Monday, April 29, 2013

Inexpensive Jewelry Ideas for Mother's Day

This sweet thing made me a Momma over four year ago. Isn't she precious? She loves a good accessory, just like her Momma. So today, I am sharing a few amazing new finds from Sam Moon.


I went in Sam Moon recently after not having been there in years. I always think of them as a purse store and  I stopped collecting purses a few years ago. But I was recently at an event and loved the speakers necklace and about DIED when she told me Sam Moon. So, I ventured in there today and came home with 1 scarf, 3 earrings, 3 necklaces and I only spent $40. These would all make great Mother's Day gifts on a budget!


I am a huge Kendra Scott earring fan right now, so I love how all of these replicate earrings of hers. I had such a hard time deciding. There are so many great colors and shapes to be had.

This is the necklace I loved at my recent MOPS meeting. She paired it with white pants, a nude sweater, a peach and mint IKAT shell and nude sandals. Love the nude/peach color and the size of the stones.


Then, I decided to buy both of these. I wore the pink one to lunch recently with two friends who are jewelry designers and they both complimented me on it. Pretty amazing- I had to tell them SAM MOON! It feels like the Sears commercial where the lady is hesitant to admit shopping at Sears even when her friends compliment her outfit. 


If you live outside of a Sam Moon store, you can visit their website. Just know, it doesn't always have the same selection as the store. 

Happy Mother's Day Shopping!

Friday, April 26, 2013

Friday's Foot Fetish- Green Leather

I just love these- do I really need green sandals? NO!

 Do I really want green sandals? YES!

In case you "need" them too, they are Franco Sarto Gia found here

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Delicious Chicken and Pineapple Skewers

 I am super excited that we booked a family vacation for this fall- a Disney cruise! So many parts of the trip are exciting including swimming with dolphins in the Bahamas. Checking that off the bucket list this fall. And then I realized the dread of pictures... in a swimsuit... on Facebook. Isn't that always the worst! 

So, for the next 6 months my husband and I are focusing on our weight and keeping the goal of a picture in our swimsuit that doesn't make us cringe! To that end, look for some Weight Watchers and general healthy recipes in the next few months and a few less bundt cakes :)

The part of Spring that I love the most is cooking on the grill! My husband grilling meat while I prepare our sides and Abby playing in the backyard. It is dinnertime perfection in my book! Speaking of perfection, these chicken and pineapple skewers are amazingly tasty to be so simple. We ate them all up and declared them a new regular in our dinnertime rotation.


Along with chicken breast chunks and fresh pineapple, you make your own BBQ sauce for basting and dipping that is so tasty! The recipe is from celebrity chef Tyler Florence and can be found here

We served ours with roasted carrots from the farmers market. They were remarkably tastier that the grocery store carrots. It was a super light and perfect springtime dinner!


Sunday, April 21, 2013

Cinnamon Roll Bundt Cake

I love bundt cake- it is pressure free. No need to be perfectly iced or evenly round and flat. Provided you have a good pan and your cake will come out easily when flipped, you are in business!

I recently discovered Shay at Mix and Match Mama and she took a basic bundt cake recipe and has made over 60 varieties of the cake. We recently took her Cinnamon Roll bundt cake to dinner with friends. And, when it was gone, we all wept.

Just kidding, but it was really good.

Visit Shay's blog for the basic recipe and the Cinnamon Roll version. I'd love to try Pistachio or Chocolate Caramel Macaroon next. Delish!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Creamy Garlic Pasta

We had this yummy pasta as a side dish and it stole the show! We both wanted more of this instead of the main dish. I highly recommend it. Oh, and it is even better the second day when everything has really settled into the noodles.


The recipe from The Cheese Pusher can be found here

Monday, April 15, 2013

Creating Free iPhone Wallpaper from Pinterest

I love having a picture of my family on my iPhone lock screen, but I hate having a picture as my home screen. Inevitably, the best part of the picture is covered by icons or folders and it just ends up looking silly.

I was playing around on Pinterest while killing time before preschool pick up and found an easy way to make a cute wallpaper using Pinterest.

First, click on a pin you would like as your wallpaper. Take a picture of your screen by hitting the power button and home button at the same time. The picture would look like the left one below. But, you don't want all that top and bottom junk on your home screen. You want the clean image on the right.

Next, open your photos icon where you look at past pictures taken. Click on the Pinterest photo you just took and zoom into it using your fingers on the screen. (I assume you know this... start with fingers together touching the screen and spread them further apart). Then, take another picture with your power button and home button pushed simultaneously.


Your picture would now look like the one on the right and you can select to save it as your home screen, lock screen or both as your would a photo you took of your family. This happens with the box and right facing arrow after the picture is taken.

Zoe Pearn is one of my favorite digital scrapbookers and she pins beautiful things that make great wallpapers! Happy Pinning and Wallpapering! :)

Friday, April 12, 2013

Friday's Foot Fetish: Michael Kors Sandals

I haven't done a Friday's Foot Fetish post in a long time! Then, I saw these super cute jelly sandals from Michael Kors and had to share! 

