high five for friday

FRIDAY! it may be rainy and overcast outside but hey, it's still friday.
today i am linking up with lauren from my grey desk for high five for friday!

1. um spring has officially sprung! this might be my favorite part of this week.
2. planning an engagement party for my best friend and her fun fiancé - ahh! love saying that!
3. dinner with my favorite girls. always a good time. just love them. {ok so this picture wasn't exactly taken at this dinner and we didn't drink margs, but its mexican and thats what we ate so it counts right?}
4. playing with this sweet face.
5. tickets to a reds game were purchased..yahoo!

HAPPY FRIDAY Y'ALL.
XO

easter fun

so as the saying goes, its better late than never.. right?
well easter was a couple weeks ago but i realized i never blogged about the goodies i made, and we all know that's a must! i know i told y'all about the spinach dip i made but let's get down to the...

good stuff.

i'm all about the good stuff. i'm talking the chocolatey, salty, chewy good stuff!

lets start with these tasty pretzel chocolate treats...

these are addicting. i'm warning you. :) and even worse, they are so easy. two baaad combinations. 

you can just add in different colors of chocolates and m&ms and boom! you can serve with any holiday party or theme! great, right? i used green white and black for st.patricks day and these bright cheery colors for easter. so here we go..

line cookie sheet with pretzels  i used square pretzels

drop wilton candy melts on each pretzel  you can find these in the baking aisle at party city, or even walmart.. they come in any color imaginable - yellow green purple blue pink and so on

place in oven for 30 seconds - 2 min  this really depends on your oven but keep a close eye on the goodies. you just want chocolate to melt just a wee bit

squish m&ms on each candy melt  ok not really squish but as soon as pan comes out of oven, put m&ms on each melt - this needs to be done quickly before chocolate hardens (grab extra hands if you have 'em)

wait till chocolate cools & enjoy  need them now? pop them in the freezer

see? so. easy. 

next up.. tweet tweet treats {say that ten times.}

i must say, i took this idea from my absolute favorite blogger love from the oven. shes so wise & creative with her sweets.

i mean, who doesn't think of twitter when they see these cute blue peeps?

to make these peep pops, i just stuck a black straw (only because i wanted the stick to be black - but cake pop sticks work great) into a blue peep and since the sides are white from pulling them apart i dump a few blue sprinkles in that empty spot and violá! and the signs are made with washi tape. :)

now for the fun part - decorating the eggs. i wanted to do something super fun but just went with the standard decorating box and called it a day. 

{maybe next year} 

i also whipped up some strawberry cupcakes as treats for my parents.

well y'all how was your easter? any sweet treats you want to share?

XO

dip dip we all love DIP!

this past weekend i decided to take a dip over to my parents so we could have something to munch on before our big easter feast of ham and greens that evening. i mean, who doesn't love a good dip? i wanted to try something new and {somewhat} healthy - so i took a peek at pinterest, of course, and this is what i found.. feta and spinach dip.
it screams creativity, don't ya think?

{i actually found this sitting in my car in the target parking lot - quickly made my list - and then ventured inside. i actually do this quite often - and believe it or not, i'm usually quite the planner. i often find the best recipes this way though, including this one!}

creamy feta spinach dip

1-8oz container of plain low-fat yogurt  i used greek

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese  i used the entire 4oz pkg

1/4 cup low-fat cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup low-fat sour cream

1 garlic clove, crushed

1-1/2 cups finely chopped spinach

1 tbsp minced fresh dill

1/8 tsp black pepper

fresh dill  optional, and i did not use

spoon yogurt onto several layers of heavy duty paper towels - spread to 1/2 inch thickness. cover with additional paper towels & let stand five minutes. scrape into food processor using rubber spatula. (yes, i thought this part was a bit on the odd side but i think it just drains the liquid out of the yogurt - yum.)

add the cheeses, sour cream, and garlic. mix until smooth. spoon yogurt mixture in a medium bowl, and stir in the spinach, minced dill, and pepper. cover and chill.

garnish with fresh dill, if desired, and serve with whatever your heart desires. :) i went with snack factory pretzel crisps. have you tried these? you must rush to the store right now if you haven't!

so there you have it! this dip is a must try. i'm a sucker for any dip & this goes to the top of my list!

mmmhmmm!

XO

a little black paint

you guys.
remember when i went to the flea market and posted about a wine rack i purchased but it needed a little scrub and some black paint? well y'all i am in love. {yes i know its just a wine rack} but seriously it was just what the little corner in my kitchen needed!

