Good Morning, Good Food (Printable and Giveaway)

How do mornings go at your house?

Here, the mornings can get a little hairy. With four boys, there is one thing that morning produces: hungry grumpy little men. They are hungry because well, you know they haven't eaten in the last 30 minutes since the whole they were sleeping thing. They are grumpy because they are hungry.

Let me tell you, some days it just isn't too pleasant. So what is a Momma to do to get a good sunshiney morning? 

The answer is simple. Get them yummy food and get it to them fast. Like, faster than a speeding bullet fast. Throwing cereal at their open mouths is not going to cut it either. They need something delicious, hearty, and packed with protein that will combat the hunger grumpies and will fuel them for a full day of learning and playing.

Enter Jimmy Dean and these Sausage, Egg and Cheese Croissant Sandwiches. Man did these yummy sandwiches make my hungry grumpy monsters happy. Since they are done all warm and delicious in less than three minutes, that takes care of the whole faster than a speeding bullet thing. 

Oh the happiness that happens when my little men eat these sandwiches. They would eat these anytime of day. Pair them with a glass of juice and they are the perfect way to start the day for four growing boys.

Now we have one good morning after another.

I mean look at these happy let's-start-this-day-off-right-faces!

Jimmy Dean offers a wide variety of quick, warm and delicious breakfast options. To learn more about Jimmy Dean and to see a complete list of product offerings visit Jimmy Dean's website or check out the brand on Facebook.

I often greet my boys with a cheerful, if tired, "Good morning Sunshine!" We are having all kinds of good mornings thanks to yummy breakfasts.

Go grab some Jimmy Dean breakfast for an awesome weekend flavor on a busy weekday morning. Also, print this sweet little Good Morning printable to hang up on the fridge.

Download HERE

That's how we start our days around here. What’s your favorite way to start the day off right? Tell me in the comments for a chance to win a $100 VISA gift card.

Entry Instructions: 
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 3/5/2015 – 3/29/2015
Be sure to visit Jimmy Dean’s brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!

Sticker Decal Art

 

One of my boys' rooms is a Star Wars themed room. This room has literally been a work in progress since we moved here over three years ago. A big reason for that is the photo wall. My vision was to have a wall full of frames and different kinds of art that were eclectic yet fit into a more big boy Star Wars room. 

I have had THE hardest time finding things I like (that I can afford of course). I have searched. Slowly I am finding things I like. I also find myself thinking outside the box. 

Like this art for instance. 

I was walking around the aisles of The Mart seeking some creative revelation. I do that sometimes. Just walk around a store seeing what screams at me and what project is just waiting to be discovered.  Anyway, I was walking the party aisle and this sticker practically jumped into my cart.

Right away I saw a framed piece of wall art that could be added to the Star Wars photo wall.

I bought the sticker. I scrounged up a frame I had at home and I grabbed a black piece of paper.

How cool is this sticker?! Guys, this was just a couple of bucks. That is crazy.

In less than five minutes I put the whole thing together. After centering the sticker onto black paper, I cut the paper to fit the frame and mat.

Bam. Done. I love how it looks on the wall. I LOVE how easy it was to make.

The key to all of this...think outside the box when it comes to decorating. Who would have thought that a two dollar sticker would look so fabulous in a frame? This gal. Ha!

Follow along with Just Another Day in Paradise

Instagram        Facebook        Pinterest

Black Bean Salsa

If I had to pick one food that I had to eat for the rest of my life, it would probably be chips and salsa. I love most kinds of salsa as well as most kind of tortilla chips. Well except baked. Sorry, but if you are gonna eat them you might as well just put in the caloric effort.

This black bean salsa is insanely easy to make and will rock your salsa eating world. My sister was over when I was making it and to be honest she was more than a little skeptical as I was making it. You think by now she would just trust my salsa wisdom. But sadly, she still lacks a little faith. Since she too is a lover of all things salsa and chips, she took a leap and took a giant scoop and popped it in her cute little doubting me mouth.

Well of course she loved it. DUH. She should have just known. After all there is bacon in this salsa. Yup I said it BACON. What isn't made better with some bacon? Ever had bacon in your salsa? No. Well here is your chance.

This black bean salsa only has four ingredients. FOUR. I feel like I have exuberantly "yelled" (aka the ALL CAPS) a lot in this post. I am pretty much still really excited about this salsa.

This salsa is pretty healthy with the black beans and all the veggies from the salsa and the jalapeno. There is a little bit of bacon in it, but let's face it bacon gets a health pass because it's deliciousness trumps all that healthy mumbo jumbo.

We paired our black bean salsa with toasted black bean tortilla chips, but I would wager that any kind of tortilla chip would be good with this salsa. So whip yourself up some. Open a bag of chips. Dig on in. And smile.

