Fourth of July Inspiration

Have I told you all that right after Christmas, the Fourth of July is my other favorite holiday?  Say what? It’s your second favorite holiday too? Knew there was something I liked about you!

I really wanted to be fun this 4th of July and make cute decorations to put up around the house, and I wanted to make a wreath to hang on my stand by our front door. But unless something changes in the next day or two it looks like I won’t be getting to create any fun patriotic crafts.  You can thank my son’s yucky Hydrocephalus symptoms for that. (Don’t know what Hydrocephalus is? Don’t worry there are awesome sites you can google, or just wait for my next post, titled “Hydrocephalus Sucks.”)
So instead of posting what I made (which was nothing!), I am going to show you what I would have made if Levi’s Hydro symptoms weren’t acting crazy this week.

How about this cute wreath from Landee See, Landee Do


Or this cute Fruit Flag Snack from Momma D and  Da Boyz (My littles would love to munch on that)


Love this Firework wreath from Copy-Cat Crafts


And if I were cool enough I would print out this fun and FREE printable from Madigan Made


So many cool projects right?  If you liked any of them, please try them, and stop by those ladies’ blogs and let them know.

JOOM Giveaway Winner

Sorry I’m posting it a little late, but you know the saying, “better late than never.” 
I am really glad you guys all liked Joom’s shop so much. She has some really beautiful things, right?
As usual, random.org picked the winner, and I really wish I could pull an Oprah, or Ellen and let all of you win!



Congratulations Jesy! I hope you’re really excited.  I’ll be messaging you and you have 48 hours to claim your prize, the AWESOME PILLOW, or the FANTASTIC CASE. 
Thanks again to Joom for letting me host this fun giveaway, and to all of you who participated!

Next month I am going to switch things up and do a different kind of giveaway. Hope you guys will comeback for that too!

Pinterest

If you haven’t heard of Pinterest, you seriously need to check it out. It’s an awesome way to share inspiration, ideas, and all kinds of images that you adore looking at.  It’s your very own virtual inspiration board.

There are pictures like this amazing French inspired kitchen (can’t find source, anyone have it?)

And these self frosting Nutella cupcakes

And this stylish living room (again, source anyone?)

 

It’s all eye candy right?  But fair warning, it’s addictive and you can lose yourself in all the prettiness.  :)

First steps!

Even though I was drop dead tired and almost fell asleep while playing with my kiddos in the afternoon...

and even though our baby girl almost drowned in my parents' pool (not really, I'm being dramatic, she just kind of fell off the step and into the water, but I caught her and all was okay.)...

and even though my son is now in full on jealous of my little sister mode and he sneak attacks her whenever he can...

and even though all I wanted to do for the first half of the day was pay someone to watch my kids so I could take a nap....

YESTERDAY WAS AN AWESOME DAY!

My baby girl took her first steps! And later on in the evening she continued to try out her new skill, impressing her daddy and I completely!  She turned 11 months old yesterday and I am over the moon happy with her and her spunkiness.

And I got her walking on video, because as my mama friends say, "Pics or it didn't HAPPEN!"

How we celebrated my Birthday and Father’s Day

So yesterday was quite the day.  Two amazing events taking place at the same time. My 28th BIRTHDAY and FATHER’S DAY. 

 

I would like to say we went all out and did some awesome dinner, or had a fun date night, or whatever, but I’d be lying. We stayed at home all day, and my parents and sister came over to visit.  I slept in way too long since I had been up almost the whole night with Levi and then Rian waking up so our day felt a little wasted.  But even though the day wasn’t as awesome as it could have been it was still pretty darn good.

1. I got to return my iPhone (the button wasn’t working very well) and got a brand new one. Awesome!

2. I finally broke down and bought an Otter Box case for it using my birthday money. (A fireman at the Apple Store recommended it, said he dropped his phone in a fire and the Otter Box case protected his phone so well that the phone remained undamaged even though his case was toast.) Win!

3. I got my eyebrows threaded for the first time ever! And it didn’t hurt like everyone had warned me. (And I love that they were done with them in 2 –3 minutes. Might not go back to tweezing!) Score!

4. My man made me the best darn trifle cake for my birthday that I have ever tasted! (never mind that it’s the only trifle I’ve ever had.) It was the bomb! Boo-yah!

