My dear friend Amanda made these to pay tribute to those who lost their lives last week in CT.
Monday, December 17, 2012
For my dear friend
My dear friend Amanda made these to pay tribute to those who lost their lives last week in CT.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Quick Dinner • Mexican Sweet Potatoes
After being on vacation for a couple of weeks, I decided to try to use up some sweet potatoes before they went bad. I earlier had pinned a recipe that looked delicious and would fit the bill to use up the few sweet potatoes I had on hand. With all of the ingredients on hand (well, except for the cilantro; oh, and the the canned chipotle peppers), I decided to give it a go for a quick Sunday dinner.
This is the recipe and inspiration for the meal:
I used this recipe as a guide and modified as I saw fit. I rarely every follow a recipe fully; well, except when baking.
For my version:
Microwave 3 sweet potatoes individually using the baked potato mode (please note, I normally don't use the microwave for cooking).
Meanwhile, drain a can of sweet corn and top with some cracked pepper and I used a New Mexican spice blend I purchased from my recent vacation and then let it saute in a small frying pan.
After the potatoes were soft, remove them from the skin and put in a medium bowl with the cream cheese and sour cream.
Blend into a smooth mixture and then add one can of drained black beans and the roasted corn.
Place the Mexican Sweet Potatoes in a glass pie plate and top with your desired amount of shredded cheese and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.
To Serve:
We used the mixture as you would a refried bean and used it as a topping of a tortilla layered with chicken and pork.
What a great meal and definitely a keeper, whether you follow the original recipe or use it to inspire your own version!
This is the recipe and inspiration for the meal:
From "Pinch of Yum"
I used this recipe as a guide and modified as I saw fit. I rarely every follow a recipe fully; well, except when baking.
For my version:
Microwave 3 sweet potatoes individually using the baked potato mode (please note, I normally don't use the microwave for cooking).
Meanwhile, drain a can of sweet corn and top with some cracked pepper and I used a New Mexican spice blend I purchased from my recent vacation and then let it saute in a small frying pan.
After the potatoes were soft, remove them from the skin and put in a medium bowl with the cream cheese and sour cream.
Blend into a smooth mixture and then add one can of drained black beans and the roasted corn.
Place the Mexican Sweet Potatoes in a glass pie plate and top with your desired amount of shredded cheese and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.
To Serve:
We used the mixture as you would a refried bean and used it as a topping of a tortilla layered with chicken and pork.
What a great meal and definitely a keeper, whether you follow the original recipe or use it to inspire your own version!
Sunday, July 15, 2012
A Signature Mark
One of the reasons why I love couponing so much is because it multiplies what you can buy! I know, like I need more reasons to shop!
One ministry that I love to shop for is Operation Christmas Child. Through OCC, shoebox filled gifts are sent throughout the world to children in need. Common items included are school supplies, toys, hygiene items, games, etc. I shop year round for my OCC items and love getting items at their lowest prices!
Year round shopping typically includes shopping for end of season/holiday clearance, back to school shopping and then everyday sales. To assist in finding the best deals, I recommend following www.clipwithpurpose.com and www.livingrichwithcoupons.com as they cover all of my shopping interests.
This year, I also decided to start packing shoeboxes early. As of date, I have packed 10 out of the 12 boxes I'm intending to send to OCC this fall. Whenever I got a shoebox, I wrapped it and packed it right away. Each time, I wrote a content list in order for me to do last minute checks in November.
This is box #10 which includes: hygiene items (toothbrush, toothpaste, hair comb, deodorant, facial tissue pack, two washcloths, soap, hair accessories), school items (backpack, journal, pencil case with pens, pencils, erasers, mini stapler, mini highlighter, paper clips) and clothing and accessories (shirt, necklace, friendship bracelets, hawaiian lei necklace). I'm sure I forgot to list something.
