Poofy Cheeks

Camping Recipe: Chicken Bouillon Onion

2013-05-21T07:30:00.000-04:00

Today I have another camping recipe for you. This one won the Blue Ribbon from everyone who went camping with us a few weeks ago. Even my boys, ages 5 and 3, came back for seconds and they typically don’t like onions! The onion was almost like a campfire french onion soup.

To make one over the campfire you need a piece of foil, an onion, butter and a chicken bouillon cube or granules. I used the Goya brand chicken bouillon granule packet to make things easier on myself (after all cooking outdoors is not a walk in the park).

For each onion cut a piece of foil big enough to wrap the onion up in. Peel and cut the onion in half. Take out a few of the middle layers and fill it with a spoonful of butter. Put the onion back together. The butter will help hold the two halves together. Sprinkle chicken bouillon granules over the top and wrap the foil up over it.

If you use a bouillon cube crush it up and sprinkle over the top.

Place your onion in the campfire and cook until it is fork tender. I placed ours on the outside of the fire where it was still hot but not directly on a flame because I didn’t want I to burn on the outside and still be raw in the middle. Cooking over a campfire is tricky business.

On a side note these would be just as good cooked on a grill!

Enjoy,

I party HERE

Feta Cheese Crostini

2013-05-20T16:13:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago I shared a recipe for Rosemary Feta Potatoes and mentioned that my husband loves feta cheese. The other night I was inspired to mix elements from his favorite appetizer (bruschetta dip) with feta cheese. The outcome was easy and delicious!

To make your own Feta Crostini you will need the following ingredients:

Loaf of french bread
Butter or olive oil
6 ounces crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning blend

Directions:

Slice the french bread loaf into once inch thick pieces. Lightly butter or brush both sides of the pieces.
Broil the bread for two minutes until it is golden brown, flip and broil opposite side for another two minutes.
In a small bowl mix feta cheese, garlic salt, two tablespoons of olive oil, red pepper flakes and italian seasoning.
Top each piece of bread and pop into a 350 degree oven for about 5-8 minutes which will really bring out the flavor of the mixture.
SERVE

My husband said they were awesome but next time I should double the amount of cheese I put on top of each slice. I should have known – when it comes to dips or sauces he always goes overboard. Don’t even try eating chips and salsa with the guy because if you blink the salsa is GONE!

Enjoy,

I party HERE

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Seashell Succulent Jars

2013-05-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

A few months ago my mother and sister-in-law told me how they wanted to start a succulent garden this year. As Mother’s Day grew near I knew I wanted to gift them succulents, but being myself I wanted to do something special with them. Since I was trying to stay on a budget I brainstormed a way to make the succulents stand out but also keep them affordable. I shopped my house and gathered glass jars I had been saving. If you don’t have any jars on hand you could always try cleaning out your refrigerator – if you are like me there are a few jars in there that you can clean out and use. A lot of the succulent jars I have seen have pebbles on the bottom to help with water drainage but since we live in Florida and I had a jar of seashells that the kids and I filled up last year I decided to use those (FREE!). If you live near the beach you can fill up on your next trip or maybe you have seashells from a beach vacation which will give your jars more meaning? I did have a few shells and pieces of coral that my husband and I had found while scuba diving so I saved those for my own jars since they have sentimental meaning to us.

To make your own jars you will need the following:

Seashells (or pebbles)
Moss (I bought mine at Michael’s with a 40% coupon)
Cactus Soil
Jars
Succulents
Gardening Shovel

Like I mentioned, I was trying to create these jars on a budget so when I stopped into Home Depot they had individual succulents for about $4 each or this large variety planter for $13. I wanted to get as many different varieties as possible so the large planter was a better deal.

I pulled out all of the different varieties from the pot and laid them out. I also pulled new shoots from some of the aloe plants in my yard that I propagated last year (on the very right). Before I planted the succulents in the jars I took cuttings from them to propagate and start new plants. I will be doing a post on how to propagate succulents and cactus soon if you are wondering how!

For the jars I layered in the seashells, then the moss, soil and a succulent. I used the cactus soil as well as some of the soil from the planter. In all honesty I could have probably gotten away with using just the soil from the planter and returning the bag of cactus soil I bought, but now I have it for the succulents I am propagating.

These beauties are perfect for indoor house plants and they spent a few days on my entertainment center or do well outdoors too depending on your climate. They like warm but shady spots. I almost didn’t want to get rid of them, but I know I will have my own little baby succulents growing very soon! My mother and sister-in-law loved them so mission accomplished!

Enjoy,

I party HERE

Printable Tags: Start Your Summer with a Squeeze!

2013-05-16T20:51:00.001-04:00

School is coming to an end and summer is quickly approaching! I have seen that some of my friends on instagram are already feeling the heat and here in Florida it was been in the high 80s. For those of you who saw flurries this past week I am truly sorry! Today I am sharing a tag you can use on a teacher appreciation gift or for your child to give to fellow students.

You can find the printable file HERE.

Do you need ideas on what to give with this tag? Here is what I can think of off the top of my head….

a basket of lemons
lemonade (a big package or the individual sized packets)
lemon coconut cookies
yellow paper straws
a hard plastic cup or water bottle

Enjoy,

I party HERE

Camping Recipe: Hobo Burgers and Taters

2013-05-15T13:33:00.001-04:00

Growing up my parents owned three acres of land out in the country in Illinois. As you can imagine it was three aces of land lost in the middle of fields which in the summer had corn or soybeans growing in them. We used to camp out there often and when my parents would cook they would make hobo burgers and taters. They are easy, yummy and can be wrapped in foil and cooked right over the fire. As I thought about what we would eat on our camping trip last week they were the first thing that came to mind.

