My 3 Monsters

Win a Brasil Getaway from CB2 and Novogratz Collection

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:00:00 +0000

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of CB2 for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Let's take a minute and talk about cool furniture today, friends. You know how I've been craving clean white walls and bright poppy colors in my home, right? I just HAVE to show y'all the fun new CB2 and Novogratz Collection! It's full of pretty colors and patterns inspired by Robert and Courtney Novogratz's vacation home in Brasil. I have been a fan of the Novogratz's funky eclectic style ever since I first saw them on HGTV several years ago. The way they combine old and new, colors and textures is pretty brilliant.

I love the color combination in the Botao sectional and that you can mix and match the pieces:

This swinging chair looks like a whole lotta' fun.

Even this little colorful rug adds a ton of character.

Looking at this furniture makes me feel like I could use a tropical vacation. I can almost feel the sand between my toes and smell the beachy air now. Here's the good news: You and 3 friends could win the trip of a lifetime -- a one week stay at the vacation home of CB2 collaborators Bob and Courtney Novogratz in beautiful Trancoso, Brazil. 10 other lucky winners will receive a CB2 giftcard worth $100 along with a personally signed copy of the book “Home by Novogratz”.
Enter the CB2 and Novogratz Brasil Sweepstakes before June 3rd and you could be headed to Brasil this summer!!

Follow CB2 on their social media channels for more updates on the Brasil trip of a lifetime:
-Twitter: @CB2Tweets
-Pinterest: CB2
-Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cb2

How to Make {Easy} DeliciousWhole Wheat Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Wed, 15 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Some of you long-time readers will recognize this recipe from a couple years ago. Remember when my friend gave me a wheat grinder so I was obsessed with learning how to bake bread from scratch and my friend Sarah saved me by sharing the single best bread recipe in the world? And then how I baked all my family's whole wheat bread for a year and I could recite this most perfect recipe by heart?

Only a few of you who are reading now now were around in the olden days of this blog when all of that went down so I thought I would share it again -- this time with pictures. Because you just can't believe how light and yummy this bread is without seeing it. Really. Get a load of this:

Just look at that! And it couldn't be any easier to make. These are the notes I received from Sarah based on her experience:

A few tips that helped me--(1) Use white wheat flour for a lighter, airier texture. Hard red wheat works fine, too, but it's a little denser and has a nuttier flavor. (2) This recipe (kneading time, etc) is written for a mixer and I'm not sure how to translate it to pure manpower. (3) You can buy wheat gluten and dough enhancer at the grocery store in the baking goods. They come in decent sized cans, good for probably 5 or 6 batches of bread.(These are what make it have a light, airy texture even though you are using 100% whole wheat flour.)

Here are my own notes, based on my own experience with the recipe:

1. I have always used hard red wheat from my food storage and it is delicious. I'd like to try it with white wheat flour sometime, but I have always just used what's on hand. 2. Wheat gluten is easy to find in the bulk bins of your local grocery store or health food store. Dough Enhancer is another story altogether. I had a tough time finding it locally and what I did find at Whole Foods was pretty expensive. BUT you can make your own easily and it is worth the investment. 3. I usually cut the recipe below in half because that's all the 5 of us here can use while it's fresh {2-3 days}. Half a recipe makes 3 good sized loaves for me.

Basic Honey Whole Wheat Bread

9-13 c. whole wheat flour, divided
3 Tbsp. yeast
¾ c. wheat gluten
6 cups hot water
½ c. olive oil
1 c. honey
3 Tbsp. dough enhancer
1 ½ Tbsp. salt

Place 9 cups of whole wheat flour, yeast and wheat gluten in mixer. Mix for 1 minute. Add hot water and mix for 1 minute. Cover and let dough rise for 10 minutes, or until pretty close to the top.

Add olive oil (canola can be used), honey, salt, and dough enhancer. Turn on mixer and add 1-3 more cups of flour, once cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the side and is not super sticky. (Better to add too little flour than too much.)

Knead dough in mixer for 7-10 minutes. Preheat oven to 170º and grease pans. Lightly oil your hands and divide dough into 4-6 portions. Form into loaves and place in greased pans. Put into warm oven for 25 minutes to rise.

Then, without even touching the pans, turn the oven up to 350º and bake for 20-25 minutes (to internal temperature b/t 180º-195º). Place on wire rack to cool. I like to swipe butter over the top of the loaf when it's still hot.

It makes your home smell absolutely heavenly and my kids think it makes the best PB&J sandwiches they've ever had. It's not even too much of a time commitment -- generally less than an hour and a half from start to finish and most of that time you can be doing something else while you wait. I'm the hero of the day whenever I bake this bread for my family and you will be, too. Guaranteed!

I'll be linking this recipe up here:

S'mores Devotional Idea for Girls Camp

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:37:00 +0000

On of my most frequently pinned images from this blog is my S'mores Devotional handout that I used at Girls Camp last summer. I realized just this week that I only shared the image and never shared the message that went with it. It's pretty self explanatory, but I thought I would share that message today as I know many of you {like me} work with young people at church or at camp. It is a great message that the girls really took to heart. Here's the handout again, just in case you didn't see it before:

The devotional was based on this message from Sister Elaine S. Dalton, the Young Women General President at the time. Her original message was directed to the leaders, but was easily adapted to apply to the girls. This is my interpretation that I shared with my girls:

I want you to think about s'mores for a minute. What is the best part of a s'more? {The chocolate, the melty marshmallow.}What happens when you hold a marshmallow over the campfire? {It gets all soft and gooey.} This experience we have had at camp has been wonderful. We have spent several days away from the noise and busy-ness of our regular lives and taken time to focus on our Savior, Jesus Christ. As you have felt the Spirit here your faith in God has grown. Just like a marshmallows roasted over a fire, the fire of faith has softened your hearts. The gospel has become delicious to you and you will remember this time with joy.

I challenge you when you go home and back to the "real world" to keep these feeling alive. Keep your heart soft and mooshy, just like a s'more! How do you do that? Look for the s'mores in your life: S'more opportunities to feel the spirit, S'more chances to bear your testimony, S'more hard things to accomplish, S'more ways to serve others, S'more experiences reading the Book of Mormon, S'more times to show love.

S'mores aren't just for camp!! If you look for them, you will find s'mores all over in your life. Once you begin finding the s'mores in your life, help your friends to find their s'mores, too. The more s'mores you find the sweeter your life will become and the happier you will be.

I finished by bearing my testimony to the girls and expressing my love to them and how I know that they are daughters of God and have divine potential. I also gave them a little s'mores treat because everything is more fun with treats attached. I've included a round-up of some of the cutest, yummiest-looking s'mores treats I have found all over the internet:

{A Kiss of Color}

{Glorious Treats}

{I Knead to Bake}-- This is what I made for my girls, but I used Teddy Grahams instead of regular graham crackers to up the cute factor!

{Recipe Boy}

{Cleverly Inspired}

{Chef In Training}

I hope that helps some of you who are preparing for Girls Camp right now, too. Have a great week my friends!

I'll be linking up here:

Happy Mothers Day One and All!

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Sun, 12 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Got this from my daughter yesterday. I love meatloaf so much! I'll never cool it on the meatloaf. Have a great day all you moms out there.

Tiered Ruffle Apron Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

It's getting to be that time of year again . . . Girls Camp is fast approaching. In the past I have been busily preparing devotionals, costumes and treats for my girlies in my own Young Women group at church. This year I have been given charge of the whole craft cabin. It's like a dream come true, I tell you. Not only do I get to coordinate all the craft projects that all the girls will be doing at camp, I get to decorate the craft cabin and my committee of crafty ladies. Yes, I said decorate my committee. Hence today's project.

The theme for camp this year is Defy the Odds: Hunger for Righteousness. The Hunger Games? How fun is that?! Each group at camp is a different district and Crafts is {perfectly} District 8 or Textiles. I am using old sewing patterns as table covers and I wanted to incorporate lots of fabric into our decor. I thought it would be fun for all the workers to have something that identifies us as the helpers the girls can turn to. That's where these fun tiered ruffle aprons come in.

