12 Days of Giving with Walmart

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

Walmart is doing an amazing giveaway this year, the 12 Days of Giving. They are giving away a total of $1.5 million in grants to local non-profit organizations that will help out their communities. Such a great cause! I jumped at the chance to nominate a local organization around here and think you should too! I chose to nominate the Child Crisis Center in Mesa, AZ. It takes in children that desperately need love and support who are not getting it from home. They provide these children with a a stable loving environment in which they can heal and grow. I personally, thank heavens, have never experienced domestic violence or child abuse. But, I have been deeply impacted by the stories of people around me. I went on a walk for domestic violence as a teenager and have ever since had a special place in my heart for victims of abuse. It's horrific and devastating and am so grateful for organizations like the Child Crisis Center. My sister volunteered for them and had some amazing and sad stories to tell. Nominating your local non-profit organization to recieve these grants is easy peasy and takes only a couple minutes! All you need is the Name of the nonproft, the contact info, and a website. You can also provide a picture if you'd like. You can go nominate a local organization any time between Nov. 1 and Nov. 18 so only a couple more days!! I would love it if you nominate someone and if you do, please leave a comment letting me know who you nominated. I love to hear of all the good work that's going on out there!

 

Burlap & Fabric Pumpkins

I helped out with a craft night for our church and thought some fabric pumpkins would be a cheap easy project for a large group of women. Once I started making some to display though, I couldn’t stop! They are so cute and SO easy and fast. I kept looking around for more embellishments & scrap fabrics to make more. So fun! Here’s the simple little tutorial how to make some of your own. Also you can download the Fall subway art here for free!



1. Cut out a circle. Any size. Any Fabric.  2. Double up your thread and sew a basic stitch around your circle. Pull pretty tight, fill with stuffing, beans, or rice. (I used poly-fil). Stitch it closed. 3. Hot glue a small stick in the hole and embellish the top. I used a variety of curly wire, twine, lace, & ric-rac. The possibilities are endless. 4. Make up a whole bunch and display!

SYTYC

Season 14 auditions are up on the So You Think You're Crafty blog and one of them is mine! Go check them out and vote for your favorite! :) I'm curious to see if you can guess which one is mine??

Friday Faves {no. 21}

Hey Hey everyone. I drank a large coke with dinner and I don’t think I’m going to be bed anytime soon. If this post seems a little off it may be because I am a little too awake at the moment.

1. Please tell me you’ve been listening to Taylor Swift’s CD constantly too? I’m obsessed. P.S. I used my swagbucks to buy it. Love free stuff and love this cd.

2. I just got this new app called Shop Kicks and it’s kind of cool. You get “kicks” for walking into stores/ scanning things. Then you use those kicks to buy gift cards. Plus you can get special coupons and deals too. Maybe I love it because they give you kicks for going to Target. And maybe I go to Target every day of my life. Don’t judge.

3. I also just got the “Talking Ginger” app for my girls and they think it’s the funniest thing ever. We have been playing for over a week and we still think it’s hilarious.

4. I love these yarn wrapped trees. I’m helping out with a church Christmas dinner and I think these would make for some fun centerpieces.

5. Could you just die over these shoes?? I could buy every single pair for my girls and be a happy camper. Anyone want to donate to the “My girls need cute shoes fund?” Brynlee would truly appreciate it ;)

Uncle Dave’s Pasta Recipe

This is our dinner plan for tonight and we haven't had it in awhile so I'm excited to make it. This is one of our family favorites. It’s easy and delicious and we lovingly call it Uncle Dave’s pasta. My Uncle Dave was one of the most amazing men I knew. So strong, loving, kind, happy and spread joy to all those around him. He passed away years ago but he still has an impact on my life and I think of him often. Through finding his cancer he made it possible for our entire family to find a mutated gene that about half of my family have. We all have been able to be proactive in fighting against getting the same cancer. I’m so grateful to him and the amazing example he was and is. And also so grateful for the knowledge that we will be able to be with him again.

Ok, now on to the the recipe. I’m not sure if this is his original recipe but through the grapevine this is how we make it around here.


