Pick Me Ups

Hey guys,

Happy Wednesday :) Boy time sure does fly by but I am back with a little pick me up. You know that little something that just helps you get thru the last part of your day, or that little something that curbs your craving??? Well, I decided to make up whole batch of frozen chocolate dipped banana chunks.

It has been so hot here lately that it was also a way to have a cool and refreshing treat. I have such a big sweet tooth but sometimes I really only want a little nibble of something just to give my craving a break from, well, craving lol. Do you ever get that??? They are super easy to make and you might have even done it before. BUT, what I love to use is the Ghirardelli Cacao Chips. Not only is it amazingly delicious but it is also a little "healthier" for you than regular chocolate, and not that we are trying to be healthy about our treats, that's kinda taking the fun away! Want to know all about cacao vs cocoa, check it out HERE on Recipe Rehab. They have a great post on the difference of chocolate.

Frozen Chocolate Dipped Banana Chunks

 

 

 

 

 

 

(it's been so warm my treats started sweating like crazy)

Ingredients:

1 Bag of Ghirardelli Cacao Chips 

1 Bunch of Bananas


Directions:
Using a cookie sheet cover with wax paper.
Slice desired amount of bananas into chunks. In a small bowl melt chocolate according to directions on the back of the package. (HINT: it is easier to melt small portions at a time and work in batches so the chocolate doesn't harden and become difficult to work with) Using tooth picks, stick a banana and then dip in chocolate. Place on cookie sheet. Repeat until you have achieved your desired amount. Place in freezer until slightly frozen. You can then take it out of the freezer and pop them into zip lock freezer bags for enjoyment whenever you feel like it.

They are the perfect treats for after dinner, especially if you have children. Plus there is no guilt in these treats since it is fruit and "healthy" chocolate, right?!?!!? :)

Well have a wonderful Wednesday and will see you all back next week!

xoxo
Danni

A Quilt is Coming...

I was feeling ambitious and decided to sew a queen-sized quilt!  Here is a mock-up of the pattern and color scheme:

The end result will be simple and modern, but the path to get there will be long and tedious.  To accomplish the piecing the way I want to do it, I need to first cut over 1700 squares!  All I have done so far are the greens.  The neutral background squares begin this weekend.  I am just going to lock myself inside with some chick flicks, a fan blowing, and a cool beverage and cut, cut, CUT!  I doubt I will actually finish the cutting, but I will try to get enough done to maybe start the piecing.  Wish me luck!

xo Allison

Bathroom Reveal....

Bathroom Reveal is... Next Thursday... womp, womp, womp.

I am so sorry! My a/c went out in my house just in time for this lovely triple digit tx weather, it got 'fixed' and then the next day it stopped again... So I was doing the finishing touches on the bathrooms and had to delay everything, but it ain't gonna bring me down!

Updates: LAST WEEK- I painted all three bathrooms. THIS WEEK-  I gel stained the cabinets in the guest bathroom, changed out the light fixtures all by myself ( btw, I feel like I can do just about anything now that I taught myself to do novice electrical stuff... Confidence boost and a couple pats on the back!!), I spray painted old fixtures to update them, and went shopping for bathroom decor.. which turned out to be a very unsuccessful shopping trip only leading to an eventual trip to make returns, probably later today or tomorrow. Eye aye aye! 

Anyway,  I'm not trying to purposely string you along, but the bathroom is coming together and *fingers crossed* that the a/c gets really fixed tomorrow so I can continue work away! 

Here's a little sneak peek of my progress thus far.... 

 Next Thursday IS the bathroom reveal a/c or no a/c! 

-Ashley- 

 

Challenges...

Hey everyone....hope you are all enjoying your Wednesday. It's been quiet the busy week for me. I have had lots of errands to take care of and so have been out and about, but I did find the time to make a new friend and catch up with old ones.

One thing that we crafty girls like to do is card challenges. We played along with a few of them.

Check it out...

For this card I played along with CAS(E) This Sketch and for the first time Fusion Card Challenge. I am loving how Fusion Card Challenge works too. (You can either use the sketch or the color combo or both).

I bought some new bright colored pens from Michael's the other day and loved how perfectly they went with the color scheme of the the Fusion Challenge and then decided to pair it with CAS(E) This sketch. 

Next up I again used the Fusion Card challenge but decided to go with both color scheme and sketch. I really loved the yellow flower and wanted to really accent that color.

