_______Wendy Mac Designs_

Oven Nachos

2017-02-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is probably my girls favorite meal right now. It's pretty easy to make, it just has some prep work involved.

This is the prep work....a lot of cutting and shredding!!

I normally make just one big pan, but I decided to divide portions up this time by making individual trays with foil.

Assembly is pretty easy, layer of chips, cheese, beans and meat (I left the meat off mine). Then repeat with a second layer.

In the oven they go...350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Once they come out, just add the cold toppings and serve immediately!!

Happy President's Day

2017-02-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Happy President's Day! If you have the day off, I hope you enjoy it. The weather is great here!!

Valentine's!

2017-02-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was like the double wammy...in a good way. I mean Valentine's Day AND Taco Tuesday!!

Red was the attire for the attire for day (obviously)!

And a margarita was the drink for the night!

Plus MK gave me this cute gift with her Valentine card. When I rang them, she said I knew this was going to happen, but I am prepared. Then she gave me a hug!

I hope everyone had a happy heart day!!

Heart Shaped Mini Margherita Pizzas!!

2017-02-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

I think my favorite pizza is margherita Pizza. I just love the fresh mozzarella with the tomatoes. I've made these pizzas many times before, but I thought I'd try heart shaped ones for Valentine's Day.

I used whole wheat tortillas and just cut heart shapes out. I could get 3 hearts per tortilla.

Next I sprayed each side with olive oil cooking spray. Then I cooked them at 350 for 5 minutes, flipped and cooked for 5 minutes more.

Now is pizza assembly time!! First marinara sauce, then a couple slices of Roma tomatoes, a slice of fresh mozzarella and some basil on top!

In the oven they go at 350 for about 10 minutes.

And here they are all done and ready to eat! Happy Valentine's Day!!

Popcorn Valentines!

2017-02-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

This year I went a little slack on valentines. My youngest just wanted store bought valentines for her class. But, my oldest wanted to make popcorn valentines.

This weekend, I popped 4 batches of organic popcorn in my Snoopy popcorn machine. Then I got everything set up for her.

She's old enough now to do all the assembly herself (yeah!!). I punched red hearts for tags. We put 2 cups of popcorn and 1/4 cup of M&M's in each bag.

Here's all her bags ready to go! She has a small class of only 7 students, so this didn't take long to finish.

Valentine's and Drawing

2017-02-11T10:07:00.000-08:00

We we made valentine bags at work today! Here's mine, so cute, right?!?!

Someone suggested a co-worker take a drawing class and I'm all like worst idea EVER! Don't do it! You have to critique others drawings and sit back and listen as others critique yours. It's all anonymous, but there's was always the one kid with the prefect drawing. I mean there was nothing negative to say...so I just went with my stand by...I guess there could be more shading here. But really nothing needed to be done, I mean his picture looked like a black and white of whatever we were drawing. Le-sigh...how come I never knew about the "crafts" concentration in Art?!? I could have totally rocked that out....

P.S. Happy Heart Day!

Let's Talk Cheese...Grilled Cheese that is!

2016-01-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

So, cheese is probably one of my favorite foods, although my favorite would probably be salads. But, that doesn't really count since technically a salad is multiple foods.

In order of preference, these are my top 3 favorite cheeses...
1- Blue cheese
2- Swiss cheese
3- Gruyere cheese

Although...recently I have come to love humboldt fog cheese, so right now I think it would be in a tie for #2. Gruyere cheese is also fairly new for me. I first used it a couple years ago when I made Pioneer Woman's French Onion soup, that she tops with Gruyere cheese! (I substitute vegetable broth when I make this soup in order to make it vegetarian.)

So, a few weekends ago, I was grabbing dinner at Kroger with my girls. They wanted chicken, etc. (as all kids would), but I decided I'd pick myself up some Gruyere and try to make a grilled cheese sandwich with it for myself.

Ingredients:
Gruyere cheese
tomato
avacado
wheat bread (I wanted to use rye, but we were out)

Start by slicing the Gruyere super thin. I was planning on two layers of cheese (1 on each side of the bread, so I wanted it really really thin).

Slice the avocado and tomato as well. It's best to have everything prepped before starting. While I was cutting, I already had my pan warming on the stove.

I find it works best if the pan warms for ~5~10 minutes, this keeps the bread from sticking. The next few steps have to be done quick because you will need to be ready to flip the sandwich soon in order to avoid it burning. I buttered one side of both pieces of bread before starting, then just built the sandwich in the pan.

And ta-da...a delicious grilled cheese!

Merry Christmas!!

2015-12-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!

Preparing for Christmas!

2015-12-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Two days before Christmas I planned a couple fun things for my girls. I got up a little early (who am I kidding, I'm always up early) and wrote out some clues for a Nativity scavenger hunt! We just used their Little People Nativity (one of my favorites!).

Then I hid all the characters according to the clues.

Next, I just set the clues in a bowl next to the stable.

When the girls got up, we mixed up some cookie dough and cut out sugar cookies.