Uncle Dave’s Pasta
-1 handful of cilantro (chopped)
-1/2 onion diced
-some minced garlic (ha I’m the worst at measuring. Maybe a TBl or two?)
-1 can diced tomatoes (I like petite, and so do my kids)
-1 box bow tie pasta
-1 jar of alfredo (I like Classico 4 cheese I believe. But any will be good!).

Chop up your cilantro.


Saute your onion in a little butter with your garlic. Once your onions are pretty translucent, throw in your tomatoes to warm them up.


Then, add in your cilantro…


While you are cooking the onions, boil your pasta. Once they are cooked dump in your jar of alfredo and mix to warm. Combine your pasta with the tomato/onion/cilantro mixture.


Serve with a French baguette and some salad and enjoy your 20 minute meal!!

Meal Plan Monday

Hey everyone, happy Monday! I am hoping if I actually plan out my meals and record them I will follow through and start making dinner more often. I feel like the last two weeks have been full of Hot n Ready’s and Chipotle. I’ve been craving salad and home cooked meals and the thought of fast food makes me cringe. Time to get back on track with meal planning.
Monday: Taco Soup
Find the recipe here. Yu umm.


Tuesday: Uncle Daves Pasta 

Wednesday: Sweet Pork Salads

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Haystacks

Saturday: Out (Date Night :) )

Friday Faves {no. 20}

1. One of my favorite things this week is raiding my children’s candy buckets. Don’t judge me. But I just remembered today how much I l.o.v.e Milky Way candy bars frozen. DElish. My Mom used to have a stash of these in our freezer and I thought she was odd (no offense Madre) I hate frozen/cold chocolate but for some reason Milky Ways are fantastic frozen. Just try it.

2. K I know I mentioned Nashville last week but seriously these girls are amazing. Go listen to them…too cute! Dying over this cover they did.
3. I think this is such a great idea! Minus the alcohol. (We don’t drink around here) But YuM! Caramel & Apple are one of my all time favorite combos.
0
4. I love beautiful wrapping
.
5. I just heard about Discountdland.com. If it’s legit I think it is fantastic.

Halloween 2012

Hope ya’ll had a fantastic Halloween!! We did. It was crazy busy and I’m not going to lie, by the time it was actually Halloween I was kind of burnt out. But the girls loved trick or treating, until Brynlee got traumatized by a skeleton with a motion sensor. Here are our super cool Halloween decorations this year (as you can see I’m kind of a party pooper when it comes to this holiday…) Bring on November!!

Find out how I made this witch silhouette here.

I made this banner 2 years ago and still love it! I believe I got the idea/printable letters from The Crafting Chicks.

Brynlee decided last year she wanted to be Cruella de ville for Halloween and has been excited ever since to dress up! For some reason Brynlee always loves the villain in all of the Disney movies but Cruella is her favorite of them all. She is hilarious and has the perfect feisty attitude to go with her costume. My talented mother-in-law made the adorable costume. The wig was a little skewed in all these pictures…Of course I didn’t notice that until 2 seconds ago…And since I’m a slacker mom I just bought the Dalmatian jammies from Gap. And now that all of the Halloween madness has died down I hope to catch up on life again.

Oh! And here is my version of Classy Clutter’s Halloween Wreath :)

Friday Faves {no. 19}

Hey everyone! I’m sure you are all just as busy I am getting ready for Halloween, attending parties and visiting pumpkin patches. I absolutely LOVE this time of year!! I had my birthday last week and it pretty much turned out to be two full weeks of celebrating, which is exactly how I like it :) I got to meet my cute baby niece and it was so much fun to spend time with our families.  Here are some of the things I’ve been enjoying lately…
1. Ummm have you been watching the new show Nashville?? I’m hooked.

2. These little lovelies are the reason why my love handles will just not go away.

3.This was an interesting, funny and true article that made me really think about my marriage and how to strengthen it.

 

4. This is genius. I need it. I want it. I would have already ordered it, but it’s sold out. I’m going to go google where I can get another one…

5. This is adorable. Love the color scheme. I’m still trying to decide what color scheme to use in our big girl’s room. Ugh someone please just choose for me!?

