I have been really getting into Spring lately {a little late, I know} but I’m ready for the warm weather and bright colors.  Unfortunately my living room is decorated in mostly dark colors {the downside of taking second-hand furniture from family}. The couch is navy blue and dark green with stripes of red and gold. Super comfy but super dark. So, I’ve been looking all around Etsy for some pillows to brighten up the room.

How cute is this? So simple, yet it would give my living room a nice pop of color. And talk about Spring!  A few pretty flowers could do the trick. 25.00

This pillow would pretty much be perfect because my living room wall color is a blueish-grey and the yellow of this flower would match the gold of the couch. Love it! 31.00

This one would look amazing in my bedroom…. however  it would be throw up on my couch.  But I just loved the whole quilted look to it {very shabby chic} and really just had to share. 38.00

I really think this one could work for me but I would have to make it myself with a pattern in the middle that goes a bit better with the ol’ couches. However it doesn’t look very hard. Oh this may be the one. 33.00

Eeeek! I’m totally into birds right now and this pillow just “tweets” at me.  I don’t think my hubby would be too keen on it but I love them none-the-less. 35.00

Well, these would ultimately be perfect.  The colors are bright, the print is vintage modern {and not too extreme for the stripes of the couches} and my hubby loves orange.  Too bad, they are  sold. Grrr…

Well, I didn’t find one to buy today… but I do have some great ideas for making my own.  Stick around to see what I end up with.  Next Thursday I’ll reveal them in all their glory!

Handmade Thursday’s: Etsy Spring Pillows

Wordless Wednesday: Plushy Hangout

I know that Spring is coming to an end so for me to put up a “Spring Cleaning” post might be bit late upon arrival.  But I have been desperately desiring to purge my home lately. I’ve been so busy the last month or two and my whole home as just gone to the pits.  It needs a serious cleaning and organizing. Which I’ll get to.  Yeah, I think I’m going to blog about that.  I’ll take pictures as I go through each area of my home (including the ever-frightening car port storage… eek!) and give you tips and any advice or help you may need if you are late in your “spring” cleaning too.  But for today I have to just  start with basic cleaning. I know that I need to keep it picked up and clean everyday or the massive purge will just never happen. Here are some quick cleaning tips I’ve picked up over the years that have saved me.

• Purge. Okay, so I know I am going to do this later but in reality this should be done first.  A real spring cleaning where you get rid of stuff you don’t need or use anymore and reorganize helps you start with a clean slate. Git it done!
• Pick up after yourself. If you get into any kind of project, bake, cook etc., clean up after you are done.  This seems like it would be self-explanatory, however I know plenty of people {myself included at times} who start things like a craft project and then have to stop for the day and just don’t clean up. But if I don’t pick up when I’m done, there’s clutter on the kitchen table, bags of fabric everywhere and the house looks a mess.  So, clean up! Otherwise you’ll have to spend an entire day doing a huge clean up.
• Keep table and counter tops clear. I know this seems redundant but what I’m saying here is to put away things you don’t use everyday or need everyday.  Has your kitchen counter become a breeding ground for electric devices? Mine has. My counters are so small that I can’t hold more than my coffee maker and microwave. But think about your bathroom counters, you coffee table, and bedroom dresser. Do they hold more than they should? It probably looks cluttered and gross…. I know. I get it.
• Create clutter solutions all around your home.  This is one of my favorite things to talk about, write about and live.  The simplest way to clean up clutter is to place baskets or containers in places where clutter collects:  The front door for shoes and bags, the closet floors, the living room for magazines and blankets and the kitchen for keys and mail.Now lets get to the nitty, gritty of …. the gritty….

• Clean up spills right away. Your microwave and fridge will thank you later. And you’ll thank yourself cause you won’t have to scrub your wrist off a month later. And if that microwave just won’t clean for you after you’ve left splatters for that whole month, here’s a tip: Microwave water for 5 minutes to loosen it all up. Aaaand…. if the refrigerator has dried on spills, place a wet sponge on it, close the door and wait 20 min., then wipe the spill away.
• Remove those spots. A tip I’ve picked up for spot removing when I’m out of products is to use 3% topical hydrogen peroxide and an iron instead.  That’s right.  Just pour the peroxide on the stain, place a damp white rag over it and press it gently with a hot iron for 15-20 minutes.  The stain will transfer to the cloth.
• Keep ‘em close. Keep cleaning supplies and surface wipes around your home for quick wipe downs everyday. This should include microfiber cloths and dusters. It’s easier to keep the dirt and dust down when you wipe it up each day.

