The Preppy Strawberry

Project Life School Memories {Part 1}

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Thu, 05 Mar 2015 12:00:00 +0000

**This post contains affiliate links **

So what do you do with all of those stacks of school papers or school valentines each year? Do you save them? Or Do you toss them every time they come home? I am known for saving the papers but not everything!! I do weed out papers as they come home because if I didn’t you would really find me on the show hoarders! It Amazes me how much paper comes home from school each week!

I’m not sure where I first heard about Project Life it might have been on Instagram but I immediately fell in love with it! I mean it took the hassle out of scrapbooking and it came with really cute Project Life kits! I just love all the cute Project Life journaling cards! (another weakness and another aisle I must avoid when at the craft store!) My love for scrapbooking and journaling goes all the way back to my high school days. I still have the scrapbooks I made and I just recently came across a journal book that I kept in high school. It’s so funny to read what we were doing on the weekends when I was in High School. I will randomly snapshot pages and send to my friends and we laugh and sometimes we have no idea what it was about! So When my daughter started school I knew I wanted to document her school days – especially the elementary school years! I’m going to post this in Parts about how I am documenting Lilly’s elementary school days. One great part of this project is that Lilly is helping me with this whole project!

Part 1 – Class Valentines Day Cards
we are using the 12 X12 Project life Album, Project Life plastic pages, and the Tab dividers for each grade level. We are using an album like this one this from Becky Higgins Kiwi Edition Designer Album

We are using the pocket pages by Becky Higgins Project Life - I bought this variety pack to use
Becky Higgins Photo Pocket Pages - Big Variety Pack 1 (60 Pages)

After, I decide to use Project Life to document her Elementary School Days I decided why not include all of the cute Valentines! I mean why not – I already had saved K-2 Valentine cards. I just couldn't bring myself to throw them out! They are really cute and I think they will be something fun to look back on as she gets older.

So all we are doing is sliding the cards into the slots in the Project Life plastic sheets. Sometimes, we have to cut the cards or fold the cards to get them to fit or we trim them down to fit inside.

We also include each year one of the Valentine’s Day cards that she passed out to her friends. Pretty simple process and Project Life supplies make it so easy! Each page, I have her write something about her class party and sign the card. I love watching how her handwriting changes and something I want to make sure I save for her to see as she gets older.

Part 2: I will be sharing how I am documenting and saving the class work that comes home!

Easy Crock pot Lasagna

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 12:00:00 +0000

This crock pot lasagna recipe is so simple and easy to put together it will be one you will make again! Ok, so in my house sometimes for dinner we all eat something different but there is only 3 of us so I guess I’m Ok with that even though I swore I would never be a cafeteria! Part of the reason is my daughter is super picky and well even though she LOVES pasta she will not eat lasagna! Then there is me, I’ve cut out pasta out of my diet and I’m learning how to clean eat and well this is a challenge in itself! But my Husband loves lasagna and I’m always looking for easy dinners to have ready for him! Plus, this also perfect for his lunches during the week! I was a little hesitant as I put this together in the crock pot how this was going to turn out well I can tell you it’s fantastic!! It tastes just like you baked it in the oven!!
Print Recipe

1 lb Italian sausage
2 jars (each 24 oz.) spaghetti sauce
2 cups water
1 lb. whole-milk ricotta cheese
2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
18 ruffle-edged lasagna noodles (not no-boil noodles)
1 1/2 lb. mozzarella cheese, grated
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Brown sausage breaking up any large chunks, until the meat is browned, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the spaghetti sauce and water and bring to a simmer.
In another bowl, stir together the ricotta, parsley, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Spray inside of crock pot with cooking spray. Spread a thin layer of the sauce on the bottom of the slow-cooker. Cover the sauce with a single layer of uncooked lasagna noodles (about 3), breaking the noodles as needed to fit. Spread about 1/3 cup of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Top with about 2 cups of the sauce, then sprinkle with about 1 cup of the mozzarella and 1/4 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat the layers 4 more times.
I found this recipe over at Skip to my Lou but I used homemade sauce instead of prepared jar sauce.

Cover and cook on low according to the manufacturer’s instructions until the noodles are tender and cooked through, about 4 hours.

Turns out just like you baked it in the oven! The cheese even gets brown on top – Yum!
What are your favorite crock pot recipes?

Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 12:00:00 +0000

Sugar Cookies are a favorite in my house so today I'm sharing with you my favorite sugar cookie recipe. I’m not sure who originally passed along this recipe to me but it’s one that I’ve been making for years!

The dough is perfect and so easy to work with especially when you are making cut out cookies!

PRINT RECIPE – Click here

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
5 1/2 cups flour
In mixer, cream butter and sugar, and then add eggs and vanilla.
Add sour cream. Combine salt, soda, and flour, and add to mixture.

Roll dough out on floured surface to about 1/4 to 1/3 thick and then use a spatula to lift cookies onto greased (I used Pam) cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 min. You will want to keep an eye on the cookies the cookies might look like they still need to cook but you do not want the edges to start browning.

Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 min and then move to the cooling racks.
Cool cookies then frost

Basic Butter cream frosting
1/2 cup butter softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract or almond
1/4 cup milk
With a mixer cream butter. Beat in sugar and vanilla Gradually add milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add desired food coloring.

21 Day Fix Shakeology Pancakes

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 16:47:00 +0000

** This post contains affiliate links**

If you follow me on instagram you already know that this morning I tried something new with Shakeology. I used my vanilla Shakeology in a recipe and I made pancakes! Yes, pancakes on the 21 day fix and they were SO GOOD! I’m trying to try out new things so I do not get bored eating the same things over and over again! If you know what I mean ….
Enjoy!!

