Mac N' Cheesin It

One of my favorite meals to make is the never failing mac n' cheese. It's not only a hit with the kids but the adults too. This recipe is from my grandmother who always made this on the holidays. The Ritz crackers and shredded cheddar cheese make this dish amazing.

Using cooked elbow noodles divide them into two groups (the first will go on the bottom of the dish and the second on top). Place your first group of noodles in a oil sprayed cooking dish and top with cheese.

Rummy Bears

The other night Jonah and I decided to make/ experiment with something I saw on Pinterest (yes, after the kids went to bed). Of course by the title you guessed it, we made yummy, gummy, rummy bears. Well first we started with gummy bears soaked in cherry vodka.

Christmas Cards Turned Gift Tags

Now that Christmas is over, the decorations are put away, and the tree is back in the box, what do you do with all the Christmas cards that you got during the holiday season?

My wonderful and brilliant mama gave me a great idea and I decided to go with it. For the kid's Christmas gifts this year she re-purposed her last year's Christmas cards by turning them into gift tags. She cut out designs from each card, attached ribbon (reused from gifts), added the To and From and then attached them to her gifts.

Happy Birthday, Papa Bear

Today is my husband's Birthday and being that both his and mine fall around Christmas we try to keep it from the heart (meaning homemade) and simple (meaning cheap) . It's better than doing the whole "This gift is Birthday and Christmas combined" (what we heard EVERY year growing up).

While doing some browsing through different blogs hoping an amazing idea would pop out at me I actually came up with something quit creative. Both of my kiddos look to Jonah (that's daddy) as their hero and you see it in their faces every time he gets home from work, plays ball out in the back yard, hides under the covers with them from the monster (that's me) and the best one... pulls them around on their little power wheels behind the tractor a.k.a. lawn mower. Yes! We can be so country at times.

Audrey and her daddy have the sweetest bond. She is his snuggle bunny and is always freely handing out kisses and squeezes (hugs). 

Bruschetta the Good (and easy) Way

While preparing my husbands early birthday dinner I thought I would post how to make my delicious bruschetta. You will see and also soon learn that if I ever share a recipe of my own I very seldem list how much of each ingredient is used. I'm all about tasting and eyeballing it as I go. That's what makes cooking fun.

Here is what you'll need for perfect deliciousness:

- fresh basil
- loaf of french bread
- 1 large tomato
- 1/2 of a red onion
- balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
- shredded parm cheese
-  1 clove of garlic
- Olive Oil (to brush your slices of bread with before topping with mixture)
- Black Olives (if you like them, I do Not)

Doggy Do or Doggy Don't

We've been looking for a "Definitely Don't" to add to our reviews. A friend of mine, Rachel, came across a possible one for homemade dog treats. She loves her adorable little pooch, Tucker, and said that the homemade treats were really easy to make and at first she thought it was a "Definitely Do" but a day after making them they looked molded. I wanted to look further into this...

(This is Tucker, who wouldn't want to give this adorable face the yummiest homemade treats!)

"Definitely Do" Top Three DIY Picks: Christmas Cocktails

It's five o' clock somewhere and this week we've picked our top three Christmas cocktails. Whether your hosting a party or attending one, these cocktails picks will be the table topic of the night leaving a lasting impression with possibly a pinch of jealousy from those who wish they thought to bring them first.


1. Cranberry Margaritas


This one has been pinned over and over on Pinterest and a friend of mine said she was able to taste it first hand. A girl friend of hers brought them over for a get together and said not only did they taste amazing but they looked too pretty to drink. You can find the recipe for these Cranberry Margaritas on the Ezra Pound Cake blog. This is sure to be a crowd pleaser with the awesome extras like the floating cranberries, green salt rim and Christmas ball ornament.

'Tis the Season to Be the Change

Daily chest pain, empty check book, twitching neck... If you are experiencing any of these symptoms you have come down with “Christmas Break Down Syndrome."

For real though, when did we get so far off track that it became more about buying the biggest and best that we neglected to think about the small and important? Health, family, roof over our heads, clothes on our back, being a good person, instilling good morals in our children, aren't these what matter?

Cabinet Face Lift

Once upon a time we were house shopping... The time then came to make a decision on what we wanted to purchase. Our options were between the new spacious condo with a patch of grass you could cut with your scissors or the 50+ year old, smaller home with the beautiful and enormous back yard. We obviously went with the latter of the two. We love being outdoors and knowing that we were expecting our first child we wanted  our children to have a place to play and run around as they got older.

Once we were settled in we got to work and started renovating. My favorite project was our kitchen cabinets that my crafty husband did for us. They were painted white from the previous owners, which is a fresh look, but lacks character. We decided to step it up and give them a face lift. We went to Home Depot, purchased two quarts of paint, 2 different colors of yellow, and white casing trim.

“Definitely Do” Top Three DIY Picks: All Things Birthday

Planning a birthday party for a kiddo in your life? This week’s top picks are DIY ideas that are yummy for the belly, as creative as Martha and always easy on your checkbook!