Each one only took me about 30 minutes to make. Here's what you'll need:

Supplies

1 piece of fabric 25-inches x 16.5-inches for base of apron {This fabric doesn't show so it can be muslin or something very plain and inexpensive.}

4 strips of fabric 7-inches wide by the width of your fabric from selvage to selvage {about 42-inches usually} for ruffles

2 yards of 1.5-inch wide grosgrain ribbon for waistband and ties

coordinating thread

Instructions

STEP 1: Make a narrow rolled hem on three sides of each piece of fabric {the two short sides and one long side.}

STEP 2: Gather the unfinished edge of your four long fabric strips to form ruffles.

STEP 3: For evenly spaced ruffles without a ton of measuring, fold your base fabric piece in half by bringing the bottom hem up to the unfinished edge and pressing the fold with an iron to crease the fabric. Fold fabric in half again by bringing the crease you just pressed up to the unfinished edge and pressing the new fold into a crease. When you unfold your fabric you will have 3 pressed lines, like this:

Each crease will act as a sewing line for your lower three ruffles. The fourth ruffle will align with the top of the fabric. So easy, right?

STEP 4: Lay fabric wrong side up on your work table. Beginning with your bottom ruffle, lay your strip of gathered fabric wrong side up on top of base fabric along the crease closest to the hem. Here's where it gets a teeny little bit confusing. Pin the ruffle on so that it seems like it's upside down as shown here:

This way, once you sew it in place you can flip the ruffle down and hide the raw edge under the ruffle. So go ahead and sew it in place, flip it down and press it so it lays nicely,

STEP 5: Repeat step 4 for the next two ruffles.

STEP 6: When you get to the top ruffle we're gonna' switch it up and confuse you again. Lay your apron base on your work table so that the ruffles are down. Align the raw edge of your top ruffle right side down with the raw edge of the apron base on the opposite side from the other ruffles, as shown:

Sew it in place then flip the fabric all the way over the top so it hangs with the other ruffles and press it in place.

STEP 7: Line up the center of your ribbon with the center of your apron and pin across the top edge. Stitch in place as shown:

That's it, y'all!! Simple enough to make and so happy-looking. How could you be sad wearing an apron like that?

I conned Sis into modelling it for me {and all of you}. It's so fun and girly she wants a whole skirt just like it! She'll probably have to wait until after camp for that . . .

I love aprons, but what do you guys think? Do you wear aprons when you cook and/or clean or is that just too 1950's for you? Rest assured you'll be hearing more about my Girls Camp experience in the weeks to come. Have a great weekend, friends!

I'll be linking this project up here:

Chicken Wire Kitchen Cabinets {Part 2}

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:40:00 +0000

Howdy friends! I got my cabinets done a day early so I thought I'd share them with you today instead of tomorrow, which means you'll be getting the ruffled apron tomorrow instead of today. It's all good. We're flexible here, right? I am so excited about the way these cabinets turned out! {Read Part 1 about how I got the chicken wire in there here.} And here's what they look like now that I have finished all the painting:

It really brightens the whole kitchen up. I would never really have thought that I could have open cabinets like this because I don't have super pretty dishes. Our kitchen is dinky so everything has to be functional. Somehow when all my we-actually-use-these dishes are grouped nicely inside pretty white cabinets it makes them look nicer. It's kinda like magic!

All I really did since the last time you saw these cabinets is paint the inside and finish the trim inside the doors with wood filler and a coat of paint, but look at a side-by-side of the huge difference it makes:

I also reworked the layout of the dishes, but you can see it's all the same stuff. If you are thinking about painting the interior of your cabinets I highly recommend using a paint & primer combination. Even with that it took about 5 coats of paint to cover it evenly. No joke -- 5 coats. It was a real pain, but totally worth it.

Here's a quick look at the before, during and after:

{Don't you love how in all three phases that one drawer is crooked and missing it's knob? I really don't stage my home photos and there's your proof!} This cheap and easy project has added a ton of character to my boring 1980's builder's grade galley kitchen. The weird thing is, now we are always slamming the cabinet doors. Not on purpose. They're just so much lighter now than they were before that they kinda' get away from you if you're not careful.

My only regret in this project is that I didn't chicken wire the top panel of my pantry door while I was at it. I guess it just gives me an excuse to go visit my friend Bob again.

Thanks for dropping in today. I hope you'll come back tomorrow for an easy apron sewing project. Have a great day, friends!

I'll be linking this project up here:

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Wed, 08 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

I know earlier this week I promised a recipe for THE BEST homemade bread and it is still coming {one of these days}, but when I set out to bake something today I was more in the mood for cookies than bread. It's my prerogative to change my mind, right? So today instead of whole wheat bread, I bring you . . .

Chocolate sandwich Cookies!! They only take a few simple ingredients and boy, are they a crowd-pleaser. I just whipped up a batch of chocolate cake-mix cookies and used vanilla frosting for the filling. I set out to create something like a homemade Oreo, but these are nothing like Oreos. They are soft and chewy and sooo much more delicious.

Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

1 box chocolate cake mix

1/2 C. oil

2 lg. eggs

1 can vanilla frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl combine the chocolate cake mix powder {just the powder -- don't add the ingredients the cake calls for}, oil and eggs until blended. This will form a thick cookie dough rather than a thinner cake batter. Form into 1-1/4 inch balls and place 2-3 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let them sit on the hot pan for another 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. {This is what helps them to have that soft, chewy texture. If you like a crunchier cookie just bake them longer.}

Once the cookies are cool, place a dollop of frosting between two cookies, sandwich them together, and enjoy! This recipe makes about 15 sandwich cookies.

I like them better on the second day {if they last that long} after they've had a chance to set up a little. I'm not sure why it makes such a difference, but it does! Surprise your family with a batch of these you just might win the Mother-of-the-Year award.

For more sweet treat ideas visit my recipes page or follow my Sweets and Treats board on Pinterest!

Have a great day, friends! I hope you'll come back tomorrow for a simple ruffled apron project.

I'll be linking up here:

Waking Up Refreshed

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Tue, 07 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of ZzzQuil for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have struggled with sleeplessness for much of my adult life. I read somewhere that it takes the average person about 7 minutes to fall asleep at night. That's crazy talk! It takes me about an hour -- minimum. And when I'm stressed about something, I can pretty much forget about sleeping at all. In fact, one night last week I watched a documentary about biscuits at 3 a.m. because that seemed just boring enough to do the trick. No such luck.

My husband, on the other hand, balances me out. I'll never forget laying in bed one night when he said, "I'm not very tired right now. I think I'm going to go watch tv for a while." Before I could even respond -- BEFORE I COULD EVEN RESPOND! -- he had started snoring.

Sometimes I want to punch him.

Most of the time I'm content to lay there and wait for sleep to come. I have a little routine. I lay facing my husband at first and we chat for a few minutes. When he starts snoring I roll over to the other side for about 15 minutes. Then I roll to my back for a while. I get up, go to the bathroom, get a drink of water, and lay back down. Usually within 15 minutes or so I fall asleep. It's fine. I can function on very little sleep usually. I'm used to it now.

But there are times when I just have to be awake and alert the next day. I need an ace-in-the-hole to help me fall asleep quickly and stay asleep til morning. I've tried a few products on the market, but they make me twitchy. There's not much worse than being super sleepy, but not being able to sleep because your leg muscles won't stop twitching. Plus, they almost always have pain reliever in them. I'm not in pain, I just can't fall asleep.

