Love is in the Air. My Valentine’s Decor

January 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment

A new season or holiday = a new mantel!! I love changing this up with the seasons and it’s fun to make it different every year. So this year I have added some new to the old.

Valentins Mantel

  • Burlap garland – made by me. I just used the burlap ribbon with red pinstripes found at JoAnn’s, cut it down and wrapped in half over twine and then I cut some hearts and added them for that pop.
  • Burlap covered letter M – also my creation. The letter is from JoAnn’s Superstore and so is the red burlap.
  • Vase and hydrangeas – The flowers are from Michaels and the vase is Cost Plus.
  • Candle holders and candles – I’ve had them so long that I can’t remember where they came from but I love them!
  • Framed art – Of course I had to add some words so I found this printable on-line and added to an already on hand frame. I spent a 1/2 hour searching and I can not find the original source! I printed this a couple of weeks back.
  • Candle – on clearance at Target.
  • Of course I had to add a couple of close ups of my true loves.

A few other fun Valentine’s spots in my house:

Front door wreath {outside} – I created this using a large straw wreath form and lots of burlap and fabric for the flowers and base.

outside wreath

Front door wreath {inside} – A small straw wreath form wrapped in yarn and covered with pretty rosettes made of felt, burlap and pretty fabrics.

inside wreath

 

Do you change things up for the holidays? I’d love to see your creative side!

Filed Under: Bee Inspired, Crafts, Holidays Tagged With: , ,

Fabulous Organizing

January 22, 2013 By 3 Comments

I {heart} organizing so I thought I’d share some fun stuff that has popped up over on Pinterest as of late.

Let’s start with some awesome kitchen organizing, shall we?

Kitchen Organization

Organized Kitchen Collage

1} Design Dining and Diapers pantry DIY

2} wine wall

3} Heart 2 Home – organized fridge

4} Tip Junkie’s kitchen command center

5} door storage

6} Vertical silverware storage at Apartment Therapy

7} BH&G snack jars

8} I love these divided walls although I can’t locate the original source.

Jewelry & Make-up

Of course organizing your make-up and jewelry makes you want to get all dolled up, right?

Jewelry Collage

1} How cool is this magnetic makeup board

2} What an amazing jewelry wall

3}  Towel bar necklace holder.

4} This is my own creation made out of radiator metal and an old frame.

Home Office & Craft Room

I adore craft rooms and how personalized they can be to your own individual tastes, crafts, uses, etc.

Office collage

1} Multi material bulletin boards over at PB Teen.

2} Yet another fab design by PB Teen.

3} I love the sleek look of this one.

4} BH&G always does it right.

5} I love the vibe in this space.

I hope I have provided with your organizational eye candy.

Filed Under: Bee Inspired, Bee Organized Tagged With: ,

Tortellini Soup

January 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Over the holidays I had my brother, sis in law and adorable nephew staying with us. One evening after returning from her mom’s, they brought home some leftover Tortellini soup and said it was a must try. Well a couple of days went by and they went home. The soup remained. I ended up having neighbors over for impromptu leftover soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. It was so awesome that I had to get the recipe. We enjoyed this hearty soup for several days and I even shared it with a friend who happened to be here as I was cooking it for dinner one night. She enjoyed it so much that she has since made it for her family. So what I am saying is TRY IT. It’s hearty, yummy and easy. Three great qualities in a meal if you ask me ;) Now, she did leave this recipe on my answering machine {yes, I still have one of those!} so a few details may be mixed up from the original but it’s good regardless!

Tortellini Soup

 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 Tbsp each dried basil and oregano
  • 10 oz tortellini
  • 8 cups beef broth {I used 4 plus water}
  • 1 lb Italian sausage
  • 1 cup green beans {I used canned cause it’s what I had}
  • 2 8 0z cans stewed tomatoes
  • 2 pealed and cubed potatoes
  • 2 zucchini, chopped
  • 8 oz can tomato sauce
  • 2 carrots, diced

Directions

Saute onion and garlic in butter. Add spices. I used a dutch oven. Place in a bowl after translucent. Add meat to pan and brown.  Add broth, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, potatoes and carrots. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Add green beans, tortellini and zucchini. Simmer another 10 minutes.

Serve with some fresh parmesan and either a nice green salad and crusty french bread or a grilled cheese sandwich. What a great weeknight dinner to warm your belly.

Filed Under: In the Kitchen Tagged With: ,

2013 – Healthier Me?