Miracle-Gro: Herb Garden Take 2

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

So since my last post that I used Miracle-Gro my herbs died. Just keepin it real people. And I have to say it was no fault to Miracle-Gro's products, it was because my husband refused to keep the kitchen blinds open so my poor herbs had zero sunlight and slowly withered away. So. When I was contacted by Miracle-Gro to check out these Gardenieres videos I was more than willing. I LOVE having fresh herbs around the house and am dying to have them around again. So, this time I have decided I will create a potted herb garden and leave it outside where I know it will get plenty of sunshine. I think I will start out with rosemary, oregano, basil & cilantro. We'll see how it work out...I'm a little nervous. I have watched quite a few of the Gardenieres videos though and they teach you step by step how to accomplish what you're looking for. So, I feel like I can totally do this! I am heading out to Home Depot this weekend while my oldest is at preschool (shopping with 3 babies is no bueno!)  to check out the herbs/pots I'm going to use. I think I'll use the Miracle-Gro soil because then I don't have to buy both soil and fertilizer. Plus we already have the LiquaFeed so once it's time to start fertilizing again we can just use that. If you want to stay up to date with what Miracle-Gro is up to go and like the Miracle-Gro Facebook page!

Here is a helpful video I found that I think I will be referring to often while planting my herb garden. Let's all keep our fingers crossed I can keep my poor plants alive this time :)

Tomato Basil Quinoa Recipe

Remember this post where I was growing some yummy basil? Here is the recipe I used my basil for. Yuuummm this dinner is delish & healthy & super easy! Win, win, win.
Tomato Basil Quinoa/Pasta
4 Pints of cherry tomatoes (halved)
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 Tbls garlic (minced)
18 basil leaves (julienned)
1 tsp red pepper flakes (more or less depending on the spiciness you would like)
1 cup quinoa or some angel hair pasta
paremesan for topping
Combine your tomatoes, basil, garlic and red pepper flakes. Let this sit out for at least 4 hours room temperature. Cook your quinoa/pasta right before serving and mix with tomatoes. Add some parmesan on top and serve right away!

Slice up your cherry tomatoes.

Add your olive oil, garlic,basil, & red pepper flakes. Let this sit out at room temperature for about 4 hours. 
Throw your quinoa in your rice cooker. (1 cup quinoa & 2 cups of water) You can add more or less water depending on how your rice cooker cooks. This ratio was perfect for us! Once your quinoa or pasta is cooked mix it all up with your olive oil/tomatoes. Add some parmesan on top and you are ready to serve! You can serve this warm or cold. I’ve tried both and loved it both ways.

Serve with some steamed veggies and french bread and you have yourself a yummy refreshing meal.

Now, time to get real. Me and one of my daughters gobbled this right up! One of my favorites now. On the other hand, my husband and my other daughter refused to touch it. My husband ate one bite and declared it too healthy for him and went to get a Fili’s burrito. So, just a warning  this is not everyone’s cup of tea. :) I do think he would like this with pasta. He was very weirded out by the quinoa, so if you like quinoa try it! I have also tried this with angel hair pasta and it is delicious as well.

Friday Faves {no. 18}

I’ve been having a very unmotivated week. My husband and I have been watching a lot of redbox movies and catching up on laundry. Anyone else get in these funks?? I need to get myself out of this quick, the holidays are coming!! Maybe looking at some of these fun projects everyone else is doing will motivate me to get my own done??
1. I love this party and the “We’ve been Boo’d” printable. Super cute.

2. Is this not the most amazing pantry?? Someday in my dream home…This will take you to the motherload of pantry ideas…Maybe I love looking at pantries so much because mine is the size of my pinky.

Traditional Kitchen design by Charlotte General Contractor Hickman Construction Company, Inc.

3. I want to try this. Right now.

4. Have you smelled creamy nutmeg from Bath & Body Works?? Amazing.

Have a great weekend. I think I’m off to find more of those wallflowers. They make your house smell divine.