I'm in the midst of planning for Girl's Camp right now so I need to bring my A-game every day to get stuff done. I was really excited when ZzzQuil gave me their product to sample. ZzzQuil is from the makers of Vicks NyQuil, for when your only symptom is occasional sleeplessness. It’s not for colds, it’s not for pain, it’s just for sleep. No extra medicine that you don't need, which is awesome. ZzzQuil’s active ingredient, diphenhydramine HCI, helps reduce the time it takes for you to fall asleep when you have difficulty falling asleep, so you can sleep soundly and wake up refreshed. Plus, it is the only over-the-counter sleep-aid medication available in both Liquid (Warming Berry flavor) and LiquiCap® forms.

I tried the Warming Berry liquid. I didn't love the flavor {it's medicine after all}, but I did like the warming sensation. That was pretty cool. I was a teeny bit skeptical based on my past experiences with sleep-aids so I took it around the time my kids usually go to bed, several hours before my normal bed time, and laid down to watch tv in bed. I don't think I even made it to the end of the 30 minute sitcom I was watching before I was sound asleep. The next thing I knew I was waking up TWELVE HOURS later, feeling pretty great. I'm sure I only slept that long because I am so perpetually sleep-deprived, but I might try taking just half a dose next time.

The important thing is that it worked. I slept. Quickly and easily. It was awesome and I was able to accomplish a ton the next day. If you struggle with occasional sleeplessness, I recommend keeping a bottle of ZzzQuil in your medicine cabinet to help on those nights when you really have to be rested and alert the next morning.

If you give ZzzQuil a try, join me and tweet about your experience using the hashtag #ZzzQuilNight. Like ZzzQuil on Facebook, too, for the latest product information and promotions.

Bright & Fun Decor Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:33:00 +0000

I am itching right now for a change. When we bought our house 8 1/2 years ago we painted the main living area a pretty butter yellow and all the trim and cabinets white. A couple years later we put in our laminate floors and then we stopped. Things have been more-or-less the same for about 8 years. Sure, I've made new curtains in that time and our old area rugs wore out so we had to replace them. I've rearranged the furniture oodles of times but essentially it remained the same.

That's a LONG time. People change. Styles change. I want change!!! Since it may be a while yet before I can actually do anything, I've taken to imagining my beautiful "new" living area. That's almost as good, right? Let me show you what I have in mind:

I am dying to paint all the walls white. In the past I have sworn that I would never have white walls in my house. Like, ever. But now I crave that clean, fresh feeling. I still want lots of color -- just look at the mood board there -- but I love the idea of a fresh, white backdrop for it all. Check out some of these great rooms that I have fallen in love with lately:

I ADORE everything about this bedroom at Owen's Olivia.

I love this kitchen/dining room at Domestic Imperfection.

This laundry room at View Along the Way is beautiful!

I fell in love with the plank wall we put in Sydney's bedroom last fall so I want one of my own in the living room. But . . . maybe it would be cool to spice things up and do a planked ceiling instead. {It would cover up the ugly popcorn ceiling we have!}

This one at Tatertots and Jello is fabulous.

Our laminate floor has been great, but a couple months ago we had a major bathroom flood that warped a good portion of the planks in the living room. It's my dream to pull up the laminate and replace it with wood-look porcelain tile planks throughout the entire main floor of our house.

Isn't that amazing?! And no more worries about overflowing toilets or leaking ice makers, etc.

We recently added chicken wire to some of our upper kitchen cabinets. I really want to paint the lower cabinets navy blue and put in white granite countertops with a white subway tile backsplash. I used Sherwin Williams Paint Color Visualizer tool to get an idea of how it would look.

Obviously I would need to add a lot of color with accessories and such, but I like it. We have a ton of windows in our main living area so making curtains out of this bright, pretty Amy Butler fabric would certainly bring some color into the whole space.

I love the clean, simple look of long floor-to-ceiling curtain panels with bamboo shades, similar to this look at Pine Tree Home:

I love old, chippy-painted, vintage-y accessories so I will be trolling thrift stores for cool things I can add to give the new design a bunch of my own personal flair. It will be a while before I get everything done that I would like to, but as you see home-decor and improvement projects here on the blog in the coming months they will all be headed in this direction.

So, what styles are y'all loving right now? What is number one on your home-improvement dream list?

I hope you'll join me this week as I share my thoughts on insomnia, the most delicious recipe for homemade bread, an easy ruffled apron tutorial, and {hopefully} my finished chicken wire kitchen cabinets. Have a great day, friends!

I'll be linking this post up here:

Mothers Day Brunch: Easy Eggs Florentine & Orange Juice Smoothies

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Sat, 04 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

My favorite Mothers Day tradition in our house is that my husband and children cook breakfast or brunch for me before church. Sometimes they have to wake me up when the food is ready, but often I just lay in bed listening them to them working together in the kitchen, excitedly preparing a delicious meal. I love those sounds more than almost anything.

But don't be fooled. I love the food, too. My husband goes all out for me on Mothers day. Years ago he found a recipe for Eggs Florentine {all on his own!} and that has become sort-of a tradition itself. Serve that with a bowl of fresh fruit {or an edible fruit centerpiece} and Orange Juice Smoothies. Set the table with some pretty cloth napkins and you'll have one happy mama!

{Gotta love the photo torn from a magazine with the recipe, right?}

Easy Eggs Florentine

6 English muffins

12 slices American cheese

1 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. onion, minced

2 10 ox. pkgs. frozen spinach, defrosted and excess water drained

salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp. white vinegar

12 lg. eggs

Preheat the oven's broiler to high and position one of the racks 4-6 inches below it. Arrange the 12 English muffin halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet and top each with a slice of cheese. Broil 2-5 minutes, until cheese is melted and muffins are warm.

Melt the butter in a large skillet and add onions, stirring often until onions soften {about 5 min.}. Add spinach and cook an additional 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm over very low heat until you are ready to assemble the dish.

Fill a medium skillet half full of water. Add the vinegar and bring to a boil. Adjust heat to keep liquid simmering. Crack each egg into a small bowl and gently slide into the hot water, one at a time. Cook eggs until whites are completely set and the yolks begin to thicken, but are not cooked through {3-5 min.} Remove eggs from the skillet and drain well.

To assemble, top each toasted English muffin half with a scoop of the sauteed spinach. Gently place a poached egg on top of each one. Season with salt and pepper to taste. For an extra special touch, ladle hollandaise sauce over the eggs and serve immediately. Serves 6.

Microwave Hollandaise Sauce

{my mother-in-law's delicious recipe!}

3 egg yolks

1/2 C. melted butter

1/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 Tbsp. hot water

tiny pinch of cayenne pepper

Beat egg yolks until smooth, but not fluffy. Add remaining ingredients. Cook in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until sauce begins to thicken. Sauce will thicken more as it cools. If you accidentally over cook it and it separates, you can usually save it by beating in one more egg yolk.

Orange Juice Smoothies

{like Orange Julius!}

1/2 can frozen orange juice concentrate

1 C. water

1 C. milk

1 C. ice cubes

1/2 C. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

In case you missed my earlier posts this week, check out my fun Mothers Day gift ideas: Giant Fortune Cookies, Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products, Printable Note Cards, and Edible Fruit Bouquets. Have a great weekend, friends!

I'll be linking this post up here:

Mothers Day Gift Ideas: Edible Centerpiece

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Fri, 03 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

"Make life a little sweeter with . . . " Edible Centerpieces -- you know the ones I'm talkin' about. I've always thought they were really pretty, but at the same time I knew I would never fork out that much money for . . . fruit. But we're all creative people here, right? Haven't you seen those ads and thought, "I could make that!" ? Seriously. It's so easy and it make an impressive, inexpensive {and delicious}Mothers Day brunch centerpiece or gift.

To begin you need to pick your fruit. I just bought what was on sale at my local grocery store this week -- a pineapple {$1.00}, a honeydew melon {$2.00}, a pound of strawberries {$1.00}, and red grapes {$1.77/ pound}. So I was able to create this arrangement for about $6.00 and have enough leftover fruit for a small fruit salad for dinner tonight. Not too shabby!