Well, hope these have helped.  And look out for that purging post I was talking about.  I promise I’ll get it going soon.

Quick Cleaning Tips

Wedding gifts are difficult for both newlyweds and guests. Guests aren’t sure what to buy, and usually have a price range they’d like to keep. And the bride and groom don’t know where it’s best to register and what price range they should stay within. There’s also always the possibility that relatives will come with a surprise gift that you didn’t ask for, but they just knew you’d love. Couples can save the stress of registering with multiple stores or confining all gifts to one store while trying to keep a decent price range (while knowing how much every gift they received costs — kinda takes the fun out of it). And, guests can also no longer have to scope out multiple registries hoping affordable gifts are still available, while also wondering if they’ve spent enough on the item (because, as I mentioned, the couple knows the prices). Something that is meant to be sweet and caring can turn into a headache quite quickly for both parties. So, for those hoping to lose the stress on both the couple and the guests, consider an alternative wedding gift registry.

photo @Middle of the Map Weddings

1.) Honeymoon Fund

This may be the current most popular gift registry idea. Rather than asking for specific items, the couple asks for guests to donate to fund for something. Usually funds are created for two things. Most commonly it’s as a honeymoon fund to help send the newlyweds off on a dream trip. This could be done simply with a jar at the reception or more technologically with a established fund at Honey Fund. Honey Fund is free and very customizable. With it, you can receive the money gifts before the wedding and therefore use it to plan your honeymoon. With the jar at the reception option, you will recoup the expenses you’ve already spent on the trip, or use them to plan a honeymoon at a later date. So, the method you choose is all a matter of time and presentation. There are also other websites that can be used, such as Upon Our Star.

2.) House Fund

The second type of fund is for a house for them to begin their lives together. This may be to help save up for a downpayment on their first house or to help renovate an old fixer-upper that was just bought. It’s all about making a home for the happy new couple. Hatch My House is a great website to use as a registry if this is what you’d like to do. It can be used to establish a fund for a downpayment or to break down each element of the house that needs to be paid for, so guests can choose what exactly they’d like to pay for. To make everything a little more real also, you actually create your house when you create your registry, so guests can get an idea (even if vague) just what your house will be.

photo @Build Direct

3.) Common Items you Use 

To help stock that new home with practical items and save newlyweds from receiving things, such as crystal stemware and fondue sets that will only be used when the gift-giver comes to visit, ask for things that you will always have a use for. This may mean a broom, soap, cleaning supplies, and possibly a few more permanent items such as a toaster or blender. This idea somewhat coincides with Greek customs. For Greek weddings, the newlyweds get their entire home stocked from top to bottom with everything they could possibly need. I’ve witnessed this myself and it’s pretty amazing. . All cupboards are filled to the top and the house is set up in a way that they can walk in the door and just begin their lives as husband and wife. So, ask for the items that you know you will need, so your guests can save you large and frequent trips to the store. And to escape multiple registries or confining to one store, use online registries such as Gift Registry 360 or Simple Registry.

4.) Daily Coupon Deals

Ask for coupons, not for the grocery store, but from daily deal websites. Refer guests to Yipit, Lifebooker, Living Social and more so that they can buy coupons to restaurants, hotels, salons, spas and more to keep you busy with fun and useful activities throughout the first year of your marriage. Just create a fillable Google spreadsheet giving some outlines of your interests and tastes, so guests have an idea what to buy. Link that spreadsheet to your wedding website as your registry, and let guests fill it out when they buy a daily deal, so no one double buys. You’ll be surprised with how many new places and activities you will discover in your city and you will also have date night plans and relaxing spa days for a long time to come. Best of all, your guests will be able to get great gifts at a fraction of the cost saving them money.

5.) Charity Donations

Last but not least is the option of charitable donations. It’s not a new idea, but is as important as ever. If you can spare your wedding gifts, consider giving it to those in need. Just Give makes it easy to for your guests give to your favorite charities. You can add charities of your choice to your registry on Just Give and your guests can choose which to give to.

Whether you choose a traditional or alternative wedding registry, make sure it’s what you want and you will be sure to enjoy it.

