Spring Wreath

I just made this really cute wreath for Spring. I am not a big fan of tons and tons of pastels which seems to be the norm for spring. Ever since I was little the thought of all those pastel colors just made me sick. I am the person when we went to purchase a car said the only requirement for color is that it had to be a non-color like black, silver, white, or gray. I have always preferred black and white photos even. I think there is just something classy and uniform about it. If you like all that color then that's great but it is just totally not me.

I saw this wreath here and was in LOVE with it. Robin's egg blue is one of my favorite colors and I don't get to use it as much as I would like to. I really love the primitive/farmhouse/country look and that is really where I am going with our decor in the house. Robin's egg blue doesn't get to make a big splash in our home because of it so when I can mix it in somehow I am happy to do it.

I also had another reason for really wanting to make the wreath. My mom had just given me some great picture frames that she no longer wanted. SCORE! Here's a peek at the 'before'.

It was the perfect oval shape and kind of looked like a little egg itself. It looked at me longingly needing a new purpose for it's life. I was more than happy to oblige. I told my mom what I was going to do with it and I think she thought I was crazy at first. This was my first time using spray paint and let me tell you all I wanted to do was run around the house and look for other things to spray paint! What fun! It totally transforms what you are working with. I can tell you there will be a lot more spray paint projects in my future for sure! Who knew you could spray paint regular Easter eggs and make them look so different.

Picture Frame = Free
Easter Eggs = $0.77
Easter Grass = $2.00
Roll of Burlap Garland = $4
Nest = $1.50
Spray Paint = $4
Brown Paint = Already on hand
Total = $12.27

To make this wreath I spray painted the frame and the eggs with primer. Then I sprayed the frame and half the Easter eggs with some Rustoleum Aqua. It was the closest to the color I wanted at the craft store that day. I wasn't dragging two kids over to Lowe's to get a different color because I was gonna be picky. (o:  Then I spray painted the other half of the eggs Rustoleum Antique White. I let that dry and did another coat or two to make sure they were thoroughly covered with the color. Then I took brown paint and added a little bit of water. Take a toothbrush and tap most of the paint off and with the remainder run your finger down the bristles and it will make those cute little flecks of paint on the eggs. You will need to experiment with this a little on just some white paper until you are confident you know what it will look like or you might be spray painting more eggs. I took the square of grass and cut out a piece for the sides and one little one for the top of my oval frame. I hot glued it to the picture that I had cut a real big oval out of and flipped it around. The backing was brown so it worked good enough for me. I hot glued the grass in place and then used some thin green floral wire to close the end into the eggs and then wrap the other side around the grass to keep the eggs in place. I made a nice big bow out of the burlap and also attached the bow with more of the floral wire. DONE!

My door out front officially looks like spring. Please excuse our front door. That will be getting an overhaul and will be another blog post coming up. It is getting sanded down and painted a nice black with the little knocker on the front getting spray painted a nice brushed silver. I can't wait. It will be like a whole new door!


I hope you have a blessed day! †

·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ Rebecca ·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ

Chocolate Chip Oreo Truffle Cookie

So I don't know if you have seen these chocolate chip cookies with a whole oreo baked inside of them but they looked WAY to awesome to not try making them. Our church's youth group was holding a coffeehouse Friday night and I had volunteered to make food. You could volunteer to do an act or food. YEAH that's a no brainer! I signed up to make a dip and some cookies. I only knew I wanted to make Buffalo Chicken Dip but the cookies I wasn't sure but I wanted to try something new. I get bored super easy making the same things and I love trying something new. It's always exciting to see how it's going to turn out and if you have a new recipe you can add to the recipe binder. (O:

Well I saw the chocolate chip cookies with the oreo in them. If you want to see that post click here for that. I made some cupcakes for a friend's little boy who just turned 1. I totally forgot to take pics of those but they turned out cute. They were owls and it was just yellow cake mix for the cupcake BUT inside the cupcake was baked an oreo truffle minus dipping it in the chocolate. What a brilliant idea. I had a ton of the oreo truffle mix left and didn't feel like buying another package of oreos for the chocolate chip cookies so...why not! I'll just take the concept of the cookies and cupcakes and experiment.