PRINT RECIPE
Ingredients
4 Egg whites
1/2 scoop of Shakeology
1 tsp sweetener - i used splenda but you can use whatever you have on hand
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Mix ingredients well
use non stick cooking spray on pan or griddle
flip pancakes after they begin to set - you will see bubbles start to form and this is good sign the pancake is ready to be flipped
top with a banana or natural nut butter. I warmed a tsp of peanut butter and drizzled over mine
nuts - optional
1 1/2 RED
1 PURPLE (if you add banana)
1 BLUE (if you add nuts/ peanut butter)
1 tsp

Interested in where to buy shakeology? click the image below for more information. This link will take you to my beach body coach website. *affiliate link**

21 Day Fix Slow Cooker Enchilada Soup

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 03:24:00 +0000

If you are following me on instagram you will know that I’m following the 21 day fix a beachbody program. 21 Day Fix is a nutrition and fitness program that makes losing weight so simple, anyone can do it. Easy-to-follow portion control and 30-minute workouts take the guesswork out of losing weight to help you see results fast—up to 15 pounds in just 21 days! I’m just in my first week but I’m trying to plan ahead easy meals that will keep me on track! Tonight, I made slow cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup which is perfect for busy days!
Enjoy!!

21 Day Fix Slow Cooker Enchilada Soup – PRINT
Ingredients

2 tsp olive oil
½ cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups veggie broth
1 8oz can tomato sauce
⅛ cup cilantro (fresh or that fun stuff in a tube)
1 15oz can no salt added black beans
1 10oz can diced Ro-Tel tomatoes & Green Chiles
1 can corn
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp ground oregano
3 medium chicken breasts

Instructions

Heat olive oil over medium heat, add onion and garlic, stirring until soft, about 3 minutes.
Add all ingredients to slow cooker.
Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.
Remove chicken strips from soup and shred,
Return to slow cooker.

This recipe was adapted from http://potentially-lovely.com/21-day-fix-slow-cooker-enchilada-soup/ I made a few substitutes

How does 21 Day Fix work?
With the 21 Day Fix container system, you’ll learn how to create healthy portions simply and intuitively.

It shows you how to eat whatever you want, in the right amounts, so you can reach your goals fast.
No guesswork, and no calorie counting!

Interested in joining the 21 day fix challenge? For more information about 21 day fix and how to buy the challenge back click the image. I am a beachbody coach and this link will take you to my beachbody website. **affiliate link**

Hungarian Walnut Cookies ~ A Cookie Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Fri, 02 Jan 2015 12:00:00 +0000

If you follow me on instagram you already know that my husband presented me with a cookie challenge back in November. Thanksgiving weekend, I was making my Holiday to do list making sure we made time for holiday baking. I asked him what cookies he wanted me to bake and by that I meant what cookies do you have to for Christmas. You know those cookies that your grandma always made or you always had as kid that really just mean Christmas to you. So he tells me that he loved these cookies his German Grandma made when he was a kid. I didn't have much to go on and he did not have a name for the cookie only what they looked like and what was in the cookie. So off to Pinterest and Google I went and 15 min later I came back with several images that I pinned. So after his review of what he felt was close to the cookie he was talking about I added the cookie to the holiday baking list. But before that happened he tagged his comment about the cookies with "You will never be able to make them" hmm? Did I just hear you right? I will not be able to make them right? Oh game on! He pretty much just meant that I would never be able to duplicate his Grandmas exact cookie. Well I kinda figured that since I did not have her exact recipe but I was going to try my hardest to come close. Well, I came close ..... like lets say 99% close and I'll take that as a win!

The cookies were a hit and will definitely be on the Holiday Cookie list next year!

What Christmas cookies are always must haves in your house for the holidays?

The recipe below is one I found on American Heritage Cooking and the only change I made was I used powdered sugar after the cookies came out of the oven.

Printable Recipe

Authentic Hungarian Walnut Rolls

Yield: 64 Cookies

These traditional Hungarian cookies have a sweet, nutty filling inside a flakey, rich pastry! While they are traditionally made at Christmastime, they are outstanding any time of year!

Ingredients

For the Pastry:

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar for rolling

For the Walnut Filling:

½ pound freshly ground walnuts (finely)
1 cup sugar
½ cup of boiled milk
1/8 cup melted butter

Instructions

To make the Walnut Filling:

Mix filling in a medium bowl using only ¼ cup of the boiled milk. The mixture should be thick.
If the filling is not spreadable, use the rest of the milk. I used all of it. It will thicken as it sits.
Note: You can make the filling ahead of time and freeze it until you are ready to use it. Just thaw at room temperature when you are ready to use.

For the Pastry Dough:

Sift flour and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
Beat the cream cheese and butter together with a stand mixer or a hand mixer until completely incorporated and creamy (3-5 minutes).
Reduce the speed of the mixer and slowly add in the flour. I used 5 additions and completely mixed in the flour each time. The dough will be soft but not sticky.
Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and flatten each to ¾” thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until hard, at least 2 hours.

