Apple Cream Cheese-Stuffed French Toast

 We made this for dinner tonight and it was yummy!!

 It tasted more like a dessert so it wasn't the most healthy dinner we've ever had but it was goooood!

I'm not a big cream cheese person so I preferred mine with just the apples but everyone else had theirs with the cinnamon cream cheese and liked it but felt like maybe they were a bit soggy so I would only put a thin layer and that would be enough to get the taste inside.

You can find the recipe HERE for this fun fall meal :)

Twice-Baked Sweet Potato

Well, I randomly had 2 sweet potatoes in my kitchen today along with some feta cheese in my fridge which happen to make me one happy girl!

 I was scrolling through Pinterest this afternoon wondering what I should experiment with today and came across THIS recipe. I was so excited to see I had everything waiting for me in my kitchen. Wahoo!! 

These were delicious and had sooo much flavor!! 

*I didn't add as much butter as they asked for (prob. about 2 T) next time I'll probably try without.

*Also, I must have skipped over the part in the directions that said to mix in the feta cheese and thyme before putting them back in the oven. So, I just sprinkled them both on top when I took them out. 

These really are really good!!

Streamers/Balloons Backdrop

OK,  I understand this picture is sort of ghetto BUT I was totally stressed with the Halloween party we had this weekend and I didn't have a chance to get a good pic. You get the idea though, right?!

So, our Halloween party was candy corn themed so everything was orange, yellow and white. I bought streamers and balloons in those colors for behind the food table with the idea I got HERE.

I took the streamers and twisted them down alternating colors. We covered about 4 yards worth of wall and it took FOREVER!! 3 people helped me with this and it took us TWO hours!! Holy crap! 

I think it looks cute but oh my! Not sure if I'd take the time for that one again, ha! 

Anyway, if you like this idea just make sure you plan enough time to execute! 

Monster Cake

I had to make a cake for a Halloween party cake walk and decided to attempt this bad boy! 

I saw it on Pinterest forever ago and loved it but never had a reason to make it until now!!

They judged the cakes before the cake walk began and this thing won first place!! Oh yeah!!

I went to Joann's and bought a frosting tip that is suppose to make frosting grass and used that for the hairy look. This took me about an hour to frost the whole thing that way but I LOVE how it turned out!

Then I made my cake pops, dipped them in chocolate and once that hardened I used my butter cream to stick the googly eyes on and then piped the "hair" all around the eyes too!

THIS is where I got this Monster idea from and this website has TONS of awesome cakes and ideas!!

** In her monster cake she used a star tip. I decided I wanted mine "hairy" but I think both ways are cute!

Candy Jars

I LOVE how these turned out!

I'm in charge of throwing a Halloween party this Saturday and needed some prizes for a few games. This is what I came up with (with the help of Pinterest, obviously!)

THIS is where I found this idea.

There are TONS of cute Halloween ideas on this site!

Alphabet Fishing

I thought this was a really cute idea and a fun way to practice our letters.

When I put it all together we found out that the paper clip was too weak to pick up our letters. I tried adding more to make it stronger and it still didn't work. It could be because our letters are made of wood and are a little heavier.

I do plan on getting a stronger magnet from Joann's later to make this work because seriously, how cute is this?!

THIS is where I got this idea from!

There are tons of fun ideas for the kiddo's on this site!

7 Day Potty Training

 I'm so disappointed! 

I read THIS entire article and even took notes while reading! I did everything step by step with a very aware 2.5 year old and I all I got was a week of messes all over my carpet and in her hello kitty "big girl" underwear!

I started taking her to the bathroom with me and getting REALLY excited about going potty, I even gave ME treats in front of her. I let her pick out her undies, we had her incentive in the bathroom and NOTHING! 

I suppose I'm just going to have to wait her out.... :)

I'm sure that article has helped several mom's with their kiddo's but I'm sad to report it was a fail for us. :(

My husband teases my when I tell him that Pinterest has changed my life. Ha. But if Pinterest could help me potty train my kiddo I would be forever in it's debt! :)

Pumpkin Bowling

Ok, $2 dollars for the toilet paper and $.69 for the mini pumpkin (Which I had the kiddo paint for a separate activity a few days ago). Such a fun, inexpensive Halloween activity! 