1. “Marshmallow Fun Pops”

     I’m sure you have tried a cake pop at least once in your life, my family became familiar with these treats when Starbucks started making and selling them. However, there are some of us who may not have the time to make them so when I found these “Marshmallow Fun Pops” on Pinterest via CouponClippingCook it was love at first site… or bite. Marshmallows are a hit with almost everyone and the best part...the ideas for toppings are endless. Decorate, coordinate and prepare just as you please. What a great way to get the party started!

My tip: A fondue style table with all the marshmallows, chocolates, and toppings so that each kiddo can make their own, making a great addition to any party.  Have a few already made to decorate the tables as center pieces.

Fabulous Honey Face Mask

Usually you see someone who is talking about acne remedies start their post by saying "I've battled acne for years" instead, in my case it only started about 3 years ago after I had my first born. Growing up I had a pretty much hate relationship with my freckle face until I was in high school and realized they were a blessing because I hardly ever had a single pimple pop up.

After I had my son I noticed I would get acne on my chin and forehead out of nowhere and not just one pimple rather a whole family of them! So this last time it happened I decided to do something about it.

Learning is spelled F-U-N!

I recently found this adorable and inspiring Blog, Homemade by Jill, which gave me the perfect printable alphabet flashcards for my tots. I didn't originally set out to find DIY flashcards, however after a visit to the pediatrician with Audrey I got to thinking about finding and making fun learning activities for my kiddos. Here's the why?

"Definitely Do" Top Three DIY Picks: Gifts From the Kids

Each week I will give you my "Definitely Do" Top Three DIY picks of the previous week that I have found on other Blogs and Pinterest.  They will be posted in different categories such a gift ideas for everyone on your list, birthday party, wedding, fashion and other fabulous DIY favs. 


These gift ideas are ones take minimal time, cost next to nothing, are great for making with your children, and will be loved by everyone!

To Scarf or Not To Scarf?

I love scarves and also seeing all the DIY ideas on blogs that others have shared on making them.  I recently saw this t-shirt scarf pinned by a few fellow pinterest fans and thought it would be fun to give it a go.

Vinegar... Not Just for Salads

Most studies show that vinegar dates back to 8500 b.c to 4000 b.c and has a reputation for healing wounds and other health ailments. It was most likely discovered on accident very similar to wine when it ferments over time. Today we commonly use it for cooking and ask for it on our salads and french fries. We probably never looked at this simple ingredient as something that could be so important and have so many beneficial uses. First, before we get to the good stuff let’s start with the definition of vinegar...

Calm or Crazy?

 

Ta-da! The "Calm Down Jar" or "Mind Jar" was put to the test by my own personal and trustworthy glitter jar testers themselves... my kiddos. Thank you to Pinterest via Dump Your Frump Blog I started my morning by making a trip to purchase all the items needed to make the jars which included, mason jars, glitter glue, tubes of glitter and food coloring. Because my kids are younger and have little hands I decided to purchase the smaller 8 oz. jelly jars which also have embossing on them. The embossing works great as a grip vs. the smooth ones. The total cost for these items was under $9 and that included my case of 12 mason jars!

Good Things to Come

So of course being a new Blog we need to keep you coming back for more :-) Here are just a few of the many highlighted Pinterest DIY's we will be giving a try this month for a "Definitely Do" or "Definitely Don't" review. I'm really looking forward to trying out the "Calm Down Jar". Filled with all things fun like glitter, water, food coloring, and glitter glue it's designed to be a time out alternative for kids (and possibly adults too). Who doesn't need a few minutes of glitter in their life? I'm expecting magical things from the "Calm Down Jar" and possibly a "serenity now" moment for myself.

The "F- Word"... Food

Your going to notice that my first few Blog posts will be dishes that I found on different Blogs and Pinterest.com because my favorite word is of course the "F- Word"... FOOD!

Sneak Preview

Okay, so I couldn't help myself but to post something that I actually made this morning for breakfast from no other than Pinterest.com. I've seen a TON of pins on using a muffin/cupcake pan to make eggs and thought this is ingenuity at its best! It looked easy enough and I accomplished this masterpiece to your right this morning.  It was a HUGE hit, I might add, with both the kiddos, hubby and myself! Here is the recipe link that I used.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/scrambled-egg-muffins/detail.aspx

I also added some extras to spice it up a little bit. I topped it with some salsa, a dollop(love that word) of sour cream and a sprig of cilantro. It went from scrambled egg breakfast muffin to Sassy scrambled egg breakfast muffin in less than 2 minutes! And for something lighter than sour cream you can also use plain yogurt as a substitute. Who would have thought a muffin pan for eggs! It's great and I'll never scramble eggs the same way again!!!  This is a "Definitely Do" for you breakfast lovers!

We do, you review!

I'm pretty sure if you are reading this you have your own Pinterest.com account and probably have it open in another browser window as we speak! If your breathing your pinning, right?! So for all you who love Pinning, Liking, and Dreaming of those perfect meals, crafts for our kids, and DIY must haves we are going to put them to the test. I got the idea for Didterest while browsing through the pins and seeing not only Awesome ideas that I would love to try but also some that were just not up to par. So with Didterest we will show you the Do's and the Don'ts of Pinterest favorites after we give them a go! Think of Didterest as the honest reviews of Pinterest! Be sure to check back for our first Do or Don't and if you've already tired some out and want to share your review be sure to post those too!!!