It's Good for the Heart

Monster Valentine's Box

2012-02-15T06:38:00.000-08:00

I know it's the day after Valentine's Day and I'm pretty sure the only one who reads this blog is my mom but I wanted to keep record of the fun Valentine's box I made with my son.

After a quick and unsuccessful search on the Internet {I find it a bit sad this comes before my own brainstorming most of the time!!} I came up with this little guy on my own {gasp}.

One cereal box + wrapping paper + cardstock + pipecleaner + Silhouette {of course optional}

= a cute V day monster

Just number 1,345 why I love my Silhouette Cameo!

DIY Valence

2011-09-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

My boys room was looking a little dull a couple months back and decided it was in need of some cute curtains or a valence to brighten it up! I looked online and in stores and didn't find anything that I wanted so I decided to make one myself! {I must have had a good nights rest the night before}

This was very simple and I am happy with how it turned out.

I simply cut squares of fabric, sewed right sides together leaving a little gap to turn and sewed them all together. The great thing was that I could hide the gap I left in the seams- so quick and easy.

But make sure you don't forget to have the red hooks inside when you sew up your squares!!!

Strip Quilt

2011-09-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

My friend is havin a baby....and every baby needs a little quilt right??

I saw a picture of a quilt awhile back on Pinterest that had the caption "The Easiest thing to do with a Jelly Roll"

I had to check it out and well turns out they were right! This quilt was SO easy and fun to make.{even for the super beginner quilter like me} Even though I didn't use a jelly roll and had to cut my own strips- it was still easy. I can't imagine having all the cutting done for me!!

{view of back}

I will for sure be making many more of these in the future.

Fabric Bookmarks

2011-08-03T20:35:00.000-07:00

I am an aunt to 10 adorable girls. Recently, I was thinking about how I wanted to step it up to become a "cooler" aunt. I live so far away from all of them which at times, makes it hard- but certainly not impossible. I saw these fabric bookmarks over at Little Birdie Secrets and decided it would be the perfect gift for my girls!!

(Get tutorial HERE)

This was such a fun project!! The possibilities are endless!! I finished them during my vacation in Utah and lucky enough, 4 of my nieces were in town!! It was fun to make them part of it and get their opinion on which flower and button to pair with each bookmark.

This is for sure a project I will want to repeat many more times!!

4th of July Quilted Table Runner

2011-06-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

I started this project months ago and FINALLY got it done {and just in the nick of time}

{pre wash}

I saw the idea for a quilted table runner of at Diary of a Quilter and knew I need to make one.

Check out the great tutorial here! It's wonderful, especially for the beginning quilter like me.

I love the idea of using strips of fabric, so nice to put some of my leftovers to good use!! I have SO much to learn and need a whole lot more practice binding but happy with how it turned out!

I now have the quilting bug and can see Christmas and Halloween table runners in the future!

Dry Erase Menu Board

2011-06-07T06:50:00.000-07:00

I finally did a craft!! Yahoo, it's been awhile! Even better, I crafted with a friend which ALWAYS makes projects so much more fun. We saw this idea for a Dry Erase Menu Board via Pinterest/Make and Takes and knew we had to make one for ourselves!

This project was super fun and EASY! I have been dying to get myself organized when it comes to menu planning and I think this board is a step in the right direction.

All you need is a frame {got mine at the $ store}

scrapbook paper

paint, ribbon, vinyl {optional}

If you don't want your days of the week vinyl, you can always hand write them.

For mine, I decided to glue some magnets on the back so it can go on my fridge! I love love love it!!!

Full tutorial here

A Health Kick!!

2011-05-17T20:57:00.000-07:00

We have been trying to eat a bit healthier at our house recently and wanted to post some of our recent favorite {healthy} snacks!!!

First off, I need to share with you what I have for breakfast almost EVERY morning. Oatmeal.

I have a thing for oatmeal- I'm kind of an oatmeal snob. My grandma made it for me all the time growing up and have loved it ever since... but it has to be just right. And no, it's not the microwave stuff.....

The key to the perfect bowl of oatmeal... in my opinion.. is to not overcook the oats.

For a heart healthy portion {my daily portion}

Bring 1.5 cups water/ a dash of salt to boil

{I actually use a little less than 1.5 cups...I don't like mine runny at all}

Add 3/4 cup oats and let boil for like 20 seconds. Turn to simmer immediately.

I do this right when I get up and then go about my other morning responsibilities while its simmering. I even turn it off after a bit and let it sit. I like waiting a bit to make sure all the water has evaporated and the oatmeal is lukewarm. Weird, maybe.... but its delicious!

I then put my oatmeal in the bowl... top with brown sugar and milk! YUM!! So so great.

Lately, I have been topping mine with raspberries & strawberries and eliminating the sugar. Makes for a healthy and delicious breakfast!

Granola (photo and recipe found at Katie Did):

I'm obsessed with the stuff. This recipe is great and super simple. It makes your whole house smell heavenly while cooking and tastes even more amazing after. I made it for the first time when my parents came to visit and we snacked on it all weekend. I've made it three more times since. My 3 year old even loves it- This granola tastes great by itself, in yogurt, bowl of milk... whatever

Speaking of yogurt... we are really loving {trendy} Greek Yogurt. Mix some granola and a little honey with your Greek Yogurt and you're in for a treat!!

Another recipe we have loved is the Veggie Muffins found on the MADE blog

{image from MADE blog as well}.

I didn't think my son would gobble these up like promised..... but seriously... he did! He did not want to stop eating them. Who knew broccoli/carrot/banana/prune juice muffins could taste so good!!

Green Smoothies {Image and recipe found at OCP}-

These are for sure a new favorite at our house. May sound or look gross but they are delicious and a great way to sneak spinach into your kid's diet. Again, my boy goes CRAZY for these..... and so do I!!

Trader Joes Blue Corn Tortilla Chips- Can't get enough of these..... seriously, the three of us can down a bag in one day- If you live near a TJ's- you must try them!!

So there you have it!!

Now if only I could replace that nightly bowl of ice cream with an apple I would be good!

{p.s. Have you checked out Pinterest??? If not you are MISSING OUT!!! If healthy snacks just aren't your thing....I have plenty of tasty treats pinned and ready to test out!! Be my friend here to see!!}

Sprinkle Birthday Shirt

2011-05-17T19:59:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been awhile!! Even my husband noticed that I hadn't blogged on here for awhile... now that's sayin' something!! The babe is 3 months and I am finally feeling somewhat in control of things again... somewhat!

Anyway, when I saw the Sprinkle Shirt on the MADE blog, I knew it was perfect for my sons birthday shirt. Even though the number 3 wasn't the most even and easiest to embroider around, I like how it turned out!!!

It was such a fun project to work on and very easy!!!

Birthday Countdown!

2011-04-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

My son's birthday is fast approaching and since he LOVES advent calenders (just like his mama)- I thought it would be fun to make one and help build the anticipation to his big day!

I got most of my inspiration from Nap Time Journal's Cupcake countdown.... when I saw it, I knew I had to make one for myself.

I have a lot of felt leftover from my felt playhouse so this project cost me nothin'.

I am planning on having him take away one candle a day (which are velcroed to the cupcake)- Doing this will leave us with the BIG orange one { permanently sewn on} to mark his big day!

{I made a total of 9 removable candles so if we use all of them, the countdown is ten days prior to birthday, ten makes things a bit crowded.. but more fun- right!}

The candles are made with two pieces of felt and some yellow ribbon

{notes: The backing and orange hook are both made out of two pieces of felt sewn together.}

This was such a fun and surprisingly quick project.

Let the countdown begin... I know one little guy who is pretty excited!!

St Patrick's Day fun!!

2011-03-03T12:32:00.000-08:00

So for those of you who have read my blog for awhile now may remember my LOVE I have for St. Patrick's Day. With the 17th fast approaching, I have found myself surfing for fun ideas during my mid night feedings.. ha!! I have found some GREAT ideas that I am excited to try and had to share!

Secrets of a Super Mommy posted last year 17 fun things to do for St Patrick's day. If you are going to go to any of these links... go to this one- Holy Smokes..... so many fun ideas!!!

She also has a list of foods you can eat to celebrate the day!

My Delicious Ambiguity also has a lot of great ideas: Lots of cute printable links and crafts/ learning activity for kids!

I LOVE this wreath!! Idea found at The Magic of Ordinary Things

Family fun is always a great resource for anything!!

My son and I may try this today-

and of course some fun Subway art at eighteen25

And for those that didn't catch my St Patrick's traditions and ideas last year here are some links....

Guest post over at Tatertots and Jello

more ideas

Wreath

If you have any fun traditions let me know!! I would be happy to add them to the list!

Our Best Bites!!

2011-02-26T15:25:00.000-08:00

I am so excited!!! I just ordered this cookbook-

I have been following Our Best Bites blog for years now and was SO excited to hear they were publishing their very own cook book!!!

Some exciting things about this book (taken from their blog) include:

-A Rollover Ingredient list: which gives you ideas for what to make when you buy a unique ingredient and don't use the whole thing in one recipe.

-Recipe Tags: to easily spot things like quick and easy meals, or things you can make ahead.

-Serving suggestions: references for accompanying dishes to make meal-planning easy!

Plus tons of tips and mini tutorials!! And oh their pictures.....

I am positive I will be pleased with my purchase and can't wait to have a whole bunch of new recipes to try. (They have 40 new recipes not included on their blog)

Now I will just have to figure out how to cook with a 2 year old and a newborn!!

