Pecan Pie in a Jar Label Edit

Oops! I just realized the lid printables were a little too big, so I resized & put all the labels on one 8.5x11 page for easier printing. Another thing to help make the presentation a little prettier is to put the Karo, sugar & vanilla in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves. It makes it a much prettier, less murky brown color. And I quadrupled the recipe so I don't have to do it as many times. Thanks, & enjoy! If you have any printing problems, feel free to shoot me an email.

Pecan Pie In A Jar

Tis the season for baking & gifting & crafting! Here's a little bit of everything all in one.

When I was out shopping the other day, I came across this Pecan Pie in a Jar at Williams Sonoma. I love this idea, so I decided to create my own version with my own label. I included the labels as jpg's so you can print on sticky paper, stick to your jar & gift to your favorite friend or holiday hostess! Here's what you'll need:

FOR THE JAR MIX:

Medium sized mason jar

1 heaping cup of Pecans

1 cup Dark Corn Syrup

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 tsp pure Vanilla

1/4 cup chocolate chips (if you have a big enough jar. You can put these in a separate tiny jar too if you want to keep them separate. See photo & additional label below).

TO BAKE THE PIE:

1 pre-cooked 9 inch pie shell (I like Sister Schubert's)

3 eggs

1/3 cup melted butter

First, toast the pecans. I toasted my pecans in the toaster oven with a little vanilla sugar & cinnamon for about 4 minutes. Mix the corn syrup, pecans, sugar & vanilla in a mixing bowl. Then pour the mixture in to the jar and BOOM! Christmas gift! Don't forget to add the directions though because it could get messy without the eggs & butter. You could also add a tiny jar of chocolate chips in case someone might like chocolate pecan pie. The first one I made, I added the chips into the jar, which worked fine, but the jar was too big & it looked weird. But, you can also double the recipe & use a really big jar. If you order adhesive paper online instead of an office supply store, you'll save about 20 bucks. Here's a link to some that will do just fine. 

So simple & so delicious. I got this text after I made it the first time! YES! Thanks, Reid!

I hope you enjoy! Email me with any questions, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Jett's 1st Birthday: A Circus Party!

It's been a month since Jett's birthday party, & I'm just now getting time to upload & post some of the photos. That pretty much sums up how much busier life gets when you have a one year old. I feel like each month is a little easier in some ways but also a lot harder. People aren't kidding when they say things like "Once they're mobile, you're gonna lose your mind." I always just thought they were over exaggerating, but learned quickly that they were not. Wow. Thank goodness my mom just moved here! That's big news at the Singleton household. Not only did she move to Nashville, but she moved NEXT DOOR! It's been amazing having her here :) She moved the weekend of the circus party! So we've been busy with Jett, packing, un-packing, moving things to storage, stocking Sugar's house with diapers, wipes, toys & all things Jett. Things are settling down a little now, so now I can share some of the birthday photos with you! Hooray!

I had the big carnival "S" made for Jonathan last Christmas, & it worked perfect for the circus decor!

I designed & printed the banner, & my mom & sister helped me hang a cheap piece of red fabric for the carnival tent entrance.

Candy Bar. Special thanks to Sarah & Kate for the M&M's :)

Clown noses

Lachlan, the official circus party greeter. "Dun dun du nu nu nu dun dun dun dun, afro CIRCUS!" Sorry this is sideways, I'm tired.

Pretty popcorn bags from Jillybeankids.com 

The cake was beautiful & delicious!

Blurry photo, but my niece Clara sewed this cape for Jett. There's also a mask. Yep, she's awesome.

Jett & his Nana had some cotton candy :)

This is Clara.

He was fascinated with the lion mane

Jett loves his Paw Paw. And his wagon from some of our lovely friends!

Funcle Dan was excited when all the kids were excited about his gift...Until he discovered he had to blow it up and assemble it. Baahahahahaha!

He liked the cake, but wasn't as in to it as I thought he'd be. The giggles were post-several bites of icing :)

Such a fun day. I definitely teared up when everyone was singing "Happy Birthday." It finally hit me that he was ONE at that exact moment! I have a ONE YEAR OLD!! Well, 13 month old now. Time really does fly. Parents, enjoy every second.

