Big News!

We're having a baby! July 9, 2013 our first bundle of joy is tentatively scheduled to join our family!

This past weekend we went home for a little gender reveal party to share if baby Riley is a he or she!

I made cake pops that were either pink or blue on the inside so everyone could find out at the same time and put them on my new cake pop tree that I salvaged from a toy store who was going to pitch it.

Each pop had a tag on it...

And baby Riley is.........

 

A GIRL!!!

We're so happy and excited, and so is big cousin Liam!

We can't wait to meet you little miss Riley Jean!

Small Bathroom Organization and Storage

Our bathroom is small, and it has very limited storage. My husband and I may use one too many products, but that's something we probably won't change. I was thinking of ways to use space I wouldn't normally think of, I previously wrote about Re-Purposing Bath and Body Works Candles, which freed up some space on our shelf above the toilet, but that wasn't enough.

So low and behold while wasting time in Wal-Mart one day I saw a shoe organizer in a whole new way.

It's simple, inexpensive and holds a lot of our products!

Do you have any tips for small bathroom storage?

Re-Purposing Bath and Body Works Candles

The three wick candles from Bath and Body Works are to die for! They have the best scents and have so much throw, I can't believe it. They're a little pricy, normally $19.50, but I always buy them during one of their 2/$20 sales and pair it with a coupon. Bath and Body Works always seems to have some sort of coupon floating around out there. The containers are also multipurpose so I don't feel so bad about this little splurge. Here's how my bathroom medicine cupboard now looks with these containers.

 

They're really easy to get to this point too!

Once your candle has completely burned down and the wax is dry put it into the freezer for two hours. When you take it out push a butter knife down into the wax to break it apart. The small metal pieces that held the wick should come up too, but if they don't just wiggle your butter knife under them to loosen them up.

Once you get all the wax out run HOT water into the containers, clean them out with soap and a sponge. After a minute or so of the hot water running the labels on the bottom and front will peel right off.

Fill them up with small trinkets and take a step closer to getting a room organized!

What re-purposing projects have you completed lately?

Pinner Dinner -- Balsamic Chicken, Asparagus and Fresh Mozzarella

Pinterest, I don't think I could ever describe my love for it enough. One of my favorite things to do is find new ideas for dinner. This recipe included some of my favorite things and I couldn't wait to try it out.

The original pin for Balsamic Chicken and Asparagus came from Maggie's Bites, which has lots of great recipes!

Marinating goodness!

I made a few minor adjustments, like baking my chicken at 375* for 45 minutes instead of grilling, because it's basically winter in PA.

Neither Garrett nor I are tomato eaters, so we left those out.

Also, I drizzled my asparagus with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic powder and some Parmesan cheese.

Do you have any variations that would tasty?

Enjoy!

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Meatless Monday -- Asparagus and Green Pepper Stromboli

Meatless Monday is really one of my favorite nights to make dinner because it's a challenge. I give a lot of credit to people who are vegetarians, you need to constantly come up with something so you don't get bored with your meals. This weeks dish has a lot of flavor and was something I wouldn't mind having regularly!

What you'll need:
1 cup chopped asparagus
1 green pepper chopped
2 TBS minced garlic
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1 jar pizza sauce
6 rolls

To Make:
Preheat your oven to 375*.

Mix together asparagus, green pepper, garlic, olive oil, salt, oregano, parsley and pepper.

 Flatten your rolls.

Add 2 TBS of pizza sauce.

Sprinkle on some cheese.

Add two heaping spoonfuls of your asparagus and green pepper mixture.

Fold over, seal edges and bake for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Have you tried any Meatless Monday recipes?


Find me linky partying at:
Craft-O-Maniac

Live Sigma Kappa -- A Thankful Reflection on Things Taken for Granted

Every Thanksgiving, from the time I could remember until 2010, I’ve spent Thanksgiving at my grandparents house with the same spread of food. Delicious as it was, you knew what was to be expected and it was never anything I got overly excited about.

It wasn’t until traditions changed, as family members passed and grandchildren were born, that those little things that came to me every year were no longer a norm. My parents are now the grandparents and we celebrate holidays at their house the same way we did at my own grandparents.

This year, however, has thrown me for a large loop in my holiday plans. My husband’s job requires him to work Thanksgiving and the days following so a trip home is not in our cards. I’ve decided to go on with the most traditional Thanksgiving that the two of us will share together.

I’m very thankful for all of the Thanksgivings I was able to spend with loved ones who have passed and those who are still with me, but this year has me even more thankful and reflective on those past years. I wish I would have spent 10 more minutes at the table instead of napping. I wish I would have paid more attention to exactly how a dish was prepared. Although we’d love to go back, we can’t, so we must learn from the past.

I’d like to share a piece of my family traditions with you in case you too are having to switch up your normal holiday traditions. This recipe is the salad dressing that was used at my grandparents. My own parents haven’t adopted it into their Thanksgiving meal; perhaps it’s what I’ll bring to the table next year.

Things You’ll Need:
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 c vinegar
1 tbsp. celery seed
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 small onion
2 c very chilled vegetable or canola oil

Mix all ingredients in a blender, place in dressing container, serve chilled.

Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is my favorite holiday! I love to create costumes and then dress up and go out. Costumes can get pretty expensive, and this year I think we pulled off a great costume on a budget.

We were Doug Funny and Patty Mayonnaise from the 90s Nickelodeon cartoon. All together both costumes cost $13.98!

A lot of the items we already had so it was a great idea all together.

The things that needed to be purchased were:

My blond wig: $6 on clearance at Big Lots
My blue skirt: $3.99 at Good Will
Garrett's green sweater vest: $3.99 at Good Will (it was a whole sweater we just cut the sleeves off)

I had the shirt and pink felt already so I cut out and sewed polka dots on it to make it match Patty.

What did you dress up as this year?