ARCHIBALD DOES INSTAGRAM

Archibald is officially out and about,

visiting places and meeting new faces. 

Hanging out on the set of VEEP,

'round every corner there's someone to meet.

So zip on over to Instagram's world,

plug in his handle and go for a whirl.

Cuz life just got big for this little guy

Even though chickens may never fly.

ARCHIBALD'S HANDLE:

theadventuresofarchibald

THE ADVENTURES OF ARCHIBALD

The Biaggne family is excited to announce that we are NOT pregnant. But we are getting ready to hatch something wonderful. Well at least my husband Tony is. Can men hatch things? Well yes they can! Tony has been working with Emmy Award winning actor Tony Hale on writing a children's book called "Archibald's Next Big Thing". They have been writing this amazing story based on an adorable character created by Victor Huckabee. The book will be published by Boxing Clever here in St. Louis which we could not be more excited about. Boxing Clever has brought an amazing team to the table to help this book become a reality.

Archibald's next Big Thing will be in bookstores this fall! Make sure to visit him and get on the mailing list at theadventuresofarchibald.com

Until then, enjoy this little number hosted by KMOV St. Louis.

MASON JAR BACKSPLASH

My sister and her husband recently moved to Pennsylvania and bought an adorable house that needed some updating to call it their own. We often get photos of what she is doing around the house and I am blown away by her talent and creativity. This is the sink they put in. I love the sink but am in even more love with the backsplash which Becky did herself. She came up with the idea of using broken Mason jars pieces. I just love love love this idea!

COCONUT CUPS

Um, yes please! Once again my friend Mindy shoved an unbelievable treat in my mouth during a quick visit to her house. I showed up Saturday morning to drop off some hand-me-downs for her wee little boy. I was raving about the coconut coffee I was drinking which, thank god, must have triggered her brain to pull out some pure heaven that was nestled in her freezer. My world exploded when she reached in and pulled out these frozen cups of layered coconut, almond and chocolate. They were beautiful, silky smooth, and immediately in my mouth. After one it was a done deal. I got home and made a batch. 

I can only hope my sons grow out of their clothes quicker so I can continue making these Saturday morning drop-offs. 

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/3 C Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
1/2 C Unrefined Coconut Oil, softened/melted
1/4 C Honey1 t Coconut or Vanilla Extract
1/2 C Dark Chocolate Chips
36 Whole Almonds

Using a 12 cup muffin tin, fill each cup with 3 whole almonds. Mix coconut flakes, coconut oil and honey in a bowl. Spoon mixture into cups covering almonds and filling cup about 1/3 full. 

Place muffin tin in freezer for 30 minutes until mixture is frozen.

In a small sauce pan melt chocolate chips. I added 1/2 T of coconut oil to keep chocolate smooth.

Once your coconut mixture in the freezer is ready spoon melted chocolate over each cup. 

Put your muffin tin back in the freezer for another 30 minutes until the chocolate topping is frozen. Don't worry, it doesn't take too long before you can bite into these lil' cups of pure goodness. Enjoy!

IS IT SPRING YET?

SEATTLE 2013

This past Thanksgiving we packed up and headed west to eat turkey, crab hunt and hang with dear friends. My husband put this little number together to capture just a tad of the memories and I just love it!

COCONUT PUMPKIN MIX

 

I have a dear friend that has a delicious habit when she comes to my house. Just about every visit she shows up with some type of food. I'm talking almost ALWAYS. Even when it's a visit where no food has been spoken of that we would potentially be partaking in. Yes, she still brings something. I love it! She is the one in fact that got me hooked on making my own granola. She showed up during a random visit with a baggie filled with home baked hippie crunch. That whole weekend I scarfed through it with my morning coffee. I was hooked. So this weekend she showed up with another ziploc of goodness filled with a coconut pumpkin mix. Oh. My. Lord. It is so delicious! I've been sprinkling it on my greek yogurt and am officially out. I'm heading out first thing to buy a bag of coconut flakes and all hell's gonna break loose! 

I added a few things to the original recipe my friend gave me because I HAVE to put vanilla and Chia seeds in everything. The below recipe is a tad different but the heart of it is the same.

COCONUT PUMPKIN MIX

STUFF:

1C Pepita Seeds

1C Slivered Almonds 

2C Shredded Unsweetened Coconut Flakes (Not shredded, flakes)

1T Chia Seeds 

1/2C Canned Pumpkin

1/4C Honey 

1T Coconut Oil 

1/2t Cinnamon

1/2t Vanilla

GIT 'ER DONE: 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Warm coconut oil, honey, cinnamon and 

vanilla in a small pan. Add canned pumpkin. Mix all other ingredients in 

mixing bowl. Pour warmed wet ingredients over nut/coconut mixture and 

mix well. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and bake for 40-55 minutes.