Perfection

2011-02-20T09:18:00.000-08:00

My big project is finally complete

and I must say (can't say this about ANY of my past projects) everything turned out perfectly!!!

So for now, I am just enjoying my {Perfect} little guy but will hopefully get back to doing

"less perfect" projects here soon!!!

Until then, enjoy this amazing recipe. I couldn't get enough of it!! I made it twice within 3 days-perfect for any nursing or non nursing mother! SOO good!!

Hershey's Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Recipe found here (All Recipes)

Ingredients

3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup HERSHEY®'S Cocoa Powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup HERSHEY®'S Cocoa Powder
1 1/4 cups hot water

Directions

Heat oven to 350 F. Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla; beat until smooth.
Pour batter into ungreased 9-inch square baking pan. Stir together remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa; sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot water over top; do not stir.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes. Serve in dessert dishes, spooning sauce from bottom of pan over top. Garnish with whipped topping, if desired.

Enjoy!!

Felt Playhouse!!

2011-01-22T21:53:00.000-08:00

It's done!!

I was able to finish my son's felt playhouse just in the nick of time- right before we headed home for Christmas break. It was quite the process but well worth it and am very happy with how it turned out!!

Unless you are new to all the crafty blogs... you have most likely seen this playhouse at Homemade by Jill.

My friend and I loved hers so much we felt like we better not change it up too much :)

Thanks again Jill for the amazing idea and tips!!

Check out her site for great templates and suggestions on how to make your own!!

(on this side, the strawberries are velcroed on)

Grocery Bag Holder

2011-01-11T11:36:00.000-08:00

Ok so I have been nesting like crazy over here.

I stayed put all day yesterday due to some gross winter weather and began attacking

areas of my house that needed a little organization!!

One that was at the top of my list was the pantry.

After cleaning up the pantry, I saw this major problem lurking in the corner...

I was having a serious problem.....

grocery bags were spilling out of this bag and taking up SO much space.

I remember seeing a tutorial here at Make it and Love It

(you can also see some cute examples here too!)

and decided I better make one for myself that night!

I must say this was one of my favorite projects..... weird because it's a grocery bag holder and will just be hanging out in the pantry......but it was a lot of fun to make!!! (and SUPER EASY!!!)

(before stuffed)

(after, all ready to be used)

So check out the directions and make one for yourself, or for a gift. I am always on the look out for fun homemade wedding gifts and think this would be a great one!!!

3 tier serving tray

2011-01-09T18:24:00.000-08:00

My SuPeR creative friend recently showed me a great way to make a 3 tier serving tray!!

It was very simple and overall, a really fun project!!

Unfortunately I only took one photo of my completed project before I gave it away to my cousin

at her bridal shower, oh well- I think you can get the picture!!!

Here's how you make one for yourself

you need:

3 plates (I found mine at TJ Maxx for cheap, they had a lot of great options!)

3 cups-preferably with a handle to give it the antique/vintage look

Clear Caulk (or any strong adhesive)

The process is simple- start with your largest plate (if you are using different sized plates)

and start stacking...

plate...cup....plate....cup....plate

There is no right or wrong way with how you position your cups (if they have handles) just focus on getting everything centered and it will look fabulous in the end!!!

Like everything I make... I now want one for every holiday and are constantly on the look out for fun cheap plates wherever I go!!!

Egg Nog Upside Down French Toast

2010-12-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

A month ago I was browsing down the aisles at one of my favorite grocery stores

when a sweet lady offered my son and I a sample of Egg nog and

this amazing Egg nog French Toast recipe.

She raved about it and I promised her I would make it.

Oh I am so glad I did.

It's way too good not to share and

I know we will be making it at least every Christmas season!

Egg nog Upside Down French Toast

(* note the recipe calls for over night refrigeration!!!)

2T corn syrup

1/2 c butter, melter

1 C brown sugar

2 eggs beaten

1 1/2 C Egg nog

1/2 t vanilla

1/4 t salt

Ground cinnamon and nutmeg

French bread

Whipping Cream

Directions: Combine corn syrup, butter and brown sugar and melt over low heat. Pour into a greased 9X13 pan. Slice French bread into 2 inch thick slices and place on top of the syrup mixture. Mix the eggs, egg nog vanilla and salt together and pour over the bread. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Cover and refrigerate over night. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-55 min. Serve with whipped cream!!!

Enjoy

Advent Calendar!!

2010-12-02T13:10:00.000-08:00

It's done!!

I am finally done with my Advent Calendar and seriously- just in the nick of time!

I sewed my last ornament last night and couldn't be happier with how it turned out!!

Ornaments

Here are a couple of my favs

Soldier

Angel (inspired by an angel ornament we had on our tree growing up)

Ok I really love them all

I had a hard time making my ornaments small so if there is a next time making one of these- I will make my tree a bit bigger- but overall- it works!!

It took A LOT of time and work, but I am so glad I did it and think it will make many fun Christmas memories for my children!

Thanks again Jill for the great idea!!

Rain Gutter Book Shelves

2010-11-29T06:50:00.000-08:00

Over the Thanksgiving break while I had my husband's undivided attention-
I put him to work on a project I have been wanting to get done for a long time!!

Rain Gutter Book Shelves

My friend told me about this idea she saw over at

U create and after I saw them in her home, I knew I had to have them!!!

Someone came up with the idea to use a rain gutter as a book shelf...... genius!

This would not have been an easy project if my husband didn't do everything- but since he did- it was one of my favorites projects yet!!

My boy loves his little shelf!! It's so fun to have a place to display and store some of his books

You can find all the info and directions here

(Iowa girls, I have some left over- let me know if you want one for way cheap!)

I {Heart} Pumpkin

2010-11-22T12:42:00.000-08:00

This is by far one of my all time favorite Thanksgiving decorations

I feel like it does a pretty good job explaining my LOVE for pumpkin!

I'm pretty much obsessed with it!

Back in nursing school, it was such a delight to find out that my 3 close friends all loved pumpkin just as much as me. One day, my friend brought a whole book of pumpkin recipes to pharmacology class and so of course we all spent the whole class period copying down recipes. I even made my other friend get a little teary eyed when describing Cold Stone's pumpkin pie ice cream combo. So great!!

So since it's Thanksgiving week, I thought I would share our favorite pumpkin pie recipe.

It was made very clear by my dear husband that his mom's pumpkin pie was his favorite and the only one he would truly love. After 5 years of perfecting it, I would agree- it's pretty delicious.....

So here it is....

Extra Good Pumpkin Pie

1 1/2 c canned or mashed cooked pumpkin

3/4 C sugar

1/2 t salt

1 t ginger

1 1/4 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1/2 t cloves

3 slightly beaten eggs

1 2/3 c evaporated milk (one can)

Combine pumpkin, sugar, spices, salt. Add eggs, mix. Add milk, blend. Pour into a 9 inch pie crust.

Bake 400 for 15 min then reduce to 325 and bake 45 min longer

or until knife inserted comes out clean

Pumpkin pie not your thing?? (btw... I feel sad for you :) !!)

Here are some other pumpkin recipes that may fill the void.....

Dana from the MADE blog made my life when she posted about her love for pumpkin and had a Submit your Pumpkin Recipe series- you can find SO many great recipes here

Also, we had these last night- they were very tasty!!!

here is another amazing pumpkin list

and

I made these Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls last week- (recipe found here at Idea Room)

and they didn't disappoint!

I better stop now...

Happy eating!!

Major Crush....

2010-11-17T14:57:00.000-08:00

on this wreath!

Seen over at Oh Happy Day

Info on how to make it here at Pickles.

If I didn't have 100 things on my to do list, maybe I would attempt to make this... maybe.

But for now, I will just have to enjoy looking at it

TuRkEy HeAdBaNd!!

2010-11-17T08:13:00.000-08:00

My craft addiction started full force with this project last year

Like my son's skeleton costume, my inspiration came from Pottery Barn.

It was one of my first projects where I had no formal directions, just an idea to go off of.

Looking at it this year, I realize there are many things I could have done differently (like making the feathers a little bit smaller...) -

but the fun is in learning right....

Overall, this was a fun project and taught me that homemade opposed to store bought can sometimes be more exciting!

Baked Potato Soup

2010-11-16T17:50:00.000-08:00

This soup is SO tasty and perfect for a cold fall day.

We had it tonight and it just hit the spot so I thought I better share!!

(recipe from Favorites..like always!)

3 T butter

1 cup finely chopped onion

2 T flour

1 (14 1/2 oz) can chicken broth

4 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2"cubes

1/2 t salt

1/4 t white pepper

1/4 t black pepper

1 t dried basil

dash Tabasco sauce

1/2 t garlic salt

1 cup half & half

Garnish with:
Grated Cheddar Cheese

Sour Cream

Crumbled Bacon

Chopped green onions

(these are ALL a must!!)

Melt butter in a pan on medium heat. Add onion and saute for 2 min. Sprinke flour over the onions and cook about 5 min, stirring often. Gradually add chicken broth. Add potatoes salt, white and black pepper, basil, Tabasco and garlic salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 20 min. Stir occasionally. Stir in half and half; heat through. Serve with garnishes. Serves 4, but doubles easily

Enjoy!!

Thanksgiving Banner

2010-11-11T11:08:00.000-08:00

My mantle was looking pretty plain this year after putting all my Halloween decor down. Even though it is a short time until we will put up our Christmas decorations, I decided to make something to spruce it up.

I pulled a couple ideas I have seen recently together and came up with this

This was pretty simple, just took a bit of time to put together.

