Need a Pick Me Up?

I need a pick me up this week. It has been rough. So here are some funny things I found this week.

Are you a LOR fan? Cause I am!

HA! Too funny.

This was a scene from my life yesterday. 

NO joke I laughed out loud at this. Because its true.

That is the truth!

But seriously.

HA!

And because obviously. Brad Pitt's expressions kill me every time.

Please come and help!

This weekend my sweetheart and I will celebrate our 23rd anniversary! 
Happy anniversary babe!!
We are about to "get that party started" but before I do I am wanting to ask you for help for a dear friend of mine and her lovable foster daughter Lisa. Kari has been one of my best and truest friends since 1989. That's a long time in-case you were wondering... She has a heart of gold and Kari is very good at serving others. She is a mother that makes most moms jealous. Kari is really good at being a friend and is that friend that you can go for a long time without seeing or talking to and pick right back up as if you had seen her yesterday. (although I prefer to see her often LOL!!) She has helped so many others and needs our help so she can keep Lisa in their family. Lisa is a doll too BTW! I just love Lisa and get so much joy spending time with this sweet little gal! She just oozes happiness and it is contagious!   
Please open your heart and click below to read about how we can help Kari and her family!!  

Link it Up!

The internet is rad. There are so many amazing artists and creative people out there. And the internet is our vehicle to know those people. Love it! I will stop gushing about the internet now. Here are some of my favorite recent links from around the internets.

How awesome do those cinnamon roll biscuits look? Biscuits people! Quick and delicious.

You know how my word is Brave this year? Well how perfect is this print?

The kids are wanting their own yoga mats. And I want them to have these ones. 

I was hoping to make the kids a new stuffy for Easter and this one is a big contender. Or at least a major inspiration.

I have wanted to try this DIY forever! Metal clay is awesome. 

How good doed Lemon Cheesecake Pie sound? Uh pretty good.

This website has tons of science projects for beginners. I want to start with this botany one with the kids. Spring planting is coming people!

This is an awesome post on taking product photos. Love it!

I love this post about getting more done. It is focused on having an Etsy shop but I think it applies to the blog and my life as well.

Don't click this link with your kids around or at work! I think that doing a boudoir photo shoot would be so fun. That link is to a great Utah based company. 

Chocolate dipped strawberries

We made some traditional chocolate dipped strawberries this weekend. I love that they are a treat and are a little bit on the healthy side too and it is so much less expensive than $3 a piece if you buy them premade! Here's what we did...

1 bag of milk chocolate 

(you can use semi if you prefer)

2 TBS canola oil

1 lb of strawberries

Melt the chocolate and the oil a double boiler over low heat. Dip the strawberries in in the chocolate and place on parchment paper or wax paper and let rest until the chocolate is dry.

 NOTE: You can actually get more like 2 lbs of strawberries out of 1 bag of chips as you can see by the marshmallow brigade. LOL! 

Caramel Bits Rice Crispy Treats

This my friends was supposed to be a beautiful pink rice crispy treat. I added the pink food color gel to the melted marshmallows and it looked a beautiful bright pink but as you see above mixed with the brown rice crispies the pink did not translate well but Hey.. it still tastes great and I love the addition of the caramel bits so I call it mostly successful. Here is what I did...

Caramel Bits Rice Crispy treats

7 C rice crispy cereal

1 Cube of butter

1 10oz bag of mini marshmallows

1 Cup of Caramel bits

food color 

Spray your 9x13 pan. Measure the cereal into a mixing bowl. Melt the butter and marshmallows over medium low heat. Add food coloring to desired color in the marshmallow mixture. Mix into the cereal until completely combine. Then add the bits and mix until incorporated. (be sure to add them last so they don't just melt into the mix. Press into your prepared pan. I like to butter the back of a spoon for the quickest and easiest way to press with not mess or fuss. Allow to cool before serving. 

Gold Leaf Heart for Valentine's Day

This post is a little tardy to the party considering Valentines Day is Saturday. I really think that this is a pretty great craft for anytime- so there you go. Have you ever done gold leafing? I have been wanting to try it out for a really long time. Valentines Day just happened to end up being the perfect excuse to try it out. Now I want to gold leaf E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G! Seriously though.