January 4, 2013 By 6 Comments

So it has begun – a New Year. A fresh start. Well it seems that so many of us have New Year resolutions. I’d like to not burden myself with such a heavy load as a “Resolution” cause then I just feel like crap if I let myself down. Right? Who’s with me? Fist bump. Come on, you know you wanna!

ability

This is how I am feeling. Like there is a constant noise in my head pulling me in several directions.  I feel like I need to slow it down. Not try and do so much but one of my biggest obstacles is taking care of me. What I mean is diet and exercise. I have many friends that are so disciplined about these aspects of life and then there are so many like me. Always struggling. Food is SO DAMN GOOD. If I try and become obsessive about my diet, it will backfire in a hot second leaving me feeling even yuckier. So the best way for me to go about heating healthier? Not think of it as a diet but a series of healthy life changes. Will I quit my iced coffees with milk and vanilla? Nope, no way. That would just make me so sad. Can I lay off the pastries and bread? Yes, doable! Can I stop the holiday baking frenzy and thus stop eating my way through the holidays? YES! Reason #1 why I am happy December is behind me. Honestly, I don’t have a weakness for much but those White Chocolate Peanut Butter Krispies? So help me if I find one of those laying around.

I have been feeling ‘pudgy’ lately. I know I have packed on some pounds over the years. Back in 2006, after a year of nursing I was sitting at a fabulous weight and feeling great. Yep – nursing, chasing a toddler and hauling around a baby were the best diet and fitness routine ever. But I stopped nursing and the weight slowly came back. And then some. I don’t feel obese but I don’t feel healthy. I watched a video of my baby’s 1st  birthday last week and I was reminded of just how much my body has changed. I was not the mom who held on to the baby weight. It fell off. Seriously. When I saw the video, I very much wanted to be back at my after baby weight. Talk about motivation.

I had to laugh as this has been on my mind and then yesterday I got the latest issue of Us Weekly and the cover was talking about Kourtney Kardashian’s amazing 40 pound weight loss. Oh yes, tell me all about celebrities who drop the weight. When they have nutritionists, chefs, personal trainers and various cash incentives at their disposal. I have myself. My own want to be healthy has to surpass my lack of will power. OK — so here I am, sharing my innermost thoughts with all of you. No fads, no unrealistic goals. Just the need to be healthier. I’ll be 40 in 2014. Wouldn’t it be nice to be super healthy as I cross into a new decade of my life?

A friend is trying to get a group of us to do a 1/2 Marathon in October. My husband laughed. That kinda irritated me but he’s right. I hate running {and I try to NOT say the word hate}. I’m more motivated by my girlfriends then I am by training for a marathon. BUT I can try right? I’m thinking of my friend James that is active and ran a 1/2 Marathon and said he’d never need to do that again. That might be me. I’m the girl who flunked PE as a freshman in high-school cause I wouldn’t dress down for the mile. Yep, that was me. So embarrassing to admit. OK, so goal #1 – find a 5K, sign up and train.

Now onto the other part of getting fit. I really enjoy what I get from yoga both mentally and physically however, the studios I love are HOT and the heat and the flow together often times makes me super nauseous. I have tried different methods to alleviate this {going 1st thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, a light stomach, etc} nothing really squashes the nausea. So I think because I do love the feeling I get from yoga, that I should try different styles of yoga. So goal #2 is to try various workout program. Yoga, Pilates and whatever other things come my way.

So here we go 2013 — let’s do great things together!!!

Filed Under: Bee Inspired, The Hive Tagged With: ,

Chicken Salsa Soup

January 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment

This was an oh so tasty soup I made a couple of weeks back and yes, I will be making it again. I made a few adjustments that made this a quick meal. Perfect for busy nights. #1 – I used jar salsa and #2 – I used rotisserie chicken. I’m including the original recipe in case you’d like to take the long route but I just added the salsa and chicken at the end and let it simmer till it was warm.

 

Chicken Salsa Soup – Recipe adapted by Rachel Ray Magazine

ingredients

  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 head garlic, cloves finely chopped
  • 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
  • 1 32 ounce container  (4 cups) chicken broth
  • Salt
  • 1 avocado, thinly sliced lengthwise
  • 1 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
directions

  1. In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic; cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken thighs and broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 4 minutes. Stir in 1 cup salsa, cover and remove from the heat. Let stand until the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred.
  2. Return the broth to a simmer; season with salt. Divide the chicken among 4 soup bowls and top with the avocado slices. Ladle the broth into the bowls and top each portion with the cilantro, sour cream and remaining salsa.

