DIY Flower Pillows

I'm such a sucker for big flowers, I blame it on my inner Carrie Bradshaw! Now you can make your own fabulous flower pillows with these incredible tutorials. Hello Gorgeous!

Stunning! Get the tutorial from Cluck. Cluck. Sew at V and Co.

Get the details to make this beauty at Love Stitched

DIY Lace Flower HairPin

The lace & metal combo gives this flower a gorgeous vintage vibe. Get the details to make your own at Aly & Ash

Milk & Cookies Printable

Sooo cute! Can you imagine getting one of these milk cartons filled with sweets? What a fun & original party favor idea! Head over to The Sweetest Occasion to download the free templates.

Berrylicious!

Just look at this red, ripe, juicy goodness! We bought these ginormous strawberries at our farmers market yesterday. Can't wait to try some new recipes!

Strawberry-Honey Bruschetta

1 loaf (8 oz) baguette-style French bread
1 container (6 oz) Yoplait® fat-free Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
16 fresh strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup honey

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut bread into 1/2-inch slices; arrange on a baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes or until golden. Turn oven setting to broil.

2. Meanwhile, stir together yogurt, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Spread yogurt mixture on one side of each toasted baguette slice.

3. Broil bread slices 4 inches from heat about 1 minute or until mixture is hot. Arrange strawberry slices on the yogurt mixture. Lightly drizzle each bread slice with honey. Serve immediately.

Strawberry-Chicken Salad

4 medium skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds total)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup Progresso® reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 recipe Strawberry Citrus Dressing (below)
6 cups fresh watercress
2 cups halved strawberries
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1. Sprinkle the chicken breast halves with pepper and salt. In a large skillet, bring chicken broth to boiling. Add chicken; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 12 to 14 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink, turning once halfway through cooking time. Meanwhile, prepare Strawberry Citrus Dressing.

2. Remove chicken from skillet and discard broth. Thinly slice cooked chicken. In a large bowl, toss together watercress, strawberries, and chicken. To serve, drizzle warm dressing over salad and sprinkle with pecans. Serve immediately.

Strawberry Citrus Dressing:
In a blender or food processor, combine 1/2 cup strawberries; 1/3 cup orange juice; 2 tablespoons canola oil; 2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (optional); 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cover; blend or process until smooth. Transfer mixture to a small saucepan. Bring just to boiling. Simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep warm until needed. Makes 3/4 cup.

Photo & recipe credits: Eat Better America

Fight Night Birthday Bash!

I’m always looking for any excuse to throw a party. It just so happens this year the Mayweather vs. Mosley fight was scheduled around the time of my birthday.

Boxing, friends, food - I couldn’t ask for a better evening!

The invite I created for the party. Printed on heavy cardstock, guests were mailed "tickets" to the event.

For appetizers we had chicken tacquitos, chips & salsa bar, bruschetta, strawberries with vanilla dipping sauce, sun dried tomato, pesto & cream cheese dip with crackers and a cheese & black pepper salami platter.

My inspiration for the night was a roll of brown, pink & green polka dot wrapping paper. The actual paper was incorporated throughout the party from the pennant banners to the water bottle labels to wrapped candy bars.

For the water bottles, I wrapped each one with the wrapping paper, then hole punched scalloped circles and butterflies with cardstock. I also bent the wings to give them some dimension.

With the help of my cute little assistant, we made several party pennants to display around the house and incorporated dozens of pink & green paper lanterns.

Instead of a birthday cake, I opted to do a dessert & candy bar. Trying to stay true to the pink & green color theme, we had rainbow lollipops, pixy stiks, pop rocks, appleheads, strawberry wafer straws, cherry ring pops chocolate bars, cupcakes & the most delicious crème brulee served in chocolate cups. To ease some of the sugar rush, there were individual boxes of white cheddar popcorn for guests to munch on.

I created labels and using the same hole punches from the water bottle labels, decorated take-out boxes for the candy bar.

Can you guess what this is? We recently converted our daughters crib, the side railing made for a perfect display for the take-out boxes. As guests left, they just untied one and filled it with their treats!

Now to start planning our next party...

Savory Greens, Tomatoes & Goat Cheese Tarts

Doesn't this look scrumptious?
Our local farmers market has recently had the tastiest tomatoes, so now is the perfect time to make these savory tarts. Get the recipe from Tartelette

Prada Marfa

A desert mirage or the cruelest piece of art ever?
It looks as though a tornado had picked up a Prada store and dropped it on along a desolate stretch of highway outside the small Texas town of Marfa (pop. 1,887).

A permanently installed sculpture is the work of the Berlin artists Michael Emlgreen and Ingar Dragset. The artists called the work a pop architectural land art project. The sculpture is meant to look like a Prada store, with minimalist white stucco walls and a window display housing real Prada handbags and shoes (handpicked by Muccio Prada herself). But there is no working door, leaving the viewer as a perpetual window-shopper.


The sculpture cost $80,000 and was intended to never be repaired, so it might slowly degrade back into the natural landscape. This plan was deviated from when, three days after the sculpture was completed, vandals graffitied the exterior, and broke into the building stealing six purses and 14 shoes (all for right feet). Somewhere there are one-legged fashionistas rockin’ some fabulous footwear!

(Photos via Flickr)

So. Awesomely. Cool.

Breakfast of Champions

Bacon + chocolate combined with buttermilk pancakes = BLISS!

Growing up, the only way I would eat pancakes is if they were my moms chocolate chip pancakes. Gooey. Chocolatey. Goodness! Add that to my love of all things bacon & it's well... just about the perfect breakfast!

You can imagine my excitement when I recently saw the geniuses at Vosages now carry a bacon & chocolate pancake mix that includes chunks of their Mo's Bacon Bar. Applewood bacon, alderwood smoked salt & dark chocolate. Heaven. I'm thinking this may be my new favorite hostess gift.

Hope you have a fabulous Sunday!

Skeleton Key Art

Skeleton keys are super cool. If only they could speak, imagine the stories they could tell. This project from House of Hepworths is fantastic and the paper bag technique used for the background is brilliant. See all the details here

Butterfly Collection Pillow

Get the tutorial to make this darling pillow from Ruffles and Stuff!

Chipotle Lime Shrimp

I've been on the hunt for a new tasty shrimp recipe and finally found a new favorite! The smoky, sweet and spicy chipotle is a perfect combo with the tangy, sweet lime. These bad boys would make awesome tacos. Get the recipe from Gimme Some Oven

No Sew Flower Corsage

I love projects that contain two of my favorite words: No Sew! Get the tutorial to make this beautiful flower corsage from V and Co. Dress up a purse or cardigan sweater. I'm thinking of adding a few to a throw pillow.

Happy Mother's Day!

Before I was a Mom,

I never tripped over toys

or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not

my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind

and my thoughts. I slept all night.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

I didn't want to put her down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces

when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small

could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

I didn't know that bond

between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small

could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never gotten up in the middl e of the night

every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth,

the joy, the love, the heartache,

the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

before I was a Mom!