Pear Poppyseed Salad with Grilled Chicken

So, its snowing outside...like crazy. Literally in 5 minutes the weather went from overcast to full on blizzard. Ok, maybe blizzard is a stretching it a little but still is crazy out there. It is dinner time and I am wondering if it is still ok to eat salads for dinner even if it is cold outside??? Well in my book it is. I love salads. They are so versatile and I feel healthy when I eat them. I  Ever since I got my Cuisinart Food Processor I have been making my own salad dressings and let me tell you.... they are so much better when you make them yourself! One of my favorite salad dressings is my dad's Poppyseed dressing. He actually used to own his own salad dressing company Le Parisien Vinagriette. When I was younger I used to go and help him bottle and package them. They are by far my favorite salad dressings. So for dinner I whipped up my dads recipe of Poppyseed dressing. I started with some Tender Garden lettuces which is a mix of baby spinach, arugula, and other baby greens (which are all my fav), topped it with some glazed walnuts, diced pears, grilled chicken and my favorite cheese Extra Sharp White Cheddar.

YUM

What you will need for your salad

Tender Garden lettuce or baby spinach lettuce mix
Pears, diced
Extra sharp white cheddar
Glazed walnuts
grilled chicken
poppy seed dressing (Recipe to follow)

Poppyseed dressing:

1 C sugar
1/2 T dry mustard
1/2 t salt
Blend dry ingredients and set aside

1/2 C + 1/8 C honey
1  1/4 C cider vinegar
1/4 C lemon juice
1 T finely pureed onions or you may substitute w/ onion powder
Place these ingredients in food processor and blend for 30 seconds. Add dry ingredients, blend until all combined for another 30 seconds. Slowly drizzle in:
3 C canola oil

When completed add:
1 t Poppyseeds
Blend for 20 more seconds. Place in the refrigerator until 1 hour before serving.

XOXO,
Whitney

Oscars

Best dressed goes to Octavia Spencer, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, and Mila Jovovich.

Apparentely I was loving white last night. All these ladies looked Gorgeous, Octavia was stunning, Gwyneth was Beautiful, and Mila was classic. On the Other hand Cameron need a lot a bit of help. Loved Camerons dress by Givenchy but didn't love her in it.

Worst Dressed: Angelina Jolie. Sorry to all those who loved this look, but I very much disliked it. She looked completely awkward and the dress was just nothing to talk about.

Also among the worst dressed was JLO, this dress was just tacky in my opinion.

Sadly the Oscars are over, And sadly I only watch the Oscars for the dresses.

much love,

nicole

Garlic Cheese Sticks

One of my favorite places to go to lunch with my mom is Francesco's. I grew up going there. We always get the same thing. I order a chicken caesar salad and my mom orders a green salad with their house italian and ranch dressing (They are really delicious when you mix them together). The salads are great but the real reason we go there? Garlic Cheese Sticks. They bring you out a complimentary order of cheese sticks when you sit down and are ordering. Then, we ask that instead of garlic bread with our salads that they please replace it with garlic cheese sticks. Seriously folks, it is the best garlic cheese sticks, ever. The other night I was craving it and decided I would experiment and try to make my own version of it. UM.... amazing. It was a hit with the hubby and he doesn't really like pizza of any kind. It was even yummy to eat it cold the next day. I used fresh basil which gave it even more flavor. And homemade pizza dough is always  better. If I am going to eat pizza I would rather eat homemade any day over restaurant pizza.

Glad it was a success so that I didn't have to drive 20 minutes to get my Garlic Cheese Stick Fix!

XOXO,
Whitney

Here is the recipe:

Garlic Cheese Bread

Ingredients:

For the Dough:
½  T yeast
¾  C warm water
½ tsp salt
½ T honey
1 ½ -2 C flour

 For the topping:

4 garlic cloves

1 1/2 C shredded parmesan cheese
¼ C EVOO
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 C mozzarella cheese
½ C Fresh basil, chiffonade cut

 Directions:

Preheat oven to 425° F.