For these there really isn’t such a thing as exact measurements because it depends on how many people there are. You will need the following:

carrots (optional)
potatoes (any kind will do – I grabbed up what I had in my pantry)
ground beef
french onion soup mix
onion
butter
salt and pepper

Directions:

Every person will get their own packet so start by cutting the foil. Make sure each piece of foil is big enough to hold the food and then wrap it up for cooking.
Cut up you onions, potatoes and carrots. I used about one potato and three baby carrots (one large carrot) per packet. I divided the onion up among the packets which ended up to be a tablespoon or two each. (There is no such thing as measuring when you are camping – you just have to eyeball it!)
Then I grabbed a patty size piece of burger and crumbled it up over the top.
I took the french onion soup mix and used it as my seasoning. I used about 1/3 of the envelope for each foil packet. Be sure to shake up the mix so you get some of the flavor from the seasoning on each one. Then use your hand to mix it all up.
Put a few pats of butter on the top of the mixture and fold ‘er up.
Cook them until the beef is browned and the potatoes are fork tender. If you overcook them the potatoes will burn onto the foil. You have to be especially careful if you are cooking over the campfire – we cooked ours on a propane grill and we should have rotated them because one on the outside wasn’t quite done and one in the middle was a little too done if ya’ know what I mean!?

To fold the packets up try to get all of the food in the middle and bring the two longer ends together. Fold them down and then fold the sides once and fold up over the middle fold. Cook them with the folds up so that the butter and seasoning don’t leak out.

WARNING: Be careful when you open the packets because the steam is very hot as you can see from the photo below!

I have a few more camping recipes coming soon! If you missed the pictures from our staycation you can see them HERE. Just a side note – you don’t have to be camping to make these. They would work the same on your regular grill too! I love nights when we grill out because once it is prepared I pass it to my husband who does the rest!

Enjoy,

I party HERE

Our Staycation

2013-05-14T10:14:00.001-04:00

Last week my husband took three days off which gave him a total of eight days off in a row. It seems like whenever he takes time off like that we sit around the house staring at each other and by the end of it neither one of us can wait to go back to work. I get nothing done, he gets tired of doing nothing, I feel like the family chef instead, and he hates that I want him to help me clean out the garage or some other random job. You feel me?

This time was different. I told myself to just let go and take a break from my shop, blogging and anything else that I usually feel ‘has’ to be done. It was wonderful. We all had such a great week filled with family time and most importantly we made memories together. We didn’t go further than 25 miles from our house the entire week and we ate great meals every day. Last Saturday when my husband got off of work we dropped all three kids at my parents house and went out for pizza and a movie. It had literally been months since I was without at least one of my children so that break was well deserved and needed. As I drove away from my parents house I turned the music up in my car and jammed out just because I could!

Sunday we hung around the house, packed and prepared for a camping trip. First thing Monday morning we headed to a camp site about 15 minutes from our house. It was the kids’ first camping trip and since we had Delilah in tow we didn’t want to go far. It was in the eighties during the day and down in the sixties at night so the weather was perfect for us. I gave myself a pep talk before we left the house that I was going to let the boys be boys and get as dirty as they wanted. Normally I would tell them to stop playing in the dirt and mud but that is what camping is about.

The food was so good that my husband made the comment we were almost eating better camping than we do at home. I have to second that. We had three good meals a day – we cooked our meals over the fire or on the grill. We had breakfast burritos, egg sandwiches, lunch sandwiches, pie iron pizzas, hobo burgers and hot dogs. Of course what is camping without the smores? We had smores every night!

We even tried our luck at geocaching and found our first cache! We are excited to do some more geocaching in the future because when we looked it up there are a lot of caches in our area. If you haven’t heard of geocaching it is when you find containers that people leave by using a GPS device (we used our phones). It is like a small treasure hunt and our kids had a blast looking at the silly things inside and leaving their own item behind for someone else to find.

Of course there were some breakdowns when the kids got overly tired, but overall it was better than I thought it would be. The boys stayed busy running around most of the day and Delilah was fine because I was holding her most of the time unless I was cooking. When I wasn’t holding her Mike was or we put her in her bouncer seat that I brought with.

We had originally planned to camp until Thursday, but since I had some friends in town from Illinois we decided to pack up and head out on Wednesday afternoon instead. When we got back home we unpacked (the worst part of camping!) and I filled up the washer and dryer with our campfire scented clothes, pillowcases and blankets.

Thursday we hit the beach with friends, Friday we hung around the house and had the same friends over for dinner. My friend Maddy and I went to school together from grade school through high school and my three kids are within a few months of her three kids.

Saturday we met with my husbands family to celebrate his moms birthday and Mother’s Day. We took a picture in our backyard and had it made into a canvas for her. Let’s just say we tried to take this picture about a dozen times before we finally captured one where both boys were looking.

Sunday Mike made a pancake breakfast for Mother’s Day and then we met my parents and some of their friends at the beach. To end the day we went back to my parent’s house for dinner. I couldn’t be more thankful for the quality time I was able to spend with our family last week. I spent yesterday catching up on laundry and house work and sorting through clothes my kids have outgrown. I have to say that I never imagined being a work/stay at home mom would ever be this hard. It is the hardest job I have ever done but it is also the most rewarding and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

I am working on some camping recipe posts from our camping trip so be on the lookout for those!

Coconut Lemon Cookies–Cake Mix Cookies

2013-05-06T08:01:00.000-04:00

Cookies are good year round, but in the summer I try to spend a lot less time in the kitchen. We are always out trying to soak up as much sun as possible. These cookies are so quick to whip up and yummy too!