5. He also made me the most amazing card and envelope that he embroidered my name onto! Is that love or what? Jealous huh?

 

6. This week Levi made me smile and laugh more times than I can count. He is a blessing.

 

Hope you all are having  a great day!

***P.S. Now I have to think of something amazing to get Justin because of all the wonderful things he has done for me this week….Putting my thinking cap on. :)

GIVEAWAY WINNERS

I want to thank you guys for being so great and entering the giveaways we had this week. And I especially want to thank the ladies who let me host the giveaways for them. 

Jenn from Live.Teach.Create.

Milissa from Miss in the Kitchen

Marilyn from Bei Fiori

Alissa from Rags to Stitches

and Joom from, well, joom.

 

All of the giveaways ended last night, except the JOOM GIVEAWAY. You have until Thursday before it closes.

Winner of Giveaway #1 featuring LIVE. TEACH. CREATE.

#10 Michelle

 

Winner of Giveaway #2 featuring MISS IN THE KITCHEN

#20 Angie

 

Winner of Giveaway #3 featuring BEI FIORI

#8 Sarahpv

 

Winner of Giveaway #4 featuring Rags to Stitches

#21 Kim

 

Winner of Giveaway #6 featuring my etsy shop

#24 Kry

All winners were selected using random.org.  Each winner has 48 hours to claim their prize once announced or messaged, or I will choose another winner.

 

Thank you so much for entering and reading my lil’ blog.  

I hope you guys had fun, and will keep reading. :)

Heavenly Fruit Dip

Because there is NO OTHER WAY to describe this awesomeness!
I’m going to break it down for y’all. You need three ingredients. Three sinful ingredients.

2-3 tablespoons of Powdered Sugar
1 8 oz. package of Cream Cheese (softened)
1 7 oz. jar of Marshmallow Puff Stuff (that’s the technical name for it right?)

1. Put your softened cream cheese and your 2-3 tablespoons of powdered sugar into a bowl.
2. Remove the lid from the Marshmallow Crème and take off the foil seal thing.  Then screw your lid back on, but only about half way. (Don’t screw the lid on all the way okay?)
3. Heat the Marshmallow Crème in the microwave anywhere from 15-30 seconds. Take it out just before it starts to look like this:

I wasn’t watching it all that well. Oops…

That’s okay though it’s still good.

Add the whole container of Marshmallow Crème to your bowl.


Then use a hand held mixer and mix up all the ingredients until it looks smooth and creamy… like this

You can serve it immediately or put it in the fridge and for later. 

This stuff is pretty much a diet killer, but dang if it isn’t worth it.

Here’s my favorite way to enjoy this Heavenly Fruit Dip





And there’s no way Rian was going to let me eat it all…She was in love too.


Hope you enjoy it as much as she did!

GIVEAWAY WEEK- BONUS GIVEAWAY!

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!!

So we’ve had an awesome week of giveaway posts, right? It’s been a great BIRTHDAY WEEK. :) Today I wanted to surprise you all with another giveaway. 

This time I am going to give one of you readers a chance to win a $25 credit to my shop, ALWAYS IN WONDER CREATIONS.

I hope you guys are excited!  You are right? Just a little bit?

I really love being creative and adding things to my shop, and recently I started making Pea Pod Necklaces, Family Tree Necklaces, and even made a sweet little Bird’s Nest Necklace for a lovely friend.

I’ve got lots of other goodies in there too. And can pretty much customize any of the above necklaces to create something you’d like.

Okay, so here is how you enter the giveaway. (ALL ENTRIES ARE OPTIONAL!)


1. Visit my shop, ALWAYS IN WONDER, and come back here and let me know what you’d like to use your $25 shop credit on. (1 entry)

2. Follow me… **you can choose which way you want to follow** Google Friend Connect, or Facebook, or Twitter, or email, or RSS. It’s up to you. If you’re already a follower just let me know. And you only get 1 entry total so it doesn’t matter how you follow. (1 ENTRY ONLY) (Check out my side bar on the right for following options)

3. Share about this giveaway on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, or YOUR BLOG. Leave a comment with the link where you shared about the giveaway. (1 entry) (Hint:right below this post are easy buttons you can use to share on FB or Twitter or even blog about it (with Blogger.))