In a large bowl dissolve yeast into warm water. Add salt and honey. Mix well. With a wooden spoon stir in flour. Knead dough until smooth. Separate dough into 2 halves. On a floured surface roll out the dough until desired thickness of crust is reached. No raising is necessary for the dough.  Lightly slater dough with EVOO and bake pizza dough for 4 minutes. Remove from oven.

Combine garlic, 1 C of parmesan cheese , EVOO, and salt & pepper into a food processor. Pulse until all combined. Spread mixture onto pizza dough. Add mozzarella cheese, remaining parmesan and top with fresh basil. Bake in the oven for approximately 12 minutes or until golden.

Aladdin

{Image Via}

Aladdin isn't just some Disney character it's a cup.... not just any cup, but a life changing cup. It sounds so simple to believe but this cup will keep your cold drinks cold even on hot days when left in the car, but it works. This cup is double insulated resulting in cold drinks staying cold and a no sweat feature, say goodbye to wet cups. My favorite is drinking smoothies from this cup because first of all they stay cold like they should, and second the straw is the perfect size to slurp up your favorite smoothie.

much love,
nicole

TVD Obesession

I've got to admit that I was a little bit skeptical when my friend suggested I start watching The Vampire Diaries. I have never really been a fan of any show on the CW channel but my Mr. and I had just finished watching Sons of Anarchy on Netflix and needed something new to watch so I decided I would give it a shot. Ummmm.....can I say amazing? It has action, vampires, a love triangle, werewolves & witches. Seriously, I love it.

I love her:

And him:

And I hated him at first but now? Love him:

The writers have done such a great job. There are so many twist and turns in the plot. It is never predictable or cheesy. We have finished watching season 1 and season 2 on Netflix and now we have to wait for season 3 or find some way to catch up. Where there's a will... there's a way! So if you are looking for something new to watch might I suggest THE VAMPIRE DIARIES. You'll thank me. Trust me.

XOXO,
Whitney

Static

{Image via}

I don't know if any of you suffer from staticy hair or not but I do. I even think I've blogged about it before. This winter though has been a dream thanks to my trusty little friend here Matrix Curl Boucles, Super Defrizzer. All you do is put about a peanut size amount in the palm of your hand and run in it through your wet hair, then blow dry. I never used to believe in blow drying but with this product I believe in it! My hair is never staticy whether I'm putting on a shirt or taking off a jacket or sweater, it just isn't a problem! I suggest you look into this before it's too late, it made this winter bearable.

much love,

nicole

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce over Cheese Ravioli

The other day I was shopping at Costco. The thing about shopping at Costco is that when I go there I usually make a day out of it. I like to walk around and see what new promotional items they have and snack on the samples. I think they plan on their customers spending a lot of time and money at Costco so the samples are more of a "Thank you, please stay longer now that you aren't hungry". It is almost impossible to go to Costco and just come out of the store with only the items on your shopping list. I somehow end up buying more than what I came for (especially if the Mr. comes along). While I was parading up and down the aisles I came acrossed the pasta and "sauce aisle" and saw some Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce. I picked it up, read the ingredients... it sounded amazing, but then again I love Butternut Squash if you didn't know already. I was tempted to buy it and it almost went in my cart but then I placed it back on the shelf (or pallet...whatever you want to call it.) The thing is... I have this thing about making my own pasta sauce. I never buy store bought pasta sauce. It tastes so much better when you make it yourself. So instead I grabbed a bag of the Kirklad Four Cheese Ravioli:

Then, I headed over to Smith's and bought some produce, including butternut squash. My plan was to create my own version of Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce. I did the other night. Sometimes I like flying by the seat of my pants and making stuff up as I go. Sometimes I am successful...other times...not so much. It just so happens that this was one of the times that was a success. And I paired the sauce with the ravioli, which was perfect because the sauce needed a little love and the ravioli literally takes like a minute to cook so they balanced eachother out. I would say dinner was a hit.

If you love Butternut Squash as much as I do then you will love this too. 