 

Filed Under: In the Kitchen Tagged With:

2012 Ramblings and New Year Wishes

December 31, 2012 By 2 Comments

I have not been blogging as much. I started a new job back in mid November and it’s also been the holiday season so double whammy. The job came at a perfect time. I had been looking but not really getting any replies to resumes, etc. It’s a tough market and I just had a feeling that something would come via networking. And it did. A friend referred me to another mutual friend who needed a part time admin. {Perfect!} That is what I was looking for. It is a good fit for my family and helps with our monthly budget a bit. I realized how much less stressed I felt when I got my first ‘real’ paycheck. So this mama is acclimating to working out of the home after being an at home mama for 10 years. It’s good though. I feel pretty lucky to have landed this job. My boss and coworkers are all so nice. You can’t beat that. Oh, did I mention it’s an accounting office? Ask me how I feel again after tax season. Ha ha!! Just kidding ;)

December has been full of sadness for so many. It’s really been heavy on my mind as of late. Obviously the tragedy in Connecticut hit close to home for so many. It left lots of questions on how we can make this world safer for our children. It made us question gun control {OK, I have questioned this a lot. I know my views and opinions don’t align with many so don’t yell out me if you disagree!}. It made us question mental illness and how we can better cope with people who suffer from mental illness. I think mostly it just made us feel helpless. It also made us enjoy our own babies more this holiday season.

Another story I have been following in our little community is the one called, Shane’s Village. It’s about a local 8 year old boy battling Leukemia. The updates both make me want to cheer him on and cry for him. Mostly I’d love to give him a big giant hug. And his mama, I want to hug her too. My heart hurts for him and his family as they battle this disease. He’s this amazing little soul who continues to smile through the ‘yuck’ of a serious disease. What an inspiration.

There have also been several deaths from cancer and other serious illnesses this past month. Several people I know have felt loss first hand and they are trudging through the holiday season with a heavy heart. My heart hurts for their losses.

Last night I found out that one of my dearest friend’s has a sick little girl. She is in the PICU with fluid around her heart. They are not sure what has caused this. Medicine has not alleviated the problem so they are exploring other options. My girlfriend has also suffered from various autoimmune issues for years so the stress this puts on her is also not good. I’m sending many get well wishes their way tonight!! Maybe you can join me in doing so?

Then today came along — I was cruising along, running some errands alone as my sister took the boys to spend their Christmas money {awesome Auntie!}. Anyway, my phone rings and it’s her. She says in a tearful voice, “Don’t panic, everyone is OK”. Yikes. Not a call I wanted to get. They had been in a minor car accident. Everyone was OK but shaken up. Of course the 20 minute drive from Folsom to Roseville felt like a million miles. My babies are OK. My sister is OK. It was scary but could have been so much worse. So I am feeling extremely blessed to have healthy and safe kids but I am also hyper aware of how quickly that can change.

So going into 2013 can I ask for world peace and healthy children? Seems like a an easy enough task? Sigh. If only.

With that I am leaving you with a few of my favorite quotes – may you apply them in life. Along the way. When needed.

be kindsource

itsnicetobeniced2wordsimportanttobenicemessagequote-4863aa579ed3b2571799543d2fc5012d_hsource

let goSource

great thingsSource

live every day

 

Source

 

let goSource

small thingsSource

trySource

And last but certainly not least, I leave you with this:

just loveSource

I am so thankful for all of you that read my little blog. It makes my heart smile to see the comments and the shares. I love when you tell me that you tried and loved a recipe that I shared on my blog. Those of you who know me and read my posts know that I feel things whole heartedly and with this comes my emotions. The good, bad and ugly but no matter what my mood, I am always so thankful for all of the little things that really are the BIG things in life :) I wear my heart on my sleeve and I may go from laughing to crying in a split second. I feel deeply. Then I share with all of you. Thank you for being there for my life!

What are your intentions for the new year? Whatever you do — do it with kindness and love. I wish you a new year with a happy heart and great blessings and love.

 

Filed Under: Bee Inspired, The Hive Tagged With: , , ,

Neighbor Gifts

December 23, 2012 By 2 Comments

I love giving gifts and there are so many people on my gift list. I am about done but I still have my neighbors. Well, I typically do platters of cookies but then I started to think that I wanted to be different this year. So this is what I have come up with — I have 6 neighbors that I deliver too. This is my plan:

I love these oh so practicable soaps. The attached gift card is adorable and personalizes it a bit. I found the idea over at g*rated but she linked back to Crafts reDesigned for the printable. I picked up the soaps at Bath & Body Works. They have some great coupons right now too!

soap gifts

I think I will also add a mini loaf of egg nog bread. It’s a holiday favorite in our house. I love how Knead to Cook wrapped them up all sweet with a very simple hole punched gift tag and a pretty ribbon.

eggnogbread

Last but not least, I like to include a little something special for the kids. Every year my boys and I whip up some Reindeer Food. This tradition is a sweet one and of course, super simple {notice my pattern here — SIMPLE!}. I love the *free* printable over at TomKat Studios. I love that it allows the children to feel the magic of Christmas by leaving something special to bring Santa and his reindeer to their homes.

reindeer food label - tomkat studio

There you have it – a few fun and simple gift ideas :)

