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!

Summer Pinterest Recipe Round-Up!

I always forget to take pictures during cooking and let's be honest, I dig right in and eat my food as soon as possible, so "after" pictures are just not gonna happen!

Below is a list and commentary of just a few of the recipes that we've been making this summer.

This one is great...if you easily forget what REAL cookie dough tastes like. ;-) It was okay, and in a pinch, it'll do. I'm just not a huge fan of the super tangy aftertaste that even the vanilla version of greek yogurt leaves in your mouth. Aside from that, it was yummy!

Southwest Pasta Salad

So you know how sometimes a recipe will say 'Feeds 6' and then you make it and you're like, "Wait...6 what? Tiny humans with no appetite?' Yeah. Well...trust me, don't double this one. We had pasta salad for days! It was pretty delicious. I made it with whole wheat pasta and added shredded chicken.

Quinoa with Mushrooms & Scallions

I gathered everything for this recipe and my beloved sister-in-law ultimately followed my instructions and put it together. She did a fabulous job! I was worried about Quinoa because I'm not a rice-eater, and I had heard it was rice textured. It was delicious!! We put Pesto Chicken with it and manohman....I'm gonna make it again soon. Delicious as leftovers as well!

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Easy and yummy! A bit on the salty side, and not so great as leftovers as the croutons end up getting soggy.

Pesto Chicken Lasagna

This is probably one of my favorite dishes, ever. It was so tasty! I never knew that I liked Pesto so much before this summer, so now I keep finding recipes with Pesto in it and I'm like - YES!!

Well, it wasn't my healthiest round-up ever...a little heavy on the carbs, but hey - it was pretty delicious! Hope you enjoyed it..let me know how it goes if you make any of these yourself!

Influenster GoVoxBox Round-Up

So, a little late to the game on this one, as I took a little (BIG) road trip to Arkansas last weekend for my cousin, Jill Duggar's, wedding. <--- Blog post on this eventually.

A couple of months ago, a friend referred me to Influenster. HOW MUCH FUN IS THIS CONCEPT. You fill out surveys and write reviews of products that you've already used/tried, and then you are eligible to be selected for trying and reviewing products in a VoxBox. 

I was so excited to learn that I'd been accepted to try the GoVoxBox..I may have danced around the house and watched the mailbox like a hawk!

The above is a picture of what I was given to try, but there were also some coupons that I have not been able to use quite yet! 

The ProFoot PediRock is probably my FAVORITE thing that I received. I had my doubts about this one, but the promise of pedicure-fresh feet was too good to pass up, so I tried it. I know some people feel like feet are gross, but...really...this picture had to be included. 

I tried The Vitamin Shoppe NextStep protein shakes (3 flavors - Chocolate, Vanilla, and Berry) and the blender bottle.

I liked the chocolate, but the vanilla and berry flavors were too chalky/metal tasting for me. The blender bottle was awesome at first, but after one wash, it wouldn't seal anymore and eventually broke. So, count me a little disappointed.

The Blue Diamond Almonds in Blueberry flavor? DELICIOUS. I could have eaten a whole tub of these babies. They were so yummy! I actually did share with my husband and daughter...a little bit.

The rest, I don't have photographic evidence of, but I still have opinions!

AquaSpa Creme Lotion (Lavender)- Feels amazing! Not oily at all, and great hydration. The after-smell is a bit musky for my taste.

ProFoot Triad Orthotics- Meh. Take 'em or leave 'em. They were pretty comfy, but not to the point of being an every day must have. If I had tried them out while running (uh...it's too hot for that right now), I may have felt differently. So, stay tuned and I will try them again in the Fall.

Playtex Sport Tampons- I will just say that I prefer the kind that I already use.

So there ya go! I loved being a part of this and hope to have the chance to review more products in time!

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!

Dijon Syrup Chicken

I'm not the greatest at consistently making dinner. Often times, I get distracted or I don't feel like being creative, so I make an old stand-by (pizza, grilled cheese, chicken salad etc.). HOWEVER, I am trying to turn over a new leaf and find recipes online (mostly Pinterest) that I want to try so that I can at least branch out a little bit.

So, I tried out this recipe called Dijon Syrup Chicken. It was super easy, and SUPER delicious. I wasn't sure about it at first because it's maple syrup...and dijon mustard...on chicken. The combination was foreign to my tastebuds, but Patrick and I both really ended up enjoying it and it's definitely one that I will make again in the future!

Here is a link to the recipe for you to try it out for yourself - it's also on the "recipe" section of my blog for easy access. :-)

Dijon Syrup Chicken