XOXO,

Whitney

Recipe:

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:
1 Butternut Squash

1 can of tomato paste

1 C chicken stock

2 C half & half

1 T dried thyme

2 T butter

Salt & Pepper to taste

EVOO

1/3 C onion; chopped

3 garlic cloves; chopped

1 C parmesan cheese; finely grated

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel squash and cut it lengthwise. Remove seeds and cut into chunks. Place squash on a baking pan, sprinkle with salt, pepper, a little bit of thyme and butter. Bake in the oven for 50 minutes or until soft.

Remove squash from the oven and puree in a food processor until smooth. Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, heat EVOO. Saute onions for 2 minutes and then add garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Add to butternut squash in the food processor and blend until smooth. Add squash mixture back into your saucepan. Over medium heat add chicken stock and tomato paste, stir until well combined. Bring to a boil. Add cheese, half & half and seasonings. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 3-5 minutes. Add butter. Turn the heat to low. Test taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Also, depending on how large your squash is you may need to add more liquid.

Top over Ravioli or your favorite pasta. Sprinkle with some more parmesan cheese if desired and enjoy!

Avocado Pound Cake

I found this recipe on Joy the Baker about a year ago, and trust me this pound cake is amazing, and life changing. Just give it a shot I know you won't regret it.

Avocado Pound Cake:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 ripe avocados, just over a cup.. almost a cup and a half of avocado, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two loaf pans and set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, sift together flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside. Set the four eggs out on the counter to come to room temperature (quick tip to warm up your eggs- place them in a bowl filled with luke warm water) while you beat the butter and sugar.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter on medium speed until softened and pliable. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the avocado and beat another minute to incorporate. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is thoroughly mixed.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating 1 minute after the addition of each egg. Beat in vanilla extract.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half of the flour mixture, all of the buttermilk, and then the rest of the flour mixture. Beat just until combined.

Divide the dough between the two loaf pans and place in the oven. Turn the oven down to 325 degrees F. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. I checked my cakes every ten minutes or so after the 30 minute mark. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

much love,
nicole

White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Have I ever told you how much I love Martha Stewart? I mean, because I do. She is such a creative and talented woman. She seems to have an unlimited amount of ideas and her recipes are fool proof. Last year I made cupcakes for my aunt's bunco party. In return she gave me this:

I already have her cupcake book and love it. Of course I knew I would love her cookies cookbook too. My aunt knows me so well. This week we had our Webelo's cub scouts over to our house and I wanted to make them a treat and who doesn't love cookies? I had some white chocolate chips in my pantry and some sweetened coconut. I love coconut but didn't think that everyone else would so I decided to make 1/2 of the cookies just white chocolate chunk and the other 1/2 with coconut and oatmeal. Ummm.... delicious. And the cookies with coconut in them? Divine. Reminds me a little of Kauai, my most favorite vacation spot EVER. Martha actually has a white chocolate chunk recipe that calls for coconut, nuts, golden raisins and oats. Well, I decided to just make her basic white chocolate chip recipe and added oats and  coconut to half of the batter. Easy enough for me! 

The bad thing is? I can't help myself with these cookies. Good thing there is only one left so I don't have to keep eating them. Oh, and another good thing? I ran 12 miles yesterday so I felt like I could have a cookie or two. I am in week 6 of my marathon training and so far... so good. Ha Ha, we will just wait and see how I feel in 2 weekse when I have to run 14 miles, then  15 and so on... wish me luck.  Happy Saturday!

XOXO,
Whitney

White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe by Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
2 1/4 C all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 C unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 C packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 C or one bag of white chocolate chips

If you want to make w/ Coconut and oats like I did also add the following:
(I didn't really measure these I just added how much I thought I wanted)
1/2 C sweetened flaked coconut
1 C  oats

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Whisk together flour and baking soda in a bowl. PUt butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric miser fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix one medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 min. Reduce speed to low. Add salt, vanilla and eggs. Mix until well combined. Mix in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and if desired oats & coconut.

2. Bake cookies on a greased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes. (Mine were perfect after 11 minutes) Let cookies cool on cookie sheets on a wire rack.

Agave Nectar

I've been at a dental convention the last two days learning some awesome stuff that I wanted to share with you all. Yesterday I went and saw this guys... David L. Meinz he is awesome and I had so much fun listening to and most importantly I learned SOOO much! What I'm most excited to share with you all is what I learned about sugar.