And while the cookies were cooling, they did the scavenger hunt. They took turns reading the clues, finding the character and bringing it back to put in the Nativity!

They LOVED it!! Then they spent the next couple hours decorating their Christmas cookies!

Happy Halloween!

2015-10-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

I hope it's good and you get lots of candy!

My girls were Snoopy and Woodstock this year!

Yarn Ghosts!

2015-10-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

These are super simple! I am going to be making them with both my daughter's classes on Friday. All you need is some white, black and orange yarn.

Supplies: Yarn, wiggly eyes (the sticker kind), cardboard (or book)

Wrap white yarn around cardboard or a book about 30 times.

Pull yarn off the board and run a piece of yarn through the top.

Tie it at the top.

Then tie again to make a loop for hanging.

Cut the bottom loop.

Tie a bow around the kneck.

Put some wiggly eyes on.

And tada....a spooky ghost!

Happy Halloween!

New Items in the Shop - 10/21

2015-10-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

I added several new things to my shop this weekend - Wendy Mac Designs - The Shop

The Weekend Situation - 10/17

2015-10-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

To start off our weekend, Mr. Mac and I took the kids to see a friend's band play at Hardywood Brewery in Richmond. The girls played Shopkins with a friend!

On Saturday, Mr. Mac had a work day at his hunt club. So the girls and I hit up Sky Zone. We got there right when they opened and we were the ONLY ones in there for about 30 minutes.

My friends and I are going to The Price is Right show in a couple weeks, so I made us the price tag shirts to wear using freezer paper!

Saturday night, we went to a Halloween party at our friends house. This year, the girls were Snoopy and Woodstock. I easily made their costumes out of hoodies and we had the tutus and leggings already :)

I also added a few more items to my shop this weekend!

WendyMacDesigns - The Shop

The Weekend Situation - 10/10

2015-10-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend Mr. Mac was out of town. So, the girls and I did some fun stuff together. Friday, we went to see Hotel Transylvania! It was a pretty funny movie and would recommend seeing it.

Saturday morning, I made the girls Halloween costumes, then we went to a friend's birthday party.

After the birthday, we checked out a local winery, Spring Run Vineyards, with some other friends. The winery had a small band and some vendors selling things. The girls had a good time going into the vineyard and climbing trees with the owner's daughter.

When we left the winery, the girls and I went to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant and then stopped by the Halloween store for a few supplies I needed to finish up their costumes.

Sunday, I taught B how to latch hook, then we went bowling!

Birthday Tracker

2015-10-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

My mother-in-law posted one of these on my timeline a couple months ago saying she wouldn't mind one for her birthday. So, a few weeks ago, I went out to get some supplies to make her one.

I found this chicken wire frame at JoAnne's and painted it blue.

I also purchased some wooden circles and drilled a hole in the top and bottom of each. This is where the names/birthdays will go.

Then I forgot to take pictures of most of the next steps. It's pretty self explanatory however. I made a simple banner with some scrap material I had and stuck scrapbook letters on it to spell 'Happy Birthday'. I used jewelry rings to string the circles together and attached them to the frame using some metal loops I found at Lowe's. Each loop will be for a different month.

Next I made a few flowers out of material.

And here's the finished product! I gave this to her for her birthday. It took a couple trips to the craft store and Lowe's throughout this project to get all the pieces and parts right, but in the end I think it turned out cute!

The Weekend Situation - 10/3

2015-10-05T03:19:00.004-07:00

Last week, a friend and I ventured to Myrtle Beach despite an impending hurricane offshore. It it ended up not being any problems for us. Thursday and Friday there was on and off rain and Saturday was sunny so we actually got out on the beach!!

Thursday we spent some time shopping at the outlets then went to a paint night at Paint and Unwined. The class had several 'regulars', that were super nice and welcoming. I definitely recommend this place if you are in the area! After we painted, we had dinner and saw a band.

Friday, it was on and off rain, so after lunch we tried out a local winery. While neither my friend or I are big wine drinkers, this turned out to be one of the best things we did! I mean we got to sample 15 wines, have our own free cheese/crackers and a glass of wine all for only $10! Plus we got to keep the sampling glass. The people at Duplin winery were super nice and very knowledgeable about their wines.

After spending a majority of the afternoon hanging out at the winery, we went to check out a local brewery. The outside did not seem very inviting, but once we got inside, it turned out to be a cool place. The beer wasn't bad either! We both sampled a light beer at New South Brewery. After dinner, we headed back to the condo to watch a movie.

Saturday the sun came out and after lunch we sat on the beach to enjoy the weather and some people watching!

The Weekend Situation - 9/26

2015-09-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend started with a movie night at the girl's school. They each made a box car to sit in during the movie. Here are a couple pictures of them making their cars, but I forgot to get a good picture of the finished products! :(

On Saturday, we planned to go apple picking, but the weather was rainy, so instead we rode out to Scottsville for lunch and got our growlers filled at James River Brewer. I love their chalkboard taps.

A lot of the breweries we go to have games and the girls will sit and play the whole time. MK just learned how to play Rummy and she's taught the whole family.

