DIY Easy Teacher gift

 Here is an easy idea for a teacher gift. 

A simple gift card with a little homemade pizazz.

What I did:

Bought a Starbucks gift card (amount your choice)

Next I pulled out some of my scrapbook paper and found a cute print that had green on the back of it.

Printed up something nice to say and pasted it in there.

Front

Inside

Of course there had to be a ribbon on it.  Everything is better with ribbon!

I found these cute sticky notes on clearance at If its Paper a few months back.  I tied them up with ribbon and sent them to school with austin along with the homemade card.  Very cute, simple, and cheap!

Yummy Vanilla Buttercream Icing... UGLY Cake

Alright guys.  I tried another recipe for the icing.  It turned out great, except it was really sweet so you couldnt eat much of it.

Take a look at how this cake turned out. 

I know I know... its super ugly.  But it did taste good. 

I now have realized that I need some assistance with icing a cake.  I obviously cant do it correctly.  Plus the piping is awful.  So, I googled 

"how to frost a cake" earlier this week and found some good tips that i will try next week.  Plus I will try another icing recipe. 

I found this icing recipe at Savory Sweet Life

P.S. Im participating in a link party over at Simply Designing. 

Go take a peek!

Canvas Wreath

I found this great tutorial, over at Brown Paper Packages, on how to make a drop cloth canvas wreath.  Its super cute so i decided to make one for my house.  I didnt actually use a drop cloth, but i found some clearanced canvas fabric over a Hancock Fabrics.  So I picked some up and headed to AC Moore to get my wire wreath.  That only cost about $3.00.  So all together I think I spent about $10.00.  Not bad for a front door wreath.  Plus I, of course, already had the ribbon to hang it with.

This is a picture of how mine turned out.  I love it! 

Friends - Joey speaks french

Lets go way back

Lets go way back for a moment.  Try and think of a few things you used to watch or play with or do when you were little.  I was born in the 80's and I can remember alot of things that I love to watch and play with.  Of course growing up in the 90's was a lot of fun and you can still watch all the re-runs on tv and listen to the old school music on the radio. 

Here are a few that I enjoy still to this day.

These are some TV shows

Wasn't Dylan such a cutie!

Now for Music

If you cant remember or havnt heard this song, google it... your really missing out. 

(said in a sarcatic tone)

And who didnt have this CD?

 

Let us not forget about the one and only Paula Abdul.

Here are a few more 90's artists that I just couldnt leave out.

Goo Goo Dolls

 Alanis Morisette

Third Eye Blind

Mariah Carey

Hanson - MMM Bop (HAHAHA)

Now for some toys

Does anyone even remember what these are called?  I cant, but I remember having one.  You had to carry that stupid thing around and make sure it was fed and walked.  So weird.  And if you didnt do it, it would beep non stop. 

Cant leave this out.  We played this thing all the time.  My dad would sit with us and play.

Can you think of some things in the 80's and 90's that you loved and enjoyed listening or watching?  Lets see who can come up with the best favs.

Busy Week / Weekend

I wanted to share with you guys what has been going on with us the past few days.  We have been pretty busy with birthdays, school outings, and end of the year school events.  It all start off Thursday with Cadens school carnival.  And since I now have a working camera, thanks julie, I can take great pictures and show them to you guys.  So, here you go.

Here's Caden at his preschool's end of the school carnival.  There were so many things for him to do, but he picked the tire swing that is there all the time. 

Of course Jude and Julie (aka my sis, aka Juju) went with us. 

Isn't he so cute!

Then it was my sister birthday dinner that thursday evening.

Please dont look at me, its an awful picture.

Ok, this one is still at my sisters house, but I thought I would throw this pic in for my mom. 

 She loves her grandbabies!

Here's Caden Friday morning at beach day with his class.  Im so over the class functions this year.  Normally Im happy to go to them, but for some reason this year, im just OVER IT!  Is that awful of me to say as a parent?

Our neighbor had his birthday party on Saturday.  He turned 7 and his parents rented him a water slide jump castle.  Jon and I have always wanted to rent one for the boys but since their birthdays are in the winter we are stuck renting the boring no water slide and regular jump castle.  But they enjoy it either way. 