And finally for my third card ;) I added in Retro Sketches but still kept the Fusion color scheme...and well I actually think I hit their sketch as well...in a way! I am seeing do you????  :)....yep they may be my new fave challenge blog!

For all the card sentiments I used Sweet Stamp Shop stamps.

Alpha Tabs

Baby Love

Today Was

Wheely Like You

 Hope you enjoyed checking out my challenge cards and hoping to see your cards in future challenges maybe! Do you have a favorite challenge to play along with??? Would love to know. I am always a fan of new challenges!

Embroidery Hoop Project Finishing Touches

Quick follow up to my post on my embroidery hoop project I posted yesterday (or earlier today, actually...)

I decided it needed some finishing off - something to frame the hoop and give it a more completed feel.  I happened to have a doily that fit perfectly around the hoop with the delicate scallops encircling in a way that I fell in love with.

I think this finishes off the project nicely, and so does Ellen.  She can't wait for it to dry so she can hang it in her room.

I love when things come together so nicely.....

Sharon :)

Stitching Through Hoops

Happy Tuesday!

Had an urge to do a craft that I haven't done in quite some time - embroidery!  I got the idea from someone I am following on Instagram a while ago and decided to tweak what they did and come up with my own version.

Embroidery was one of the first crafts my mom ever taught me.  I remember embroidering on pillowcases and having so much fun picking out the different color floss.  Of course, the first ones I did were not very good, but they helped me learn the basic skills and I could always tear out the stitches and start over.

For this project I found a great remnant at the fabric store that is a wide, uneven weave.  I purchased a wooden hoop and glued the fabric to both sides - one at a time - after pulling the fabric taut and letting it dry.  I then trimmed the excess fabric off close to the hoop.  I purchased some brightly colored buttons and after placing them how I wanted, I put a tiny piece of scrapbook double sided adhesive underneath them, to help hold them in place.  I attached them with natural jute twine and then made strings coming from them so that they would look like the balloons that I meant them to.

After that was done, I thought of a message I wanted to say.  I used a very fine sharpie and lightly wrote on the fabric.  Taking a complimenting DMC floss, in my case, pink, I separated it into three strands (it comes in six).  I stitched and followed my letters as best as I could and tried not to be too particular about it.  This project was supposed to be about having fun - not about perfection.

The finishing touch was to take a whole piece of pink floss and tie a bow around the balloon strings.

For a quick, easy project, I think it turned out pretty well.  My daughter is quite fond of it so I am giving it to her.  It makes me happy that she likes it so much - and I hope she takes the messages to heart.  I think they are words we could all use to remember.

Let your dreams take flight and let your heart soar!

Fondly,

Sharon

Houston, we have a Venue!!

In case you didn’t know, his last name is McDade. So I will become Mrs. McDade, Mandy McDade or Amanda McDade… I like it! I think it has a nice ring to it. Plus, I’ve heard a lot worse names so I’m very thankful that that is his. :)

Who would have thought that planning a wedding would be so stressful!? The sad part is though, that having 11 months advance notice isn’t even enough time for some venues. They literally laughed when I asked is next May available. Another thing! So many people have so many opinions; and that can be very wearing hearing what everyone has to say. At the end of the day though, we’ve realized that you can’t please everyone so we just have to worry about pleasing ourselves.

We’ve picked May 11th 2014 to be married because May 11th was our first date. Yes, it falls on a Sunday but it is A LOT less expensive to book venues on a Sunday. And Yes, it is Mothers day. But that’s what worked for us! I told him that once every 7 years our anniversary is going to land on mother’s day, but that doesn’t mean he can only get me one present. ;)

Anyways, the place we chose to have the ceremony and the reception is called marina village. It’s right on the harbor, and it is beautiful!!! We’re choosing to have the ceremony around 4 so when our guests go to the reception they’ll get to see the sunset from the room.

 

And the colors we’ve picked are baby blue, pale yellow, and cream. He picked blue and I picked yellow. I want the overall theme to be vintage, but I might sneak some Chargers in here and there just for him. I’m thinking grooms cake, lightning bolt sugar cookies…we’ll see! Everything is still in the imaginary stages and I’ll have to see how we do with our budget. I have a million ideas swimming around in my head and I can’t wait to start some of them. Anyways, I’ve only been engaged a month and this wedding stuff has consumed my life! Hopefully when I go back to work, things will settle down a little.

We shall see! Have a great week everyone!

Xoxo

Mandy