Bella

I HATE cancer - Be Thankful - Choose Joy

2012-02-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

This post isn't going to be all mushy, or depressing, but more like an eye opener AND a daily reminder to be THANKFUL for all those that are HEALTHY in your life. Including your own health, and if there is anything you think you can do to improve it, DO IT NOW. Oh and P.S. I HATE CANCER!

Amy's journey with breast cancer was the first cancer blog I ever really followed. This is Amy, I think she's beautiful as can be, and while I could have picked a "non cancer" picture of her, I think it's important to share just what cancer looks like, for this was, and IS her reality.Click HERE to go to NEW NOSTALGIA and read all about her Journey with Breast Cancer.
Amy was so young when she got diagnosed, I just couldn't believe she had breast cancer. How did that happen? I immediately felt a connection, and her posts about faith were always soooo very inspiring to me. I was just moved beyond belief at everything that she was going through, and her strength, which I'm sure looked a whole lot different in REAL life, but non the less, her outlook on life was contagious, and I just wanted to have her spirit if even for a moment. I truly love this gal, and have enjoyed her blog for a long time.
Amy shares tons of healthy eating tips on her blog too which I love. MY ADVICE to you is DON'T WAIT until you have cancer,,,, :( Take advantage of your health NOW, and start to take care of your body while you have the CHOICE to do so.
Btw here's 9 reasons to juice your greens.
She also shares lots and lots of other cancer fighters struggles, victories, and sometimes loses. It's always an eye opener reading those posts. I especially wanted to share this one with you. I'm sure EVERY cancer fighter and their families out there can relate, and for the rest of us, what can I say.
BE THANKFUL for your health, BE THANKFUL, and again BE THANKFUL.
Not as I Pictured a film by John Kaplan has just left me speechless, and I only saw the trailer. Take a look, into the REALITY of cancer!
"Not As I Pictured" trailer from Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar on Vimeo.
To wrap up Amy's mission through her entire journey, please read THIS post where she talks about
BREAST REDOS and NIPPLE TATTOOS
She just wants to educate EVERY SINGLE woman out there YOUNG and OLD, that this can happen to anybody. Please read her VERY important post, and I'll leave you with this VISUAL of Amy comforting her daughter after her head shaving party. (My heart hurts) I just want to hug her!!
************** ~~~~~~~ **************
Then not long ago, I visited another blog I adore, BUT hadn't really visited for a while, and COULD NOT BELIEVE my eyes when I saw that Ashley from Lil Blue Boo was struggling with cancer. What, SAY WHAT?

This is not happening, HOW can this happen. That was my question all over again. I spent literally the entire weekend catching up on EVERY SINGLE post of what she calls :

READ all THE CANCER CHRONICLES HERE
I loved pretty much everything about Ashley before all this happened. She was always so CHEERFUL, JOYOUS, CREATIVE, TALENTED, FUNNY, PRETTY, and INSPIRING.
Guess what Cancer hasn't changed her.
I can't even begin to tell you how enjoyable her daily blog posts are, (is it terrible of me to describe it like that?) It's true though. I do realize she is sharing things that are NOTHING but enjoyable, and that there is NOTHING funny about having cancer, BUT this girl can write, and she can share something as terrible as cancer, and turn it into something beautiful, and even funny. I can't help but LOVE that about her, sharing all these intimate details of her life, and body, and openly poking fun of it, because you know what, I CAN RELATE to some of those things, even though I dont' have cancer.
Things like being SCARED TO POOP!!!
Read all about how EVERYONE POOPS. It was a joyous event, and I know just how she felt. After each of my kiddos, I had tons of pain in my bumm, because of the dreaded H word, Ashley also talks about HERE. So the thought of pooping, just scared me half to death, and when I finally did, I basically celebrated just like her, so I LAUGHED OUT LOUD while reading that post.
AND she IS BEAUTIFUL, still, no matter what, and maybe EVEN more so now than ever before.

I also want to (NEED TO) remind myself and all of you, that you can CHOOSE JOY every day!

Something that was born after her father died last sumer. Again I can relate because I too lost my dad, although I was much younger, but I do know exactly how she felt. I miss my dad still.

Rite of Passage - Shaving my Head from Ashley Hackshaw on Vimeo.

You can choose to let the small things bother you, OR you can CHOOSE JOY.
Tell me honestly, could you watch that video without crying, or in my case bawling. I just cry at the look on her husbands face and the way he lovingly shaved her head, and kissed her throughout.

I am telling you, I would have been a HOT MESS, she is such an inspiration, and an example for us all, dang it, JUST CHOOSE JOY people.

Ashley hands out these Choose Joy bracelets to people every day, and I'm sure that EVERY SINGLE person that ever has the pleasure of meeting this fine lady will NEVER forget her, EVER.

I'm telling you I am just beyond inspired by these ladies, and by my little lady friend.

************** ~~~~~~~ **************

Meet Arianna (in her most recent phtoto shoot) by the awesome Matt Whytsell an amazingly talented TN photographer. He did such an amazing job capturing the pure joy in these girls eyes. Their love for each other, and for life, and the colors are so bright, and cheerful, and I adore them so much.

Last July I shared with you the story about a little girl named Arianna in THIS POST and how she had just relapsed with her cancer.
Seven Months later, she's still with us (THANK YOU LORD) and still cute as can be. I have been following along with her family's journey through her moms facebook page. You can go check them out too, they are all the SWEETEST people and your heart will just melt seeing this little girl, and her sister. The family is VERY involved with St. Jude hospital and if you've ever thought about donating to these kids, JUST DO IT ALREADY... they need all the help they can get. Enough said right?
Here's a link where you can get all the info on :

ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL.
So there you have it my friends. That was a lot to take in right, BUT ohhhh sooooo important.
Please GO NOW, and say a small prayer, THANKING the LORD for all the healthy people in your lives, and then say another prayer, one for all those who are struggling, and hurting, and scared, and sick, and even dying.
They all need our help, our support, and our understanding, and why not go show them some love by visiting their blogs, saying hello, and sharing their stories with ANYONE who you think could use it.
What they don't need is our sympathy, because as you can see, they all are better examples of what it means to live then any of us. We need to learn from each of them, just HOW TO LIVE, because even if they (technically) are living with the reality of mortality on a daily basis, only GOD knows what is in store for any of us. They teach us that every day is SPECIAL, and it is.
Thank you ladies, for letting us be a part of your lives, I will NEVER be the same :)

Come take a TOUR of my old house :(

2012-02-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome home!! This WAS my home for the past 8 years, and now it's ready to rent. (sigh)

Read about my sadness HERE.

My newly cleaned out flowerbed. See more on the Flower Bed and Garden HERE.

Come on, lets go inside!!

The front entrance. I had a new door put in FINALLY!!

The wonderful living room is huge, and opens to the kitchen, dining room, and leads to the blue room. See it back there. Come on, lets go check it out.

This was an add on by the previous owners. It was a major selling point when we bought the house. We kind of fell in love with that wall of built in cabinets, and library, oh and the windows make me really happy too, oh and of course the blue walls.

My deck, another big plus for me AT the time. No backyard, meant no cutting grass, lol. Little did I realize that kids require a yard, preferably a fenced in yard. But we survived, and had MANY MANY good times on this deck. Endless bbqs, and believe me the kids had no problem playing back there either. Anyway, it's all clean now!!

My kitchen, which may not be built by a professional, but non the less, I love it. I love the colors, and the fact that there is no more wall dividing up the space. I love those wood counters, and my sliding drawers. We finally got a backsplash put in too. Yeah,, FINALLY...

I love my red tiles in the kitchen, and really miss cooking in there.

I miss all the extra storage that window bench provided, even if the top was never finished properly, and it was full of crap most of the time. I still loved it.

I miss my kids sitting on the counter helping me cook. It really was the most KID friendly FAMILY kitchen ever. Well, I've only had a couple kitchens in my lifetime, but this was the BEST I tell you.

Even my pantry got a fresh coat of paint. My goodness!! I'm spoiling these people. I sure hope they appreciate all the hard work I put into this house.

The guest bathroom!

My boys old room.

My girls old room. (formerly a very PINK room)

The master bedroom. This was also a huge selling point for me. This room is HUGE. There were times when we literally had THREE beds in there, and still had room to walk in between, AND still had nightstands on the wall. I'm not EVEN kidding. If I can find any old pics of the baby days, nursing, co-sleeping, I'll be sure to share.

As if the master bedroom alone wasn't enough, I had this EXTRA room (sitting room) whatever right there too. I used this as an office for a while, and then each of the younger kids took turns having it their bedroom for a while.

Master bathroom.

Beautiful view of the deck, which was usually a mess, but almost always had pretty flowers too.

Ahhhh, my garage. This baby is killing me. I MISS it so much. It was a week long labor of love, the kids and I spent all of Spring Break last year painting it, and making it pretty. AND now we dont' have it anymore. Boo.... I especially miss having the big wall of mirrors. Now where are we supposed to practice our Tae Kwon Do, and dance moves.... ?

The Rental Property - During -

2012-02-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

You might remember me talking about getting our old house ready for rent. Well it was an extremely long process, and I must admit, I think I went overboard with getting it in tip top shape. I mean it is a rental after all right? I really thought I'd go in and just do a few touch ups here and there, but with my obsessive personality it turned into a full blown house makeover. I had to fix everything and make it perfect, I just couldn't stop myself. You may have read my post where I talked about how hard this move was on me... Change is good, RIGHT?

After living in it for so many years, I just couldn't bare the thought of letting it go like that, so I put all my love into it one more time, only this time we are not the ones who will be enjoying it. Funny how that works isn't it? I'm very happy with the family that is moving in though. So that's comforting, I couldn't stand it if I had someone come in and trash the place.

This is the blue room. We used it as our TV movie room / library / just chill out and shut the door so mom doesn't hear you room.

The kitchen FINALLY got a tile backsplash put up. Please tell me why on earth I didn't do that sooner? I mean really, I could just kick myself sometimes :(

The living room. Just so you know a tornado did come through here, if that makes it better.

This is what you saw first thing walking though the door. Needless to say I didn't have many visitors, and I DID NOT show the house to anyone during this time.

I still can't believe I did this all, pretty much by myself. I spent COUNTLESS hours, days, weeks and actually I think more like two months on getting this house ready to rent.
Granted I could only work on it for about 5 hours a day, which really isn't that much considering all the trips to the Hope Depot, lol. Anyway, I did it...... and I'm very happy it's over!!
Come back tomorrow to see the finished pictures, with everything all cleaned up.
Do any of you have rental properties? Do you have any tips you'd like to share? I know I went overboard this time, hopefully next time around it will be easier.... (fingers crossed).
P.S. Don't forget to check out my NEW blog series. It's all about getting things done.Click on Make it Happen MONDAYS to see what I'm working on this week!

Make it Happen Mondays #1 - Maximize your closet space - Part One -

2012-02-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hello, Hello, Hello!!!

I am super duper excited to start a new series on the blog. Make it Happen MONDAYS(need to work on a button, so you can grab one)
Here's what I'm working on this week :

My closet
My moms closet
Linen closet

This is my moms closet!

Can you tell how packed her closet was? You would not believe how much stuff she had crammed in there. I don't know how she did it, but she managed to combine three closets full of clothes into one. It's no wonder she yelled frantically last week when the shelf started coming off the wall, ooops. I'm only surprised it didn't come crashing down sooner.

My closet may not have shelves falling down, but the amount of usable space was minimal. I had to fix that asap. After starting on my moms closet, my head was buzzing with all kinds of ideas.