I made the cookie mix from this recipe which is the one for putting the whole oreo inside. I just made a ball of the oreo truffle and flattened it out a bit. Then I took the cookie dough and made a ravioli type of deal out of it. I made sure that the oreo truffle was covered and in it's new home without escaping. Then popped them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Parchment paper is the best thing ever invented, I don't know how I just found out about this, and it has become my new best friend in the kitchen. Let me just say that these puppies are HUGE. I mean you are wrapping a cookie around an oreo truffle. When they came out of the oven and I saw how BIG they were and they seemed hard, I was not very excited about these anymore. I actually thought about not taking them because everyone would hate them. I actually called them cookie bricks. You could totally build a house out of them and just gnaw your way out. I decided to just take them. Whatever. I tried and if nobody ate them at least they weren't sitting here in the house staring at me.

Chocolate Chip Oreo Truffle Cookies

recipe adapted from Picky Palate's Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Oreo Truffle mix (1 package of oreos and one package of softened cream cheese blended together in a food processor. Normally you would finish them off by dipping them in chocolate but I didn't go that far!)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined.
• In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add to the wet mixture and combine thoroughly. Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Chill the dough for 15 minutes to make it easier to work with and to keep the dough from spreading when baking.
• Using a cookie scoop place one scoop of dough on top of an Oreo truffle . Place another single scoop on the bottom of the Oreo truffle to create a sort of cookie ravioli. Seal the edges together to completely close in the truffle .
• Place the balls of cookie dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 9-13 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

Here is what I ended up with...

The funny thing about this is that everyone seemed to have love them. I had several people tell me they loved them and they were completely gone not even half way through the night. You know what that means. YOU get the recipe. If they weren't good there would be no way I would put you through the misery of getting excited and putting them up here only to have them be terrible.  I apologize for the terrible pictures. It was a very, very full day.

I hope you have a blessed day! †


·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ Rebecca ·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This dip has always been a hit everywhere we go. I love it! A friend asked for the recipe so I thought I would just post it. This is really just the recipe on the Frank's Red Hot website but I have made two key changes that I personally think are genius but that's just me. I put mine in a little crock pot that I won during our White Elephant game one Christmas. That game itself deserves it's own blog post. Hilarious! I also do not use the canned chicken like they call for in the recipe. I stew two boneless chicken breasts for about 4 hours with some special seasonings. It makes the whole house smell AMAZING and you can use that chicken to make the BEST shredded chicken tacos ever. My mom always made the chicken that way growing up so it comforting to have that smell wafting through our home. Thanks, Mom! The dip has a totally different texture when you use the shredded chicken. I just think it's so much better for dipping rather than getting chunks but that's just my personal preference. If you like the canned stuff...go for it! This is just how I make it.

I am going to try making a Barbecue Chicken Dip using barbecue sauce and ranch dressing instead. I might need a second little crock pot. That way I can make BBQ and Buffalo at the same time. That would be cool. 

Here's the recipe and if you want the official Frank's Red Hot recipe you can click here.

This is the picture from the Frank's Red Hot website since I wasn't able to take a picture. There was too much going on Friday to remember everything. I do have to say I think they garnish it with some chives and red pepper. I might add that next time!

Ingredients:

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened (microwave it straight from the fridge for about 30 seconds)

1/2 cup blue cheese dressing

1/2 cup any flavor Frank's Red Hot Sauce

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

2 cups shredded stewed chicken meat

** I take 2 boneless chicken breasts and put them in the crock pot about 4 hours ahead of time with water (about halfway up the chicken), tons of paprika, pepper, and kosher salt. I also quarter an onion for flavor only and drop that in as well. When you take the chicken out from the crock pot you will be able to just easily shred it with a fork. Make sure you keep the shredded meat in the juices from the crock pot or it will dry out. You will see that the chicken will actually soak up that awesome broth and get just super yummy.