Assembling the Walnut Rolls:

Pre-heat the oven to 375°. Move the oven rack one setting higher than the center.
Take one of the disks of dough from the refrigerator and lightly flour both sides. Spread granulated sugar on your pastry board or work surface. Place the dough on top and roll out pastry to 1/16” thick or as thin as possible. Most recipes say 1/8” but my Husband remembered them being thinner. Thinner is better. If you roll them too thick, the bottom will burn before the inside has a chance to fully cook and puff up. They still taste good but they taste so much better when properly rolled. Promise. Just trust me here.
With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, trim the dough into a square and then cut the square into 16 smaller squares. My dough never rolled out into a perfect circle so I would just cut as many 1 1/2 “ squares a possible, saving the scraps for later.
Place a dollop of filling in one corner of each square. I used ½ teaspoon.
Starting in the corner with the filling, roll the dough around the filling from corner to corner, gently pressing down as you roll. Grab the roll on both sides and pinch as you bend the roll to create a crescent shape. Gently move it to a parchment covered baking sheet, placing the Rolls no closer than 1” apart.
Repeat with all remaining squares.
Sprinkle the middles of the Rolls with just a touch of granulated sugar.
Bake 12-14 minutes or until the bottom edges are a golden and you can smell them. They should puff up slightly in the middle. With experience you can see when the dough is cooked. Let cool slightly on the pan on a wire rack and then move them gently to a wire rack to cool completely.
Repeat with all remaining dough. Refrigerate and re-roll your scraps. Amazing.
For a more traditional cookie, you can omit the granulated sugar and dust the final, cooled cookie with powdered sugar. I will warn you that it won’t be as divine.

Hot Foil Ham and Swiss Sandwiches

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Mon, 29 Dec 2014 01:49:00 +0000

New Years is just a few days away and you will want to make these sandwiches! They are so simple and perfect for feeding a crowd! You can serve them as an appetizer or as part of the main course. My grandma used to make these sandwiches and as a kid I never really cared for them but as an adult I love them! They are something that I make every holiday season to keep on hand because they make for a quick and easy meal.

After you wrap the sandwiches in foil they need to cook for about 20 min on 350 degrees. The recipe makes about 16 sandwiches so whatever you do not plan on using you can freeze! So these also can be made in advance and freeze until you are ready to use!! These sandwiches also make a great addition to any party get together - so simple to make you will love them!

Printable Recipe

1lb chipped chopped ham
1 medium onion (chopped)
1 stick butter (softened not melted)
2 full Tablespoons poppy seeds
4 level Tablespoons of prepared yellow mustard
1 bag shredded swiss cheese
hamburger buns or mini sliders - your choice

Mix all ingredients together. Fill buns with mixture. Wrap sandwiches in foil and cook for 20 min at 350 degrees. If frozen bake 45 min but keep an eye on it after 30 min - oven temps may differ.

Back to School

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 01:20:00 +0000

Can you believe it’s September already!? Today, was the first day of school and let’s just say I’m glad we have the first day behind us! Last night was a late night and this morning was an early morning! This is the first year that Lilly really had a hard time falling asleep – you know worried about where to sit on the bus as a 3rd grader, Who should she sit with on the bus? hmm….I wish that’s all I had to worry about in day but I know to an 8 year old these are important concerns and are a big deal to her!

I don’t know about you but Summer is one of my favorite months but as a working Mom I really love the routine the school year brings! This Summer Lilly had the opportunity to swim on the swim team at the swim club and she loved it! She even asked us if she could swim on the winter swim team. So along with making the competition dance team again she has also joined the winter Penguins swim team! This fall she will start to swim down at the University. I’m so happy she is willing to explore new teams and try out new groups – especially excited she wanted to try winter swim team! My goal for her is to have at least one activity outside of school that is her “thing” something that she’s passionate about and provides her sense of belonging to something outside of school. Plus, I think it’s important to teach them how to manage things outside of school so when they get to high school or college they can learn to budget their time to work, belong to groups or a team as well as make that commitment to school work.

So now as move into Fall which is my 2nd favorite season – Some of my favorite things about fall are
1.) I love the fall morning and nights (as long as we have a good Fall weather)
2) I love fall clothes! Jeans and sweaters
3) it's football season.
I’m really looking forward to this fall and hope that we can continue with some fun weekends!

A week before school started I had to take some vacation days because the college babysitter returned to college and my mom had teacher meetings . So one morning Lilly and I headed out to take some 8 year old pictures and back to school pictures …… I really can not believe I have a 3rd grader! I swear if I blink she’s going to be in Middle school!

A look back over the past few years….

one another note….

It’s been awhile since I posted here and honestly, life just got the best of me this spring. Hopefully, some of it’s under control and that I will start to have more energy to do things after work. This Spring I honestly, hit a wall – I mean literally had zero energy after work and it took everything I had to get through my work day only knowing that once I was done with work my day still wasn’t over – I still had to help Lilly with homework, run her to activities, make dinners, and everything else that comes with running household. For the past 8 years, I have been fighting Hypothyroidism and I knew after I had Lilly and went back to work that something was not right with my body. My friends used to tease me and call me the energizer bunny – I would work 8-10 hours a day and then head out to happy hours (the good-ol single days!) The next day , I would be up bright and early and function like I had a full nights sleep and didn’t just consume 6 martini's! Ahh, those were the good-old days!

It wasn’t until Lilly was 5 years old that I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism but on top of that I also found out that I have an autoimmune disease that causes my own body to kill my thyroid function. Guess, that answers my lack of energy and why I just never really felt like myself after having Lilly. This Spring I hit a wall again and knew something was off and I was right! So after an increased dose of medicine and some other changes I finally feel like I have some extra energy. So my lack of energy makes me lose my drive – while I might have completed some fun projects the effort to put them together in a post was an exhausting task to think about and well that’s why I haven’t posted much here since the Spring. So far with the medicine changes and changes to my diet and commitment to some exercise goals that I will get back to my old self and sharing some fun projects!