 

Filed Under: Bee Inspired, Crafts, Holidays, In the Kitchen

26 Random Acts of Kindness

December 22, 2012 By 2 Comments

Last Friday was a horrific day for a small little town called Newtown, Connecticut. It shook all of us. I still can not even fathom the grief these parents are feeling. Their children and family members killed in a senseless violent crime. I think all of us are just not able to wrap our heads around any of it. I don’t want to get on a soap box about mental illness, stricter gun laws and how much the media focuses on the killer. All of that has been swimming around in my head and I wish there was a solution to stop this kind of hurt from ever happening to another person EVER AGAIN. But, because we can only go forward  - I wanted to share this with all of you and see if you can spread some kindness? I saw a quote the other day while driving on the freeway, it said, “Kindness is contagious, catch it”.  It’s been on repeat in my head. If we could all practice kindness perhaps the world will breathe a little easier.

I know that as a parent I am constantly battling my kids. It’s things like them constantly wanting material things or fighting as siblings do. I am always trying to remind them to be kind and that they are so fortunate to have so many basics that others are lacking. I don’t feel that I spoil my children but a sense of entitlement comes from somewhere. I want to change that. I think this 26 Acts of Kindness will help plant some seeds of kindness. One of my oldest and dearest friends shared this idea with me and now I am passing it along to all of you {thanks Jenn — love you!!}

proxy.storify.com

 

Can you do 26 Random Acts of Kindness in memory of the 26 lives lost? Go here or here for some ideas. I’ve also read quite a few different opinions that there are only 26 acts and not 28. I feel that it is a personal and individual choice as to whether you honor the shooter and his mom, who are also both dead. A few people had suggested donating towards mental health services. Again, how you decide to proceed is a very personal choice.

As quickly as this can become a political & religious discussion, lets step away from that and do what we can to honor the sweet souls lost that day. Many of whom were the same age as my baby. Earlier this week I was able to be in the classroom helping to run his Christmas Party. Never have I felt so blessed to be in that classroom surrounded by sweet, smiling faces, an amazing teacher and adoring parents. What a gift.

Can you practice 26 Random Acts of Kindness? I bet you can :) I know we will be starting tomorrow.

Filed Under: Bee Inspired, Bee Thankful Tagged With: , , ,

Citrus Salt Gifts

December 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Tis the season for baking but sometimes there are so many sweets {is there such a thing really?} Anyway, if you want to give something that can be used for months to come and it isn’t going to pack on the pounds, try this gift. I made several of these for the yard duties, admin staff and librarian at my kids school. They looked like I worked super hard on them were super easy.

A couple of tips, I used sea salt as the ‘flake salt’ was not available at any of my local markets. I also ordered the cute little wooden spoons from here. I picked up the 4 oz jars at WalMart. Sunset Magazine has the printables. Just print on plain printer paper, cut down and use a pretty ribbon to attach it to the jar. Done — just like that you have something pretty and that will last beyond a few days. I had some leftover and used in a pasta dish the other night. Delish!

 source

Citrus Salt with lemon zest

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flake salt, such as Maldon, or coarse salt
  • 3 tablespoons citrus zest (any kind)

Preparation

  1. Mix salt and zest in a bowl; work zest into salt with your fingers to release oils and flavor. Spread on a baking tray. Air-dry until dried completely, 8 hours to overnight.
  2. Note: Zest’s color will fade over time, but this won’t affect taste.
  3. Make ahead: 2 months, kept airtight at room temperature.
  4. Bottle it: 4-oz. jam glass jar

Filed Under: Bee Inspired, Fun finds, Holidays, In the Kitchen Tagged With: , ,

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Krispies

December 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Oh my deliciousness!! I can not even explain how amazingly good these are. I had to whip up something quick the other day. You know, cookie exchanges and all are kinda happening left and right. Tis the season! I have now made 4 batches of these. In 3 days. Yep, I’d say these are my latest go to recipe as far as treats go. The downfall? I can’t stop eating them! I am popping them in my mouth A LOT. So basically they are a diet fail but hey, who diets this time of year anyway?? ;)  

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Krispies

Source

(Printable Recipe)

2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
2 cups dry roasted peanuts
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup peanut butter
2 pounds white chocolate chips (2 12-oz packages plus 1 1/3 cup)

In a large bowl, combine cereal, peanuts and marshmallows. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate and peanut butter on High for 1 minute and then in 30 second intervals until fully melted. Stir chocolate into cereal mixture. Mixture will be slightly runny. Drop by tablespoons onto waxed paper. Let set until firm, 2 hours. Store in an airtight container.

I promise, these will be a hit at any party you bring them too!! Delish :)

Filed Under: Holidays, In the Kitchen Tagged With: , , ,
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