I would like to finish the closets up this week. I did not paint them, or do anything pretty, but I did find a way to MAXIMIZE the amount of usable space in both closets, and am pretty darn happy with the results.
P.S.You want to know what this new series is about???
Well I have come to realize that I need to take my blog back to what originally worked for me, not to mention what got me started to blog in the first place. Cleaning, and Organizing seem to be an endless battle for me, one which I hope to win with the help of my blog, and my readers of course. Without the motivation and encouragement I get from you, I don't know if I could do it.
I love Mondays, it's a new start to a new week, and a new list of things to do. Anybody else love making lists? I get the biggest kick out of it, and every week I have such high hopes of getting tons of stuff done. However I'm lucky if I get even one or two things done from my long list, that can have up to twenty items on it, he he. I've accepted this reality and plan to be much more realistic with my weekly goals, and even my daily ones. I just need to pick ONE or TWO projects to work on, and MAKE IT HAPPEN, no matter what.
This is where:Make it Happen MONDAYSHelps me get it done, and will hopefully help you too.
I will be giving you sneak peaks throughout the week on what I'm working on, and THEN.....
I will start posting another new series:Finally Finished FRIDAYSWhere you guessed it, I will show you stuff that I Finally Finished. Naturally the goal here is to post on Mondays with things I want to get done that week, and on Fridays show you the results.
I'm really super excited, and have the best feeling that this is going to work really well for me.
I'm thinking of the best way I'd like to do the new link party, because I'm sure many of you need all the help you can get too. How fun it will be to get inspiration from each other :)
Ok, so that's it for now, I hope you are as excited as I am..... this is going to be so much fun!!
Come back tomorrow for some sneak peaks!!
What are you working on this week? Talk to me, and remember today is:Make it Happen MONDAY so lets do it..... no matter what!!

Mini Blog Makeover & some VIP news!

2012-02-17T14:52:00.000-05:00

Look who got the Blog design bug again, yup ME. In between organizing my house, I took a wee bit of a time out to reorganize my blog too. Not exactly how I want it yet, but the small changes I've made are making me very happy for now.

Hey listen, I know I've been MIA for way too long, but I promise (pinky promise) that SOON I will have tons and tons to share with all of you. I've been working hard on projects all around the NEW house, and since that's what I'm doing lately, that's what I'm going to share.

I finally rented my old house, and I would love to take you on a tour of the place, now that it's all clean and pretty looking. I will be sharing all the pics next week! Oh boy, if you remember my FIRST POST you will see how absolutely funny it is, that I finally have a spotless house he he, and all it took was for us to MOVE out, lol. Go figure :)

I don't like spending money on organizing, so I've come up with some pretty cool ways to tame the mess, in a very affordable way. I can't wait to show you!!

I've been thinking a lot about if I want to bring Amaze me August back, and when I went to go look through some old link ups, GUESS what, they were all gone. Ooops my subscription ended and I didn't even realize it, so I'm going to decide what I want to do and let you know shortly. I'm pretty sure I will continue to have a linky party here, but it might be a bit different than before, lets see.

Oh and one more thing, I want to apologize to all my friends. Believe me when I tell you, I NEVER really forgot about you, I think about you all the time, but sometimes you just gotta let go, and take life one day at a time. (p.s. I've added a BUNCH of my most fav blogs to the sidebar on the left, go see..) It seems every time I had a plan to do the BIG giveaway, or start blogging again, (somebody else) always had a different plan. It has truly been the most hectic and CRAZY six months of my life, and I hope I'm not ruining things by saying I think it's getting better. I wish I could have done things better, but most days were simply too overwhelming too think of anything more than what's for dinner tonight, oh and.... kids do you have any homework, did you brush your teeth, what day is it today?

That is life I guess, reminding me daily that NOTHING is truly in our control. So thanks for sticking by me, and once again, I look forward to what tomorrow brings, and I hope that it will bring much funner days filled with laughter, health, and maybe even some blogging in between!

Here's to LIFE, cherish it, embrace it, and never forget how blessed you are even if it doesn't seem that way at the moment.

Change is good..... RIGHT?

2012-01-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

As you all know things have been crazy slow around my blog lately. I've made some small updates on my facebook page, so make sure to follow along so you don't miss anything :)

The past couple months have been full of changes for us. The biggest has been our decision to move in with my mom for a while. Our plan was to buy a bigger home and have her come live with us, but time was too short, and finding the right home just wasn't happening soon enough. Our home is not big enough for her to move in, and besides we couldn't close down the bakery. So we took over my mom's house, and now she has the bottom floor, and we have the top. We still have the bakery, and with me living here now, hopefully I can finally start my online shop soon. It's crowded, but it works for now, and everyone seems to be adjusting quite well. I'm happy that we are in a place where we can help my mom out. She works hard, always has, but making ends meet has proven too much for her. I hated seeing her stress every month, and with us taking over, hopefully for the first time in a very long time she can breath a little easier, and not have to worry about paying bills anymore.
However packing up our home, and seeing it empty is hard. Much harder than I thought it would be. Every time I go to pack another load, I feel sad. It still feels like home, only very empty, cold, and somehow I still wish we lived there.

The only other house I was ever attached too was our house in California where I have so many memories of my family, and especially my father. I actually still DREAM about that house :)
This was the first house my husband and I ever owned. The first house we could call our own, the first house we worked hard at making a home for our family. This is the first and last thing I saw every time we walked through the door. I love that mirror.

I will miss hanging my kids artwork all over the fridge. (We have a stainless steel fridge now). I will miss this house. I will miss my colorful kitchen, and all the big open space. I will miss my house.

This was our first house, and everywhere I look I see my kids.Every mark on the wall, every scratch in the floor, I remember who made it.

I love my beat up floors, you can tell a family lived here, and enjoyed their home. Even sitting here writing this post, brings back so many memories. I've sat at this desk so many times, watching funny videos with the kids, or seeing them goof off in front of Photo Booth.

We've laughed, danced, and cried here. We brought two of our babies home here, the kids in the neighborhood grew up together. I will miss all of them. I know we are only moving 5 minutes away, BUT it won't be the same.
Life is changing yet again.
Life is always changing, and time passes, and we can never have back what we had even five minutes ago, so I just wanted to remind myself and all of you once again..... to cherish every day, and everyone in it, because tomorrow will always bring change.
We can only hope that the change it brings is good, and this move is good. Thank you Lord, we are truly blessed to have made the choice to move, rather than be forced to do so. We are blessed that we are able to help my mom out, and in the process I will have help myself with the house, and kids. We are blessed that my husband has a stable job, and provides so much for his family.
I hope we will be blessed with a great family to move into our home, and take care of it as we did, and I can only hope that they enjoy it as much as we did.
As the new year rolled in for us, we are happy, sad, excited and scared. We look forward to each and every day, and can't wait to see what 2012 brings!

HAPPY NEW YEAR
P.S. I miss you all so much, and writing this post made me happy. It's been way too long, and I can't wait to get things rolling again around here. Hope you haven't forgotten about me, and thank you too all my wonderful friends who have stuck around these past couple months. I am so lucky to have friends like you.

Snow in December Takeover #12

2011-11-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

*** Takeover #12 ***

Let's welcome Jamie from Snow In Decemberas she is next to takeover my blog for the month of November. Are you wondering what's going on? Check out this post where I explain what's happening. A very special thank you to ALL my friends who have so willingly stepped in to TAKEOVER my blog for a couple weeks :)

Let me just tell you this post gave me chills. As a mother of 3 myself, I often find myself asking the same questions as Jamie. So thanks girl, for giving us all a little perspective. I think we could all losen up a bit, and learn to have fun more often :)

You know the saying, "They're only little once"?

So true.

As a modern mother, sometimes I get caught up in what my children should be doing at their age, how far they have advanced since the last check-up, how many words my toddler can say, how many steps the baby can take, or how well the oldest one can read.

I want the best for them, naturally.

But is "the best" measured in how much they can do, or how happy they are?

I vote happy.

Motherhood was not originally my choice line of work. I spent some time in the Air Force, went to college, then BAM! I was a mother. And before I knew it, BAM, BAM! I was a mother of three. For my first two years of mommy-hood, I parented with a "by the book" approach.

Did we have fun? Sure, I think so. But honestly, it was more structure. Lessons. Lots of love, yes, but also lots of order.

Perhaps even too much.

My daughter at 2 (who is now 5) was advanced in every area, obedient to a fault, ate super healthy, and followed a strict schedule at home. She was the perfect toddler, really. But eventually I realized that having "the perfect toddler" would mean nothing in four years, when she began to navigate the world of the opposite sex; or in eleven years, when she got her period and needed someone to talk to; or in fourteen years, when her first love broke her heart.

What would matter in those times was our mother daughter bond.

Would we have one? Or would she view me as a strict, overbearing mother who had expected too much of her all her life?

At that point I realized I needed a little more leniency, love, and fun in my parenting portfolio.

So I eased up a little. It wasn't hard, actually, when babies 2 and 3 came along in the span of a year and a half. The routine flew out the window, and we began to simply have fun.

Source: thegoodlifestore.com via Jamaymay on Pinterest

Potty talk, silly face, candy before dinner, "my mom is crazy" fun.

My kids are still good kids, and we still have rules, boundaries, and expectations for them to follow. But I am no longer obsessed with the timeline, the schedule, the manners.

My family is happy. We're silly.
We burp at our dinner table and laugh at dumb jokes. We play hide and seek inside and set up forts with chairs and blankets in the living room.
We play nerf guns in the house and have movie nights every Friday.

And life is simply more fun that way.

PS: I'm Jamie and I blog at Snow In December. Come say hi!

**Thank you so much Jamie**You truly made me smile with this awesome post. Just a quick reminder that having fun with your kids, is just as important as being strict with them when needed. Your kiddos are just adorable by the way! Thanks again for stopping by today, I loved having you over :)

Fuzzy Slippers Designs Takeover #11

2011-11-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

*** Takeover #11 ***

Let's welcome Moriah from Fuzzy Slippers Designs as she is next to takeover my blog for the month of November. Are you wondering what's going on? Check out this post where I explain what's happening. A very special thank you to ALL my friends who have so willingly stepped in to TAKEOVER my blog for a couple weeks :)

Hi Folks, Moriah here from FuzzySlippersDesigns ('cause I make most of my stuff while wearing one of my many pairs of comfy slippers *wink*) Can you believe the post-Thanksgiving countdown to Christmas has already begun?!? It seems like just yesterday I was hanging out in the July sunshine enjoying the beach in Maine. Ah, that's New England for ya though. Gotta enjoy each season 'cause they don't last long. :)

I've been a tag making nut this year. My colleagues at work have been requesting lots of different kinds of Christmas tags. These are ones I made that would be good for putting on hostess gifts or my friends who love tea & cocoa. Can't decide if I should put one each in a variety pack of tags or keep them all together. What do y'all think?

Here's the full view. :) Actually as I look at these tags I am realizing that they wouldn't have to be just for Christmas. The pattern is only snowflakes and the colors aren't exactly Christmas. Huh, these could be used for gifts in January and February too. Better not go past February though- at least not where I live or you will get pelted with a snowball! By March (really by mid February) folks around here are sick of snow and all the shoveling. LOL!

Wanna see more tags? Check out my blog FuzzySlippersDesigns or my Etsy Shoppe.

