Pottery Barn Easter Giveaway!

The Tomkat Studio is having an awesome giveaway!!! Go check it out and good luck!

Kindi's Baby "Sprinkle"

I had the lovely pleasure of hosting my sister-in-law's "baby sprinkle" today in honor of the upcoming arrival of her new baby girl. Because this is her second baby, we went with the "sprinkle" theme to sprinkle her with love and gifts instead of a huge "shower." We kept it small with only family and close friends. It was so fun planning and getting together. A good friend let me borrow her chocolate fountain which was a new experience for me, but it turned out great. We had huge, juicy strawberries, angel food cake, marshmallows, fruit skewers, brownie bites, mini chocolate chip cookies, donut holes, and rice krispy treats all for dipping. I had jumbo sized cupcakes with sprinkles, chocolate dipped strawberries, pretzel rods dipped in almond bark with sprinkles (noticing my sprinkle theme??) and lime sherbet punch, courtesy of Paula Deen, served in pretty cups dipped in light corn syrup followed by purple sugar crystals. I tried making Martha Stewart's pom-poms which hung over the table. Everything turned out super nice and just like I pictured in my head. A BIG, HUGE thank you to Judy Roberts of Judy Roberts Photography, AKA Mom, for taking all of my awesome photos! She was a big help with everything else, too!!! Now, we just have to wait for that sweet baby's debut! If you are needing any help with planning your next event, shoot me a message!!! I'd love to help!

I ♥ PB!!!

I made these peanut butter sandwich cookies for a Super Bowl party this past weekend. All I can say is...SINFUL. So yummy!!! Got lots of compliments! Check out the recipe at ourbestbites.com. (And unfortunatley mine didn't turn out this pretty, that's why I'm using her photo!)

Valentine's Day Cookies - Take 2

Well, I tried allrecipes.com Best Rolled Sugar Cookies, and well, they just didn't turn out like I was hoping. Tasted good, but expanded super big in the oven. Did not hold their shape at all whatsoever. So, I went back to the Bake at 350 recipe, and they turned out great. I also figured out how to get rid of the air bubbles!!! After you flood the royal icing, let it sit for a good 15 minutes or so covered with a damp paper towel. Then after it's sat for a little bit, gently stir with a spatula and it's ready to go. I think they turned out pretty cute.

Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls

I found this recipe for Cinnabon cinnamon rolls over at allrecipes.com. Love that site! They turned out delicious. I would recommend not baking them at such a high temp, but maybe at 350 degrees and baking for just a little longer. Check them with a toothpick. Also, I doubled the icing, can't have too much icing!!! Definitely a keeper and good Christmas morning tradition!

Valentine's Day Advent Calendar

I am all about starting traditions with my family and when I ran across this advent calendar on another blog, I KNEW it was something fun I wanted to do each year with my kids to celebrate Valentine's Day. I wouldn't have been able to complete this project without the help of my fabulous mom! I will admit, it was a little more work than I anticipated, but so worth it in the end! I cut the pink heart out of about a yard of felt and then cut 4X4 squares and arranged them first before sewing them on. That's where my mom came in! She has a new sewing machine so we put it to work, or actually, I put my mom to work! She's amazing. I'm including some close-ups of some of the cool stitching that it produced. I still need to cover and trim the dowel rod and then I need to also figure out what I'm going to put in the pockets. I have all my cute Valentine's Day paper ready, but I am not sure what I'm wanting to put on it! I'm thinking a fun activity to do that day like going to the indoor playground, baking cookies or cupcakes, having heart shaped pancakes for breakfast....I don't know. I'm still thinking. Or I might put a cute poem or phrase or even a Bible verse....again, still thinking! I'll let ya know what I decide!

LOVE THIS SITE!!!!

You must go check this site out if you are looking for things to do with your kids!!!! http://familyfun.go.com/ I have gotten so many cool Valentine's Day ideas that I cannot wait to try them out with my two sweet peas! I'll have to post pics of anything we do from this site. AND-- I'm working on a Valentine's Day advent calendar to count down the days until the holiday of LOVE. I can't wait to start this new tradition with my kids!!!