5 Alternative Wedding Gift Registries

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

I just started using this text app called POWOW Messenger for Android a few days ago.  Before that, I was just using the my phone's default text platform.  I thought the only purpose for texts apps was to get free unlimited texting.  And since we already have an unlimited text plan, I never really thought I needed it. Let me just say, I was ill-informed.

This app is sooo much better than my phone's standard system.  All of its features work together to systematically organize your texting experience.  Here are the highlights of my favorite things:

• It allows you to create 'groups' in which all of the contacts in each one can read and respond to each other's texts.  Its like FaceBook in text form!
• It has a ZipIT category that allows you to blacklist contacts you don't want to hear from or just mute notifications from them.  Conversely there is a favorites section that allows you to only be notified about texts from your very favorite people!
• It allows you to utilize Google's voice input technology to speak your texts rather than typing.  I hate those little touch screen buttons, so this is delightful.
• The screen just looks better.

Like most apps, you can get the ad supported version for free.  Or you can upgrade to Powow Pro and do away with the ads.  I personally don't mind the ads, I I think that I will stick with the freebie for now.  Either way though, this app is definitely worth the download.

Powow App Streamlines Texting

Isaiah 30:21

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.

I know normally I don’t say anything after the scripture and that’s because God does the talking in your heart.  I don’t need to add my two cents about it.  However today I feel that I do…. Sorry. This verse struck me today because as a Christian, it is imperative that we hear this “word behind us”, this guiding force, the Holy Spirit. I know that at times I have struggled to hear it and usually it is when I have wandered from God or am in a time of disobedience.  I think His voice is still there, in that place, but I have taken a stroll a bit further away and I can’t hear Him very well. I have bad ears anyway….

Basically, what I wanted to say to anyone who may be in need of hearing a guiding word, is return to the Lord. You can hear Him much better when He’s holding you.  Or when you are at His feet. Or….. When you are walking {in faith} and He’s standing right behind you, telling you where to go.

Sunday Scripture

We seem to be on a country kick lately with weddings (blame me missing Colorado), but I have another beautiful country wedding. This time though, it is full-fledged country complete with a splendid combination of strong colors and plenty of wood. The decor, while bold in color contrast is actually not complex. Less is more in this charming mountain shindig, as it always is with country weddings. This wedding pertains more to the reception than the ceremony, and there is plenty of inspiration to be found for the reception here. Enjoy the cowboy hats and old tins cups that make this affair sweet and special.

Photos @Style Me Pretty
Wedding Production & Design: Lisa Vorce – Oh, How Charming! ~ Floral & Wedding Design: Mindy Rice / Wedding Lighting & Design: Barker Decor Service ~ Makeup: Fiore Beauty ~ Hair: Marilee Albin~ Paper: Papel Paper & Press and Tiny Pine Press ~ Wedding Photography: Aaron Delesie

Wedding of the Week: Country Cowboy

I have already done a few little things for Teachers Appreciation Week, but I hadn’t done anything individually for my son’s teacher.  A woman who, in my humble opinion, is the standard that all teachers should aspire to reach.  I have been so touched by her words and actions throughout the year and just feel blessed to know her.  So naturally, I wanted to do something special for her.  The caveat is that she does not like to be fawned over and she doesn’t like extravagant gifts.  This is refreshing because, quite frankly, I am pretty tapped out of energy as we come to the close of the school year; but it forces creativity when we want to give her something special.

Aiden and I decided to make her a bookmark.  It’s simple, thoughtful and compliments her love of books.  I like to think that it will remind her of Aiden when she uses it years from now.  I had originally planned on making her this cute bird design, but once we were at the store our blueprint changed a bit.  We ended up just getting a few packages of papercrafting adornments and some cardstock.  It was on sale at 40% off, so we ended up spending a little over $5.  We made 4 bookmarks (the other 3 were for my Asa’s lovely preschool teachers) and had enough left over to make at least a dozen more.  Which works out nicely, because they turned out so pretty that now I want one.