You will also need a vase and a pack of bamboo skewers. I found this cute yellow and white striped vase at Goodwill for about $1.00. It's actually from Edible Arrangements. I can almost always find their vases at thrift stores when I go. You can use any container you choose. To weigh down my vase and help the skewers to stand I just filled it about 2/3 full of dry rice. {It's cheap, it works and it's what I had on hand.}

To prepare your fruit:

Slice your pineapple into 1/2" thick slices and use a cookie cutter to cut out flower-shaped pieces. Insert a skewer into each one until it sticks securely in the core at the center of the flower. Be careful not to push it all the way through so you don't have spikes sticking out of your finished arrangement. Lay flat on a paper towel to absorb some of the excess juice.

Cut half of your melon into 3/4" thick slices. I used a crinkle cutter to add some interesting texture, but a regular knife would get the job done. Remove the rind with a knife and skewer each piece lengthwise. Lay on a paper towel while you finish cutting your other fruit.

Use a melon baller to make round pieces out of the other half of your melon. Put 3 or 4 melon balls on each skewer and lay on paper towel.

Skewer washed grapes and strawberries in the same manner.

Arrange your fruit by trimming the ends of the skewers to desired length and pushing them down into the rice in your vase. Try to distribute the fruits evenly throughout the arrangement and hide the skewers as much as possible.

Once you have things arranged to your liking, store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it. I probably wouldn't make it more than a few hours in advance. I'm not really sure how well it will hold up long-term. My kids thought this was the greatest after-school snack of all time yesterday. I love that something so simple can completely brighten your day. Wouldn't you love to wake up to this next Sunday morning or place it at the center of your Mothers Day brunch buffet? I'm also thinking of Fathers Day and summer picnics. Birthday breakfasts. Thinking-of-You gifts for my friends . . . the ideas are endless!

Check out all the previous gift ideas: Giant Fortune Cookies, Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products, Sugar Hand Scrub, and Printable Note Cards. Join me tomorrow for some of my favorite brunch recipes to serve to mom on her special day!

I'll be linking this project up here:

Mother's Day Gift Ideas: Printable Notecards

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Thu, 02 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

I love getting cards in the mail. It's pretty rare nowadays to open the mail box and find anything other than bills or advertisements. I am really trying to send nice mail to people more often. That's why today's gift idea is a set of cute printable note cards. You can either use them to write nice notes of appreciation and encouragement to your mom friends are make up a set of note cards and envelopes to give as a gift along with a pretty pen.

I started out looking for an inspirational, heartwarming quote about motherhood that I could design around, but the ones I found that really struck a chord with me were these more humorous ones.

A suburban mother's role is to deliver her children obstetrically once, and by car forever after. --Peter De Vries

There is only one beautiful child in the world, and every mother has it. -- Chinese Proverb

The one thing children wear out faster than shoes is parents.

-- John J Plomp

Children are a great comfort in your old age - and they help you reach it faster, too. -- Lionel Kauffman

Aren't they fun?! I found vintage photos {my favorite!} to go with each one and a project was born. You can have them printed as note cards from many online photo sites {like Snapfish} or at the Costco photo center, but it looks like you can only use 1 image for each set of twelve note cards. If you wanted to make a lot that would probably be fine.

Another option is to use Black River Imaging. I had my business cards printed there and they did a fantastic job. Their minimum order per card design is 6 at $1.55 per card. That means if you printed 6 of each design you could make three sets of 8 cards {including envelopes} for about $12 per set. That's not too shabby and if they're anything like the business cards I got they will be really high quality cards, I promise.

The most cost effective option is to have them color printed onto card stock. You could do it on your home printer, but for the best quality I suggest having it done somewhere like Staples print center. You'll get 2 cards per sheet which ends up being about 50 cents per card. Then you just have to cut them out and fold them yourself and buy a pack of matching envelopes. That's what I did for these pictures and they turned out great.

I don't think you can go wrong whatever option you choose! If you would like to make your own, simply download the images below and upload them to the printing site you choose. {Click on the image and enlarge it to full size then right click and save to your computer.}

If you would like to have them printed at Staples, you will a need a formatted pdf version which you can download from my Google Drive here.

Check out the previous gift ideas: Giant Fortune Cookies, Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products, and Sugar Hand Scrub then join me tomorrow for a DIY edible arrangement tutorial. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day, friends!

I'll be linking this project up here:

Mother's Day Gift Ideas: Sugar Hand Scrub

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Wed, 01 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Today's Mother's day gift idea is super easy. In fact, you may already have everything you need right in your home. I whipped up a batch of smoothing sugar hand scrub that smells awesome and sloughs off all the dead, dry skin {along with dirt or paint if you've been working in the yard or around the house}and leaves your hands feeling baby-smooth. Bonus: it only takes a couple of minutes to throw together. I'll probably be taking this to the ladies from church I visit on Friday morning!

Recognize that jar? It's the candy jar I was using to hold my Werther's sugar-free candy that I love so much. I needed something pretty and this fit the bill. It started out life as a jar of Parmesan cheese. After running it through the dishwasher and removing the label, I spray painted the lid and attached a pretty knob with E6000 craft glue. I love it! Guess who has two thumbs and won't be tossing out any Parmesan jars from now on . . . .this girl!!

So, to make the scrub, choose any jar or small container. I'll probably grab some mason jars from my garage for the ones I'm giving away this week. Fill the jar 2/3 full with white sugar then add Dawn Hand Renewal dish soap to fill the other 1/3.

{Gosh, that's a bad picture! Sorry.} Use a fork to stir the dish soap into the sugar. You'll need to add a bit more sugar to top it off as you stir. This is what it looks like when it's all mixed up:

That's all, folks! Just screw on the lid and add a cute label. You can download and use the one I designed, if you'd like.

I printed it on card stock as a 3 inch square, cut out the circle and used a glue stick to attach it to my jar. It's just a simple, pretty, thoughtful gift that you can share with your mom or your friends who are moms. We should celebrate each other, right?! You could also add a bottle of your favorite lotion and some pretty nail polish to make it a more substantial gift if you wanted.

To use the scrub, just scoop out about a tablespoonful and massage it into your hands for a minute or so before rinsing in warm water. Follow up with lotion to keep your hands extra soft!

Check out my Giant Fortune Cookies and Eco-Friendly {Beautiful} Cleaning Products and then join me tomorrow for some Printable Note Cards!

I'll be linking this project up here:

Mother's Day Gift Ideas: Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Thanks to The Honest Company for sponsoring this post. I was given some of their awesome products to try out, but all opinions are my own.

Am I the only one whose kitchen looks like this sometimes?

{This is just the after-school snack mess.} Allow me to point out my favorite features:

Need to see a little more?

Nice, right? I know that y'all appreciate when we keep it real around here, but can we be really HONEST today?

Like, can I say that I honestly don't like to clean very much?

If I could farm out one of my roles as a mom, "cleaning lady" would be the first to go. So why am I suggesting cleaning products as a mother's day gift? Because, honestly, very few of us can actually hire someone else to clean for us on a daily basis. And because I'm honestly a sucker for great smelling products in pretty packaging. Bonus points if they actually work and are eco-friendly to boot. These products are all that and a bag of chips! {Yeah, I went to high school in the 90's. Word.}

Seriously though, the Honest Company offers natural, non-toxic, eco-friendly products that really work. And aren't they pretty? I don't know if you can read that, but they smell like white grapefruit and citrus rosemary, not chemical lemon or pine like a lot of the stuff I have used in the past. That little bamboo dish scrub brush is my absolute favorite. It looks so much better than the old, grimy brush I've been using. {For years. Which is so gross if you think about it.} I really want to get the Suds Up when they have it back in stock. How perfect is that for quick cleaning pots and pans as you cook to keep the mess at bay?! Whatever makes the job easier.