 

Directions:
Place all the ingredients into a small (4qt) crock pot and mix really well. I keep it on warm so that each time someone gets dip it's still nice and warm! Yes...it's really that easy.

If you don't have one of these little crock pots you should get one. They are great for dips or doing smaller crock pot meals. I seriously will put two chicken breasts in and then use the shredded chicken with some taco seasoning for shredded chicken tacos and it totally feeds our family of 5 (for now because they are small enough to not eat a whole lot yet) and still have left overs. I found the same one I have here if you are interested in getting one. I love mine. Love it! I even just thought to myself...who needs a fondue pot when you have one of these little guys. Hm...I have a fondue pot and I love that but I'm just sayin. You could totally do fondue recipes in this as well on the cheap. 

I hope you have a blessed day! †


·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ Rebecca ·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow...

Yes the title is cheesy but I LOVE IT! Not only because I am a little cheesy in that respect but because it's true on many levels. I know my husband usually laughs more at me than with me at these things but I love that about him. He knows I am a goofball but he loves me to death and even loves my goofy sense of humor. Oh...we'll get to him soon...don't we always?! I have a hard time not raving about him in my posts. I adore him.

Last night I took my daughter, Ava, to go chop off my beautiful, long locks to donate them. It was definitely a labor of love. I was definitely in need of a change so I called yesterday morning and they could get me in at 6pm. Sweet...I'll take it! *hang up* ... *starting to get choked up*...*tears*...Jared looks at me and asks what's wrong. Yeah...I totally gave the 'girl answer' but unfortunately it was so from the heart. We are just built wanting our husbands to think we are beautiful and love us 100%. "What if you don't love me when I don't have my long hair!" *total sobbing mess at this point* Thank you, Lord, that you yoked Jared and I together. I could not have a better partner in life. He reminded me that I have had my hair a million ways. I mean so many different cuts and colors when I was still searching for myself in my hair styles and he loves me for ME not for my hair. When you have a man who is strong enough to take whatever comes at him and still love you for who you are in your soul and not just your appearance it is a very freeing thing! I felt so much better. I still prayed a whole bunch before going. LOL Jared even threw a little prayer in before we ate when we normally say our blessing that I would love my hair and not be stressed about it. I love him!

So the day was going pretty good. I was waiting for Ian to get home. I wasn't feeling great and I was a little agitated by Lia that she decided not to take a nap. I was just wiped out and really was going to take a nap myself while the girls napped and Ian was in school. She is right in the middle of some hardcore teething fit and just really doesn't want to take her afternoon nap which isn't really flying with me. She tried pulling it today and I was NOT having it. I need some mental time if you know what I mean...and I KNOW you do! Yeah...so I won! She is sleeping after consistently putting her back down with her Nuk and blankie (poor Ava slept through all of this)...but back to the subject. I was downstairs, curtains drawn trying to somewhat zone out I suppose you could say. I was watching Take Home Chef since they just added it to Netflix and I used to love watching it. It's awesome to see a chef just walk around the grocery store and grab a couple things and whip something amazing up. LOVE it. Well my doorbell rang as I am watching this dreading what I was going to make for dinner. I have not been feeling well lately having almost a month of mommy playing nurse to sick children is DRAINING! It happened to be a wonderful friend from church who was out of the blue bringing us dinner! Oh thank you, Lord! I can not tell you how amazing that was. What an awesome surprise. Our family is truly blessed by our wonderful church family and if I don't get her recipe for Macaroni and Cheese I may have to hold someone or something hostage. LOL Seriously it was AWESOME! Lia enjoyed having fresh applesauce. It was wonderful. I could go on and on but I won't. Thanks, Miss Nancy!!!!!  (o;

