November 19, 2013

{ Last Minute-1 Minute-No Sew Pilgrim Costume }

Last night, right before my little one went to bed, she told me she needed a pilgrim costume to wear to school the next day. Don't you love that? Well, I've found that sometimes we get our most creative when we are under the gun. So I started thinking what we could use that we already had lying around and this is what I came up with. AND it's no sew!!!
Made out of 1 men's black t-shirt & 1 men's white t-shirt. The black tee had writing on it so we turned it inside out. Then I got the white tee out &  used the existing collar & just cut out the pilgrim shaped collar. Then I used the bottom part of the t-shirt for the apron. I cut up both sides & straight across the top then cut 2 slits up each side (careful not to cut them all the way off) for the apron strings. The bottom of the apron is the hem of the t-shirt. It took literally 1 minute & I have one adorable, happy Pilgrim today. Yay!

{I know these are not great instructions so, if you want an official tutorial, let me know.}

June 13, 2013

{ Super Hero Graduation Party }

My son is graduating! Seriously?!!! I can't be that old! Yet, here we are. :)

I have 2 adorable nieces who are also graduating this year. One of them lives far away, but since my other niece lives near us, her mom & I decided it would be fun to throw a party for them together.

The theme was easy since my niece loves Superman & my son loves Batman! 
We wanted to keep it pretty simple, but add some fun too. We held it in our back yard.

I found the GRAD 2013 banner at Michaels, bought 3 of them & made my own banners out of them.

I love how the comic book pendant banners turned out. I found the idea on Pinterest, from Be Different Act Normal, but I couldn't find comic books so I googled images & printed them out in color. They turned out great!



This is another idea I found on Pinterest, from Martha Stewart. It was a little bit time consuming but it turned out soooo cute!!! Each number is the size of a posterboard, so it is pretty big. The pictures are of the graduates (of course) in chronological order.

We used Superman & Batman fabric squares on the tables & simple centerpieces. I got the cool graphics from One Charming Party. The balloon sticks were from Hobby Lobby. I will definitely be using them again.

The dessert table. Yum!

Love how these custom cookies turned out! I ordered them from Raechal's Custom Cookies. Check out her Facebook page here.

And, of course, my little girls had to decorate their chalkboard for the occasion.
The graduates loved the party & they had a lot of people come to support them. Next step is graduation day. Yep! We aren't done yet. 3 more school days left!

April 19, 2013

{ Garden Party Salad Recipes }

I've got two yummy salad recipes for you today. We served both of these at our Garden Party the other day. Yum!


BASIL & TOMATO PASTA SALAD
created by Martha Stewart

2 large ripe tomatoes, seeded & coarsely chopped
4 oven-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
coarse salt & freshly ground pepper
1 lb. garganelle or penne rigate
1 cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed

also:
12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1/4 cup olive oil
coarse salt & freshly ground pepper
coarsely chopped fresh herbs such as oregano, marjoram, flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Combine fresh & oven-dried tomatoes, oil, garlic, salt, & pepper in a large bowl. Marinate at room temperature for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Boil pasta in salted water until al dente, 7-10 minutes. Drain well, and while still hot, toss with tomato mixture.

Coarsely chop basil & combine with pasta. Serve immediately, or at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place tomatoes cut side up o baking sheet. Drizzle with oil & season with salt, pepper, & herbs. Bake until shriveled but still moist, 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.


PEAR & CUCUMBER SALAD
created by ??? {my SIL gave it to me}

1 half lb. bag of Spring Mix lettuce
2 pears, diced
2 cucumbers, diced
Craisins, as much as you like
candied pecans, as much as you like
BRIANNAS Poppy Seed Dressing {my fave!}

{Here's a picture of the dressing. I get it at Target because it's cheaper.}
Toss all ingredients together & serve right away

ENJOY!

April 18, 2013

{ Garden Party }

Well, I'm still alive & figured it was time to move those Christmas pictures down off the top of the blog. Haha.

Yesterday a few friends & I put on a luncheon for a few of our friends just for fun. We talked about gardening and ate and talked. It was great!

Of course, I forgot to take pictures before everyone got there so I hurried quick and took them before too any people got started. But that means they are not the best quality.
Yummy salads. Here is the recipe for the Italian Chopped Salad.
My next post will be recipes for the Basil & Tomato Pasta Salad and the Pear & Cucumber Salad. They were all delicious!

I love my utensil set & have been waiting to use them! I got two sets here and just keep adding to them.
I put the paper plates in a cute pie dish that I had.

My friend made these chocolate cupcakes baked in terra cotta pots. So cute!
She even put candy rocks on top that looked so real!

The Rasperry White Chocolate Bars that another friend made were delicious!
I couldn't stop eating them! You can find the recipe here.

And another friend {it's great throwing a party with help...so much easier!} made these carrot cake cupcakes with little fruit roll up carrots on top.
Adorable! She got the idea here.

Drinks

We also talked about when we serve others how it nourishes us as well. There are so many ways to connect gardening with spiritual concepts.
We handed out potted flowers with this little quote, "Pollinate the world with the pure love of Christ."

It was such a fun afternoon. I can't wait to do it again!

One last thing to share...
My new chalkboard! I found the idea on Pinterest {of course!} and my husband and I threw it together on Saturday so it would be done for the luncheon yesterday.
I love how he hardly blinks now when I tell him I have a new project. Here is the link for the outdoor chalkboard.

Happy Spring everyone!