I want them in green! They also come in black, brown, white, and pink. They are totally waterproof so they would be super stylish at the pool. I love a t-strap sandal and own my fair share of them.


If you'd like a dressier version, I happen to own these in gold and brown. I have had the gold ones forever and wear them so often, I invested in the saddle brown pair earlier this year. They are soft, well made and have lasted really well. Plus they come in 7 different colors including ORANGE!


Happy Shoe Shopping!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Round Top Finds

My girlfriend Andrea and I spent Saturday afternoon exploring the fields of Warrenton and Round Top hoping to find a few special things... a vintage ladder to hold quilts, two large scones to hold a shelf in her daughter's room, and turquoise Tupperware glasses like Uncle Si uses for his sweet tea. We didn't find any of those things, but we did find some real winners!

First of all, we had our obligatory Royer's Pie at Zapp Hall. Last time we were here, they only had large pies and we dug in. Luckily, this time, they had mini pies. I enjoyed a Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie pie. Delicious! 


Pardon my red skin... the clouds were deceiving and I got a sunburn!

Andrea declared her cherry pie the best ever. I am not a cherry pie fan, but it did look good and the cherries were so sweet and dark.


Zapp Hall area is a really fun place with eclectic booths, live music and lots of tables under the trees. We loved taking a little break here to people watch and enjoy the cool breeze and live music.

Speaking of people watching, the fashion of Round Top is top notch. We saw grown women in tutus with printed leggings and running shoes, Mexican dresses with fringe all around them, people way overdressed to walk 5 miles in the dirt fields, and a lot of people with gypsy-like hairpieces. Apparently wrapping a ribbon around your head with a giant flower is popular again?



I bought two items for my house that I just love. Look at the new little pillow for my guest bed. Who wouldn't want to be loved like biscuits and gravy? So sweet and fun!


Finally, one of my favorite vendors added butterflies to their painted tin collection. I loved the colors in this one and bought it for my daughter's room. She also has a large flower made of tin from Texas Trash and Treasures. They always have such cute stuff!


If you are ever in the Austin area the first weekend of April or October, be sure to visit Round Top. Just bring cash and your favorite tutu :)

Monday, April 8, 2013

Guest Room Updates

I have always loved a good check. This grey checkered quilt was recently discovered at Target and after thinking about how I would use it for a few days, I bought it. It was under $70 and is great quality. It is soft and already feel worn in. So, I played around in this room during rest time and came up with a room I really love!


I am very blessed to have a Mother and Sister that quilt and a MIL with a long line of quilters in her family. I had previously had a quilt from my husband's grandmother on the bed. The new quilt at the foot of the bed was a gift to my MIL from her Aunt Mable. I love this quilt. It is just so me- I love all the bright colors and the details. My MIL told me that Mable had more money that her own mother and was able to buy fabric for her quilts rather than use leftover scraps from other projects or clothing. So, her quilts were always much thicker. It is a great quilt!


The only thing I bought was the grey checkered quilt. I dug out from under the guest bed (while moving it) my collection or throw pillows and just played around until something worked. Luckily, I had lots of red stored under there since I moved red out of my living room recently.


I added the bee print that once resided in Abby's bathroom since it had a little of the green and blue in it. I have loved that print for many years!


Since there is so much green in the quilt from Mable, I added a green lamp from my office and a frame I had tucked away. I want a mercury glass lamp for my office and hope to try the new spray paint method I have seen online.


I also added the red canvas of Matthew 6:11 to the long wall in the room. It was on clearance at Hobby Lobby and I had a gift certificate from a sweet friend. I originally wanted it in my kitchen, but it is much bigger than the space I had in mind. I do like it in here.



I am going to Round Top for the my central Texas antique show this weekend and I am specifically looking for an old wooden ladder to lean against the wall and hold all of my extra quilts. Fingers crossed I find it!

For reference, here is a picture of the room before the updates were made. 

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Linky and Recipes from Your Little Birdie Facebook Friends

The other night was my dreaded pre-grocery store night where I have to decide what we are going to eat for the next two weeks? Decisions had to be made and I was needing ideas. I shared a plea on Your Little Birdie's Facebook page asking for recipes and Jessica and Sarah gave me two good ones!

Big Easy Shrimp from Food.com
I will be honest, I don't like shrimp unless it is fried. So, I went out on a limb with this one. My husband took the first bite, declared it to be good and "really shrimpy" and I opted for cereal for dinner. He thought this tasted fabulous, so if you like seafood or specifically shrimp, make this! We served it over rice and it made the whole house smell wonderful. Lots of different flavors in here. Marcus' only recommendation for next time, "more bacon please"


Sarah at Life with Leahy sent me to her site where I found a recipe from Semi-Homemade Mom for Crockpot Tortellini Lasagna

This was super easy and very tasty. With a meat sauce filled with ricotta cheese and fresh spinach, you have color, texture and lots of flavor in the sauce that the frozen cheese tortellini cooks in. It made a big batch of leftovers which I love!


Add your favorite recipe here.... we all need help the night before the grocery store!




Monday, April 1, 2013

April Desktop

Happy April!


Come back on Thursday morning for a linky party. Share you favorite recipe with everyone!