4. If you entered any of the other giveaways this week you can earn 1 extra entry. Just tell me in the comment section one of the other giveaways you entered! (1 entry)


SO JUST TO BE CLEAR…

ALL ENTRIES ARE OPTIONAL, AND EACH PERSON CAN GET UP TO 4 ENTRIES TOTAL.



This giveaway starts today SATURDAY JUNE 18, and ends SUNDAY JUNE 19 11:59 PM.  The winner will be announced MONDAY JUNE 20 and will have 48 hours to claim their prize once they have been announced/notified.


GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

GIVEAWAY WEEK (and Friday Finds)- Featuring joom

Thank goodness it’s Friday right? We’ve had a busy week, full of fun.  I am so happy about this 5th giveaway, and it’s a Friday Finds.  :)

Today I get to feature a shop I found on etsy, called joom. 

 Joom has such an awesome collection in her shop. You can find pillows, cards, tote bags, prints and wall art.  A few of my favorite things are





I asked Joom a few questions so you all could get to know her a bit better and see why her shop is so great.

Joom started her Etsy shop in May 2006.  She got a lot of support from her husband, her dad and friends. She said they gave her a lot of ideas on how to reach her goals.  Joom was inspired by designer Lotta Jansdotter. She said, “I like her style, clean and simple designs. Her work inspired me to start my own line.”  Joom loves working with all kinds of fabrics and continually finds inspiration in nature, music, art, and architecture. She gets inspiration from the world around her,  and  loves to go shopping and do gardening, both of which help her create new items for her shop.  I asked Joom what has been the hardest part about being a handmade shop owner, and she answered honestly, “Improving my design to stay relevant and also staying true to myself.”
(I love when an artist or designer feels good about being themselves and what they have to offer.)

Along with her Etsy shop, joom, you can also connect with her on her website http://www.joomk.com/, or on her
Facebook page.

Joom has generously offered this giveaway’s winner their choice of an
Apricot Peach Cardinal Throw Pillow

OR
Dark Brown Bird on Cherry Blossom Case


Sigh, I want both!  My iPhone needs a sweet cozy case, and I am sure my couch would look much improved if I had some cool throw pillows.

Okay, so here is how you enter the giveaway.  **All entries are optional.**


1. Visit Joom’s shop and come back here and tell me what one of your favorite items is. (1 entry)

2. You can like Joom on Facebook, or  you can add her shop to your favorites on etsy, and come back here and tell me. (up to 2 entries)

3. You can share about this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, or your Blog. Please post the link of where you shared it at in the comment section. (1 entry)


So just so we are clear... ALL ENTRIES ARE OPTIONAL, AND EACH PERSON CAN GET UP TO 4 ENTRIES TOTAL.

This giveaway starts today FRIDAY JUNE 17, and ends THURSDAY JUNE 23  11:59 PM.  The winner will be announced FRIDAY JUNE 24 and will have 48 hours to claim their prize once they have been announced/notified.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

GIVEAWAY WEEK- Featuring RAGS TO STITCHES BOUTIQUE

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!!

Morning FRIENDS! I am super excited to bring you today's giveaway post from my friend, Alissa! She is the creator of RAGS TO STITCHES Boutique and Blog! This girl is great. And she is such a good friend. I hope you guys are as excited as I am!

Hi everyone! My name is Alissa and I blog over at Rags to Stitches. I'm first and foremost a daughter of Christ, wife to an amazing and supportive husband and mommy to two little ones. My daughter just turned 3 and we threw her a Pinwheel birthday party and my son is 19 months old. They keep me busy, but life is never dull around here and I love every second of it. When I'm not sewing for my little online shop, you can find me blogging. I love to blog about life, love, family and things that are inspiring me. I love pouring into relationships and believe it's so important to be intentional in all that I do.

I began blogging four years ago as a way to document our families life when my husband and I got pregnant with our daughter. Then when I opened my online shop in 2009, I began this blog and recently I decided to merge them both. To be honest I was having trouble trying to keep up blogging in both places. I'd love for you to stop by my blog and say hello. If you need a couple good places to start I have a fun pinwheel tutorial post or a post about faith and an amazing God. I also just recently started a new venture in my shop and you can read all about it here. 

Here's where you can find me:

Blog: http://www.ragstostitchesboutique.com/

Shop: http://www.ragstostitches.storenvy.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ragstostitches

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ragstostitches

Isn't she great?  And the stuff in her shop is so cute! 

