Aug 20, 2014

Breakfast in Bed Bridal Shower Gift


I just went to a bridal shower. Every guest got a theme suggestion for what kind of present to bring. My theme was "breakfast".

I immediately thought of Breakfast in Bed.


I gathered up some white food trays, white plates and bowls, cups, pretty silverware, and matching napkins.

Then since they will be newlyweds and all, I added a little something special to the trays. A little suggestion if you will. 

Hehehehe.

I thought the orange vinyl looked great with all the turquoise.

I added more orange by wrapping up the silverware and the napkins in orange embellishments.



I wrapped the gift pretty simple by tying it all together with orange fabric.
 

I got everything for the gift from Target. The vinyl is from Expressions Vinyl. You can put any cute little phrase you want on the breakfast trays if you don't feel like being suggestive. Ha.

I will say that this little Breakfast in Bed bridal shower gift was one of the hits of the party. The pretty much owe that to the trays.

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Aug 18, 2014

Jello Popsicles



Summer is almost over, but that doesn't mean we can't have popsicles. Especially if they are these really easy and delicious Jello Popsicles.

Three ingredients, some popsicle molds, and a little freezer time is all it takes.

The Little Men agreed across the board that these popsicles were amazing. Awesomesauce if you will.

To make these all you need is:

1 3oz box of Jello
4 cups water (2 boiled, 2 cold)
1/3 cup of sugar

Mix the Jello and the cup of sugar in a bowl. Bring 2 cups of water to boil. Stir the boiling water into the Jello sugar mixture. Stir constantly until the Jello dissolves. Stir in 2 cups of cold water. Pour the mixture into popsicle molds. This amount filled 6 popsicle molds, with a little left over.

Freeze.

To get out the popsicles out of the molds run them under hot water for about 20 seconds and then gently remove the popsicle from the mold.


Trust me that these are awesome and easy. They are the perfect treat for a hot day, or any day. Yum!

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Aug 7, 2014

Shrimp Tacos


These Shrimp Tacos are ridiculous! Ridiculously awesome. Ridiculously easy. Just ridiculous I tell you.

Let me tell you a little story about how I was introduced to these lovely shrimptastic tacos.

First, a little back story. I am not a huge fan of shrimp. Or at least that is what I always thought. In the last couple of years I have had a few encounter with shrimp and much to my surprise I really rather liked it. Now all of those times the shrimp was fried. So naturally I liked it, because well who doesn't enjoy things fried?

The answer--very few of us do not enjoyed things fried.

I still convinced myself that I did not like shrimp unless it was fried.

So that is my back story. Fascinating I know. Jump to a few months ago when I was introduced to these awesome Shrimp Tacos.

I was in my backyard hanging with the Little Men. They were playing and playing and playing some more. We had already been outside all afternoon. As they kept playing I realized I hadn't even started dinner. Oh well, no one was complaining.

My backyard neighbor saw us outside and walked on over. Our yard is gloriously open to several other yards and our neighbors are just as glorious. She walked on over and we chatted for a bit. We chatted about Summer days. We chatted about how we both loved being outside in the sunny weather. Then it came up that I loved being outside so much that I hadn't even planned dinner.

Then she told me about her dinner and how yummy it had been. You guessed it, her dinner had been shrimp tacos. I said, "Oh yum!" She said, "Hey I still have some, let me go make you one!"

Then we went back and forth with the obligatory, "No you shouldn't" and "I insist".

The conversation ended with her running into the house and bringing me out a plate of shrimp tacos.


They were delicious. So delicious, I called her a week later and asked her how she made them. Then I made them for the whole family. The whole family loved them.

I have now made them several times. You know what this means? I guess I like shrimp.

I played around a bit and a new addition I made to the recipe was adding a bit of avocado sour cream. So good!

Give these Shrimp Tacos a try. They are so delightful.


Shrimp Tacos

1 pound of small/medium shrimp, peeled and tails cut off
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
McCormick's Grill Mates Mesquite Seasoning
1 packaged Spanish style yellow rice, prepared
shredded cabbage
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
1 ripe avocado
corn tortillas

Prepare the avocado sour cream by mashing up one ripe avocado and mixing in 1/4 cup sour cream. Salt to taste. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Melt the butter. Add in the garlic and saute for a minute. Add in the shrimp. Toss. Then let the shrimp cook on one side for 2-3 minutes. Then turn over and cook for another 1-2 minutes until the shrimp is pink. Sprinkle generously with the Mesquite seasoning. Toss to coat. Let cook 1 more minute. Remove from pan.

