Salsa

Some of my favorite recipes come from a friend, of a friend, of a friend....

Here's a good one from a friend of a friend.

Salsa

Yeah, not the red kind you were thinking.

It has beans. Which I love to use but don't very often.

It has corn. Sweet corn. Yum. (Indiana is rubbing off on me.)

It has red onion. (CONFESSION: Not a huge fan, but finely diced, they are great in this recipe.)

Cilantro. (Again, not a huge fan, but something about it in this recipe.... good!)

Green onion. Yes.

Lime Juice. YES!

It's quick and easy. And tastes even better the next day. And the next. And the next.
{Except, there won't be any left after day 1!}

Other than a big 'ol bag of chips, here's what you'll need:

Salsa

1 can sweet yellow corn, drained 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed 2-3 green onions, chopped 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion (I used a little less than 1/4 cup) 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 1 Tablespoon olive oil Juice of 1/2 lime Juice of 1/2 lemon Kosher salt to taste

Add and omit ingredients according to your taste!

Mix all the ingredients together.

Cover and chill.

Favorites of 2013

These are a few of my favorite (2013) things....

1. BARE MINERALS Prime Time Foundation Primer

You won't believe how soft your skin will be in the matter of seconds. 

Your face will feel like satin. Try it. (I promise you'll love it.)

2. Sephora Instant Moisturizer

A great everyday, light, moisturizer. It works great and my favorite thing about it, the smell. Fresh and clean. (I can't stand stinky moisturizer.)

3. Stella by STELLA MCCARTNEY
My favorite smell. And it comes in a gorgeous bottle.
There's something so feminine about perfume. (And lipstick!)

4. Sandra Boynton Board Books
I have purchased these books in the past and they are well loved....

I added to our little collection this year by purchasing several more books. So cute! Rhyming stories that all of my kids love reading! Snuggle Puppy is an old favorite. The Going To Bed Book is a new favorite.

I have a soft spot for buying my kids books.... they are catching on to this.
(Maybe bookshelves will be on my Favorites of 2014 List!)



5. He definitely doesn't come in 5th place, but my MOST favorite thing of 2013 is this guy.
I can't tell you how many kisses I give him everyday. (I'm addicted.)

(These reviews are my opinions on products I purchased and used in 2013 without financial compensation.)

8 Months!

8 months ago- 

Seems like yesterday....

To celebrate, I decided to take some last Christmas pictures of Tagg with our tree.

(Yes, we are those people… we like to savor Christmas as long as possible!)

For photo ideas, of course, I turned to Pinterest and found Meg at Snap Happy Mom and I love her!

I changed my camera settings exactly like she said to get the bokeh look of my Christmas tree.

You can read all of her tips {here}.

Too focused…..                   too unfocused….

Perfectly blurred lights!

Then a brilliant tip Meg shared: Practice taking pictures on a stuffed animal so your kids don't have to sit while you get your lighting right.
Tagg was interested in what I was doing with his toy….

And when I was setting up the Christmas lights…. he was just too curious!

Happy 8 months Baby Tagg!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from today….

I saved my favorite for last. I love everything about this photo….
his 'ready, set, go' position,
his curled fingers,
his pudgy feet,
the way the hat is pushing his ears down,
and how his whole face lights up with his little smile.

I just can't get enough of this little buddy.
So thankful for the last 8 months!

Felt and Burlap Tree Skirt

With 6 days until Christmas, I am done with my burlap tree skirt.
I'm finding out with three kids under toe, accomplishments come in small steps.
{I say "Yay!" for finishing it, even though the presents that I'm about to wrap will just cover it up!!!}

Here's what I started with (along with scissors, my glue gun, and about 3 yards of white felt)...

I folded the felt in half and placed my current tree skirt over it to use as a pattern to cut my half circle.
It looked just like this....

Then came time to fire up the glue gun and unroll my burlap (I used two of the 15 foot rolls pictured above).

(Please note that I was not trying to have perfect ruffles. If I did try to get them perfect, I wouldn't have EVER finished this project. Burlap is imperfect so, let your ruffles be too!)

After hot gluing the start of the burlap roll to my cut felt tree skirt, it all went something like this....

Glue (can you see it there on the felt?):

 Place burlap on the glue:

Pinch a section:

Fold the pinched section back over the part you just glued:

Glue the top of the fold:

Run to your kitchen (after you have burned your finger 100 times) and get a wooden stick to press the burlap down until it sticks enough to stay where you want it:

 Continue the entire way around your tree skirt, flip it over and place it under your tree:

I added burlap bows around my tree.

To continue my burlap and white theme, I used small rolls of white mesh and layered burlap ribbon on top before adding it to my tree.

We usually don't use the typical star topper. This year I added twigs and assorted glittery, long twig stems. And although it was referred to as 'tree hair', I think it turned out quite nice, and not hair-like at all.

Wha-la!

A little trick I learned this year after reading blog after blog of professional tree decorators, different size light bulbs! Who knew??? So simple...  here's the difference:
(Left tree- with the pre-strung lights only; Right tree- after adding two strands of extra large bulb lights.)

 I love the dimension and extra light from the large bulbs! Thanks {Vintage Revivals} for the tip!

And my Christmas wreath that I was soooo excited about weeks ago? I'll have it made for next year.....

(Just keepin' it real!)

Oh, and throw away that wooden spoon. You'll likely never get the glue off. If you do, let me know how! 

Fall Pumpkin

A super cute, super EASY way to give your home that extra special, personal touch.... 

Chalkboard Message Pumpkin. 

Here's How:

1. Wash your pumpkin and let dry.

{I used dish soap and a wet paper towel. I did not submerge the pumpkin in water.}

2. Cut out a template the shape you want your message board to be.
{I found this label template HERE. After printing it and cutting it out, I taped it on my pumpkin.}

3. Trace around your template.

4. Paint with Chalkboard paint.

5. Do steps 1 through 4 as many times as you want!

6. When your chalkboard paint is dry, message away!

{'Boo!' was on our front porch for the Tricker-Treaters!}

{'Welcome' your guests in such a fun way!}

{'Give Thanks' is a perfect saying for the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday!}

{Home Sweet Home}        {We made one 'Get Well' Pumpkin to give as a gift.}

Here's a few tips:

- When changing your message, wipe lightly. If you rub hard, you run the risk of the chalkboard paint coming off. 

- Pick out smooth pumpkins. The more the ridges, the harder it is to write on the chalkboard.

- If your pumpkins are staying indoors, be mindful of where you set them. If they are on a wood surface, I suggest placing something to protect your wood under the pumpkin.

- Read your chalkboard paint instructions on the length of time to allow your paint to dry before writing on it. I waited 24 hours.

- You can paint your message board without using a template.

{Although the traced template line made painting with chalkboard paint easy.}