Isn't Bella an awesome gal to let me hijack her blog today! Thanks Bella, you're a fab gal. :)

**Thanks so much Moriah**

I always enjoy having you over. I absolutely adore the colors on these gift tags, so pretty!! You my friend are truly talented, and I'm so glad you stopped by to share with us today :)

Stay at Home Nation Takeover #10

2011-11-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

*** Takeover #10 ***

Let's welcome Iffy from Stay At Home Nation as she is next to takeover my blog for the month of November. Are you wondering what's going on? Check out this post where I explain what's happening. A very special thank you to ALL my friends who have so willingly stepped in to TAKEOVER my blog for a couple weeks :)

Also wanted to wish everyone a very special

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Hi there, first off Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

I am super excited to be guest posting here today, thanks Bella!

My real name is Cameron (I go by Iffy on my blog) so you can call me by either :)

I am a wife & mother to 4 awesome children & my blog is called

Stay At Home Nation.

I am still learning as I only started in March but

I like to post cool crafts, diy, & yummy recipes. I also have a weekly blog party every Friday-

My Favorite Things Friday Link Party, so I would love for you

guys to come link up sometime(or all the time ;D)!

While you are there you can check out what cool giveaway I have going on as I have a new one every week. This week is a jewelry item from One Artsy Mama ends 11/29.

Alright so now I would like to show you a cute little turkey shirt I made

last night for Michaela, my 2 year old. I promised her I would

make her a turkey shirt since she went on the potty, yay!

Check out this cutie

if you ask me he looks a little surprised hehe.

So first, I searched online for a turkey silhouette through google....nothing I wanted

came up so I drew a body on freezer paper(not the shiny side)

& cut it out with an X-acto knife.

I then placed the shiny side down

on a turtleneck (that is on the verge of going in the "too small" pile)

& with an iron set to "cotton" I slowly ironed it onto the shirt.

I LOVE freezer paper stenciling! Check out my neat boys shirts & umbrella,

both were done with freezer paper.

So then I took some brown puffy paint & a small brush & painted the body

of the turkey.

I took a hairdryer to help speed up the drying time so I could move onto

the next step, which is peeling the paper off.

Since the puffy paint has a great little tip on it, I drew the feathers by hand.

I kept going until I was happy, then filled in the eyes & beak.

Don't forget the feet!

And voila! There is a cute little turkey that will be ready to wear in 4 hours.

Yeah that's right, the dry time on the puffy paint is super quick.

So why not make one while the turkey is cooking?

Michaela is gonna love it. Have a great turkey day & thank you

again to Bella for having me!

Much love

~Iffy~

**Super job Iffy**

Congrats on the potty training, I'm sure your daughter loves her new turkey shirt!! I really love the way it turned out.

Thanks again for stopping by today, and good luck with the giveaway mama!

HUGE Shabby Apple SALE - 20%off plus FREE shipping

2011-11-23T09:35:00.001-05:00

Yup you read that right!!
Just thought I'd share this awesome sale with everyone!If you've ever wanted to get your hands on one of the beautifuldresses from Shabby Apple, this is the time.
Save 20% off almost everything, and free shipping too.
So let's go shopping shall we?

IDEA event and style Takeover #9

2011-11-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

*** Takeover #9 ***

Let's welcome Jasmine from IDEA event and style as she is next to takeover my blog for the month of November. Are you wondering what's going on? Check out this post where I explain what's happening. A very special thank you to ALL my friends who have so willingly stepped in to TAKEOVER my blog for a couple weeks :)

Hey everyone! This is Jasmine from IDEA! event + style (www.ideaeventstyle.com) and I'm super excited to be a guest feature on Bella's lovely blog today! I'm an Interior Designer-turned-Event Stylist BUT I enjoy all things home decor, DIY, art, photography, graphic design... just to name a few. There is so much beautiful stuff out there to enjoy, so little time!

I hope you enjoy my little piece of art today If you like all things PARTY like me, hop on over to our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/IDEA-event-style/

So I've been working on my daughter's room for the last few weeks, with a dear friend and fellow interior designer Peggy Lee. Technically we've been working on it only for a couple of months, but I have had the exact vision for it since about a year now! It is SO exciting to see it come to life, just like a big piece of art. Ms Peggy Lee - Thank you for putting up with me and my crazy ideas... you're the BEST!

I will share the finished pictures very soon - we're working on the last few details before Naomi officially moves in! For today's post, I want to share the very simple, but very graphic and modern piece of art that we made to hang over the crib. And did I mention inexpensive? Art doesn't have to make a hole in your wallet. Really, it doesn't. Especially not when you want a large statement piece. Art is simply an expression of you, not necessarily something you need to purchase off the walls at Bed, Bath & Beyond from 15 feet above your head! You know what I'm talking about

Anyway, onto our art piece - so this little baby is as simple as getting a large canvas from the craft store, gluing on wooden or cardboard letters and painting the entire piece white! Or whatever color fits the space you're working in. The trick is to leave it monochromatic for a cool, modern look. Also, choose either a deep edge canvas or big, deep letters for more impact. This entire piece cost less than $30 to make, and it has much more visual impact than hanging wooden letters off the wall, don't you think?

Check these pieces out from www.notonthehighstreet.com for inspiration (These are selling for over $200!)

~ Jasmine

**Thanks so much Jasmine**

Jasmine is a REAL life friend of mine, and I adore her a lot. She is incredibly talented in all things decorating, and is sweet as can be. She has a new blog, and I'd be so happy if you stopped by tot show her some love and support. Thanks for your awesome tutorial Jasmine, it's perfect :)

Five Seed Takeover #8

2011-11-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

*** Takeover #8 ***
Let's welcome Yancy from Five Seed as she is the first to takeover my blog for the month of November. Are you wondering what's going on? Check out this post where I explain what's happening. A very special thank you to ALL my friends who have so willingly stepped in to TAKEOVER my blog for a couple weeks :)

Just a quick INTRO, Yancy has been a great friend for a while now, but I was secretly admiring her blog LONG before we ever actually started talking (emailing). I admire the heck out of her, she makes the most wonderful all natural herbal goodies for your mind, body and soul, I just LOVE them, and if you want to treat yourself too, please check out FIVE SEED on ETSY. She is a fabulous writer too, and she writes a lot about living a healthier, organic, lifestyle, yoga, how she rides her bike everywhere, and much much more. Basically all the stuff that I wish I could do more of, she does!

Get On Your Bicycle!

Many people who follow me on Facebook or at my blog, Five Seed , have commented that they wish they could bicycle more often than driving, as I do. They get a kick out of my bicycle and my new trailer and hearing about my adventures on the road.

However, I notice that many people feel intimidated by the process of working bicycling into their daily commute. I suspect many don’t realize how easy it actually is. Here are some tips for those of you toying with the idea of taking your bicycle on your next commute.

-Learn the rules of the road. This is the most important thing to do. Many cyclists and even drivers are not aware of their local laws regarding bicycling, and therefore, make mistakes that can cause tension between cyclists and drivers (at best) or accidents (at worst). The most basic rule is to act as if you are a car – follow the traffic lights (not the pedestrian signals), use hand signals, don’t ride against traffic or on sidewalks, etc. The more you know about your local bicycling laws, the more confident you will feel. If drivers around you honk or yell at you, you won’t let it ruffle you because you will know that you are following the law.

-Decide what your goal is and then take baby steps to achieve it. My goal, when I began this journey in the summer of 2010, was to use my bicycle instead of my car for all trips less than 16 miles (with the exception of picking up large/heavy items at the store). But I started out by bicycling to my sister’s house, two miles away. Then I tried the post office. Then the store. And so on. Take short trips on familiar roads and you will see your confidence grow with each outing.

-Make the choice to ride. It really comes down to a choice. All last summer, every time I got ready to leave the house, I’d head for the car and have to retrain myself to ask: Can I bicycle there, instead? You will have to get used to the process of pausing before you leave the house to think about your options – until one day, you will automatically find yourself reaching for your helmet instead of your car keys.

-Do what it takes to get yourself on your bike. I hear a lot of people argue about helmets – that you should wear them all the time, no matter what or that you should let yourself enjoy the breeze through your hair. Obviously, it is much safer to wear a helmet at all times, and I do advocate wearing one. If you don’t like what you find at your local sportswear store, try Nutcase helmets, which are super cute. But if you find yourself standing in your garage, debating whether or not to take your bike and the only reason you don’t want to bicycle is because you don’t want to wear a helmet – then I say, just get on the bike and go, sans helmet. I admit, I sometimes (though rarely) go without a helmet so I can just feel the wind around me. But I do not ride without a helmet in heavy traffic, or when I’ll be going down steep hills. Make the choice that works for you – it’s your life, after all! Then get on your bike!!

-Give yourself ample time to get where you are going. If you decide to start commuting to work, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get there, each and every time you set out. The reason is simply that you don’t want to feel that you have to rush. Also, the faster you have to pedal and the more stressed you are about time, the more you will sweat – and you probably don’t want to arrive at work soaked! Leave early, pedal slowly and enjoy every moment of your journey.

You have to remember that every step you take will move you to the next level. When I first started, I was terrified of bicycling in traffic, worried that my bike would get stolen, worried about how to get places, where to lock my bike, etc. But by breaking my goal into tiny outings, I was able to build my confidence to a level I never dreamed of achieving. I still get anxious driving in heavy traffic, but I’m much more careful, knowledgeable and assertive these days, and willing to be out there with the “big boys” (the cars). I have tried bicycling at night (another topic, altogether), taking longer and longer trips, and even picking up larger and heavier items with my bike instead of my car (now that I have a trailer). And biking in rain, wind and hail? No problem! My next challenge: snow!

As I hope you can see, becoming a bicycling commuter is really not that difficult. It is simply a change of your daily habits. All you need is a willingness to try. You might be surprised how completely addictive bicycling can be. Try it for a year and you’ll be surprised how much it will change your life!

**Thanks so much Yancy**I wish I could ride my bike everywhere, but with 3 kids in tote and everything miles apart, and no bike lanes, it is nearly impossible here. Oh how I wish the roads were more friendly and safe for bicyclists. I loved your advice!!

The Pursuit of Happiness Takeover #7

2011-11-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

*** Takeover #7 ***

Let's welcome Lisa from The Pursuit of Happiness. as she is the first to takeover my blog for the month of November. Are you wondering what's going on? Check out this post where I explain what's happening. A very special thank you to ALL my friends who have so willingly stepped in to TAKEOVER my blog for a couple weeks :)

Hi! I'm Lisa from The Pursuit of Happiness.

If we've never "met," let me take a second to introduce myself. I'm a new mom, wife and domestic-wannabe born and raised in the Chicago suburbs. It's a constant struggle to juggle being a mommy, working, home renovations, working out, crafts, cooking, watching tv, and having fun all without going crazy! The Pursuit of Happiness is my daily reminder that I need to learn to appreciate the little things in life and not stress so much.

Stop by and check out some of the reader's favorites crafts & recipes such as:DIY Towel Rug Crock Pot Orange Chicken

Football Pumpkins

And now for a fun little accessory...

I was out shopping one day to find some jewelry for a dress and I came across this really cute idea. There was a whole display of beaded bracelets with a really pretty brooch holding them together. I had no idea it was a brooch until I really took a look at it when I tried it on. Very cool idea and most of us can make them with things we have at home already!

If you're like me, you save your jewelry through the years and never want to throw it out. I only wear my favorite things, but I save a lot of it in case it comes back into style or I have something that would match it perfectly. I had some of those groups of beaded bracelets that were so popular a couple years ago. I found 3 or 4 bunches that I've collected in the past 10 years.

I also had some pretty brooches that I've collected over the past 10 years. I even found one that my mom gave me from the early 90's! It's so simple to just clip it on to some bracelets and you have a cute new accessory!

These rhinestone bracelets are probably 11 years old and the brooch came from some blazer I bought maybe 5 years ago. But together, they're so fun!