I cut each of my squares 6X8 (however now measure 5X7 after front and back pieces sewn together)

As you can see, this is not hanging up on my little mantle- it was way too big but I like it this way- so you can obviously adjust your square size to fit where you want it to go

My letters are felt and embroidered on using a back stitch

I originally planned

on attaching rings onto each little panel through an eyelet

and then threading some sort of rope through but

in the end decided on using ribbon to attach everything together

-I still may change it later on, but for now, I am happy!

Free Holiday Cards from Shutterfly.....

2010-11-07T08:19:00.000-08:00

One of my many FAVORITE things about the holiday season is sending and receiving Christmas cards. It is something I think about and plan for at least 6 months out of the year. As a child, I would love opening the mail each day to see whose Christmas cards we received!

This year, I came across some amazing cards and a great deal over at Shutterfly

Not only are these holiday cards darling and festive, they are affordable.

So many cute ones to choose from

I love the font on this one

{Holly Jolly}

Fun and unique design

{Swirling Ornaments}

Can't go wrong with a little Christmas polka dots

{Seasonal Chic}

I just love everything about this one

{Sage Snowflakes}

(I even left out some of my favorites that I may use for our family's card)

They even have super cute invites for all your Christmas parties you plan to throw!!

{Christmas Ornament Invite}

In the past, I have just made my own Christmas cards,

but this year, I am having a hard time passing up this great offer

So my Blogging Friends....

Do you want 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly?

Click here

for information on how you can get 50 free cards this holiday season

Advent with Jill

2010-11-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

There is a reason why Jill and I are friends

This being one of them!!

(Jill, seriously- why didn't we just sit around the dorms and craft all day... ha!)

Check it out

If you know me then you know I am all about

any project involving an advent calendar and felt

Can't wait to get started!!

(p.s. and by posting this I am now obligated to complete this project, please hold me to it!!)

Oh and here is a link to the amazing Advent Jill is going off of!!!

So...

Anyone else joining in on the fun??

Hopscotch Mat

2010-11-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

I saw this Hopscotch Mat a couple months ago and fell in love

I love everything about it and want to just jump into the picture every time I look at it.

I decided I wanted to make one myself and thought the massive amount of felt I had left over from my felt playhouse (pics coming soon) would work great for this project!

This wasn't the quickest project and definitely took some time in the measuring, pinning and sewing departments but overall a fun and enjoyable project!

Add a beanbag using this tutorial and you are set!

Hope my son's friend likes it!!

Thanksgiving Book

2010-11-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

This is such a GREAT idea!! I am totally starting one this year!!

(see here)

Eighteen25 shared how every year on Thanksgiving everyone writes down what they are thankful for in the book of thanks. They also include a picture of the group they celebrated with that night and post it in next to the entries!

What a great way to remember the holiday and the reasons why we celebrate it!

Skeleton Costume

2010-10-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

Awhile back, while brainstorming costume ideas for my son... I came upon this

The cutest skeleton costume

The minute I saw it, I knew I needed to have it-

that is until I came back to reality and realized I probably shouldn't be spending $50 on a costume.

I went back into Pottery Barn Kids a couple times to check it out (always just to torture myself) and decided that I could make it myself.

And I did.

I found some black sweats and long sleeve shirt at Walmart for cheap

and bought 1/4 of a yard of felt @ 50% off

Grand total: $7

I used Pottery Barn's costume as a general reference, cut out some bones and hand sewed them on. Took maybe 3 hrs max and I was done!!

(I liked the look of hand sewn better- think how much quicker this would be on the machine!)

It was such a fun costume to make and looks pretty stinkin cute on

Wouldn't you say!!

We had our first Halloween activity today and got to try it out

Let the fun festivities begin!!

Halloween Pillowcase!!

2010-10-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

I made this a couple weeks ago for a little Halloween present for my son.

It was a breeze to make and such a fun gift to give!!

I used the tutorial on the MADE blog here which was fabulous.

This could also serve multiple purposes!!

When I was probably too old to go trick or treating I took my pillowcase out as my bag and I must say, you can hold way more candy when you bring one of these!!

I ended up making another one for my son to use after Halloween! Not going to lie, I could have made twenty more they were so quick and easy.

I'm already on the lookout for some Christmas fabric!!

If you are looking for a fast, fun project, this is the one for you!!!

Fall Rose Wreath

2010-10-08T07:33:00.000-07:00

Ok a break from all the soup for a sec

I had to post this great project!

My friend showed me a wreath she had made last week

and the minute I saw it I knew I had to make it too.

It's such a fun quick craft and perfect for the fall season

(actually, like always, I want to make one for every season!)

You can find the tutorial here

and another persons take on it here!!

{F.Y.I - For our wreaths, we used 1/4 yard yellow fleece, 1/4 yard green fleece and 1/4 yard brown felt. It was the perfect amount!!}

(just dont even mind the ridiculous amount of shine in some of these pics k!)

Happy Fall

White Chili

2010-10-07T06:21:00.000-07:00

Day 4

White Chili

This recipe will blow your minds, it's that good!!

You must try it out

White Chili

1-2 Tbs. olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

1 - 4 oz can chopped green chilies

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp. cumin

1 1/2 tsp. oregano

4 chicken breats, cooked and shredded (I like to season the chicken with salt & pepper before I add it)

5 cups chicken broth

3 - 16 oz cans of white beans, undrained

3 cups Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded (I like to use Peppered Monterey Jack Cheese for a little extra kick)
Directions:

Saute onions, green chilies and garlic in olive oil and add spices. Combine beans, broth, and chicken with onion mixture. Stir over medium heat and gradually add the grated jack cheese. Stir until all cheese is melted and combined well with other ingredients. Heat to desired temperature.

Recipe from The Coterie- Any recipe my friend posts is delicious!!

Tortilla Soup

2010-10-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

Day Three

This recipe is from my good friend and we LOVE it!

I have craved this soup MANY times during this pregnancy-

It's just delicious!

Tortilla Soup

1 Yellow Onion

Cilantro (about 1/3 of the bundle)

1 t Minced Garlic

1 Can of Diced or Stewed Tomatoes

1/2 t Cumin

1 t Crushed Red pepper

4 C Chicken Broth

2-3 Chicken Breasts, Cooked and Shredded

Fry the sliced onion, chopped cilantro, and garlic in a little bit of oil. Puree this mixture with the tomatoes in a blender. Return the sauce to the frying and add the cumin. Simmer 5-6 minutes until the sauce thickens. In a separate pot bring the chicken broth to boil, add the red pepper, chicken and sauce (some people also add corn). Simmer 15-20 minutes to blend the flavors. Serve with tortilla chips and a little cheddar cheese on top. Or (our personal favorite) serve with quesadillas for dipping.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2010-10-05T21:37:00.000-07:00

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This was a delicious new recipe found here that we will for sure use again

Excellent Broccoli Cheese Soup

Servings 6

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1-2/3 cups fresh broccoli florets
1/2 pound processed cheese, shredded
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat, and mix in the flour. Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Mix in the chicken stock and milk, and season with salt and white pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer about 10 minutes.
Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place the broccoli in the boiling water, and cook 2 minutes, or until just tender. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside.
Gradually mix the processed cheese and Cheddar cheese into the large pot until melted. Mix in the broccoli. Continue cooking about 5 minutes.

For this recipe I thought it would be fun to serve in these pumpkin bread bowls found over at the Idea Room. Great, easy to follow instructions and as an added bonus, they taste good too!

{I made 5 pumpkins with this dough and felt like they were perfect size for my son but about 1/4 the size soup bowl my husband and I needed. We ended up just dipping them in our soup which turned out just fine. Next time I may just make two big ones and one small.....}

Soup Week.. Day One!!

2010-10-04T12:32:00.000-07:00

To kick off the wonderful month of October, I love having what we call Soup Week. We LOVE eating soup- so why not dedicate a week to eating it. So for the next week I will be posting some of our favorite soup recipes in hopes to get you in the fall/soup eating mood and maybe even convince you to have a soup week yourself.

Enjoy!!! And please feel free to share your favorite soup recipe. I would love to include it on the blog!!!

Check out Sunday's soup recipe

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup from Zupas!!

Monday

Taco Soup

It couldn't be soup week without this soup. Our favorite taco soup recipe, one my mother in law has been using for years. Enjoy!

Taco Soup

1 lb. hamburger, browned

1 onion chopped

1 can chili beans

1 can kidney/black/or pinto beans

1 can whole kernel corn

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 80z can tomato sauce

1 40z can diced green chillies

1 pkg Taco Seasoning

1 cup water

Combine all in slow cooker for 8hrs. Serve with Fritos, cheese and sour cream

Halloween Banner

2010-09-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

I just had to make one for Halloween!!!

(sorry for photo quality, have had some gloomy days)

Such a great way to use up some extra fabric. (Or a great excuse to buy some more!)

I cut the letters out of felt and sewed on with the machine.

I just love festive banners!!

Here are some other fun banner ideas/examples!

Eighteen25 (have you checked this site out?? Great Halloween ideas posted everyday!!!)

Tatertots and Jello

Crafty Chicks

Cheesecloth Ghosts!!

2010-09-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

{I have been wanting to put up some Halloween ideas for such along time.

So excited the season has finally arrived!!! }

A couple of years ago for my ward's Super Saturday, I was given the assignment to make and help assist others make cheesecloth ghosts. This idea comes from none other than Martha and is such an easy and fun decoration to get you into the Halloween spirit. Some of you may have even made these in Elementary school. I figured my blog wouldn't be complete without a little post about these ghosts!!