Let me tell you a little bit about the Honest Company:

It was founded by a mom and a dad who, like many modern parents, were increasingly worried about products made with questionable chemical ingredients. But the alternatives they found were often expensive, inaccessible, bland, or ineffective. In response to this clear need for something better, they created The Honest Company to ensure that parents (or anyone for that matter!) could easily find natural and non-toxic eco-friendly products that are beautiful, effective, and affordable.
Their products are safe and sustainable, but they also work hard to make the packaging pretty enough so that you don't feel like you have to hide the products away.
Honest is a Certified B Corporation, which means they are dedicated to making a social difference and safeguarding people and the planet.
With every purchase you make, The Honest Company donates time, money, and product to their current charitable partner Baby2Baby.org

Honest offers bundles that ship directly to you every month. You can get a free trial of either the Diaper and Wipes Bundle {great if you have a baby-- their diapers are the cutest!} or the Family Essentials Bundle {which is perfect for your cleaning needs}. Sign up for Honest Company emails here.

Have I convinced you yet that cleaning products could be a great gift? Even my husband, in a completely unsolicited testimonial after cleaning the bathroom counter top said, "I love this new stuff you got, honey. I don't feel like I'm covered in chemicals." Honestly. {Word.}

If you would like to try these products for yourself, now's a great time to do it.

Get $10 off a $40 purchase at The Honest Company using code $10off$40Pollinate.

(Limited to first-time customers and one use per customer. Expires May 14, 2013.)

Follow The Honest Company on their website,

Twitter {@honest}, Facebook, and their blog.

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and The Honest Company but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #NaturallyHonest http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.

Check out yesterday's gift idea, Giant Fortune Cookies and join me tomorrow for a simple Sugar Hand Scrub!

Mother's Day Gift Ideas: Giant Fortune Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

This week I wanted to share a week's worth of homemade Mother's Day gift ideas. We're kicking it all off with my kids' favorite project -- Giant Fortune Cookies.

I made these for my kids a few years ago as a Valentine's Day surprise and they were a huge hit so when I suggested we them again they jumped at the chance. They are so much more delicious than the kind you get in restaurants {because they're so fresh} and they're really easy to make.

First, mix up the batter. Here's the recipe I use:

2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract {you could use 1/2 vanilla and 1/2 almond, but my family prefers plain vanilla}
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 C. flour
1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
3-5 Tbsp. water

Whip egg whites until frothy. Add vanilla extract and oil. In another bowl combine the dry ingredients. Add 3 Tbsp. water and mix until smooth. Gradually fold in the egg and oil mixture. Batter should be thin and smooth. Add extra water 1 Tbsp. at a time if needed until the batter is thin enough {like the consistency of crepe batter}.

While I was mixing the batter, my boys were writing messages onto thin strips of paper. {I told them that we were doing this for the blog, not for me, so just write generic messages, but they were actually really sweet! Have fun and be safe -- ha, I always say that to my kids when they go out.}

Next, heat a griddle to 300 degrees and spray it with non-stick cooking spray. For giant cookies, drop about 1/4 cup of batter on the hot griddle with a ladle and swirl around with the back of the ladle to form a very thin circle about 4-5 inches in diameter.

Let sit untouched for about 5 minutes then flip over when the underside is a nice golden color. When it is flipped, let it sit for about 5 minutes more. When the circle appears dry, take it off the griddle. This is where you will wish you had asbestos fingers because you have to work fast while the cookie is still hot. You only have about 30 seconds to shape the cookie before it becomes too hard and begins to crack.

Put the prettier side down and lay one of your prepared fortunes in the center. Fold the cookie in half leaving a flat bottom. Hold the edges together as you bend the the outside points together to get that cute fortune cookie shape. You can fold it over the edge of a cup if that helps.} Place bent, warm cookie in a muffin tin or cup to hold its shape as it finishes cooling.

We decided to add a little extra girliness to ours with some melted white chocolate. They are for mom after all, right? I put my melted white chocolate in a small squeeze bottle with a thin tip so it was easier to control. You can be as fancy or as simple as you like. I did the cute loopy design and my boys just drizzled it back and forth. Both look equally great! You can see the fortune down inside there:

I always see old cookie tins at thrift stores for less than a dollar. They're usually really ugly, with Christmas designs on them, but you can give them a coat of spray paint {with the lid still on so the inside stays clean} and they become pretty gift boxes. Package 4 or 5 giant cookies inside a pretty tin and give it as a gift.

My kids couldn't wait for me to finish taking pictures so they could crack into the crispy yumminess. The white chocolate on there really took the flavor to the next level!

Come back tomorrow for some earth-friendly cleaning products that smell like a dream. Throughout the week I'll be sharing printable note cards, my fave brunch recipes, something to pamper mom's hardworking hands, and the secret to making your own edible arrangements. I hope you'll join me!

I'll be linking this project up here:

Sugar-Free Treats that Tasteas Good as the Original?! Yep!

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Our son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was in kindergarten. We were completely thrown for a loop with that diagnosis. As with so many things, we just didn't know that much about it until we had to. I feared that I had caused it by feeding him too much sugar. {Not true!} I feared that we were going to have to give up sugar as a family completely. {Also not true} As a baker {by hobby}, that made me really sad. We weren't sure how we were going to fit his new condition into our family life -- how we would find a new "normal" or what "normal" even was with a diabetic child.

Now, 7 years later, we are still trying to figure that all out, but were in a better place. Riley enjoys sweets in moderation as long as he is doing a good job regulating his blood sugars. I still get to bake {hallelujah} and diabetes is nothing more than a tiny blip on our radar. While we don't avoid sugar completely, we get super excited whenever we find sugar-free, lower carb options that taste as good as regular. We found just such a treat this week and I HAD to share it with you guys.

Werther's Original Sugar Free Candy is so good, y'all. I had every intention of saving it all for Riley, but I have been stealing pieces all week. I love Werther's Original hard candies and these taste just the same -- only better because they're pretty much guilt-free. And they come in 4 flavors - Classic Caramel, Caramel Apple, Caramel Coffee, and Caramel Cinnamon. Aren't they pretty?

Oooooooooohhhhhhh, the cinnamon. Those are my favorite. I know there are lots of reasons aside from diabetes that cause people to try and stay away from sugar. Whatever your reason is, I urge you to give these Werther's Original Sugar-Free Candies a try. I was really pleasantly surprised at how delicious they are. My only complaint is that I have been finding little gold wrappers all over my house since we got them, but that is hardly Werther's fault, is it? Apparently I am not the only one who can't stop sneaking pieces.

Visit Werther's Original Sugar-Free on Facebook for product information and promotions. I have some coupons that I would love to share with anyone who wants to try these delicious sugar-free treats. The first 5 people who comment that they want them will get 2 coupons for 75 cents off. {Make sure to leave an email address so I can get your mailing info!} Ready . . . . Go!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Kitchen Cabinet Facelift{Part 1}

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

I've had an idea for a while now to breathe some new life into my kitchen cabinets, but I kept pushing it to the back of my mind because I didn't know if it was a good idea or not. It had the potential to be fabulous, but it seemed almost equally likely to be completely hideous. I had almost all the supplies on hand so it wouldn't cost more than about $10, but if I hated it . . . the cabinets would be ruined and there was no going back. I had recently painted all my cabinets with chalk paint so I kept telling myself to leave well enough alone. The cabinets were fine.

But what if my idea was a good one . . .

I couldn't let it go so last weekend I finally took the plunge. I decided to remove the inset panels of my upper cabinets and replace them with chicken wire. Here is what my kitchen looked like before:

And here's what it looks like today:

I LOVE them so much!! Of course they're not finished. I still need to paint the inside of the cabinets white, caulk and paint the trim, put the hardware back on, and arrange the dishes neatly now that they show. It has been a pretty easy {though time-consuming} project. Here's the run-down:

1. The first challenge was removing the recessed panels of the doors. This was one of many times that I wished we lived closer to our families. I would have just run over to my parents' house and had my dad router them out. {Rout them out? Use his router to remove them. That's what I mean.} But Houston is a long way to go for a project like this so we did the next best thing and gave our 75-year-old carpenter friend Bob a call. He was more than happy to help even though I'm convinced he thinks I'm half-crazy for "ruining" perfectly good cabinet doors like this. He asked us several times if we were absolutely sure this is what we wanted before he started cutting. His lack of confidence didn't do much to bolster mine, but we plowed ahead.