• 1 tsp of sugar = 4 grams (now you won't have to worry about converting it yourself and looking at percentages... When you look at a nutrition label go straight to how many grams of sugar it has and now you will be able to see how many teaspoons there are PER SERVING < per serving is key)
• Kids get sugar from three main foods. Cereal, Soda, Candy. David suggested to buy cereals without the sugar. Buy puffed wheat, shredded wheat and crispix. Then place a sugar bowl on the table and tell your child to put as much sugar in his cereal as he wants! I know your thinking this guy is crazy but think about it... All three of those cereals have no sugar, so normally a child is only going to add about two spoonfuls which is still less than what they would get from all those other sugar cereals. Plus what happens to the added sugar? It sinks to he bottom of the bowl. Not a problem.

Now lets talk about sugar substitutes.

• Agave Nectar seems to have had a lot of hype lately. But before you jump into this new sugar trend think again. Agave Nectar has more fructose than High Fructose Corn Syrup, and it isn't even high in anti oxidants like some people claim it to be. Agave Nectar also goes through just about the same chemical process as sugar does. What I'm trying to say is that if you think you are being healthy by changing to Agave Nectar, you're not.
• Honey is sugar. Once digested all it is is sugar. It has "trace" nutrients, keyword being "trace." So don't kid yourself thinking it is any sort of super food.
• Stevia is a natural sweetner that comes from a plant. So if you are going to use any sugar substitute that is an awesome option.

Some other tips David L. Meinz gave us were to...

•  eat closer to the way the food was grown. Like David said "ask yourself, Does a twinkie grow that way?"
• If you want to get more bang for your buck, Fat is where it's at. You will have more results in reducing your fat intake than you would your sugars.
• Your fat intake should be 50 grams a day or less.
• Sodium intake should be 1500 mg a day or less, and guess what 2000 mg of salt equals 1 tsp.
• Frequency and Quantity. It's how much you eat and how often you eat it.
• Count where your calories come from
• You must have physical activity. 50 % nutrition 50% physical activity
• Slowly change your diet. Too far too fast = failure.
• It takes your taste buds 6 months to change.

I loved this class and his presentation of it all I was able to sit and watch the whole time and was learning something every second I was there. I even signed up for his newsletter that's how much I enjoyed it. I highly recommend clicking on the link above and going to his website. Also I know I have the title as Agave Nectar and that I rambled about far more than that, but it was what I found most interesting and memorable about the seminar because so many people are using it thinking it is healthy, no no think again. But now that you are all bored with my tips, facts and no pictures, I'll let you get in on with your lives.

much love,
nicole

Crockpot Chicken Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

Lately I have been using my crockpot a lot. It just makes life a little bit easier some days. So I have been experimenting with new recipes. There are so many great blogs with amazing slow cooker recipes. The thing I love about cooking with a crockpot is that usually you can just literally throw everything in there, turn it on and walk away from it for hours! This last week I have tried a few new Indian recipes in the crock pot... amazing. While I was searching for recipes I came across a recipe for Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. It sounded good and something different than the usual. The only thing was.... I didn't have steak. And, in general, I am not a huge red meat fan so I usually like to switch it out for chicken. The thing about recipes is that I see them more as a place to build off of rather than a set of exact guidelines you have to follow. So I took that recipe and kind of made it my own.  For the sandwich I bought some delicious bread from our local bakery at Smith's and chose a Pepperjack cheese to top it off. Can I just say it was unexpectedly amazing? I used chicken thighs and by the time it was done cooking it shredded so easily and it was super moist. Very unexpected. My Mr. said we should add it to our list of "usuals". I definitely will because you can't go wrong with easy and yummy.

This was such a great way to change it up a little during the weeknight. I will definitely be making this again.

