Handy Oven Temperature Conversion Chart

One thing I enjoy doing when I have the time is cooking, baking, and generally just trying out new recipes. One thing I found to be really handy when we lived in Germany previously, was to have a chart with oven temperature conversions taped right next to my stove.

Here is a chart I made to print out and tape up near the stove in our house, and to make things easier for you all, I'm sharing it!

Remember, temperatures are approximate, and every oven will vary on its performance. Please, take this into consideration when you use your own oven.

Link to download-it will open a new window. This file is set up to be printed on a 5x7 index card.

 Free Oven Temperature Conversion Download

Happy baking!

Our First Memory Maker Moments

Happy Fall!!! Well, almost. Our weather, while still a bit warm in the afternoons, has begun to cool off overnight and in the mornings. It is absolutely beautiful, and it has me thirsting for when full days begin to get cooler, and the colors of the leaves begin to change to the vibrant oranges, reds and yellows.

Today, we started a new family project, and I am hoping this will become a tradition. It is called, "Memory Maker Moments." The hustle and bustle of our school weeks end up leaving us very little time to sit down and really enjoy our time together. We do homework immediately after Big Sister and Big Brother walk in the door. Sometimes, it takes almost the full hour before I start dinner to complete homework. Once dinner is done...well, you get the picture. We  hardly have a moment to breathe during the week. Family time is incredibly important to me, and I want to make sure we make the time to spend with each other. The kids will not be kids forever, and eventually, they will want to have their own lives, and they won't be interested as much in family time.

So, I'm sure you are beginning to wonder what this "Memory Maker Moments" is all about. Well, I have selected two project categories. We have a cooking/baking category, and an activity/outing category. I have picked a total of 5 projects for each of the two categories, with a total of 10 projects. We got a late start for the month, otherwise, I probably would have had 12 projects to choose from. To get started, I had Big Sister and Big Brother choose a number 1-20, and whoever was closer to my number, got to draw their choice of project to do on Saturday. Our winner was Big Sister, and she chose to do a food project for Saturday, and of course, that left Big Brother with an activity. Since I associate September with apples, our food themes center around apples for this month. Next month will most likely be pumpkin recipes, and I am not sure about November yet. I have our projects printed out, and folded, and each category has a little bucket we use to choose from.

Big Sister drew "Make Caramel Apples" I scoured the internet for a recipe that looked simple enough, and one that had good reviews. I came across a recipe on Tasty Kitchen for Grandma Betty's Caramel Apples recipe. I don't know who Grandma Betty is, but I do know her recipe was a huge hit for EVERYONE in our family! You can check the recipe out here http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/grandma-bettye28099s-caramel-apples/

I used Jazz apples, which are a blend of Braeburn and Gala apples. I also made one small tweak, and used double the vanilla in the recipe.

 

I filled the sink with water, and added approximately 1 cup of vinegar, and let the apples soak for a while. This helped get rid of the grocery store wax.

 

Our apples all ready to get their caramel bath going.

 We all took turns stirring our caramel. We stirred, and stirred some more. Then, we stirred a little bit more, and then a bit more. Don't quit stirring, unless you want crunchy burned bits in your caramel!

 Once the caramel arrived at soft ball stage, and we got our vanilla in, and the mixture cooled for a few minutes, the actual coating time flew by. You want to work as quickly as possible, otherwise, the caramel starts to thicken up, and it is a tad more difficult to get a good smooth coating on. Once I had the apples covered, I blew on them a little bit, to help set the caramel a little. Then, Big Sister and Big Brother rolled the apples in the different coatings.

If you are interesting in starting this project for your family, here is my layout for our project labels.

Thrift Store Finds

I, as many other crafters, have fallen in love with the wonderful world of Pinterest. If you aren't familiar with Pinterest, it is a tool used to "pin" links and favorites to your account, which in turn shares the links with other users on Pinterest. There is a wealth of information, links, and ideas.

You can follow me here -

I have found so many great ideas and inspirations on Pinterest. I am definitely looking at secondhand things in a new light. It is amazing how easy it is to transform things into something new. Things I would normally not give a second look, now ignite a creative spark in my brain. I can't wait to get my treasures home to begin their transformations.

On a recent trip with a sweet, awesome, funny and amazing friend of mine, we stopped at a couple area thrift stores. 

First, we stopped at good old Salvation Army. I had been here before, but it had been years. On this trip, I found this great, solid, aluminum frame containing a panorama of Munich, Germany. Aside from it being Munich, and aside from the fact we actually did live in Germany for 2 1/2 years, the price of the frame and picture was only *drumroll, please* $3.49! Yes, three dollars and forty-nine cents! It measures approximately 14" x 40." I couldn't pass this deal up. It is currently dismantled and ready for it's makeover.

 

I have been on the hunt for the base for those plastic bin toy units. I only need the base, and guess what, I found one! It is in good, sturdy shape. I'll just need to paint it to fit what I am using it for.

The next stop was this one thrift store I had heard of, but I had never stopped in, nor did I know exactly where it was located. I found several good deals here, and I can't wait to go back.

First, I found this...

It is the cutest little chair ever, except it is blue, and dirty. Baby bear is not a boy, although it really doesn't matter, I plan to give this a makeover as well. I've already taken it apart, and I'm in the process of putting new fabric on. I've had a few hiccups, but I think I've gotten the hang of it now!

I also found two apothecary jars, a CD rack and a small wooden tray. I plan to give the tray a makeover as well, and I just might do something with the CD rack..

This is a copper lantern I've actually had for years, but I didn't realize I could revitalize it by spraying it a new color. I think I might go with plain white, although I'm not 100% sure yet. You can see in the back how I've already started taping the glass off.

 Last project (for now) is to cover this magnetic dry erase board with scrapbook paper. Scrapbook paper covered dry erase board.

I figure papering it over vs. painting it will be better in case we decide to go back to this particular chore tracking system.

So, I just wanted to give a quick preview of what I've been up to lately! I can't wait to show off the finished products.