The last thing I want to share is about leaving a signature mark. I bought a roll of masking tape at Michael's (clearance isle, of course) and it wan't until a few months later that I knew it was meant to be used for OCC. I cut one section of tape and affix it to the lid of each box and then fill in the corresponding number (things didn't get complicated until box #10). This is a great way for me to pray for my boxes and know what else is needed in each box.
 |
| The number line is also perfect to reinforce counting skills. |
Please visit www.samaritanspurse.com/occ to learn more about how you can become involved in Operation Christmas Child.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Flower Pot Favors
One of my lovely friends (and long-time neighbor) is getting married this fall and we successfully pulled off her surprise bridal shower! I was asked to help by putting together the favors. We wanted to do something floral and were first thinking of tying up a few packages of flower seeds with pretty ribbon.
I had an idea to combine the table decorations with the favors. Why not, right? Being summer, finding flowers would certainly be no problem. My only concern was finding the right pot. I was unimpressed by the terra cots sold at AC Moore; they just didn't have the right look and I did not want to have to paint 30 pots!
So, off to Michael's I went. Have I mentioned how much I love Michael's?!? My number one rule when going to Michael's is to always grab a cart; you never know what you might spot! Off to the clearance bins I went and there they were... at 60% off! These adorable tin pails were either leftovers from their spring or Mother's Day items. I immediately started searching all of the bins to find 30! Don't worry, I did leave a few for others.
I had an idea to combine the table decorations with the favors. Why not, right? Being summer, finding flowers would certainly be no problem. My only concern was finding the right pot. I was unimpressed by the terra cots sold at AC Moore; they just didn't have the right look and I did not want to have to paint 30 pots!
So, off to Michael's I went. Have I mentioned how much I love Michael's?!? My number one rule when going to Michael's is to always grab a cart; you never know what you might spot! Off to the clearance bins I went and there they were... at 60% off! These adorable tin pails were either leftovers from their spring or Mother's Day items. I immediately started searching all of the bins to find 30! Don't worry, I did leave a few for others.
At the shower, I clustered 6 in the center of each table and the ladies were pleasantly surprised that they could take one home. There were also a few leftover which I placed on the gift table.
Next time you are planning an event, think of ways you can combine decorations with your party favors. Not only will your guests be excited to take home a "piece" of the party; but, it will also leave you with one last thing to clean up. :)
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Apple Cider Flavored Water
A few weeks ago, I saw a pin about a detoxing water mixture that would boost your metabolism and give you energy! Unfortunately, the link was flagged as spam so I do not have further detail about the science behind this blend.
Nonetheless, I decided to give it a try because I rarely drink enough liquids in a day. After drinking the concoction for a few days, I started to refer to it as "Apple Cider Flavored Water."
I have to say that I do feel pretty good after drinking this for almost two weeks now. I have only had a few sodas, an iced mocha and a glass of chocolate milk during the course of the last two weeks. Everything else I've drank has been the flavored water. On average, I have been drinking around 50 ounces a day.
Re-use the apples and cinnamon stick to make three gallons of flavored water and then discard.
Whether this is a miracle energy booster or not, at least it got me to drink more water. And it tastes great too!
Try it out for yourself!
original pin: tonetiki.wordpress.com
Nonetheless, I decided to give it a try because I rarely drink enough liquids in a day. After drinking the concoction for a few days, I started to refer to it as "Apple Cider Flavored Water."
I have to say that I do feel pretty good after drinking this for almost two weeks now. I have only had a few sodas, an iced mocha and a glass of chocolate milk during the course of the last two weeks. Everything else I've drank has been the flavored water. On average, I have been drinking around 50 ounces a day.
Apple Cider Flavored Water
- Cut up one apple and place in a bottom of a gallon pitcher (I cored the apple to remove the seeds).
- Place one cinnamon stick with the apple.
- Fill the container up half way with ice.
- Continue by adding water to fill the pitcher.
- Let the mixture "brew" for 10 minutes before drinking.
Re-use the apples and cinnamon stick to make three gallons of flavored water and then discard.
Whether this is a miracle energy booster or not, at least it got me to drink more water. And it tastes great too!
Try it out for yourself!
original pin: tonetiki.wordpress.com
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Whipped Cherry Lemon Cake
It's been almost a year since I found out I was allergic to eggs and Pinterest has been such a fun way to collect "pins" of food I can eat.
