{FEATURE} Salted Caramel Cupcakes

OMG!!!!! I love salted caramel everything!  I can't wait for Starbucks to put the Salted Caramel hot chocolate back out for the winter (UPDATE- Oh yeah- had one this morning and it was awesome)...I drink one almost everyday! So I was beyond excited when I saw this recipe for Salted Caramel Cupcakes!  Check out the recipe over at Me & My Pink Mixer! Thanks Lynda!

Check Your Pockets...

I can't tell you how many times I have found money, carmex, paper and the dreaded ink pen in the washing machine!  I don't always remember to check the pockets and neither does my husband , so we end up with a little of everything in there! Came across this sign on Love Stiched and thought what a great idea! Remind me and my hubby to check our pockets before washing clothes! Check out the tutorial to this great sign!

PS. Pics from the 50th party I just did will be up in a few days!

{FEATURE} Oreo Cookie Ladybug

If you are having are having a  ladybug themed party or just have kids, you have to check out these super cute and extra easy ladybug cookies from my blog pal Courtney over at Between U & Me  They're made with Oreo cookies! Tell me these are not the cutest things you have ever seen. Thanks Courtney!

Picture Taking Mama

I love to take pictures! Whether I am in front of the camera or behind it...I've always been a picture girl!  Guess that's where my child gets it from!  :-)  I have become facinated with natural light photography and would love to get a new camera (a DSLR) to start taking some natural light photos.  I am researching cameras now,  and I think I have narrowed it down to the Nikon D5000. 

This is a photo I took with my regular digital this past weekend...i think it came out pretty good...I was trying to catch the girls at just the right moment (without them seeing me) and in the perfect light.  I think it came out pretty good. What do you think?

Tasty Tuesday- Not So Swedish Meatballs

Not so Swedish Meatballs


I saw a recipe similar to this on a Campbell's Cream of Mushroom can almost 10 years ago. I didn't like all of the ingredients so I switched it up a bit and this is what I came up with. It is now a family favorite, my 3 year old loves it, her dad loves it, everyone that has had it LOVES it. To top that off, it is super easy for a weeknight meal. P.S. Use lean ground beef do not use ground turkey, it does not turn out as well.


1 lb. of lean ground beef

1 egg

2 tablespoons of Worcheshire sauce

1/2 small onion chopped

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

1 dash of hot sauce

salt or seasoning salt (to your taste)

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

1/4 cup of milk

1/4 cup of sour cream

1/2 teaspoon of chili powder

1/4 teaspoon of dried parsley

Mix the ground beef, egg, hot sauce, worceshire sauce, onion, salt and garlic together. Use your hands. Mix well and then form meatballs the size of a large marble (quarter). Brown in skillet for 25-30 minutes on medium heat. Remove meatballs but leave drippings in pan. Add remaining ingredients, stir and mix well, leaving no lumps or clumps. If you like spicy foods, add more chili powder to taste. Add meatballs back and cover, simmer for about 15 minutes. Serve with cooked egg noodles or rice. We usually have green beans with this, it all mixes well together (then the kids will eat the veggies).

...ACTION!!

SHE DID GREAT!  For her first flower girl appearance, my sweet baby girl did GREAT!  She flashed that million dollar smile and thew the flowers like a pro!  Very proud of her! Here are a few pics I took. Some did not come out so well as we were having to stay out of the way of the tv crew.  And speaking of tv crew....the two flower girls were waiting in the foyer, practicing their ballet moves together, unbeknowst to them that a camera man had settled behind them and was taping their every word and move! Too cute! So they will get their 15 seconds of fame along with I am sure a nice shot of them walking down the aisle.

Who? Little ol' me?

this came out so nice! They were watching the bride get into a horse-drawn carriage.

practicing my Photoshop skills. lol

Lights, Camera...

A friend of mine is getting married tomorrow and my daughter is one of the flower girls.  She is extra excited, as this is her first flower girl appearance.  She is even more excited because the wedding is being taped for a show called Four Weddings on TLC!! Once I was informed that the couple had been chosen for the show, I quickly stepped up my flower throwing practice with her! I have a basket in my car that I use to have her practice throwing pretend rose petals and smiling.  It started out so cute and sweet at first, she would pretend to throw the petals and smile sweetly.  But somewhere between then and now, the flower throwing has a little attitude behind it! I asked her to show me how she was going to do it this morning and I got a long sigh and a slight eye roll like "seriously mommy, I got this"! She was throwing imaginary petals like she was feeding chickens or something!  But I did manage to get her to smile pretty for the camera after fitting her headpiece on her!  I will post actual pictures from the wedding next week and I will let everyone know when the episode will air on TLC. So off we go tomorrow, hoping you don't see my child doing the Robot down the isle (or maybe so, THAT would be funny) !TTFN!

Final dress fitting!

