Jenkins Kid Farm

Colombian Ajiaco Soup

2020-03-27T21:04:00.002-07:00

Colombian Ajiaco Soup

(simplified Americanized version
of Bogota chicken & potato soup)

Hi! Remember me? I know! I really didn't fall off the planet.

We just recently returned from an 11 day trip to Bogota,
Colombia. By the time our trip had ended, things were already
going haywire due to the Corona virus sweeping the planet.
Thanks everyone for not saving us any toilet paper!
Truthfully, I was scared to death that we wouldn't
be able to fly home. Some countries in
South America were closing their borders
and I knew Colombia at some point would follow.
I was even afraid after we got in the air they would
turn the plane around and make us go back.
Hey, I loved Bogota, but I was getting mighty homesick.
If we could just get to Ft. Lauderdale I knew we could get
the rest of the way to Arizona one way or another.
Well, things weren't quite as exciting as I had feared.
We got back to Arizona without a hitch and I was immediately
itching to make this soup!
While in Bogota, this recipe was served to us twice and
I ordered it one more time in a restaurant.
I just couldn't get enough of it.
I love it's beauty, it's simplicity, and the special flavor of the guascas,
which I had never tasted or heard of before.
The closest thing I can compare the flavor to is artichokes.
It's a special plant that grows around Bogota,
hence this is also sometimes called Bogota soup.
Apparently it grows in the US in a couple of places too.
You can make my Americanized version start to finish in about 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

5 medium russet potatoes

5 small red potatoes

2 TB chicken bouillon powder

2 cans chicken (Costco)

1 can corn, drained

2 TB dried guascas (Amazon link)

Toppings/Sides:

Cooked white rice

Avocados

½ cup sour cream

3 TB drained capers (Amazon link)

Directions:

Cut the potatoes into small’ish chunks and put into soup pot. Cover with water just barely above the potato line. Cook until potatoes are soft, but NOT MUSHY. Use a potato masher to partially mash the potatoes right in the water. You still want chunks of potatoes, but enough of them mashed that it thickens the soup.

Add the remaining soup ingredients and let simmer a few minutes until guascas is rehydrated.

Serve with sides.

In Colombia they don’t use canned ingredients, it’s all fresh, and the corn is actually cooked in the soup on the cob. It’s really pretty, but I’m not really a corn still on the cob kind of girl, so I used canned. They cook their chicken from scratch and sometimes even serve that shredded on the side. Also, in Colombia you do not put your rice and avocados into your soup, you eat them separately as sides. So if you want to be authentic, do that. But I sorta like to just throw it all in there and enjoy it together. I feel guilty even saying that, cuz tradition is tradition and I’m just raking this over the coals. The Colombian people are the most gracious giving people I’ve ever met and I hate to downplay tradition, but my laziness is winning on this one. Bottom line...I like recipes that are easy and fast! And most importantly, it tasted exactly the same!

Chow Chao!

Cranberry Snow - A Beautiful Holiday Treat!

2018-11-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

CRANBERRY SNOW

A friend shared this with me several years ago

when a group of us were swapping favorite holiday recipes.

I wasn't too sure if I'd like it,

but she swore it was amazing.

She was right!

It was an instant hit with my family!!

It's like 'healthy' candy that you just pop into your mouth.

One after the other.....

again and again and again!

It's better made the night before serving

so it has time to air dry thoroughly.

Ingredients:
1 regular size bag of fresh cranberries (2 lbs)

Sugar
1 egg white
Gallon size Ziploc bag

Directions:
Add one teaspoon of water to the egg white and beat by hand with a fork in a small bowl.

Put 1/2 of the cranberries in the Ziploc bag. Add only half of the egg white mixture to the cranberries, zip shut and thoroughly coat the cranberries until they're all shiny.

Add 1 - 2 cups of sugar to the shiny cranberries, zip shut and gently toss them until as much sugar as possible sticks to the cranberries.

Spread out on a large waxed paper covered cookie sheet and allow to air dry completely (preferably overnight).

You're gonna love 'em, so go ahead and make the other half of the cranberries and the rest of your egg white mixture while you're at it!

This is an amazing addition to any holiday relish tray or great by itself!

I'd recommend only making as much as you think

you'll consume in a 24-48 hour period.

It's best at room temperature and the cranberries

will get mushy if left out for more than a couple of days.

That's usually not a problem for us cuz

we scarf them down pretty quickly.

Enjoy and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

DIY Dishwasher Clean/Dirty Magnet FREE PRINTABLE

2017-08-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

I just don't want any more confusion. That is all. ;)

There were plenty of options out there,

but I just wanted something simple that was black and white.

I printed the one sheet on cardstock.

I used the same piece of cardstock to cut two more 'layers'.

I used a little glue stick (which I RARELY use)

to adhere the three layers together.

I only wanted to cut this baby out once and I wanted the edges to line up.

THAT'S why I glued them together first.

Voila!

But guess what?

Wet hands are going to be touching that

hopefully ALL.THE.TIME.

So I need to waterproof it a bit.

If you have a laminator,

you can skip the next couple of steps!

I love love love Scotch glue,

but Elmers or whatever you have on hand will work fine.

I glued the edges with the tiniest most imperceptible line of glue.

Less is best.

I just don't want my layers pulling apart.

See how much I trust glue stick?

Like, not at all.

I Modge Podged a veeeery thin layer on top.

Too much will just warp your paper.

You can already see a little warping on the right,

but it smoothed out after everything was dry.

After the front is dry, don't forget to Modge Podge the back too.

After it was completely dry

I added a couple strips of

self-adhering magnets.

Done!

I love it!

Simple, practical, and made with supplies I had on hand.

My fingers are crossed that my family will now actually use it!

FREE PRINTABLE HERE!

Relief Society Birthday Party Picnic - The Ants Go Marching...

2016-06-11T03:30:00.000-07:00

Celebrating the 174th anniversary of the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' Relief Society organization

with a picnic themed birthday party!

Mason jar flower vases with a junque bow and a string of buttons

Lots of food, as always!

Chicken salad on croissants

Pasta salad

Fruit kabobs

Kettle chips

Veggie and dip cups

and the cutest mini home baked pies!

You can find this delicious recipe for the chicken salad croissants HERE.

When Beth first showed up with these veggie cups I kinda freaked out.

I thought ants were on the loose FOR REAL!

How stinkin adorable are these vinyl images she put on each cup,

plus the creative array of veggies on the toothpicks!

These pies!!!

My Relief Society activities committee is amazing and dedicated!!!

Suzi made every single one of these tiny one-serving pies

(about 60 or so of them)!

I mean c'mon! I die for pie!

Apple crumb top

Cherry lattice top

and Pumpkin chocolate top!

She even made the chocolate leaves that are on the pumpkin pies!!

So cute and so delish!!

Suzi has a fun blog with lots of amazing recipes and everything else you can imagine!

You can find her HERE!

Raspberry lemonade

That's a feast!!

One of the ladies in the presidency has the most gorgeous back yard.

This is Arizona!!

It's rare to see this kind of yard in my very desert neck-of-the-cactus!

Inspired by Pinterest, but worked with what I already had.

I love these napkin and plasticware holders!

The tables were layered with

white tablecloths

burlap runners

black placemats (from Dollar Tree).

Three centerpieces...

mason jars with bright junque bows

white candles (from Dollar Tree) covered with a strip of scrapbook paper, bakers twine, and a little piece of bling I salvaged from a previous event

and a little white bowl/basket thing (Dollar Tree) filled with another sister's fresh lemons.

Everyone enjoyed the gorgeous evening!

I sure love all these ladies!!

But then......

An ant invasion!!

Marching two by two!!

Some of the sisters did a great little skit about visiting teaching.

So cute!!

They did a condensed version of the skit we found HERE.

How cute are these adorable ants??

I loved this beautiful evening and really appreciated everyone's contributions to a great presentation of the meal and the entertainment!!

Teacups and Teapots Made of Paper

2016-06-10T03:30:00.000-07:00

As seen in my Dream Tea Party,

and White Elephant Gift Basket Exchange

we handcrafted teacups as one of our activities after lunch.

Cuz what's a party if you don't craft something??

I also included a handcrafted teacup and teapot as part of my gift basket.

Each of my 9 party guests and I chose a separate theme to create a beautiful basket full of goodies that we'd exchange in a white-elephant-rules type of game.

I chose Tea Party, cuz hey, I was already totally in that mode.

I filled this basket with so many delightful goodies,

the teapot and teacup,

as well as several other paper handcrafted tea-themed items.