It came time to leave and I had told Ava she could come with me. I thought it might be good so when she needs to get her hair cut she will remember no big deal...I saw mommy get hers cut and no tears. This was a new salon but it was the hairstylist I liked from the last salon I was going to so I decided to go to her new salon. Why not? It wasn't much further and I'm game. Let's do this. So she washed my hair and then made two ponytails since my hair is thick and she said it would save it from being too short. All I am thinking at this point is whatever just cut it off and get this over with...10 inches no more no less quick before I start sobbing or tell her forget it just cut off the dead ends and my poor 3 1/2 year old is scarred for life and never lets me cut her hair because mommy had a melt down. LOL So she did it. TEN INCHES...gone. Like that. Nothing. No big deal. No fan fair. A couple kudos on donating but really that's it. That was easy! It was funny though because Ava was priceless. She kept saying "My mommy's hair is on the floor?! Mommy your hair is all cut off?!" Oh I can't even describe her face it was priceless. Then she even got sparkly princess hair to show daddy. Oh she was in her glory in the salon. She has amazing, curly hair if I do say so myself. She is truly blessed. I don't know if she will keep it but it is my prayer that she does. It is just her personality. Bubbly and sweet just like her bouncy, cute curls. I refuse to let anyone cut it right now. I know eventually she will need to get it cut.

So she gets a lollipop (not me...how does that work????) and I pay so we can go home and see what everyone thinks. I walk through the door and there is Ian playing with Lia on the floor. Ian's face cracked me up. He was smiling ear to ear and screams "DAD....DAAAAAD....COME LOOK AT MOMMY'S HAIR!!!!!" All this time he is yelling for my husband he is smiling. I was cracking up. I asked him if he liked it and he said he loved it. That made me feel good. Then Jared came down and said he really liked it and that it was cute. Score! THEN I look at Lia. She normally greets me with being all happy, smiling, and dancing. She was mute. She stared at me like I was a stranger. She is very quiet and shy with strangers and THAT is exactly how she was looking at me. She would look at me and then look away. WHAT?! I got her to warm up to me after talking and talking and talking to her. She would laugh, start to play with a toy, and then when she looked back at me it was like she totally forgot that mommy's hair was different or that the crazy lady was back and be silent to me again. Jared thought it was funny, of course. She is doing much better today but it was funny. You can definitely get your hair cut so different that even your baby doesn't recognize you. I have found that out first hand. Later when Ian was getting ready for bed I overheard him say to daddy, "She doesn't even look like our mom anymore!" Oh kids are priceless. I love it!

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it!  (o;

I am not a patient person but God taught me patience through this. It was very difficult to wait until my hair was long enough to do this but now I am glad I obeyed. It feels amazing to know I followed what He wanted for me. I felt Him calling me to donate my hair. He blessed me so I can bless others. It meant many, many days of ponytails, static cling, being pinned against the couch or bed because it was stuck behind me, little Lia grabbing and pulling it as hard as she could to tell me how frustrated she was with me that I didn't let her have x y or z that she could totally choke to death on but hey mom it's fun to play with, and of course the wonderful breakage from having my beautiful little baby that I get every time after I have a child as I am sure a good portion of you mom's out there can attest to. I learned through that sometimes things that bring about good are not easy nor are they totally fun in the process. You need patience and you need to trust God in it all. No matter what it is that you feel that He has called you to do.


I just think about these children, who could very well be one of my babies for that matter, and the things that they are suffering through right now. I will never get to meet the child that gets the wig from the hair I donate (gosh this totally makes me choke up) but I know that God knows that child intimately. "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13 (ESV) I may not know this child but God does and He is pleased with my offering not just to this child but to Him. I give Him all the glory in this. Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be the glory) That makes me feel awesome. We serve a great God!!

I am donating my hair to Locks of Love which is a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. If you are interested in donating either your hair or monetarily please click the link and check them out. If you prefer, they do have a really cute Gund Bear right now that has the Locks of Love symbol on it's paw and they have it in pink or brown. I think I might have to get the pink one to commemorate my adventure with Ava. She loves any type of stuffed animal so she would be a happy little camper!

I hope you have a blessed day!

† ·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ Rebecca ·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ

Sunday Verses...