One thing that has been especially difficult is with dessert. With the help of my "Desserts I Can Eat" board, I've been able to collect a bunch of recipes of sweet treats. Now, when I feel the need for sweets, I can go to the board and voila, the recipes are there waiting for me.
One recipe I came across early on was making cake from a boxed cake mix plus one can of soda (which apparently is an old weight watcher's recipe).
Here is my take on it:
Cake:
One box of lemon cake mix
10 oz. of Diet Mountain Dew
Mix the two together and bake as per the boxes directions.
Topping:
Combine 1 container of cool whip with one can of cherry pie filling.
Top the cooled cake with the topping.
Serve and ENJOY!
One thing that has been especially difficult is with dessert. With the help of my "Desserts I Can Eat" board, I've been able to collect a bunch of recipes of sweet treats. Now, when I feel the need for sweets, I can go to the board and voila, the recipes are there waiting for me.
One recipe I came across early on was making cake from a boxed cake mix plus one can of soda (which apparently is an old weight watcher's recipe).
Here is my take on it:
Whipped Cherry Lemon Cake
One box of lemon cake mix
10 oz. of Diet Mountain Dew
Mix the two together and bake as per the boxes directions.
Topping:
Combine 1 container of cool whip with one can of cherry pie filling.
Top the cooled cake with the topping.
Serve and ENJOY!
Saturday, June 23, 2012
I'll take 12
That's right. I bought 12 of them and received $61 in catalinas and
ShopRite gift cards. Sounds great, right?
You can do it too but sorry, you only have today!
What if I also told you that I have never bought or used this product before too? Well, it's true. One of my couponing mottos is if it's free I'll likely by it and if I make money on it I'll definitely buy it!
This is a money making deal buying Clairol Natural Instincts hair color! You will also need 6 coupons from the 6/17 Smartsource circular (I used (4) $5 off 2 and (4) $2 off 1).
Here's the breakdown:
(12) boxes at $5.99 = 71.88
*you will need to do 6 transactions
After each transaction you will get a $6 Catalina
After the sixth and final transaction you will also get a $25 ShopRite gift card reward!
Final money maker of $17.12 (not include tax).
Not a bad day getting paid to shop!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Have a Sweet Summer
In honor of today's brutal heat and the official second day of summer 2012, I wanted to give my idea on my "handwritten" font lettering from my treat top bags.
I initially was thinking of printing the words out and then glueing them onto various backdrops to make the bag tops. After deciding that it would be too much work, I decided to just write them myself.
Because I wanted to give them a "fun" look, I decided I should do a little more than my normal handwriting. That's where my computer came into the project after all. After looking through my fonts, I decided to use one of my favorites, Bumble Bee BV!
Next, I simply typed my phrase and centered it into a box that was roughly the same size the paper I would be using. The computer screen then became my "stencil" as I studied how to form each letter and worked letter by letter on my bag topper.
I initially was thinking of printing the words out and then glueing them onto various backdrops to make the bag tops. After deciding that it would be too much work, I decided to just write them myself.
Because I wanted to give them a "fun" look, I decided I should do a little more than my normal handwriting. That's where my computer came into the project after all. After looking through my fonts, I decided to use one of my favorites, Bumble Bee BV!
Next, I simply typed my phrase and centered it into a box that was roughly the same size the paper I would be using. The computer screen then became my "stencil" as I studied how to form each letter and worked letter by letter on my bag topper.
It's certainly not perfect, but a great way to try a new way to write things by hand.
Try it for yourself next time you want something to look "extra special!"
Friday, June 15, 2012
An unexpected crafting object
A few weeks ago, I hosted a crafting girl's night at my house. One of my crafty friends from sweetsongbirdofmine.blogspot.com/ came with a rather unusual crafting object. I'll give you a few seconds to take a guess. Did you think of something? Well, here is what it was...
A pool noodle!
As you can see, we first used duck tape to transform the noodle into a circle. Our pool noodles would soon become the base for our patriotic wreaths using old jeans.
