Card-Making!

K, so there's an annoying shadow on the pic and even though my camera is 10 megapixels, it sucks...but you get the idea. Kirsten let me use a bunch of her supplies (and she has a ton!, lemme tell ya) I made all of these cards using her stamps and cardstock this weekend. It is so much fun and I have a ton of ready-made cards for birthdays, thank yous, and baby showers!

Fabric Button Earrings!

My friend, Kirsten, taught me how to make these adorably simple fabric earrings this week at her house! I am so in love 1) because they are uber-cute and 2) because they are incredibly easy and inexpensive to make ! I just need to get paid now, so I can go buy the kit and get some spunky fabrics. Super excited because these make great gifts and I can make pairs to match my clothes =)

Just Peachy...

Tropical Peach Muffins

1 1/2 whole wheat flour

1/2 cup coconut sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup melted butter

1/4 cup milk or kefir

1 egg

1 cup peeled and diced fresh peaches

Preheat oven to 400. combine dry ingredients then stir in wet ingredients. Fold in peaches. Fill 12 muffin cups that are lined or sprayed. Top with the following mixture:

1/2 cup coconut

1/3 cup packed brown sugar or coconut sugar

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp cinnamon

Stir then mix in 2 T melted butter.

Mix until crumbly then top each muffin with some.

Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.

If you don't want *healthy*, there is a great recipe on allrecipes.com under "peach muffins." Enjoy!

Dress Betty!

Been absent from the bloggie this week, trying to get votes on my Dress Betty design at my favorite boutique, Bags that Fit! I was able to round up 229 votes, but alas, the other chick went on UVU's campus and spent all day there asking strangers to vote and she won with 250 "likes". I don't like losing, but I also don't like spending my whole Saturday asking strangers to log onto Facebook! I had a lot of people rooting for me and trying to round up votes for me and it meant alot. Even though I lost, I came away feeling very *loved* and supported =) (And I SERIOUSLY DID HAVE THE CUTEST OUTFIT!!!)

BREAKFAST {goodness}

German Pancakes

• 1/2 cube butter
• 6 eggs, well beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Dash of cinnamon

Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a 9x13 baking dish, put in 1/2 cube butter and place in heated oven. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs very well, then add milk and flour. Stir in sugar & vanilla & add cinnamon. When mixed, pour in hot pan w/ butter & bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes or until middle is done. Cut into squares and sprinkle powdered sugar on top.

Gramma's Syrup

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 (8 oz. can) evap. milk

Boil sugar & milk, stirring constantly until all sugar is dissolved. Cook over high heat until mixture starts to boi. Remove from heat and add butter. Let sit 5 mins., stir and enjoy!

Serve pancakes w/ strawberries, blueberries, and/or sliced bananas, chopped pecans and sausage links.

{cake} cookies mmmm

what you will need for cake cookies:
1 box of white cake mix (yeah like as in a cake mix)
1 egg
1/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of oil
sprinkles for on top of your cookies

preheat oven at 350 degrees

mix:
cake mix, egg, water, and oil in a large bowl.
in a separate bowl place some sprinkles to cover the bottom of your bowl.
take a teaspoon of the cookie mixture and make it into a ball.
dab one side of your ball in the sprinkles
place sprinkle side up 1" apart from each other on your un-greased cookies sheet.
cook for approx. 15 minutes (add a little more if they seem doughy).
cool on a cooling rack.
enjoy.
and watch the cookies fly faster into your mouth faster than you can say "holy hannah those are good."

Peanut Wraps.

Ingredients:
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 tbs cooking oil (I use peanut oil)
4 cups broccoli slaw (I use one bag and it works fine)
1 medium red onion (I skip this if we don't have it or use a white onion and it's still delish)
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
Tortillas

Peanut Sauce:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy work, I kind of like crunchy for the added crunch)
3 tbs soy sauce
5 tbs water
3 tbs cooking oil
1 or 2 cloves freshly pressed garlic cloves (sometimes I just use garlic powder)

Directions:
Season chicken strips with garlic salt and pepper. In a large skillet cook chicken in hot oil on medium-high until no pink left. Put aside and keep warm.
In same skillet add broccoli mix, onion, and ginger. Cook until crisp but tender.