So...... if you are interested.... here are the steps

First off you need to gather these supplies

Next you will need to make the "body" of your ghost. This is the one that I used to make mine but you can use whatever you want!

As you can see for this one I used a toilet paper roll. You can also use a paper towel roll or a water bottle depending on the size of the ghost you want.
With the body established, you can now add your arms. We used straws which worked really well. I have also seen pencils or wire used, so it's up to you.

Then I made the head out of aluminum foil and stuck it in at this top. (note.. I put a piece of saran wrap over top the foil to prevent the foil to stick to the cheesecloth)
Next, tape it down to a piece of cardboard or something that could act as a temporary base. (cutting strips at the end of the roll made it possible to fold out and tape down a lot easier)

Now for the messy part. Get your cheesecloth (which is practically the same thing as gauze which can be found at any grocery or craft store) and drape it over your "body". Do this before the glue so you can plan out how you want it to look. Then take the cheesecloth off and drench it in glue. The more the glue, the stiffer the ghost. I have seen some people apply glue to the cheesecloth while it was on the "body" and others, including me, put it on after. There are many ways you can do this (dipping it into a bowl of glue, folding it up and then pouring glue on) Basically, whichever way works.

Now, if you didn't do it earlier, drape the saturated glue on the "body" and form it however you like.

Next add the eyes. I used felt for mine, however marker, paper,stickers etc.. can work as well. You can also add a mouth if you like. Let dry overnight or for about 5 hours.

After ghost is dry, remove the ghost from the base as well as the "body" and you are done!!

Despite being stuffed and squashed into storage year after year, my ghost has kept its form and remains one of my favorite decorations!
I have been wanting to make a little ghost family but we will see if that ever happens!!

Fabric Pumpkins

2010-09-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

Have you made yourself some fabric pumpkins yet this year??

I have been wanting to for along time now and finally, thanks to my awesome crafty friend, I made some!!

I used the tutorial over at the Idea Room and they were a lot of fun to make!!

Such a fun project to get you into the fall season!!

I love this time of year!!

Root Beer Sampler

2010-09-07T12:48:00.000-07:00

When I saw this idea on my good buddy Jill's blog awhile ago I knew it would be perfect for my root beer loving husband. Luckily his birthday was yesterday and I didn't have to wait any longer to do this for him.

I must say this is one of my favorite gifts I have given- and to make it even better.... my husband LOVED it! So win win. For the Mr.'s root beer sampler- I used the IBC container and filled 6 different glass root beers. Finding the different root beer was actually more fun than I thought it would be. Most grocery stores have them- For me, out here in the Midwest- Hy-vee provided a 3, World Market 2 and Machine Shed 1. There were actually a lot more at each of these places but were only sold as a 6 pack. Since I wasn't wanting to spend too much money, I opted for the single bottles. (This would be such a fun thing to do with a bunch of your girlfriends, sisters, mom etc.. each buy a couple 6 packs and share!I thought a lot of the bottles in the 6 pack were cuter) I would have also loved to have given him more but stuck with 6... this time!

Something else I loved was making the root beer sampler guide. Along the same lines as this one and this one. (except minus the color for me- color printer still in Utah) By googling each root beer brand, I was able to find some fun blogs dedicated just to root beer with great reviews! (Cosmo's Root Beer review, Spikes Root Beer reviews, and King of Soda ) I compiled it with a little help from Picnik and was set to go!!

SO SO fun!! It was a pretty simple project too! Hope you enjoy!!

S.L.A.C.K.E.R.

2010-08-31T12:49:00.000-07:00

Yep, I have been a craft slacker....

#1 reason- August was not the nicest to us. After my two year old son broke his precious little arm, we all endured colds and later on the stomach flu.

#2 reason- My current "project" -

{baby #2 coming Feb 2011}

One I know will turn out just perfect

#3- Lazy and tired..... {see reason #2)

Luckily, I am getting my energy back and have even pulled my sewing machine out for a craft or two. Also, for some crazy reason, I decided to make a felt playhouse for my boy for Christmas. I am in the not so fun cutting stage but it is turning out pretty dang cute and excited to see how it turns out!!! (All I have to say is he better like it!) Pictures to come soon!

For now, here is a Table Runner Tutorial I found over at Diary of a Quilter

This is a project I have started on and have hopes to get done before fall is over. I have a feeling I will want to make one for each holiday!!

U create just posted many examples of those who followed this pattern!! So so cute!

Enjoy

Button Earrings

2010-08-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to make button earrings for a long time now and finally got around to making them today!

This was the easiest and greatest project ever.... and took me under five minutes to do!

I'm sure most know how its done but will post directions just in case.

First- buy some buttons that you think would look fab. as earrings

(as you can see, I kinda was having a thing for roses when I went button shopping)

Buy these

Heat up your glue gun

If your buttons have something on the back, snip it off with a good pair of scissors or have your man and his heavy duty equipment get it off for you!

Once off, you are all set. Just glue the backing to the button and you have yourself a cute new pair of earrings!!

Such a GREAT easy gift idea!!

So start looking through your old stash of buttons and make yourself some earrings!!

Amazing Deal!!

2010-08-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

There is one reason why my blog has been low on craftiness lately..........

BLURB

(you know the site where you can turn your blog into a book)

I found a code here at Leelou Blogs

and Guess what this code gives you....

$39.95 off the total of your book order!

Seriously, that's more than most the books cost.

This is a great deal

I have used BLURB before and was happy with the results.

I also used the code last night and it worked!!

So hurry, get those books made, it expires the end of August!!

you're welcome :)

Pretzel Jello Salad

2010-08-03T13:45:00.000-07:00

(not my pic...image found here)

While I was home, my family was talking about food and how if you had to choose one meal/food item to eat for the rest of your life.... what would it be

This recipe was my brother's answer! (yes the same brother who at a whole raspberry pie) love him!

but seriously..... it is that good. I maybe would have to consider it as well

So here is my mother's delicious Pretzel Jello recipe...

believe me, you need to have it!

Crust:
2 cup crushed pretzels ( I put in blender or food processor)

Reserve a few pretzel crumbs for top.
1/2 cup melted butter
2 Tablespoons sugar

Mix and press into 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 min.

Middle:
small tub cool whip
8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
1 cup sugar

Beat well add to cooled bottom crust.

Refrigerate until set.

Top:
2 large packages of Strawberry Jello
3 1/2 cups boiling water
2 boxes of strawberries ( I usually use frozen so Jello will set faster)

Mix and let set until ALMOST jelled. Top other layers.

Optional: I top the jello layer with another layer of cool whip (small tub)
and sprinkle reserved pretzel crumbs on top.

Let me know what you think!!

Oh and what would you eat if you could only have one meal for the rest of your life???

can my answer be Mexican food?? :)

Travel Organizer

2010-07-30T08:12:00.000-07:00

One thing that drives me absoultly nuts while traveling is how cluttered and dirty our car can get. This would have been a great thing to have on our trip to Utah. Such a great idea that I may have to tackle before our next roadtrip!!!

picture via Fabulous on a Teachers Salary

Find the tutorial here

Pillowcase Fun

2010-07-29T10:47:00.000-07:00

At one of my family reunions this past month, I was in charge of organizing a craft for 11 little kiddos. I instantly thought back to over a year ago, the night before my brothers wedding at a cousin pajama party.

That night we each decorated our own pillowcases with paint, markers, jewels, glitter, etc..... The possibilities are endless with what you can use. We then went around leaving messages for each other. Think of it as yearbook signing with pillowcases! It was SO much fun and seriously all ages were easily entertained!! It is such a great thing to have since most of us live far away from each other!!

I knew this would be a great idea for my little nieces and son. The kids got so into it and even had all the aunts/ uncles and grandparents sign too. Instead of paint, however, we used fabric markers to decrease the mess. Such a fun, simple idea that kept all of us entertained!!

Arlene's Raspberry Pie

2010-07-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

Arlene was my adopted Grandma. She and her husband were our next-door neighbors growing up. They were unable to have any kids of their own so we took the liberty of becoming their "grandkids". I was around three years old at the time. They have been family ever since.

Birthdays, baptisms, parties, Christmas- they were always there.

I loved to sneak over there first thing in the morning to share a bowl of Wheaties with Harold, this would freak my mother out when she would go into my room and see my empty bed!! Unfortunately, both have passed away, however, the great memories we shared with them will always be with us.

One of my families fondest memories of Arlene was her Raspberry Pie. She made them every year in July and believe me, it was like Christmas for us, something we looked forward to all year. Her raspberry pie was THE BEST, and only used freshly picked raspberries from her garden. We devoured them the second she brought them over, they were that good. I remember one time I had been gone when the pies were delivered (big mistake) and when I got home, I found that one of them was completely eaten.... by my brother. Let's just say he was in big trouble :)

So to carry on the tradition of eating Arlene's pies in July, I decided to try and make them on my own.

The recipe is surprisingly simple and the pies turned out great (of course they can never beat the original)

So here is the recipe, exactly how she made it. I'm sure there are many ways to change it up, but this is what tastes good to me!

Arlene's Raspberry Pie

1 Graham cracker crust

1 large package of Raspberry Jello

1.5-2 pints of raspberries

1/2-1 Pint Heavy Cream (homemade whipped cream is a MUST)

Prepare Jello according to package directions.

After about 1-1.5 hrs in the fridge, add the fruit and place in the crust.

Continue refrigerating another 2 hours or so

Prepare homemade whipped cream (I beat it for about 5 min, add some powder sugar and some vanilla)

Spread on top, you can never have too much!