Supplies

• 1 sheet of cardstock
• your choice of adornments
• glue
• scissors
• scrapbooking scissors
• stapler

Instructions

1. Cut strips from your cardstock in the desired length and width (I did about 1.5 x 6 in.) using scrapbooking scissors with a pretty pattern.  I only had a pair of kids’ pattern scissors laying around.  They did the job, but a ‘grown-up’ pair probably would have been better
2. Choose a large adornment to serve as your top ‘flap’.  Cut a circle of cardstock that covers as much of the back of your adornment as you can without it being seen from the front.
3. Staple the cardstock circle to the top of the cardstock strip.  Glue your chosen adornment to the cardstock circle.
4. Embellish the rest of the cardstock with smaller adornments.  Don’t be afraid to cut them up if you need to.
5. I also printed out a little quote about teaching (Often when I am reading a good book, I stop and thank my teacher.) If you would like to do this, just open a Word doc and format it to have 4 columns.  Keep the font size at 10 and and type your words into one of the columns.  This gave me the perfect size to print and paste onto the bookmark.

Handmade Bookmarks

So last week I went over some really great ideas for putting together a DIY Spa Mother’s Day gift and was planning on posting about something else this week, however I have been receiving some phone calls from friends and family members asking me for more Mothers Day gift ideas.  So, I thought perhaps you have been procrastinating on your gifts for Mother’s Day {which is this Sunday by the way….} and maybe I can help you pull out something memorable, easy and last minute, so here we go!

Mother’s Breakfast and Letters

First let me tell you about this one.  A few years ago my parents went on a trip to Holland with some family friends from their youth and it just happened to fall over Mother’s Day.  She was really upset about it but there was nothing that could be done.  I wanted to make sure she felt loved by her children when she was half-way across the country on a river boat.  So, I had all my siblings write her a note telling her just how they are feeling about her. Then I put all of the items shown in a box and gave them to my step-dad and asking him to be sure she received them first thing in the morning.  She said that it was such a surprise and she really enjoyed her granola and tea on her river boat in Amsterdam. This is the perfect gift if you don’t live close to your Mother and won’t be seeing her on this special day.  She will really love to be thinking of you as she eats her breakfast.

Patchwork Greeting Cards

If you are handy on a sewing machine {or just know the basics} these next few may just be for you! But let’s talk about these greeting cards first.  I love sewing on cards, it’s so much fun and helps you create something with a personal touch.  I think these would be a great idea for your grandmother or a mother in your life that you just want to give a little something to. I would make about 5-7 of these and then wrap them with a ribbon as a greeting card se they can give out when they need to.

Sewing Kit in a Jar

This is the perfect gift for a sewing woman in your life.  It’s even better if she’s just starting out learning to sew and could use this cute little sewing kit to help her along. But in all reality, every woman needs a little sewing kit to fix buttons, stitch a quick hole in something and well…. you get the picture.  If you want to give this to someone who does not know anything about hand stitching, you could even include  a small print out of hand stitching “how-to’s” like this one. I just want this to hold all my pins!

Fabric Wrapped Frame

My sister loves pictures and as a Creative Memories Consultant she often buys their shadow boxes and creates some really great ways to remember life.  However I wanted to make something just as fun but not as intricate and expensive.  Plus, I have some old picture frames lying around so I searched for what I could do. This is what I found. It’s a great tutorial. I made my own and had a ton of fun with it.

Pioneer Woman Brownies

Now I know, I know these are a craft, but if you lack craftiness and still want to make something for your mother what’s better than sweets? And let me tell you that these brownies from The Pioneer Woman are indescribable.  She’s amazing and all her recipes turn out faboo for me so why not throw these on a plate, give your mom a handmade card like this one I made and you will be all set!

Handmade Thursdays: More Mothers Day Gift Ideas

Last week my son’s class had an Italian themed dinner.  I, of course, signed up to bring dessert–and pasta, and centerpieces, and set up an Italian soda station…blah, blah–but this post is about the dessert.  I wanted to find something painfully authentic, and not too common.  I wanted to bring a little Italian history to our diners.  It took a lot of searching, but I found it.  I caught a glimpse of them on a pin of an Italian dessert table.  Great big cookies that were the spitting image of juicy peaches.  They weren’t labeled so I started googling ‘Italian peach cookies’.  There they were as if they were just waiting for me, Pesche Con Crema.  They are a celebration cookie traditionally reserved for bridal showers, weddings and holidays.  Most of the posts I read were by people trying to recreate the cookie that their little old Italian grandmothers would make to wow! everyone.  They are generally filled with plum jam or Crema Pasticcera (a vanilla custard), but some regional variations include lemon curd, Nutella, ganache and a variety of jam flavors.