You can buy kits for faux gold leafing at almost any craft store. I didn't use real gold leaf because obviously it is crazy expensive. The metal leafing kit that I linked to has everything you need to try it out and it is a really great fake. I used a 110 lb weight card stock. The heavy weight paper helped to keep the adhesive from bleeding through. 

I free handed a heart on the paper with the adhesive. You can use a light print or a pencil sketch to use as a stencil because the gold leaf will cover it up. You have to let the adhesive get really tacky. It needs to be left for 20-40 minutes depending on how thick it is. This is SUPER important. If the glue is too wet then the leaf won't stick and then you get a mess.

After the glue is tacky I layed the gold leaf pieces on top of the adhesive. You can use full sheets or tear them in to pieces- which is what I did. Once that was done I used a soft paintbrush to brush the gold leaf down onto the glued parts. I let that sit for a second and then used the brush to wipe away the extra gold leaf. It turned out great! If you do end up with a bald spot just reapply some adhesive and lay more leaf on the spot. 

And wah-lah! By the way you see that funky spot on the top? Yeah the glue wasn't tacky enough. Too wet and spread and ugh. But now I really like it! I like things that are a little off. The last step that I did was I sealed it. They say you need to so I said okay. The sealant dried totally clear which I loved.

And this one! I love all the imperfections. 

And all three. Oh I loves them. Now to frame them or just leave them loose? What would you do?

Last Minute Valentine's Printable Bag Topper!!! YAY! Quick Easy FREE!

Guess what?! 

Valentines Day is in 4 days!! 

YIKES! 

Do you need some last minute help? 

Quick and Easy? 

Take this bag topper and fill you bags with whatever you decide to give away! 

FREE! 

Thanks Gabby! 

Download the bag topper
Please only use for personal use. Not for resale or commercial use or profit in any way. Thanks!

2 minute girls knit scarf from a T-shirt! Re-purpose baby!

So this little bittle is being raised with teenager and adult siblings...She thinks she is an adult/teenager and likes to do the things they do.  Well the ladies in the house have been sporting a plethora of cute scarfs. You know what they say...Necessity is a mother. RIGHT? I grabbed a t-shirt and cut the bottom off of it. About 12 inches. Removed the hem so both sides looked the same and wha-la a scarf for Sarah! Tada! Now...the modeling fun! She sure is a ham when she wants to be. LOL!!

Black and white dramatic shot don't cha know?

LOVES
Emily (and Sarah)

Here's to eight years!

Nick and I celebrated our eight year anniversary yesterday. It was great! Because of that I had to take some time to say how great being married to him is! The last eight years has just flown by because of him. He is amazing! I am a lucky woman and my kids are also lucky to have him as a father. He is my best friend! I have so much fun with him. He is my partner in crime. The cheese to my mac! Marriage hasn't always been easy but it has been worth it! I am grateful to be married to a sweet, funny and generous man!

Happy Anniversary Nick!  

Maxed Out Blondies! A semi homemade recipe

I will be the first to admit that I have a love of a good brownie. (or blondie in this case) Especially the fancy more than the norm brownie.  Here is a recipe that fits the bill! It has a cheesecake layer, a marshmallow layer and chocolate chips! How can one go wrong?? We served these babies at our superbowl party but the would be great for a Valentines Day dinner...who are we kidding they will be awesome for any occassion. RIGHT?? PS don't let the blondie word trick you...there is plenty of chocolate to be had in these wonderful bars!!

Maxed Out Blondies

Blondie base

1 pouch of your favorite chocolate chip cookies mix (approx 17.5 oz)

1/4 cup melted butter

2 tablespoons water

1 egg

Filling

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 cup milk chocolate chips (6 oz)

2 cups miniature marshmallows 

Chocolate Glaze

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/8 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

2 ½ tablespoons milk

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper or spray with non stick pan spray

2. Mix up your cookie mix according to the directions and smooth dough in bottom of pan. Set aside.

3. In large bowl, mix cream cheese, sugar, 1/4 cup butter, the flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla and the egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread over cookie dough base. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

4. Bake 26 to 28 minutes or until filling is set. Sprinkle evenly with marshmallows. Bake 2 minutes longer. Cool for 30 minutes on a cooling rack.

5. In 2-quart saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat. Stir in cocoa and milk. Heat until starts to thicken. Remove from heat. With wire whisk, gradually stir in powdered sugar until well blended. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Immediately drizzle glaze over brownies.

6. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled before cutting and serving