DO YOUR CHORES

Every kid's got 'em. If not they should. They live under your roof make them man up and help out once in a while. I will never understand parents who do not give their kids chores. Yes, I'm judging. Then there are parents who give their kids chores but don't give them any incentive except that they won't kick them out on the streets. Then there's the parents who give money incentives because they want their kids to learn the payoff of hard work means you can buy fake vomit or a new video game. My husband and I fall into that camp. 

Everyone goes about chores differently. In order for our kids to stick with it we felt it was necessary for them to feel ownership of their chores. A couple ways to do that was to make them their own chart that THEY are in control of. We helped create some chores for the board in the beginning but we gave them the ability to add their own as well. They also get a full week on their own timing to complete their chores. It's worked out quite well and is still going strong almost a year later. Along the way we have been able to teach our kids the value of a buck, how to save, how to pay and how to giveaway. And that has been worth every penny and mound of fake vomit.

Our chart consists simply of a rope for each boy. A clothespin is worth 1 chore. They move 5 pins (chores) above the line within one week they get their allowance. Payout happens every Saturday morning and the pins are all moved back under the line. The boys can also make the decision to donate a portion of their allowance to our favorite charity, Living Water International.

WEE BALLS OF ENERGY

So yea...these are ALL over the internet so I'm not coming up with anything magical and new here. But, I seriously go through these little balls almost as much as my family pumps through Sriracha. So I will post them because they deserve as much praise as my own children. That is how awesome they are.

I hate measuring when it comes to cooking so I'm guesstimating portions for you. And honestly these guys go over best if you flavor them to taste. You need them in your life and they need you so just add what you need to make sure you love them. Love cinnamon? Then add a whole honkin' more. Hate Sunflower butter? Then use Almond butter. Etc. Feel free to adjust.

Here are some of the tasty treats you get to dump in your mixing bowl:

(Wet ingredients that hold her all together)
1/2 C Sunflower or Almond Butter
1/3 C Honey
2 t Vanilla
1 t Coconut Oil

(Dry ingredients)
1 C Raw Oats
1/2 C Coconut Flakes
1/4 C Ground Flax Seeds
2 T Chia Seeds
2 t Cinnamon
1/4 C Pecans, Walnuts or Sunflower Seeds
Dried Cranberries
Dark Chocolate Chips

Simply mix all the above goodness together. Add more of anything that seems lacking.

Once everything is mixed form into small balls. Drop them into a container, each layer divided by wax paper. Refrigerate.

These have become a staple for me every morning at work before I start designing for the day. Pair them with your favorite coffee and you will move mountains with the energy they generate. I love these wee balls of energy! I hope you do to.

HOBO WATER SLIDE

Hobo water slide. Yes we are in the middle of winter which makes it the perfect thing to start concocting for the summer coming up. All you need is a honkin' roll of plastic (found at Home Depot), environmentally safe dish soap, a water hose, and some kick butt fun kids.

Find the tallest hill in the neighborhood and unroll your monster sheet of plastic as far as she will go. Drop a hose at the top and turn her onto "trickle". Every 30 minutes or so add a squeeze of dish soap at the top to add that extra slippery goodness. In our family we call it "jet fuel". Get as many kids as you can to line up at the top of hobo mountain. Then, the craze begins. Yes it is fun. Yes it is muddy. And yes you'll find grass in your kid's suit for about a week. But in the end it is cheap, fun, and something they soon won't forget.

Extra tip: Add tent stakes at the top to hold the plastic in place.

SNOWFLAKES NEVER HAD SO MUCH FUN

Snow NEVER gets old for this girl. Stunning photography by #tonybiaggne.

DECOR AMORE

Tony's video he wrote for Bruton Stroube made Vimeo Staff Pick. I LOVE where he gets to work nowadays and can not wait to watch the creativity continue to ooze from his pores. Way to go Bruton! Unbelievable work!

SLED DOG

Our German Shepherd Bamboo on a snow day. Chasing two boys while riding down hills on their sleds can get exhausting.