And here is my lovely husband flying down the slide.  He's still a kid at heart.

Needless to say, this week will also be busy.  Caden has is pre k graduation thursday morning and Austin has his end of the year school carnival thursday evening.  I keep telling myself, only 1 1/2 weeks left of school then we are finished. 

*Sigh*

Friday Ponderings

First off, Happy Friday to you all.

Today is "beach day" for cadens class.  They take the kids to the beach and let them walk along the beach and then go play at the play ground across the street.  I dont know about yall, but beach day in my book is laying down on a beach chair soaking up that good old vitamin D!  Luckily tomorrow I will be able to do that.

Tomorrow is our next door neighbor's kids birthday party.  They rented a huge jump castle with a slide.  Free entertainment right infront of our house.  Couldnt get any better than that.  So the boys will be there most of the day and Jon is staying home to play as well, so i will be at the beach, BY MYSELF!!  So excited!

Do any of you watch Grey's Anatomy?  If you do, Im sure you were on the edge of your seat with your heart pumpin last night.  It was one of the best episodes yet!  I can't wait for next season.  What did you guys think about the finale?

Im officially finished with my weddings for the spring/summer.  My next one, if one doesnt book, will be in September.  But I know the venue like the back of my hand, so it should be a breeze.  Im a little glad I dont have one this summer, just because I like to vacation with the kids and beach it up/pool it up almost everyday that its not raining.  What do you like to do with the kids during the summer?

New Hobby... Baking...???

Ok, So Ive decided I want to start baking cakes.  I know, I know, you think, wow she cant already bake cakes.  Well, yes I can.  I can cook and bake really well.  Ask my husband.  I want to start baking homemade cakes with homemade icing.  Like this cake for instance... Its lovely, beautiful, and I bet it tastes devine!!

Now granted, this has fondant wrapped around it, but without the fondant, it probably takes delish!  Speaking of fondant, it totally scares me.  I know it shouldnt but it does.  Ive heard so many things about how its hard to work with and you have to get the texture just right or it rips easily.  So, I think i will stick to buttercream and perfect that for right now and then mess with fondant at a later time. 

Ok back to the baking thing, well I guess its more of the decorating thing.  I want to learn how to decorate a cake, PROFESSIONALLY!  Think about that, if you learned how to do this, there would be no more ordering cakes from publix for the birthday parties or the reunions, ect.  I could just whip up a cake and WOW everyone that comes to the party.  Sounds perfect, but I think I have a long road ahead of me.  Alot of practice and alot of homemade icing.  I think I need to pull out the coupons and make sure I have enough baking products. 

So tonight I decided I wanted to make my own homemade icing and try it out.  I found a recipe that sounds pretty good, plus I had all the ingredients.  So I whipped it up in less than 15 minutes and Voila...

Here it is!!!  My sis, mom, and husband all tried it and said it was great. 

Yeah for me.  They said it had a fudgy taste to it.  I might play around with the recipe a bit to see if another way is better, but for now at least I did it.

After it sat a bit, I went back to look at the texture to see if it was spreadable.  Its so smooth and creamy and most definitely spreadable.

Here is the recipe if you would like to try it.

Chocolate buttercream icing

4 sticks unsalted butter

2 TBSP of milk (i used skim, makes it healthier, Ha!)

2 TSP of Vanilla Extract

5 Cups of powered sugar

14 oz of semi-sweet chocolate morsels. 

Beat softend butter until smooth.  Add to melted chocolate and beat until well mixed.  Add milk, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar and beat until well mixed.  Don't over mix!

Store at room temp until ready for same day use or in the refrigerator for a few days until you are ready to use it. 

I asked Jon for a bunch of cake decorating utensil for my birthday.  Too bad my birthday isnt for another two months.  But, I will have fun perfecting the icing and then making different flavors.  I promise I will share my pictures and new recipes when they turn out delish!

Friends -- Ross - Leather Pants

Another great scene from the best show EVER!  I hope you enjoy it!

I did a wedding this past weekend. 

Check out some of the pictures on my wedding blog.