This is the brooch from my mom that she used to wear years ago. I paired it with these fun gold, pearl & rhinestone bracelets from Forever 21.

Can't beat a craft that takes 2 minutes and gets tons of compliments!

**Thank you so much Lisa**Lisa has been a greta supporter of my blog for a long time, always linking up to Amaze me August with the most awesome, healthy recipes, and every once in a while we are lucky enough to see a cool craft from her too!!
P.s. Don't forget to stop by and CONGRATULATE her on that adorable little baby, I'm so happy for you girl :)

My Little One-Room Schoolhouse Takeover #6

2011-11-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

*** Takeover #6 ***

Let's welcome Amy from My Little One-Room Schoolhouse as she is next to takeover my blog for the month of November. Are you wondering what's going on? Check out this post where I explain what's happening. A very special thank you to ALL my friends who have so willingly stepped in to TAKEOVER my blog for a couple weeks :)

Hello fellow Bella readers. I'm Amy and I blog over at My Little One-Room Schoolhouse. I blog about activities I do with my 6 kids as well as crafts and recipes that I make.

Just like a teacher in the one-room schoolhouses of old would teach a little bit of everything, I include some of this and some of that in my blog. I was happy to give Bella a helping hand and this is actually my first guest post.Today I'm sharing one of my family's favorite Christmas recipes. This is a recipe I grew up making every year and now I make these cookies with my children.

Candy Cane Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup powdered sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp red food color

crushed peppermint candy

1/4-1/2 cup granulated sugar

Cream together the butter and shortening. Add powdered sugar. Mix in egg and flavorings. Beat well.

Blend in flour and salt.

Divide dough in half.

Blend food color into one half.

To make cookies, take one tsp of each color dough.

Roll each into a 4-inch rope by rolling carefully back and forth on lightly floured surface..

Place ropes side by side and press together lightly. Twist.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet and curve top to form the candy cane shape.

Recruit some helpers to make the assembly go quicker since each cookie has to be formed separately.

Bake about 8 minutes at 375 until very light brown and set. Crush peppermint candy. Mix with granulated sugar.

Remove hot cookies from sheet and gently roll or sprinkle with sugar mixture. Place on waxed paper to cool.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies if you can keep the dough-eating monsters away. :) These can be time consuming to make, but the kids have fun making them and they always get "oohs and aahs" when served.

**Thanks so much Amy**Those do look incredibly tasty, and the kids look so cute baking with mama. That is always so much fun!! Good luck with the giveaway girl!

MagdaMagda Takeover#5

2011-11-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

*** Takeover #5 ***

Let's welcome Magda from MagdaMagda as she is next to takeover my blog for the month of November. Are you wondering what's going on? Check out this post where I explain what's happening. A very special thank you to ALL my friends who have so willingly stepped in to TAKEOVER my blog for a couple weeks :)

Say hello to my friend Magda. She's awesome, she's Romanian, lives in India (married to an Indian just like me), and an incredibly talented clothing designer. You can find her blogging over at MagdaMagda where she shares her love of fashion.

I love cakes! And sometimes I just feel like making a cake! Normally you need an oven to bake a cake - but if your stove is oven-less like mine you don’t have to give up! I found a yummilicious recipe online here - you can check it out if you speak Romanian or if you want to see how to bake this cake in any pot right on the stove!

Ingredients and method:

** You mix one egg with 8 full spoons of sugar till it turns white

** Add some vanilla sugar

** 6 spoons of wheat flour mixed with baking powder and 12 spoons of milk (alternating flour and milk)

** Then add 2 spoons of cocoa!

** I did not use just any pot - I had the awesome help of my idli steamer! If you are in India or love Indian food you surely know what that is - here’s mine- it has 2 pans inside with indentations.

** With a spoon the batter is poured into the round indentations of the idli pans.

** I added some raisins on top- sometimes I put nuts.

** In the empty vessel I poured 4 cups of water, placed the pans inside, covered with the lid and lit the stove.

** Once steam started coming out I turned the flame to minimum and waited for 20 mins without raising the lid.

** Then I put off the stove, left the steamer there for another 15 mins before raising the lid.

** You can serve it like it is or with cream- always delicious and so easy to make!

What better way to say thank you Bella for a wonderful challenge- than with my new mehndi inspired "Thank you" cards:) I'd love to know this recipe brought more cakes into your homes and idli steamers and bellies!:))

**Wow Thanks Magda**Those look so yummy, and I simply can't wait to try them out. I have an idli steamer, he he, so I'm in luck :)Your cards are so beautiful too girl, love it all!Good luck with the giveaway Magda!

Mommy Made Takeover #4

2011-11-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

*** Takeover #4 ***

Let's welcome Maria from Mommy Made as she is the first to takeover my blog for the month of November. Are you wondering what's going on? Check out this post where I explain what's happening. A very special thank you to ALL my friends who have so willingly stepped in to TAKEOVER my blog for a couple weeks :)

Hello Bella before & after readers! I am Maria-Isabel. :)

You may know me from Agape Love Designs, but today I am going to be sharing something

I would normally post on my Mommy Blog, Mommy Made!Mommy Made is the place I share kid adventures, memories, activities and of course all things Mommy Made.

Today I would like to talk about some silly things that happen in a Mommy's world.In a Mommy's world there is NO SUCH THING as PRIVACY!

Let me share with you a few stories...< This is Bruce. So to set the scene, I will just say.. I am in the bathroom.Brucey: Momma, Look at my shorts!!Me: Brucey.. I'm going to the bathroom. I'll look when I am done.Brucey: Ok, I'll just be right here by the washer. (I was in our laundry room bathroom)So he stayed right there until I was done... not quietly though.He stuck his fingers under the door.Momma! Can you see me!?Brucey... Go Away!!The sound of little feet hitting the tile slowly fades as he runs away... Then gets louder as her runs back to my door.

MOMMA! Look!

He slips a piece of paper under the door.

Did you get that?!

Bruce, get out of here and let me have some peace! Goodness!

I'm half annoyed and amused at the same time.

But he gets quiet. And I finish my business in peace.

*sigh*

I open the pocket door to find him direct in front of me.

*oye*

Example #2

Meet Zander > Zander is still so much a momma's boy.When he wakes up in the morning, he likes to lay with me in bed until I wake up.Sometimes he is patient and just cuddles with me, other times he like to "ache me up". He still wants me to pick him up and hold him.And I love that... but he is almost 3 and getting heavy for me!Plus when I get up in the morning, first thing I want to do is pee and brush my teeth!My bladder wont allow me to hold anyone or anything heavy. :)So I convince him to hold my hand, and TRY to convince him to just wait for me while I'm in the bathroom.Does that ever work? No! So as I pee, he barges in and whines for me hold him.

No buddy... Im not gonna hold you right now.

Hold my hand?

Oh goodness, buddy... go wait for me on my bed. Then I will pick you up and get you some breakfast!

*pouty lip*

Hold my hand, momma, pwease!

Gracious... so I held his hand as I pee'd....

Yes, you read right.Thank goodness this isn't an everyday occurrence,but obviously this isn't something I can let happen for very much longer!!Is it just me, or does it seem like having boys gives you lots of potty stories?!Maybe this is just part of the joys of having boys... Because with my Kiah girl, I've never really had a problem with privacy, SO FAR!

Since having boys though, my privacy has become non-existent!What about you? Can you relate?Do you think this is more of a boy thing too.. or have you had similar situations with your little girl? :)I'd love to hear from you, and hopefully you will stop by and say hello on my blog Mommy made! :)

**Thanks Maria, that was super funny**

I can so relate, and yes for some reason boys are so much more clingy than girls, he he. Totally made me laugh!!

Good luck with the giveaway mama!

C.R.A.F.T. Takeover #3

2011-11-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

*** Takeover #3 ***

Let's welcome Jamie from C.R.A.F.T. as she is the next to takeover my blog for the month of November. Are you wondering what's going on? Check out this post where I explain what's happening. A very special thank you to ALL my friends who have so willingly stepped in to TAKEOVER my blog for a couple weeks :)

from

I 'm super excited to barge in on Bella's lovely blog today and share a fun kid project...

What kid doesn't love shaving cream? This project is sure to be a winner and can be done with any age. First read the book: Polar Bear, Polar Bear What do you Hear? Discuss where polar bears live? What they eat? Why there is fur looks white? National Geographic for Kids has a lot of great information. Then, make a polar bear head with stuff around your house!

Materials: Shaving cream, glue 2 face pads, 2 googly eyes, black craft ball, paper plate

Here is how to make the 3D puff paint:

Add equal-ish parts of shaving cream and glue in a large mixing bowl. Add a handful of batting to the bowl to give the polar bear texture. Spoon on to paper plate and add accessories. We used 2 face pads for the ears, 2 googly eyes, and a black craft ball for the nose. The side view really shows you the 3D effect!

Be sure to check out all of C.R.A.F.T.'s kid friendly projects, our kid stuff board on pinterest, and C.RA.F.T. on facebook! Good luck with your move, Bella :)

**Totally adorable Jamie, THANK YOU**

My kids actually love that book, so it will be super exciting for them to create their very own polar bear.

Good luck with the giveaway Jamie!!

Luxe Boulevard Takeover #2

2011-11-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

*** Takeover #2 ***

Let's welcome Stephanie from LUXE BOULEVARD as she is next to takeover my blog for the month of November. Are you wondering what's going on? Check out this post where I explain what's happening. A very special thank you to ALL my friends who have so willingly stepped in to TAKEOVER my blog for a couple weeks :)

Hi Bella readers!

I'm Stephanie, over at Luxe Boulevard, the place for all things whimsical and girly.

I'm not going to go into a whole bunch of typed out gibber jabber because I've got a video tutorial to share with you. Bella seemed quite interested in my "smokey eye," so I thought I would share it with you while she's taking care of business. I don't call it a smokey eye because my idea of a smokey eye contains charcoal colors and I don't use any, only blacks and whites. So we're going with "smoldering." Smoldering's hot, right? I mean sexy hot, not temperature hot. You know what I mean!Here it is!

Luxe Boulevard on YouTube

Thanks for tuning in, all. I would love it you stopped by, said hi.

Thanks for having me, Bella. I can't wait for everything to get back to "normal" for you and get you back here.

**Aww Steph, you are just the cutest**I loved seeing your video, I so wish we were closer, so we could hang out, I seriously love ya girl. That was an awesome video tutorial, and you look beautiful as always mama :)Good luck with the giveaway!!

Scene of Sublime Takeover #1

2011-11-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

*** Takeover #1 ***

Let's welcome Laurie from Scene of Sublime as she is the first to takeover my blog for the month of November. Are you wondering what's going on? Check out this post where I explain what's happening. A very special thank you to ALL my friends who have so willingly stepped in to TAKEOVER my blog for a couple weeks :)

Hi there and Happy Holidays! I’m Laurie from Scene of Sublime. Totally happy to be here today at Bella Before and After (Bella is so the sweetest blogger, isn't she?!) ~ I have something super cute to share with you!

In the mood to try some new holiday decor this season? Try experimenting with some fresh colors – even if it’s only on a small project like this one. You may find yourself a new festive color scheme!

This project was très simple and cost almost nothing! Just a little time and crafting effort. Basically, the only supplies I used were a 25¢ candle platter from Goodwill, a candle, dollar store turquoise floral wire, acorns from the yard, craft paint, glitter (fine and chunky). I didn’t actually BUY anything specifically for the project :) that makes momma happy!

I love blue and green together – I have lots of it in my home, in fact. So, I was drawn to using these pretty colors in this holiday project. Retro holiday decor like the gorgeous topiaries in the image above inspired me to create a home accessory project with some retro, funky, colorful pizzazz!

