Projects Everywhere!

This is short and sweet - here are a few projects and recipes that I have been working on the last month or so!

Recipes:

{Healthy} Pineapple Whip!

So if you have ever been to Disney, you will probably know about Dole's Pineapple Whip that you can purchase. DELICIOUS. Well, this recipe did not fail me. We loved it! The consistency is kind of Rita's Ice-ish. Taste - excellent. Eat it quickly, it melts super fast!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes!

We feasted on this for several days. Molly would ask to eat them as a snack or breakfast -- and I may have said yes to that request. :-) Hey, you pick your battles...

I will say, these needed to roast for MUCH longer (like 15+ minutes) than the recipe called for, but I'm sure that has to do with how thick the potato cubes are, your oven, etc. 

But for real - these are amazing.

Buffalo Chicken Burger!

Mouthwatering. This was easy to make and WELL worth it. SO YUMMY! I took out a burger for Molly before putting the buffalo sauce in for the final cooking stage so that she would eat it. She still didn't eat it...but...you win some, you lose some. She doesn't like chicken unless it's "chick-a-lay".

And now, for a few around-the-house additions. Disclaimer: I got most of these ideas from Pinterest. The original artists are much more talented than I :)

The mirror/window frame was a yard sale find about a year ago, but it was dingy and a 'country' red. My kitchen colors (eventually) will be teal, mustard, and a bright red. So it needed a good cleaning and spray painting. :)

The top right is above the headboard in our bedroom.

Middle canvas is now hanging in Molly's room.

Bottom is a little decoration I made from leftovers of another project and it looks super cute hanging in my kitchen sink window!

Real Style: Natalie

Alright, peeps - time for another installment in the Real Style series! This is Natalie, a young, stylish, professional from Arizona! LOVE her and LOVE her style!!

Natalie's necklace came from Target, but it doesn't appear to still be in stock, so I found something similar available on StoreEnvy.com at a shop with vintage items called Missing Trezures for just $6.55!! 

 Natalie's dress pants are JC Penney's Nine & Co. Modern Fit, which are on sale for $29.99 here! Natalie's tank top underneath the jacket is also from JC Penney, but I am going to assume that most of us already have a go-to tank top for under things like this!

The blazer posed a bit of a challenge, as Natalie originally got hers at Kohl's and they no longer carry them, but I was able to find a similar one for $29.99 at Target, shown below.

Lastly are Natalie's simple earrings - if you don't have a pair of earrings like this - you should! I have about worn mine to death and need a new pair. You can find them just about anywhere, but the most inexpensive deal will be at your local Claire's. :-)

Hope y'all enjoyed this -- I have more outfits from Natalie and will post them soon!

Real Style: Katheryn

An Introduction to this series: Real Style. I would consider myself a fairly fashionable woman. I like to keep in with current styles and ever since my great hold-out of 2002 (last pre-teen not wearing low rise jeans is the title that I've claimed), I have tried to be willing to be open to new styles. 

I can scroll through Pinterest for hours, pinning cute outfit ideas that I have no idea how to accomplish and getting discouraged when I realize the price tag for accomplishing them. So, I decided to do a few blog posts featuring different body types, different walks of life, and different styles on REAL women, and where to purchase the pieces needed for each outfit, as easily affordable as possible!

This is my friend Katheryn. She's gorgeous, right? Not many women can pull off a relaxed but classy look while THIS pregnant...at least, not on a budget. 

Her necklace is no longer available where she purchased it, so I found a similar style for sale on Etsy!

This is the dress, found at Old Navy. Not every Old Navy has a Maternity section (boooooo), but this can be purchased online for $19! (Reg. price is $36.50, which is still not too bad in the Maternity clothing world!)

I found this listing on Etsy for a shop called MaryAnnsWay. The necklace and earring set is only $13!

Pair this outfit with cute wedges or strappy sandals, and taaa daaa! There ya go!

Pinterest Round Up 2/11

My days have been filled to the brim with many things lately and I have a post in the making about a new health supplement system I have been using called Plexus - but that will have to wait for another day.

Today's post is a conglomeration of random Pinterest pins that I have done over the past few months! I don't have pictures of my completed projects because I am a slacker like that. 

1. Christmas 'presents'. These sat on a shelf in my dining room for the whole Christmas season and they were fun to make. I hit a couple of bumps though - burlap doesn't really take kindly to stamps. Sooo, I used a little scrap of muslin from my sister-in-law. I also accidentally hot-glued the pieces of burlap to the wrong sides of the presents....but that was user error, clearly.

  Go HERE to see the original blog and instructions on how to complete this project for yourself!

2. Super cutie-cute way to give a Starbucks gift card to someone. I did this for my sister-in-law and it turned out adorably!!