         

before

annnnnnnnd.... {drum roll please}

   

after!

ok so i know you can't really tell the difference in these pictures {original was faded green and black} but trust me, the updated version looks so. much. better. :) it just took a few coats of black spray paint and now it looks like a brand new piece. yahoo for great flea market finds!

now, who wants some wine?

lets organize!

i don't know about you guys but i just love to ORGANIZE!
whether its my calendar, my desk, the kitchen cabinets, my clothes, the garage... its all organized. everything has its place. but this week i miiiight have gone a little ocd but hey, its what i do. :)
so lets talk about it.

i decided to organize the refrigerator & my coupons.

let me begin with the refrigerator.
i know what you're thinking... what?

the original idea came from an organizing queen i found on youtube - her name is alejandra & you can find her under homeorganizing. she has some pretty good ideas if you want to take a gander at her videos. 

i started by separating my foods and placing them in their appropriate bins {which i found at walmart for $2-$5}. i have four different bins: cheese & deli, grab & go, fruits & veggies, dairy & extras. i placed my milk and coffee creamer in the back, and my condiments on the door shelf.

 before and after...

the grab & go idea is seriously my favorite. i package up fruit & veggies as soon as i get home from the grocery in small snack size baggies. that way i can just 'grab' great healthy snacks throughout the week and 'go' - pretty great, huh?

ok whats up next...
i decided to organize my coupons in a new way. originally, it just put all my coupons {newspaper clippings, gift certificates, mailings, etc} in a vera bradley small zip pouch. the coupons were hard to see and often never used because of that. bummer, huh? so i made a binder for all my coupons & separated them into four different categories: food & dining, household, health & beauty, and retail. {again, the idea came from homeorganizing on youtube}.

i purchased a small binder from staples and then used martha stewart clear pockets, also purchased from staples, for all the coupons. these are the best because they have little flaps at the top that prevent the coupons from sliding out when you flip and turn the book. in each flap i used different colors so that the coupons are easy to see on each page. and yes, you guessed it - i color coded the different categories. food & dining: green, household: blue, health & beauty: yellow, retail: red. hope that all makes sense. :)

as if all that isn't confusing enough...
the martha stewart clear pockets come in three sizes: small, medium, and large. so depending on how many and what size your coupons are, you may want to get a variety of sizes. i did!

whew, no wonder ms. homeorganizing explains this via video.

 

well y'all, have fun organizing! share any ideas or questions. :)
XO

march snow day!

well folks, we have a snow day.
march 25th & we have seven inches of snow on the ground.. welcome to the midwest.

i'm not a winter gal {i'd rather be living down south} but if its gonna snow, i want it to snow. i'm talking inches. not the drizzle stuff. i like the so-thick-and-fluffy-you-can-throw-snowballs-kind. ya know, the kind we woke up to this morning. my only problem is that its march 25th. yep, almost april. what the heck!? where is spring? where are the bright cheery flowers? where is the sun? & the kids riding their bikes around the neighborhood?
i want that & i want it now. {quite demanding eh}

seriously though, where is spring?
let me tell you, i am ready.

so what does one do to get in a better mood? WE BAKE.

for st.patricks day this year, i made a variety of green treats: mini cupcakes, cake balls, pretzel mint
m&ms. and i must say, they were all mighty good! a big thank you to christi at love from the oven for
these amazingly delicious recipes and ideas. they have now become my staple treats for each holiday.
cause ya know what? you can just add in different food coloring to go along with each holiday.

brilliant i tell ya!

ok. ready? set? lets bake.


green velvet cake {original by bakerella}

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 oz green food coloring

preheat your oven to 350 & grease your cake pan. {whatever you decide to make - mini cupcakes, round cakes, whoopie pies, regular cupcakes, etc} 

lightly stir eggs in medium bowl with whisk. add in remaining liquid ingredients. whisk until blended and sit aside. place all dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together well. add in the food coloring {yes the entire bottle} to the wet ingredients. yep thought that part was kinda fun!

pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high until well combined. it will be green green GREEN! so pretty huh? now pour into your desired pans and bake! the mini cupcakes took about 10-12 minutes, and the 8" round cake about 22 minutes. as for the frosting, i used store bought. i dumped some in a bag for easy decorating & then added shamrock sprinkles i found at party city for a little added jazz. ta da, you're good to go. now share & enjoy.

want to make cake balls? its so simple.

make sure your green velvet cake is cooled. i actually made it the night before and just stuck the cake in the fridge till it was cake pop makin' time! :) cut the cake up with a fork or pop it in the food processor - both are pretty quick. then add in a couple spoonfuls of frosting, again, i went with store bought, and mix together. now start shaping the cake balls. you can use a spoon if you wish, but your hands will do the trick!

now melt your chocolate. i used green and white milton chocolate disks. i just stuck mine in the microwave on medium power for 30 minute intervals. this could vary - so keep an eye on it. now just pop one cake ball at a time in the melted chocolate and get it all smothered up! i find using two spoons to do this is the best! :) for these cake balls, i covered most in white chocolate and a few in green. and for a finishing touch, i added shamrock sprinkles!

trust me, you can't just eat one. they're sooooo gooood!
oh!  remember how i went to the thrift store and bought a really cool wine rack? well it was spray painted black this weekend - woohoo. i'll post about it later the week. :) until next time y'all.. XO

not on my a game.

i must say, i have not been on my a game lately. it's been.. eh, a couple weeks since i have posted? well, it feels that way at least. i sit here.. in bed.. exhausted.. but wanted to catch up with y'all. how are you?

a lot has happened.
a little of this, a little of that.

baked goodies for the fish fry at my church, participated in st. patricks day festivities, attended a pacers game, cheered on the hoosiers, relaxed, enjoyed dinner with my family...

like i said.. a lot {of little things} has happened.

i'll fill y'all in on the amaaaazing green velvet cupcakes and cake balls i made later this week, but for now, just wanted to say HI :)! and one last thing...


have you filled out your ncaa bracket yet?

XO