(I made an extra set for myself to keep cuz I loved them so much!)

It took us party girls quite a while to finish our teacups,

but we had so much fun doing it!

It made me happy that Suzi posted this on social media!

Here are just some of the teacups the ladies made.

Well, we had so much fun making the teacups,

and a few of the ladies loved the teapot so much,

that we got together on a different day to make teapots.

Um, we might like flowers.

All items were cut with my Cricut die cut machine and

I used the files from SVGCuts.com

Be sure to check out all the other posts on this fun

DREAM TEA PARTY!

DREAM TEA PARTY

WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT BASKET EXCHANGE

CAKE PLATES MADE FROM A CHANDELIER AND DESK LAMP

Tea Party White Elephant Gift Basket Exchange

2016-06-09T14:32:00.000-07:00

This is all about the delightfully fun and beautiful

gift baskets that my guests and I created

for my dream Tea Party.

I think this is what first got us all so excited

and so into the spirit of it.

Way ahead of time, each of us chose a separate theme to

create a beautiful basket full of goodies that we'd exchange

in a white-elephant-rules type of game.

I chose Tea Party, cuz hey, I was already totally in that mode.

I filled my basket with lots of 'British' goodies!

The first rule was to keep it around $30, so I didn't want to spend much on a container.

I found this perfect hat box at Goodwill for only a few dollars!

I'm a big fan of my Cricut cutting machine and was hugely inspired by a tea party set

I found on the site SVGCuts.com.

SERIOUSLY cute stuff to cut and make on that site!!!

I made every single thing in that set!

(plus I want to make every single thing on that entire website!!!)

The full post on these handmade paper teacups and teapots coming soon.

I found so many perfect tea party foods at World Market!

A 'tea for you and me" card that has a little see-through pocket for a tea bag.

Both of these, plus some fresh whipped cream on a scone,

oh. baby!

They were also on the menu!

So in love with the paper teapot!

These take several hours to make.

Just sayin.

The matching paper teaspoon and teacup filled with little goodies.

There's that teapot again.

(it was so hard to give it away!!)

A paper tea dispenser.

A little sign that I designed.

It's an armful!

Cristy won my Tea Party Hat Box.

I hope she loves it!

So yeah, I thought my basket was pretty fun,

but when the other 9 ladies showed up with their baskets

I was totally blown away!!!!!!!

I invited 9 of my most creative friends and boy did they

ever know how to show off their style!

Favorite Things Basket

Made by Shelly, won by Rachele

Spa Basket

Made by Janeal, won by Tracie

Fairy Garden Pot

Made by Tracie, won by Monika

Easter Basket

Made by Rachele, won by Kathy

(Rachele actually sewed the basket AND

the adorable bunnies in it!)

Picnic Basket

Made by Monika, won by Sandy

(handmade placemats and little banner)

Craft Box

made by Sandy, won by Shelly

(and her adorable little daughter)

Vintage Baking Basket

Made by Cristy, won by Suzi

Beach Basket

Made by Suzi, won by Janeal

and finally...

Americana Basket

Made by Kathy and won by me!

(handmade home decor items and so much more!)

I adore these ladies for being so creative and making their baskets

even better than I ever could have imagined!

Be sure to check out all the other posts on this fun

DREAM TEA PARTY!

DREAM TEA PARTY

HOW TO MAKE CAKE PLATES FROM A CHANDELIER AND DESK LAMP

TEACUPS AND TEAPOTS MADE OF PAPER

Come,

let us

have

some

(herbal)

tea

and talk

happy things!

Cake Plates Made From a Chandelier and a Lamp

2016-05-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

Chandy Multi-level Cake Plate

Lamp Cake Plate

As seen in my Dream Tea Party

here's the how-to on making a multi-level cake plate

out of an old {ugly} chandelier and

a single cake plate out of an old lamp.

I found this loooooovely old chandy at Goodwill for around $5.

I also found a cute set of dishes for $1 or less each, one dinner plate for the center plus 5 tea plates.

I added some muscle and a can of white spray paint

(that I already had)

and Voila!!

For around $10 I ended up with this fantastic cake plate!

After removing all of the electrical wiring and plastic bases for the light bulbs

I wrangled each 'octopus' arm until I got them all to touch the table

at the same time when flipped upside down.

I gave it a good coating of spray paint.

Finally I used E6000 glue to adhere each plate to the chandy.

Does it make the cupcakes look extra delicious or what??

(I stole this photo from one of my friends who managed to get a better picture of it than I did.)

Next I did kind of the same thing with a teapot lamp that I found at the same Goodwill on the same day.

A TEAPOT LAMP!!!

FOR THREE DOLLARS!!!

What are the chances that I would find this marvelous teapot lamp???

WOW!!!

I must be the luckiest person ever!!

It's not beautiful, but I saw it's potential!

Again, I removed all of the wiring

and pretty much took the whole thing apart.

Besides the teapot itself,

I only saved the wooden base,

a couple of brass rings

and the plastic tube that the wiring went through.

I spray painted everything except the teapot white.

I then used E6000 to assemble it just the way I wanted it.

Another $1 dinner plate from Goodwill glued on top

and I have another beautiful cake plate that is just perfect for my tea party!

I used this cake plate for the adorable Easter cookies made by my friend's teenage daughter.

Be sure to check out all the other posts on this fun

DREAM TEA PARTY!

DREAM TEA PARTY

WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT BASKET EXCHANGE

TEACUPS AND TEAPOTS MADE OF PAPER

My Tea Party Dreams Have Come True!

2016-05-25T15:05:00.000-07:00

I've planned a lot of parties,

but they are always for my kids, or on assignment for large groups.

This time it was just for my close friends and me!

I've been planning this party in my head for about 20 years,

so it goes without saying that I had a lot of fun with it!

GUESTS

Good friends who are also crafty and creative.

These gals wore Easter bonnets, which ROCKS!

Here's our whole group in our tiny felt Easter Parade hats

that we made as one of our two crafts.

(that is like the worst photo of me ever!)

DECOR

A small bag at each place setting

made to look like an actual tea bag

filled with chocolates and

herbal tea bags.

Fresh beautiful flowers

Mismatched tea cups, saucers and teapots which were

mostly found at Home Goods.

The tables were covered in layers of table cloths, table runners, and doilies.

I decorated with old stacked books, birds, bird cages, teapots filled with various herbal teas, mini trees, sugar (cubes) and creamer sets, sets of pearl necklaces, old lace gloves, glass Easter eggs, and every other little thing.

I *HAD* better pictures with my camera, but my computer crashed and all of those are lost

(I don't want to talk about it).

EVERYONE LOOKS SO BEAUTIFUL!!

The placemats are large doilies that I found at Dollar Tree!

The napkins are vintage inspired hankies.

The clear glass plates I've been buying at various garage sales for over 20 years.

MENU

Finger sandwiches, fruit with cream, pasta salad

(I just noticed someone's cell phone is sitting there...lol)

English scones, lemon curd, jam and fresh whipped cream

all. day. long, folks. I could eat this all day long!

DESSERTS

Bowls made of chocolate and filled with chocolate mousse, fresh cream and berries

These adorable sugar cookies made by Rachele's teenage daughter, Mikensee

I know this is a terrible photo, but again, my good ones are lost forever.

Anyway, if you haven't had cakes from Nothing Bundt Cake, then you are missing out.

They are the most moist delicious cake ever!

These are the buntini's (tiny cakes) in chocolate, red velvet and my favorite

white chocolate raspberry.

I'll show you another time how I made that multi-level cake plate.

After enjoying our delicious lunch, we had a fun

white elephant gift basket exchange, which you can read all about HERE.

AND

Besides making the tiny Easter bonnets...

we made paper teacups and teapots which you can read all about HERE.

AND

Multi-level cake plate made from a chandelier!

Here are some extra photos that some of my guests posted on social media.

(since I don't have ALL of my pictures) ;p

Can you believe I didn't take a picture of my tea party chalkboard? Oy!

Favorite Chicken Salad on Croissants

2016-04-03T09:11:00.001-07:00

A few friends have asked me lately for my chicken salad recipe. Since I never really had it written down, this has forced me to be more specific with what's in it. It changes based on what I have on hand, but these are basically the ingredients I use.