 Go HERE to see the original blog and instructions on how to complete this project for yourself!

3. Slow Cooker Ham & White Beans - This was great, in theory. But it turned out crazy salty, and I could hardly eat much of it. I would make it again, but less salt. 

 Go HERE to see the original blog and for instructions on how to complete this project for yourself!

4. Arm Knitting - Scarves. EASY EASY! And SO rewarding!! I did mine in green, so I don't have a lot to wear with it, unfortunately, but it turned out so nice! It takes a little patience to get going and you're going to want to wad up the yarn and throw it across the room for about 10 minutes. BUT, you will get it - and then you will be like, "Dude, how did I not get this in the first place?" :-)

 Go HERE to see the original blog and for instructions on how to complete this project for yourself!

5. Annnd, the final project from Pinterest. Smoked Sausage and Roasted Potatoes. AKA, comfort food. My potatoes weren't soft enough, but I needed to cut them into smaller pieces I think. ALSO, we're a meat lovin' family...soo....next time I will do double the kielbasa/sausage. This was just as good leftover, too!

 Go HERE to see the original blog and for instructions on how to complete this project for yourself!

Tea for Twenty-Five

Dear friends of ours are getting married in September and since they are not having a traditional wedding party (bridesmaids or groomsmen) and that is typically who is expected to throw the bridal shower...and because I believe that every woman deserves a good shower in her honor, I took it upon myself to throw a Regency Era Bridal Shower!

I only have a few pictures to share, and none of them are particularly fabulous quality, but that's what you get when you try to be hostess and photographer at the same time. ;-)

This party enabled me to try several Pinterest projects/recipes that I had been eyeing. ALL of them were fantastic. 

Decor: Fresh flowers in mason jars, teacups & saucers, lace tablecloths, and pastel bunting. Just about all of this came from either my own home, my mother's home, or my mother-in-law's home. The sunflowers were given to Katelyn at work on Monday and were (clearly) still GORGEOUS on Saturday!

Cake: Made by Katelyn. Lemon cake with homemade buttercream frosting. Cake topper by yours truly. ;-)

Cake & Tea

Other Food: The main attraction, if I may say so myself, was the scones, jam, and clotted cream. I have made scones before, and they were crumbly - so that's what I was expecting when I made these. They were HANDS DOWN, the best scones I've ever had. The perfect texture, easy to make, and they make a fantastic breakfast leftover!

Scones, Jams, and Clotted Cream

The clotted cream came from the same recipe, and it, too, was delicious. I wasn't quite sure what to expect since I'd never made clotted cream before. [side note: can we find a prettier name for this dish? clotted? ew.] It took a whopping 9 hours in the oven (180 degrees), and another 8 hours cooling in the refrigerator. When I opened up the dish on Saturday morning, I won't lie, I had a moment of panic. No way could I serve my guests the lumpy, gross looking yellow and brown cream that was in front of me. Thankfully, the blog I got the recipe from suggested that I whip it a little bit with a mixer. Once I did that, it looked a little better, but still wasn't the fluffy texture that I wanted it to be, so I dumped the remaining liquid cream from the bottom of the dish into the bowl and whipped it until it was airy, fluffy goodness! 

The last food item that I made to go along with everything were these yummy homemade cream cheese mints. These were EASY as can be, and delicious to boot! I couldn't believe how simple it is to make these! I refrigerated mine before serving them which (in my opinion) made them EVEN more delicious and refreshing. In fact, the recipe made so many that I still have some in my fridge. They are going to be my treat for later. (Yeah, I reward myself for completing tasks like laundry and cleaning...what of it?)

Party Favors: I thought for a long time about what I would send home with our guests as party favors. Typically it would be candy or something like that, but I wanted it to go along with the homemade shabby chic vibe I was channeling, so I was thrilled when I found this recipe for hand lotion! I made it exactly like they said, and I put mine into the tiniest mason jars that I could find, then wrapped them in sheer ribbon...voila! 

Party Favors

The Tea Station

Filled to the Brim!

Top That!

I've been working on a project this week and I'm really excited about it! I haven't upgraded to an Etsy shop yet, so a little Facebook shop is all I've got for now. Check out these cutie-pa-tootie cake toppers that I made!

Click here to go to my new shop - The Tiny Topper!

Let the Awkwardness Begin!

So, first posts are always awkward because you never quite know exactly the best way to begin a blog. In fact, beginnings of things are always kind of awkward and full of mistakes - that's pretty much what this blog is about.

It's about my journey to becoming an accomplished housewife - about my life as a Christian, a homemaker, a wife, a mom, and a creative, fun-loving person. Or at least, learning how to let all of those parts of my life mesh peacefully together. Sometimes they won't mesh perfectly - but don't worry - I'll write about that part, too.