Serve shrimp immediately over a warmed corn tortilla. Layer the corn tortilla with a spoonful of rice, shredded cabbage, shredded cheese, 4-5 shrimp, and a dollop of avocado sour cream.

Go ahead and make yourself a couple. They are just little tacos after all.

Enjoy!!!

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Aug 6, 2014

Easy Pillow Case Superhero Cape

Pillowcase Superhero Cape Main

I originally shared this post on Thirty Handmade Days in March.
I am sharing it again here in case you missed it! 

A no-fuss, low-key, easy on the budget project is the best. A project that is all those things AND super fun for the kiddos is the very best. In a houseful of boys, we tend to be a little superhero obsessed.

In one of these superhero moments, I had an "aha!" moment for a quick and easy way to make one of my Superheros In Training his own superpower inducing cape.

This project is SO easy and has minimal sewing and the best part is, it uses a standard pillow case. A pillow case is something we all have laying around. However, even if we don't have an extra pillow case available, you can purchase a set of standard pillow cases at some stores for $5.

Pillowcase Superhero Cape 3

Here is what you will need:
standard pillow case
fleece strip measuring 2" by 28"
yellow felt
coordinating thread

Here is the easy DIY for making this Easy Pillow Case Superhero Cape.

After you have purchased (or rounded up) a pillow case, iron it out. Especially if it is brand new.

Pillowcase Superhero Cape DIY 1

Fold over the top of the pillowcase at the point where the stitching is at. You know the border at the opening. Iron. Zig zag stitch along where the edge meets with the pillowcase. This will make an casing for the piece of fleece.


Pillowcase Superhero Cape DIY 3

Pin a safety pin to one edge of the fleece strip. Feed the fleece strip through the casing.

Pillowcase Superhero Cape DIY 4

One you have the fleece through, make sure that there are equallengths of the fleece are on either side. These will become the ties for the cape. Pin the fleece to the pillowcase at the mid point. Run a zig zag stitch over the fleece and pillowcase for about 1 1/2" in order to secure the fleece in place.

Pillowcase Superhero Cape DIY 5

The next step is to sew on the lightning bolt. After the lightning bolt has been cut out, pin it in place to the cape. You want to pin it in the top middle making sure it is centered. You will also want to make sure that your are pinning to side of the pillow case that you folded the top away from, so that edge doesn't show.

Pillowcase Superhero Cape DIY 6

Stitch the lightning bolt in place with coordinating thread (yellow). If you use thread the same color as the pillowcase (orange in my case) in the bobbin then the stitching will not be visible on that back side.

Pillowcase Superhero Cape DIY 7

Easy as that you have a cape fitting for any Superhero In Training. A mask and some cuffs add just that much more superheroness. I totally just made up that word.

Pillowcase Superhero Cape 6

UP, UP, and AWAY.

Pillowcase Superhero Cape 5

The world can rest well tonight knowing this Superhero is watching out for them.

Pillowcase Superhero Cape 1

World peace all thanks to an Easy Pillow Case Superhero Cape.

Aug 5, 2014

Family Game Night Basket: Making Time For Family Togetherness


We love family game nights. We love playing games as a family any time day or night. Playing games as a family is one of our favorite ways to spend time together.

Recently we just took our family togetherness outside to play some board games on a blanket. We picked out a few of our favorite board games and put them in our newly made Family Game Night Basket. Made by simply spray painting an old picnic basket.

Then we grabbed some snacks, got cozy, and set up the games.

Family togetherness is so lovely when it is around a board game and without electronics. That is one of the reasons I love playing board games with my little family: just family and no distractions.

Well, there are no bad distractions.

Just cute ones.


And some, "Oh Mom, why are you making that embarrassing face?" distractions.

It has been fun to be on the mom side of playing games as a family. I have so many awesome memories of playing board games as a family when I was a kid. Back then it was loud and rowdy. However, everything was less complicated. When I was growing up we would play games in our pajamas on Sunday morning before church. We would play games on all big family holidays. We played games on the weekend.

There were no cell phones. Heck, we didn't even have a home computer or Internet for the longest time. There were so little distractions. It was glorious.

Nowadays there are so many distractions. There are so many things that get in the way of family togetherness. I want my kids to unplug from all the distractions, i.e. the electronics, and for us to spend time together. I want them to have the same loud and rowdy time I did when I was growing up playing games with my family.

I want them to remember the obnoxious victory dance of a sibling. I want them to remember laughter around the game table. I want them to remember the plastic cars in the game Life and the silver top hat from Monopoly. I want them to know the joy of a Yahtzee and the joy of a victory over everyone else in the family. I want them to know the sweetness of helping a younger sibling "win" by some selfless cheating.