XOXO,
Whitney

Here is the recipe:

1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs, mine were frozen solid!
1/4 C Cooking white wine
1/4 C Worcerstershire sauce
Fresh Ground Black Pepper approx 1 tsp.... or to taste
Salt to taste - I would wait until the end to add the salt. You may not need it at all.
2 Red Peppers, sliced
1/3 C onion, chopped

Bread/Hoagie
Cheese- I used Pepperjack

Throw all of the ingredients into the slow cooker.
Cook on high for 3-5 hrs or low for 4-6 hrs (This all depends on how hot your crockpot gets, mine gets pretty hot!)

After the chicken is done cooking take 2 forks and shred it. It should fall apart pretty easily. Take your bun/hoagie, butter it and toast it on an electric griddle. Melt the cheese onto the bread, add the chicken and enjoy.

Baby Lips

I caved... and got the ever so talked about Baby Lips by Maybelline.

I'm going to give it to ya straight. Baby Lips didn't meet my expectations. I bought the peach kiss in hopes of giving my lips that peach color that has been oh so trendy lately, and well it just didn't give my lips anything of the sort. On the flip side after the first application, my lips are now baby soft. I'm just loving the way they are feeling. So don't buy this product or at least the peach kiss in hopes of it giving your lips color, buy it in hopes of having baby soft lips. Did I mention it has SPF 20 in it as well... I believe that just made up for the lack of color. I'll definitely be buying another one of these soon.

Much Love,

nicole

Treats for my Valentine's!

Happy Valentine's Day! I have been celebrating Valentine's Day for the last month. I LOVE love! Yep.  I love all the cheesy, sappiness of it all. But the best thing about my Valentine's Day?

1. I get to spend the day with this MOST special Valentines ever:

2. My Mr. has to leave for work super early but when I woke up and went into the bathroom he had left the sweetest note for me on the mirror. Can't wait until he gets home tonight!

3. Treats. I love me some V-Day treats. For our Girls night we made these delicious cake pops. Oh man were they yummy.

But something special for my Valentine? Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream. I know it is still cold outside but seriously me & my Mr. love ice cream. Definitely my most favorite treat. I tried to make it a little bit "lighter" but it is still just as delicious. It tastes fresh and creamy!

And a flashback of Valentine's past: We like to make each other special dinners for Valentine's day. We have made this dessert twice! Molten Lava Cakes- Thank you Paula Deen! Seriously, so easy and amazing. The recipe calls for a hint of orange......mmmmmmmmmmmm.

How are you celebrating Valentine's Day? I really feel that every day you should let those you love and care for know how special they are, not just once a year. But that is the fun thing about Valentine's day... you get to go a little over board. And who doesn't love celebrating?

Happy Valentine's Day,

Whitney

My favorite Love quote:
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends

Recipes:

Fresh Strawberry Ice-Cream Recipe

3 cups fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 C sugar, divided
1 C whole milk
1 C lowfat milk
2 C heavy cream
3/4 C half & half
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

In a small bowl combine the strawberries with the lemon juice and 1/2 C of sugar. Stir gently. Place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours to allow the strawberries to make juices. Then, strain the berries reserving the juice. In a food processor, puree the strawberries and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on medium speed and combine milk with the remaining sugar. Mix until sugar is dissolved,  about 2 minutes.  Stir in the cream, half & half, vanilla, strawberries & strawberry juice. Pour mixture into your ice cream machine for the amount of time suggested per the manufacturer. (Mine takes about 25 minutes)

Place in a freezer safe bowl and freeze to harden just slightly... or eat right away if you like your ice cream really soft!

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Molten Lava Cakes
Recipe from Food Network - Paula Deen

Ingredients
6 (1-ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
2 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 stick) butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange liqueur - We used 1 teaspoon of orange extract instead and it was a perfect amount
Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Grease 6 (6-ounce) custard cups. Melt the chocolates and butter in the microwave, or in a double boiler. Add the flour and sugar to chocolate mixture. Stir in the eggs and yolks until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and orange liqueur. Divide the batter evenly among the custard cups. Place in the oven and bake for 14 minutes. The edges should be firm but the center will be runny. Run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates.

Busted

Looky here what I found......

A mug shot of Bruno Mars.