OUTDOOR TORTOISE PEN

I always get asked where I keep my tortoises and if I bring them inside during the winter. The answer is I keep them outside in two different tortoise gardens from late spring through early fall depending on the temperature. The three tortoises I have do not hibernate so they head indoors during the colder part of the year. Two of my babies are African Spurred tortoises (they are the brown ones). The third one is a Redfoot (she is the blacker one). Now both my Spurred tortoises are male and they tend to charge after each other in an attempt to fight for dominance. It drives our German Shepherd crazy. If they are out in the yard together and she hears them fighting she will barrel out the back barking her head off trying to break up the madness. She likes peace among the animals. So my larger guy (Oliver Boo) has his own bachelor pad. Yoda (the smaller Spurred tortoise) lives in a swanky part of the yard with Paluka the Redfoot. Both gardens are far from each other so there's no lingering stress over fences or anything. All gardens have tons of shade and tons of space to sun in. They also include edible plants and fresh water. The best part of having tortoises is you will never have to partake in the mess of composting. When cooking we always have a "tortoise bowl" on the counter where all veggie and fruit scraps go. At the end of the day the bowl gets dumped into both pens and devoured by three very spoiled hard-shelled critters.

DIM BATHROOM VANITY

All of the bathrooms in our sweet little foreclosure are in desperate need of updating. So, with that in mind we started by remodeling our guest bathroom. We didn't want to put too much money into this space since it is the smallest bathroom in the house. Especially because the master bath is huge and is awaiting a total gut this summer. So with our pockets and priorities set, we went after this project on a shoestring budget. 

We decided to keep the shower and toilet but to remove the very dated sink. By painting the room white and putting down gray tile it was already feeling like a breath of fresh air. After that phase my next beast to tackle was the sink. I wanted to spend little if no money on building the base and luckily got away without spending much. Using some leftover bamboo wood and barn beams I was able to put this little number together. Another random piece sitting in the garage just waiting to be used was the stainless steel sink bowl. What we did have to purchase was the faucet and backsplash. In the end the total sink cost us only about $115. Suck on that Restoration Hardware who wanted us to spend $1200. In the end we topped off the bathroom by installing cedar wood planks. The room is so warm and inviting not only do you want to take a bubble bath, but rolling out a sleeping bag wouldn't be so bad either.

SALT LAMP I HEART YOU

One of the many stinkin' fabulous Christmas gifts I received this year was this Himalayan salt light. I am in love with this thing. Salt lamps are known to help improve your health and well-being as they act as natural air filters. Studies have shown they provide health benefits including improved immunity, relief from migraines and a better night's sleep. So not only does it do its part in making me healthier, it gives off a great glow and during an emergency can act as a deer salt lick. 
 

TOMATO PIE CAFE

Hands down the best slice of tomato pie ever. Period. And that concludes this post. 

Best slice of tomato pie ever located at:

Tomato Pie Cafe

23 North Broad Street

Lititz, PA, 17543

TONY MEETS TONY

If you are at all with it than you have heard of Emmy award winning Mr. Tony Hale. Tony has played such characters as Buster on the TV show Arrested Development, Gary Walsh on HBO's VEEP, as well as an appearance on Drunk History via the Comedy ChanneL . . . just to name a few. A while back my husband met Tony through an interview that took place here in St. Louis (pictured above). Immediately the two boys hit it off and they've been friends ever since. 

The two have been working on a few projects together and it has been fun to watch to say the least. One of which we hope to launch Fall of 2014 which will stay under wraps until then. A fun opportunity Tony gave my Tony was to help him come up with answers for Entertainment Weekly's "10 ways Tony Hale was prepping for the Emmys" as he was up for nomination for Best Support Actor. Which he won by the way! Here were the end results.

Tony (my Tony) also had the pleasure of visiting Tony (Hale) on the set of VEEP during filming this past fall. The trip turned out to be a blast for both and I would like to mention at this point I stayed home to watch the boys. Yes, Tony (both Hale and my Tony) owe me one! Here is Tony in the chair of Mrs. Vice President, Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Don't forget to look for a post coming this fall about the Tony + Tony project launch. It is simply going to be wonderful!

BRASS GLARE OF NONSENSE

Wow. Look at that beauty of a space. This is a picture taken of our living room while the previous owners still lived at the house. No wonder it was hard to sell. One night while we were watching a movie I was distracted by the brass glare of nonsense around the fireplace. During a commercial I walked over to the wall and started dismantling the fireplace front. Our boys started questioning my actions and asked why mommy was destroying the house. Tony, my husband, knows better. He knows to sit quietly when I have these bursts of destruction for two reasons. One, I will jump down his throat if he questions my sporadic behavior. Two, he knows in the end it will look much better than what we started with. So with that, our living room remodeling began. Ready, or not.

I am not one to plan. I do not sketch things out on paper or create powerpoint presentations of how whatever I'm destroying or building will save the world, make sense, or how it will look. I just start moving things forward with force until I turn what's in front of me into what I imagine in my head. And yes, that can be scary. Especially to a husband that is a huge planner and powerpoint maker.

The process took a while and we still have some work to do. But for now it is much better than what we started with!