Wednesday, March 13, 2013

DIY Wreath Form

Wreath - simple decoration that livens up your front door and provides a friendly welcome to guests. We've been having fun 'designing' new wreaths to fit the seasons. Once again, Pinterest is great for inspiration. Last time I made one, I bought a wreath form from Walmart for $5. This time I wanted to try something I had seen on Pinterest and make my own using a pool noodle from the dollar store.


I cut the noodle down until it was the size I wanted it to be and formed a nice circle, and then taped the ends together really good.


Then I wrapped it with twine. {Like I've mentioned before, this takes a really long time. I'm trying to figure out the best way to temporarily attach decorations instead of hot gluing them so I can use the same form for different designs. This wreath was a gift, but my next one I will definitely be figuring that out so I don't have to do this again!}

I made fabric flowers this time and love how they turned out! So, my pool noodle experiment was a success! You would never know by looking at it that that's what the form is made out of!

Monday, March 11, 2013

Fads

Every year the ladies of our church go to a meeting called SPARK. It's been described as "a one-day Vacation Bible School for women". They have a different theme each year and encourage the ladies to dress up for it. This years theme is 'Somewhere In Time' and you're supposed to dress up from different time periods. While some of us ladies were discussing the different fads that come and go, I mentioned how one day Maggie and I will probably look back and wonder why in the world we wore scarves so often! We then started joking around about how we would have all of these scarves and would need to come up with a different way to use them. I decided that it would be fun to see how many 'scarf repurposes' I could think of, so here they are!

{window treatment}

{dusting rag}

{arm sling}

{wreath}

{table runner}

{child leash}

We had fun trying to think of different ways to use them! Can you think of any other ways?

{Disclaimer: No children were hurt in the making of this post :)}

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Saturdays

are for...

... making Apple Fritter Muffins ...

... sitting in the sunshine while reading your Bible ...

... running errands ...

... music practice ...

... working on the church website ...

... eating delicious pizza ...

... making and eating snowballs ...

... sister 'slumber parties' in the living room ...

... warm fires on chilly nights ...

Friday, March 8, 2013

Q&A

Sooo, I was nominated twice for a blog award by two very sweet bloggers about a month ago - Sarah @ A Daughter of the King and Erica @ Aunt Erica. Thank you so much for the nominations! I'm sorry it's taken me this long to do a post, but I did want to at least acknowledge the nominations and answer your questions!

A Daughter of the King asked:

Do you play an instrument, and if so, what? I play both the piano and the flute.
What is your dream vacation? Touring Europe or relaxing somewhere tropical!
What is the most unique thing about you? Mosquitoes absolutely love me! While on a two week camping trip, I counted over 50 mosquito bites just from my knees down!
If you could meet three people, other than Jesus and no matter what time era, who would they be? Queen Esther, the apostle Paul, my future husband ;)
What is your favorite song? And Can It Be

Aunt Erica asked:

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? I would love to go back to Europe...I'm thinking Paris, Scotland, England.
What is your favorite recipe? I'm not sure I could nail it down to one, so I'll go with the first one that came to mind (which probably means it's my favorite!) - The Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls *drool*
Are you a morning person? No
Favorite quote from a movie? Hmm...that's a tough one too. We recently watched North and South, and my favorite quote from that movie is: "I don't want to possess you; I wish to marry you, because I love you!" :)
What is your favorite nail polish color? I'm loving red right now

Be sure to head over and check out Sarah and Erica's blogs!

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Birthday Eats

I mentioned some of the food I had on my birthday in yesterday's post and I thought I'd share the love and give you the recipes! Sound good?



Lemon-Blueberry Yogurt Loaf

For the Loaf:
1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed

For the Lemon Syrup:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar

For the Lemon Glaze:
1 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of one 9 x 5-inch loaf pans; dust with flour, tapping out excess.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing loaf to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.
While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside.
Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf. Brush the top and sides of the loaf with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. Let the cake cool completely.
To make the lemon glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each loaf and let it drip down the sides. Let the lemon glaze harden, about 15 minutes, before serving.