Sunday, we just went to church and made dinner at home. The girls even made brownies for dessert!

New Items in the Shop - 9/25

2015-09-25T03:24:00.001-07:00

I've added a couple Christmas items to my shop this week.

Wendy Mac Designs

Snowman Metal Pail

Christmas Bunting/Banner

Be sure to check out my Halloween items as well, it will be here before you know it!

Embroidered Halloween Pillow

2015-09-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

A week ago, I started working on an Halloween embroidery project using some designs from Doodle Stitching: The Holiday Motif Collection. I drew a few pictures on my material and came up with this design.

Since I had some left over pumpkin material, I decided to use it for the back. I have this pillow already and I was just going to basically take the existing cover off and make a new cover to go on it for Halloween. I just used the existing cover as a pattern to get the size right for my new cover.

The pumpkin material for the back is two pieces and the pillow will just slide into it making it an envelope type back. This is super easy as it requires no zippers or buttons to close it.

Here is the finished pillow! This took me less than 30 minutes to sew (minus the embroidery).

The Weekend Situation - 9/12

2015-09-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend started out with a 9/11 program at my daughter's school. B read a poem with her friend and MK sang God Bless America with her class.

On Saturday, we headed to Virginia Tech for the football game. We did a little tailgating with some friends in the RV lot prior to the game. We cooked the lunch for the game which was a low country boil.

New Items in the Shop! - 9/11

2015-09-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week I've been working on growth charts for my shop. Below are the few I have done so far. Remember, I also do custom orders and anything in my shop can also be customized with a name.

WendyMacDesigns

Pumpkin Fall Wreath

2015-09-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is a simple Fall Wreath that I put together this year. It's ALL pumpkins! And no I am not a pumpkin spice anything fan...just got inspired with this pumpkin fabric I found.

Supplies:
wereath
fabric
goards
ribbon
hot glue gun and e6000 glue

I started by just ripping a strip of fabric.

Next hot glue one end of the strip on the wreath and start wrapping. I added some hot glue every so often to hold the fabric down.

My faithful helper was standing by....

Next I glued some gourds onto the wreath. A little trick I do is use e6000 glue so it will hold them on really good, but I also put a little hot glue to hold them in place until the e6000 glue can dry.

Next I just added a simple bow with some burlap ribbon.

(That's a little whale shelf I'm working on for the shop in the background. )

Looks good and will last through until Christmas!

The Weekend Situation - 9/5

2015-09-07T04:27:00.001-07:00

The weekend started out pretty mellow with a family cookout to send off Mr. Mac's cousin to the marines! He leaves this week.

On Saturday, we stayed home most of the day, but headed out in the late afternoon to one of our favorite breweries for dinner. They were releasing a new Saison beer this weekend.

After dinner we headed over to the Diamond to watch our local team the Squirrel's play ball. We were even lucky and got to see fireworks after the game!

Sunday, after church, I took the girls to the pool. They made up a little 'dance' routine in the water to show me :) And I started working on a embroidered pillow for Halloween!

Be sure to check out my shop, I've recently listed several Halloween items and will be listing a few more things this week! WendyMacDesigns

New Items in the Shop this Week!

2015-09-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week I have been working on several SPOOKY Halloween items. Be sure to check them out in my shop!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/WendyMacDesigns?ref=hdr_shop_menu

I also sewed some Halloween bunting!

Homemade Lunchables

2015-09-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

My girls are always begging me to buy them lunchables at the grocery store, but whenever I do they don't eat half the stuff in them! One doesn't like the crackers or the cheese, the other doesn't like the meat. I saw this idea somewhere a few months ago, so we've been trying it out this school year. MK and B both LOVE these lunches and it's fun to see what I can think of to put in them.

All you need is sandwich box and cupcake liners.

Fit four cupcake liners in the sandwich box like so....

Then just fill with whatever you want! My girls LOVE olives, so I pack them a lot, but I have also put fruit, cheese cubes, raisins, trailmix...the possibilities are endless!!

Here is MK's "lunchable" for one day this week...goldfish, ham, olives and shredded cheese. I also packed along with this strawberries and yogurt for dessert.

Check out my shop on Etsy! I'm working on some Halloween stuff that should be there soon!

_________Wendy Mac Designs___

Oven Nachos

Happy President's Day

Valentine's!

Heart Shaped Mini Margherita Pizzas!!

Popcorn Valentines!

Valentine's and Drawing

Let's Talk Cheese...Grilled Cheese that is!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!!

Preparing for Christmas!

Happy Halloween!

Yarn Ghosts!

New Items in the Shop - 10/21

The Weekend Situation - 10/17

The Weekend Situation - 10/10

Birthday Tracker

The Weekend Situation - 10/3

The Weekend Situation - 9/26

New Items in the Shop - 9/25

Embroidered Halloween Pillow

The Weekend Situation - 9/12

New Items in the Shop! - 9/11

Pumpkin Fall Wreath

The Weekend Situation - 9/5

New Items in the Shop this Week!

Homemade Lunchables

_______Wendy Mac Designs_