Sunday, March 6, 2011

I'd like to thank the academy....

I've not been a blogger very long, just a few shorts months actually. BUT, I've been a blog stalker for like...forever! Not sure if ya noticed but there are a lot of brilliant women (and men!) out there in blogville!

Creative genius storytellers and oober talented crafters!

Most share their homes, their decors, their crafts. Most make us drool, laugh, dream and create. Some break our hearts, steal our tears and make us appreciate what we may have been overlooking in our own lives.

What ties us all together is the wide world web that is woven into our society, our homes. It connects us in ways unheard of by past generations.
{photo credit}


I love being a part of it all, no matter how small my part may be. Which leads me to....




I was nominated for The Stylish Blogger Award. Thank you, Purple Paisley Pinwheels!

To Accept The Award you must:

1.)Thank and Link Back to the Blogger who awarded you with this award

2.)Share 7 Things About Yourself

3.)Award 8 Recently Discovered Great Bloggers

4.)Contact The Bloggers and inform them of their award

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7 things about me:

1. I am freakishly good at finding 4-leaf clovers! Seriously, I can be walking through my yard at normal pace, notice one in passing, stop and pick it up. No, they don't bring good luck. Yes, where you find one you can usually find another. The most I ever found in one day (in one hour!!) was 16.

2. I am almost 6 foot tall. Yea, yea, you all think that's a good thing until you go jeans shopping with me (36" inseams are HARD to find and usually expensive!). No, I didn't play basketball. No, I'm not model (I have hips!). My hubs is 6'1" so I avoid heels when we will be standing side by side (church).

3. My father, brother and husband all share the same first name, Jeffery (only my hubs spells his Jeffrey). My legal name is Becky as is my grandmother's (mom's mom). My mother and mother-in-law's legal name is Rebecca (Mom goes by Becca, Mil goes by Becky!). Gets confusing at Christmas!! (We go by last initials: Becky C., Becky S., Becky H., Becca B., Jeff E., Jeff C. and brother goes by Rob...whew!)

4. I have a TERRIBLE memory. For real! I almost made it home one day after work when I realized I hadn't picked up my kids at daycare yet! In my defense, I was talking on my cell phone to my sister who had me totally distracted laughing!

5. This is going to sound a little strange but hey, we all have tics, right? Right?? Plz tell me you do, too. I rub the back of my hand against hard surfaces when I walk by them. Walls, doors, counters. No, not ALL surfaces and not ALL the time. But I catch myself rubbing the headboard when I am trying to go to sleep sometimes. My hubs notices it but thinks nothing of it. Plz, don't think I'm a freak. I've done it since I was little.

6. My dog sleeps in the bed with my hubs and I. He's a dachshund so he doesn't take up much room. He curls up in the curve of my back and sleeps there all night. :)

7. I love candles. The ones that smell like vanilla, or clean linens, cupcakes or buttercream icing. I have 6 of them in my living room and I light them almost every night. I love the glow they put off, it makes my home looks so inviting.

So there you have it. A few things about me that you didn't previously know. That was a lot harder than I thought it would have been. Can you think of 7 randon facts about you that you are willing to share about yourself?

And without further ado, here are the 8 bloggers I pass this award onto...

1. GusAndLula

2. BeingBrook

3. This Little Light of Mine

4. Sweet Pea and Pumpkins

5. Pickled Pink

6. My Life as Prose

7. Crafts by Holly

8. 4 Growing Boys

I'm sending out email notifications to all you bloggers I nominated!
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Everone, feel free to comment below with your unusual tics so I know I'm not alone here. ;)

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Giveaway over at A Bowl Full of Lemons and look what I made from The Little Brown House tutorial!!

So I've been gone for a while, huh? Well, baseball has started up again (BOTH my boys are playing this year), I've thrown another baby shower (post and pix to come!!) and I've had a housewarming party in my new home. Whew...my head is still spinning!!

On the upside, my blog is about to get a little more interesting! I have actual stuff to blog about!! :)

First up, there is a great giveaway going on over at A Bowl Full of Lemons. Wanna know what she is giving away?? TUPPERWARE!! I know, I'm dying! Everyone loves Tupperware, right?? And have you seen their new products? Gorg!!

And look at her cabinets!!
I know, it makes me sick! If you could only see my messy pantry. Pitiful shape!