That night we finished one wreath, which I unfortunately didn't get a picture of with my camera. Over the next week or so, I worked on one myself.
With 50 vintage mother of pearl buttons,
Yarn pom poms,
and burlap and vintage lace!
I just loved the finished product!
With a few more noodles sitting on my crafting table, look for additional variations in the next few weeks!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
End of the Year Teacher Gifts
As a Preschool Director, I'm always looking for ideas for gifts for my ladies. I love giving a thoughtful gift to them because they mean so much to me!
Back in the fall and way before I was introduced to Pinterest, I was at Michael's (which just happens to be one of my favorite spots to find treasures) and noticed cute cupcake liners in the clearance bins. I instantly thought of putting together a baking themed gift as my end of the school year gift.
It wasn't until my rise in Pinterest that I decided that I wanted to make my own cake mixes and present them in a ball jar. Next, came shopping for cute mixing bowls. This is the highlight of the story because I didn't bring the cupcake liners with me when shopping nor did I take notes to their color schemes. But the Lord directed me to the right bowls because the cupcake liners matched and coordinated perfectly. That's right, each and every one. Even the lone purple mixing bowl.
Back in the fall and way before I was introduced to Pinterest, I was at Michael's (which just happens to be one of my favorite spots to find treasures) and noticed cute cupcake liners in the clearance bins. I instantly thought of putting together a baking themed gift as my end of the school year gift.
It wasn't until my rise in Pinterest that I decided that I wanted to make my own cake mixes and present them in a ball jar. Next, came shopping for cute mixing bowls. This is the highlight of the story because I didn't bring the cupcake liners with me when shopping nor did I take notes to their color schemes. But the Lord directed me to the right bowls because the cupcake liners matched and coordinated perfectly. That's right, each and every one. Even the lone purple mixing bowl.
Preparing the cake mixes was simple and I followed a chocolate version from www.frugalouis.com and a yellow version from www.afewshortcuts.com.
After typing the recipe card, I assembled the gift by bunching up one piece of tissue paper at the bottom of the bowl before placing the ball jar. A small piece of tape was affixed to the top of the jar to help the cupcake liner "hat" from falling off.
A little clear wrap and some curling ribbon finished the project. VOILA!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
End of the year Preschool gifts
With the end of the school year drawing near, I've been using pinterest for brainstorming and idea catching. This year I wanted to give a little something to each of the Preschool students.
A pin, "End of the school year treat bag toppers" from anythingbutperfect.com caught my eye! The image was a sweet alligator paired with the wording, "See you lator alligator."
After searching around CVS for candy deals, I left with 6 bags of various Hershey kisses to make 35 treat bags (I would suggest at least one or two more bags). Instead of the alligator theme, I decided to go with "Have a sweet summer!" I then headed to the computer to work on a design for the bag toppers but wasn't getting having much inspiration.
My mind traveled back to many pins of handwriting and calligraphy ideas. Could I learn calligraphy for this? I came up with another idea and back to the computer I went. This time, typing in my phrase and choosing one of my favorite fonts, "Bumble Bee BV" to use as a visual template.
I actually was able to replicate the font fairly easily and only made a few errors. Here is a close up of one of the bags. Check out the font and let me know how I did!
Have a sweet summer!
A pin, "End of the school year treat bag toppers" from anythingbutperfect.com caught my eye! The image was a sweet alligator paired with the wording, "See you lator alligator."
After searching around CVS for candy deals, I left with 6 bags of various Hershey kisses to make 35 treat bags (I would suggest at least one or two more bags). Instead of the alligator theme, I decided to go with "Have a sweet summer!" I then headed to the computer to work on a design for the bag toppers but wasn't getting having much inspiration.
My mind traveled back to many pins of handwriting and calligraphy ideas. Could I learn calligraphy for this? I came up with another idea and back to the computer I went. This time, typing in my phrase and choosing one of my favorite fonts, "Bumble Bee BV" to use as a visual template.
I actually was able to replicate the font fairly easily and only made a few errors. Here is a close up of one of the bags. Check out the font and let me know how I did!
Have a sweet summer!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
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