Amy

Earth Day Activities for Kids

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 01:24:00 +0000

Tomorrow is Earth day – Do you have any fun activities or projects planned for Earth Day? I’m going to share with you some past earth day projects. The following activities will help promote creating objects from recycled materials and even get you and your kids to spend more time outdoors! I’m sure after this past Winter we are all looking for more reasons to spend time outside!

Recycled Flower Garden

Egg Carton Wreath

You can find more ideas on my Earth Day Pinterest board here …

What do you do to celebrate Earth Day? If you have some ideas to share comment below so others can enjoy your ideas!

Happy Earth Day!!

Valentine Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 03:06:00 +0000

It’s so hard to believe that Valentines Day is Friday! I feel like another year is starting to fly right by again {sigh}
Today, I am sharing with you some past Valentines Day projects. …. click the title link for the blog post
Valentine Day Box Ideas
Rainbow Loom Valentine Day Box

Valentine Day Purse Box
Simple Preschool Valentines Day box -- I bought the cardboard box purse at Joann’s and let Lilly decorate it all up with stickers and pom poms. We even put a picture of her in the heart. Looking back at the picture I can’t believe how much she has grown up! { Please stop time… she’s growing up so fast}

OWL Valentine Day Box
– This box we made for Lilly’s Kindergarten Valentine Box

Tie Dye Valentine Day T-shirt

Easy Kids Valentines Day Art Project

Amy

Valentine’s Day Traditions ~ The Annual Valentine’s Day box

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Thu, 06 Feb 2014 03:00:00 +0000

There are lots of fun memories from grade school but I have to say making the annual Valentine’s Day box ranks up there on my list. I remember always wanting to do some elaborate box but that never happened. I think my Valentine’s Day boxes were just shoe boxes covered in tin foil with heart doilies! I know totally old school! I still that that would be a cool idea for a Valentine’s day box to make a retro tin foil box. Maybe, I can get Lilly on board with that one day .. maybe

Ever since Lilly started school I’ve always loved coming up with something creative for Lilly’s Valentines Day box. This year she picked rainbow loom as her theme and then the brainstorming started a few weeks ago. I love how it turned out and she did a pretty awesome job and I assisted on some parts of the project.

With last weeks shoes replacement of tap shoes and running shoes we were lucky enough to have a shoe box handy! If you follow me on instagram – the shoe replacement was because our 5 month old chocolate lab puppy decided that shoes are the perfect chew toy!! (insert mad face)

Close up of the push pins – the pegs on the rainbow loom

Supplies:

Shoe box

white craft paper

clear push pins

embellishments

rainbow loom bands

We started with a covered shoe box and then traced the blue pieces from the Rainbow Loom

Then we glued on the blue pieces to create the loom and then we added the push pins to create the rainbow loom pegs.

Then Lilly used Rainbow Loom bands to create a fake bracelet for the top of her box.

She used the starburst

What are your favorite Valentine’s Day traditions?

So happy I have one thing crossed of my list for next week!

Amy

link parties

Tips for staying organized

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 02:29:00 +0000

Keeping track of every last appointment, dance class, gymnastics, swimming, and my work schedules ~~can be~~ is exhausting! Even with all of today’s technology, I still love my paper planner! Honestly, this love for a paper planner goes all the way back to 1997 at my first official FT job out of college. My employer had us take this Franklin Covey class – let me tell you this was the best thing I took from that job! I still today use the Franklin Covey principles when I’m making a to do list. Don’t get me wrong, I also depend on my iPhone for my 2 hour alerts before an appointment.

Last year, I went with just one planner and it was just for my blog but it became bogged down with more personal stuff taking over my calendar than blog stuff so this year I’m trying something different. This year, I put together two planners – One for all my personal every day responsibilities and one just for blog planning and brainstorming. The blog planner also includes stuff for both of my blogs and business website which are all in the works of being revamped and re-designed. This year my goal is to keep notes on what works for me in these planners and as the year goes on make my own printable for next year.

Organizing the To Do list

If your to do list is anything like mine it never ends even on the weekends! I’m going to share with you how I prioritize my daily task list. Now, this works for me but may not work best for you or you might find this tip helpful. It might even be something you try for week and see if it works!

If your not familiar or never used one of the Franklin Covey Planners here’s what I mean about prioritizing your daily task. The concept behind the daily prioritized task list is make your list of things you need to complete and then you rank them in order of importance. I love this approach because you go into each day with the feeling that it’s Ok if the list doesn’t get completed that day because the next day these become your priority. You keep doing this every day because we all know the list never ends ;)

I loved the Franklin Covey planner pages so much that in my early career days, I purchased 2 Franklin leather binders – I still have them and every time I get into the “pitch” mode they seem to make the cut! Probably because of how expensive they were to buy and I keep thinking I’m going to use it again.

Once you have your to list you will rank it – this is the Franklin Covey Method that I use and have used for a long time.

A = The most valuable things you could accomplish today
B = Important, but they could wait if necessary
C = Would be nice to get done, but they won't lose value if postponed

This year, I purchased both blog planners from Jennifer at I heart organizing. Her planners are so colorful – I just love all the colors and I had a hard time choosing the cover to my personal planner. You can find her etsy shop here and her blog here.

I made a few additions to my blog planner. I ended up adding a few pages that were not included in her planner but below is a look inside my 2014 blog planner. It was so easy to put together and once I had it assembled I took it to Office Max to have them spiral bind them all up!

Cover page for Blog Planner

Sample Calendar Pages for 2014

Some pages from my personal planner

My favorite planner markers …. I like to color code ;)

Each week has it own planning week so you can just see that one week!!