I recently saw a recipe for lemon cookies made from a lemon cake mix and I thought I had the lemon extract that it called for but when I looked through my cupboard only to find that I was out I tried coconut extract instead. The combination was delicious and screamed SUMMER! With temperatures in the 80s here summer is no doubt on its way.

Get the printable version HERE.

Enjoy,

I party HERE

Baked Cheddar Bacon Jalapeño Poppers

2013-05-04T16:02:00.001-04:00

“I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Kraft Foods #FreshTake #cbias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.”

Summer is right around the corner which always means family get-togethers. There are barbeques, birthdays and holidays where there is lots of good food! The food might just be my favorite part about these gatherings. Every summer jalapeño poppers are a staple on our menu. This recipe is a twist on the poppers my mom makes and I promise you that if you try them you will make them all summer long too!

For this recipe you will need the following ingredients:

1 pound of jalapeños
1/2 pound of bacon – cooked until crispy
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
8oz of cream cheese
1 Cheddar Jack & Bacon Fresh Take package

I found the Fresh Take packages in the shredded cheese section at Walmart. You can see my entire shopping trip HERE.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Fry up your bacon. While it is cooking cut and remove the seeds from the jalapeño peppers.
Once the bacon is done move it onto a paper towel to absorb the excess grease. In a medium bowl mix together the cream cheese, colby jack cheese from the Fresh Take package, garlic salt and crumble the bacon in and mix.
Using a fork stuff the cheese mixture into the jalapeños and then dip into the breadcrumbs from the Fresh Take package.
Put peppers on a foil lined baking sheet and bake according the the cooking times below.

Some say that the baking time of a jalapeño has something to do with how spicy hot it is. I have tried this and believe it. If the jalapeno isn’t cooked all the way and some of the vegetable is still raw it seems to be more spicy. If you let them cook for about 35-40 minutes then they seem to be cooked completely. Don’t get me wrong – they still have a kick but just not as much. Since my husband is a sissy when it comes to spicy food we usually go with 40 minutes.

Hot – 25 minutes
Medium – 32 minutes
Mild – 40 minutes

Now this is when I totally wish someone would have already invented smell-o-vision because this bacon had my house smelling scrumptious. The boys were in the living room and I heard them talking to each other about how mommy must be making bacon and they were going to eat it all. If you are like me it is hard to practice self restraint so we all snuck 1/2 a piece.

Secret – when I have filling leftover after I have stuffed all of the peppers I dip pretzels or crackers in because there is no way I am letting it go to waste!

I really loved using the Cheddar Jack and Bacon Fresh Take for this recipe because it killed two birds with one stone and it was already measured out for me! The flavoring of the breadcrumbs also enhanced the flavor and brought them to a new level of deliciousness. Have you used a Fresh Take in your cooking before? Please share!

So do they look amazing or what? AND they are not fried – they are baked!

ALSO-

You can find other Fresh Take recipes HERE

Watch for the Kraft Fresh Possibilities Tour truck which will be making stops across the country from March through the end of July. To see if they are making a stop in your town you can check this website: Fresh Possibilities Tour: http://www.tryfreshtake.com/tour.html

There will be an IRC (immediately redeemable coupon) stuck on packages of chicken in the meat department. The coupon takes $1.00 off the price of one (1) chicken item with the purchase of Fresh Take. The coupons will run 5/1-7/31.

Enjoy,

I party HERE

Stretchy Headband Tutorial

2013-05-02T10:00:00.000-04:00

Here are a few things I learned when I had a girl:

There are a MILLION shades of pink
Girls have a lot of accessories like bloomers, socks, tights, leg warmers, headbands and SHOES.
You can’t always find accessories to match outfits so you should just make them yourself!

Delilah has a whole box full of headbands and bows but there are times when I still don’t have anything to match her outfit. Since I sell headbands in my shop I am usually lucky enough to come up with something but not everyone has that luxury. I am going to tell you where to buy the supplies and how to make your own stretchy headbands.

I found decorative trim (pictured above) at Hobby Lobby with their ribbon in the fabric section. It is stretchy, frilly and looks so cute as a stretchy band. They have it in lots of different colors. Don’t forget to take a coupon or use the coupon from their free mobile app. (Usually 40% off)

The flower is from Michael's. I found this one on clearance for $.50 so scout the isle end caps to see what you can come up with. If you don’t see any cute things on clearance they have a bunch of Jolee brand premade fabric flowers. Again remember to bring your coupon from their sale flyer or from their free mobile app. (Usually 40% off) Sometimes you can even find the shabby chiffon flowers on daily deal sites like Very Jane, Pick Your Plum, and GroopDealz.

To make your headband you will need:

Fabric flower(s)
Stretchy trim
Measuring tape
Scissors
Hot glue gun
Sheet of felt (in cream or coordinating color)

Directions:

Cut a 1-2 inch sized circle out from your sheet of felt
Cut a piece of trim to the length that you need. I cut mine to 14 inches for my five month old, but for the best fit loosely wrap it around the head of the girl who will be wearing it and subtract an inch.
Using a hot glue gun glue the edges of the trim to the back of the flower.
Hot glue the circle of felt over the raw edges of trim to secure them. Allow the headband to dry completely before wear.

Enjoy,

I party HERE

Cinco de Mayo Pennant Banner

2013-05-01T08:11:00.001-04:00

Do you celebrate Cinco de Mayo? A few days ago I shared a large festive Cinco de Mayo banner and today I am sharing a mini pennant banner. I made these with Cinco de Mayo in mind but you could use these files for any celebration if you switch up the colors.