Make peanut sauce while veggies cook. In a small saucepan combine sauce ingredients, heat and stir until dissolved.

Serve by layering the veggies, chicken, and sauce in a tortilla. Wrap it up. Eat it up. Lick your plate. Makes 6-8 wraps. (Makes a great salad too!)

Cheesy Hashbrown & Ham Casserole {YUMS}

This is a breakfast casserole, but I love it for dinner too! I tried out this recipe yesterday and it is de-li-cious & super easy to make =)


Ingredients

* 1 (32 ounce) package frozen hash brown potatoes
* 8 ounces cooked, diced ham
* 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of potato soup
* 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
* 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
* 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, mix hash browns, ham, cream of potato soup, sour cream, and Cheddar cheese. Spread evenly into prepared dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
3. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly brown. Serve immediately.

A few of my FAVORITE things.. {this week}

Essie Nail Polish in Fiji

Oprah has her favorites list. I have mine. This week I've fallen in love with many things...

Princess and a Pea Boutique adorable and customizable baby shower gifts,

Orange Blossoms Yummy, gluten-free treat!

Magnetic Chalkboard/Recipe Holder Ordered one today in Robin's Egg Blue!

April's Visiting Teaching Kit {to use at GEN CONF!}

Bocci's Italian Village {Monroe, NY}

And of course, Brad & Em's Twitter pages! {brad_Womack and Rickismommy} Love following this! :))

how {freakin cute} is this?

My mom is throwing a baby shower on Sunday for my cousin, Amber. I just happened to come across this Baby Shower Punch and found out that my mom was doing the colors yellow and blue for the party anyway! Perfect. AND the toy that she had picked out for the top of the cake is a little duck! So.much.fun.

{NYC} here I come =)

My bro is getting married on June 23rd in the Manhattan Temple, and they are having a reception at Anthony's Pier 9 (http://www.piernine.com/) in New Castle, NY (near Ali's house) on June 25th. My brother said the food is going to be DOPE. Can't wait.


Pic of one of the venue rooms

Health 101

I have this little notepad that I keep in my purse. Every time I see something on TV, online, or in a magazine that has a good health tip, I jot it down. I've been collecting little tips or facts for over a year now...and I'm out-growing my notepad! So today I'm going to begin to transfer some of these little gems to the bloggity!

PRODUCE SPRAY



This is a spray solution to remove pesticides from produce~
-spray bottle
-1 cup water
-1 cup distilled white vinegar
-1 Tbsp. Baking Soda
-1/2 of a lemon
Spray mixture on produce and let sit for 5 minutes. Scrub and Rinse.



5 SUPER IMMUNITY FOODS:
-Vitamin D3 Supplement
-Papaya-Carrot Juice- increases WBCS with beta-carotene
-Miso Soup (Boosts anti-bodies that attach WBCs)
-Elderberry Juice- Fights Flu
-Garlic- contains allicin, which increase WBCs



KIRKLAND ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY LIQUID DETERGENT

-I l.o.v.e. this detergent 1) Because you pay $13 bucks for 120 loads of laundry, and 2) Because it doesn't contain NPE (Nonylphenol Ethoxylates), which are yuck yuck for you and the environment!