I added the meal planning pages in addition to the regular planner because I need to be better about meal planning for the week. I’m hoping this will help.

How do you stay organized?

Amy

No Bake chocolate peanut butter bars

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 19:50:00 +0000

With the Super Bowl and Valentines Day fast approaching today, I’m going to share with you an easy No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter bars! You only need 5 ingredients… Yes I said 5 ingredients! It’s been while since I’ve made these bars but after being cooped up the past few weeks, I was craving something sweet! I made these this weekend and they were a hit! I guess, you can say we are all craving comfort food – good thing for my spinning class I’m heading to later – Time to burn off all these treats!

I love anything No Bake and these Chocolate Peanut Bars seriously taste just like a Reese Cup. You will need some will power – hard to just eat one!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, melted
2 cups graham crackers (crushed in a food processor) I use about 2 packages of graham crackers
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup + 4T reduced fat creamy peanut butter (or regular peanut butter I just used the reduced fat)
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips = one bag of chips

Directions:

Mix together the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter – mix until well blended
press mixture into bottom of 13 X 9 pan – ungreased
microwave your chocolate chips with the 4T of peanut butter. Stir every 30 seconds until melted
spread the melted chocolate over top of the graham cracker layer
refrigerate for at least an hour – I find that it’s better to allow 2 hours for the bars to completely set.

Enjoy!

Amy

One Little Word 2014

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 01:53:00 +0000

What’s your OLW for 2014?

My one little word for this year is

CREATE

Last year, I stumbled upon Ali Edwards blog and the idea of choosing one little word for a year instead of a resolution. This is my second year of picking a word to focus on and make part of my life for an entire year. I don’t know about you but resolutions have not worked for me but picking one little word is an easier way to keep me focused on what I want to change.

Last year my word was BELIEVE and I stuck with it pretty much all year – maybe lost a little focus here and there but it was always in the back of mind. This year, I decided to take things a step further because I wanted the accountability. I have lots of things on the horizon that I would like to CREATE this year and have happen so, I decided to take her workshop this year. You might see people on instagram who are taking the workshop using the #hashtags #OLW2014 or #onelittleword – so if you are curious what it’s all about search the #hashtags on social media and you will find a whole list of words that others have chosen. You do not have to take the workshop to pick your own little word – Last year, I just picked a word and made it my focus for a year. In the end BELIEVE was a good word me last year.

Some of the things I want to focus on with my word Create is

1) Create better home – continue to update our space and focus on finishing up my creative office space

2) Create new venture – this is a work in progress but big focus for me this year

3) Create healthier choices – I would like to run a 1/2 marathon this year but I will make this a goal of achieving running a few 5K races ( why not I used to run all the time?)

4) Make more time to create time for being creative

5) Create a better time management so I can add my workouts back into my life vs. focusing on everyone and everything else.

This is a growing list of things I want to CREATE in 2014 and something I will grow and focus on in this years workshop.

Created a pinterest board with my word to help keep me focused …..

follow along on instagram

As I move along in the workshop I will be updating my progress and keeping myself accountable for my OLW 2014 – So will you pick a OLW or do you focus on a Resolution?

Amy

Easy Party Dip ~ Jarlsberg Cheese Dip

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Sun, 29 Dec 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Are you heading out for a Holiday Party this weekend or thinking about what to take to a New Years Eve party? I love appetizers and party food! I think a holiday get together is better with just appetizers and let you mingle about the party!! Plus, by the time New Years rolls around who wants to spend a lot of time in the kitchen whipping up some complicated dip – so today, I’m sharing with you this simple cheese dip!

My sisters got me hooked on this dip this fall and it’s so easy to make! You make it with Jarlsberg cheese or Swiss Cheese which you can find right in the deli section at most grocery stores. My sisters are lucky enough to walk right into their local Kroger's and buy the dip already made and ready to serve. It must be a Kroger recipe because when I googled searched for the recipe most came up Kroger's Copy Cat Jarslberg Cheese dip.

Recipe:

Ingredients

1 cup jarlsberg cheese, shredded

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup purple onion

1/4 tsp. garlic powder – or to taste

Directions

Shred cheese in bowl.
Add mayonnaise, scallions & onion.
Mix well.
Put in fridge until ready to serve.
Serve as a spread with assorted crackers.

So I’m curious ….. What are you making or doing for New Years Eve? Celebrating by staying in or are you heading out to a party?

For me, it could be a couple of things …. a trip out of town or an early dinner out and home to do some work and clean up my computer! My desktop can use a clean up! Maybe organize all my photos into one folder for 2013 – now that would be smart now wouldn’t it?!

Amy

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Wed, 25 Dec 2013 22:36:00 +0000

Merry Christmas from my family to yours! I can’t believe how fast this year just flew right by and now Christmas is over and all the craziness of December is almost behind us! Phew! I don’t know about you but I’m looking forward to 2014!

I love love the holidays! This year got the best of me and I just didn’t have the time to do a lot of what I wanted to do. In fact, I had to have a little talk with myself that it was just OK to not do a few things and that I need to bring the bar down a few notches. I have high expectations for everything I do so to skimp on something really bothers me! I was OK with most of this considering the fact this year was the first year in many many years that we had NO where to be on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day! So skipping a few cookies I normally bake, putting up the 2nd tree, and skipping the outside decorations- I was OK since we were not hosting Christmas this year. Before I was married, it was the hustle and bustle between my parents houses and grandparents that all I did was run all over – don’t me wrong I love the holidays but sometimes you just need some down time….. and this year we got just that – Some down time that was much needed by my family.