Costco canned chicken

Canned pineapple tidbits

Chopped red onion

Mayo

Plus any other delish dressing you have (ranch, Asian, whatever)

Bottled cole slaw dressing is really really good too

Coursely chopped cashews

Thinly sliced celery

Halved grapes
Frozen peas

Salt and pepper

That's pretty much it. :)

As you can see, last time I made it I made a LOT! My family (especially Maddie) loves chicken salad croissant sandwiches big time, so they (her) were very happy that I had extra to bring home. ;)

Frozen Hot Chocolate

2015-08-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

It's just so hot here right now.

Most of the year I love Arizona, but August....well, not so much.

My 14 yo son broke his hand pretty badly this summer and required surgery,

so our usual summer activities of bowling, indoor trampolines, etc were OUT.

The kids and I were looking for new places to go to stay out of the heat.

We tried a new movie theater across town that actually has waiters

and serve you whatever your heart desires

WHILE you're watching a new release movie on the big screen.

I assumed that food would be second-rate, but seriously, it was awesome!

I had never heard of it before, but on the dessert menu was frozen hot chocolate.

Ohmygosh! It was so divine!!!

I had to try to replicate it at home.

If you're really up for a true taste comparison, try the original at

Studio Movie Grill.

Arizona isn't their only location, so maybe there's one near YOU.

But in the meantime,

here's MY version of...

FROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup regular milk (I use 2%)

1/4 cup Nutella

1/2 scoop vanilla ice cream

Thoroughly blend in small blender (ie Magic Bullet)

In 2 large cocoa mugs put 1 full scoop of vanilla ice cream in each.

Divide the blended mix between the two mugs.

Top with whipped topping and sprinkle with shaved chocolate.

This is my idea of heaven!

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

2015-08-08T15:58:00.000-07:00

The very first time my husband and I went to Mexico together
was while we were dating and it was amazing!

It was partly amazing due to my discovering

MEXICAN SHRIMP COCKTAIL!

One particular evening I wasn't in the mood for heavy tacos,

and honestly, I'm not even really a fan of regular shrimp cocktail,

but that night I must have seen it at someone else's table

and decided to give it a try.

From then on, I always looked forward to our trips so that I could order more!

After we'd been married a couple of years, there was a new Mexican restaurant that opened up near our home that advertised the same Mexican shrimp cocktail that I thought I could only get in Mexico. Unfortunately that restaurant only stayed open a short time. :(

I finally decided to do some research for a recipe

(because I wanted it for my whole family),

and after a bit of tweaking to make it my own,

this is what I have come up with.

It's a family favorite!

The best part is, it's very healthy and totally guilt free!

Eat all you want, my friends!

It won't make you fat!!!

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

64 oz Clamato juice (I buy a 2-pack at Costco)

1 lb medium shrimp (I buy the frozen from Costco and cut into halves or thirds)

1 cup chopped red onion

1 cup peeled, diced cucumber

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

2+ cups freshly chopped tomatoes, with juice

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 small jalapeno, minced

2 avocados, cut into chunks

2 TB lime juice, fresh or bottled

1 TB hot sauce (Tobasco or whatever you've got)

1 tsp salt, or to taste

Just chop everything up and put it all into a large bowl together.

Stir gently.

It's great to eat right away, but it's even better if you make it the night before so the flavors have a chance to blend together more.

It's so light and refreshing, and totally delicious!

My favorite way to eat it is to squeeze some lime juice right on top of my bite, and eat it with saltine crackers.

That's the way it's served in Mexico!

This juice base tastes great and makes your life easy!

Speaking of easy, as much as I love fresh shrimp,

this kind from Costco is already cooked, shelled,

tails off, deveined, and ready to go.

I don't even pre-thaw it.

Just chop it up and you're ready to go.

I use half of one of these bags (it's a 2 lb bag) for a single recipe.

Although I often double it.

ENJOY!!!

Mango Marshmallow Poke Cake

2015-06-20T16:09:00.001-07:00

Pillsbury has come out with these new flavored cakes that are pretty awesome!

For Christmas I had given Maddie the Blue Raspberry and Key Lime sets.

The other day I saw some brand new flavors I'd never seen before,

such as Orange, Pink Lemonade and Tropical Mango!

It was close to Trace's birthday and he absolutely LOVES mango,

so I thought I'd come up with something new and fun just for him.

Mango Marshmallow Poke Cake

What you'll need:

1 Pillsbury tropical mango premium cake mix

Coconut oil or regular vegetable oil, melted

2 small boxes banana cream instant pudding

1 can Pillsbury mango frosting

12 oz thawed Cool Whip

7 oz marshmallow creme

Nilla wafers cookies

Bake cake as directed in a 9 x 13 pan. I used coconut oil instead of regular vegetable oil to give it an extra tropical flavor. The quantity of oil is the same for each one. You can definitely taste the hint of coconut in the cake. It tastes great!

After cake has almost completely cooled, poke lots of holes in it. This allows the pudding to get down into the cake and make it super moist and extra yummy.

Prepare the 2 boxes of pudding as directed and pour all over the cake. Try to push the pudding down into the cake with the flat side of the spatula to get as much pudding down into it as possible.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to make the next step much easier.

Next, whip together the canned mango frosting, the Cool Whip, and the marshmallow creme. Spread it over the top of the cake.

Crush about 10 Nilla wafers (or more if you want) and sprinkle over the top of the cake. The easiest and least messy way to do this is to put them in a gallon ziplock bag and roll over them with a heavy rolling pin.

Keep covered and refrigerated until ready to eat.

This cake is very moist (not soggy) and delicious!

Best Tomato Dip, Salsa and Guacamole

2015-02-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

By request

here are the recipes for the three dips we served on Super Bowl Sunday,

as seen on my Instagram and Facebook feeds.

Tomato Dip

Manna to the Gods!

I have two kids who hate tomatoes, but they’ll still practically drink this dip.

I got this recipe when I was pregnant with #4…he’s 14 years old now.

My friend Sherri brought a huge bowl of it to a Relief Society dinner

and after just one bite I didn’t care what else was on the menu.

Sherri was also very pregnant at the time.

We were just two big pregnant ladies downing a bowl of heaven on a chip!

I suggest doubling, or even tripling this recipe if you’re taking it to a get-together that has more than 3 people.

Tomato Dip

8 oz cream cheese, softened

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 tsp Beau Monde (the secret ingredient)

1 tsp garlic salt

Mix, then add:

3-4 chopped tomatoes

1 bunch 6-7 chopped green onion

Mix and serve with Scoops tortilla chips cuz you will want to scoop up a bunch in each bite!

Beau Monde is the secret heavenly ingredient in the tomato dip.

Also very great in any cheese ball.

I’m tellin’ ya, it’s amazing! I don’t even know why.

It just IS.

Why yes, I DO buy this in bulk through Amazon.

I can’t find it in the grocery stores anymore.

Boo to that, but yay for bulk!

Go in with a friend or two and split it if you can.

If not, then oh well, get it anyway.

Super Easy, Super Fast, Super SUPER Good Salsa

I’ve had legit Mexicans born in Mexico tell me this is as good or better than their mama’s salsa.

You be the judge.

We have some on hand almost all of the time.

It’s great on eggs, baked potatoes, anything,

but my favorite is just good old-fashioned tortilla chips.

It’s like our ketchup.

I got this recipe from a sweet local gal Chelsey,

who always seemed to have just made a batch when I showed up to her MIL’s house.

(musta had my good-salsa beacon on).

So yeah, I ate way more than my share at their house.

I’m curious where Chelsey got this recipe because

she’s white as snow and blonde.

Pretty sure it didn’t come from her Latin descendents. ;)

Salsa

2 regular sized cans of chopped tomatoes (just plain)

2 green chiles (I buy the big can of Hatch Chiles from Costco and just use two big chiles and a little juice from the can)

½ bunch of rinsed cilantro

1 bunch green onions

Garlic salt to taste

8 (AND I MEAN 8) Tepin chili seeds

(if you like your salsa REALLY hot, then go ahead and put 10-12 in there…I dare ya!

6 ingredients… 2 from a can, 2 fresh, 2 seasonings…that’s it!

Put everything in the blender and only blend for a few seconds…just til the veggies are chopped really well. You don’t want it to be a blob of foam...just a blended bunch of veggies.

The tepins are the secret spicy ingredient in this salsa and it’s the only thing I’ve ever used tepins for. It’s getting harder and harder to find these too. What is wrong with grocery stores these days? I found it last time at Fry’s and bought several bags…it’s super cheap.

Guacamole

Avocados are another food that I could eat on just about anything. And really, when it comes to my guac, I’m just wingin it.

