Stuffed Peppers, Crepes and My Daughter's Birthday Gifts 🎁

Hello everyone! I'm happy to see you on my blog. I hope your hearts are filled with sunshine, joy, happiness, love and prosperity. 🌞 Today we wanted to have some fun with the kids and go out. I got ready, washed my hair, did my makeup and used my new mascara, it's really fantastic. It's a Louis brand mascara. It has a silicone brush that adds volume and length to lashes, doesn't clump and lasts all day. And the price is quite reasonable. There's a cliché that good makeup products have to be expensive, but I don't think that's true. I'm very happy with this mascara; my lashes have never looked this fabulous. My mom tried it too and she liked it a lot. I'll order one for her too.

We were on our way to an entertainment center to entertain the kids early in the morning. 🚗 It's where we celebrate my daughter's birthday. There are fewer people in the early hours, maybe no one at all. We thought we'd have the whole pool to ourselves, the weather was nice and the sun was shining. Indeed, there was hardly anyone there; some people would come and stay for a short while, then leave. We stayed for about two hours, which was enough. Besides the pool, there were many different toys, puzzles and games for younger kids too. 🎈

We came back home, had lunch and rested a bit. On our way back, we stopped by the market and got some things. We got some of the routine groceries we often buy: milk, butter, sausages and lately, we've been buying a brand from Finland. There's also sausage from Denmark, which is also very delicious. Then we got honey, eggs, mashed potatoes (my husband loves it), grapes, beef, lemon, tomatoes, cucumber and green onions. I also got sour cream, it's in the fridge. I washed all these items and put them in their places.

I washed all the groceries, everything is clean. I poured the milk into the bottle, sliced the sausage. Now only the meat was left; I chopped it and made minced meat because I was planning to make stuffed peppers for dinner. However, we forgot to buy bell peppers, so I had to go out and get a few ingredients. Also, we ran out of nuts and dates, so I bought them too. I also wanted to get curtains for the kitchen. Our window slides to the left, so the curtains look a bit different. So, we're debating whether we really need curtains. Also, the price of curtains is quite high, so for now, I was just thinking of getting sheer curtains. It's risky to get curtains without matching the color of the chairs at home.

I want to show you my shopping too: I got cashews, almonds and bell peppers. 🛒 I also got a few cleaning products: wet wipes, cotton buds. I also got rinse aid for the dishwasher, I always use that. I also got deodorant, completely natural and very good. I've bought this deodorant several times, I'm really pleased with it.

My daughter prepared a salad. It looked very delicious. I ate it and started making stuffed peppers.

First, I sautéed onions and carrots, then boiled the rice. I prepared the minced meat mixture to fill the peppers, then stuffed and cooked them. I placed potato slices between the peppers to make them more compact. I added hot water and seasoned with spices and cooked for about 40-50 minutes. Finally, I added some greens and the meal was ready.

I did some cleaning. I want to completely revamp the kids' room, to create a different atmosphere. So our old children's room is going to change and over time, it will transform into something entirely new. I don't know how quickly this will happen, but we'll do it as fast as we can. I have a vision of how it should be, so we'll work toward that.

Then, I wanted to make some crepes. 🥞 I hadn't made them in a long time, so I wanted to make a nice stack of crepes. I find it hard to get the perfect crepe recipe. I've tried many recipes, some with kefir, some with boiling water, but they always used too much flour, which I didn't like. To make the recipe lighter, I always added less flour, but still couldn't get the texture I wanted. Maybe it's something about the pan, or maybe it's something else. Finally, I feel like I’ve found the perfect crepe recipe through trial and error. There are some differences in this recipe: normally, you start with eggs and sugar during mixing, but in my recipe, it's done a little differently. Is it the ideal crepe recipe? Yes, but I reduce the flour a bit, so the crepes are thinner and softer.