I decided to go with the Crema Pasticcera.  But I lined the cavities with peach jam first.  My main reason was that the recipe seem to lack the punch of peach flavor one would expect when you see these cookies.  A side benefit of the lining was that it would prevent the mushiness some other bakers had complained about when the cookies sat with the cream filling for too long.  I also had to substitute the liquor with a simple syrup made from peach juice since this was a family friendly event.  It was a tedious recipe, but not a difficult one.  After a few hours of mixing, cutting, filling and dipping; we were rewarded with a basket full of ripe looking peaches.

I adapted this recipe from Rosetta Costantino’s recipe featured on Martha Stewart.  There is a video link there where you can watch her make them with Martha.  She is a delightfully sweet lady.  Her charming personality made me run out and buy her book.  The rave reviews and this perfect recipe didn’t hurt either.

Ingredients

Makes 24 Peaches

• For the Pastry Cream

  • 2 cups whole milk
  • Zest of 1 lemon, removed in large strips with a vegetable peeler
  • 4 large egg yolks
  •  3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

• For the Dough

  • 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  •  3 large eggs
  •  3/4 cup sugar
  •  3/4 cup milk
  •  1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  •  Grated zest of 1 orange

• For Assembling Peaches

  •  1/2 cup peach juice (I used some peach lemonade that I had in the pantry)  plus 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/4 cup peach jam
  •  Red and yellow food coloring
  • 1 cup sugar, or more as needed for coating
  • Fresh mint or peach leaves

Directions

1.  Make the pastry cream:  In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring milk and lemon zest to a simmer over medium heat.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale yellow; add flour and whisk until well combined.
2. Remove lemon zest from milk and discard; slowly whisk hot milk into egg mixture.  Return mixture to saucepan and place over medium heat; cook, stirring constantly, until cream thickens and begins to boil.
3.  Transfer pastry cream to a large bowl; cover with plastic wrap, pressing down on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.  Let cool completely.
4.   Make the dough:  In a large bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.  Whisk eggs in another large bowl.  Add sugar and whisk to combine.  Whisk in milk, butter, and lemon zest until smooth.  Gradually add flour mixture, mixing with a fork, until dough is smooth and stiff.  Let dough rest for 5 minutes.
5.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
6. Using a lightly mounded tablespoon of dough, roll the dough firmly between your palms to make a smooth round ball, about the size of a walnut.  Repeat process, taking care to make sure all the balls are fairly uniform in size.  Place balls on prepared baking sheets spacing about 1 inch apart; you should be able to fit 24 balls on each baking sheet.  Flatten tops slightly with your fingertips.
7.  Transfer to oven and bake until bottoms are lightly browned, about 15 minutes; tops will remain pale.  Transfer to a rack and let cool slightly.
8. Assemble the peaches:  While the cookies are still warm, use a small, sharp knife to cut a circle about the size of a quarter on the bottom (flat) side of each cookie, taking care not to crack the edges.  Use the tip of the knife to scrape out enough crumbs to make hollow and hold about 1 teaspoon pastry cream.  Set cookies aside.
9.  Bring peach juice and 2 tbsp of sugar to a boil.  Allow it to simmer until it thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.  Divide into 2 small bowls.  Add red food coloring to one and yellow to the other to create your desired shades of color; set aside.  I did a 2:1 ratio of yellow and red dyed syrups since you need more yellow.  I also used gel coloring rather that the drops.  It created really intense colors with just a dab of gel.  Fill a shallow bowl with sugar; set aside.
10. Spread a thin layer of peach jam over each cookie’s hollowed center.  Fill each hollowed-out cookie with 1 teaspoon filling.  Sandwich two cookies together so that the filling comes just to the edge.  Be careful not to use too much filling or it will get runny.  Using a pastry brush, brush the red syrup on about 1/4 of your peach.  Then brush the entire peach with yellow syrup, blending the colors to make it look like a real peach.  Blot away any excessive juice and roll in sugar to coat.  The peach coloring will intensify while it sits.  Transfer to a large container and repeat process with remaining cookies, syrup, and sugar.  Transfer to refrigerator; let chill overnight.
11. Before serving, pierce each “peach” with a toothpick where the two cookies come together and insert the stem of a mint or peach leaf.

Check out these adorable centerpieces Asa and I made too!

Pesche Con Crema–An Italian Delight