We wanted to play this inside so we used a mini pumpkin instead of the bigger pumpkin to ensure we wouldn't have a mess on our hands!  

This is awesome for the kiddo's!

Click HERE to see where I got this idea along with some other fun fall fun activities! 

Crock Pot Cinnamon Almonds

First of all, my house smelled like heaven this afternoon while these were cooking and if that weren't enough they tasted even better than they smelled!  

I have made another version of cinnamon almonds using a recipe I found on Pinterest about a year ago and wasn't impressed. This recipe rocked! 

HERE is the recipe

-I used plain, raw almonds for mine and I will also mention that when/if you make these choose a day that you're going to be home for FOUR straight hours because they do need to be stirred every 20-30 minutes. 

-Also for mine I felt like there was way too much of the sugar mixture for just 3 cups of almonds so I added about another 1.5 cups. I was happy about that. 

Polar Express Hot Chocolate

Well, my friends and I decided to have a 'tea party' with our little girls and instead of tea we served this delicious hot chocolate!

We devoured it so fast that I didn't actually get a picture of mine so this picture is courtesy of 

honeyandfitz.blogspot.com

This is the thickest hot chocolate I've ever had! We had to add milk to it so it wasn't so thick and too rich. It was still pretty rich but I REALLY liked it! I probably wouldn't recommend this to anyone that isn't a fan of thicker drinks because even with the added milk it definitely had some texture but it tasted delish!

Click HERE to find the recipe!!

Lost Socks

Well, I've finally had it!!

 It seems I am always finding a single sock and wondering where I put the other one so I wouldn't forget or loose it. Now I'll know exactly where all the missing socks are! Yay!

( I know, I know... all the lame things a mom gets excited about!)

So, I had an extra piece of wood waiting around for the perfect project. I dug it out, painted it then modge podged paper on top. Then I cut the letters just on paper using my cricut and modge podged those puppies on. Slapped on a few painted clothing pins and Wa-lah! 

I tried to copy the link from Pinterest where I got the idea from but the link is no longer available. I actually didn't click it on before I made this, I just went off of the picture... sooooo, sorry. No link :)

Rolo Pencil

How cute is this?!

 I saw this idea on Pinterest and needed a quick, easy gift for someone so I threw this together! It cost nearly nothing and took me 5 minutes!! 

Just need:

Rolo roll

Hershey kiss

colored paper 

tin foil

adhesive

ribbon

So fun! 

HERE is where I got the idea!

Yoga

 Last spring I developed a love for pilates and yoga. I attended classes and noticed a big difference in many aspects of my every day life. Recently I've taken up a new hobby. Running. I don't love running, I don't think  I even like running. I just happened to sign up for a half marathon on a night that I over ate and felt huge and now I'm stuck preparing for it so I don't die. 

Anyway, every day when I get home from my run and do all my stretches and then I lay against the wall with my legs straight up and RELAX. I've done this in the past but when I came across it on Pinterest I read more into it and it is meant to relieve tired/cramped legs and feet. It also helps with stretching, lower backaches, and mind relaxation. 

This is awesome! I totally feel like this has helped with my stretching and relaxation after my runs each day and I have even found myself laying like this randomly through out my day just to relax. 

(Picture courtesy of Yogajournal.com)

THIS site is AWESOME and has a lot of great information and ideas!

Oh, Pinterest. How you have changed my life! :)

Candy Corn Craft

I realized tonight that I am in love with candy corns! Every craft I've done this year seems to be candy corn oriented and my Halloween party I'm planning this year is also candy corn themed! 

I just love them!

Tonight we decided to tear yellow, orange and white pieces of paper up and glue them into a candy corn shape. My 2 year old loved this!! 

I think it turned out pretty darn cute :)



I got this idea HERE along with a lot of other great Halloween ideas for the kiddos!!

General Conference goody bags

Well, I have been looking forward to this weekend for a while. I love General Conference! For those of you that aren't familiar, every 6 months The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has a 'general conference' where the Prophet and all our church leaders gather in Salt Lake City, UT and speak. It's broadcast worldwide! It is wonderful!!  Here is a link if you want to check it out!!