I should have taken pictures of this process, but we were too busy listening to Bob's stories. He's a fun guy to talk to and he was telling us about how he recently almost cut off three of his fingers with a chain saw. Good stuff. Basically, he drilled a hole in each corner of the panel with a forstner bit {the kind that makes a bigger hole than a regular drill bit} then ran his router along each edge to cut the panel out. It takes a pretty steady hand to remove the panel without gouging the existing molding. I'm so glad Bob was doing it and not me. Finally he chiseled out the little bits of wood left in the corners to square them out and sanded everything smooth.

2. We brought the doors home and I gave them a fresh coat of chalk paint to cover up the raw edges where we cut the panel out and cover all the scratches that occurred in the shop. Then it was the moment of truth -- adding the chicken wire. I cut the chicken wire to size using wire cutters and stapled it in place with a staple gun. At this point I was feeling pretty good about my decision to go ahead with this project. Things were looking preeeeety sweeeeeet.

3. The next challenge was covering the rough edges on the back side of the cabinet doors so they looked finished. At Lowe's we found some 6-foot-long pieces of screen molding for about $2 each. Screen molding is about 1/2 inch wide flat molding that worked perfectly to nail in on the back side of the doors to cover up all the cut edges of the chicken wire. {We just used our hand saw and a $5 miter box to cut those mitered corners so don't be intimidated if you don't have big, fancy tools.}

This is the point we are at right now. I need to go and fill all the gaps and nail holes with wood filler and touch up the paint and then paint the inside of the cabinets white. I also need to weed through all my old dishes and organize everything. That might be the biggest job of all.

I'm super thrilled with the way it looks now! I have plans to eventually paint all those yellow walls white and paint the lower cabinets navy blue. That will come in time. I'd also like to put some subway tile on the back splash and change the counter tops, but that, too, will come later. One thing at a time.

I'm hoping to have Part 2 of this post done by next weekend to show you what it looks like with everything finished and painted. In fact, I'm excited to see what everything looks like all finished and painted myself. I'm always amazed by the big difference that you can make with a few bucks and a little bit of creativity. I'd love too hear about your favorite creative home projects. Leave a comment and give me some more great ideas!

I'll be linking this project up here:

Drive It Home: My Thoughts on Teen Driving Safety

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

I have a beautiful daughter named Sydney. In my mind she will forever be eight years old -- innocent, sheltered, and dependent on me.

But the truth is, she'll be 15 in a couple of months. That's a mere 14 months away from dating {we're pretty strict} and -GASP!- driving. She reminds me almost daily that she can get her learner's permit in 8 months. 8 MONTHS, people! Where has the time gone?

I mean, I know kids grow up. I have worked with the teenage girls at church for 7 years now. I've seen lots of sweet little girls turn into beautiful, independent young ladies who -GASP!- drive themselves places. It never gets less shocking to see one of "my girls" behind the wheel of a car. I never, EVER considered the possibility of it happening to my Sydney. And yet here we are.

The prospect of having a teen driver in the house is equal parts exciting and terrifying. Having someone to run to the store for me or do other little errands? Awesome. Not having to chauffeur my children absolutely everywhere? Awesome. My kid -- that little girl in the pretty white dress -- out on the road operating a motor vehicle in traffic? Almost too scary to think about.

I attended a Drive It Home event sponsored by the Allstate Foundation and the National Safety Council last week with a few friends of mine to learn what we can do better to keep our teen drivers safe. Besides being super fun . . .

. . . it was really informative. Did you know:

The first year after getting their license is one of the most dangerous years of your child's life.
Inexperience is the #1 cause of all teen driving accidents, not risk-taking or distractions. {Though those are both contributing factors, too.}
The odds of getting into an accident increase exponentially for every young passenger in the car. {Kids are about 40% more likely to get in an accident with one teen passenger, 200% more likely with 2 teen passengers, and 400% more likely with 3 teen passengers.}
As parents we need to model better driving behavior for our children, such as turning off our cell phones when we get behind the wheel and always wearing seat belts.
The state minimum requirements to get a driver's license are simply not enough. We need to spend more time in the car with our teen drivers coaching them, especially in higher risk situations like nighttime driving and driving with passengers. {According to a study done by the Allstate Foundation, 52% of teen drivers here in Arizona wish their parents had spent more time teaching them to drive in demanding situations.}
Parents should spend at least 30 minutes a week driving with their teen AFTER they get their license to continue training and monitor their progress.

I don't know why it had never occurred to me before that I should also talk with the parents of my kids' friends to make sure we were all on the same page about our expectations for our teen drivers. We will have the rule that Sydney cannot drive with teen passengers for however long we decide after she gets her license, but her friends and their parents need to also know that we don't want Sydney riding with their kids either for that time. Just for a while. Just until we really feel like they are a little more skilled.

I know that's not a guarantee that my kid will be safe. There's no guarantee that my kid will be safe, but I can do my part help out and so can you. These Drive It Home events are happening in 14 cities across the US, but don't worry if you can't make it out to a live show. On the Drive It Home website you will find lots of really great information and videos to share with your teen driver, like this one:

While I'm still wary about my baby girl getting behind the wheel of a car, I feel more confident after attending the Drive It Home show. I feel like I am more knowledgeable about what I need to do as a parent to help my kids become successful drivers in the next few years. Do you have kids who drive? What did you do to prepare them? Leave a comment and share your wisdom!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

DIY Cloth Napkins and Napkin Rings{How to Sew Perfect Mitered Corners!}

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

I know I'm not the only person in the world who likes a well-set table, but I'm certainly the only person in my family. For years my husband has tried to train me out of my "fanciness". To be fair, I'm a pretty simple girl. I like matching plates and cups. White serving platters and bowls. A tablecloth and cloth napkins on Sundays and special occasions. He would prefer that we eat off of paper plates every night and serve food from the pan it was cooked in. That's because I do almost all the cooking and he and the kids almost always do the dishes. The more I dirty up, the more there is to clean afterward. Soup looks really nice in a white ceramic tureen, but it tastes exactly the same so why dirty up a whole 'nother dish when you could just put the soup pot on the table?!

They have me mostly converted, but guess what's right around the corner . . . MOTHER'S DAY! My family usually makes me a really nice breakfast on Mother's Day and they do it up right -- just like I like it. With that in mind, I decided to take some pretty fabric and sew up a new set of napkins and napkin rings for them.

Side story -- I had to order some supplies and stuff online for girls camp and Etsy orders and I figured out that I was about 1 yard of fabric away from qualifying for free shipping on the website. Since the total cost was going to be the same either way, I was all like, "Hey, free fabric", and I added this awesome Amy Butler laurel dots to my cart. I love it when that happens!

Anyway -- making cloth napkins isn't a super exciting project. You just cut a square of fabric {mine was 18" on each side} and make a narrow hem all the way around to finish the edges. BUT! I have learned the EASIEST way to sew PERFECT MITERED CORNERS every time, and this is just the project to practice on. You'll have 4 mitered corners per napkin and, what, like 4-8 napkins per set? You'll be a pro by the time you're done.

First things first, you'll be able to get 4 18-inch napkins per yard of fabric so decide how many you want before you go buy fabric. I wanted a set of 8 so I made four out of one print and 4 more out of a coordinating print. Cut the fabric into 18" squares.