The original plan was for Lilly and I to go to Florida for the winter break but had to can that idea after I waited too long to book the flights. My family is all over – Columbus, Florida, and my in-laws are almost 3 hours to the west of us. Last night, Lilly and I went to Christmas Eve church services – I love Christmas Eve services and with all the hoopla of Santa Clause I feel it’s very important to take that one hour out of the holiday to spend thinking about what we are truly celebrating. After church services, we came home to a family dinner and everyone got to open up their Christmas Eve box.

This year she told me she was too OLD for the candle light

This year she wanted to light a Big Girl candle

– She’s growing up so fast I can’t stand!

Christmas morning we spend opening gifts and finish it up with a our traditional Christmas egg casserole and monkey bread

Christmas Day is being spent very low key and no schedule! You have no idea how weird it is for me NOT to be on some sort of schedule but I’m enjoying the time putting together a plan to for 2014 and in between that building Lego friends, baking with the easy bake oven, and working on our SMASH books.

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and looking forward to sharing more things in 2014!!

A peak into Christmas at our house …………………

Package garland – fun new addition I did “find” time to make ;)

First year – we went to tree lot {insert grumpy face} next year back to cutting the tree down – No Excuses!!

Christmas Morning 2013 – Love new Christmas jammies!!

The HOT items on her list – Easy Bake Oven, Seat Pet (seriously, I have no idea why she wanted this?! and American Girl Doll Molly)

Other items not on the list but got a squeal this morning were her Sharpie Markers and all of her SMASH book accessories!

I hope all of you are having a very Merry Christmas – Enjoy the day with family and friends!

Amy

Traditions ….

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 02:57:00 +0000

Thanksgiving …… This year was a snowy one! Tuesday night we probably got hit with about 8 inches of heavy snow!

This is weather I expect around Christmas but not really ready for it on Thanksgiving!!! We got the driveway cleared and waited for the family to arrive the next day. The weather changed travel plans and my family ended up all arriving early Thanksgiving morning. This was my 3rd Thanksgiving that we hosted and I love hosting the holidays! This time was a little smaller only 12 people to serve dinner too vs. my 24 we’ve hosted in past years!

This Summer we upgraded our kitchen table – one of my requirements is that we could fit everyone around one table.

Well we fit all the adults this year but the kids go their own table!

The table worked perfect and I’m so glad that we made this purchase!

It’s so nice having family all around one table talking and catching up!

My family traveled from Florida, Arkansas, and Columbus Ohio.

Pictures from Tuesday’s snow storm …..

I love when the snow sticks to the trees it looks so pretty!

It was coming down fast!!!

Turkey Centerpiece Craft – This year I dug out the old Turkey Centerpieces that Lilly and I made when she was in preschool. I posted about the craft back in November of 2010 – read more here

I love how each on has a different facial expression

Thanksgiving Place Card – This year Lilly was upgraded to making the place cards for everyone.

he did this with no help from me and I love her creativity!

One side had everyone’s name and on the back side she drew a picture that represented each guest …..

My dad loves to Fish and Aunt Tate loves the Ohio State Buckeyes!

The adults have pie and the kids had Pilgrim

Cakes – how cute are these cakes!

The girls got a surprise from Nana…. an Early Christmas present!

So much excitement until they opened up clothes! Haha!

I hope all of you had a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Amy

Thanksgiving Day Kitchen Tool Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Sat, 02 Nov 2013 00:23:00 +0000

Happy November 1st!
I can't believe Halloween is already behind us and right around the corner is yet another holiday! Phew.... I can't seem to get caught up this year! So before another month flies right by I have an amazing Thanksgiving Kitchen Tools giveaway to jump start November!

So whether you are hosting a Thanksgiving dinner or are just in need of adding some fun kitchen tools and gadgets to your kitchen tool you will want to enter this giveaway!

This year, I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner for my family so I need to start planning the menu and well start decorating! Right now that means I need to start taking down the cob webs, skeletons, and pumpkins that are hanging around my house! I swear I just put up all the Halloween decorations and now it's time to take them down and pack them away until next year.

So what are you waiting for..... go and enter for your chance to win!

Welcome to the Thanksgiving Kitchen Tools Giveaway! One lucky reader will win a bucket load of Thanksgiving kitchen tools.

Prize: $243 worth of kitchen goodies perfect for thanksgiving (items seen in image will be produced if available, otherwise equivalents will be substituted)

Sponsors: Holly’s Helpings, My San Francisco Kitchen, Wilde in the Kitchen, It Bakes Me Happy, Neighborfood, From Away, Becca Bakes, Crazy for Cookies and More, The eccentric Cook, High Heels and Grills, What’s Cooking with Ruthie

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter form to enter daily. Besides the mandatory email address entry,, all other entries are optional. Holly’s Helpings is responsible for prize fulfillment. Giveaway ends 11/21 at midnight PST and is open to the US.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Well Hello Fall ….

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 03:20:00 +0000

Hello Again! It’s been a while since I last posted and well it’s just been that crazy around here.