Recipe Notes:
This recipe will also yield about 12 standard muffins or 36 miniature muffins, baking time adjusted.
It could be doubled and baked in a well-greased and floured bundt pan, baking time adjusted.
This recipe could also be baked in an 8-inch square or 9-inch round, to create a thin cake (approx. 1 1/2 inches tall), baking time adjusted.


Frog Eye Salad

16 oz Acini Pepe #44 pasta
3 quarts water
2 tsp salt
1 TBS oil

Bring water to boil. Add oil, salt, and pasta. Follow cooking directions on package.

1 cup sugar
2 TBS flour
1 3/4 cup pineapple juice (drained from canned pineapple)
2 eggs, beaten
1 TBS lemon juice

Combine and cook over medium heat. Stir until thick. Cool to room temperature. Combine with pasta and refrigerate until cold.

3 (11 oz) cans mandarin oranges, drained
2 (20 oz) cans pineapple chunks, drained
1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 (12 oz) cool whip
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup coconut

Mix with pasta and refrigerate.

Note: As you may notice from the ingredient list, this makes alot! If we're only making it for our family, we half the recipe and there's still plenty of leftovers.


Frozen Chocolate-Covered Cappuccino Crunch Cake

1 (10 3/4 oz.) frozen pound cake
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 3/4 cups (11.5-oz. pkg.) chocolate chips
4 cups (1 quart) coffee ice cream, softened
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 3/4 cups coarsely crushed malted milk balls
Frozen whipped topping, thawed (optional)
Coarsely crushed malted milk balls, (optional)

Slice pound cake into 1/8- to 1/4-inch slices. Place half of the slices on bottom of 9-inch springform pan; press down firmly. Set remaining slices aside.

Bring cream just to a boil in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add milk chocolate morsels; let stand 5 minutes. Whisk until well combined and smooth. Pour half of the chocolate mixture over pound cake in pan, spreading evenly to within 1/4-inch of edge of pan. Cover; freeze for 1 1/2 hours or until chocolate is set.

Combine softened ice cream and whipped topping in large bowl. Fold in 1 3/4 cups crushed malted milk balls. Spread over chocolate layer in pan. Cover; freeze until ice cream is firm, about 2 hours.

Top ice cream with remaining pound cake slices; press down firmly. Spread remaining chocolate mixture over pound cake. Cover; freeze at least 6 hours.

To serve, remove sides of pan. Garnish with additional whipped dessert topping and sprinkle with crushed malted milk balls, if desired. To cut cake easily, run a knife under hot water and dry with a paper towel before making slices.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Hello Monday {Birthday Blessings}

Hello breakfast in bed - lemon blueberry bread...yum!

Hello birthday wishes in just about every form of communication possible.

Hello friends and family that make this girl feel so blessed!

Hello SUNSHINE!!


Hello shadows while going for a walk.


Hello birthday dinner - bacon avocado burger, parmesan potato slices, frog eye salad (weird name, but delicious!)

Hello sweet family of mine. (We need to convince Josh and Liz to move here asap...miss them so much)


Hello wider hips birthday cake. Pound cake, coffee ice cream, whoppers, ganache, and whipped cream is a deadly combination!


Hello 26!

"Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah."
Psalm 68:19

Friday, March 1, 2013

insta{friday} & another year

{this makes me happy}

{why walk down the stairs, when you can slide?}

{sisters...sisters...never were there such devoted sisters}

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

The following are pictures from a february photo-a-day challenge
{the order is top left, bottom left, top right, bottom right}

'vintage' // 'angle' // what i'm doing during the 'game' // 'a routine' 

'self portrait' // 'challenge' // 'hobby' // 'in my hand'

'comfort' // 'up' // my dream 'transportation' // 'heart'

'sweet' // 'love is...' // i dislike...' // 'around town' (stayed home that day, but our house looks out over town)

'i wore...' // 'sunshine' // 'lights' // 'in a pocket'

'eyes' // 'handwritten' // 'favorite thing' // 'listening to...'

'every day i...' am surrounded by God's handiwork // 'old photo' // 'favorite spot' // 'i ate...'


  in other friday news...today's my birthday! 26...seriously? where has time gone? how is it that the 'old photo' right up there was NINE years ago?? this past year has been a blessed one for sure and i'm looking forward to see what the Lord has in store for my twenty-sixth year of life!
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