STEP 1: Begin by placing the fabric wrong-side up on your ironing board and press down 1/4 – 1/2 inch of all four sides. Double it to fold those edges in on themselves again and press another 1/4 – 1/2 inch on top of each.
Unfold the folds you just pressed and this is what you'll have:

Pretend those blue lines are your pressed fold lines. {I'm a lazy sew-er so I hardly ever press even though my mom taught me better than that. Love ya' mom!}Fold the corner in at a 45-degree angle right at the spot where line 2 intersects at the corner and press in place. Trim off the extra little corner of fabric, just like in the photo.

STEP 2: Refold the folds you pressed in step 1 along one edge and pin in place. Do the same thing for the adjacent edge:

Step 3: Repeat for all four corners. Stitch all the way around the edge of your square with your sewing machine using a 1/4 seam allowance.

Voila! A perfect mitered corner! Since I already had my sewing machine out, I decided to whip up some coordinating napkin rings out of grosgrain ribbon. I used about 7" of ribbon and one ribbon slide for each.

Feed one end of your ribbon through the ribbon slide. Fold it over about 1-1/4" and pin in place.

Sew straight down the edge of the ribbon to hold it in place.

I cut the opposite end of the ribbon at an angle and used a q-tip to dab a tiny bit of Mod Podge along the cut edge to seal it. You could use fray check or any kind of glue that dries clear. You just don't want your ribbon to unravel with use. Wrap the ribbon around your cloth napkin, feed the loose end through the ribbon slide and pull it tight.

I really like the fun pop of color and the little extra prettiness it gives the place setting. So tell me -- are you a "fancy", cloth napkins kind of girl or are you a the-simpler-the-better type? I'm curious who I'm talking to out there. . .

For other easy sewing project ideas check out my Favorite Projects!

I'll be linking up here:

A Week's Worth of Amazing Casseroles{with Country Crock!}

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

What is your family's take on casseroles? I find that you either love 'em or you hate 'em. A friend of mine told me once that she served a casserole to her family and they looked at her dumbfounded, waiting for the rest of their meal. She had to explain to them that the meat and the vegetables and the bread-y stuff were all mixed together in one dish and assure them that it would taste delicious, even if it didn't look like it.

I was raised on casseroles so I love them! Now they're my go-to family dinner favorites -- the recipes that I know will be easy and make my whole family happy. When I think of comfort food, I'm usually thinking of casseroles with all their warm, cheesy, yumminess. When I was growing up, my mom used to make what we called "Dump Casserole". An unfortunate name, but such a delightful food. It was basically chicken and rice in a creamy sauce with any leftover veggies from previous nights' dinners dumped in and cooked on up. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! She also regularly made Tamale Casserole, which was another family favorite. It had chunks of cut-up tamales, elbow macaroni and cubes of cheese melted in a yummy tomato sauce. We ate it with slices of white bread and butter.

One of my favorite things about casseroles is that I can usually throw them together earlier in the day and save them in the fridge. Then, when dinner time comes around and we're still up to our eyeballs in homework, I just have to stick it in the oven and dinner finishes preparing itself. They're also super budget-friendly. Don't tell my family, but I usually use half as much meat as the recipe calls for and just double the veggies to make up the difference. They won't ever know and they leave the table perfectly satisfied.

So! Are you a casserole-making super star?! Country Crock would like to reward your domestic-diva-tude. All you have to do is enter the Country Crock Stars contest by sharing a photo of you with your favorite casserole and explaining in 100 words or less how you demonstrate creativity and resourcefulness in the kitchen. Easy cheesy! You could win some really great prizes . . . you know you want to check it out .

To get your casserole-creativity flowing, here's a round-up of some of my favorite casserole recipes from all over the internet. {Remember, you can replace the butter in any of these recipes with Country Crock!}

King Ranch Chicken -- a casserole classic -- from Canadian House and Home.

Meatball Sub Casserole from Dishing with Leslie -- These are the most highly sought after leftovers in our house. If you snooze, you lose!

Swiss Chicken from Stella B's Kitchen

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti Casserole from Plain Chicken

Easy Chicken Noodle Casserole from Six Sisters' Stuff -- we don't really care for tuna so this is how we choose to enjoy noodle casserole.

For more delicious dinner recipes {and tons more casseroles} follow my Yummy Things to Eat -- Dinner Edition board on Pinterest!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

New Chalkboard Quote

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:11:00 +0000

My poor little chalkboard wall has been neglected since December. Once I started decorating for Christmas I erased my Thanksgiving gratitude quote and hung a framed picture up there with a big chalk frame drawn around it. You didn't see that here on the blog because it was kinda' blah-looking. You FOR SURE didn't see how I took the framed picture down after Christmas and left the empty space up there for nearly four months. It's shameful, really. Today I am repenting and sharing another design to inspire the chalk artist in all of you.

I'm sure most of you are better than me, but I need a little nudge sometimes to remember to be grateful for what I do have on those days when it seems like all the world is conspiring against me. Do you have those days or is it just me? Maybe it's just in my nature to be grumpy. Sometimes {lately} it's easy to find a million and one things to complain about, but much harder to recognize the blessings that surround me. That's why I love this saying. There is ALWAYS something to be grateful for. Always, always!

Every morning that I wake up in a cozy house and get my three healthy children off to a great school in a safe neighborhood and settle into my computer to make a little bit of money doing what I love to do is a miracle. A MIRACLE! Every day that my husband wakes up and still likes me and still wants to be married to me after 17 years of "me" is another miracle. I'm surrounded by blessings -- every single day -- even in the midst of some of the most challenging circumstances I have ever been asked to endure. Sometimes I just need a little kick in the pants to remember that.

Chalk art is the most fun, least stressful creative project in the world to me. If I make a mistake it can be gone in 2 seconds. If I hate it when it's finished I can just erase it and start over again and all I've lost is 20 cents worth of chalk. I usually start by sketching out a design in my notebook as a jumping off point . . .

. . . and letting the design take shape from there. I've tried more structured ways of doing it, trying to design something up on the computer and then transfer it exactly to the wall, but that's not nearly as much fun. And it usually doesn't turn out as well. If you're looking for a way to de-stress and unwind at 1:00 in the morning when you can't sleep, I recommend getting yourself a chalkboard!

I'm so excited about the projects I have to share with you this week -- a delicious casserole recipe, a super-easy sewing project that will get you ready for mother's day brunch, my fears about having a soon-to-be-teen-driver in the house, and a {free!}kitchen cabinet mini-makeover.

That's not a picture of the finished makeover, I promise. I hope you'll come back to see the real deal!! ALSO, mark your calendars for next week because I will be sharing a week's worth of projects to get you all ready for mother's day.

Have a great day, friends.

I'll be linking up here:

The Pain-Free Headband

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

I have a love/hate relationship with headbands. Love the way they look in my hair. Love the cute, easy pop of color they add to an outfit. Hate the pounding headache that starts in after several hours of wearing one. Why must we torture ourselves to be stylish?

A few weeks ago I made those cute little felt bows I showed you yesterday and attached a bunch of them to skinny metal headbands. These headbands are some of the best I've found. The headband just hides right into your hair leaving nothing but a fun bow showing, which is awesome. And the brain-squeeze effect is minimal, but even so I can only wear them for a couple hours at a time -- usually just when I'm out in public. In the house they come right off. Surely there must be a better way to accessorize!

I like the idea of head wraps -- you know, those fabric headbands that tie around your head -- but they can be kinda' pricey and don't always come in patterns or colors I want. {I'm a little picky.} I decided to try and make some of my own out of fabric in my stash so I could really customize them and I love how they turned out. If you have about a half an hour and a quarter of a yard of fabric or-so you can make one, too.