This Summer well if you want to call it Summer (weather around here was kind of crappy for the Summer) had me all off schedule! Since, I work Full time outside the home I felt like I had to do more “Summer stuff” after work this Summer. You know like go to the pool, head to the lake for the weekends, go visit family, etc. As a kid my summers were spent at the local swim club and I spent many summers on the Summer swim team and swimming with my friends every day! I loved every minute of Summer and well I try to live up to giving my daughter the same memories but working presents its challenges. This summer caught up to me and left me with little or no free time to keep up with all the every day things I need to do …. including posting on this little old blog of mine {sigh}

I keep reminding myself why I work …… eventually this little girl of mine will be going to college and well you need money saved for that, she wants to dance and this year made the competition team, and we want to continue to provide the best for her, and so all of that requires money. So off to work I go …. hopefully one day soon I can work from home (just need to find that extra time to create that one ;)

Then school started – Yippee! Finally a schedule I can live with!! I know that sounds crazy and other Mom’s think I’m nuts but when you work every day 5 days a week outside of the home – I’m up early anyway, Summer or no Summer the alarms start going off around 5:00 am in our house. So yes, I will take the structure of the school schedule ;) This school year is off to a great start but also has been a huge adjustment time wise for everyone – HOMEWORK and TESTS! Ok, so I wasn’t expecting another schedule to manage but Ok, here we go homework and test schedule!!! Homework and Test schedule has taken me sometime to get used to….let’s say still adjusting to that one! As I sit here now and type up this blog post – I’m still in my work clothes {sigh}. It’s 11:08 pm and I got dressed at 6:30 am this morning Blah!!! This school year, Lilly has had some struggles with course work and we just learned today that Lilly needs glasses! So hopefully, this helps take away some of her frustrations! I’ve worn glasses and contacts for years and well I know if I couldn’t see or focus on what I was doing that I would be frustrated too!! So keeping my fingers crossed this helps!! ;)

And two weekends ago we picked up this little guy….. Meet our new puppy Barkley! He is about 7 weeks old now and is a chocolate lab! He has been such a good puppy so far! Lilly just adores him and well he pretty much follows at her heels every where she goes!

So between the crazy summer work schedule, the start of the school year, and the new puppy that’s a little of what I’ve been up to!!

Happy Fall!

Amy

Now, it’s time to enjoy October and get back to creating some fun projects!!!

How to make a Dream Catcher {Tutorial}

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Last weekend we were crossing off some of Lilly’s Summer bucket list. One of her things to do this Summer was to make a dream catcher.

Do you do a summer bucket list with your kids?

So here’s what you will need for this project …

1. Metal Macramé Ring - I found this one at Joann’s and think it was around .79 cents

2.) pick out some hemp cord – this is what you will use to wrap around the ring. The cord pictured above was about 3 yards and I had some left over.

3.) embroidery thread/floss – any color you want you will be using this for the dreamcatcher net

4) beads or any decoration was you want to add to your dream catcher

* not pictured you will need a needle as you thread the floss around the ring and create the dreamcatcher net

Instructions: I watched several YouTube videos on how to make a dream catcher but this video below was the best … at least I thought it was

Here’s how our dreamcatcher turned out

It’s now hanging above Lilly’s window by her bed ……….. so far thumbs up that she hasn’t had any bad dreams ;)

Amy

Graham Cracker Cookies with Left over Frosting

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 23:14:00 +0000

Looking for an easy no bake treat? Every wonder to do with that left over frosting?

Here’s a quick and easy cookie recipe! Around here we make graham cracker cookies with left over frosting! It’s an easy no bake treat and the kids will love them!! When I was a kid my mom used to make these when she had left over frosting. Funny, thing is I do not remember the cakes that she made with the frosting but I remember these cookies! I love these cookies in fact right now they are tempting me!!! I’m trying to be good …. Ok, I might have had one ;) These cookies are an easy after school treat or a quick treat to take last minute to a party. Today, I used up that extra frosting from a cake I made on Sunday and served up a fun after camp treat!

So what do you need? Simple - a box of graham crackers ( I used honey graham crackers) and frosting! Now, if you want to make these even easier you can use store bought icing to make these cookies but I used the frosting recipe below.

Buttercream Icing

Wilton Recipe – click title for printable recipe from Wilton

Ingredients:

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract - I used Almond Extract in my frosting
Easy-Add clear vanilla extract Add to shopping list clear vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons milk

Makes:

About 3 cups of icing.

Instructions:

Step 1

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

Step 2

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

Step 3

For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.

Step 4

For Pure White Icing (stiff consistency), omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and add 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes.

You might want to file this recipe for a quick and easy after school treat since we are getting ready to head back to school!

What’s your favorite after school treat for the kids?

Enjoy!

Amy

July Projects ….

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 03:34:00 +0000

Wedding Shower
The last weekend in June I helped host a bridal shower ….. More coming soon but here’s a peek at the cake I made and had to travel 2 hours with in my car!! YIKES but happily I can report we arrived with no incidents! Talk about stressful! I saw the cake idea pinterest. Yes, I’m slightly addicted to pinterest ;)

4th of July Tie Dyed T-shirts
We made tie dye shirts for the fourth of July but due to the weather the kids didn’t get to wear the shirts to the game. Oh well, they had fun making them!!

Fairy Garden
Soon to be the home for our fairy garden on our patio … We’ve been collected items for the Fairy Garden and now we just need to find time to put it all together!

We made stepping stones a few weeks ago ….. blog post coming soon but here’s how one of the stones turned out.

Dinner Menu
So we’ve started this new idea (Lilly’s idea) for dinner. Honestly, I hate dinner and I hate the text message question in the middle of the day while I’m working WHAT’s for Dinner? Really, I don’t know and my usual response is IDK and I’m not hungry now? LOL So Lilly came up with the idea that we each get a night and whoever’s night it is picks dinner and EVERYONE has to eat what that person picks. Which by the way EVERYONE includes Lilly. Which means she will have to eat and try new things ;) She made the rules and then shortly after realized what she set herself up for… TRYING NEW THINGS! So we’ll see how this goes …. week one starts next week per Lilly’s rules.