Here's what we need for this recipe: four eggs, one liter of warm milk, a teaspoon of baking soda, flour (normally 2.5 cups, but I'll add a bit less), two tablespoons of sugar (optional; you can add more or less), a pinch of salt and two tablespoons of olive oil. You might also need a bit more oil to grease your pan.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and salt. Then, set the eggs aside and in a deeper bowl, mix the milk and flour. There's about a cup and a half of flour. I sift the flour and mix it with the milk to get a smooth consistency.

After mixing the milk and flour, I add the egg mixture and continue beating. Finally, I mix 200 ml of boiling water with a teaspoon of baking soda and add it to the batter, constantly stirring. Then I added vegetable oil. I let the batter rest for a while, during which I prepared the pan.

I cook the crepes in two pans because it goes faster this way. One of the pans is from Tefal and the other is a different brand but has similar features. I got my Tefal pan on sale and the other from another store. Both pans are good, but they could be better. Maybe thicker-bottomed pans would be more suitable for crepes. However, overall, I'd rate them seven or eight out of ten. I use vegetable oil to grease the pans initially and after cooking the crepes, I brush them with melted butter, which adds to their flavor.

My stack of crepes turned out quite big, I don't know exactly how many I made, because some were eaten while cooking! The kids always grab a few crepes during cooking.

As for the latest developments with the bed in the kids room, my daughter is currently sleeping on a temporary mattress. But her new bed will be arriving soon. It usually takes 3-4 business days to manufacture, but they said they'd deliver it earlier if it was ready sooner. We delayed ordering the new bed because we wanted to sell the old one first. We made some money from it and we didn't have space for the old bed anyway. Right now, my daughter is sleeping on a mattress, but everything is going well.

I'm also considering replacing the wardrobe in the room, because that's another thing that needs to change. The cost estimate for the new wardrobe was quite high, so I'm not sure when we'll be able to get it. But for now, we're starting with the bed. Also, we need to choose the color of the new bed. I prefer light colors. For example, I'm thinking of cream or beige tones. Here are some examples; my favorite is the light cream ones. I'm trying to avoid a dark headboard. It would be better if the headboard were a bit lighter.

Also, the new bed won't have a footboard. The old bed had a footboard, which was very bulky and heavy. This made the room look smaller. The new bed will be lighter and simpler, so we hope it will make the room look more spacious. We're waiting and looking forward to the new bed.

Lastly, I want to show you the gifts my daughter received for her birthday. Most of the gifts were in the form of cash, so she can choose what she wants. One of the gifts is a miniature house. This box at the top shows the finished product's size. The dimensions are 30x23.5x7.2 cm, but I'm not sure if this is height, or width, or something else. Maybe it refers to the floor height. Anyway, it doesn't matter. This set requires building a house by folding, gluing and cutting certain pieces. As you can see, it looks quite realistic and stylish. My daughter was very excited when she saw this. Maybe this could be an idea for a gift if your kids are interested in crafts. Now let me open the box to show you what's inside.

There are quite a few interesting things in the box. For example, there are stencils, some cardboard pieces that might need to be cut and folded. These are pieces used for green decorations. This area is perforated, maybe it's an instruction manual. Some parts might need to be cut. There are also floors covered with a clear layer. Aline was very surprised when she opened it, because the floor looked like laminate and everything was quite realistic. There are different pieces, like walls, floors and more.

Also, the set has a clear dome to protect the house because it will need to be protected from dust when it's finished. There are other wooden pieces, structures for verandas, wire pieces, beads, stones and small staircase steps. These kinds of details make the house more realistic. Other details include a tiny sink, bathroom accessories, headboards and furniture legs. Some pieces are gold-plated, some are wooden. Overall, it will be quite an interesting and fun project.

There's also another gift set. This set is for making a doll. It contains instructions on how to make a doll, fabrics, small accessories, shoes and more. You don't need a sewing machine for making the doll; it can be done by hand. The set includes the necessary materials for sewing.

These kinds of gift sets can be great gifts for kids. If kids are interested in crafts, this kind of gift could be a great choice. These sets are also available in online stores. So, if you're looking for something similar, you'll definitely find it.

My daughter loves these kinds of projects and she was very happy with the miniature house and the doll-making set. Now she can use these sets to showcase her creativity.