The process itself was a basic - paint the parts, glitter the parts and hot glue them together (the candle platter and acorns, that is) - type of thing. I also modpodged and glittered the candle.

Last, I used the floral wire to create a twist of a holiday tree effect twirling off the top of the candle – fun!

I have loved being here at Bella Before and After today and would love, love, love for any and all of you to come see me anytime over at my blog Scene of Sublime!

Chronically Yours, Laurie

**Thank you SOOOO much Laurie**

I enjoyed having you share this great project with us today.

Good luck with the giveaway girl :)

Hi-Jack my blog PLEASE-- I need HELP again $50 - $100 giveaway

2011-11-09T12:40:00.001-05:00

Ok, sorry for not putting up the party Monday night. It completely slipped my mind, I wonder how that happened. Oh I know, I'm busy packing, moving, and all that good stuff, he he.
So too keep my mind sane, and give myself a small little break, please note that the party will be on hold until NEXT year, which luckily is just around the corner, so don't be too sad :)
The next couple weeks will be the worst as we are planning on moving by Dec 1st. So if you could all just hang in there for a couple more weeks, I can promise that SANTA will bring tons of goodies for my most loyal friends. YUP that huge giveaway that was supposed to happen in September, will now take place just in time for lots of great Christmas presents.
Still with me?
Life can take you in the most unusual places sometimes, and this is just another road I need to go through, to get to where I need to be. I appreciate all the support, and kind words as always. You are an awesome bunch of friends, truly!!
NOW, I am once again calling ALL bloggers to lend me a hand, and a blog post or two :)
I am opening up my blog to all of you, so send me your COMPLETED post ( please include the ENTIRE HTML code)
I am looking for NEW content please.
** Any kind of awesome tutorials** Any kind of yummy recipes** Anything else you think I will like
FOR YOUR HELP, and IF SELECTEDI will give EACH of you a chance to win:
$50 - $100 to spend with my sponsorsHere are the RULES1. Must submit an ORIGINAL NEW blog post2. Submit as many as you want, but I will limit each blog to TWO possible blog posts. 3. Must promote Bella Before and After, on your blog, and facebook, twitter if applicable.4. Must be a follower of Bella Before and After
* If you have 2 blog posts picked, you will double your chances to win the prize. Depending on the amount of submissions I may not be able to pick 2 blog posts at all, UNLESS they are THAT GOOD in which case I will have no choice :)
Depending on the turnout, the amount of new followers, facebook fans, and overall traffic, the $50 prize will go up, and if you know me, I will be more than happy to spoil you guys, but I just need some help right now, and am turning to you for it.
Can't wait to see what you all come up with.
I will start going through emails today, and start setting them up within the next few days. I will notify you of the date yours will be posted. Please make sure to promote Bella Before and After before, on the day of and after your post. The more followers, fans, and friends, the more money will be given to the winner.
Also please note this giveaway is ONLY open to persons who's blog post gets accepted and posted on my blog.I may need 2-3 weeks of material, so your chances to win, will be pretty darn good ladies. GOOD LUCK
Giveaway will be set up in the next week or two.
There is not a DEADLINE, but the sooner I get the posts ready and set up the better, and I can get the giveaway started. Remember I am looking to fill the rest of NOVEMBER, so keep the submissions coming, and if I get enough posts I will kindly let you know that I have enough. Until further notice, keep them coming :)

Amaze me August #61 - I'm Leaving :(

2011-10-31T22:08:00.000-04:00

Hello and HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all of you!!

I just got back from trick or treating with the kiddos, and their friends. We have TONS of candy as usual, and after the kids munched on several pieces, it's no wonder they aren't tired, lol. Do you go through your kids stash and get rid of all the really nasty candy? Or is that just me. My kids already know that by morning, half of their candy will be gone, and the rest hidden. So they always make the best of it, and try to eat as many NO NO candies before I can see as possible, lol.

I hope everyone had fun decorating and crafting for Halloween this year. I didn't do one single thing, and am pretty bummed. I didn't even make it to the pumpkin patch to take pictures :(

My life has been pretty hectic, as you all have been hearing, but now things are getting even more so. After much thought, we have decided to MOVE. We have been thinking of getting a bigger house for a while now, and renting this one out since we can't sell it for nothing right now. My mom was going to move in with us, and that was the plan. Things have changed though, and we will be moving into her house for a while. Not exactly what I had in mind when I was house hunting, but this is the most practical solution for everyone right now.

My momma has been trying to stay afloat for years now, but the economy is getting the best of her too, and it's just getting way too hard. She works, works, and works some more, and there is never an end in sight. So once we move in, she won't have to worry about bills anymore. I will be there with the bakery full time, and am excited to do even more with the cake business. By living there, I think we can do tons of great things, so that is awesome.

We will be kind of crammed still, but I guess we will just have to figure it out for a while, until we can find the perfect house, and save enough to comfortably move in.

This means that I will have 100 times more to do now, getting our house ready for renters, getting my moms house ready for us to move in, and packing, selling, donating, and actually MOVING, ahhhhh. I am aiming to finish within the next two weeks, but that might be wishful thinking, if nothing else I have to finish by the end of the month. Either way I ahve way too much to do, I can't even think about it all, it's scares me. Last time I moved, it was summer time, and I was only pregnant with my second. This time, it's full on school time, with THREE kids after me, I am like a mad woman trying to finish it all, AND do laundry, and cook, etc, etc, etc.

I will have to see what I am able to do with the blog this month, so please forgive me ahead of time, for being EVEN more absent than I already am now. I do have great plans for my blog, and of course the cake blog too. I haven't forgotten about sharing our cakes with you all, but I just couldn't do it all. Once things settle down JUST a bit, I will work FULL TIME on getting things back and running, because I have missed you all so much, and I've had ideas come to me all the time, I've been writing them down, and I can't wait to put them in action.

Things are going to be crazy for me this month, but I will try my very best to pop in and keep you updated. Thanks to all who continue to support me, and my blog. I love ya!!!

Amaze me August #60 - My daily schedule

2011-10-24T21:55:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the 60th edition ofAMAZE ME AUGUST
Just wanted to explain just a little of what's been going on in my life lately. It seems like I have not really blogged in months, and I know I've hardly had any time to read any of your blogs either. It makes me feel bummed, and it's definitely not how I planned on things going once school stared.
I had such high hopes of accomplishing all kinds of wonderful things, and I've just realized that I have years of things I've been trying to do that are taking longer than I had thought. Just going through all our paperwork took almost a whole week, and even now it's not completely organized, but I got rid of more than half of it, finally.
I've been really trying to donate, sell, or dispose of a lot of things, in hopes of making my life easier, and less things to put away. Simplicity, I long for it so badly. It's hard for me to just do it all at once, so I've had to go over a room 3 or 4 times, before I finally have it down to where I'm ok with it. Things will stay the first 2 rounds, but then as time passes, I'm ok with downsizing even more. It's pretty refreshing, but very time consuming for sure.
One thing I hadn't planned on was just how quickly 6 hours passes. Somehow I feel like the time just flies, after I get all the kids off to school, I rush home and start the race. Goes something like this :)

6 am - wake up (push snooze)

6:30 am - for real wake up and check out the new pins on pinterest while I go pee.
6:45 am - with a numb booty I finally get up, and wash up.
7 am - wake kids up, princess wakes up nicely, gets dressed no problem. Dino D acts like a baby, and refuses to get dressed on his own. Big B needs to be threatened with the spray bottle, and often squirted with ice cold water before he rolls out of bed, 30 minutes later.
7:30 am - breakfast (snacks)
8:00 am - drop two younger ones off at school
8:30 am - Big B catches the bus, unless he's behind on his work, and I make him finish which means now I need to drive him to school.
9:30 am - finally get back home from dropping Big B at school, which seems to be happening more often nowadays. Clean kitchen.
10:00 am - start laundry, and with 5 people in the house, it's never ending. I always have about 2-3 loads every day!
10:30 am - Decide which room to organize, clear out, declutter, donate things, and decide how I want to remodel it. I am slowly but surely trying to get every room in order, and it's just taking forever.
12:00 pm - seems like I did a bunch of nothing, but some laundry, and planning, sometimes I have boxed full of stuff to donate, sometimes I just jotted ideas down, but either way, I feel like I am getting nowhere, and now it's time to cook lunch, or eat something.
1:00 pm - usually still cooking something, and getting food ready for dinner too.
1:30 pm - eat, and clean up the kitchen again, finish up some laundry.
2:30 pm - Dino comes home from school, feed him, clean him, try to stop him from playing on my iphone, ask him to put his shoes away etc, usually with no results.
3:00 pm - Princess comes home, changes, and charges at me with demands to play with her friends, always gets the same answer, finish your homework girly :)
3:30 pm - try to get them to snack on something, and I'm still working on finishing up some housework.
4:30 pm - Big B comes home, and again mad dash to get him a snack, and finish up some work, and then it's time to start our afterschool activities.
5:00 pm - We go to Kumon twice a week, Tae Kwon Do 4 days a week, Tavaci one night a week, try to go to the gym one night a week with the kids, and when possible squeeze the park in there too. Either way we are busy every night of the week, for several hours.
7:45 pm - we usually get back home around this time, and we quickly eat dinner, finish homework, shower, get ready for school. I wash dishes, clean kitchen AGAIN.
9:30 pm - trying to get everyone ready for bed, I am usually pooped by this time, and the kids basically pass out. I look over my to do list, and feel sad that I didn't get anything done, and make my list over for the next day, hoping for a better day!

I would love to share with you all some of my TO DO items, and maybe you will enjoy seeing things as they progress. At least that way, I can continue with this crazy huge list I am trying to work through, and still keep you up to date. Sound good?

Until then you guys please link up all your awesome projects. Thanks for all your patience, and support, as I try to get past this crazy hectic schedule of mine. Hopefully I am able to start putting some more time aside for blogging, but as of now, I just can't seem to stop working on things that I've been trying to do for years.

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Amaze me August #59 - WIWW Instagram edition

2011-10-17T22:23:00.002-04:00

Hello and Welcome to the 59th edition of

AMAZE ME AUGUST
and
WIWW Instagram edition

Comfy outfit day!!
Skinny Jeans - Khols
Vintage Flower shirt - used to be my moms like 30 years ago, woo hoo.
Necklaces - Khols
Bracelets - Khols
Miss Shine Hairlclip - LUXE BOULEVARD
Clogs - Khols

Can I just tell you that I hardly ever find cute COMFY shoes to wear. These babies, well I just LOVE them. Totally comfy, totally cute, totally get tons of compliments every time I wear them, I feel so happy I can't even tell you. HOORAY for CUTE comfy shoes finally!!

I saved a couple shirts from my moms 70's fashion days, and this is one of my favorite shirts. Full of color, it makes me happy every time I wear it.

Pink Barbie Hairlclip - LUXE BOULEVARD

Dress - Target

Green shirt - Old Navy ( used to be big brothers when he was small )

Ballet flats, she doesn't do ballet, but loves wearing them, AND she can totally stand on her toes like crazy, maybe we should put her in ballet :0

Bobby Pins - AGAPE LOVE DESIGNS
Pink Barbie Hairlclip - LUXE BOULEVARD

So there you have it. Another fun WIWW post. I'll be linking up to these awesome parties, because they are awesome, and full of inspiration. You should check them out!!

So much awesome Halloween projects being done, I am so excited.

Don't forget my SIX WEEKS TO SPOOK Halloween party is still up.

LINK UP HERE

Also check out the Halloween party I threw last year, which was also my princesses birthday party.

HALLOWEEN PARTY

If you missed it, there are some good ideas for food, and decorations.

