{Baking} Brownie Pops

I've been seeing "pops" of all sorts all over the blogosphere and I'm in LOVE! Tonight I tried some "pops" of my own using brownies. Super simple...just brownies from a box {I like mine extra chocolately so I threw some chocolate chips in the batter}, popsicle sticks, and a little ribbon as an embellishment. I'm sure these could have looked a whole lot cuter if I had been in a more creative mood and maybe added a little icing or sprinkles or something fun! However, my boyfriend napped a total of ONE hour today, so I had my hands full with an extremely cranky little cutie!


I can't wait to experiment more with "pops"! As a matter of fact, my Cake Pop book from Bakerella is due to arrive next week and I'm hoping to get some fun ideas/recipes!!!

{Recipes} Zucchini Pie

I made my sis-in-law's {Jane} zucchini pie tonight for dinner and now I'm hooked! It's sorta like a summery version of sheppard's pie, which I LOVE! Pair this with some Jersey corn-on-the-cob, and you've got yourself a PERFECT summer feast!

Ingredients:
~ pie crust
~ 1 lb. ground beef or turkey
~ 1 large zucchini
~ 1/2 onion, diced
~ 1 large jersey tomato, thinly sliced
~ butter {about a pat}
~ 1 bag shredded cheddar cheese
~ Salt & Pepper

Directions:
~ Spray your pie pan with PAM and arrange pie crust inside
~ Brown your beef or turkey and season with a little S & P
~ Saute your zucchini and onions in the butter
~ Layer your beef then zucchini/onions and then your tomato on top
~ Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top
~ Bake at 350 or approximately 30 minutes {or until cheese is melted and crust is golden}.
~ LOVE THIS MEAL...ENJOY!

{Crafting} My Lil' Fella is 6 Months...WHAT?!?!

Aside from the fact that I am still in shock over my BABY being 6 months old, I wanted to do something a little different for his 1/2 year onesie. So....I thought it might be cute to dye it. Wrong. It came out all blotched! He looks adorable no matter what, but I think I'll stick with white for the rest! And, I definitely should have used fabric for the six....those curves were a little tricky with ribbon!


LOVE THIS SWEET BOY! I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'D DO WITHOUT HIM!!!

{Cupcakes} CUTE CUTE CUTE!

Pretty cupcake liners from Bake It Pretty {link on my sidebar}. They have some very fun baking/party supplies! There are quite a few items that I'd love to purchase {and just might!}.

Cupcakes exploded on the scene of weddings, showers, birthday parties, and more a few years ago. The "cupcake madness" has seemed to have died down a little, but I still love a cute and delicious cupcake when I see/taste one! Pound cake with cream cheese frosting is hands down my fav!


Don't these just scream summer?! They remind me of a pretty day at the beach. Love the sheen to the sprinkles.


Back to School? These would be cute for my fellow team teachers....hmmmm. I was going to make pumpkin apple muffins {recipe to follow soon!} for everyone, but these are much more adorable to look at :-}


LOVE these! So cute for the fall/Halloween and they look fairly simple to make. I'll be trying them in the coming months and let you know how they turn out!


Gorgeous....like a spring rose. I am not talented enough to EVER be able to make something like this!


How about these?! Perfect for a summer barbeque! Bakerella had created something just like these a few months ago {and even included sugar cookie fries!}.


These would be adorable for any spring themed party. The soft yellow, the flower made from a lollipop....so clever!


Chocolate heaven! And aren't the wrappers beautiful?!

***I have been collecting these pictures for some time now and have lost track of where I found them....oooops! If one of these originated from your website/blog, please shoot me an email and I'd be glad to post a photo credit!***

{Bookmarks} Baby Girl Arriving...

My mom is hosting a little baby shower for a young couple who attend my parents weekly bible study. They are about to have a little girl after having two boys. My mom wanted me to make her the exact same bookmarks I made for my own baby shower back in January as her favors. Of course I swapped out the blue for pink and took out all of the personalized info.


I added dark and light pink polka dot ribbon to each. My mom's intention was for this favor to serve as a new bookmark for each woman's bible. The verse on these is oh so appropriate for a new baby about to enter the world {Psalm 139: 13-14}.


Lastly, I had this little glass vase that I quickly tied another piece of the pink polka dot ribbon around for my mom to display the bookmarks in and for each guest to easily grab on her way out the door.

{Entertaining} Banana "Splits" in a "Split" Second!