Start out by making your pattern. I tied a piece of ribbon around my head right where I was going to wear the head wrap to determine how long I needed it to be. Then I decided how wide I wanted the headband to be on top of my head and at the ends. My measurements were 33 inches long by 2 1/4 inches wide in the center and 1 inch wide at the ends. Add 2 inches to the length and about 1 inch to the width measurements to give you enough extra fabric to finish the edges. Here's an example of how I drew out my pattern:

Use a large sheet of paper {a piece of butcher paper or newsprint works well} to draw out your pattern. Remember this pattern is for half of the head wrap so you want to place the 3 1/4 inch side along the fold of your fabric and cut out the other three sides, leaving you with one long piece of fabric that is fat in the middle and thinner on each end. {Does that make sense?}

On each long edge of the strip, lay the fabric wrong side up, fold the edge over 1/4 inch and press. Then fold over 1/4 inch again, press and pin in place. Sew down each long edge, creating a nice, finished hem.

Repeat for each short end.

You now have your basic head wrap that you can embellish however you like. I like the look of yo yo rosettes and vintage buttons {big surprise, right?}, but you could make rolled fabric rosettes, bows, or even just glue on gems and embellishments with permanent glue. I used invisible nylon thread to machine stitch my rosettes to the head wrap so they would really stay put.

I can wear one of these head wraps all day without getting the typical headband brain-squeeze. I almost forget that it's there. I think these wraps are especially cute in sassy short hair, but they also look good in long hair or tied around your head with your hair pulled up in a ponytail or messy bun. They work on adults and children alike.

I'd love to see your finished head wraps if you make some!!

I'll be linking this project up here:

10 Super Easy Craft Ideas{To Make With Teenage Girls}

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

I love teenage girls. My almost-fifteen year old daughter is so much fun to be around {95% of the time}. I have worked with the Young Women at our church -- all twelve to eighteen years old -- for the past seven years. It's my favorite! This year, in addition to my regular work with the girls, I have been asked to head up the craft cabin at our annual Girl's Camp. It's kind-of a dream job for me, I'm not gonna' lie. So I've had easy and inexpensive crafts on the brain for the past little while. I've put together a roundup of ten of my favorite ideas from all over the internet to share with y'all today.

1. Magnetic Mousetrap Memo Clips {from Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom}. How great would these be for the girls to hang in their lockers at school?! They look really easy to make and the girls can get super creative with the embellishments.

2. Jute and Button Bracelets {inspired by Basketfull of Trinkets on Etsy} It will take some experimenting on my part to figure these babies out, but I know we have tons of buttons in the camp closet so these will be practically free. The price is right {!!} and the girls always love stuff they can make and wear or give to their secret sisters.

3. Felt Bow Hair Clips {from Oliver and S} I made some of these a few weeks ago and they are adorable. They only take minutes and anyone can make them, no matter the skill-level. Teenage girls on a busy schedule at camp LOVE instant gratification projects like this.

4. Beaded Braided Bracelets {from Honestly . . .} These look super easy and classy enough that even the women leaders may want to wear them. I want to make myself a whole wrist full.

5. Popsicle Stick Bracelets {from The Letter 4 via The 36th Avenue}Can you believe that those cuffs were made from popsicle sticks soaked in hot water and molded inside a cup?! I love these fabric covered & rosette versions, but I've also seen them painted or with cute paper Mod-Podged on.

6. Jersey Knit Bracelets {from V & Co.} So . . . I'm a bracelet girl, I guess. I love these woven t-shirt bracelets, but they could also be made into headbands if you just made them longer.

7. Duct Tape Lanyards {from Crafty Soccer Mom} The teenage girls I know love lanyards for holding their keys. These ones would be durable and there are so many fun duct tape patterns these days you could make them really cute.

8. Painted Rock Magnets {inspired by this image on imgfave} These could also be pendants if you drilled a tiny hole in the top with a Dremmel. They are just so cute! I can see the girls really enjoying painting these, and, hey, rocks = cheap.

9. Pom Pom Fabric Pens {from Sew Sara} The girls are encouraged to write in their journals every day at camp and send little notes to their friends and leaders. These pens would be perfect for that.

10. Up-Inspired Bottle Cap Pins {from A Law Student's Journey} Our main crafts at camp this year that everyone makes are embellished military-style hats. These bottle cap pins could be decorated however the girls choose and pinned onto their hats as a little memento of their camp experience this year. I made some for my girls for our Up-themed New Beginnings program and they were a hit.

There you have it! That just scratches the surface of what you can find on tons of awesome blogs via Pinterest. These are just some of the front-runners in my search. I hope this helps whether you are a fellow camp leader or a mom of tweens or teens who is looking for things to do with your kids this summer. Enjoy!

I'll be linking up here:

Pork & Pears

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Today I wanted to share one of our favorite family dinner recipes with you. It's not one that we have all the time - in fact, it's probably been about a year since I last made it - but when my kids saw it on the menu this week they fell to their knees and praised heaven and earth. {They can be just a tad dramatic sometimes.}

This recipe is so good that it is almost the only exception to my strict anti-fruit-and-meat policy. You heard me. I hate fruit and meat together. The only things I can tolerate are citrus and chicken {generally delicious in all its forms} and now pork and pears. But not just any pork with any pears. Just these particular pork and pears I'm gonna' tell you about.

I found this recipe on the i heart blog years ago. Ordinarily I would pass up a recipe like that {fruit and meat . . . yeah, no}so fast. So very fast. But it really sounded like something my husband would enjoy so I made it for him. What do you know?! It was delightful. I guess I don't know everything.

So, here's how you do it:

Pork & Pears Recipe

2-3 pork steaks {I used a pork roast this time and it worked fine}

1 C. orange juice

1 can pear halves in heavy syrup

1 packet Au Jus mix

Rice {prepare enough for your family - about six servings is what I do to go with this recipe}

Cut pork steaks against the grain into finger-sized slices. Discard the excess fat as you go. Place pork strips into a skillet with high sides. I think an electric skillet works great for this. Brown the meat on low for 5-7 minutes on each side, for a total of 10-14 minutes. While the meat is browning start cooking your rice and mix up the sauce as follows: In a large measuring cup that can hold at least 2 cups, drain all juice from your pears. Add enough orange juice to make 2 cups of liquid total. Add the au jus packet and whisk until smooth. When pork is done browning, pour your liquid into the pan and place pear halves on top of meat. Simmer for 20 minutes. When it is finished, place pears in a bowl to serve on the side. Serve meat and sauce over the rice and love every last bite of it.

For really good step-by-step photos, click on over to the original post. I'm not such a great photographer, but I made the recipe cute if you want to download it for your collection.

{just click the photo to enlarge then right click and save it to your computer}

I'll be linking this recipe up at:

Awesome Deals for Spring at Dollar General

noreply@blogger.com (Amy Gregson) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 02:00:00 +0000

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dollar General for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Are you ready for the warmer weather? If you live somewhere cool, I'm sure you're probably feeling the spring fever. Here in Arizona, however, I'm torn. While I love the beautiful springy weather right now, I know that the marathon heat endurance test we call summer is beginning. I don't have much longer to make sure that my wardrobe is ready for the 7-month sweat session right around the corner. I need to get the whole family outfitted with swim suits, flip-flops, massive ammounts of sunscreen and cute accessories. {OK, I just need the accessories for myself.} Did you know that you can get all of those things at your local Dollar General store?

I knew I could get sunscreen there, but fashionable outfits?! I had no idea they sold such cute clothing and accessories. I browsed the Dollar General Apparel Book and picked out a few must-have items:

Hello . . . that maxi dress over my swim suit and floppy hat to keep the sun off my face are the perfect pool-side fashion statement for me. {Did I mention that I don't swim? Like, ever? But I like to be cute and stay cool when I'm out there with the kiddos.} Tank tops for Sis to layer under thin t-shirts and new swim trunks for the boys? Um, yes please, at those prices! And for $1 a pair we can load up the shoe basket by the front door with fresh flip-flops that will match all our outfits. I love me some one-stop bargain shopping!

What is your can't-live-without warm weather item? I bet you can find it at Dollar General . . . just sayin'.

Be sure to like Dollar General on Facebook and follow Dollar General on Twitter to get all the latest news about sales and promotions and stuff.