You are so awesome, each and every one of you, WOO HOO, keep up all the amazing work. I love it!!

Don't forget to grab a button if you are linking up to the party. I appreciate the support as always.

Amaze me August #58 - BIG ASS BOOK of CRAFTS 2

2011-10-10T21:59:00.001-04:00

Hello and Welcome to the 58th edition of

AMAZE ME AUGUST

Just wanted to let you all know that a great friend of mine, and VERY talented author, is having his OFFICIAL book release tomorrow, for THE BIG ASS BOOK OF CRAFTS 2.
You know MARK MONTANO- his BLOG HERE. That guy --------> there in the sidebar, yup he is awesome. I know I've talked about him before, and I know many of you are following him now too, but in case you missed it, just letting you know, his NEW book is OFFICIALLY released now, so GO, RUN, and grab yourself a copy. He just told us all that even WALMART is selling his books, even for less than Amazon, so dang, pick a place, and check it out.
Make sure to go congratulate him too, he's so dang nice, you will seriously be happy you did. Oh and in case you are in the market for some COOL ASS jewelry and other cool things, check out his ETSY shop, I kinda LOVE all his stuff there too.

Shoot, I just love this guy, he's flippin awesome!
I can see many of you have linked up to the Halloween party, YAY. Totally excited to see more cool projects, we still have to start decorating. I NEVER can get my decorations up in time, golly. At least I have tons of ideas thanks to all of you, so thank you!!

6 weeks 2 Spook
Go ahead and click HERE to read the rules to enter the party.

If you have a Halloween project to link up, you've come to the right place.
I just ask that you PLEASE link it up to the HALLOWEEN LINKY.

SIX WEEKS TO SPOOK ---> HALLOWEEN PROJECTS

AMAZE ME AUGUST ---> THE REST OF YOUR PROJECTS

Amaze me August #57 - 6 weeks 2 SPOOK party OPEN again

2011-10-03T22:35:00.000-04:00

Hello and Welcome to the 57th edition of

AMAZE ME AUGUST

Tonight I wanted to reopen my HALLOWEEN LINKY from last year.
6 weeks 2 Spook
Go ahead and click HERE to read the rules to enter the party.

There were so many awesome projects there, and I think it would be fun to look back at some older projects, as well as link up all your new ones too. Lets see how this goes, I may open it up every year, and before we know it, there will be hundreds and hundreds of cool Halloween projects for you to look through. If you have a Halloween project to link up, you've come to the right place.
I just ask that you PLEASE link it up to the HALLOWEEN LINKY.

For all the rest of your projects, as always I'd love to see them linked up to Amaze me August!

SIX WEEKS TO SPOOK ---> HALLOWEEN PROJECTS

AMAZE ME AUGUST ---> THE REST OF YOUR PROJECTS

Rafflecopter Winners

2011-09-30T18:10:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to quickly announce the winners for the Rafflecopter invites giveaway.
There were only seven people who entered, so I had to pick the winners a couple times, since I got the same winner a couple times, he he. I didn't think you would need more than one invite anyway :)
So ladies, do you want to see if you won?
Please check THIS POST where they are formally announced with the neat gadget. I seriously LOVE how easy rafflecopter is to use. I just signed in, went to moderate entries, and it automatically picked the winners through Random.org. No sorting through comments, counting comments, trying to figure out contact information, or anything else. An email is required to enter the giveaway so that takes care of that. Easy peasy!!
I hope you ladies enjoy using this gadget as much as I have.

Amaze me August #56 - WIWW- Pincurls and Yoga Pants

2011-09-26T21:47:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the 56th edition of Amaze me August!

WIWW- Pincurls, and Yoga pants

This week I am sharing with you my take on how to dress up comfy yoga pants. I was busy cleaning all last week, my garage is almost all done, and looks so good, I can't wait to show you. In the mean time, the girl and I decided to put some pincurls in our hair for the night, so we could have some beautiful curls in the morning. Things didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped, so I ended up with some messy victory curls, wrapped a bandana around my head, put a pretty bow in there, and called it a day.

It had just rained last Friday, and it was absolutely beautiful outside. All the plants, trees, and flowers looked so colorful, and amazing, I just had to take some pics out on my HUGE DECK - did you miss the post on where I cleaned it, make sure to check it out!

Yoga pants - Bally's (Sams club)
Shirt - Kohls
Red Sandals - Sis got them from India

Pretty styling for doing housework right? It was a SUPER nice change to actually dress up, even if all I was doing was cleaning. I felt so 1950's housewifish, lol.

My beautiful cat Tiger (in Romanian, we call him Teegru) joined in the fun, so he is in many of the shots. He has the MOST amazing eyes that I just couldn't capture, erghhh. Oh yeah, and my footsies, well they got polished a couple weeks ago, quite an improvement over THIS POST- WIWW - BLISTERS and BROWN, where I was rocking 6 month old nail polish, he he.

I seriously love my cat. Several years ago though, as cats are not the smartest cookies around, he snuck under my van as I was pulling out my garage, and I ran over his hip. I cried so bad, I freaked out, I thought I had seriously just killed my cat. While he lay there, limping, he never made a sound, he just looked at me, like he knew I would take care of him. It was late at night, and I didn't know what to do. First thing in the morning, I took him to the vet, where he told me, LUCKILY, nothing had been broken , no organs were damaged, and the only thing that MIGHT possibly happen is he could get arthritis when he gets older. I still don't know how he got so lucky, but I LOVE him so much, and am thankful everyday that he is OK.

How do you like that pretty pink bow? How do you like it matched up with my leopard print bandana? I thought it was pretty fun, and while I would have NEVER ever bought this bright pink bow, especially not to wear myself, I got it as a prize, part of my winning package from my awesome friend, Maria over at AGAPE LOVE DESIGNS. So thanks girl, if you would not have sent this to me, I would have NEVER known how flippin cute it can be :)

Pink Bow - AGAPE LOVE DESIGNS

Necklace - SHINE necklace

I carefully tucked my short a** bangs under the bandana, they were not cooperating AT all. If you missed seeing my Instagram pictures, you should check out my FACEBOOK. It was quite funny, the girl and I had rags on our heads for the night, and to see the result the following morning, you will def chuckle at how funny my hair looked, hehe.

SMILE, it's good for you, even if you have MASSIVE wrinkles, he he.

Side shot of the big honking Roman nose, gotta love that too, lol.

Mustering all my strength to show you just how incredibly GRAY ( WHITE) my hair is getting. Very sad, it makes me feel so bummed sometimes, and then I remember why I'm not coloring it, and I just move on. I should feel blessed, just look at all those NATURAL, and FREE highlights. I wish there was a miracle way to color my hair, and still be healthy. I have yet to try henna, I'm kinda scared, I haven't put ANYTHING in my hair for over a year, I don't know that I want to mess it all up now.

So there you have it. Another fun WIWW post. I'll be linking up to these awesome parties, because they are awesome, and full of inspiration. You should check them out!!

Don't forget to grab a button if you are linking up to the party. I appreciate the support as always.

So much awesome Halloween projects being done, I am so excited. You are so awesome, each and every one of you, WOO HOO, keep up all the amazing work. I love it!!

Amaze me August #55 - Rafflecopter Invite GIVEAWAY (5 invites total)

2011-09-19T21:27:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the 55th edition of:

I'm petty darn excited to catch up with everyone, and to be able to talk (sing), and not be constantly coughing.I'm sure my kids are equally excited, that I can yell at them again, lol. Seriously though, I've been fighting a cold/cough/sore throat/sick kids for almost two months now, practically non stop. At least one of us has been sick since school started the first week of August, WOW.

Other good news, while I thought I would finally have some FREE time once the little one started school last month, it officially only started today. Well with the kids home sick, and my hubby in transition to start a new job, I was never alone, UNTIL today. I celebrated by cleaning my garage, YAY! It's not done yet, but I am determined to get some MAJOR cleaning, organizing, and remodeling done. Yup remodeling, as in some way overdue things. I'll update you all on my plans soon.

In the mean time, I have an exciting giveaway for all of you.

I've seen this little gadget around several blogs, and when it comes to entering giveaways, I think it's the ONLY way to go. I wish I had my account when I hosted my last giveaway. I just couldn't believe how much time most of those amazing and awesome participants went through to get all the entries I allowed. I admit it was a LOT, but they did it, and bless their hearts for it too. I appreciated it so much, BUT wouldn't it be nice to be able to complete all your requirements from the actual blog, and not have to go back and forth between pages. Well my dears, NOW you can.

Check out this lovely little widget, it is super easy to set up, and entering giveaways couldn't be any easier. Just pick and choose which entries you want to complete, it is so fast, usually just a click of a button, and you are done, ENTERED and no more leaving time consuming comments, unless that is one the entry options.

I had to bribe and beg and plead to get an invite, because really who wants to WAIT, once you see how awesome, and easy this will make your giveaway hosting life, but I'm sorry to inform you that awesome folks at Rafflecopter, are INVITE only, and from what I hear, it can take a pretty LONG time to get one.

I just knew I had to share some invites with all of you, and lucky for you, I already did some begging and pleading, and got my hands on FIVE invites to share with you.

How awesome is that? I am just so excited to share this amazing tool with my friends. I hope you see just how easy it is to use, by entering the giveaway below. You will be done in no time at all. Make sure to leave me a comment (worth one entry) and let me know what you think about Rafflecopter, and why you JUST HAVE TO have it too.

Oh and don't forget to link to the party below. I will start catching up on some features this week, I have TONS, to show you all. I've had so many awesome link ups this past month, even with my total neglect, which I am truly sorry for. I can't wait to start doing some features, they are so much fun!!

P.S. Are you guys ready for the giveaway celebration to begin? Which giveaway celebration you ask? Oh the one where you can win something awesome from each of my AMAZING sponsors, the ones you see there in my right hand sidebar, under giveaways. Oh yeah, all of them. So keep your eye out, all that fun will start VERY soon, and with my new Rafflecopter widget it will be SO much easier this time around, for me, and for you, YAY!!!

REMEMBER with Rafflecopter you NEVER have to leave another comment to enter a giveaway again, unless of course it's one of the ways to get an entry, like I have one below. However the ONLY way to get a qualifying entry is to click the I DID it GREEN button on the widget itself, so leaving a comment will NOT enter you in the giveaway. I sure hope this is easy for you to enter, and you enjoy using it as much as I do. Please feel free to let me know what you think about it!

FIVE winners will get an INVITE to Rafflecopter.

Amaze me August #54 - Pregnant Bella Cake Tutorial

2011-09-12T21:44:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the 54th edition of:

Today I am sharing with you another great cake decorating tutorial. This was first shared over at my good friend Ami's blog ALILILLY.
This past week I did some things that were out of the ordinary for me, but really interesting to say the least. I spoke my mind more than usual on a few of those posts, and while I didn't get AS much of a reaction as I'd thought, it left me wondering if anyone even read it, lol. Totally go check out these posts if you get a chance, and let me know what you think!LMM and a not so nice anonymous comment got me thinkingWIWW - The world BIGGEST photo shoot everMy Dumb and Dumber haircut :(
I hope you enjoy checking those posts out, please let me know what you think. Now enjoy this great tutorial, and then make sure to link up to the party.Thanks everyone!!

Pregnant Belly Cake Tutorial

At this point I didn't glue anything down yet. It still needed to be easily transferred to the finished cake. Once you have it on the cake , and are happy with the placement of everything, you just need to dab a little water to make everything stick, like glue. Be careful not to add too much, or else the fondant will slide.