To make this banner you will need cardstock, twine, mini clothespins (can be found at Walmart in the office supply isle) and a silhouette. I have made the free dxf file available HERE. (I personally designed this file and it is for personal use only and can not be resold or used to make a banner that will be sold.)

Cut out the pennant shapes on your silhouette and attach to twine using mini clothespins. Could that be any easier?

Enjoy,

I party HERE

Cinco De Mayo Banner

2013-04-29T08:30:00.000-04:00

Cinco de Mayo is next week and after eating at a local Mexican restaurant over the weekend I was inspired to create a few fun banners. A little useless information before we begin - the day I made the banners I happened to be wearing a matching neon green dress (which I scored at Ross for $6 I might add) and I had a five and three year old who were dying to show me their photography skills. I now have a zillion photos of myself wearing this cheap neon dress but I will spare you and only include two.

For this banner you will need a silhouette to cut out the shapes. I am giving you the dxf files for this banner HERE and HERE. (These files are for personal use only and can not be sold or used to make a banner you will sell. If you take a picture of your banner in a matching dress please share.) The first file is the shape on the left and the second one is the shape on the right. In order for this to work you need to resize the shape on the right to be smaller and fit inside the bigger scalloped edge shape.

I used a pack of letter sized neon cardstock but this file would also make an awesome patriotic banner if you did it in red, white and blue! The picture below shows the shapes after I finished cutting them all out. I used my hole punch to put holes on the tops of each banner and then rubber cement to glue the semi circle stripe. After the glue dried I used bakers twine to string them up.

Now all I need is a bowl of chips and salsa with a tall margarita!

Stop by tomorrow for a bright and festive Cinco de Mayo pennant banner.

Enjoy,

I party HERE

Baked Rosemary Feta Potatoes

2013-04-28T12:18:00.001-04:00

A while back I found a recipe on Pinterest for baked rosemary feta potatoes and I tried it. It was amazing – some of the best potatoes I have ever made in my kitchen. The problem was that when I went back to find the recipe I couldn’t. The link went to a blog that said it had moved. I searched fort it and found the blog again but I could not find the recipe. It took me a few times but I finally recreated them and Mike, my husband, is so happy. You see Mike, my husband, has a love for feta cheese so when I make these he is practically licking the pan to make sure none of the cheesy goodness goes to waste.

Ingredients:

Sprig of fresh rosemary
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
10-12 petite red potatoes – washed
1/2 cup feta cheese

Directions:

Turn the oven on to 450 degrees.
Use a fork to poke holes in the potatoes. Lay them on a foil lined baking sheet with the holes facing up.
Drizzle olive oil over the top of the potatoes and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove the potatoes and cut an ‘x’ into them. Use a clean towel to gently push down on the potatoes making them smash open.
Drizzle more olive oil over the tops and also sprinkle the feta cheese and rosemary leaves over them. Return to the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy,

I party HERE

Banana Split Pie

2013-04-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we had some friends who came all the way from North Carolina to help us out while Delilah was in the hospital. Saturday night when we got to bring her home we went to my parents house where everyone had prepared an awesome dinner. (Especially awesome when the only thing you have eaten for the past five days is hospital food!) Our friend Shauna made an especially amazing dessert – Banana Split Pie. I had seconds and took a piece to go which I then ate for breakfast the next morning. Even my husband said we needed to get the recipe and he isn’t a big desserts guy. This dessert is great for warmer months and is SO yummy!

Ingredients:

8 ounces of cream cheese – softened
1 cup of powdered sugar
5 tablespoons of milk
graham cracker crust
1/2 tub of thawed cool whip
2 bananas
8 ounce can of crushed pineapple – drained
cherries and nuts to garnish

Directions:

Slice the bananas and layer into the crust.
Mix the cream cheese, milk and powdered sugar beating until smooth. Spread over the bananas.
Then layer the pineapple and cool whip.
Garnish with cherries and nuts and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

Enjoy,

I party HERE

Personalized Baby Wipes Case

2013-04-26T20:45:00.001-04:00

I am not super crazy when it comes to being green although I do recycle anything that can be recycled and try to reuse a lot of things too. With my son Mason I started to realize just how many plastic wipe containers I was going through and I knew there had to be an alternative. I decided to take my big plastic container and personalize it with vinyl. Then when I needed more wipes I would buy the larger refill pack because I wouldn’t waste the plastic containers AND the large refill packs were cheaper.

I have found that these make awesome baby shower gifts because everyone loves a personalized gift and after they outgrow diapers and wipes these plastic containers are great for storing things like color crayons, action figures and so much more!

To make your own you just need a vinyl cutting machine such as a cricut or silhouette and vinyl. Measure your wipes case and then cut the name to that size. I usually just eyeball the letters when putting them on, but you can also use the vinyl transfer paper so that the letters are applied perfectly spaced and even.

So I want to know – do you have a silhouette, cricut, or neither?

Enjoy,

I party HERE

My Baby Girl’s Health

2013-04-24T19:34:00.001-04:00

Things have been hectic around here and I am trying to get back in the swing of things. Last Monday I noticed that our 3 year old and five month old were both coughing and very congested. Since I was supposed to fly out to Utah for a blog conference I called the pediatricians office on Tuesday to get them both in before I left. I knew that it was going to be hard enough on my husband and family caring for healthy kids let alone sick ones.

While we were at the pediatricians office the nurse noticed that our five month old daughter was having trouble breathing so she called the doctor to come in right away. They started a nebulizer treatment on her and told me that they were calling an ambulance to transport her to the hospital. I was in shock. Here I thought I was just bringing her in for a visit and the doctor is calling to have her taken to the hospital! Then the doctor quickly looked at Mason and told me he had a double ear infection.