These little modified banana splits are what I call one of my "cheat" desserts. "Cheat" because they might be the easiest dessert alive to whip up...I'm talking 2 minutes. I've served them many a time when I have a girls' night or Bo and I have friends over for dinner. I serve mine in these fun martini glasses {I have a red one and yellow one too!}, and they're always a hit because they are so adorable but make a sophisticated statement at the same time! No messy mixing bowls, no oven to deal with, no millions of dishes to clean up...just a few simple ingredients which include vanilla ice cream, bananas, strawberries, Hershey's syrup, whipped cream, and cherries. Arrange them all in the martini glass and voila. ***Make sure you cut your banana in half and then cut again lengthwise and stick in each side of the martini glass. That's my favorite part!***


I made these for Bo and I tonight for dessert and since we're both watching our waistlines {ughh!} I made a healthier version by swapping the ice cream with fro yo, the whipped cream with light whipped cream, and lightening up on the Hershey's syrup. No need to do anything with the bananas and strawberries...they're already good for you! Trust me, it was just as tasty as the fattier version! ENJOY!

{Random} TGIF!

What a perfect summer evening for a date night happy hour! Bo and I have been dying to try the new Riverwinds Restaurant, so tonight it is! Drinks and apps and maybe even dessert....Mmmmm! Thankfully, Uncle Rob & Aunt Jane are babysitting R. Dean for us for a couple of hours.

We might even attempt to take Dean to his first Phillies game after church on Sunday afternoon if we're feeling brave and the weather cooperates :-}

Then my sis and nephew are coming home for a little visit next week!!!! Can't wait to see them and spend some quality time poolside before the new baby boy or girl arrives in early September! If there's time, we might even try to squeeze in Dean's 6 month photo shoot with my very talented photographer friend, Karen of Karen Carpenter Photography! Then packing for a weekend trip to the shore with my hubby's family :-} Keeping busy with my best boy and savoring every last moment of my time with him before the summer ends and I'm back to work {and probably crying my eyes out}.

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!

{Photo compliments of Home Goods}

{Recipes} Stuffed Mushrooms

I made these yummy little stuffed mushrooms tonight for a Girls' Night with some of my high school friends that I still keep in touch with. My mother-in-law makes these all of time and I LOVE them. They are easy and delicious!

Ingredients:
~ 2 packages baby bella mushrooms
~ 1/2 onion - diced
~ 1/4 stick butter
~ breadcrumbs
~ parmasean cheese {shaker cheese}
~ parsley
~ S & P

Directions:
~ Tear off stems of mushrooms and place in food processor {I put mine in my chopper so they are finely chopped}
~ Place remaining mushrooms tops on a greased cookie sheet {use spoon to push out sides so you have a nice area to place filling}
~ Melt butter in skillet
~ Add diced onions {they should be translucent}
~ Add finely chopped mushrooms stems
~ Sprinkle a little parm cheese and add small amounts of breadcrumbs at a time, stopping to stir in between to get the right consistency {mixture should be a nice consistency to spoon into mushroom tops}
~ Add a little parsley for color and S & P for taste
~ Spoon warm mixture into mushroom tops
~ Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes
~ Add toothpicks for easy grabbing!


I just happened to find these adorable pinwheel picks in my cabinet tonight. I bought them at Pier One Imports years ago and had completely forgotten about them! Cute, right!?!

{Fashion} Rosettes!

Where was this little number {sans the red flower} about a week ago when I had my LAST wedding of the summer??? I'll have you know I looked high and low for a dress with rosettes only to come up empty handed. Of course I come across THIS yesterday! The entire skirt is lined with these rich looking ribbon rosettes, which I have a small obsession with lately. Hmmmm...I'm thinking maybe it'd be cute for Bo's work Christmas party this winter ;-}

{Dress & photo from White House Black Market}

{Cooking} Mexican Lasagna

Tonight was a perfect night for a cozy little meal like Mexican Lasagna {originally shared with me by my sister, who is an excellent cook!} since it was kind of rainy and blah outside.


Ingredients:
~ diced onion & green pepper
~ 1 can of reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
~ 1 can of black beans {drained}
~ 1 can of diced tomatoes {chili style or regular}
~ 1 bag frozen white corn
~ 1 lb. ground turkey or beef
~ 2-3 whole wheat flour tortillas
~ 1 bag of taco cheese
~ cumin, chili powder, oregano, S & P

Directions:
~ Brown ground turkey or beef in skillet and drain the fat/grease
~ Add onions, green pepper, black beans, & corn to the turkey/beef
~ In a separate bowl, combine the soup & diced tomatoes
~ Combine the two together and add seasonings {a little sprinkle of cumin, chili powder, oregano, S & P}
~ In a lasagna pan, spread 1/2 the mix, then layer the tortillas on top, and then add the other 1/2 of mix
~ Sprinkle the top with taco cheese
~ Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20-30 minutes
~ Serve with sour cream {and tostitos are yummy too!}
~ ENJOY!


