I scream, you scream

you know the rest.

We impulsively decided to buy an ice cream maker for Memorial Day.

they were kinda picked over, but we really wanted one.

I looked up several recipes online, but decided to go with one of the manufacturer's recipes.

old fashioned vanilla.

very thick.

very delicious.

strawberry margarita cupcakes

the mister doesn't drink.  he never has.  even if I make something with alcohol in it, he won't touch it.

so I made these little darlings for a cinco de mayo get together a couple of weeks ago.

and I hoarded a few for myself in the fridge.

these were made with vanilla cake mix.

I mixed margarita mix (with tequila already in it) into the cake mix instead of water.

I also put the marg mix in the frosting along with a few fresh strawberries.

There's salt on that lime... it really balances out the flavor.

bread of the Irish

I made this Irish soda bread for St Patty's day.  It was delicious, easy and quick.

You may find it fun to know that in Irish soda bread, there is no yeast... instead, buttermilk.

now wasn't that fun, easy, quick and delicious?

recipe here.

flower belt

the sister-in-law asked if I would make belts for the girls' Easter dresses.  I waited around til the last minute, but I got them done.

no sew... just hot glue and fabric.

my sweet niece posing for me at breakfast.

she did a great job of not spilling!

And my sister-in-law did a great job making the rest of the dress... she should blog about these things.

love hangover

yesterday was Valentine's Day... just in case you forgot.

We don't really go all out for V-day and we didn't really plan on celebrating it, but I had a little pocket of time yesterday afternoon so I made some nutella rice krispies treats and cut them out like hearts.

Mister could live in a house of these things and he'd probably eat the walls down and be homeless.

We also got a nice treat from our new culinary school friend...

orange chiffon cake.

score.

she's going to make me fat.

DIY felt heart clip

ah... in the spirit of Valentine's day and all things heart-shaped, I've decided to give a hearty DIY.

cut out 2 felt hearts.

I did this freehanded, but if your freehanded heart is wonky, click here.

using a contrasting thread color, sew your hearts together.

it should now look like this.

bust out your hot glue and a clip.

glue clip on diagonally... or however you like.

I like diagonal.

boom.

clip it on.

it would be a super cool hair clip, too!

happy february!!

My awesome friend Amanda (who kinda needs to update her blog... just sayin') invited me over the other night and we made heart wreaths.

don't judge the lopsided heart... he needs love, too.

Amanda is the scrapbook paper queen.  I thought I had a lot.  She wins.

inspired by this pin

goals, aspirations, hopes, dream boards

our new New Year's tradition.

"aren't we done talking about New Year's yet?" you say?

not quite.

We've done it before, but not on New Year's.  I think it's most appropriate to do on the first day of the year.  Like starting anew.  Reclaiming your life. 

no.  the couch is not where they belong.

the top of my board.

my whole board.

the mister's board.  He put chocolate chip cookies on it just because he loves them.  he's kinda awesome.

DIY sparkly star

we went to a casual party for New Year's, so we didn't get dressed up.  I wanted to be sparkly though so I made this to wear in my hair.  Here's how it went down...

I drew a star on card stock, cut it out, traced it onto some felt (any color would do) and cut it out again.

I glued the card stock star to the felt star.

I painted the card stock a metallic gold.

(you probably could skip this step, but I wanted to make sure kraft color didn't show through the glitter)

After the paint dried, I put a thin coat of Mod Podge on the star and immediately covered it in glitter.

shake, shake shake and there you are!

hot glue a barrette on the back... 

and stick it in your hair!

now I'm sparkly.  thank goodness!

meatless new year's

I wanted to make a little something something for lunch on New Year's Day.  We don't really care for the greens a lot of southerners cook on New Year's so we went with broccoli.  

chopped and ready to prep.

I also decided to make black eyed pea dip instead of boring old black eyed peas.

recipe here.

oh the broccoli's done!

recipe here.

our meal.

blackeyed pea dip, oven roasted broccoli, and cheddar cheese biscuits.

yum.

2011 memories.

January - a special party just for my man and me.

these girls are the most incredible hostesses anyone could ask for!

February - lots of wedding prep.  Don't know how I could have gotten it all done without my friend Bethany.  This is not Oscar, by the way.  Her kitty is his doppelgänger.

March - the most amazing day of my life.  I got married to my best friend.

April - I got chosen to be the page turner for Pete the Cat, a book reading and signing that my brother and I took my nieces to.  This is my awkward face.

May - we were kinda boring during May.  However, we did make it to a party.  So here we are with our friend Burgin.

June - at the park picnicking and listening to the symphony.  Ah.  We're so cultured... haha.

July - I got a stress fracture.  Rocked the boot the best I could.

August - hit lots of rocks floating down the river.  

September - the mister's birthday... his cake ended up looking like a glowing orb.

October - cheeky pumpkin month.

November - I took some fun pictures of the mister.  He started a blog.  AND he got a real grown up job!  It was a good month.

December - my family.  I love them.  I especially love cooking with them.  

It's been a spectacular year filled with love, new beginnings and great experiences.  I hope you have a really wonderful New Year filled with light and love.  Happy 2012!

Christmas dump, part 5... blueberry breakfast cake

oh, Pinterest!  how you inspire me with recipes and projects!

I made this for breakfast on Christmas morn.

it was gone very quickly.

I think my family liked it.