The town we live in has a small hospital without a pediatric ward, but we had to go there first. The EMS guys said they couldn’t pass a hospital to go to one further away. While we were there the emergency room doctor ordered tests so we could try to find out what was wrong with her. She had a chest xray and was tested for RSV. While we were waiting for test results Delilah stopped breathing. She turned red and then blue right there in my arms. I laid her down on the bed and we called out into the hall for help. Thankfully my mom, who is an RN, was there too because the nurses and doctors at our local hospital are not used to dealing with babies. They rolled her onto her side and rubbed her and she started breathing again. It was less than a minute but time felt like it was in slow motion. A few minutes later the nurse came back in and told us Delilah tested positive for RSV which is a respiratory virus. Maybe it was the fact that I knew they didn’t have a pediatric ward or that I just felt more confident in the staff at the next hospital, but after Delilah stopped breathing we pushed the doctor to transfer her. We were approved for the transfer but the accepting doctor at the next hospital wanted an IV started and blood cultures done on her first. After three nurses, four IV attempts and three blown veins we had them call to see if they would accept her without the IV or blood cultures. The nurses weren’t equipped with small enough gauged needles to start an IV and they didn’t have the experience. Thankfully they let her come without it.

Once we got to the next hospital we were taken up to the pediatric ward and into a room where she was put in isolation. We were put in a room with a sign and whenever the nurses, doctors or anybody else came in they had to put on gowns, gloves and masks so they wouldn’t pass her virus to any other patients. The first order of business was to get her IV started, but again these nurses had trouble too. As soon as they would think they had it the IV wouldn’t flush the saline and they would end up blowing the vein making it unusable. Finally after sticking her in her arms, hands, and feet (over a dozen times all together) they started the IV in her head. The first picture in this post was taken just a few minutes after they finally started the IV. My poor little girl was pitiful. She could barely cry or eat, was having trouble breathing even on oxygen, and looking at her broke my heart. As soon as I got a chance I sent my SNAP roomies a quick email to tell them I wasn’t going to make it. There was no way I was going to leave my little girl to fly halfway across the country.

The hospital only allowed one parent to stay the night, so I stayed with her for the next four nights while my husband took care of our boys. His parents also helped out over the weekend while he worked. Since I thought I was leaving to go out of town early Wednesday morning, I already had the boys’ bags packed and our in-laws lined up to watch the boys. We are so blessed to have the help and support that we received from our family and friends. Each text, call, visit and email was a reminder of the many people we had thinking of and praying for us. It was amazing.

We were discharged Saturday afternoon. I left my little girls side for a total of 2.5 hours during the five days we spent in the hospital and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There were nebulizer treatments every six hours, antibiotics twice a day, beeping machines and it quickly became our routine. Each day I saw as she improved. Finally after a week of fighting the virus I finally got a quick smile from my normally happy baby. There were a lot of tears from both of us, constant bonding time as we rocked or she held onto my finger from her hospital crib, and our nurses and doctors were great.

We are doing nebulizer treatments every 6-8 hours at home and although she has been more fussy than normal she is smiling and gabbing away. As I write this I am reminded that we are so lucky that Delilah had such a quick recovery because some friends of ours have a baby who is fighting a lot harder right now. Please pray for baby Tristan who is 10 months old. He has Hypo Plastic Left Heart Syndrome and received a heart transplant at 3 1/2 months but a few days ago he started rejecting his new heart.

No Sew Jersey Knit Headband Tutorial–2 Ways

2013-04-18T23:10:00.001-04:00

I am in love with all of the jersey knit headbands that are super popular right now. What I don’t love – the price. During my last trip to Joann’s they had some fun jersey knit prints that I couldn’t resist. Once I saw them I immediately knew I wanted to make my own trendy headbands for Delilah and some of my expecting friends. I am so happy with how quick and easy they were to make. Next time I make it to Joann Fabrics I am going to pick up some other prints too!

So I am going to show you two different headbands I made. In the image below there are the two on the bottom and top and then the two in the middle.

For these headbands you will need the following supplies:

Jersey Knit fabric (I bought a third of a yard and have half left after making all four headbands)
Scissors
Cutting mat
Rotary cutter

First I am going to show you how to make the middle headbands with the fringe knot. I made these headbands to fit newborn babies and wanted them to be about 14-15 inches when finished. Adjust the size for older girls and adults.

I purchased 1/3 of a yard which meant that my fabric was 12 inches wide. I cut off a piece 18 inches long which gave me a piece 12x18 inches. I then cut that piece into 3 inch strips to give me four strips that measured 18x3 inches. (You only need two strips per headband so four strips will make two headbands.)
Now lay one strip horizontal with the right side down. Take the other strip and fold it in half with the wrong sides facing and place it centered vertically onto the other piece like the picture below.

Take the first strip and fold it in half sandwiching the other strip in the middle.

Now you are going to take the vertical piece and pull the two ends together and to the right.

Now grab the two ends from both sides and tie a knot. Jersey knit has a lot of give so at first it might look small but just keep adjusting until it looks right. Then take a pair of scissors and fringe the ends.

The second headband is even easier than the first! This time you only need one strip. I made this one to fit Delilah who is 5 months old. I wanted it to be at least 15 inches so she can get some wear out of it. I cut my strip for this headband 4x20 inches.

Then I folded the piece with wrong sides facing and knotted the two ends.

Delilah looked so cute in her new headband, but as you can see in this picture she wasn’t feeling to well. I am heading out now to take her to the pediatrician. We were up all night with her – coughing, watering eyes and all stuffed up.
I hope you enjoy this tutorial – I would love to see how your headbands turn out so please share pictures with me!