Thanks for checking in on the blog! I'll be posting more photos soon on my Facebook. 

A Letter to my Pre-pregnancy Jeans: It's not me, it's you.

Dear Pre-pregnancy Jeans, 

It's not me, it's you. You seem to have changed so much since I first bought you over 2 years ago. You sit there in my closet & mock me as I wriggle my once non-existent hips into those Spanx. I bet you're laughing when you think about my new found mom pooch all bundled up in there. It's like I blinked & you suddenly changed into a whole new pair of jeans. One that I've never seen before. It's like I don't even know you. We used to have so much fun together, but now when I see you, I realize that our relationship definitely isn't what it used to be. I used to just slide you right on with a little tank & just sit right on down without worrying about the muffin top overhang. But now…now I see you in a whole new light. I guess I kind of took you for granted though.

So, listen, I think I'm ready to give it another shot.  I mean, we DID have some good times together, right? I think maybe one day we can work it out. I guess I have to work myself out first. So, here's to trying to rekindle an old flame! See you soon, Suckas.

Sincerely,

Kayce 

Niagara Falls: Our First Adult Getaway Since Jett

Having a songwriter as a husband has lots of perks. One of which are trips that are paid for, or at least partially paid for. Luckily, one of Jonathan's awesome songwriter friends included him (and me) on a writer's night at Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls. We'd never seen the Falls, so we thought it would be a good opportunity to have a much needed adult weekend. In preparing for the trip, I realized it had been over a year since we'd had a vacation alone. And that's a really long time for what we're used to! So needless to say, we were both super excited. Canada wouldn't have been my first choice for an adult vacay, but I'm not complaining about a baby free weekend! Plus it turned out to be really fun! 

The first night, we were so stoked to be out & not have to worry about Jett (thanks, Mom!) that we just ran around the casino like a couple of crazy people who'd never been  in public before. I definitely sat at the video black jack table too long, & Jonathan definitely put way too many $20's in the slot machines. (I miiiight have put a 20 in the Sex & the City machine & got waaaay too excited when I won 16 bucks…) But it was so fun just being silly & being with each other. I'm not sure when it happened, but I realized how old I'd been feeling before. This little getaway reminded me of the crazy times we had before we had Jett. Like when we first met & I was only 18 type young. It was fun, sweet, magical, carefree & irresponsible. Exactly what we needed! 

The next day, we slooowly got out of bed & went to breakfast. We had an amazing view of the falls, which was all the more reason to stay in bed a little longer, right? Anyway, we went to breakfast…Well, I guess you could call it brunch since it was almost noon by the time we got there.  Then, we walked down to see the pretty waterfalls & take some photos, then spent most of the afternoon looking at photos & videos of Jett thinking about how much we missed him. We even went back to newborn photos. I think Jonathan might have teared up once, but don't tell him I said so ;) That's when I realized just how bad we needed time to ourselves. 

After we got ourselves together, we went to relax a little before Jonathan had to play. Oh, I forgot the best part! The people in Canada are SO nice, but at the casino, they literally treated us like we were celebrities. I mean, they escorted us to our room in a private elevator. And that was after they had the LIMO come get us at the airport. Hahaha! Not bad for a first getaway. Getting the star treatment was definitely a plus. Jonathan hates it, but I just put my sunglasses on & act like I'm somebody :) Gimme my two days, people. Speaking of, I never got to share this video of me & Amanda getting paparazzi-ed in L.A. I like to pretend they were looking for US all night and then there we were! And Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert just happened to be there too! Ha! So, that's my 2 days + 5 seconds of fame. Back on track: we were escorted (haha! it's so funny now that I think about it) down to the green room before the show with the other songwriters. And being in a room of songwriters is entertaining enough on it's own. It was fun getting to spend some time with all of them as a group. Very nice guys & a very good show.