That's it. Pretty simple, but such an amazing taste!!

Hope you enjoy it

Sun Dried Tomatoes Anyone??

2010-07-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

Here is what happens when you are too lazy/ kinda forget to ask someone to water your plants when you are gone for a month. (At least we got some tomatoes out of it before we left)

Anyone feel like this blog is looking like these tomatoes???? Well I have been visiting family in Utah for a month and didn't have time or desire to post while I was away, and that's ok right!! Enjoyed some great, well needed familiy time. I should have some fun posts up sooner than later. Right now, however, I have 1,000- pictures to upload and sort out, + items in my Google reader, loads of laundry to do and items on my to do list. Man, vacations are tough! Hope everyone has had a great summer so far.

Fabric Flower Necklace

2010-06-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

Ok I have been dying to make one of these for a long time now and finally got around to it!!

I was so excited to show my husband and see what he thought when I was finished!!

Well when I showed it to him, he told me

it reminded him of a medal... and not a "necklace" he is used to!

(in the nicest way possible)

Awesome

Well medal or no medal, here is my "necklace" or bib as many call them

made especially for some upcoming family reunion pictures!

I got some inspiration and instructions here

try one, I dare you... you will get addicted!!!

Can't wait to make some more!!

Breakfast Casserole

2010-06-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

Or in our family.... it's called Christmas Morning Casserole

This is such a great recipe and one we have EVERY Christmas morning, and it never lets us down!! This would be great to bring to an 4th of July breakfast!!!

prep time: 30 min Cooking Time 1.5hrs Preheat oven to 300

Cube and remove crust of 10-12 slices of white bread

Place in 9X13 dish.

Top with 2 c grated cheese

Brown (and drain) one pound sausage, cut into pieces and arrange over cheese

Beat 4 eggs with 2 and 1/4 Cup Milk and 1/4T dry mustard- Pour over cheese/sausage

Refrigerate overnight (a couple hours works great too, believe me- I've done it many times!)

In morning, dilute 1 can of cream of mushroom soup with 1/2 cup of milk.

Pour over pan and bake at 300 for 1.5 hr

cubed ham is also a great addition to the recipe!!

enjoy

Growth Chart

2010-06-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

I saw this great idea here....

so I decided to try it out on my own

here are the results!!

(I started at 2 feet and will hang it that high so I could go up to 5 and a half ft instead of 4 ft)

Can't wait to get this hung in my son's room and start tracking his height!! Such a fun project

Italian Crock Pot Chicken

2010-06-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

I am sure most of you have this recipe... and if you dont- consider this your lucky day because its

F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S

and its in the crockpot... can't get any better

Add all ingredients together in Crock Pot and cook on low for 6 hrs

(I half the recipe for my little family of 3 and still have leftovers, well sometimes!)

8 chicken breasts

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 pkg Good Seasons Italian Drsg

fill one soup can with milk

Stir Occasionally

before serving add one 8 oz pkg of cream cheese (don't forget this!!)

Stir again

Served great with rice or noodles.

enjoy

Fathers Day Cards

2010-06-16T01:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a fun Fathers Day card idea (Thanks to Martha) I found the idea and directions here

(if the directions confused you... don't worry, the confused me too!! Just search on YouTube for instructions on how to fold an origami shirt- there are so many out there!! That helped me)

Anyway here are some of the ones I took to a card party!!

Can't wait to give some away to the wonderful men in my life!!

here are some other fun card ideas

here,

and

here

Rhodes Bread sticks

2010-06-14T20:35:00.000-07:00

Here is a delicious side to add to your meal

Rhodes Breadsticks

What you need are some Rhodes Rolls loafs

(each loaf will make about 8 bread sticks)

Some melted butter

Garlic Bread Sprinkle (shaker)

Salad Supreme (shaker)

Thaw loaves

Cut in half length wise, then again and again until you have 8 long strips.

Dip the strips in butter

Line on the baking sheet

Sprinkle with your spices

Place in a warm spot to rise- allow around 2 hrs or so

Preheat oven to 350

Cook for about 14 min

They are delicious

We just had them with this and this....... a perfect and tasty combination

Enjoy!!

Collections...

2010-06-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

While I was at a friends house recently, I came across her huge collection of souvenir spoons. I was blown away. She had them all beautifully organized to display on the wall. I just loved them and enjoyed hearing about how she acquired many of them and all the fun places they were from. This inspired me and made me look at my own personal collections.

Throughout my life I have collected many things.

I once had a journal where after my entry, would put something from the day into it. I was young and while many of the keepsakes were movie stubs, bandaids, leaves, or receipts (yeah kinda weird, but hey, I was little!)- I LOVED doing it at the time! It is quite hilarious going back through it now!

My next big collection during my elementary/and sadly Jr high days were pigs.(no not real pigs, but pretty much anything else). My very cool aunt collected them so I of course had to copy. Pretty soon, my shelves were filled with pig figurines, my feet were in pig slippers and I was writing notes to friends in school on "pig" stationary. Later on I added sunflowers to the mix. I remember the day when I got a lamp that had both a pig and sunflowers on it/ that was a good day.

I have had many other collections over the years

Magnets

Ornaments (my dream is to have a little Christmas tree just with

ornaments from places around the world)

Advent Calendars

Nativities

and I guess a recent collection of fabric, felt, and thread, Thomas the Train engines, and books could be added to the list!

My dad likes to collect stamps, my mom and aunt- nutcrackers, my grandpa- stones

So my question is, what do you like to collect??

Is there something you are always on the look out for?

Or a certain souvenir you can never pass up on a vacation?

I would love to know, and who knows, I may just have to copy you!!

You can never collect too many things!

Gone Fishin

2010-06-08T12:40:00.000-07:00

This project was so much fun. Even my husband was excited about this one.

I saw the idea at- Deck the Halls of Home with Joy

My friend and I had previously been talking about how we wanted to make a little fishing set

and were so excited when we came across this great idea and tutorial.

We got together and went to work

(I must say doing crafts with friends is so much better than doing them by yourself)

end result:

my son LOVES these

He asks to fish all the time

and believe me

this makes for a happy fisherman husband

Spice/Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

2010-06-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

If you are a pumpkin LOVER like me, you will love this recipe.

1- Because its amazing

2-Because its Healthy! (If you are into Weight Watchers, I think these muffins are about 2 points each)

3- Because its just so easy to make

Spice/Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

Prep 5 min Cooking Time 20 Min. Preheat 350

1 Box Spice or Chocolate Cake Mix

1 small can of pumpkin

1/2 Cup water

1/2 bag chocolate chips

Mix together

Place in Muffin liners

Bake for 20 min

Makes about 24 Muffins

so so good and moist. Pretty sure I need to make them tomorrow!

Fabric Panel Car Mat

2010-06-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

I had been staring and wondering what to do with this fabric for awhile

I decided, last week, that it needed to be a car mat.

My friend's little boy turned one recently and thought it (with some play cars) would be a fun gift to give.

The process was quite simple

Placed panel on the top

Batting in the middle

and a layer of corduroy on the bottom

Stitched and bound together!

I was happy with how it turned out!!

Now I need to get the motivation to make my son one

He was pretty sad when we gave it away!!

Festive Banner

2010-05-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

Currently I am obsessed with making banners. My talented friend made me a banner similar to this for St Patrick's day and I have been dying to make one ever since

Since tomorrow is Memorial Day, I thought is was appropriate to get it out the one I made for the Fourth, hang it up and make a post of it!

This was SO simple

trust me, you can make it

To make it the way I did

All you need is

Coordinating Fabric

Thread

and Bias Tape

Cut your fabric into triangles

Place triangles in your Bias Tape

Pin in place

Sew Across

*I used 8 triangles but you can use as many as you like. Big or small/ Long or Short

Have fun!!

(and expect some more of these from me in the near future!)

Happy Memorial Day!!

Update!

2010-05-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

Ok so do you remember this post I did awhile back about Felt Baby Squares and how I said I really wanted to make one of my own??

Well I did it and made a Felt Square "book" for a friend of mine expecting a baby in a couple weeks.

Let me tell you this was a lot of fun and VERY simple.

All you need is

black and white sheets of felt

( I used 4 white and 4 black with lots of spare scrapes left over- making a total of 8 pages)

coordinating thread

eyelets/eyelet tools (optional)

metal ring (optional)
I loved using the ring because it allows you to enjoy the squares together in a book or spread out on the floor!

Thanks to Crafting Chicks for the great idea

Getting Organized

2010-05-26T07:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was not my favorite day.

Things just kept going wrong ALL day.

It definitely didn't get better when we ventured to the DMV at 5pm

(Hate that place)

My poor husband has to go BACK- passport still in Utah! ugh

I realize that most of my stress yesterday was a result of being unorganized.

I consider myself an organized person in general..... but seriously there are some areas

where I need to shape up!

I realized the best way to decrease my daily/weekly stressors...(meal planning/ cleaning/bills)

was to GET ORGANIZED

I have been following the blog Prepared Not Scared for awhile now and have loved it!

Many tips on getting organized with food storage and daily living along with recipes, activities etc. Awesome blog. Check it out.

Anyway today I was looking at their blog and found the solution to my organization woes

The Day Keeper

I am just blown away by how detailed and perfect this is. This woman has been working on the Day Keeper for years now. It's perfect. More than perfect. Just what I need!!!

"The Day Keeper can be adapted to work

for whatever season you're in, including Grandparenting!

Most of my planning is done on a weekly basis.