CRANBERRY JUICE
-FYI: Cranberry juice prevents yellowing of the teeth




LONGEVITY GROCERY LIST
-Veggies: Jicama, Kale (Kills cancer cells!), Sweet Potatoes
-Whole Grains: Teff, Amaranth, Millet
-Fruits (3 cups/day) Mango, Dates, Apples
-Proteins (3 servings/day) Trout, Tofu, Brazil Nuts
-Dairy (2 servings/day) Greek Yogurt, Feta Cheese, Buttermilk

Relief Society B'Day Party

I wish it was the Relief Society's birthday everyday!! This morning our stake put on a program, brunch, and craft activity to celebrate the R.S. birthday in March. SO.UPLIFTING. Just what I needed to hear. "We learn from the inside out." "Get rid of the negative mind." "Love yourself and don't compare yourself to anyone else." Wow, I can't even begin to say how wonderful it was. We ate blueberry-pecan french toast RECIPE HERE, fresh fruit, oj and chocolate milk, a candy buffet...and made a cute bookmark. I loved today.

I'm feelin lucky !

Irish Shamrock Cookies & Rainbow Pudding! Hooray for leprechauns & spring!

Ingredients- Shamrock Cookies

* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1 (3 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
* 1 1/3 cups baking mix
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon white sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheet.
2. Cream together the butter or margarine and the pudding mix. Blend in the baking mix, egg and sugar and mix well.
3. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 3/8 inch thickness and cut into cookies with a shamrock cookie cutter.
4. Place cookies on the prepared baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 9 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. Let cookies cool on rack. Frost with green colored icing if desired.

Ingredients- Rainbow Pudding

* vanilla pudding
* food coloring
* bowl
* glass

1. Mix up your pudding, either homemade or from a box. My pudding came from an instant pudding box mix.

2. Since my pudding turned out to be a little on the yellow side, I only need to add a bowl of red and blue to make our rainbow. Divide your pudding into a few bowls, one for each color to be mixed. Add a couple of drops of food coloring and stir.

3. Make each color of the rainbow, mixing a couple of the already colored puddings together to form new colors.

4. After each color is made, using a spoon, layer each color of your pudding into a large clear glass. It’s fun to see the rainbow take shape.

YUMMMMMMMO!

THE CANDY BAR/BUFFET

I <3>

Baby Onesie Cupcake Tutorial

Need a cute baby shower idea?

For this project you'll need:

• 4 receiving blankets
• 4 onesies
• 4 medium rubber bands
• 4 coffee filters
• thin coordinating ribbon
• scissors
• a bakery cupcake box
  

First, fold the receiving blankets down until you have a 3" strip.

Now for the cupcake icing. Lay a onesie over your fist, and poke it down.

Then pinch the top and gather it together.

Lay the icing at the end of the receving blanket and roll it up.

Roll it all the way up, moving down as you go so that the top is peaked.

Wrap it with a rubber band to secure it.

Place it in a coffee filter "wrapper."

Tie it closed with ribbon.

Place them in the bakery box.

Voila!

EXPECTING!!!

My most favorite cousin, Corey, & his wife, Katie, are expecting their first child this summer!! {Due June 30, 2011). I couldn't be happier for them! Can't wait to welcome this new little bundle of joy.

STRAWBERRY MOUSSE & HEART-SHAPED PANCAKES!

Happy Hearts Day! These heart-shaped pancakes are Perfect for breakfast on V-Day & for dinner I made spaghetti (cause it's red) and strawberry mousse for dessert! I like to serve the mousse in goblets and garnish with strawberries. It's all about the presentation, people!

1 cup boiling water

1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Strawberry or Strawberry-Banana Flavor Sugar Free Gelatin

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups thawed COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping

2/3 cup chopped strawberries

Make It

STIR boiling water into gelatin in small bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved.

BEAT Neufchatel and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed until well blended. Gradually add gelatin, beating until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping and strawberries.

SPOON evenly into 8 custard cups or dessert dishes. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm.

Lovin' this table decor!!!!!!