So, yeah, I need some tupperware. If I don't win, can someone donate some to me so my cabinets can look like this??


Head over there to enter!


Next up, look what I made!!

I made my first brown coffee filter wreath!! A big thanks to The Little Brown House for her oh-so-easy to follow (and comical) tutorial.

It took me maybe an hour to complete mine? I used T-pins that were my husband's grandmother's wig pins. Is that disturbing??? I don't think they were ever used...

Anyway, they are now living in a styrofoam wreath. Seriously one of the easiest things I have ever made!!

And how about a sneak peek at that baby shower I hosted for a sweet little baby boy....

You'd never guess (unless you got REALLY close) that the brown pennent was made using BROWN LUNCH SACKS!!!!

Well, that's all you are getting for now. Check back for some more baby shower goodness. :)

Thursday, February 10, 2011

GIVEAWAY!! Who doesn't love chocolate, huh?????



Chocolate and Valentine's go hand in hand, right? So what better time for a chocolate giveaway?? Head over to A Bowl Full of Lemons and get in on this delicious giveaway from Dove Chocolate Discoveries!



Let me warn you, the chocolate is very graphic and may actually make your mouth water just gazing at it. Yeah, it looks that good! So go enter for the giveaway and good luck to you all!


Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Valentine's for Him

What do you have planned for your sweetheart for V-day? Do you go with the traditional romantic celebration or the newly popular unromantic route? I haven't decided yet but the deadline is creeping up on me. I'd like to do something sporty, outdoors and manly this year but it has been SO COLD!! Since I have nothing for now I thought I'd show you what I did last year.




A bouquet with a few of his favs. LaffyTaffy ropes, Slim Jims and some Jack Links. He is usually so difficult to shop for or at least I find it difficult. He is really good at picking out the neatest, most off-the-wall but perfect gifts. For instance: my birthday- thermal laminator, label maker;
{Image Source}



Christmas he got me- small shop vac, tackle box, NetiPot (which I couldn't live without now!!)... seriously, I could go on and on but he always picks THE perfect gift for me. (I know these gifts may sound crazy to some females out there but surely some of you crafties can relate, right?)
{Image Source} :my living room




{Image Source}




And here I am, DAYS before Valentine's Day without a clue what to do for him this year... :(





Giveaway!! Today is the last day so hurry!



Hey girls! I wanna share a wonderful giveaway with you.


Spunky Junk is hosting a giveaway from Jane Henry! Hats for men, women, boys and girls! Plus, there is a discount code for 15% off your ENTIRE ORDER!!
Better hurry, today is the last day to enter.


Monday, February 7, 2011

Thirty-One Gifts Giveaway over at A Bowl Full of Lemons!!!!

You must check out the giveaway over at A Bowl Full of Lemons today! Last day and you aren't gonna wanna miss this one!

She along with Michelle @ Thirty-One Gifts are giving away an Organizing Utility Tote!!! This is one super versatile bag ppl. I have one in BOHO Patchwork Paisley...and I use it for EVERYTHING! My sister uses one for a diaper bag.

Plus!!!! You get to chose your pattern! How great is that?!? And in case you haven't heard, their spring line is in. You MUST go see it. Here's a link. I want one of everything!!

Now go! Go over to A Bowl Full of Lemons and get you chance to win an Organizing Utility Tote from Thirty-One!!!

Some useful tips from other bloggers!

You may have noticed I went AWOL for a little bit. There's a reason for that. I've mentioned before that we just moved into our first home in November last year. My family is throwing me a housewarming next weekend so I've been frantically trying to get some more unpacking done, put out a few Valentine's decorations so it doesn't seem too bare in here and been cleaning like a mad woman!

Now for some tips and hints... I found so many tips for everything from laundry to restless leg syndrome!

Laundry Secret from Coming Home
Follow this link to see how automatic dishwashing detergent can clear up stains from sweat, baby drool and more!




Help with puppy accidents with tips from DogChatForum.com
Click here to see how vinagar can neutralize odors and why you shouldn't use ammonia-based cleaners.



Prevention.com shows you how to use what you have around the house for natural remedies
Salt for athelete's foot? Tonic water for restless legs? Just follow this link.