Also, when you’re cutting up an avocado, there’s a ridiculously easy way to do it. Cut the avocado in half, twist and pull on the seed with a big sideways knife, then with a little knife cut lines in both directions down to the skin and scoop out with a spoon. There! You already have your chunky avocado!

Guacamole

4 ripe avocados, chunky chopped

¼ cup sour cream

Garlic salt to taste

Pepper

Finely chopped jalepeno to taste, canned or fresh (if using canned, then add a little of the juice too)

Chopped tomato (I use the tiny romas, so I usually cut up about 2)

Diced fresh yellow or white onion

Mix lightly so that the avocado is barely creamy. I like it best with a bit of chunk still in it.

These are all super easy recipes and worth every bit of effort.

You will definitely be a success at your next social gathering with any of them.

ENJOY!

Twenty-One Handmade Ornaments - Annual Exchange

2014-12-14T18:15:00.001-07:00

We've had TWO ornament exchanges this year,

so I have lots of wonderful handmade ornaments to share with you!

TWENTY-ONE, to be exact.

Ohhhh, how I love all of this year's ornaments.

Every year they get better and better!

These snowglobes were handcrafted by me.

You can find a great step-by-step HERE.

Besides the snowmen, I also made them with Santas and vintage elves.

If you live in the Phoenix area, a great place to get these little mini

figurines is Auntie Em's in Old Glendale.

I had searched high and low on Etsy and

everyplace else on the internet,

with no luck at all

(unless I wanted to spend a fortune...which I did not).

Auntie Em's had a great fun selection!

Cristy's stuffed owl

This will not get packed away.

I plan on leaving this bird out all year long!

Kathy's stuffed star made from a cut-up quilt.

Get a load of that TINY gingerbread man cookie cutter!

Rachele's stuffed mitten.

Um, I think I just became a HUGE fan of pink in Christmas!

(sidenote: just look at that little hand-stamped set of mittens!)

Sandy's Santa ball.

I gasped when I first saw it!

Simple and adorable!

Tracie's Christmas-filled cone.

That cone is about as tall as my pinky finger.

I'm talkin tiny candy canes and ball ornament.

I love TINY!

Rachele's fabric-wrapped candy canes.

She always adds an extra special touch with her stamping.

And you should see those sparkly stars up close! Yummy!

Kathy's wooden spool and metal star.

I always love a bit of country in Christmas!

Again, more darling hand-stamping.

Suzi's wooden block presents.

I'm a big fan of the black and copper!

I don't think I would have ever thought to use those colors

and I love 'em!

Ann's jute-wrapped candy canes.

I love the extra special packaging too!

I made this one also, with tiny squares of fabric and about a million straight pins.

Dianna's bead-wrapped wire.

This gives me ideas!

Ann's decoupaged jute ball.

It's a bit bigger than you might think. And totally cool!

Cristy's handpainted Santa on Christmas tree-shaped wood.

I mean, WOW, I was blown away with the details on this.

She also painted Santa's on stockings and stars.

What an imagination!

It looks like something you would buy in a

charming European Christmas shop, right?!

Suzi's jute-wrapped star with hanging bells.

I had to prop it up on the bag and a box just to get the whole thing in the picture.

Super cute!

Dianna's JOY blocks.

Joy in every direction! Dude, it spins!

Tracie's wine cork.

Brilliant idea for wine corks!

She just asked a bartender and he gave her a bunch.

And I absolutely love the detail on my cork!

Tami's sparkly cupcake.

It looks so yummy, I wish I could eat it!

Sandy's paper-wrapped spools.

This is so stinkin fun!

I want to make something with spools now!

Shar's button covered tag.

I have a 'thing' for tags, and this is a super cute one!

Great way to use your button collection too!

WHAT? You don't have a button collection?

GASP!

This one isn't exactly an ornament, but it could be.

Shar's nativity family.

Clean and simple.

And perfect!

So now you wanna know what I did with them, right?

Since my main tree is all white, gold and silver ornaments,

I needed a different, yet just as good of a place to put these gorgeous ornaments.

How about my 3 little alpine trees that I've had for like, 20 years?!

I've never put anything on them before,

but now I'm not sure if I ever want to take these ornaments off!

Be sure to check out my other ornament post too!

HERE!

May all your Christmases be

MERRY AND BRIGHT!

For more ornament inspiration,

see my Handmade Ornament Pinterest Board.

Another Fantastic Shop...The Old Brick House Vintage Market

2014-12-13T17:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know how Rachele found this place, but we checked it out yesterday

AND IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH THE DRIVE to Mesa!

The Old Brick House Vintage Market

is located in the old charming area of Mesa,

right on the main drag.

It's only open the 2nd weekend of each month.

(see dates and hours below)

Yeah, the JUNK WAS GOOD!

Rachele found these two letters sitting alone...just the two of them.

Her last name begins with 'F'.

So yep, kinda cool!

If only I had a wall for this! Love it with the wreath!

Suzi, didn't you mention you were looking for frames?

I came sooooo close to bringing these beauties home with me.

Sometimes I hate it when I resist.

They had posted a photo of this charming old playhouse on Instagram

and I just had to see it with my own eyes!

If only I had a place to put such a huge thing

and if only I wanted to spend a chunk of money.

(honestly, there are lots of nicely priced affordable things too)

Even the little girl's room is special.

Wow! So love this!

These almost came home with me too.

Dang, there's the willpower getting in my way again.

Just in case you want to check it out, here are the hours and days open!

You won't be disappointed!

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all my JUNKY FRIENDS!

Winter Wonderland Tree Centerpieces - Coffee Filter, Burlap, and Linen

2014-10-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

In my last post I showed you our Polar Express ward party.

These are the centerpieces that we used to decorate our dinner tables.

I've had so many questions about the tree centerpieces,

so here's the how-to's on making your own

VERY SIMPLE and inexpensive trees!

We had tried other kinds of trees too,

but nothing seemed to work out for us except these three.

Once we were done, WE LOVED THEM!

Our three kinds of trees were

LINEN, COFFEE FILTERS, AND BURLAP

It all started when I saw a post on Facebook from my friend

Kendra from My Insanity.

She had made these coffee filter trees the year before for an event.

Honestly, it was love at first sight!

My Insanity Coffee Filter Tree

for instructions.

So my committee and I got to work.

Turns out these were super fun to make

as well as fast and easy!

l to r: Tracie, Suzi, Devin, Kathy and Beth.

For ours we used 2 sizes of coffee filters and 3 sizes of cupcake liners.

I love how they turned out!

The main trick is to weave different sizes together.

Don't use all one size, then all another size.

We learned quickly to alternate the larger sizes on the bottom

and alternate the smaller sizes on the top.

I love all this paper texture!

The coffee filter wreaths cost us around $1 each!!!

Next we decided we needed more than just the one tree for a centerpiece

to fill up the tables just a bit more.

I love various textures,

so we went with a linen, only because someone gave

me a huge garbage sack filled with scraps from their

old curtains or something.

It was free, so hey, it was worth a try!

Oh yeah, love that too!

I wanted it bulked up, so decided to do this loopy style.

First, cut the fabric (any fabric, it doesn't have to be linen) in long strips

any width you want.

Mine was about 3 or 4 inches wide.

Then double it over and hot glue the raw edges together.

Next, cut the folded edge about halfway to the raw edge.

Hot glue the raw edge around a poster board form cone.

Sidenote: we priced all kinds of foam and cardboard cones

and let me tell you, they are expensive!

The cheapest, BY FAR, is to make your own cones with a

poster board rolled into whatever size you want.

Hold the cone in place with staples and hot glue.

Keep going up and around with your pieces.

When you get to the end of a length

overlap slightly with a new length

and just keep going.

Because of the donated fabric, these cost around .25 cents each,

just the cost of the poster board.

For our final tree, we wanted a completely different texture,

but still in the neutral tones.

Again, just cut strips, fray one edge and hot glue it to your poster board cone.

I don't remember how much we paid for the burlap,

plus some of it was scraps from our stashes,

but these still ended up being less than $1 each.

Ohmygoodness!

Tree love!

But if you know me, you know I like a little bling.

I didn't want to overdo it,

So I hot-glued tiny snowflakes to the linen trees (plastic confetti)

and a wrapped a tiny strand of glittery thread around the burlap trees.

Ah!

Perfect!

We made 24 of each of these trees.

THAT'S SEVENTY-TWO TREES!

Shucks, it t'wernt nuthin!

For the rest of our Polar Express fun,

SEE HERE!