Lisa's B.i.r.t.h.d.a.y Present

I made this photo display for Lisa on her b'day. Thought it turned out cute :~)

Yum Yum Fried Rice

1-2 Chicken breasts or 10 Chicken Tenders (optional diced ham)
4 Scrambled eggs
2 Carrots (finely grated)
½ White onion (finely chopped)
¾ cup Frozen peas
½ cup Butter
1-2 Garlic cloves (crushed)
or 1 tsp garlic Powder
2 cups White rice (not instant)

Marinate chicken in soy sauce, if you do not have much time, mix it with chicken before cooking
In a large frying pan cook chicken in small amount of olive oil, add carrots and onions and sauté until clear.
Add frozen peas and cook until soft.
In a separate pan cook rice then add to the mixture.
In another pan, scramble four eggs, chop finely and add to mixture
Melt 1/2 cup butter, add crushed garlic cloves to butter, stir and add to mixture
Mix all together well, add soy sauce to taste and Enjoy.

Gary & Ali Engaged!

It's official! My little bro called me yesterday {2.12.11}and told me that he had asked Ali to marry him!

Peanut Butter Cup Pie

Tonight we had a ward "service auction" and I auctioned off this Peanut Butter Cup Pie. The recipe can be found on kraftrecipes.com. It's so heavenly...you won't even think that you're eating about 1,000 calories per slice (uh-oh). I bid on a handmade personalized journal and won it! It was a great activity- games, good socializing, lots of awesome service projects, and all of the canned food helped needy families in Utah County. Two thumbs up

My Favorite Stores

So whenever I get in the mood to go shopping (fairly often), I'm always like, "hmmm, where do I wanna go?" A lot of times I'll forget about some of the best stores with the best deals because I get in a routine. I've thought about compiling a list before, and now I'm making myself sit down and do it. Because, it will come in handy & I don't wanna forget places that I enjoy :~) haha, I know, I'm a shop-a-hol-ic.
Here they are:

1. Hobby Lobby
2. Tai-Pan Trading
3. Roberts Arts & Crafts
4. Kirkland's (haven't been here in FOR-EVER bc I forgot, see!)
5. IKEA
6. Kohl's
7. The Buckle (no deals, but I heart their jeans & burn-outs)
8. Papaya
9. White House, Black Market
10.Nordstrom (for shoes!)& Nordstrom Rack
11.Bags That Fit Boutique
12.Downeast Basics
13.Bohme
14.Cherry Lane Boutique
15.TARGET

More to come...

valentine's

Valentine's is probably my least favorite holiday cause it always ends up sucking for me; regardless, it's a holiday & I love to decorate for holidays whether I like them or not. =) So here is my latest craft creation... maybe someday soon I'll l.o.v.e Valentine's Day xoxo, Lori

Up To's...

1. Saw "Morning Glory" & "Despicable Me" with Soda at the dollar theater. Rachel McAdams is seriously one of my fave actresses
   
2. Read "Skinny Bitch".
3. Got back in the swing of things at work- ugh, so many IEP's due.
4. Bought pink & brown leopard fabric to make my first burp cloths!
5. Started reading the biography of Thomas S. Monson
   
6. Trying to lose the lbs. I gained over winter break, using this little blog to help: http://howmanycaloriesshouldieat.com
7. So thankful we finally got a washing machine that works
8. Decorating for Valentine's Day heart heart heart it.
   
9. Getting sick of the cold and snow, ready for spring already!!!
10. Making plans to travel
    

Love,
Me

christmas

I went home to Tennessee for Christmas for two weeks. Mable helped me make my first sewing project. A stocking. (More sewing experiments to come!) I got lots of wonderful gifts, including hot pink hot rollers that I've wanted forever, since I'm not as skillful as Tracy when it comes to using the Ginali curler...:(
We went to Brenda's and baked lots of delicious cookies. I started walking at the old armory gym close to Mom & Dad's house. I ate many yum yum country breakfasts, including my favorite, chocolate & biscuits with fried bologna. MMM. I helped my mom clean. A lot. I met my bro's girlfriend. I drove on the Natchez Trace. I shopped at Cool Springs & got to see all my sweet relatives again. I learned that there are people in Lawrenceburg named Bearcat and Happy Wisdom & that I have a second cousin that drives a 4-different-colored-doored hearse around town (and he's not a mortician). I had a lovely time.