Sloppy Joe Casserole

I saw this recipe idea on Six Sisters’ – Sloppy Joe Casserole
You can find their recipe here …. But I changed it a little when I made it. I cheated I used manwich and it turned out perfect and it was a huge hit! I followed the baking instructions from the Six Sisters’ version.

The big project is my office remodel…….. If you are on instagram you know that we built a craft table for my office and I hope this weekend to have it ready to move into the office. I’m so excited and I’m sure the rest of my family is happy that there will no longer be piles of craft projects all over the house!

Amy

Easy Japanese Chicken Salad

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Today, I’m going to share with you and easy Japanese Chicken Salad. This is one recipe, I like to make it ahead so it’s ready for a lunch or quick dinner. I’m all about trying to focus on easy yet healthy lunch or dinner options. Right now, we are adjusting to the new summer schedules and I’m trying to make time to do those fun summer things like swimming, strawberry picking, festivals, and while trying to work- which can be very challenging!

Last week, while I was loading up the car for work and Lilly was riding her bike for a quick 5 min she says – I really wish you didn’t have to work and you got a summer break? Isn’t that the truth!? While I worked that day I knew I need to save time on cooking dinners so after work we can do some fun things. I’m hoping with some better weekly meal planning that we can take the time to enjoy Summer instead of it just being another routine.

Easy Japanese Chicken Salad

3-4 Chicken breast cooked and shredded

1 1/2 lettuce – torn

4 green onions + tops (thinly sliced)

1 small bag slivered almonds ( or to taste)

1/4 cup poppy seeds

top off with chow mein noodles

Directions:

Toss ingredients in large bowl

Add dressing when you are ready to serve

Salad Dressing

4T sugar

2 tsp. salt

4T vinegar

1/2 c. salad oil

Shake well and pour over salad

Enjoy!

Amy

Girl Scout Bridging Ceremony Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:13:00 +0000

Last week, we wrapped up 2 years of Daisy Girl Scouts and my daughters troop bridged up to the Girl Scout Brownie level. The month of May has been extremely busy between juggling Lilly being out of school for two weeks, to planning the Girl Scout Bridging Ceremony, and now we roll into all of the end of the year activities! I wish I could say I’m excited for summer and a change of pace but that never happens here and looking ahead at the calendar I see no break in sight!

Here is a peek at what we did for the troops bridging ceremony -

Pictured above are terra cotta pots that we painted to represent each Daisy petal –

The pots will represent our troops Daisy flower garden at the bridging ceremony.

To paint the pots I used acrylic paint and each pot as about 2-3 coats of paint some pots needed 3 coats.

Once the paint dried I used a clear glaze spray on each pot.

I made a flower for each pot that represent the petal color.

I used a skewer for the stem and wrapped each skewer in fabric to create the green stem and filled

each pot with a Styrofoam block and green tissue paper

Each girl was assigned a petal color and they had to memorize what the color represented and

they share this with their parents during the bridging ceremony.

After each girl said her flower color and what it represents they planted their flower into the pot.

After all flowers were planted the troop had a completed Daisy Flower Garden.

Then after each girl got to take home their pot and inside the pot were Daisy seeds to plant at home.

Above is the front of my daughters Daisy Tunic – the petal patches earned as Daisy Scouts

The back of her uniform –

showing off all of her Fun patches and cookie rewards she’s earned over the two years.

Refreshment table –

behind the table the girls made paper chains representing from left – the blue for the Daisy level ,

green in the center representing Girl Scout Green, and then Brown representing the Brownie Level.

Last fall, I had the girls draw themselves on a cut out – so the paper cut outs represent each girl

and the flowers hanging on the back drop are flowers with each girls name.

Above is my daughters little person …. I love the eyelashes!

Back drop and decorations for bridging ceremony –

The rainbow back drop is made up of the plastic party table cloths that you can buy at any party store.

I’ve been asking for over a year for a photo booth back drop – and finally we made one! Well my husband made it for me out of PVC pipe.

I’m excited to see what else I can use it for in the future!

The stage with the bridge for the girls to cross over to the Brownie level …

Lilly waiting for everything to start – was excited to get her Brownie sash!

Now I’m off to plan a 7th Birthday Party!!!

Amy

Turn your Children’s Artwork into gifts

noreply@blogger.com (The Preppy Strawberry) — Mon, 13 May 2013 03:02:00 +0000

This weekend we worked on some gifts for the grandparents. In April, Lilly invited my Mom and I to her K.I.S.S. Day (Kids Invite Someone Special) to school. She made us this really cute card but it was one card for both my Mom and I, so I decided to turn it into a gift for my Mom. I keep seeing popping up in my pinterest stream – turn your kids artwork into stuffed animal or turn your kids artwork into a tea towel. So for a gift from Lilly she created several tea towels for the grandparents. Here’s where I saw the idea for the tea towels – Heather over at Setting for Four has some really cute examples – check it out here

This is the towel I created from the card Lilly made for K.I.S.S. Day

Step 1: Draw your picture on paper and then insert under the towel and trace your picture. I let her make a few of her own and she wanted to use the color markers.

I love how she signed each towel ♥

Grandma and Grandpa live up at the lake so this is a picture of Lilly and Grandma at the lake

towel she made for my Mom – a little bit of everything

Special Instructions – I washed my towels first and ironed them before we started tracing the pictures onto the towels. After, she traced and colored her drawings on the towels – I washed and ironed the towels again. This was just make sure everything was set before we wrapped up the towels.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Mother’s Day and was able to spend the day with the people that matter most! We had a busy day and I was treated to breakfast and went to dinner …. finished some chores ( a Mother’s job is never done) hehe!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Amy