Polar Express Ward Christmas Party

2014-10-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

It's almost Christmastime again

Ahhhh, that most wonderful time of the year.

I'm finally posting pictures

from last year's ward Christmas party.

I know. I'm a slacker!

Truthfully, it's taken so long because

I've been overwhelmed by the sheer number of pictures

that the other photographer and I took.

Seriously, we rocked this party so big

there were just too many good things to photograph!

I am nothing without the FANTASTIC committee

that helped carry out so many ideas,

as well as coming up with so many of their own great visions!

We worked hard, and we had fun doing it!

This train.

I LOVE how adorable it turned out!!!

When I was put in charge of this party, the

very. first. thing. I. wanted.

was a train.

Thanks to Devin from Salt and Pepper Moms,

and her engineering prowess, I got just what I wanted!

It's constructed of several painted cardboard boxes, foil, and vinyl lettering.

The headlight is one of those countertop push lights from the dollar store.

I guess I'll just walk you through as though you were a guest at our party.

First, we'll greet you at the front door!

Welcome to The Polar Express experience!

The floor was made to look like train tracks!

To your left is the ticket booth

(every family had previously been given tickets to the event)

One of these lovely elves would be glad to take your ticket for you.

(if you forgot your ticket, you may have to sing or dance!)

and to your right is a tree and

small train to get you in the spirit of Christmas!

Get ready for a snowy journey!

Next, you enter the 'overflow' area to ride the train to the North Pole!

It's so magical to watch the flurry of snowflakes outside!

ALL ABOARD!

Sing a carol or two while you enjoy your bumpy ride!

Be sure to sign the passenger list before exiting the train!

This list is STILL in the bishop's office, almost a year later.

You will then be directed to enter the NORTH POLE!

So much good food waiting right inside,

served by our handsome chefs!

Would you like seconds?

Next, you will find a seat for you and your family at one of these beautifully decorated tables,

complete with train tracks and wintery trees.

For the how-to's on making these fun and simple trees,

SEE HERE!

The whole room is aglow with lights and snowflakes.

After you finish eating your delicious meal,

you can head to the dessert table for some delicious homemade hot cocoa!

Every imaginable cocoa topping!

What hot cocoa bar is complete without an abundance of homemade cookies???

OHMYGOODNESS!

A very special guest has arrived!

I love how pleased this little boy looks to see Santa!

Someone is VERY excited to see Santa!

EVERYONE is happy to see Santa!

Okay, maybe not everyone.

Is Santa the greatest, or what?

Look how much fun he is having!

Why don't you have a little bit of fun with your friends

in the workshop while you're waiting for your turn to talk to Santa!

Oh, did our mention that the bishop was our conductor on the train?

But wait,

we have one more extra special guest.

He silently appears.

The lights are dimmed.

There's a hush in the room.

Silent Night is softly playing in the background.

The bishop/conductor begins to read

calmly and reverently

a story about Santa Claus and Jesus Christ.

I Believe In Santa Claus

Enjoying the peaceful Spirit that the Savior brings

was a perfect way to end our evening with our ward/church family.

MERRY CHRISTMAS SEASON, EVERYONE!

A HUGE thank you to all of MY GIRLS, the committee members

who worked tirelessly!

I had a blast with all of them!

I love you ladies!!!!!!!!

Kathy, Suzi, Devin, Beth, Tracie, Hillari, Christy, Nancy and Connie!

(I hope I didn't forget anyone!!!)

Also a big thanks to the wonderful

Karyann Photography for being the roaming photographer at the party

because I was too busy to stop and take pictures.

She's a wonderful photographer and is one of the nicest people I know!

So many of the efforts to put this together were also provided

by the other ward who meets in our building.

I figured we may as well work together and only decorate the building once,

therefore stretching our manpower and budgets a little bit further.

Amazingly they went for that idea

and helped make this bigger and better than I even dreamed!

Thanks to them for the Christmas lights,

the ticket booth,

decorating the stage,

a ton of the snowflakes and more!

We tried to include everyone in our ward to participate in some way with the party.

The primary children made snowflakes.

The Young Women made their own elf aprons, were ticket takers

and hot cocoa servers.

The Young Men served dinner.

The moms brought cookies and funeral potatoes.

The Lyman family for being the most beautiful Nativity family I've ever seen.

I was told that around 100 people would attend,

but to plan for 150.

There ended up being about 225 or so people at this party.

It was crazy crowded (our building is old and small),

the lines were long,

but miraculously there was more than enough food for everyone!

AND I WAS $13 UNDER BUDGET!!!

I couldn't have been more pleased!

Next time we'll plan more tables!

Oh yeah, guess what?

I just got put in charge of the next Christmas party! lol

I Am Brave And Beautiful

2014-09-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

I am Brave and Beautiful - a beauty movement that is sweeping the globe. Colbie Caillat started it with her recent song and video called TRY. My blogging friend Megan of Brassy Apple wanted to push this movement along and invited women from all over to share what they looked like without make up and I joined in!! Colbie's song says, "Take your make up off. Let your hair down... Look into the mirror at yourself, Do you like you? Cause I like you... "

Megan and her friend Cobi of Peacefrom6pieces have been the team behind this whole project. Their worldwide vision included creating their own video inspired by the song TRY. The talent of Robbins Creative made it possible for them to pull it off. You have to click play and see the beauty and bravery displayed and you might even recognize a few faces in there.

Me along with 101+ other blogging women from different backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, ages, shapes and sizes have decided to be Brave and Beautiful! You can join in this movement too by sharing what you look like without makeup on. You don't need a blog either! Just tag your photo with #IamBraveAndBeautiful on Instagram and search the hashtag to see who else has joined in. ALSO, if you tag it with a second hashtag - #ColbieTRY we just might be able to get Colbie Caillat's attention since she was the inspiration behind it all!

Are you brave and beautiful? I am, here I go!

I admit, I like this picture of myself, taken by Caitlin Nalder Photography.
I mean, I'm all made-up and photo-shopped. What's not to love about that?
But here's the thing...it's not completely who I am.
It's only partly who I am.
Yeah, sometimes I'm an attractive gal all made up,
but the real, everyday, around-the-house mom who likes to
craft, cook and decorate doesn't usually look like that.

I usually look like THIS.

There was a time when I would have NEVER allowed anyone to take a picture like that of me.
When I was in high school, one of my friends said to me, "How can you look so pretty with your make-up on and so ugly with it off?" I was emotionally scarred for years to come. I almost NEVER left the house without my make-up on for DECADES after that. There was one time on a lazy weekend evening I ran over to a video shop to rent a movie (without my make-up on) and I was absolutely convinced people were staring at me in shock of how ugly I must look. I am not making this up. THAT'S how much importance I placed on make-up and my self-image. So sad how we let ourselves believe baloney like that and let it handicap us. I don't stare at people who aren't all made up and think, Ohmygoodness, she looks horrible, so why would I think anyone would have done it to me?
Since I'm baring my soul and face, I'll let you in on another secret. Recently I was diagnosed with skin cancer on my forehead. (As much as I've over-exposed myself to the sun, it's a miracle it took this long!) I wasn't thrilled about having to have a little bit of my forehead skin removed, but I thought, oh, it'll be no big deal. Turns out the skin cancer was much deeper than we thought and by the time the doctor had gotten it all, there was a huge crater in my forehead. The assistant handed me a mirror so I could see it before the doctor stitched it up. I didn't even stop to think what it must look like. I just took the mirror and looked. OH. MY. GOSH. I got light-headed and woozy with the shock of what was in the mirror. I had no idea it would be that bad and I tried for the rest of the day to not cry. I started playing that old message of my youth in my head "I'll never be beautiful again". I cut my bangs shorter and thicker so that they'd cover up the scar. Fast forward a few weeks and I tell ya, I'm over it. I have a scar, so what. I guess that means over the years I've grown. I only let it get me down for a few days instead of decades. Hooray for progress!

If I could just say one thing, it would be this.
You are beautiful, no matter what.
On the inside AND the outside.
We are creations of our Father in Heaven
with the DNA of our earthly parents.

image via

I first saw Colbie Caillat's video TRY
and posted it on my Facebook wall about a month ago.
I ***LOVE*** the message she sends in this song!
I am honored and excited to be a part of this beauty movement
that encourages each of us to be comfortable
in our own skin and love ourselves,
no matter what we look like on the outside!