A salad makes a tasty and healthy side dish for this little casserole!


Baby boy would have had some too if I had let him! Haha...he LOVES to eat!

{Crafting} Cork Board

A couple of weeks ago, Bo and I switched around the furniture in the office/craft room. I now have a big wall behind my craft table and I've been working on a little wall collage for that space. Something I wanted to include in the collage was a place to display some of my projects, so I made this fabric covered cork board. Does the fabric look familiar?! I used old scraps from the fabric I used as tablecovers at my sister's sprinkle.


All I did was cover a cork board with fabric using a staple gun. Then I attached some ribbon, and lastly I added buttons in the places where the ribbon overlapped using a hot glue gun.


I love this because I can slide the projects and pictures I want to display under the ribbon, and it holds my things in place.


Items I used to make this:
~ square cork board
~ fabric
~ ribbon
~ buttons
~ staple gun
~ hot glue gun

This took me about 20 minutes to put together! Easy and cute!

{Weddings} Cute Idea!

Here's a fun idea for all you brides out there! I was looking through some of my old documents the other day and came across something I sent to my bridesmaids when I was planning my wedding. It was a "Bridesmaid Newsletter" and I had so much fun creating these! I made three editions and sent one out each month in the three months prior to my June wedding. It was a great way for me to fill my girls in on some of the important details they needed to know without having to call each one everytime something came up. I listed everything from info about their hair appointments, to their jewelry, to a timeline of events for the BIG day! I created these in Microsoft Word...it makes me giggle to read this now that I've been married for over two years :-}

{Pictures} My Baby's Dedication

I recieved the pictures from Dean's dedication the other day and wanted to post a few of my favorites! {All pictures taken by Lori Leigh Photography}


This is one of my favorite pictures from that day {me and my boy just before his dedication service started}. I love this baby more than words can do justice and am so, so, so blessed that the Lord chose me to be his mother.

"A mother's love is the sweetest love a child will ever know." Anonymous


The dedication itself took place on a covered outdoor patio at The Rushes. Chairs were set up for our guests to view the service, and we were able to stand in a place where the beautiful golf course was our backdrop. Reverend James Watson performed the dedication. He also married my husband and I two years ago and baptized me when I was 10!


My husband and I listening to Jim's beautiful service.


One of my little programs on my sister-in-law's lap.


Some of my family watching the service.


Jack couldn't stop talking during the service so his daddy had to have a little chat with him in the corner - haha. Love him!


Dean and his amazing Daddy.


After the service, everyone moved inside to a small private room for a breakfast buffet. I had a little table set up with Dean's picture, his cake, invitation, etc.


His first bible from Mommom & Pop.


Bo and I wanted to include a few yummy cocktails to compliment the breakfast buffet. Mimosas and Bloody Marys it was!


The waitresses buttlered them around the room for everyone to enjoy.


I loved this cake! An old church friend who is a very talented pastry chef made it for me. Not only did it perfectly coordinate with the invitation and coordinating items I made, but it was delicious! I added the cake topper for a little extra flare :-}


A little slice of heaven....vanilla bavarian with a fresh berry filling.


Each table held a centerpiece that I made along with a tented menu listing all of the eats for the day.


Family & friends enjoying their brunch!


Our sweet boy being loved by our wonderful families!

***To see the invitations and all coordinating items {programs, menus, centerpieces & centerpiece sticks, cake topper, thank you cards, etc.} I made for this event, please click on "Dedication" under "Things I Blog About" on my sidebar!***

{Bar Menu} Signature Cocktail

Loving the way this bar menu turned out for my friend Lauren's wedding! Her signature cocktail has champagne {aka bubbly} in it, so I thought it would be fun to add bubbles to her sign! You can bet I'll be trying a "Sparkling Razz"on Friday night!

{Inspiration} Family Tree

I spotted this family tree design on Jack & Izzy's blog and I'm in LOVE! It's by Etsy seller West Willow Designs. Beautiful! Thinking about ordering one for my home so I can look at the most important people in my life every second of every day :-}