Enjoy,

I party HERE

In My Hospital Bag

2013-04-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

I know that I had Delilah five months ago so shame on me for just now posting this. I had planned to post this soon after bringing her home from the hospital, but when she was in the NICU for a week things just didn’t go as planned. The last thing I felt like thinking or writing about was the darn hospital. Now I feel like I can finally get past that and share what I was thinking during the crazy nesting period leading up to her delivery.

Like a typical mom I had everyone in mind when getting my things ready. Those days leading up to delivery are some of the longest days – especially if you don’t have a planned delivery. You just never know when the baby might decide it is time. With two other kids at home I wanted to make sure that they didn’t feel left out when they came to visit. I wanted them to know that they were just as special even though most of the visitors would be there to see our new bundle of joy.

I felt like we were moving into the hospital this time. I knew from my experience with the boys that sitting in the hospital room can be boring if you are not a big fan of television. I also knew that my feet were always freezing, my hair doesn’t do well with hospital shampoo and condioner 2-in-1, and we would need our camera for lots of pictures of our new little girl.

Here is what I packed for myself -

warm socks
shampoo and conditioner (travel sizes)
hair ties
deoderant
lotion
chapstick
camera and charger
phone and phone charger
robe
comfortable clothes and pajamas
Q-tips and floss
toothbrush
flip flops for the shower
magazines/book

For the baby I packed:

the car seat
bring home outfit
headband for pictures
hat to keep her warm
cute blanket

I learned that the hospital has everything you need while you are there unless you want to dress your baby in something special. Since Delilah was in the NICU I let her wear the little onesies and hats that the hospital provides so that if they had to change her while I was away things wouldn’t get lost.

For my husband I packed a mini dad survival box. It included-

Snacks (trail mix, sour patch kids and beef jerky)
A magazine
Daddy’s Princess onesie with a matching headband
Daddy’s Doody Diaper Kit (to get a laugh out of him)
travel size toiletries for him to use

When we had our oldest, Wyatt, my husband had the honor of changing his first dirty diaper in the hospital. It was quite the comedy show to say the least. Here he was – he had never changed a diaper before and this was his first time. Wyatt had his first poop and I was in the hospital bed while my mom was helping him change the diaper. As they went to change it Wyatt started peeing so they covered him back up. Once he was done they put the new diaper on and before they could get it closed he pooped again. Once they took THAT ONE off to put the second diaper on he started peeing all over. We were all laughing so hard, and it is a memory we still laugh about.

For my two boys (the big brothers) I packed things to keep them busy while they visited-

coloring books
crayons
hot wheel cars
stickers
a big brother book
a onesie for them to give Delilah that said ‘Little Sister’

A week or so before Delilah was born my husband and I took the boys to Target and let them each pick something out to give Delilah. They picked out the funniest things. We were trying to get them to pick onesies or pajamas but Wyatt picked out pink flower slippers and Mason picked out socks.

In the end the boys didn’t get their boxes at the hospital because they were not aloud in the NICU, but we gave it to them the day we brought Delilah home from the hospital and the items kept them busy while we tried to get some rest. I remember all of us sitting on the living room floor while the boys opened their boxes and gave Delilah her gifts. Mike and I looked at each other taking in the moment we had there with all of our babies together for the first time. I think that moment will stick in my memory forever. A happy moment, one that I had envisioned from the day I found out I was pregnant for the third time. In the weeks leading up to my delivery I had really stressed over making sure that Wyatt and Mason never felt left out and in that moment I knew they were fine.

Enjoy,

I party HERE

Easy Ombre Flower Bib Necklace

2013-04-16T09:00:00.000-04:00

As I was packing my bags for SNAP, I put my ombre flower bib necklace into my suitcase and it hit me. I first posted the tutorial for this necklace on Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom last August and realized I never shared it here on Poofy Cheeks! This necklace is so easy to make because it is a no-sew project and we all know I would rather use a glue gun over a sewing machine any day of the week!

To make this necklace you will need the following supplies:

You will need:

Three shabby chiffon flowers (in any colors you would like)
Three felt circles
Three pearls
A necklace of your choice
A hot glue gun and glue sticks

(If you don’t have all of this on hand you can always find the supplies HERE in my shop.)

To create your necklace:

Find the center of your necklace and use hot glue to attach the first felt circle right in the center.
Place the middle flower onto the glue.
Place the other two felt circles on both sides of the center flower and attach the flowers.
Use a dab of hot glue to attach the pearls onto the center of the flowers.
Let dry for a few minutes and remove all of the stray glue strings.

Enjoy,

I party HERE

50 & Hot Jar–50th Birthday Gift Idea

2013-04-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

Both of my parents turned 50 this year. Yes the big 5-0! As I was looking around on Pinterest for fun gifts for them I saw the jars filled with lollipops that said ‘50 blows,’ but my mom always said she wanted to be hot at 50. When I think about it I want to be hot at 50 too! Who doesn’t? Instead of giving her a ‘50 blows’ jar I filled a jar with hot candies and put ‘50 & HOT’ on it.

I purchased the jar and hot candies (hot tamales and red hots) at the dollar store. I used my silhouette to cut out ‘50 & HOT’ on red vinyl and placed those on the jar. After filling it up with candy I tied twine and ribbon around the mouth of the jar. This was a quick, easy and cheap gift that my mom got a kick out of. This jar would be the perfect gift for anyone turning 50!

Enjoy,

I party HERE

Gearing up for The Queen Bee Market

2013-04-12T09:00:00.000-04:00

I have mentioned a few times that I am going to be selling Poofy Cheeks items at The Queen Bee Market at SNAP! and I am so excited. I can’t believe that I have made it to this point – somebody pinch me. I must admit it has been a bit hectic though. I have been crazy busy trying to finish making items, pricing items, shipping my display off to Utah and since I am a list maker there are a zillion lists floating around my desk. I don’t even know what list is for what anymore… time to throw them all out and start over again. If you are going to SNAP! or live in the Lehi, UT area please stop by and say hi!