Also you will notice everything is really powdery at this stage. You need to keep everything dusted well, so it doesn't stick, but once you are finished assembling the cake, you can steam the fondant, or use a paintbrush to paint it with water (slightly) and this will take care of all that powder, along with making everything shine.

Do you want to see the finished cake?

It is so pretty, I really love the way it turned out.

Make sure to stop by and take a look.

Dumb and Dumber haircut - my HEART ACHES 9/11

2011-09-10T17:53:00.000-04:00

SCISSOR HAPPY

Help someone take the scissors away. After my shower this morning, I started cutting, before I knew it, I had given myself the DUMB and BUMBER haircut. You know the one, yup, the only thing missing was a chip in my tooth, and a wooly dog car, DANG!!!

I have no idea what got into me, I just cut, and cut, and cut, and THEN it was too late, lol.

So after my entire family laughed at me, I got to work. I had to fix it, but HOW??? This is what I came up with, and if I do say so myself, I kinda like it, KINDA!!!

What do you all think?

Should I STOP cutting my bangs, or do you like it too?

Last time I cut my bangs this short I was 19 years old and in cosmetology school. Ahhh, I need to gather up some old pictures with all my different hairstyles, and colors. A far cry from my boring, GREY hair today. Anyways, be honest, and tell me what you think? I'd love to hear your HONEST reaction, lol.

Shine necklace - THE SHINE PROJECT

Earrings - Kohls (he he)

So the bottom right picture was EXACTLY what my face looked like after I cut my hair, I was seriously going to cry :( I took some SAD pictures, and then put on some earrings, hoping I would look more like a girl, lol. It was BAD, and I can't blame my hubby and kids from freaking out. Oh boy it was not fun!

I had to pull some of the hair away from my face, I just looked like a BOX. By pinning it up in retro type curls, I think it really opened up my face, and while it was not what I had pictured when I started cutting my bangs this morning, I think I can deal with it for a while. It's different, and well, I like DIFFERENT.

Thank goodness for jewelry, and lipstick, ha ha.

So there you have it, my dumb and dumber haircut.

I'm not sure that I will post anything tomorrow. I have such mixed feelings about how to express what I feel about 9/11. I'm not sure I can do it properly, so I will just say this:

My heart ACHES for ALL the people effected by that dreadful day. My heart ACHES for the children who grow up without their parents. My heart ACHES for the families who's lives are forever empty because someone they loved gave their lives in trying to help others. I WANT my heart to ACHE for the families of those men who took part in that DISGUSTING act of terrorism, and EVEN for the men themselves, BUT is it worth my effort? Will I solve anything for feeling sympathy for them? I'm not really sure, but my heart still feels something, and mostly what it feels is HATE. I can't lie and say I don't HATE what they did. I could care less what their reasons were, I don't think ANYBODY has the right to do what they did PERIOD. I feel the same way about WAR in general by the way, I just can't justify killing more people as solution to anything. (Please don't ask me what I would do if anyone ever hurt my kids though, my thought are very different then, although I wouldn't go to war with a COUNTRY you know what I mean?)

If I could wipe away ALL the war, the fighting, the HATE in this world I would. It's not healthy, it's not good, and it's NOT NECESSARY. I don't want to waste my energy on feeling like that!

WHY CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?

Why should anyone live their lives thinking of ways to destroy another. I don't think ANYBODY'S GOD wants that. We are ALL his children, and we are ALL loved. I wish we could all just BE!!

I WILL NEVER FORGET!

I do wish the WORLD could MOVE on to a BETTER tomorrow!

I feel very sad that this may never happen as long as we can't accept each other, and love one another just the way we are. We should all join forces, to make this WORLD a better place.

Hate can never END, as long as someone feels justified in getting back at the other person. It's a vicious circle that is never ending.

An eye for an eye mentality can only end when the whole world is left with only one eye!!

Think about that, next time. (Unless someone hurts your child of course, then it's no mercy)

Just saying, I'm not perfect yet, and I could seriously HURT (very badly, with my own hands) anybody who hurts a child, especially MY child. There is no place in the world to hide from a mothers wrath if you hurt their baby!! Ok, now that you are all totally FREAKED out by me, I'll be going. So the moral of the story is, DON'T hurt CHILDREN, and PEOPLE in general. You hear me, don't do it!!

Now you know why I didn't want to write anything tomorrow :(

WIWW - BIGGEST photo shoot EVER - NO YOGA PANTS

2011-09-07T18:26:00.001-04:00

This weeks WIWW post is dedicated to a pretty cool friend. A guy I met on twitter, after reading a post on my friend Tara's blog, Taradara. Actually though I'd been loving on him for a while now, without ever knowing how awesome he actually was. I just knew I LOVED his books, and he was incredibly talented, crafty, and awesome. His name is Mark Montano, and he writes BIG ASS BOOKS, which are ASS kicking good. Trust me, you will never be bored again, just get your hands on one of his books, and you will have tons of inspiration, oh and follow him along on facebook too, he is just incredible.

This ones for you Mark!

NO YOGA PANTS

He practically banned me from wearing them, unless I go to the gym. Thank you for your wonderful advice, hopefully I get a stamp of approval on my attempt at getting dressed :)

I took like a million pictures today, since I can't imagine doing this on a regular basis, I just got a bunch done today, plus I had to take pics for my upcoming giveaways, and reviews. The weather was PERFECT, overcast, grey skies, cool breeze. I couldn't have asked for anything better. It took my about an hour to take all these pictures, and it was SUPER fun, I must admit :)

Entire outfit - KOHLS

Belt Buckle - MARK MONTANO ETSY

Belt - my moms old hideous gold looking thing, that somehow works with the buckle :)

Bracelets - BELSI COLLECTION

Owl Necklace - FABULOUSLY FLAWED

Owl Necklace - FABULOUSLY FLAWED

Rosette Bobby Pins - AGAPE LOVE DESIGNS
Necklace - THE TESSY TREE

Rosette Bobby Pins - AGAPE LOVE DESIGNS

Necklace - THE TESSY TREE

Rosette Bobby Pins - AGAPE LOVE DESIGNS

Necklace - THE TESSY TREE

Bracelet - Mine (old, and can't remember where it's from)

Rosette Bobby Pins - AGAPE LOVE DESIGNS

Necklace - THE TESSY TREE

Outfit - KOHLS
Shirt - THRIFT STORE
Headband - LUXE BOULEVARD
Necklace - FABULOUSLY FLAWED

Headband - LUXE BOULEVARD

Necklace - FABULOUSLY FLAWED

Entire outfit - KOHLS
Headband - AGAPE LOVE DESIGNS
Black necklace - Mine (Avon)
Pearl Bird Branch necklace - FABULOUSLY FLAWED

Headband - AGAPE LOVE DESIGNS

Pearl Bird Branch necklace - FABULOUSLY FLAWED

Birds Nest necklace - AGAPE LOVE DESIGNS
Earrings - AGAPE LOVE DESIGNS

Headband - LUXE BOULEVARD

Sweater - KOHLS

Heels - KHOLS
Disclaimer - I wore these heels for about an hour while taking all these pictures, so I could look cuter, but my feet were about to FALL off, and these aren't even high heels. So I don't want to make you all think that I ACTUALLY wear heels, because I don't. If there is such a thing as a COMFY heel, PLEASE oh PLEASE let me know, otherwise I am stuck with flip flops, sandals, boots (no heel), and other such shoes. It sucks, but it is what it is, and I WILL not kill myself trying to wear a cute pair of heels just too look good. Even though I did for these pictures, but that was a mistake, lol.
Please forgive me!!

Jacket - TARGET ( I know, you almost died of shock )

Headband - LUXE BOULEVARD

Necklace - FABULOUSLY FLAWED

Earrings - AGAPE LOVE DESIGNS

That was officially the LONGEST WIWW post right?

I hope you liked it, and in case you've missed my other posts, you might want to see how lame I can be, by checking them out. PAST WIWW, I am TRYING to get better at posing, but as you can see, I stuck to the SAME boring poses in all these pictures, I couldn't help it, I just don't know what to do :)

Hopefully I've improved just a little though, and this time I was my own photographer, which was kinda weird, but really great at the same time, he he. Location was my moms house, thanks MOM.

Thanks to all my wonderful awesome friends, WHO by the way are also my incredible sponsors too. It was so much fun accessorizing with all the fantastic goodies you've sent me. I love them all!!

I can't wait to kick off another round of GIVEAWAYS, where you can win something from EACH and EVERY one of these amazing shops, and much more. (Just take a peak in my right hand sidebar, for ALL the amazing giveaways coming soon)

Linking to these awesome parties. Go get your groove on, join the fun!

LMM and a not so nice anonymous comment got me thinking.....

