this going when I have two very busy girls with me.  Fortunately they like little people too, so we've been spending A LOT of time in the playroom with the toys all weekend.

So come check out my Etsy store: Vintage Little People

Kids's Character Breakfast

Last monday the girls and I met some friends for a fun breakfast experience at Elevate, a local coffee shop.  The kids got special meals (french toast, sausage, fruit and juice) to enjoy while we watched the "show".

The youth from the Musical Theatre of Anthem were dressed up as Dr Seuss characters.  They sang, chatted with the kids, posed for photos then sang some more.

My baby girl was amazed, she couldn't get enough of the funny dressed kids.  She waved, said hi and smiled the whole time.  My 4 year old also loved it too but was pretty shy when they came around.

It was a fun morning!  If you are near the North Phoenix area there will be more Kid's Character Breakfasts this summer including a Princess theme this monday.  It's $8 for the kids which includes breakfast and a goodie bag.  But don't worry, there are many options for adults too, it's is a coffee shop after all. :)  I had a lovely Peach Apricot iced tea and a lemon and sugar crepe.  Good times!

Fisher Price Fridays - Fire trucks

Today on Fisher Price Fridays it's the Firemen!  I have three different fire trucks and lots of little firemen.  The firemen are very special Fisher Price Little People (FPLP) figures because they actually have arms!  These arms are important because they can hold onto hoses or ladders.  We'll see more of that in a bit.

First off is the Play Family Fire Engine #720.  It was made from 1969 - 1979 and has a wood base.  This fire engine has a permanent driver (just his head) which bounces around as the truck moves when pulled by a yellow plastic chord.  The bell on the back also dings as the truck moves.  The white plastic ladder can telescope all the way around and reaches high in the air.

The fire "hose" is made of shoestring and is 12 inches long.  It can be held (by the fireman) and then wrapped around when done.  There is a peg on the back for a fireman (or in this case a dog) to ride on.  

The truck has detailed lithographs on each side.  This side has a fire ax and fire extinguisher.  The opposite side has another fire extinguisher and what I think is decals of where a hose would connect.  I'm not exactly a fire truck expert. :)

The original #720 set came with one fireman (not counting the permanent one), either black with red arms and a white hat or black with white arms and a white hat.  Their arms can help them hold onto the ladder as shown.  There is a rare fireman that was wooden and did not have a visible collar around his neck.  I don't have one of those.

Next up is Fire Truck #2361.  This truck is a later model, made from only 1989-1990.  The fire truck came with two firemen (black with white hat and arms), a dog (dalmatian) and a red fire hydrant. 

The yellow fire hose has two sides with handles, one connects to the fire hydrant and the other can be held by the fireman.

The yellow ladder moves around and extends.

The white cap above the cab rotates when the truck rolls.  The bell behind the cab also rings when the truck is moving.

Last but not least Fire Truck #124 made from 1979-1990.  My fire truck is clearly broken, and missing the ladder.  If it wasn't broken you'd see a yellow extension ladder that the firemen can climb on (since they don't have a hose to hold).  The original set came with just one fireman, the same kind as seen in my photo.  

Have a great weekend.  My 4 year old wants to remind you to "stop, drop and roll" if you are on fire. :)