Chalkboard Love

Addding this to my Fall projects list...I am SO making my daughter a pink chalkboard this fall.  I wanted something that matched her room but all I could find was the plain old ,basic black chalkboard paint...then along came Hudson Paint (thanks for the post Maddycakes Muse)  they have 24 colors to choose from!  I will definitley be posting this tutorial once I have everything ready!  I like simple projects, things that won't take forever to make but have BIG impact. You canmake just about anything into a chalk board with this paint.  Hopefully some of my blog followers can do this project too and send me pictures when they are done! 

Courtesy of One Pretty Thing

Easy Veggie Tacos

Another Recipe from Raunya


I thought ya'll might enjoy this, let me know if you try it out.

Okay so there is no meat in this but it is good. Not good for something healthy but actually good. The most complicated thing about his recipe is chopping the veggies. Now my busy woman/parent/person tip is to plan your menu for the week out over the weekend, when you are not pressed for time. If I have a new recipe/dish I want to try out I check my pantry, and make sure anything I need that I do not already have is on my grocery list. There is nothing more frustrating than to start cooking/prepping and realize that you don't have marjoram or ginger or in this case cumin. I plan my menu on Saturday (sometimes a few weeks in advance). I do my shopping on Saturday mornings. On Sunday I prep while I am getting dinner started before church. I chop a few onions, celery, and bell pepper and put them in baggies, based on how I want to use them. I love fresh ingredients however you can purchase chopped veggies in the frozen food section and most stores. Picksweet seasoning blend comes in handy in a pinch. In a week that we have these tacos we will usually have another meal that includes black beans or squash.



Ingredients

1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
½ a small onion, sliced
½ cup of julienne carrots
1 cup of bagged broccoli slaw
½ cup of chopped (needs to be fresh) broccoli
½ cup of cooked black beans (canned is okay)
2 tablespoons of taco seasoning
Olive Oil
Feta Cheese
Chopped Cilantro
12 Corn Tortillas (I prefer yellow)


Cream Sauce
1 roasted Jalapeño pepper (optional)
1 cup of Crema Mexicana or sour cream
1/3 cup of salsa

In a large skillet, coat the bottom with olive oil, and heat over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and sauté for a few minutes. Add in all the other vegetables and black beans, and taco seasoning. Mix well and cover for 5 minutes.

In a separate skillet, cover bottom with olive oil and on medium/high heat, warm the corn tortillas on both sides until they become soft and slightly golden.

In a mixing bowl mix the cream and the salsa, if you include the jalapeño put in all in a blender for a few seconds.

Fill each tortilla with the veggie mixture, top with feta, and cream sauce. Enjoy!

Randomness-- For Real? Come on now!

SO mad at this!!!! This is an actual sign out in front of a school!
Read the story on Yahoo
Can we get some spell-check going on here?!

New take on an old fav-- S'mores

Check out this cool recipe for s'mores in a cup courtesy of Madigan Made. Great for parties.  Kids and adults will love this take on an old favorite

Homemade Praline Sauce

No excuse for anyone to say that they can't make a homemade gift for friends and family... not sure how but I came upon a GREAT website called Sweet Baking Supply that has an awesome recipe for a Praline Ice Cream Sauce you can make in the microwave! How easy is that?!  You could be the star of the holidays if you make this and give it out to friends and family! Check it out....And thanks Cindy for posting such a great recipe!

Look at the finished product! YUM!
Check out the directions for this easy treat at Sweet Baking Supply

Fall Project List...

So, I've started to create my fall project list.  Hopefully I will be able to get to them all...no really maybe I should say hopefully I will be able to finish them all!  Some of these I will use as giveways, because if I keep them all, my husband will probably put me out! :-) 

Want to turn this....

into something like this.

And of course on my list are the very useful decorated paint cans!  Home Depot, here I come

Sample Christmas Cans
Love these...they are from a site called Scrap Girls


Plus, I'll be posting some pics of parties that I have coming up! 

Enchilada Casserole

I am always looking for something quick and delish to fix for my family. So I was all into this Enchilada Casserole that my good friend Raunya of Occasions by Raunya whipped up!

1 lb. of ground beef, ground turkey, or cooked chopped chicken breasts


3 cups of Enchilada sauce ( you can use canned or the mix)

4 cups of shredded Mexican blend cheese

18 corn tortillas

oil



1. Cook the meat completely, season with salt and pepper to taste

2. coat the bottom of a 13x9 pan with vegetable oil

3. pour 1 cup of enchilada sauce in the bottom of the pan

4. layer 6 tortillas, 1/2 of the meat, 1 cup of cheese, 1 cup of sauce, top with 6 tortillas

5. repeat step 4

6. top with remaining sauce and the remaining 2 cups of cheese

7. bake in oven covered for 20 minutes, remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes

Snuggle Factory Workshop

For those of you who don't know...I have (on the side-side) a service that I offer called the Snuggle Factory.  It's basically a mobile bear stuffing business.  I do birthday parties, baby showers, etc.  I have branched and and am now going into daycare centers and preschools (very exciting).  So I decided since most people didn't know I was doing this to host an event in October called "Made With My Beary Own Hands"!  It will be a fun, stress-free, affordable time to bring your kids to stuff their own furry pal by hand.  I started this kind of out of necessity, I don't know about you but I hate having to go into the mall to take my little girl to the bear building store there!  WAY too many people, and by the time you get to register, that dang bear has on underwear, sunglasses a fur coat and costs you $50! So I decided to offer something a little more economical but still loads of fun.  You can check out the details on my Facebook page.  This is Lauryn's favorite of all the animal choices...she calls her lambie-pie!  If you'd like to attend, contact me via Email and I will send you a registration form!

GO STARS!

One extra post for the day...My sweet baby girl had her first cheerleader pep rally today and it was the cutest thing! Just a couple of pictures of her cute, smiling face! GO STARS!

Mini Indulgence

I am SO into these mini desserts now...

How many times have you been to a dessert bar and loved EVERYTHING you saw there?  You wanted just a taste of at least 5 different things there?  No doubt, there were many others around you thinking the exact same thing.  Simple fix for your next party, let your guest taste it all with mini dessert samplers.  I am planning to add red velvet minis to my next party, and I will be putting them in these cute shot glasses along with mini tasting spoons ordered from Smarty Had A Party (they have a whole section of  cute mini dishes!)  Check these mini desserts out...

Chartreuse Bride

Even better, how about the shot glass you can eat!
Smarty Had  A Party

 Wedding Obessesion

Inspiration Board

This is the inspiration board I created for a party I have coming up.  The colors are red white and black and it's a 50th birthday party.  I will post pics at the end of the month from the actual party.  I think I am most excited about my red velvet cake shots! Yum! Stay tuned...

Wedding Flip Flop!

I turned a plain old pair of Old Navy flip flops into some of the cutest Bridal flip flops for a friend of mine!  I got this trim on sale at one of my local craft stores. Tell me what you think!  Turned out pretty good I'd say!

Dollar Diva Craft!

E6000 glue is great!  I have glued so many things together with this stuff...it's amazing. I decided that I needed a glass serving plate a few weeks back.  While I was out at the Dollar Tree (one of my favorite places) I remembered that I had seen a serving plate made from items at the Dollar Tree...so here is my attempt at making this serving plate. It came out pretty good and worked very nicely! All you need are a tube of E6000 glue (local craft store or Walmart), 1 glass plate and 1 glass ice cream dish.   I glued the ice cream dish base to the bottom of the plate...I let it dry over night and Voila! 

Decorated Paint Can

I'm all into altering everyday items. I'm fascinated with the results you get when you add a little glue,a little paper and some ribbon to ordinary items. One of my favorites is the paint can.  A lot of different companies sell paint cans (the one in the picture below came from Michael's and is plastic) but my favorite place to get them is Home Depot. Covered in scrapbooking paper and ribbon these cans can be used for so many cool things:

Kids Crafts: fill with children's crafts supplies or even store purchased kits.

Note/journal Can for teens: Create a matching journal and beaded pen to fits inside. Teens can keep all the notes from their friends inside!

New college Student Can: fill with food, quarters for laundry, correspondence materials, phone card.

Money Can: fill with crumpled $1 Bills!

Bath Can: Fill with bath favorites, bubbles, neck pillow, soaps, scrunchy bath puff etc.

Hostess Can: have a few ready over the holidays. Fill with favorite brownie mix, tea towels, gourmet tea or coffee, candies...

Cookie Can: fill with cookies or baked goods.

Rainy Day Can: fill with boredom busters for children; slinky, jacks, yo-yo, silly putty...etc.

Cupcake Can: fill with cupcake/frosting mixes, paper cups, sprinkles and attach recipe to handle

Wedding Day Can: fill with everything the bride will need on her wedding day; clear nail polish (for runs), small snack, sewing kit (make sure to include thread that matches her dress and the bridesmaids... and black for the groom), mini scissors, Tums, Tylenol, hem repair tape, bobby pins, lipstick, pocket mirror, phone book with important numbers... etc.

Baby on the Way: fill with your favorite baby essentials. Can doubles as a baby memento holder! Make a photo album or scrapbook to match.

I am already planning some of these for the holidays.  Remember, you can alter just about anything.  Get those cre8tive juices flowing!

Tinkerbell Party

My sweet daughter turned three this year...at the time she was into Tinkerbell, so my mission was to create a great Tinkerbell experience for her...I think I did a pretty good job. Here are a few pictures...

The Treat Table

Since her birthday was after Easter, I got these lolipops for 25 cents each...peeled the original paper off and added some Tinkerbell confetti to them!

The Birthday Girl in her custom made Tinkerbell tutu

Yummy Birthday Cake