Got a really good tip you'd like to share? Leave it in the comments below!I'll be back with a few more tips tomorrow! Now I have got to find some storage ideas for all this STUFF! :)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Teacher Gifts- Hand Sanitizer Valentine-ified

So I've been seeing these everywhere out there in blogville. I just HAD to make some for the teachers at Boy Genius' school. (The daycare teachers will get something different. They cannot have alcohol based cleaners in the classrooms with the little ones.) We found some stickers in the scrapbooking dept and thought they would go great on these green bottles of hand sanitizer!


These are super easy to make and did you know that kids LOVE stickers??? I know, shock! Tie a simple little ribbon on the top and WHAM!, you become the teachers pet. ;)

Here's some of the pictures I used as inspiration and a link to their lil beauties!

The Idea Room





Scene of the Grime






Sugar Bee - Craft Edition



Just a Girl




Little Birdie Secrets







Aren't they all fabulous?!? I told you there are some uber-talented ladies out there and I'm thankful to have found them! They sure are making the teachers like me more. (Wink, wink!)

Monday, January 24, 2011

Before and After: Magnolia Print Frame



This was given to me...FREE!! My family is really good to call me before they throw something out or sell it. I've had no idea what to do on our mantel since we moved in, IN NOVEMBER! It has been a blank canvas SCREAMING for help. The frame seemed the perfect size, just needed a makeover.

My MIL had gifted me a box of old fabrics that were her mother's! I found a nice neutral colored fabric (don't know the name of it, sorry) and buried covered the magnolias. Here's a view of the back...



This is the first time I've made the little rolled fabric flowers. I Hot glues three to the bottom corner and thought I was done. HA! I asked The Hubs what he thought. Okay, so there was the first mistake! He said it looked like an empty frame. So what? Well, it DOES kinda look like an empty frame until you get close. :(


So I went digging around the house to see what I could hang over the top of it. I don't have any wreathes (yet!) but I found our loot from last years beach vacay!



So whatdya think? Wish you could see the fabric a little better. I wish I knew the NAME of said fabric so you could at least imagine how it looked in better light, and taken with a better camera. (Hint, hint if you are reading dear sweet hubby...)



Linking up over at:


Photobucket

Ladybug Diaper Cake Reveal!

Pink and Green Ladybug Diaper Cake


I may burn brownies but diaper cakes are no-bake!




Linking up to:

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Party Favor Inspiration

I'll be hosting my second baby shower in my new home next month and I'm trying to find ideas on something I can make on the cheap as party favors for the guests. I stumbled upon these cuties. Whattaya think?
They are coffee cozies but with the weather being so frigid here in the south I'm thinking more along the lines of hot cocoa cozies! Yeah? I'm thinking I could buy some cute fat quarters at Wally World and I already have TONS of buttons. Wanna learn how to make your own coffee/hot chocolate/to-go cup cozy? Jump over to Sweet Pea and Pumpkins to see the full tutorial!http://sweetpeaandpumkins.blogspot.com/2010/12/teachers-gift-part-2-coffee-cozies.html


Next I came across these key fobs. Just like the coffee cozies, they are all over blogville but this tutorial made them look so easy.



For the tutorial click here or visit CraftSanity.


For my sister's shower I made a fabulous homemade vanilla brown sugar body scrub. Found the recipe over at Under the Table and Dreaming. Let me tell you, this was such a hit! I could always make these again.



Then of course there are edible favors. Check out this amazing (and simple!) recipe for Rock Candy over at Creative Juices for Decor.





Cocoa Krispies (which fit right into my blue and brown colors!!) over at Creative Mommas which looked ah-mazing at the shower she put together!



So there's as few of the ideas I'm toyin' with right now. I'll keep looking around but what do you think? Practical vs Edible???

Snow Day!!



This is what I woke up to yesterday morning! Isn't it beautiful!? And with snow, comes snow days! The schools and daycares were closed so I stayed home with the boys and crafted the morning away.





To start, The Baby and I tried to figure out how to use up some of the frozen blueberries The Hubs' aunt gave us. POPSICLES!! I googled it and found this on at www.blueberrycouncil.com. I'll share the directions with you, too.