It just seems like I need more hours in the day to finish everything, yet time is flying by. There are only 8 days until the sale! EEKKKK! No pressure or anything right? Since not all of you will be able to attend I wanted to let you in on some instagram pictures of my preparations. After this I promise I won’t share anymore about it until after I get back.

Enjoy,

Ultimate Blog Conference Guide

2013-04-09T20:07:00.000-04:00

Last year I attended SNAP and I think it was one of the best things I could have done for myself and my blog. Not only did I meet new people, network and learn about blogging – I also got to meet other women just like me! I can talk to my family and non-blogging friends about blogging until I get blue in the face but they don’t get it. They don’t understand the time and dedication I put into it or how much work it takes to run this little ole blog of mine. They don’t understand that the life of a blogger means having my crazy kids around while trying to cook a meal or do a tutorial at a certain time of day to get the right amount of light for photos. They don’t quite get why I put my holiday decorations up a bit earlier than most or why I spend so much time on the smallest details. Being surrounded by women who pour their time into the exact same things was such a breath of fresh air!

SNAP 2012 - From left to right (Becky from Babes in Hairland, Hollie from Little Miss Marmalade, Christa from C. Jane Create, ME, Vanessa from See Vanessa Craft, Wendy from Pretty Cute Party and JeNeal from Pieces of Luv)

I remember sitting in one of the rooms at SNAP last year and looking around to everyone. It looked like some media frenzy in those sessions. We were all armed with our cameras, phones, and some even had their iPads out. We were all ready to snap a picture at a moments notice (oh and boy did we take pictures!) we were tweeting, posting pictures on instagram, sharing things on facebook in real time - right there - and it was not frowned upon. We were bloggers and we all knew that we were only doing what we do on any other day. We were tagging the speakers, sharing quotes from their platforms and catching up on other sessions that were happening at the same time as ours.

I just found out that I am going to be attending SNAP again this year and although I don’t feel half as nervous as last year I still like to get advice on how other bloggers prepare. (This year I think I am more nervous about my wardrobe than anything!) This year I am ready to show my outgoing side because last year I felt sort of like the new kid in school. You know the feeling… do I look okay? will everyone talk to me? am I cool enough? The answers are yes, yes and yes! I learned that we are all on this blogging adventure together and everyone wants to support one another!

I gathered blog conference advice from around the blogosphere and put it all here in one spot for you (and I!) to reference. From what to pack to conference goals you will find it all!

Blogging Conference 101 from The 36th Avenue

The 5 Knows by Alissa from Rags to Stitches

Securing A Blog Conference Sponsorship by Our Crazy Boys

Why You Should Attend A Blogging Conference by White House Black Shutters

What to Pack for a Blog Conference by The Guavalicious Life

Things to Know Before a Blog Conference by A Complete Waste of Makeup

Five Handy Tips for Blog Conference Prep by Vintage Modern Wife

Conference No-Nos and a good laugh by House Talkn

Newbie Tips for Making the Most of Blog Confrences by Blog Conference Newbie

How to Work a Blog Conference Like a G by Nice Girl Notes

What to Take and a Printable Packing List by Two Twenty One

A week from now I will be hours away from boarding a plane to Utah. I have two awesome roommates (Skye and Vanessa) that I can’t wait to spend time with. Tomoorow I will be sharing a little about The Queen Bee Market hosted by SNAP!

Enjoy,

I party HERE

Spring Pudding Cups–Leftover Easter Candy

2013-04-07T18:35:00.001-04:00

I know it has been a week since Easter but we still have an entire basket full of Easter candy on top of our refrigerator. Don’t think that putting it on top of the refrigerator keeps it away from my kids though – they are sneaky little climbers. All I tried to do was go to the bathroom and I walked out to find my boys had pushed a stool up to the counter. One was standing on the counter giving candy from the bucket to the other boy who was standing on the stool. Let’s just say we have been spending a lot of time outside playing and working off the extra sugar this week!

One creative way I decided to use some of the boys’ Easter candy was with these sweet spring pudding cups. I have been a huge fan of the worms and dirt pudding dessert since I was little, and this is a play on that recipe. I used the easy kraft recipe HERE to make the pudding cups and instead of using gummy worms I stuck some of the Easter candy in them instead.

When I served these to the boys you would have thought I made the world’s largest cake or something. Mason yelled to Wyatt, ‘look what mom made!’ and when Wyatt came in and saw his pudding cup sitting in his spot he did the ewwww ahhhh thing. So yeah, I’m writing this while eating a pudding cup and feeling like the best mom ever (for five minutes until we have a melt down of some sort). I’m off to relish in the moment of mom success. I hope you all had a great weekend!

Enjoy,

I party HERE

Decadent Hazelnut Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting

2013-04-02T20:30:00.000-04:00

My sister-in-laws birthday was last week and I volunteered to make dessert. I wanted to make something she would like but realized I didn’t know what her favorite dessert was. I sent her a message on facebook the morning of her birthday and she said she liked cake. Then I thought I remembered that she liked nutella so after I confirmed it with her I instantly knew just what to make.

I dropped Wyatt off to school and left the other two kiddos with my husband as I took a well deserved mom trip to Target all.by.myself. I purchased the ingredients and by noon I had the cupcakes finished and was ready for the day. To make things a bit easier I decided to start with a box cake mix and doctor it up from there. These cupcakes were light, airy and over the top amazing. The special ingredients make them more expensive than your typical box cake mix and frosting, but they are SO WORTH IT! It was like having cupcakes right from a specialty bakery there on our plates.