The never ending messy room

Is it just me, or does everyone have one room in their house that never seems to get completely cleaned?  The more I try and organize things in the house, the more the office seems to become the "catch all" room.  I guess we are just running out of room in our house.  We have way too much stuff and not enough closet space or storage space. 

The office is supposed to be only for our work stuff, but thats not always the case.  There are kids books, craft things, a small rocking chair, coloring books, clothes, a vacuum in the closet, and the list goes on.  Jon doesnt seem to care too much.  He has never really cared whether the house was clean or messy or not.  Not sure why, but it has never seemed to bother him.  Me on the other hand cant stand when something is messy.  I get overwhelmed and then end up walking away or getting in a really bad mood and throwing things away.  Not always a good solution.

So, this is what I need from you.  I need ideas of how you organize your things.  Any tips, ideas, or suggestions would be great!! 

I am desperate for some help. 

I will leave you with two photos.

(Please note these are not acutal pictures of my office)

And no this is not me, but this is sometimes how I feel.

Friends - scenes with the cheesecake

My sis and I are always quotes lines from the best show EVER... Friends! So i thought I would start to share with you, maybe once a week or once every two weeks, a favorite episode. This week its the one with the cheesecake. Its hilarious that Joey carries the fork with him, but it totally fits his personality.

Hope you enjoy this clip, at least I know Julie will.

Gawker

Yesterday I was introduced to the "gawker" sights.  My father in-law uses Food Gawker all the time to make yummy desserts.  He told me there was a Wedding Gawker site and that I should check it out.  While I was on there, I saw that they had a "Craft Gawker" side to the food gawker & wedding gawker.  Its amazing!  Its sorta like blogging, except people can submit there stuff to this site and it collects it all.  So neat.  Plus, you can click on it and it will bring you to thier site.  Majority of the submitters are bloggers and Etsy shops, but you get to find so many more bloggers out there.  Super cool.  I might be a little behind on the times with this site, but I thought I would share anyway. Here are a few things I found. 

Photo courtesy of Bird Crafts

Photo courtesy of artocrat

Arent these the cutest thing EVER!!

Photo courtesy of JennOzkan at Etsy

I am very much so loving this site!  I could probably cruise around on there all day long.  Hope you enjoy it.

Friends giveaway!!

Hop on over to my Friend Carissa's blog and enter to win a clutch purse.  They are super cute!!

Friday Ponderings

1.  I am so loving this weather!  It is so nice here.  I think the high for today is going to be around 90 degrees.  I plan to go to the beach tomorrow.  Last year I was at the beach in April, but this year I have only been able to go maybe 3 times.  :(  But Saturday is the day! 

2.  I have to go get an oil change today.  UGH!  I am WAY overdue for one, but it has to be done.  It just takes forever and then that another $20.00 out of our pocket.  Boo!

3.  I watched an episode of Divine Design yesterday.  Those HGTV and DIY Network shows are dangerous.  I fell in love with how she decorated a home office.  So I brought the idea to Jon and we might do something similar.  I tried to clean up the office yesterday but got very overwhelmed with it.  We just have way to much stuff.  Starting, MAYBE, next week, I might clean out the clutter in to office and get it nice and organized, more than it already is.  We are also going to start on the boys room.  I picked out this pretty dark blue aqua color.  But when I went in there to nail down the shade, I had forgotten I had blue curtains in there.  So now, back to the drawing board for a color.  Maybe a darker shade of green.  We shall see.

4.  Weight loss - this has taken a back seat for the past few weeks.  I'm tellin' ya, I like my sweets.  I havent gained anything, but I havent lost anything either.  Next week is supposed to be really nice outside.  I hope to get a little running in.  Maybe I'll switch it up and run one day and speed walk with weights another. 

5.  Im official!! Take a look.  I went and got stickers on my car for my business!  They turned out great. 

The company that did them is called Sign Design.  They also helped us out with the sign for the wedding this past weekend.  I am so excited!  Hopefully it will pay off to have this on my car.

Have a great weekend!

Kutless - Strong Tower

Not much to talk about today, but I heard this song in the car this morning and I love it.  I heard it a hundred times, but you know sometimes at different points in your life, things start to take on different meanings.  This is a great song!  Hope you enjoy it.