Anyway, this time I planned ahead and printed out a picture of each of the 12 Apostles and each member of the First Presidency. Then I created a package with either a treat or game or both and taped a picture on each package. Then, when that person got up to speak we could open our surprise and enjoy!! 

This was awesome!! We stayed awake the WHOLE time (which watching from the comforts of your living room can sometimes be challenging to do!) which is great and had so much fun making what I think is now a new family tradition!! 

HERE is where this idea came from along with other printables, like coloring pages for all the Apostles as well. (Which I printed and had attached to every package for our 2 year old!)

Oh, Liquid Stitch...

Where have you been my whole life?!

I am NOT a sewer. However, I do own a sewing machine and supplies and every once in a while I take on a project that I think I can make without following any kind of pattern and basically do the whole thing using the 'trial and error' method. 

This year for Halloween I wanted my 2 year old to be 'Jessie' from Toy Story and I wasn't satisfied with any costume I could buy. I went to my husband with my frustration and that's when he turned to me and said, "why don't you just make it?"  Hmmmm. There's an idea. Well, I let that sit for a few days and then decided, why not?! I bought all my fabric and got to work. 

Let's just say, there is NO way I would have been able to finish this Jessie shirt with out the magic that is LIQUID STITCH!  I was looking up sewing tips and idea's on Pinterest and came across a picture of this stuff and felt intrigued. I went to Joann's and bought me some with my 50% off coupon and THIS STUFF IS AWESOME!  

I was a little nervous at first because I had white, smeared liquid stitch all over my shirt (mostly because I had no idea what I was doing and just worked with my fingers crossed)  but it dries clear and I don't think that red rope is going anywhere anytime soon!

Seriously, if you have any projects coming up with tricky parts to sew you need to own a bottle of this stuff!! 

Chocolate Frosting shot

Well, I finally got a good can of coconut milk that thickened in the fridge. (I've attempted with TWO cans that didn't work).  I got my mixer out and mixed it for what seemed like FOREVER and I could not get this stuff to thicken!!  Sooooo, no dessert for us tonight.  I tasted what I did end up with and wasn't a fan... BOO.

My picture isn't  the best but you can see the sloppy mess...

This is the beauty I was going for...

(Picture courtesy of  http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com)

HERE is the link

Baked Banana Chips

I finally got around to making one of our families favorite snacks. 

Banana chips!!

These are what I was expecting when I opened my oven after the 4 hour baking period...

This is what I found...

LAME!!!

I didn't even want to try them. Ha. 

So sad...

** I'm starting to gather that any pin on Pinterest that doesn't have a solid link to it and just has directions in the caption on the pin DOESN'T WORK! This being one of them...

Here were the instructions I followed :

Slice banana into thin chips, dip in lemon juice, and spread on a cookie sheet. Bake for 2 hours @ 200 degrees and flip. Bake for another 1.5-2 hours or until crisp. Homemade banana chips!

Coconut Quinoa Pudding

LOVE THIS! 

I've been wanting to make this for a while but haven't been able to find vanilla bean at a price I was willing to pay for it. Well, the day came and I finally found 2 vanilla beans for $3! What a great day! 

I came right home and began making our treat for the night but didn't realize I was going to be standing in the kitchen babysitting it for an hour!!! That tweaked our plans a bit but it was totally worth it!! 

Coconut + Vanilla + Cinnamon= DELICIOUS! 

HERE is the recipe

** We REALLY liked this however, like I mentioned I literally had to sit in the kitchen and babysit it the whole time because she suggests stirring every couple minutes. 

Worth it! 

Greek Omelet

Confession: I didn't find this on Pinterest.

 My husband I were in Massachusetts last month visiting good friends and they made this for us for breakfast  the first morning we were there. It was SO DELICIOUS that the day we got home I went to Costco on a mission for a huge thing of Feta cheese and organic spinach! I have made this daily since we've been back and I HAVE to share it!! 

Greek Omelets

Saute a good size handful of spinach in your choice of oil then set aside.

Cook 2 eggs then throw the spinach back on with feta cheese and tomato then fold in half...

Enjoy!!

Oh my word, I'm salivating just writing this!!