Don't get me wrong I love Bruno mars, he is a secret crush of mine... next to my not so secret crush on Justin Bieber. Which is why I was disappointed to hear that he was caught for possession of cocaine last year. Maybe everyone else knew about this and I was just hiding in a hole when this all happened, but none the less I found out a year later and I feel kind of bad about it. Good for him though for exceeding the judges expectations and not going to jail. Good Luck Bruno and don't let me down again. 3 strikes you're out, good thing you only have one. So speaking of Bruno mars, did any of you watch the grammys? Because I most certainly did... This is not bias based on my secret crush for Bruno Mars, but I thought his performance was the best of the night... sorry, not sorry. He was awesome. On the fashion side of things.... What was Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, and Fergie wearing? weird peeps these days, I was embarrassed for them.

Much Love,

nicole

Valentine's Day Girls Craft Night

Last night was our first Valentine's Day Girls Craft Night. The invitations were sent out last week and we have been making preparations all week long. Eight of us girls got together for a fun night of crafting and delicious dinner. We served Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup along with our homemade Fabulous French Bread. After we were done eating the crafting began! Everyone was in charge of bringing their own craft to work on. Thanks to Pinterest we all had some cute crafts! Here are some of our decorations:

Pom Poms made out of our Coffee Filter Flowers

Felt Flowers with Brown Paper Table Runner

Close up of our Coffee Filter Flower Pom Poms

Paint Swatch Heart Garland

Gift Bags- Inside our guests found: Valentine's Cake Pop, Paint Swatch Heart Garland, and Ombre Sugar Hearts

Our Valentine's Day Cake Pops that we made:

Table Centerpiece:

Whitney's Craft of the night:

XOXO,

Whitney & Nicole

Banana Bread

Today mother and I had success in the cooking department with Banana Bread. We always use the same recipe which came from my grandma, you just can never go wrong with it. The secret is to eat this bread hot from the oven with a little bit of butter on top.

Banana Bread-

1/4 c. Shortening

3/4 c. Sugar

1 Egg

2/3 c. Banana

2 c. Sifted Flour

1/2 tsp. Baking Power

1/2 tsp. Soda

1/2 tsp. Salt

3 T. Buttermilk

1/2 c. Chopped Nuts (optional, I prefer it without)

Cream sugar and shortening. Blend egg & banana. Stir in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk. Blend in nuts. Bake in greased loaf pan. 55 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes 2 small loafs 

Much Love,

nicole

Felt Flowers Galore!

The last few days I have been making felt flowers like its my job! I found this cute idea for different types of felt flowers on Pinterest (Oh how I love Pinterest!) Not sure if you remember from my last craft, but I bought a ridiculous amount of felt. Anyway, there is a great tutorial for all different types of felt flowers here. It is so helpful and they are so simple to make! I decided to go with gray, cream and red felt flowers. They are going to be a part of our table decorations for our upcoming Valentine's Day Party/Girls Craft Night. I love the different textures. Here are some of my flowers:

All you really need to make these flowers is felt, hot glue and scissors! So simple.

XOXO,
Whitney

Sugar for Love Day

Workin on some Ombre Sugar Hearts tonight. Found this cute idea here where you'll also find all the how to on them. I'm obviously not all the way finished yet but when I am I'm going to put them in one of our apothecary jars for some V-Day or what I like to call Love Day decoration that doubles as candy... love the sugar cube? You'll love these. Lots of love today.

Happy Love day,

nicole

Valentine's Day Ruffle Cake Attempt

I got a few new pastry tips last week and have been wanting to try them out. I watched a few Youtube videos on how to use them to make roses. I also found this ruffle cake and was dying to try and learn how to do a ruffle cake. So I pulled out my heart shaped cake pans. A tip for frosting cakes, let the cake cool completely. Then, let it cool in the freezer or in the fridge. Frost the cake entirely first then start your ruffles on the side. I used a Wilton #103 for my ruffles and rose. To make the ruffles hold bag vertically, slot of tip perpendicular to cake; use swift back-and-forth motion 1 inch wide to make ruffle, pulling tip up side.Not the best frosting job but it was my first time attempting ruffles and roses. My goal this summer: Take a cake decorating class.

 

Excited for V-Day!

XOXO,
Whitney