Don't stop here. Get clicking around - its a blog hop! Below are more brave and beautiful women bearing more than their natural beauty. They each have a little bit of their heart to share with you. Some get very personal. Some share stories. For some this was very hard to do yet they gathered their courage and did it anyway. We hope as you click around (and YES pin these different posts!) you will feel the importance of it, the empowering effect it has and that it encourages you in some way.

>>>>>>>Important info! Blog Hops often have glitches the first day. If the link has an ERROR, simply click on the HOME button for each site, or google the blog name next to the link, and you should see their brave and beautiful post there. Links will be updated as soon as possible.<<<<<<<<<<<<

1. BrassyApple 2. Peace from 6 Pieces 3. Is this Really My Life 4. Among the Young 5. Love Me Dani Marie 6. Sweet Charli 7. Kim Orlandini 8. XO, Ashton Tilton 9. She Calls Me Mama Leisha 10. Raising Memories - Canada 11. A Little Tipsy 12. Amy Cornwell 13. A girl and a glue gun 14. My Craftily Ever After 15. Maybe I Will 16. WhipperBerry 17. Paging SuperMom 18. All Things Thrifty 19. Ashlee Marie 20. The Project Girl

21. One Little Momma 22. Entirely Eventful Day 23. Diary of a Brown Eyed Girl 24. Tips from a Typical Mom 25. Utah Sweet Savings 26. Flats to Flip Flops 27. One Krieger Chick 28. What Meegan Makes 29. Simply Kierste 30. Live to be Inspired 31. HoneyBear Lane 32. Pretty Providence 33. Ma Nouvelle Mode - in FRANCE 34. MomEntity 35. Serger Pepper - in ITALY 36. Kiki and Company 37. Girl Loves Glam 38. Thrive

39. The Potters Place 40. Crafting in the Rain 41. Cooking With Ruthie 42. Delineate Your Dwelling 43. The Pennington Point 44. Bakerette 45. The Happy Scraps 46. Shannon Baird Photography 47. Tried and Tasty 48. Lionesses at the Gate 49. Fry Sauce and Grits 50. Lolly Jane 51. That's What Che Said 52. Sugar Bee Crafts 53. Your HomeBased Mom 54. Happiness is Homemade 55. The Crafted Sparrow 56. R&R Workshop 57. I Should Be Mopping the Floor 58. Sassy Steals

59. Let's Eat Grandpa 60. Being Spiffy 61. Sumo's Sweet Stuff 62. Ginger Snap Crafts 63. Bless This Mess 64. Apronista 65. Dreaming About Someday 66. Frenchie 67. Tastefully Frugal 68. Four Marrs and One Venus 69. Your Sister Circle 70. Over the Big Moon 71. See Vanessa Craft 72. Infarrantly Creative 73. Family StoryTelling

74. Albion Gould 75. Life as Mrs. Larson 76. Tried and True 77. Play.Party.Pin. 78. Bite of Delight 79. Ink Happi 80. ObSEUSSed 81. U Create 82. My Mommy Style 83. Find it Make it Love it 84. The Contractor Chronicles 85. Novae Clothing 86. Mommy Makes Things 87. At Home with Sweet T 88. We Like to Learn As We Go 89. House for Five 90. Organize and Decorate Everything 91. Sassy Southern Gurl 92. The Creative Mom 93. Keep Moving Forward with Me

94. The Benson Street 95. Mom 4 Real 96. Sowdering About 97. llistyle 98. The Crafty Blog Stalker 99. A Fiery Red Life 100. Cupcakes & Crowbars 101. One Sweet Appetite 102. My DayLights 103. Restless Risa

104. Sypsie Designs 105. Vintage Mother 106. Like Mother Like Daughter 107. 30 Handmade Days 108. Queen B and Me 109. Apples by Ashley 110. Boutique Cafe - in CANADA 111. Just My Little Mess 112. Bombshell Bling 113. Sarah Tyau 114. Taradara Make it 115. Capturing Joy 116. Ivory Lime Photography 117. Jenkins Kid Farm 118. Free Time Frolics 119. Bella Storia 120. Dana Ohlsen Photography

Ready in join in?Snap, hashtag and share! Tag @BrassyApple and @Peacefrom6Pieces if you can too!

Also follow our Bravery and Beauty PINTEREST board for more inspiration!

Attachments area Preview YouTube video Colbie Caillat - Try Colbie Caillat - Try

Girl's Red and Turquoise Cake Decorating Birthday Party

2014-09-22T14:26:00.001-07:00

I love planning parties, but THIS one is my favorite so far!

My daughter Madison just turned 12

and since she's sort of obsessed with baking ANYWAY

what better way to incorporate her love of baking than to include her friends in a

CAKE DECORATING THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY?

In my head it started out as a cute idea on a small scale,

but in my true Cindy fashion, it escalated into so much more.

Even my husband thought it was cool,

and he doesn't think very many things are cool.

Besides baking, we tied in a few other fun things too,

like hipster mustaches, big lips, and bow ties,

polka dots (WHO DOESN'T LOVE POLKA DOTS?),

ruffled aprons,

and cupcake liners as decor!

Dollar Tree and Party City are so great for finding affordable place settings and decor.

Everything you see is from either of those places,

except the cupcake liners, which are from Michaels.

I made the gift bag name tags out of several layers of cupcake liners.

Scrunch each layer a little smaller so that all the colors show,

then staple them in the center to hold it all together.

Hot glue a name sticker to the top to hide your staples.

These are SUPER fun and easy to make!

More fun with cupcake liners!

I made a big long banner of different sizes,

plus I added coffee filters and small paper lace doilies.

A lot of decor bang for your buck, super cute, super easy, and adorable!

Great way to add some color to the party!

Here's a full view of the cupcake banner which is draped across the mirror.

The big surprises we had in store were personalized ruffled aprons and

a freshly baked double layer cake boxed up for each girl.

The cakes were plain and unfrosted,

but the party is all about cake decorating, right?!

I almost can't even stand how cute these aprons are!

Maddie's has 3 ruffles and everyone elses has 2.

The cheapest place I've found to get plain white aprons is Sam's Club.

After collecting the most colorful random fabrics I could find,

all 12 aprons were ruffled and names embroidered by my good friend Connie G.

Seriously, after sewing all of these, I owe her BIG TIME!!!

She volunteered to make them as a favor,

but I'm pretty sure halfway in she regretted it. haha

THANK YOU, CONNIE!!! I ADORE YOU!!!

Remember this hutch from Sweet Salvage?

It made a great buffet for dinner!

Here's my first attempt at a chalkboard.

I didn't have time to fix it. lol

Maddie whipped up these fabulous hipster lips, bow tie, and mustache cookies

with our BEST SUGAR COOKIE OF YOUR LIFE recipe.

To get colors this bright and deep,

you have to use edible gel dyes in the cake decorating section.

Every girl who was invited showed up.

Out of 12 girls, that's amazing!

I think Maddie must've been leaking top secret party details. ;)

Speaking of 12, all of these girls are around 12 years old,

so I wasn't sure how much they'd love the whole frilly apron thing.

Me personally, the older I get, the more I love frilly.

Turns out the girls LOVED their aprons!

My friend Suzi who was there to help out

was also playing spy.

She told me later that the girls all seemed blown away

that someone would make a personalized apron for each of them.

(again, thank you from the bottom of my heart, Connie!!!)

The next big surprise was these three gorgeous ladies!

I now love them.

They were the rockstars of this gig!

One is actually a friend of mine, April,

plus her two super talented sisters Airan and Amy.

They own and operate SUNNY SKIES BAKERY out in Buckeye.

Check 'em out!

I'm tellin' ya, these girls know their stuff!!!!!!!

Plus they are affordable and fun!!

They were so excited to do Maddie's party

and I was so excited to have them and all their skills!

These chicas even color matched their delicious fondant to the party!

Plus, I never knew fondant was delicious.

Every fondant I've ever tasted before was kinda gross.

Not the Sunny Skies Sister's fondant!

They make stuff taste good.

They set up each girl with her own station of frosting,

fondant, 2 cakes, rolling pins, plus all kinds of other goodies and tools.

Then they gave the girls step-by-step instructions on how to proceed

to cover the cakes in buttercream and decorate with fondant.

I'm STILL wrapping my head around the fact

that I had three professional bakers in my kitchen,

plus 12 tweens, my great friend Suzi (for moral support),

24 cakes, several lbs. of fondant and powdered sugar,

WITH NO STRESS OR DRAMA!

There was a lot going on in there!

I've never been so thankful for so much counter space!

Buttercream. Always yes.

Maddie heaven.

And Suzi.

