Crushed Dreams.

It's official.

My childhood dream has been crushed. 

No, No - not this dream ...

haha - shake it girl! :) 

Yes, sadly,  my friends. It's true.

In the 3rd grade I proudly stood up for career day & announced

(in front of the entire school + all the parents mind you)

that I wanted to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.

My parents were humiliated.

( everyone else wanted to be doctors, teachers & firefighters)

Nope. Not me. Those things were lame.

 I had big dreams!

and apparently wanted to shake what my momma gave me. 

{clearly I was too naive to know that my thunder thighs 

and lack of rhythm would kill that dream on their own}

But I'm talking about this dream ...

to marry Prince William.
become a princess.
and live happily ever after.

PLEASE tell me I wasn't the only one that had his poster plastered all over my wall??
{along with JTT - loved.him}

... ripped proudly out of the classiest magazine around - Tiger Beat.

anyone? anyone? anyone?

Well, I'm sure you've heard --

but he's a married man now.

 {and home wrecking ... well, that's not my style!}

So thanks Kate {I mean Catherine?} -- 

thanks for crushing my dream. 

I'm getting over it though --
Life has a funny way of working out!

because I'm the duchess of my own castle around here. 

{and my prince isn't balding}

so take that Kate.

I mean Duchess Catherine.

and on a total serious side note -- her dress was STUNNING.

Timeless, elegant & BEAUTIFUL! 

{loving the neckline & lace}

LOVE.IT.

What I'm lovin' Friday!

TGIF.
I'm feeling all lovey dovey today --
{must be that royal wedding fever}
if.only.we.had.cable! 
ugh.

But here are a few things I'm REALLY loving this week:

My $10 hat from Forever 21.

{ignore my big nose & awful freckles!}

 Monkey Man's new found Independence!

{and his adorable locked-knee walk!}

My fabulous new picnic blanket!

{I'll tell you how I made it next week!}

These gorgeous knobs from Hobby Lobby.

{project coming soon!!}
 

and the wind blowing through my hair when the top's down.

So what about you? 

What are you {loving} today?

Rainy Day Crafts: DIY Bathtub Paint

Oh what can you do on a rainy day, 

when your little monkey is covered in Ravioli from lunch?

Bathtub Painting!!

This is such a fun & simple project!
and the best part -- the clean up is even easier!
{because you're already in the bath. duh. :)}

Monkey man was probably a tad bit too young - 

{he's almost 15 months old}

but with a little bit of help, he had a blast!

Want to make your own Bathtub Paint?

What you need:

- Shaving Cream (Sensitive Skin from the Dollar Tree)

- Food Coloring

- Muffin Tin (Dollar Tree)

- Paint Brush

Fill your muffin tin with shaving cream!

and add a few drops of food coloring to each ...

{I had the most fun mixing the colors, haha}

Now start the bathwater and let your cute little monkey begin creating a masterpiece!

"All children are artists."

-Pablo Picaso

{Wordless Wednesday} - Easter Egg Hunt

1st Easter Egg Hunt!

A Super Birthday Gift: Superhero Cape

I love making homemade gifts for birthdays!

I think they mean so much more!

So when our friend G was turning 4 -

I knew just what to make him!

A SUPERHERO CAPE!

This is what I came up with ...

{at 10 the night before the party!}

I packaged it with a little tag that said, 

"I hope you have a SUPER birthday" ...

and BAM!

you've got yourself a perfect birthday present! :) 

 {One fit for a 4 year old Super Hero}

and now I would like to introduce you to -

{SUPER G}

I heard he likes it! :)

I had a really time hard time finding a tutorial that I liked -

so I just made it up as I went along! 

{but there are tutorials out there if you need a place to get started!}

I used two layers of thin cotton and a velcro strip to attach it.

The G is fabric paint using the Freezer Paper stencil method.

The everything Quiche: A Recipe.

Crafting? Nope! 

Eating? Absolutely!

I have food on the brain!!

 and I loooveee seeing summer vegetables back! 

We had fresh stir fry the other night ...

and had TONS of left over Veggies!!

So I thought a Quiche would be perfect!

Introducing - The Everything Quiche.

Literally, this is the best kind of recipe!

You can't go wrong and anything goes!

Just use whatever veggies you have in the fridge!

It's VERY simple & sooo yummy!

{cinnamon is the secret!} 

Ingredients

• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pastry shell
• Package of pre-cooked Turkey Sausage
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped squash
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

 *Note: I actually doubled my milk & used 8 eggs and made two full Quiche with this recipe. 

1. Bake Pie pastry at 450 F for 5 minutes. Take out of oven. Then reduce heat to 350 F.
2. In a skillet, saute the veggies in butter. Add the salt, pepper and cinnamon; mix well. Spoon into crust. Add pre-cooked Turkey Sausage, cut into small pieces.

 

In a bowl, beat eggs. Add the milk and cheese; mix well. Carefully pour over vegetables. Bake for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. 

  

Now enjoy your delicious quiche!

and then make another to share with sweet friends,

who babysit your monster child on your anniversary!! 

What's your favorite summer vegetable recipe?

Two years down ...

Note: ahhh, I just deleted the best & longest post ever.
So now it will be short & sweet.
Probably better for you. 
but kinda sad for me.

Two years ago today, I was getting all gussied up --

 

and getting ready to marry my best friend!!