It was so fun to see Jonathan play again too. The first 8 years of our relationship, I probably didn't go more than a week without seeing him play, & since he's slowed down & focused more on writing, I've realized how much I miss seeing him in action! And it's really amazing to see him play songs he's written that a room full of people that we don't even know are singing along. I can't imagine how proud i'll be of Jett one day, because I almost cry just thinking about how proud I am of Jonathan for working so hard. It's been so exciting to see how things all played out. When we first met, we spent most of our time drinking beer & moonshine in a trailer in Cedar Grove, Tennesse. And now we're taking limos to Canadian casinos & being escorted everywhere! Hahahahaha! Sorry about the "haha's," but I keep laughing out loud every time I think about it. So, yeah, I'm very proud & happy for him. His talent blows me away every day. But do know that I loved that trailer in Cedar Grove & wouldn't have changed a thing about those days:)

So what all this comes down to is that it really is amazing that just one night or two away was able to kind of recharge us as a couple. We always get along & rarely fight, but we've never had to put anything or anyone else before each other or our relationship. We're learning how to be parents every single day, but equally important, we're learning how to keep the love we have for each other strong so we can be even better parents for little Jetterbug. We constantly work on communication, (as we're both pretty bad at it) & we've had to learn to find a balance in every day life so we don't end up being resentful or angry at each other. It happens sometimes, but we always figure out a way to work it out. It's really hard sometimes, but it's so fun watching Jonathan as a dad. He's even better as a dad than I ever imagined! 

Moral of the story for parents: Take some time for yourself & don't feel guilty about it. It will make your relationship stronger which will make you stronger as parents, which will make your kid stronger & happier. It's good to miss your kid (or kids) & have time to remember why you fell in love in the first place. So go get to planning your getaway! You'll be happy you did! Cheers!

View from our room

Skylon Tower. A 70-something year old man walked across a tightrope from here to the top of a hotel every night. With no harness. It was terrifying.

Self portrait

So pretty

Cute husband

Tilapia Tacos

Super easy & delicious summer dinner. I call them "Tilapia Tacos" because "Fish Tacos" sounds gross to me. It's pretty light & a lot of delicious. Even Jonathan loved these, & he's not a fan of fish in general. Unless it's shellfish. Anyway, here's the recipe: 

Tilapia Tacos

Ingredients:

Two Tilapia Filets

Tortillas of your choice

Shredded Pepperjack Cheese

Avocado

Cilantro

One lime, sliced

Santa Fe Tortilla Strips

Sour cream / Light sour cream

Seasoning:

Garlic Powder

Chili Powder

Cumin Powder

Red Pepper Flakes

Salt

Directions:

Spray tilapia filets with olive oil so the seasonings will stick better. Season the filets generously / to taste with the spices. (I do this & chop the cilantro & lime ahead of time so when I'm ready to eat, all I have to do is cook the fish.) Once it's seasoned, you can keep it covered in the fridge until you're ready to cook it. Spray a skillet with plenty of olive oil & let it heat to medium / medium high. You don't want it to get too hot as it will cook the fish too fast & it will be gross. So use your best judgement. Squeeze a wedge of lime on to each filet while cooking. I turn them when the edges start turning white. Then squeeze more lime on the other side. Once I think they're finished cooking, I'll flake them open with a spatula (just to be sure!) and break them in to taco sized pieces. 

For the tortillas, I wish I'd had the mini size, but I could only buy them in packages of 100, so I went with the medium sized. Usually to make the shells warm & sticky, I'll dampen a few paper towels & put a tortilla in between each one & microwave, but I didn't have any paper towels so I improvised & they turned out even better! (happy accident :D) I had some Chinet paper plates, so I put a little water in one & dipped the tortillas in there. Not a lot of water, just enough to cover the tortilla. I wet two plates & put the tortillas in between & popped in the microwave for 30 seconds. No more or they'll get hard. PERFECT! 

Once the tortillas are ready, spread desired amount of sour cream down the center. Add fish, cheese, cilantro, avocado & tortilla slices then top with another squeeze of lime juice. 

I'm telling you, these are better than any restaurant fish tacos you've ever had! And SO easy. I usually serve with cilantro parmesan corn on the cob, but didn't have time to toss that on the grill, so we just went with blue corn chips & salsa instead. 

This can serve up to 4 if you're using the medium tortillas, up to 6 with the minis.

Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to email me with any questions :) 

Sleeping Baby, Please do not Disturb!