(She's a rockstar too!!! Such an amazing and helpful friend!!!)

April working on her cake to show the girls some tips and tricks.

Everyone having fun.

What was really surprising is that these girls never got bored,

even though this went on for quite a while.

I'm here to tell you that twelve is a great age for this kind of party!

I loved all of Maddie's friends!

They were sweet and well-behaved.

That's a big part as to why this was my favorite party ever.

Usually kids are crazy! lol

I was blown away with how beautifully the girls decorated their cakes!

These were totally their own creations.

Sunny Skies Bakery's cake. I'm so in love with those flowers!

There's not enough praise in the world to tell these ladies how much I appreciate their extreme hard work, sharing their talents, and making it affordable!!

PLUS they even cleaned up all the mess afterwards!

Are you kidding me?!

I am a loyal friend and customer to these gals forevermore!

So many people helped with making this one little girl's birthday something extra special.

It was worth it!

I love you forever, Madison!

This post is linkup up here.

50 Interesting Things In My 50 Years

2014-08-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

HOLY HANNAH!

I'M TURNING THE BIG FIVE-OH TODAY!

~~I'm not sure how I feel about turning 50.~~

I hate that I'm 50 years old now,

but making a list of cool things I've gotten to do over the past 50 years

definitely makes it a little easier,

not to mention that I'm on my grandest adventure yet

at this very moment (I'm about to see some pretty amazing stuff!).

I've been extremely lucky to have a little adventure over the years,

along with the triumphs, heartache, surprises, day-to-day routines,

and best of all, great love.

Someone whom I highly esteem once told me that my life was so interesting
that I should write a book and it would be a best seller.
At the time I was only 20 years old.
Add 30 more years of adventure
(and crazy)
on top of that, and it's been quite a ride.

My husband calls Fifty the new 'f' word. haha. Now I will too.

I've been working on this list for weeks.

I'm sure there will be things I'll think of later that I'll wish I had added,

but as of today, here are the most interesting things I can think of that I've done/seen/accomplished over the past 50 years.

50 Interesting {to me} Things I've Seen/Done

In The Last 50 Years

(not in order of most interesting)

Awww

1. Gave birth to five beautiful kids.

2. Met my husband online. I call him my mail-order husband. He has five beautiful kids too.

Adventurous

3. Ridden in a hot air balloon

4. Zip lined on the Big Island, HA and in Ensenada, MX

5. Been on an Alaskan cruise (as of yesterday)

6. Flown closely over an active volcano

7. Helicoptered over Molokai and Maui, HA, saw the steepest coastal cliffs in the world.

8. Snorkeled many times in Hawaii

9. Kayaked to Captain Cook’s Monument

10. Climbed to the top of Mt Timpanogas (signed the book)

11. Scuba dived in the drifts in Cozumel

12. Snorkeled with sea lions in Mexico

13. Seen the Napali Coast in Kauai

14. Water skied Lake Powell

15. Snow skied CO and UT

16. Rappelled down a few cliffs

17. Drove coast to coast in a borrowed VW bug

18. Rode on an elephant

19. Boated with dolphins

20. Floated the Salt River (several times)

21. Eaten alligator

Other Travel

22. Times Square in NYC

23. Disneyworld

24. Niagra Falls

25. Toured many church history sites in the east, including Nauvoo, The Sacred Grove, the Whitney store, Hill Cumorah, etc.

Cool

26. Modeled swimsuits on the strip in Las Vegas

27. Was the ring girl for boxing matches in Las Vegas (my sister saw me on ESPN 2,500 miles away)

28. One night I had my own personal body guard

29. Won Miss Congeniality in a beauty contest

30. Attended an International Winter Olympics event

Really??

31. Met Gordon B. Hinckley in a private meeting with my family

32. Kissed David Hasselhoff

33. Met Alec Baldwin (he even gave my baby a banana)

34. Michael Ballam sang Happy Birthday to me on my 40^th birthday

35. Was life-flighted on my honeymoon from Mazatlan to SLC in a private Lear jet.

36. Been proposed to at least 7 times

37. Pretended to be blind for a whole day. In public.

38. Almost caught the whole neighborhood on fire (don’t play with matches!)

Random

39. Been to MX about 50 times.

40. Been to NASCAR in a cpl diff cities

41. Stung by a scorpion

42. Got comp’d great seats to Donna Summer in Las Vegas.

43. Comp’d the biggest hotel suite you've ever seen that had 2-story electric curtains opening up to the Vegas strip.

44. Been married 3 times, twice to the same man.

45. Lived in foster homes in high school (it was a really good thing, my parents were wayward, not me)

46. Sat front and center at Cirque du Soleil

47. Seen horse races at Del Mar

48. Been top salesperson for every sales job I've ever had.

49. I win a lot of great door prizes. Maybe I should be buying lottery tickets?? I've NEVER bought one....YET! (since writing that, a friend gave me a lottery ticket. I didn’t win. haha)

50. Horseback riding on the beach

I guess I should also mention that I'm the youngest of seven children.

NEVER have I seen all six of my siblings at the same time, and never will

(a couple of them have already passed away).

A few of my kids have already reviewed this list

and believe me, THEY HAD QUESTIONS!

I had some 'splainin to do.

I've come up with a Bucket List too.

Wanted to put 50 things on it, but honestly,

it's hard to come up with 50. Wow.

That's surprising. I'll keep working on it. :)

HAPPY ADVENTURES TO YOU!!!!
AND HAPPY FIFTY YEARS TO ME!!!!

Sea Side Reservations, Fish Tacos and Friends

2014-08-11T11:58:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again, when my two Utah BFF's, Janeal and Shelly come to town

and we head down to Rocky Point for a few days.

We have become creatures of routine.

First stop is always Combo Taco.

Just the thought of those tacos makes my husband drive faster to get there.

You seriously have not enjoyed Rocky Point to the fullest until you've eaten here.

(day 1 of tacos)

We ate there two days in a row.

(almost three)

The portions are generous, the price is cheap and

the tacos are the best we've ever had anywhere on this earth.

I always order the yellow pepper.

It's HOT!

(day 2 of tacos)

There is a big red canopy overhead, so it makes for some funky lighting.

Next, we head for the resort.

This trip we stayed at the Sonoran Sun,

courtesy of Sea Side Reservations.

The entire resort, inside and out, is gorgeous!

These Old Mexico paintings in the lobby are spectacular!

This painting depicts a fiesta in the courtyard of the resort.

That really is what the courtyard looks like...

SEE!

A view of the ocean right from the parking lot!

Our unit had two spacious bedrooms and two full bathrooms.

The origami towels were so cute!

I just love that touch of extra special.

We had a roomy fully equipped kitchen.

You've never seen so much camera snapping as with us three girls.

BUT JUST LOOK AT THAT VIEW!

We all agreed that the views from the Sonoran Sun balconies are as good or better

as anyplace located on Sandy Beach.

That's Old Port way back there behind Shelly's head.

Oh, I just have so much fun with these girls.

Getting pedi's is another thing we always do together.

(can you tell which feet are mine?)

This was right outside our favorite bakery.

Mango Man!

Other than my husband, this is my favorite guy on the beach!

He parks his cart in the sand right out in front of the Sonoran Sun.

He can turn a juicy mango into a piece of art,

complete with fresh lime juice and pico limon (fruit chile powder).

Ohmygosh...so good!

At least we eat something healthy down there.

Oh yes, beach all day!

We stake out a palapa for sun and shade.

The beach has wonderful sand and the ocean is so fun to swim in!

IT'S. NOT. COLD!

and

IT'S. NOT. DEEP!

We can wade around out there in the water for ages and stay comfortable.

Love it!

Tan and beautiful!

Enjoying another sunset dinner at Flavio's in Old Port.

You can see the high rises on Sandy Beach in the far background, including the Sonoran Sun.

Oh wow, something new.

I discovered that I actually do like clams on the shell. Mmmm, so good.

Thanks, Flavios! They surprised us with this special comp'd treat.

(it's not the first time...although the time they comp'd us with octupus,

I wasn't the least bit interested)

;)

Here we are, shopping on Shacks Fifth Avenue (the locals refer to it as Rodeo Drive),

which is an area with lots of lovely gift shops

where you can buy the finest silver, large pottery, Mexican vanilla, and everything in between.

Another MUST place where we always eat is El Pollo Lucas.

They serve the most incredible refried beans I've ever had.

In fact, I don't even eat the beans anywhere else 90% of the time.

Inside El Pollo Lucas.