**Alissa has been super kind and donated a $25 credit to her shop for one of you to win! I am jealous of all of you who get to enter. :) **

Okay, so here is how you enter the giveaway.  All entries are optional.

1. Visit Alissa's shop, and come back here and tell me what you’d like to spend the $25 shop credit on if you won. (1 entry)

2. You can follow Alissa's blog, Rags to Stitches, or  you can follow her on Twitter (@ragstostitches), and come back here and tell me you now follow her. (leave a separate comment for each one, up to 2 entries)

3. You can share about this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, or your Blog. Please post the link of where you shared it at in the comment section. (1 entry)


So just so we are clear. ALL ENTRIES ARE OPTIONAL, AND EACH PERSON CAN GET UP TO 4 ENTRIES TOTAL.

This giveaway starts today THURSDAY JUNE 16, and ends SUNDAY JUNE 19 11:59 PM.  The winner will be announced MONDAY JUNE 20 and will have 48 hours to claim their prize once they have been announced/notified.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! 

Baked, Not Fried Zucchini

 We have a ton, I mean a ton of zucchini at our house.  We’ve got two zucchini plants this summer, and they are growing great.  (If ever you want to try starting a summer garden, squash or zucchinis are some of the easiest plants to grow.) Look at the zucchinis we picked today (my husband swears they weren’t there last night.)
 One thing I love about zucchini is all of the ways you can eat them. They’re perfect for grilling, roasting, sautéing… but one of my favorite guilty pleasures is fried zucchini.

Fried zucchini tastes amazing, but it’s definitely not figure friendly. And even though I love crunchiness of fried zucchini, I don’t like the greasiness.  So instead of frying them I decided to prepare them the same way, but bake them instead.  And I am happy to report that they taste just as good, but there is none of the greasy flavor or mess involved.  Yay! 

And you don’t have to feel bad about eating them! Not frying them means less calories! Double yay, right?

Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients
3-4 Zucchinis cut into spears.
Flour seasoned with pepper, garlic powder, and salt (You can use 1/2 cup or more if needed.)
Eggs, cracked and stirred up
Panko crumbs (About 1/2 cup or more if needed.)

Directions
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Spray olive oil or any kind of cooking spray onto a baking pan.
Get out 3 shallow dishes, or bowls. Pour the eggs, flour, and panko crumbs into the separate dishes.
Coat your zucchini spears in the seasoned flour.  Then dip the zucchini into the eggs. Last, roll your zucchini around in the panko crumbs and place them onto the baking pan. 
When all of your zucchini is on the pan, place it in the oven and bake them until the panko crumbs are browned. 




You can eat them immediately just the way they are, or you can dip them in ranch (guilty over here).

Hope you try them and like them as much as we did!

GIVEAWAY- Featuring BEI FIORI

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!!

Hey everyone! This is the third giveaway post this week in honor of celebrating my 28th Birthday!!

I am really excited to feature my friend Marilyn from BEI FIORI! Marilyn has done a giveaway with me before, and she is just about the loveliest lady!

Remember the awesome goodies from Marilyn’s shop in this post?


I know! I sigh a little each time I see that apron!

This time around, Marilyn has generously offered the winner of this giveaway a $25.00 credit to her shop BEI FIORI.  Told you she was lovely, now you all agree right?

You can spend that credit on anything in her shop. I know if it were me, I would have major problems deciding on what to get. 




See all the cuteness she creates?

Okay, so here is how you enter the giveaway.  All entries are optional.

1. Visit Marilyn’s etsy shop BEI FIORI and come back here and tell me what is your favorite item, or what you’d like to spend the $25 shop credit on. (1 entry)

2. You can follow BEI FIORI on Facebook, and come back here and tell me you follow her now. (1 entry)

3. You can share about this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, or your Blog. Please post the link of where you shared it at in the comment section. (1 entry)


So just so we are clear. ALL ENTRIES ARE OPTIONAL, AND EACH PERSON CAN GET UP TO 3 ENTRIES TOTAL. 

This giveaway starts today WEDNESDAY JUNE 15, and ends SUNDAY JUNE 19 11:59 PM. 

The winner will be announced MONDAY JUNE 20 and will have 48 hours to claim their prize once they have been announced/notified.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!