Even though each day of my week has a
different purpose and focus the daily format is consistent"

I am not even going to try and explain it, because she does a great job.

I will just direct you where to go- so you can check it out and

GET ORGANIZED!!

(oh and its all free too)

Part One

Part Two

plus sections for

Birthday and Anniversary Cards

Birthday's and Anniversaries

Monthly Expenses Sheets

Bills to be Paid

Babysitter Information

"Here's What We Did This Month" Journal Pages

Running Project List

Important Names and Numbers

Our Family Goals

Visiting Teaching Information

Home Teaching Information

Wants, Needs, and Sizes

2010 Holidays

Weekly Shopping List

Breakfast Repeat

Monthly Emergency Preparedness Planning and Purchases

Authorization for Treatment of a Minor

Daily Quick Clean Schedule

Routines: Table of Contents

Pictures for Family History

My Routines

Kids Routines

Holiday Traditions and Ideas

Tabs

Routines Divider Page

Tomorrow she will talk about how to compile your binders!! I am excited!

Clark's Favorite Pork Chops

2010-05-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

(image taken prior to cooking... fyi!)

Ok here's a super easy and tasty recipe for you to cook this week!!

It is again from my FAVORITE cookbook ever-

Clark's Favorite Pork Chops

Arrange pork chops in a glass baking dish

(we usually cook 3)

Top each pork chop with:

1 lemon slice

1 onion slice

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons ketchup

Cover and bake for 45 min at 350 degrees. Uncover and bake for 15 min more

Tastes great with some rice!!!

Perfect easy recipe for crazy days!!

Line of Authority

2010-05-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

Need a gift idea for you husband, father, brother etc... for Father's Day??

I posted this idea right when I started my blog when pretty much the only person reading it was my mom so I thought I'd post it again- this time with pictures! (I erased the earlier ones if you didn't notice)

For Christmas last year I gave my husband, dad, father in law and brothers a framed copy of their Priesthood Line of Authority. If you are not LDS, this may not make much sense to you but basically a document that shows who ordained an individual and who in turn ordained them and so on back to the Lord. Read more about it here. They all LOVED it, something so personal and unique. I became fascinated with them as I was putting them all together. Something very special for them to have record of!

If you are interested here is who you email: lineofauthority@ldschurch.org -Send them your name/ persons name you are requesting and your address. If you are requesting your dads for example, they will have to mail it to his house- but they can address it to your mom or someone else in the home to keep it a secret!!

Once I got the document in the mail I re-typed it, printed it on card stock, threw a little ribbon (manly ribbon) on and placed it in a frame.

I think this with a tie would be a cute gift for Fathers Day!

Here is an example

10 Minute Beanbag!

2010-05-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

{ took me a little longer but I am sure you sewing pro's out there could whip one out in ten!}

Sunday morning I needed a beanbag and I needed one quick. I am the music leader for the little kids at church and I had planned to use a beanbag as part of this weeks lesson- It totally slipped my mind that I actually needed to get a beanbag until hours before church. I had seen a couple ways to make your own beanbags before and I remember it looking pretty simple, so I went for it.

For those of you wondering how to make some cute beanbags for your kids or whomever, here is how you do it {or at least how I did it!}

First gather supplies....

fabric/muslin, sewing supplies, beans (not pictured)

Next cut out your fabric- 7 X7 inches for the polka dot fabric and 6 X6 inches for the muslin

(wow could I take worse pictures or what! Can being in a hurry be a good excuse?!?)

Now take your pieces and place them on top of each other (being sure to match them up)- right sides together and sew around the edge on three sides

Now take some scissors and clip the corners that you have sewn- this helps the fabric lay better in the corners

and then turn the right side out

Now take you beans (or if you are desperate like me making these last minute... corn etc..) and pour about 2 cups into your muslin pouch

Once filled, fold the top 1/2 inch of the opening into the bag and sew shut. If it doesn't look pretty, don't worry, no one will see it!

Now slip your little muslin pouch inside the larger pouch

And then just like the muslin- fold the top 1/2 inch into the bag and pin together (this one should look nice!)

Finally sew around all four corners about 1/4 inch from the edge and you're done!!!

thanks to Family Crafts for the help!!

now that I have my beanbag, I may be able to join in on a game of Corn hole- a beanbag toss game that apparently is super popular out here in the Midwest- my neighbors seem to like it and stay up playing it all night long OUTSIDE every weekend!

Fabric Key Chain

2010-05-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to make a fabric key chain for a long time now!!

I have a big problem with loosing my keys... in my purse- (OK and everywhere else)

I am ALWAYS looking for them!!

I finally got around to making one last week and things are SO much better!! There is a great tutorial here-(The Idea ROOM via U create) It has great easy to follow steps!!

Here is how mine turned out!!!

Fits perfectly around the wrist- which helps while unloading groceries, or babies!!

I love it- Wouldn't this be a fun to give as a gift???

Chicken Curry Soup

2010-05-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

This is such a great crock pot recipe!! We had this last night and boy was it tasty!! And really, can you go wrong with a crock pot recipe?? I think not! Nothing like coming home from church (at 430) and having your dinner already made...

Chicken Curry Soup

(recipe and photo provided by Prudence Pennywise)

5 cups chicken broth

3/4 lb chicken, cut into 1 inch pieces (or add it uncut and frozen-shred later)

1 large onion, diced

1 tart apple, peeled and diced

2 medium potatoes, peelied and chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 Tablespoon curry powder

1/2 cup white or brown long grain rice

Optional 1/2 cup cream

For Serving:

Fresh lime or lemon wedges

chopped cilantro

Place all in the Crockpot- Cook on hight for 3-4 hrs, or low for 6-8. Stir in cream if using at end!

For some reason, each time I cook this, I either forget or choose to leave out the cream- i'm sure it makes it taste wonderful- but without it, the soup is more stew- and still VERY tasty! I also thought about substituting the cream for coconut milk- might taste really good in this- just an idea. I think I am going to try it next time!)

enjoy!!

Flower Cards

2010-05-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

I made these little beauties for a card party a couple weeks ago. I got the template from my friend who had made them awhile back. They were a lot of fun to make.

I love how you can hide your message inside the flower.

move the center of the flower off to the side

Check out here for a pattern and other ideas!! And here is the outline of mine if you wanted to try copying it!

(sorry no scanner to upload my template!)

Have fun!!

Sausage Rice Casserole

2010-05-10T16:48:00.000-07:00

This is one of my FAVORITE recipes (i say that a lot huh!) But really, this one is!! It is one that my mom got from my grandma- and trust me, anything she cooks is delicious! It reminds me of home every time I eat it. Enjoy!! Let me know what ya think!

Sausage Rice Casserole

Prep Time 20 min Cooking Time 1:15 Preheat 350

1 lb Sausage

1 onion chopped

1 cup celery chopped

1 pkg Lipton chicken noodle soup

4 cups of water or chicken broth

3/4 cups minute rice

Brown sausage and onion together, add celery

In 9X13 casserole dish add water soup and rice

Stir together

Add sausage mixture to dish and stir all together

Put in oven for around 1:15 (sometimes we only cook it for 45 min and it still tastes good)

ENJOY!!

Birthday Wreath

2010-05-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

Anyone have any birthdays coming up??

Well if you are like my family- EVERYONE's birthdays are in April and May.

I am a big fan of wreaths and just fell in LOVE with a new one found over at How Does She.

They have a great tutorial for making a beautiful colorful Birthday Wreath

This project is definitely going to be added to my "crafty" To Make List.

Such a great idea

Go check it out

Happy Cinco De Mayo

2010-05-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of my Favorite Mexican Recipes since I didn't post any on Monday!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

(one of our favorite recipes!!)

photo/recipe- Phemomenom

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup lime juice(about 2 large limes

2 teaspoons to 1 Tablespoon chili powder

2 large cloves of garlic, ﬁnely minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts), cooked and shredded

12 corn tortillas

2 cups of Mexican cheese blend, shredded (1 small bag usually is 2 cups)

1 14-oz can of green enchilada sauce (mild or medium, to your taste)

1/2 to 3/4 cup of heavy cream

nonstick cooking spray

1 Tablespoon of chopped cilantro, to garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the cooked and shredded chicken in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, place the honey, lime juice, chili powder and minced garlic or garlic powder. Whisk together thoroughly to combine. Pour this mixture over the chicken and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to marinate while you prepare the tortillas, 30 minutes or up to 1 hour, in the refrigerator.

Heat a large griddle till a drop of water skitters across (about 350 degrees F). Spray the surface with non-stick cooking spray or a oil it with a little bit of canola oil in between each round of tortillas. Heat tortillas about 20 seconds on each side till warm and ﬂexible and some golden brown spots have appeared. Remove the tortillas from the griddle and keep them between a couple of paper towels until ready to use.

Spray the sides and bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish lightly with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl combine the enchilada sauce and the heavy cream. Spread about 1/2 cup of the mixture in the bottom of the oiled baking dish.
Add a large spoonful (about 2 tablespoons) of the chicken mixture to the center of each tortilla in a line. Cover the chicken with a large tablespoon (or big pinch) of cheese, then roll the tortilla up from one side to make a rolled enchilada - it will be more of an over lap on the seam side that rolled tightly. Place the enchilada seam side down in the baking dish starting at one end with the long edge parallel to the longest side of the pan so that you end up with two columns of six enchiladas each.
Repeat with the remaining chicken, cheese and tortillas. You will use about 1 1/2 cups of the cheese for the ﬁlling and set the remainder aside for topping the enchiladas in the pan. Add the remaining marinade mixture to the enchilada sauce and cream mixture, if desired. Pour this mixture over the top of all the enchiladas. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake the enchiladas for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly and starting to brown on top. Serve with sour cream, black beans, and rice or a green salad for a great meal.