We were SO in love.

and SO excited!

There was lots of dancing ...

great food.

great friends.

all our family.

It was just a wonderful, perfect night!

and we had SOOO much fun!!

but then the wedding ended.

and the marriage began.

and so did the troubles.

I expected a Fairy Tale.

and we were living a Horror Movie.

We weren't prepared.

{We sure thought we were}

We had taken all the classes...

read all the books.

but there was no way we could have foreseen the silly fights.

the disagreements. 

We had never lived together.

and we were sooo different.

We argued over diet coke & toilet paper.

I left the cap off the toothpaste.

He left his shoes everywhere.

I hated to clean house.

He was messy.

He thought I should cook.

I didn't like to cook.

I thought he should take out the trash.

 He didn't.

We had different expectations of what our "roles" were. 

We spent the first 3 months arguing.

and crying. 

and fighting.

and wondering what the heck we had done?

{had we really made the biggest mistake of our lives?}

Marital Bliss was a myth.

Maybe everyone was right - 

we rushed into things.

But even with all the fighting ....

we did know ONE thing ...

we loved each other.

more than anything.

so we had to make it work.

and we did.

Slowly.

It got better and better each day!

We started laughing instead of arguing!

We worked out our "roles",

and we created our own version of "marital bliss".

We were young.

We were newlyweds.

and marriage was FUN!

{really fun}

and then SURPRISE!

This little guy rocked our world ...

and we had to start all over...

Our roles changed - 

and it took some adjusting ...

but we figured it out. :)

and we can't imagine our life without our little monkey!

We LOVE being a family!!

{so much in fact - we are doing it again!!}

So as I sit here thinking about the past 2 years ...

I do know one thing.

I love my husband more today than I ever thought possible.

I love the Christian man that he is.

I love the husband he has become.

I love the dad that he is.

I just LOVE him - shoes everywhere and all :)

and that makes me smile!!

and makes me proud! 

We've come a LONG way!

and although we don't have it ALL figured out -

{not even close}

we have learned a LOT!

There will be hard times.

and sad times.

and times you just want to quit. 

or maybe walk away.

but you can't.

That is when you have to fight harder.

and LOVE more.

Two years down.

and a LOT more to go.

but I {really} like the sound of that! 

because all you really need, is love.

oh? and how did we celebrate?

well - that's for another day!

This post is already way too long! :)

But it was GRAND! 

and soo fun!

and we were kid-free!!!

Here's a sneak peak:

So what's your marriage secret?

Was the first year all you had imagined?

Better? Worse?

{Happy Easter}

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day!

{Happy Easter!}

Oh and are you loving his seersucker bowtie?

I made it Saturday night in about 15 minutes!

{I'll show you how this week}

Chocolate Covered Peeps

Today is our Playgroup Easter Hunt!

I'm "hosting" it the park in our neighborhood!

A lot of the moms volunteered to bring snacks ...

so I just focused on two things!

Egg Salad Sandwiches. 

{seemed appropriate, right}

and Peeps.

Chocolate Covered Peeps!

{yummy, gooey heavenly goodness}

if you like peeps. 

which I don't ...

but I hear there are some people that really do. 

But either way ... 

these babies bunnies are super cute! 

and super easy to make!

not sure why mine never look like like the ones I see in blogland??

maybe I need shortening to thin it out? 

any advice?

To make your own chocolate covered bunnies, you'll need:

some Peeps (duh!)

Melting Chocolate (any kind)

Lollipop Sticks (any size)

Sprinkles (if you want)

Target store $1 Pails (or something to put them in)

Floral Foam (Dollar Store!)

some Easter Grass (Dollar Store)

That's it! 

and then you have a super simple, darling treat & display!

I can't wait to show you some of the other Egg Hunt cuteness.

{namely those adorable children with their baskets}

Happy Easter weekend!!! 

What a GLORIOUS Holiday!

Delicious 7 Layer Dip!

It's potluck season! 

{at least it is around here} 

My go-to dish is Mexican 7 Layer Dip!

{it's simple}

{its delicious}

and seriously AMAZING!

source

So the next time you're in a bind ...

and need something deliciously easy --
and super quick & inexpensive ...

try this recipe!

{everyone there will be glad you did}

This may or may not have been my lunch & dinner yesterday! :)

Ingredients:

1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream 

1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
1 large tomato, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch chopped green onions
1 small head iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
In a medium bowl, blend the taco seasoning mix and refried beans.
Spread the mixture onto a large serving platter.
Mix the sour cream and cream cheese in a medium bowl.
Spread over the refried beans.
Top the layers with salsa.
Place a layer of tomato, green bell pepper, green onions and lettuce over the salsa.
Top with Cheddar cheese.
Garnish with black olives.

So what's your go-to dish?

I'm always looking for new recipes!

Wordless Wednesday: {BUSTED}

well, well ---

look who stole the chip bag ...

BUSTED! :)

oh and are you wondering why he's not wearing pants?

well - you can read about there here.

Rock the Stache: Etsy Shoutout!

Mustaches are all the rage right now!

So trendy!
{and I've totally jumped on the bandwagon}

Obsessed actually.

and in celebration of the 'stache --

I've added some ADORABLE Mustache Coffee Cozy's to the shop!

go check them out here!
{but I may just keep them all for myself}