It is that good.

Black Bean Salsa

Ingredients:
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup salsa
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
5-6 pieces of bacon, cooked and chopped

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl.

Eat right away or refrigerate until ready to serve (up to a few hours).

Follow along with Just Another Day in Paradise

Instagram        Facebook        Pinterest

Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie

Life has been crazy busy around here. Okay, so it is always crazy. However, it just seems to have an extra dose of crazy around here. Things especially get hairy around the time the kids get home from school. Most days it feels a little like a snowball rolling down a massive mountain picking up speed as it goes, taking out trees, moose, rocks, and humans in it way. By trees I mean me. By moose, I mean me. Basically, all of the above, I mean me.

Charming story Larissa, why are you sharing? Good and valid question.

The answer comes down to this: most days if dinner isn't quick and easy and/or already pulled together that means we are having breakfast for dinner.

AKA if it isn't in a slow cooker, then eggs and toast it is. I exaggerate a tad. Sometimes we have tacos.

Since the good old slow cooker has been getting some use, I decided it was time I share a slow cooker recipe here and there. Remember when I would share a slow cooker recipe every Saturday. Remember when it was called Slow Cooker Saturday. 

We had this Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie a few weeks ago. Traditional chicken pot pie is delightful. However, it can also be time intensive to make. I refer back to that whole no time thing I was previously talking about.

Ain't nobody got no time for that. Any one tired of that line yet? Obviously I am not.

This Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie is packed with flavor and it is so simple to throw together.

The filling is made in the slow cooker. Just before the filling is done you pop refrigerator biscuits in the oven. When the filling is done you top with one or two biscuits. You can even sprinkle some shredded cheddar cheese on top if you are feeling wild and crazy.

His and Hers Nightstands

The Hubs and I have been married for 13 1/2 years. In all that glorious wedded bliss we have never had a retreat just for us. Our master bedroom was always the last on the list. We decorated main rooms, we decorated the boys' rooms several times. In two apartments, our first house, and over three years in this house our room has been a hodgepodge of randomness.

Well friends, we are all grown up and are working on our very own wedded bliss oasis FINALLY.

I have been sharing little bits of our #projectmasterbedroom on Instagram (@larissa_anotherday). We have changed the color and brightened up the trim and doors to a nice white. Our favorite part is our new board and batten wall with shelf. Of course I will show that in more depth soon; I have to do a couple of projects to wrap up before I can show you that.

The next favorite part of our Project Master Bedroom is that we now both have nightstands. Each nightstand is different yet coordinates with each other and the general style of the room. Both old and new elements. These nightstands happily flank either side of our bed. His and Hers Nightstands, if you will.

This is a post all about laughing in the face of the idea that nightstand have to be identical to each other. Okay so this post is really about two lovely nightstands that just happen to be on the opposite sides of our beds, hence the His and Hers Nightstands.

Let's start with the His Nightstand.

This is an old nightstand. We have had this since we first got married. This is a Target nightstand from just before Target got really stylish. They were a little stylish, just not as dreamy and irresistible as they are now. I decided it was finally time to spruce it up.

I painted over the laminate honey color with a lovely white chalk paint. Then The Hubs and I attached caster wheels to the bottom to give it not only height, but also a decorative detail.

This white little clock was under $3 at The Mart. I paired them with these great vintage readers, in of course my favorite color blue.

A simple white frame holds a candid wedding shot of The Hubs and I goofing off.

One of my favorite details of the His nightstand is this vintage gym locker basket. LOVE. 

This red lamp from IKEA is a favorite and gives a pop of color. Remind me to thank The Hubs for insisting it stay red (we were originally going to paint it).
 

That was the His nightstand. On to the Hers nightstand.

This is a new nightstand, also from Target but circa really stylish and irresistible (obviously). I love the glass door that allow me to show off some cute storage. The white plastic baskets are from Target. The metal bin is from The Mart.
 

Since I am the lover of blue and white, I accessorized my nightstand with a little more of those colors. I found this glorious bowl in the kitchen section of Target. Little design gems can be found anywhere, so think outside the box.

Instead of a colored lamp, I opted for this very traditional white lamp. We have had the lamp for years and year. I simply put a new shade on top.

After thrifting from around our house, I used this clock and some amazing blue books. These books have been sitting on our bookshelves since before Oldest was even born. Now they have found a new home on my nightstand.

There in all its glory is the Hers nightstand.

With these His and Hers Nightstands we are that much closer to completing Project Master Bedroom. I smile every time I see them. Hopefully I can show you the rest of the room soon.

Follow along with Just Another Day in Paradise

Instagram        Facebook        Pinterest