Since it's Sunday and I had to stay home with my sick family, I thought I would post one of my favorite worship songs.

Revelation Song
Worthy is the,
Lamb who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song, to Him who sits on
Heaven's Mercy Seat

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And I will adore You…!

Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and
Glory and power be
To You the Only Wise King

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore You!


Filled with wonder,
Awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your Name
Jesus, Your Name is Power
Breath, and Living Water
Such a marvelous mystery

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come,
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore You!

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come,
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore YOU…




"You open your hand;
   you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways
   and kind in all his works."
~ Psalm 145:16-17 ~


I hope you have a blessed day! †

·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ Rebecca ·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ

My inspiration

This is just a quick little blog post. The weekends are SUPER crazy so I don't expect I will be able to steal away some time for a blog post however I had to link to my inspiration for my pantry. Delightful Order has the most amazing pantry and I just aspire to be that organized. I might have to take some of her ideas in order to whip my pantry into shape.

Check out Delightful Order to see all her amazing ideas. Her blog is my new inspiration for getting my behind in gear to get us organized this year.We can do it!!!! Click here for her post. Here are some pics from her website. Grab a tissue or something to wipe the drool before you look at these. Seriously it makes me not want to look inside my pantry right now. lol

Honestly just these two pics don't do it justice. You HAVE to jump over to her blogsite and drool...I mean SEE for your self. There are many, many more pictures. The containers and the labels alone make my heart palpitate. Oh glorious organization. I thought I was so organized.

I stand corrected. I have a new inspiration. Now I can't wait to begin 'Pantry Reorganization" phase 1. (Phase 1 is actually just being able to stand looking inside my pantry after seeing these pictures. LOL)

I hope you have a blessed day! †

·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ Rebecca ·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ

Morning Devotion

I started a new morning/evening devotion. I love listening to Alistair Begg and he had suggested reading from Proverbs in the morning for wisdom to start your day and the Psalms in the evening before bed. I thought that sounded good and I love what I read this morning. It has really been making me think. I started from the beginning as he suggested rather than jumping around.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction."
Proverbs 1:7

My study bible defines knowledge here as the focus on correct understanding of the world and oneself as creatures of the magnificent and loving God.

It then goes on in the study notes to define wisdom as the acquired skill of applying that knowledge rightly or as skill in the art of godly living.

When I look back to before I was saved I really knew nothing. Nothing correctly that is. My thoughts and opinions were like leaves in the wind. Any idea that 'seemed' appropriate or right was what I adopted. That was tough. There was never a set thing saying what was definitively right and what was wrong. What was right for one person may not have been what was right for someone else. I would never have told someone they were wrong. It was just what worked for them. How do you really live like that. When there is no wrong or right...well...that's just not right. I have no problem telling someone now that they are wrong. I still love them and am tolerant of them but facts are facts. Our culture has recently changed the definition of tolerance to try and force someone into more than just tolerating someone and views that are different to out right needing to affirm their lifestyle choices. God tells us what is right. Who am I to question Him. He is perfect. There are right and wrong ways to live in this life. That does not dimish the fact that God made us all different and unique but it does not negate the fact that there are still wrong ways to live.

I think I'm going to go with God on this one. He created us. He redeemed us. He most certainly is in the position to tell us right from wrong. If you don't believe that then you're wrong...but I still love you!  (o:

God is showing me through His word that there most certainly are rights and wrongs. He is so merciful and gracious to tell us what those are and He shows us how we are to live our lives. That is amazing to me. That the Creator of this universe and everything in it would love us enough to tell us how we are to live. He doesn't just leave us here to stumble around and try to figure it out on our own. He gave us an instruction manual. With our eyes on Him, we are able to attain knowledge. It's not something we could attain apart from God.

How amazing is our God that He is weaving the story of human history even today. How amazing still that He told us how it will end.

Now off to paint something on this beautiful, sunny day!

I hope you have a blessed day! †

·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ Rebecca ·.¸¸.·´´¯`··._.· ஐ