Serves 4 to 6

Brazilian Lemonade

(MY husband served an LDS mission to Brazil and has made this a couple times- just like Tucanos, delicious!)

photo/recipe- our best bites

4 juicy limes (try and find ones with thin, smooth skins; they're the juiciest and the thin skin cuts down on the chance of your drink being bitter)

1 c. sugar

6 c. cold water

6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk

Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time.

Wash limes thoroughly with soap (I just use hand-dishwashing soap or regular hand soap); you need the soap to get the wax and pesticides off of the limes because you're using the WHOLE lime, baby. Cut the ends off the limes and then cut each lime into 8ths.

Place 1/2 of the limes in your blender.

Add 1/2 of the sugar water, place the lid on your blender, and pulse 5 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher (the one you'll serve the lemonade in) and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Dump the pulp and stuff in the strainer into the trash. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water. Add sweetened condensed milk; DO NOT leave this step out unless you will die of a horrible sweetened condensed milk allergy because this is the secret ingredient! You may want to taste test it at this point; I used giant, thick-skinned limes tonight and didn't test it and it came out a little bitter. If it's bitter, just add some more sugar and maybe a little more milk.

Serve immediately over lots of ice. This does not keep well, so don't make this in advance (although you can cut the limes, mix the sugar water, and measure the sweetened condensed milk in advance). Serves 4, although I can pretty much guarantee you that people will want more; I usually plan on 1 1/2 servings at LEAST per person.

I am bringing this to a party tonight- posted awhile ago- but incase you forgot-it's our FAVORITE!

ENJOY!!

oh and Feliz Cumpleanos Alice!!

Free Fonts

2010-04-29T15:31:00.000-07:00

For those of you looking for a great place to download free fonts for your scrap booking, blogs, cards etc.... I have a great site for you!!

at www.kevinandamanda.com/fonts

They are ridiculously cute... and again FREE!! Here are just a sample of the ones I downloaded

She also has a section where she turns submitted handwriting into a font, called Fonts for Peas.

my husband has always told me I have ZaNeY handwriting so maybe I should submit mine!

If you don't know what to do after you have downloaded your fonts... they can help you with that as well (don't worry, I needed some)

It's just a really cute site, you should check it out

and not only does she have cute fonts, her site has a section of delicious recipes and a blog with really amazing pictures.. you know, one of those women who is amazing at everything :)

Felt Squares for Babies

2010-04-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

I saw this idea over at Crafting Chicks and LOVED it!! Felt Squares for babies- Did you know that babies love black, white and bright colors? I have learned that until your child is about six months, he/she will respond best to bold, contrasting colors and graphics. SO how perfect are these??

Supplies:

-Felt: black, white, and some colors

-Hot glue gun

-Sharp fabric scissors

-Paper to make square pattern

check out directions here

I love this idea and am going to try it out! I am thinking of making mine into a book though- I will post pics when I finish. Wouldn't this be a fun/ quick/ simple gift to give. I know I would love having one!!

Anyone made anything similar to this before? If so I would love to see!

Costco Essentials

2010-04-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

I am a Costco shopper. I love Costco and love going there. Have I mentioned that about three sample people know my son's name (should I be way embarrassed??) Anyway, my mom came out to visit recently, and while she was here, we took a trip to Costco to get some essentials. While there she showed me a couple or her and my dad's favorite things to get- two being Organic Chocolate Milk (in little cartons with a funny little straw) and Brothers All Natural Fruit Crisps- and I had never seen either of them before. We bought them and loved them- they were a hit with my son. Now they have been added to our Costco list!

So now I wanna know what else I am missing out on! What are some of your favorite things to get at Costco?? Anything that I need to buy next time I am there?? :) I would love to hear!

Some of our favorties include: Uncooked Flour Tortillas (so so so good), Chicken Nuggets (can't remember the name but they have lost of good nutrients in them...) Rotisserie Chicken, Salmon Patties, Cinnamon Rolls and just discovered their Kirkland's Organic Tortilla Chips.

ABC Quiet Book

2010-04-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

My secret project is finally done!! I know you have been just on the edge of your seats- and not able to eat/ sleep kind of excited to see it so sorry about the wait :)

I have been trying to teach my son his letters for awhile now and thought it would be fun to make a little ABC book for him to help.

It's a lot like my other quiet book but boy did this take less than half the time to make. All the letters are attached with Velcro to allow for matching and quizzing!

You obviously could go all out with the objects but I tried to keep it simple.

Of course felt played a big role with this project- along with muslin, embroidery floss, some yarn and buttons. I bound it with 2 metal rings as I did before.

It was a lot of fun to make and a great size- making it easy to bring it along wherever you go!!

Matching!

This was an original idea- I am going to try and get a pattern available if anyone is interested. Feel free to ask any questions!!

Go Diego Go Party!!

2010-04-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

This past week was my little boy's birthday!! He is totally in a Diego Stage and since our family is far far away, I thought it was appropriate to invite some of his little friends and throw him a Diego party. It was a lot of fun. I found many cute "jungle/diego" themed birthday party ideas at various sites online but one site was my favorite!!!

Nick Jr party planning page

If your child is wanting a Nickelodeon themed party, this is the place to go

They have recipes, party games and activities, invitations, iron on printables, decor and much more!!! It was a great resource and helped alleviate much of the stress that accompaines planning a party.

I really loved the recipes I found and used these two for our fiesta!

Here is how my cake turned out!!

Diego Cake

My cupcakes were not as awesome but they served their purpose!! Forgot to take a pic, but trust me the example is MUCH cuter!!

Baby jaguar cupcakes

I also tried to tie in our food with the whole jungle theme!! So for our little lunch we served

dried ants- dried cranberries

bettle wings- chips

crocodile teeth- apple slices

jungle juice- juice boxes

snake skin- fruit roll-ups

Quesadillas

I also made some fun headbands for our guests to wear. These were SO easy to make and a lot of fun. At Hobby Lobby (and I am sure many other places) I found some jungle print felt and knew I had to use it for the party. All I did was cut 1.5 x 12 inch strips of the printed felt and sew it onto a 2 X 31 ish inch piece of solid print felt. The kids loved them. My favorite was the giraffe- how cute to put this onto some pink fabric... (too bad no pink was allowed at my boys party!!)

Here are the three types I made

We also hit a pinata, decorated paper bag diego vests and colored!! Such a fun morning!!

A Birthday Fit for a King

2010-04-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

I have been dying to make one of these felt party crowns for along time now. There are seriously so many tutorials and examples of these all over the internet- I found a great video tutorial here that helped get me started. She has templates you can print off for two different crowns too!!

I printed off the template that looked more "boyish" and altered it a bit to make it bigger.

I also attatched some velcro so I could change the crown up over the years (or until it doesn't fit my son's head anymore!

So here are the steps that I did.....

to make this

Using your pattern- cut out two crowns out of any color of felt. These pieces are the front and the back of the crown

Then take your top piece and add your embellishments to it. (ribbon, buttons, jewels, etc...) I sewed on a strip of ribbon and then a piece of velcro in the center.

Once you are done adding your embellishments, you can then place a single sheet of interfacing in between the two- This stiffens your crown so it wont be so floppy.

Make sure your cut it down a bit smaller than the felt so it doesn't show.

Now take some elastic and tuck one end between the back piece of felt and the interfacing. With that tacked in place, measure your kiddos head with the elastic. Once you have your measurement bring it in a little and pin the other side in place. (making the elastic smaller than your child's head will keep the crown on their head)

Now pin and sew together!!

That's it!! Super easy and quick. My son loved his- Such a fun way to make your child's birthday EXTRA special!!

f.y.i. - If for some reason a half a bottle of bubbles spills onto your newly made crown- don't fret- it does dry and you can't even tell in the pictures :) just saying!

(p.s.- I would love to post some patterns/templates on here but just don't know the best way to do it.. any tips?? I guess a scanner would be necessary but really I'm clueless!!! Thanks)

It's Birthday Time

2010-04-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

This week my son turns TWO!!! Can't believe it. Some fun birthday/party projects coming your way!!

Apple Dumplings

2010-04-12T01:32:00.000-07:00

(these may change your life)

Apple Dumplings- Pioneer Woman

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 40 Minutes Difficulty: Easy Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 whole Granny Smith Apples

2 cans (8 Oz. Cans) Crescent Rolls

2 sticks Butter

1-½ cup Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla

Cinnamon, To Taste

1 can (12 Oz.) Mountain Dew Soda

Preparation Instructions

Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan.

Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

WARNING: Prepare this dish at your own risk. It is beyond imaginable.

Sneak Peak....

2010-04-08T06:12:00.000-07:00

at my project for my son's birthday present.

I told myself I would never make anything like this again... mostly because it took so much time, but I guess I forgot. This project has gone a lot smoother and faster though and I'm really excited for it!!!

Stay tuned!!

Hot Prints

2010-04-06T06:22:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of Hot Prints??? Well its an awesome site that offers one FREE Photo Book each month. FREE BOOK * FREE SHIPPING * FREE. Such a great deal. HotBook is a photo book with 16 pages (including the covers) that you can design and create yourself online, using your own photos. HotBook is 20cm wide x 25cm high. I have made two now and am happy with how they turned out. My latest creation was an ABC book for my little guy. It will be perfect for his birthday next week.