I want to pass on family togetherness through playing games.

Some of the games I played back then might be different from what we play now. Some are the same. Same games or different games, the purpose is all the same. The purpose is to spend time as a family, growing closer, and creating memories.

Turn off the electronics. Shut off the television. Grab some board games, or a card game or two. Gather your family around the table or pack up the games in your Family Game Night Basket, lay out a blanket and take the games outside.

Just enjoy some time together as a family.
There’s no better vehicle to bring the family together than the Chevy Traverse. With seating for up to 81., everyone in the family can join in on the fun. A 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score for safety2. helps keep everyone safe on your journey to find new roads, no matter where, or how far, it takes you. And best-in-class maximum cargo space makes packing for family road trips, or hauling around children’s sporting equipment, a breeze. With all these great features and more, there’s no question the Chevy Traverse is the ultimate family vehicle. Learn more at http://www.chevrolet.com/traverse-mid-size-suv.html.

  1. Standard on LS and 1LT.  Available on 2LT. LTZ seats 7.
  2. Government 5-Star Safety Ratings are part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s New Car Assessment Program (www.SaferCar.gov).

Aug 4, 2014

Magnetic Bobby Pin Tray



Do you lose all of your bobby pins? Or is that just me? I swear! Or I want to! Where do they all go????? I remember very religiously always taking them out of my hair while in my bathroom...well almost religiously. 

Almost religiously should only lose me a quarter of my bobby pins, not all but one or two. Seriously, I think they are marching away and laughing at me from all the hidden crevices around my house.

So rude.

Feeling my plight, or annoyed at my need to keep buying more, Hubby came home from his favorite tool store with a solution. He brought me a silver magnetic tool tray. The manly tool purpose for this tray is to hold screws, nails, and other construction bits. He felt rather like a genius exclaiming that he bought it for my wayward bobby pins.

I couldn't deny he was a genius. However, the style of the said tool tray was a little lacking. It was just a plain silver tray. Blah. I can't blame the man though. Function over style is always his motto.

I like both style and function, so I had to pretty up the little boring magnetic tool tray.


A little spray paint and some vinyl and well, hello there gorgeous.

I cut out the hello from vinyl. I put it in the middle of the tray before spray painting. Then I spray painted several coats. I peeled off the vinyl after about 30 minutes of my last coat of paint. Do not let the vinyl stay there until the paint completely dries or the removal of the vinyl will also remove some paint. Wait about 24 hours before you use your tray.

Then load that beauty up with all the bobby pins you can find...or the ones you just went out and bought.


Now my bobby pins happily sit in this gorgeous little tray in my bathroom. I am happy to report that I haven't lost hardly any (let's be honest I am still probably gonna lose one or two in my purse). Seriously guys this is the easiest, cheapest, and quickest little project.

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Aug 3, 2014

Family Camping: A Glimpse of Us


I have really slowed down blogging. Like a lot. Especially this Summer. Blogging and I are redefining our relationship a bit, but more on that another day. One of the reasons I have slowed to an agonizing pace this Summer is because of things like this little family camping trip we had a few weeks ago.

At the beginning of the Summer I admitted to myself that I personally wasn't enjoying the juggle of blogging and enjoying the Summer with my kids. I also was ashamed to find that my camera had a few more blog pictures on it than family time pictures. So the blog took a back seat and Summer took a front seat.

I just wanted share a bit of our Summer and to share A Glimpse of Us, which I may be doing more here and there in order to promote better documentation of our life on my part.

So we decided to go camping.

We packed up our camping gear. We drove a few hours away from home. We set up camp. We waited for the arrival of our friends who joined us.


We were out of cell phone range. It was glorious.


We enjoyed our outside home away from home.


There was getting along amongst siblings.


We didn't worry about doing hair or keeping our clothes clean.


Or washing our faces.


We ate. We ate some more. We hiked. We ate again.

We disturbed the peace of some bugs.


We took in all the sights and sounds.


We climbed. We laughed.


Did I mention we ate?


These campfire donuts were my crowning glory. They were amazing.


They were enjoyed by all.


Camping really is the best. This coming from a non-camper too. While I may not love dirt, bugs, and sleeping on the ground, I can't think of a better sacrifice. The time away from electronics, schedules, and all the crazy is one of the best things. I wouldn't say not to a pop up camper though. Ha.

I hope you enjoyed this Glimpse of Us.


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