Blueberry Fruit Pops


1 can (15 1/4-ounce) fruit in heavy syrup* such as pears, peaches or apricots
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup fresh, frozen or canned drained blueberries

In a blender, puree the canned fruit with all the syrup and lemon juice. Transfer to a large measuring cup or pitcher. Return 1/4 cup of the fruit mixture to the blender; add blueberries; blend until pureed. Holding a 6- or 8-ounce plastic cup at an angle, spoon in a layer of fruit puree then a layer of blueberry puree; repeat to make 4 layers filling the cup about two-thirds. Set cup upright and insert a plastic spoon or wooden ice cream stick in the center. Repeat to use all the pureed fruit and blueberries. Place cups on a baking pan for support and freeze until firm, 4 to 6 hours. To serve, place pops at room temperature for 5 minutes then twist from cups.

YIELD: 8 pops


I didn't have a 15 1/4 oz can of fruit so I used a 11oz can of mandarin oranges in heavy syrup and yielded 4 pops.





I left them in the freezer overnight to they were completely frozen. I took a pic of both the boys eating them but... my laptop crashed yesterday :( and I'm afraid I lost all my pix. Thankfully I had drafted all this yesterday meaning to post it then (before I got busy and forgot. oops) so at least I didn't lose all these! The popsicles were yummy btw. I still have LOTS of blueberries to use up though. :)

Thanks for visiting!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

There is a Bug Among Us

So, the stomach virus has been going around everywhere I turn. It hit us a week ago Sunday with The Baby. Then this past Sunday, Boy Genius. Yesterday, me. Ugh. Why does it always strike in the night? And why with such little warning? The iphone should make a virus map app and monitor the spread of the death bug. Can't you see the map now?





It should look just like a weather map with colors and a legend at the bottom so you know how severe it is in your area. Green for diarrhea, yellow for vomitting, red for both. Yuk! But then we could have some warning when the colorful cloud starts rolling into the area! That would save us all a lot of stomach aches, money, clean up heartache. Yeah, we need an app for that. Hey, Apple. Hey, hey Apple. Are ya listening?


Monday, January 17, 2011

Baby Shower Punch


That's what I have it saved under in my recipe book but I've used this punch at housewarming parties, wedding showers and birthday parties... You can make it different colors depending on what your theme/party colors are. I got this from a friend I used to work with. I think she got it from someone at her church.

Basic Recipe:
2 liters of clear lemon-lime soda, I use Sprite or 7-up
Lg Can pineapple juice
1 jar of cherries
1 quart sherbert, slightly thawed

For pink punch: use rasberry sherbert
For green punch: use lime sherbert
Basically, the color of your sherbert determines the color of the punch.

Mix the 4 ingredients together in a large punch bowl. If you are using a small serving bowl, you can mix everything but the sherbert in a pitcher first, then serve half of the sherbert with half of the mixture in your pitcher.

Note: Make sure when adding your cherries you pour the juice in the punch also. The cherries will sink to the bottom so go low with your laddle when serving, that way you get a few in the punch cups. YOU CAN MAKE THIS RECIPE WITHOUT THE CHERRIES. It doesn't add much by way of flavor, it only provides a little snack in your cup when all your punch is gone. ;)

Girl's Pink and Green Baby Shower



I recently hosted a baby shower for my sister. This was her first baby, a little girl. I'll go over a quick run of all the pink and green snacks we had. And then you can look over the pix.
Pink sugar wafer
Strawberry marshmellows
Srawberry milkshake Whoppers
Srawberry cupcakes with cream cheese icing (colored in pink and green, of course)
Pink and green cotton candy (bucket said holiday cotton candy, we found it at WalMart)
Green punch (lime sherbert punch from a friend's recipe)
For party favors, I gathered empty baby food jars, filled them with homemade vanilla brown sugar body scrub, printed some labels onto pink paper using Excel and tied some pretty tulle around the mouth of the jars. Everyone loved using the scrub when they got home!
Now, enjoy some pix...




Figured I'd show you the homemade goodies I made her too. I tried to enlarge this photo a little so you could make everything out. There is a coral colored hooded towel, diapees and wipees, 3 stretchy headbands in pink, black and white and a pink gerber daisy hair clip to attach to them. In the back you can see the jars of body scrub again.




I'll be playing baby shower hostess again next month. My brother and his wife are expecting their first also! :) But this time it's a boy. I'm gathering ideas for homemade baby boy gifts...any ideas?
Are you planning a baby shower in the near future??