Finally a photo with my husband in it.

The food is fast and extremely delicious.

You can order either chicken or chicken.

Another trip to La Tapatia panaderia.

~~I can't even tell you how to get to this bakery.~~

Here's how you get to this bakery.

We are obsessed with it!

My favorite pastry on earth is made in this bakery.

(I have several 'favorites' in Rocky Point)

Showing off our bags of goodies.

I should change my blog name to

SHE ATE EVERYTHING.

My husband was so good to take all these pictures of us.

Thanks, honey!

Here's what I have to say about Sea Side Reservations

(a reservation service for several different resorts and beach homes)

and The Sonoran Sun (the actual resort where we stayed):

The folks at Sea Side Reservations were wonderful to work with!

My husband has rented via Sea Side in the past for a beach home,

and was very pleased with them then, as well.

The personnel at the Sonoran Sun resort were extremely nice and very accommodating.

We supposedly had wifi in our room, but we couldn't get it to work properly.

We called the main desk and they REPLACED the router. Thereafter the wifi was great!

How's that for service?!! Thank you!

This resort does not offer poolside towels, and we did not come prepared with our own.

Just mentioning this so if you stay there, be sure to pack beach towels.

Other than that, everything was perfect and we really enjoyed our stay!

SEE YOU AT THE BEACH!!!

NOW SHOWING at Sweet Salvage

2014-07-22T12:19:00.001-07:00

This month's theme was NOW SHOWING!

The movie vignettes were incredible!

a castle and a poison apple can only mean one thing...

SNOW WHITE

ANNIE

CHARLOTTE'S WEB

FORREST GUMP

HARRY POTTER

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

THE NOTEBOOK

TITANIC

and UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN

There was so much more!

Ohmygoodness!

I sincerely am in love with Sweet Salvage!!!

Master Packing List - never forget anything again!

2014-07-22T11:13:00.001-07:00

We used to reinvent the wheel

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. we went on a trip.

I'd fret and fret over trying to remember to pack everything,

then we would almost always forgot something anyway!

Argh!

I started saving all my little scraps and notes with lists

and eventually we built one MASTER LIST

that makes packing awesomely smooth.

We never forget anything anymore!

Friends, this list is based on years and years of packing experience.

I have separate categories on my list,

because various adventures call for different types of packing.

AND TO MAKE IT EVEN EASIER...

I have the original list saved on my computer,

but since I rarely even use my computer,

I've figured out how to access it from my iPhone.

First: Download and set-up the free app DROPBOX

to your computer and your iPhone.

Save it onto your computer desktop.

This is amazing for accessing documents that you refer to regularly!

Second: Drag and drop documents from your computer into your DROPBOX,

ie your master packing list.

Anything you drop into your computer DROPBOX

will automatically appear onto your iPhone DROPBOX.

It's so slick and easy! I love that kind of magic!!

My husband says I tend to overpack.

He's probably right.

So now, would you like to have THEE LIST?

Here ya go:

DOWNLOAD THE PDF FILE HERE

Copy and paste from the list below.

JENKINS KID FARM MASTER PACKING LIST

BEACH:

●Water shoes

●Water noodles

●Sand toys

●Beach towels

●Sun umbrella

●Snorkels/goggles

●Gray shirts/wet suits

●Inner tubes

●backpacks

CAR:

●GPS

●Bonine {best motion sickness tab I've ever used!}

●CD’s

●IPod/Earphones

●Car cell phone chargers

●Atlas/map

●Car blanket

●Wipes

●Neck pillows

●body pillow

●Car Snacks

●iPads

●Books

●Water bottles

●Camera/batteries

●Games

●Frisbee

●Scriptures

●Movies

●Kleenex

●Birth certs/Passports {we're only 2 hrs from Mexico!}

●Extra batteries

●Rain umbrella

COOKING/KITCHEN/CAMPING

●Diet Dr. Pepper {cuz it's important!}

●Ice Chests

●Propane

●Pots/pans

●Serving utensils

●Hot dog sticks

●Condiments

●Knife/cutting board

●Plates/napkins

●Plastic silverware

●BBQ tools

●Pitcher

●Cleaning products

●Paper towels

●Water jug

●Cheese slicer

●Water bottles

●Cereal and milk

●Oil

●Salt/pepper/garlic

●Ziploc freezer bags

●Charcoal/Grill/lighter/starter

●Grocery/garbage bags

●Table cloths

●Dish soap

●Dishwasher soap

●Microwave popcorn {obsessed}

●Hot cocoa

●Prunes {no comment}

●Wood/Newspaper

●S’mores

●Nutella {Christmas and vacation only} {kids will kill me in my sleep if I forget it. We literally paid $8.00 for a small jar once at a resort cuz I forgot to pack it. Never again!}

●Food for planned meals

●Dog food

●Extra Table

TOOLS, ETC:

●Flashlights

●Axe

●Shovel/gloves

●Air compressor

●Chairs

●Tent/Tarp

●Helmet {for 4-wheeling}

BEDDING/LINENS

●Sleeping mat/air mattress

●Sleeping bags

●Blankets

●Sheets

●Bath towels

●Pillows

●Picnic blanket

FIRST AID/HYGIENE:

●Sunscreen

●Burn gel

●Vitamins

●Bug spray

●Cortisone cream

●First aid kit/Band-Aids

●Kids’ allergy meds

●Chapstick

●Soap/Nylon

●Toiletries

●Toilet paper

●Laundry soap/dryer sheets

KIDS’ PACKING LIST

●Swimsuit/swim shirt

●Shorts

●t-shirts

●Long pants

●Underwear

●Socks

●Tennis shoes/ flip flops

●Pajamas

●Toothbrush/toothpaste

●Jacket

●Hat

●Water spray bottle {for that wild hair}

●Hairbrush/comb

●Shampoo/conditioner

●church clothes {recently added, cuz yes, we've forgotten a couple of times} :/

MOM’S STUFF

●Jewelry {love that junk}

●Computer

●Fanny pack {see here}

●Wall Cell phone chargers

Is there anything YOU pack that isn't on MY list?

Maybe I'm forgetting something that I should be taking with me!

;)

HAPPY AND SAFE TRAVELS!

Banana Pineapple Nut Bread

2014-07-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Cuz let's face it, sometimes you just don't have enough rotten bananas!

Super Yum!

Banana Pineapple Nut Bread

makes 2 large loaves

Ingredients:

2 cups mashed ripe bananas

1 whole can pineapple chunks, blended until smooth & frothy

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

6 Tbs oil

1+ tsp vanilla (cuz I like a lot)

6 eggs

5 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix

1+ cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional, but I like a lot of these too!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease bottom only of loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches.

2. In large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, except Bisquick and nuts; stir until blended. Stir in Bisquick and nuts. Pour into prepared loaf pan.

3. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until toothpick in center comes out clean.

4. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaf from pan and remove to wire rack to cool completely.

This picture shows only some of the pineapples chunks from the can.

I ended up using the whole can!

We loved the hint of pineapple flavor, the extra texture &

mostly the extra moistness of the ~~cake~~ bread when using pineapple!

Maybe next time I'll add some coconut too and call it Pina Colada bread!

Aloha!

Summer Lovin at Sweet Salvage!

2014-07-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

I don't love Arizona summers, but I ALWAYS love Arizona's Sweet Salvage!

June was just as fun and adventurous as ever!

It's almost time for July's show, but I really wanted to share June's pickins with you first.

So many of the displays were Americana, and they are still so fun to see.

(I LOVE AMERICA!!!}

This cabinet really got my mind rolling.

We have a similar cabinet, only it has a gazillion drawers!

Wouldn't that be so pretty?!

I have literally run out of room in my crafting studio for big pieces,

but ohhhhh, this fella really wanted to come home with me.

I had to leave him behind. :(

If you've lost your marbles, I know where you can get some more.

Somebody put a LOT of work into this A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. bench!

The cushions and throw pillows are gorgeous!!!

Holy Cow, George Washington!

White dishes always catch my attention!

I love the splashes of red too!

Rustication at it's best!

These etched lanterns are adorable!

The color schemes were so eye-catching!

Dontcha just love this blue glass?!?!

Ohhhhh, there's always so much girly stuff too!

I just love it!

The next show is THIS WEEK!

Sweet Salvage is only open 4 days a month,

the third Thurs-Sun.

I heart Sweet Salvage!!!

And the best part?

My two Utah besties will be in town and will get to experience it for the first time!

I CAN'T WAIT!!!