All moms know, there's nothing worse than fighting to get a fussy baby to sleep, then something happening that wakes them up. We live in a pretty convenient location, so we have people stopping by pretty regularly. And then there's the UPS guy who rings the doorbell & runs while Buzz barks his head off, ultimately resulting in a mad baby whose nap just got cut short. Not a fun time for anyone involved. So in order to reduce the chances of Jett getting woken up during his very few & usually short day time naps, I made a friendly little sign to warn people when he's asleep. So take one & print it if you need it, & I hope it will be as effective for you as it has been for us! I laminated mine with contact paper & keep it by the door so I can easily stick it on there when we're headed upstairs for a nap. Happy Sunday, everybody! Here's to a good long undisturbed Sunday nap!

Happy 9 months, Jett!

I can't believe Jett is already 9 months old! Time goes by so fast. It feels like yesterday that we were coming home from the hospital. Our lives have changed in a way that only another parent can understand. People can tell you all day long how amazing & rewarding it is to be a parent, but until you experience it for yourself, I don't think it's possible to fully understand.  Parenting is a huge challenge & one of the hardest things I've ever experienced, but the good always outweighs the bad. And the bad is never really even that bad. I mean, getting peed on, getting poop on your sheets, & not sleeping for 3 months used to sound like my worst nightmare, but since I've become a mom, I just deal with it. It somehow becomes not only cute, but hilarious. As moms, we just learn to make it work! That's what we do :) Here's a few things I've learned along the way:

1. Listen to all advice given, but ultimately do what's best for you and your family

I can't tell you how many times I compared myself to other moms, existent or non-existent (aka, the idea of the perfect mom I had in my head). I think this is the worst thing you can do. You are a mom, therefore you are never a failure. You made a human. And birthed it. You know what's best for you & your baby more than anyone else in the world.

2. You don't have to overdo it on baby toys.

Through chatting with other moms & observing my own baby, I've learned that babies are much more interested in things like car keys, water bottles, remote controls, sunglasses & magazines. So don't stress if you don't have the latest & greatest of the baby toys. For the bigger things like Jumperoos, swings, & walkers, you can always check Craigslist too. Most of these items are easy to clean & you can get them at a fraction of the price.

3. Target diapers are good too.

At first, we ONLY used Pampers Swaddlers. Mostly because we weren't sure when Jett's diaper was wet, & theres a little line on there that changes color when they pee. But I bought Target brand once (once we figured out the wet diaper thing) & they're great! For generic, I'd suggest those & Costco brand.

4. Babies grow out of clothes really fast.

That's just a statement. There's nothing I can do to help you with that. Except maybe say buy a lot of different sizes when you're getting ready to have a baby.

5. It's OK to feel overwhelmed.

Between learning to be a mom, maintaining your relationship, maintaining your house, work, friends, family & everything in between, life can get really overwhelming. There's just no way around it. My best advice for this is to ask for help (and it's OK if you need it. I know we like to think we can do it all, but sometimes we just can't). During the first few months, know that your house will not be spic & span. My mom told me during one of those first crazy months when I was losing my mind that I was just going to have to let my house go a little & only focus on taking care of Jett. Once I figured that out, things were a lot easier. Thank God for moms!

6. Just when you think you'll never, ever, ever ,ever sleep again, the baby finally learns how to sleep.

That was the absolute hardest part about the first 3 months. I thought I was going to lose my mind! Jett was up every hour and a half to two hours, so we literally didn't have a full night's sleep for 3 solid months. Then one night, we put him to bed at 6:00 and he didn't wake up until 5:45! It was miraculous. That's when I finally started to feel like a normal human being again. 

7. Things WILL be different for you & your partner. Be patient & you'll eventually figure it out.

Jonathan & I were used to a very spontaneous, non-scheduled do-whatever-we-want type lifestyle. That doesn't quite work once there's a baby who depends on a schedule enters the picture. It's a huge adjustment, & you have to remember that it's not easy for either of you. Stay positive, choose your battles, and most importantly, communicate about how you're feeling. 

8. Enjoy every minute. It goes by so fast.

Happy 9 months, sweet Jett!