{Crochet Suck Pads}

Very recently, I became a happy owner of Beco Gemini baby carrier. My baby loves it, but they don't come cheap! So to protect the straps from drool, spit-up and chewing, I highly recommend getting/making some suck pads. These are usually sewn from cotton fabric. Although I can sew a little bit (and these ARE pretty easy to do), I'm not good enough to figure out velcro, clips, etc. I crochet, that's what I like!

These suck pads are SUPER easy to do - all you need to know are a few simple crochet stitches and how to crochet in a round. The suck pads will be slip-on.

{Tip: Yarn Winding}

Let's face it, you've ever tried knitting or crocheting, you have run into a problem with size, or pattern, or something else that you've required you to loose the yarn again. If you decide to do so early enough, winding it back is rarely a problem. If however, you have a lot to wind back, or if you bought yarn that comes in a skein rather than a ball, you might have a bit of a mess on your hands.

In my most recent case, I decided to crochet myself a top. However, I didn't really like part of the pattern offered by the diagram, so I substituted it for something else. Problem - sizing became an issue (the pattern I chose wasn't as stretchy making my future garment too small for me to wear).

So I loosen it... all of it... The prospect of winding it was daunting. That is until I found a pencil to sacrifice and my handy drill!!! It's SUPER quick and easy:

* just wind a little bit onto the pencil by hand,
* tighten the end of the pencil into the drill, and push the "trigger"
* while doing the above, direct the yarn up and down the pencil to even out the distribution on yarn on the pencil.

See, I promised that this would be an easy hack!

Cheers,
Nadia

{Fluffy Pancakes}

My mom and grandma make the best fluffy pancakes hands down! Living in Canada, I haven't been able to replicate it as their recipe calls for use of kefir, a type of fermented milk product (they do sell it in stores here; although close, it's not quite the same in my opinion).

Finally, about 6 months ago I came across this recipe that yields awesome fluffy pancakes that everyone in my family can't get enough of! Try it, and I'm sure it will become your new Sunday favourite.

{Easy Basic Salsa Recipe}

A short time ago, I was given about 10 lbs of tomatoes. Although I absolutely love tomatoes, there's just no way to eat that much before they spoil. I decided that doing some preserves would be the best option, and salsa is a great choice! I've looked through a number of recipes before settling on this particular one. I like it because it's simple, requires basic ingredients (no fancy spices), cooking time is long enough that there's no processing of jars to follow. It's simple, fresh and delicious!

(click on images to enlarge)