They also offer an option to make your own calendar for a pretty low price.

So go check it out

These can make great gifts for Fathers Day, Mothers Day or Birthdays. You could make a book with your favorite recipes, a Christmas recap, vacations (the other book I did was our trip to Hawaii) etc... SO many options.

I am trying to decide what I want to do this month.... any ideas??

Sweet & Sour Baked Beans

2010-04-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

With the weather getting warmer (at least for me) I thought I would share this wonderful recipe. This is another from my amazing Mother in Law and is served great with any barbeque. It's by far one of my husband's favorite things to eat!!

Sweet & Sour Baked Beans-

Serves 12 or more

2 lg cans pork n beans

1/2 lb bacon cut in small pieces

1 lg onion- chopped

1 medium green pepper chopped

1 can pineapple chunks, drained

1 sm bottle ketchip

1 cup brown sugar

2 T worchester sauce

Mix together- Bake 3 hrs at 250 or in crockpot

Enjoy!!

Last Minute Easter Ideas

2010-04-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple things I was able to make for my little guy just in time for Easter

Some felt finger puppets- (just like my brown bear brown bear finger puppets)

Quick and easy

Some Easter bunny attachments for his Mr Potato Head-

and then a T shirt to wear as he is hunting for his eggs!!!

Lime Slush

2010-03-29T16:46:00.000-07:00

This is one of my family's FAVORITE drinks to serve at parties... basically because it's so amazing!! I have made it a lot lately and have had a couple requests for the recipe. (I guess I have been on a lime kick lately!!) Would be great to serve with your Easter dinner.

Refreshing Lime Slush - Favorites

serves 25 or so

1 (12 ounce) can frozen limeade, diluted

3 cups sugar

8 cups water

juice of 5 fresh limes

green food coloring (optional)

2 liter bottle 7 up/ Sprite

Stir together (all except 7up/sprite) until dissolved and freeze until solid. Spoon chunks of frozen slush into punch bowl and pour in 7 up or Sprite. Mix slightly and serve. Garnish with fresh lime slices

enjoy!!

(p.s. some spring crafts are coming your way- vacations/ spring break put a well needed break on my craftiness)

Some random facts....

2010-03-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

I came across some of these great ideas while living it up at work in the ER all weekend in my Real Simple magazine. The article is NEW USES for OLD THINGS.

Here are some of the ones that I liked

Ketchup bottle as a Pancake Batter Dispenser- Squeeze out perfect circles every time- clean and easy trick!! (I would probably remove the labels!)

Tea Strainer as Sugar Duster- Fill it up with some powdered sugar and tap onto your baked goods

Rubber Bands as Egg- Dyeing Aids- Arrage rubber bands in a pattern around hard- boiled eggs, then dip them into dye. Remove the bands when the eggs are dry... awesome

Lifesavers as Birthday- Candle Holders- Protect your perfectly frosted cake from dripped wax by inserting candles in the candy holes. (They say to look for the original rolls, the holes in the bagged versions are too large for most candles)

Tissue Box as Plastic- Bag Dispenser- Stash sacks in an empty tissue box for easy access when the bathroom trash can needs a liner

Check out some more ideas here. Do you have any new uses for old things???

Key Lime Pie

2010-03-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

This is one tasty treat and it only takes 3 ingredients to make!! I made it last week and was reminded what a great easy recipe it is. You have to try it!

Directions

Preheat oven to 325

Mix together:

One can of sweet and condensed milk

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

3 eggs

Pour into graham cracker crust-

Bake for 30 minuets. Allow to cool and top with whipped cream, fruit or whatever your heart desires!!!

Show off those baskets!

2010-03-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

St Patricks Day was a lot of fun... but the minute its over- i'm so over it and ready to celebrate Spring and Easter!!

This year I got some new Easter baskets and thought they were too cute to keep in a corner or closet until Easter so I decided to tie them onto my chairs with ribbon.

I used two types of ribbons- including this one

Thought it added some extra texture!!

I was happy with how they turned out- Just a fun way to enjoy them all season!

$3 Wreath

2010-03-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to make a wreath for Easter for awhile and while browsing through the dollar store last week I came upon a material I have never used before...

MOSS

I have always been a fan of all the moss wreaths, topiaries etc from Pottery Barn and have wanted to try to create one myself

so I decided to give it a try

The best thing about this wreath, is it cost me $3

$1 styrofoam wreath

2 bags {$1 each} of moss

{I didn't even use all the moss}

Now dollar store moss isn't the greenest moss I have ever seen, but it works... at least I am pretending it does

So all you do is get your styrofoam wreath

and place it over a towel or table {just not the carpet}

{if your wreath is not green like my classy high valued one, it may be wise to spray pain green, so the white doesn't show}

Get your hot glue gun and moss & go to town!!

I tried to cover every inch, even on the back

Sometimes I had to do a layer of glue on top of the moss to cover up the spots

Then take some Spray Adhesive {heavy duty hair spray}

and spray the wreath down.

Now attach a bow, little eggs, flower, ribbion hanging from top etc... and your done!!

There are so many ways to decorate this wreath... so let me know how you do it if you make one!!

Scotcheroos!!

2010-03-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

Well it's Monday, so time for a new recipe-

but first I wanted to thank everyone for their sweet comments with my previous post. Gosh, I'm only used to my mom and a couple close friends reading this blog so getting to know a lot of new people on here has been a lot of fun for me!!

I decided that I needed to post my ALL TIME FAVORITE treat (ok I say this about a couple things...)

Scotcheroos!!

Have you heard of them????? My family has been making scotcheroos for as long as I can remember. They are quick and easy to make as well as scrumptious. They are the greatest to take to a party, dinner, picinic etc... I make them all the time-They are the treat that you make for your new neighbor that seem to disappear before you are able to deliver them (um this may have happened more than once... oops!)

SO here's the recipe- Let me know what you think, they may just bring tears to your eyes!!

Mix 1 cup sugar and 1 cup Karo Syrup in large saucepan, bring to boil then take off heat immediately

Add to it:

1 cup peanut butter

Stir together and add:

7 cups Rice Krispies

Pour and press into greased 9X13 pan

Topping

1 (6 ounce) package milk chocolate chips

1 (6 ounce) package butterscotch chips

Melt together in microwave for 2-3 minutes, stirring after every minute, or melt in a saucepan but watch carefully- if they melt too much they become hard and won't spread evenly.

Spread melted chips on top of Rice Krispies. I let mine cool and sometimes put in refrigerator for a half hour (not too long) or so to harden them up.
Enjoy!!

Celebrating St Patricks Day

2010-03-11T00:20:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone.... so if you haven't heard- I am guest posting over at Tatertots and Jello today- and it's ALL about St Patricks Day!!! Click here to check out some of the crafty ideas I posted over there-

So now that we have decorations, shirts and pot's of gold covered- lets move onto traditions!!

Traditions-

As I mentioned before, St Patricks Day was a big deal for us and we have a lot of traditions that I would LOVE to share

Morning-

First, when we would wake up in the morning there would be a trail of shamrock confetti from our beds to our little Leprechauns filled with treats that were somewhere hidden in the house.

During the night, the leprechaun turned many things green- the milk, toilet water, water, bread etc...

We always had fun running around seeing what he turned green.

My wonderful fun aunt also shares the same love as me for this fun holiday and also has some great ideas... seriously, it is her favorite holiday!!!

When my cousins were young, my aunt would sneak into their rooms at night and paint footprints on their faces and arms and hands (She used a q-tip dipped in green food coloring). It was just her way of starting the day off with excitement!

Attire-

We of course loved getting dressed up in our green- this of course is a must- Green wigs, blinking head gear/ jewelry, googly glasses, arm socks etc

Basically- the tackier, the better!!

One fun idea is to collect a bunch of outrageous green hats and have everyone wear them for dinner!!

(here are some we have collected)

It is also a must to use an Irish accent whenever possible- a good CD of irish songs would help with this

Movies

Some great movies are the Gnome Mobile & Darby O Gill and the Little People

Food-

An important aspect of any holiday.

For breakfast, we love having Lucky Charms with our green milk (sorry I know many don't like the idea of green milk.. including my husband- but its fun and hasn't killed me yet) We also like to make heart shaped waffles to form a shamrock or just plain green pancakes. Other ideas used would be french toast used with green bread, bacon with little leprechaun footprints (food coloring), green juice etc....

Dinner we like to have the traditional corned beef and cabbage. My grandma loves cooking corned beef in the crockpot and adding cabbage, potatoes and carrots and a big onion. Very good.

My family also makes a Lime Green Slush and believe me, it's amazing. Also have you tried Pistachio Pudding Salad... also a perfect festive treat.

I have never tried Irish Soda Bread, but am going to this year. Anyone have any good recipes??

I also made these fun shamrock cupcakes this year to give to neighbors and friends. I saw the idea at Family Fun awhile back

What you do is place paper liners in muffin cups and fill each halfway with the batter. Next take some foil and roll three balls per cupcake and insert them evenly around the space between the liner and the tin

Allow the cupcakes to cool, then remove them from the tin.

Cover each with green frosting. I used a little piece of green licorice for a stem

or another idea is making rainbow cupcakes I made my son a rainbow cake for his birthday last year and it was so fun- sure would be cute for St Patricks Day

SO have I convinced any of you to celebrate St Patricks Day??? Or have I scared you all off by my crazy amount of love for the holiday??? How do you celebrate St Patricks Day?? I would really love to know