I know, I know – swimsuit season is upon us and I am not helping anybody's diet by sharing this but I figured we all have to cheat on those silly diets every now and then! I live in Florida, had a baby in November and REALLY need to be getting these ghostly white legs of mine in some sort of shape for the beach but instead I am sitting around stuffing my face with these beauties! Did I mention I ate leftover cupcakes three days in a row…. well I did now.

So are you ready for the recipe now? Did I convince you that you should most definitely cheat on that diet shmiet? To make them extra special you can pick up a package of ferrero rocher candies and pop them on top!

Cake Ingredients:

Boxed Chocolate Cake Mix – (plus the ingredients it calls for ((usually eggs, water, oil)))
4 teaspoons of Hazelnut Flavoring Syrup
1 tablespoon of Nutella

Cake Directions:

I followed the directions on the back of the cake box but I didn’t use all of the oil that the recipe called for. I think it called for 3/4 of a cup of oil so what I did was poured the 4 teaspoons of hazelnut flavoring syrup into my measuring cup and then topped it off with the oil. I also added in 1 tablespoon of nutella. I continued to follow the directions on the box for the cooking time and they came out perfect.

I know for some people it can seem simple to follow a box cake mix and get a moist cake in the end, but I have seen it happen time and time again. The trick is to make sure you follow the directions. Put your oven on the right temperature and set a time so you don’t over cook them. If you over cook the cake or cupcakes they will start to dry out.

Frosting Ingredients: (adapted from THIS recipe by Sweetopolita)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened but cool
1-1/2 cups icing sugar (confectioners’)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
1/2 cup of Nutella
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon of Hazelnut Flavoring Syrup
pinch of salt

Frosting Directions:

Combine the confectioners’ sugar and butter and beat on low speed for about a minute.
Add vanilla and hazelnut syrup and beat until combined.
Add the melted semi-sweet chocolate and beat on medium speed for a minute or two.
Add the remaining ingredients (Nutella, milk, and salt) and beat until combined.

Enjoy,

I party HERE

A Poofy Cheeks Shop Easter Giveaway

2013-03-24T14:42:00.001-04:00

Hey there! Since Easter is in a week I figured I would use it as an excuse to host a giveaway! I am on a blogging break so I am going to keep this short and sweet ---

First off we have some new items in the shop---

Thick Glitter Stretch Headbands -

Thick Glitter Hair Ties -

Lavender Polka Dot Straws-

Pink Chevron Straws-

and loads of new Printed Hair Ties-

Now for the giveaway details…

The giveaway runs from 3/24/2013 through 3/27/2013 and one winner will be picked and announced on Thursday March 28, 2013. This giveaway is only open to U.S. residents (sorry the USPS raised international shipping prices!)

The winner gets the following items from my shop:

20 Poofy Cheek hair ties (an assortment of solid, glitter. and printed)
1 Glitter Headband
12 Spring paper straws
5 yards each of lime, light pink and lavender bakers twine.

(Prize is valued at $30)

Happy Easter folks! Use the rafflecopter widget below to enter the giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Taking a Spring Break

2013-03-23T09:53:00.001-04:00

Things have been a bit quiet around the blog the past week or so. They are going to remain quiet because I decided to take the next week completely off from blogging and spend quality time with my kiddos as well as get some other big projects done. I have been going a million miles a minute the past few weeks and I just need.a.break. On top of that ~~I seriously found 5 gray hairs last week~~ my kids deserve a stress free momma every now and then. My shop has been bringing in a steady stream of sales, I have been getting email after email from people wanting logo, shop or business card designs, I sold on Very Jane last week (210 onesies sold out on the first day) and I am also gearing up for Snap and The Queen Bee Market which are now less than 30 days away. I need help – serious help – I need a crash course in ‘how to say no’!

I am going back to the blog conference Snap next month and I will also be selling at The Queen Bee Market while I am there. I am super excited because selling at The Queen Bee Market has been one of my personal goals since I was able to attend it last year. If you follow me on Instagram then you know I have been busy working out the details of my booth setup. I have spent countless hours brainstorming all of the details and how to get everything from Florida to Utah so I can still have an awesome booth, but thankfully that part is almost done. Now I just need to focus on making a lot more hair ties, headbands and some new secret products that I will be debuting soon.

I mentioned that I have been doing some designing lately – I figured I would share the wonderful gals I have been working with and some of the designs I have done for them. They have all been so patient with me and I am grateful for that. It seems over the past few weeks on top of everything else I just can’t catch a break health wise. We all passed around the flu, my husband had important doctor appointments out of town, I slipped on stairs at the beach last week and hurt my back and now Delilah is teething which has turned her into a fussy nightmare. You would probably laugh hysterically if you came to my house --- me designing logos on the computer sitting straight up because my back is killing me while trying to console a crying baby and my boys sneaking into the pantry for countless fruit snacks without me knowing until I found the wrappers sticking out from under the couch. Oye! Sometimes I think the events in my home would make for a very entertaining reality TV show.

Here are some of the designs I have been working on – check these creative ladies out because you are bound to find something awesome!!

Ashley’s Storenvy design for Little Hipsters

Logo design ideas for Snuggle Time Knits

Logo design ideas for With Sugar on Top

Business Card Design for Abbey of The Cards We Drew (still working on this one)

Logo ideas for 11:11 Vintage Creations

A business card design for Thuy of My Paper Pinwheel

Logo design ideas for ‘Props’ to You (still a work in progress)

Happy Spring Break and Easter to everyone!

Enjoy,