2011-09-06T13:12:00.000-04:00

So while checking my facebook feed this morning, I read a little update about a post LMM did on a farmers market dinner. Oh and a anonymous not so nice comment left by someone. It got me thinking. Here's what I think about it all, and a little confession from me to you. First of all let me say that the post the comment was left on, was NOTHING but real. I personally love reading Ashley's blog, and while we may differ in SO many ways, we are totally the SAME in so many as well. To list all those would take forever, but the MAIN thing I can relate too is all her honest, goofy, silly, confessions of being a mother. I love her writing style, and the way she puts her words on paper (blog). I love the way she captures little moments in little W's life, and writes him letters. I love that she is ALWAYS poking fun at herself.
It is so easy to look at her beautiful smile, and wonderful pictures, and think she has it all. Too think that she is perfect, and always looks amazing. While she may have MAD photography skills, and is just naturally adorable with her incredible smile, I never once look at her, and think she tries to hard. Or is somehow showing us a side of her that is less than who she is.
I know that blogging, can often make you want to share the more enjoyable, wonderful, lovely sides of your life. Nobody really wants to hear about how depressed you are, or constantly read negative posts on a regular basis. However when bloggers share these sides of their life, and are open about struggles that they encounter, readers are incredibly supportive, and can often relate.
The same way we don't want to share nasty pictures with friends and family, we don't purposely look to share crappy pictures on our blogs either. Some of us may have better cameras, but no matter what, we all try to post the best picture possible, RIGHT? So why is it so wrong that Ashley posted incredible pictures, of an incredible dinner she hosted with her friends. She worked hard at it, and she wanted to share it. Yes, blogging had something to do with it. Yes, I'm sure she was excited to share the dinner with her readers. Yes, I'm sure she would have preferred to have everything PERFECT, but instead she kept it real, and shared the good, the bad, and the UGLY.
Just like anyone else, I had to go find this anonymous comment for myself, and see what all the fuss was about. I'm glad Ashley didn't delete it, but I'm also sad to see all the other comments after that.
This is my confession. LMM, Ashley I heart you, I really REALLY do. However I can see in a small way how that person could have said what she said, and now let me explain.
By no FAULT of your own, it is very easy to look at your blog, and be envious, jealous, wish to have your perfect life. EVEN knowing it is not perfect, because I DO READ your blog, lol. My brain doesn't always register the negative things, when I look at your blog, I ALWAYS see perfection, even when you are showing us your Farmer John outfit for example. You showed us how frumpy you can look, and all I saw was, DANG she looks good, I WISH I could look that good dressed like a farmer, lol.
When you talk about your hair problems, I SEE the bald spots, BUT again, think well shoot, if thats what she looks like with bald spots, I wish I had them too, she is still 10 times more beautiful than I could ever be. I'm not saying that I have low self esteem, I really don't (seriously I don't, lol ) these are just quick thoughts that go through my brain, at the moment, and I don't think them in a bad way, because I seriously love ya girl, it's just what I have noticed with myself. I would never go say anything bad about you, because I have nothing BAD to say, I really LOVE your blog, but I CAN understand how someone might think that your blog is TOO perfect. In a weird kind of way, it IS. You are just perfect. Even when you are NOT, you just have a way to express yourself in the most PERFECT way, that it doesn't matter what you share with us, we are all like jaw dropping, and saying once again, how AWESOME you are. Well most of us anyway, clearly some people express themselves differently.
When you got your new blog design, I must ADMIT, I was like SOOOOO jealous. I mean for real girl, your blog is awesome, AWESOME, amazingly AWESOME. I got so down on myself, I almost quite blogging, lol. Just feeling so not good enough. I know it sucks, but I also know I wasn't the only one. I'm sure MANY of us, loved your blog, but hated it too, just because it made us feel like ours sucked so bad. Again, it was NEVER like, I can't stand LMM anymore, it was just a natural feeling of wanting to have a fabulous blog too. You worked HARD, like REALLY, REALLY hard to get where you are at right now in your blog, and girl you deserve it so much. SO please don't think I have any ill feelings for you. I don't. My friend Magda said it best. She told me, she looks at MY blog for example and wishes her blog looked half as good, but instead of feeling down on herself, she just knows where to come for inspiration when she wants to redo her blog. I think that was the sweetest thing EVER, and it's so true.
We as bloggers, are always comparing, (wether we like it or not) our blogs, our projects, ourselves to other people out there, in the blog world. I think that's natural. I think that will never change, but we do need to take a step back, and really understand what we want out of our blog. Why we read other blogs, and why in the world we would leave comments that are hurtful to others. This by the way INCLUDES all the comments left for the anonymous commenter. While it's natural to side with Ashley, and stick up for her, I think we need to try to understand WHY that blogger felt she needed to leave such a comment.
I shared with you how I feel sometimes reading LMM, and I can KIND of understand in a very small way what the commenter was saying, but she had a HORRIBLE way of expressing herself. Although it is very possible that all the effort in the world to understand where she was coming from, would not matter, and she would just be a negative person, it is also possible that once you got to know her, she could just be a very lonely troubled person, who looks to you (Ashley) for inspiration, and somehow feels let down, for whatever reason. Unfortunately the bigger your blog gets, the more readers expect of you, and it's just something we need to deal with as bloggers. I wish that no such comments would ever be left in the first place, but more than that, I have to admit, that the way it gets handled shows me a lot about the blogger, and other people.
I hope that the next time any of us deal with a nasty, hurtful comment, we can take a step back, and TRY to understand where that person was coming from, and think twice before leaving nasty comments for the nasty commenter. Two wrongs have never made a right. I am not a church going person, and I can't stand hearing people get all preachy on me, and THEN go read nasty, hurtful comments they have left for someone they have no clue about, you know. I know the anonymous commenter left the nasty comment FIRST, and you felt justified in lashing back, but trust me, it's not ok.
Not to take this to such an extreme, BUT I truly believe that our blogging community needs to be ENCOURAGING, and more sensitive, not so quick to judge. For all we know the person who left that comment, could be in REALLY dark, lonely place in her life, and today could have been the day we could have HELPED her feel better, OR pushed her to further destruction in her life.
I sure hope that Ashley is OK, we don't REALLY know how those comments effect her. Just because she laughed it off, or made it sound like it didn't really matter, doesn't mean she didn't pull the crap out of her hair, and let it really get her down. It doesn't mean that once again, she felt like blogging just wasn't worth it anymore. She has already been going through a rough time trying to balance everything in her life, without losing focus on what REALLY matters most to her. I hope she can keep her head up high, and keep doing what she's doing, because so many of us look up to her, and just love her so much.
I also hope that the anonymous commenter, is OK. I hope that whatever she was feeling at the time when she wrote that comment, gets resolved. I hope that she stops looking at other peoples lives (as easy as it is to do so) and compare it to her own, or WISH that she could have that too. Or maybe she could care less about having LMM life, and be truly the happiest person ever, in which case, it would make EVEN less sense why she would feel compelled to read such a blog, or leave a comment in the first place, which leaves to to believe that somewhere deep inside, SHE does long to have a happier, more perfect life. We all do, trust me, but sweety, there are better ways to get there. I hope that people can be kinder to you, even though you aren't so kind to them all the time. I hope that you don't make it a habit leaving comments like that, nothing good can come if it. Go outside, take a deep breath, and then look in the mirror. I bet you are more beautiful than you know. Show the world that beauty girl, and say kind things, even if it's REALLY hard. The harder it is, the sweeter it will be, coming out of your mouth, or in this case, showing up on a comments section. Don't be afraid to express yourself, BUT find a way to do it in a less hurtful way. If I could give you a hug, I would. Hugs are good! I hope you have a wonderful day, HONESTLY, and please don't take all those comments to heart, none of those people know you, but they do know LMM, and they were just sticking up for their friend. I bet if you came out, and tried to express yourself, everyone would be supportive of you girl. I just know they would be.
Anyway I kind of said way too much here, and I hope that nobody gets angry with me, BUT I had something to say, and this wouldn't all fit in a comments section, lol.
P.s. I LOVE you all, and really think we all could learn a thing or two about being kinder, including me ALWAYS. SO lets try harder shall we? Even with something as silly as leaving comments on a blog, words are so powerful, so lets choose them wisely. Truly love one another, be kind, and be happy. You are beautiful, you are special, you are amazing. Remember that next time you long to be someone else, or have more in life. Everything can come and go, all we have is our minds, our attitudes, and the way we CHOOSE to deal with everyday life. Its not easy, it's not fair, but it is the ONLY thing we can control in our lives, so lets do the best we can with OURSELVES, since we can only change OURSELVES. Spread the love people, be true, and others will follow!!

Amaze me August #53

2011-09-05T20:57:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the 53rd edition of:

Sorry this is going to be a quick one. I'm so tired, and my girly is still sick. So I'm off to put them to bed, and I know the second my head hits the pillow I'll be out too.

Hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. I wish we would have had more fun, but that's how it goes sometimes, right?

Link up, have fun. I can't wait to see what you've been up to!!

WIAW #1 - Carb overload

2011-08-31T08:00:00.002-04:00

I've been following this sweet lady for a while now, and I've been wanting to enter her linky forever, and today I finally will. Even if I'm sharing LAST LAST weeks meal, it's better than nothing right. So check out What I Ate LAST LAST Wednesday, lol.

For all you WIAW regulars, PLEASE don't be horrified by my lack of veggies, or fruit, or other super awesome stuff. This particular day I was TOTALLY on a CARB mission, and I just couldn't get enough.

Dinner, was super yummy. I made a SPICY potato paprikash, with some organic spicy italian chicken sausage, and of course a pickle.

I had a yummy pb and banana sandwich snack, for my mid afternoon snack!

I know these soups are LOADED with sodium, but omg I just love them. Especially the Spicy ones.

My breakfast was just some simple french toast, with whole wheat bread, and a banana. I only use real maple syrup too.

There are no drinks to share, since we just normally drink water. So thats easy enough to picture right?

Thanks for stopping by, and if you get a chance make sure to stop by and say hi to Jenn, there is so much food inspiration there on Wednesdays. You really don't want to miss it.

The WINNER of the $200 Shop till you Drop Giveaway

2011-08-31T00:46:00.000-04:00

Can I just tell you all, I am just amazed, how much support I've gotten with this giveaway. I am thrilled that my incredible sponsors had such a warm welcome from all of you. I am so happy that I was able to do this for my readers, my friends, and for my sponsors.
I really wish I could give all of you an opportunity to shop with my sponsors. I've been fortunate enough to get a little something from almost all of them, and I can tell you, I love them ALL. Now that THIS huge giveaway is done, and now that you know who the sponsors are, I am excited to move on to the next stage in this celebration of mine. Hey, you only turn ONE once right?
So get ready for MORE giveaways coming up, and don't worry, I promise you don't have to jump through a million hoops like you did here. Although I THANK every one of you, for following the rules. You are awesome, and I would hug you all if I could!!
Alright so now that I'm all nervous, I must excuse myself for one second, while I go pick the lucky winner!
Who will it be?
YIKES
Oh man, this is hard!!
Ok, are you ready?
The winner of the $200 shopping credit is........

124.

Life, Crafts and Whatever said...

Now following Amanda Lynne's blog thru GFC!

August 17, 2011 12:38 PM

Can you even believe it?Let me just tell you, Jenn, TOTALLY deserves to win this. Go visit her blog, and you will know why! Just check back at around the same time when she entered the giveaway, and see what was going on with her, oh man, I could just hug her!! I hope that this puts a little smile on your face girl, and that you can pamper yourself just a bit. You sure deserve it mama!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~************************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OK, now it's DONE. I'm sad, I wish I could tell everyone they won.
SInce I can't do that, I'll do the next best thing!!
How about I pick 2 more winners.
That seems only fair, since I was READY to give up another $100 for my other giveaway which nobody entered, WHY not award the second place winner to this giveaway $100.
SO let me go pick another winner, shall I.
Ok, I'll be RIGHT back!
The winner for the $100 shopping credit is........

whitneyfreeman said...

I twitted about Bella Before & After!!

August 18, 2011 2:41 AM

Well alrighty then girl, how excited are you right now???? WOO HOO!!!I sure hope you don't mind getting $100 to shop with my awesome sponsors. I'm pretty sure you figure out some way to spend it, he he.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~************************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last but not least lets do ONE LAST winner.
This time it is a $50 credit to shop with any of my sponsors, and although it's not $200, or EVEN $100, it is still pretty awesome, and I hope it has put a smile on that pretty face of yours. So are you READY to find out who the last lucky winner is?
Yeah ME TOO...
Ok, the winner of the $50 credit goes too.......

111.

Roxanne K said...

Like The Lucky Elephant on FB / Roxanne K
monorox (at) gmail (dot) com

WOW, so now that I feel a little better, lol. I REALLY hope all you lovely ladies are as excited and thrilled as I am about these great sponsors. I hope you have TONS of fun shopping with them.

Now I know it wasn't in the rules or anything, but dang it, if you don't show off all your pretty stuff, and share it with all of us, I'm going to be rather sad. So make sure to take TONS of pictures, and then send them over to me, so I can do a special post on all of you. That would make me super happy!

Thanks again to EVERYONE who entered, and if you didn't win this time, NO worries. I only have like 20 more giveaways coming up, SOON, or is it more. I kind of lost track, lol.

For my lucky winners, please start shopping, once you've figured out what you want, shoot me an email, with the items, and I'll pick up the tab girl. Pretty awesome hugh?

Good night friends. I'm exhausted!!

Amaze me August #52- WIWW - How I apply my makeup

2011-08-29T20:50:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the 52nd edition of:

Today I am sharing with you how I put my face on. I don't normally wear makeup, but really enjoy it when I do. I will never wear makeup unless I will be in an air conditioned room. I hate sweating when wearing makeup. I can't stand taking forever on my hair, or makeup either, and have been wearing the basic same style for most of my makeup wearing years.

I'm also doing my WIWW post on Monday, hope you don't mind, lol.

Today I am not going to give you all the colors, and makeup I use, but will instead show you some basic steps I take. (If you want to know what makeup I use, just ask).

This picture was taken at around 1am in the morning, after many hours of eating, dancing, playing cards, and having fun at the party.

Can you tell my lipstick is almost all off, lol.

This is what I looked like when we left.
Shirt - gift
Pants - Had them forever, can't even remember from where.
Shoes - Ross
Necklace - Fabulously Flawed
Headband - Agape Love Designs
Bracelet - A necklace I wrapped around my wrist.

This is what I look like on most days, lounging around the house. Lovely right?

A quick blow dry with a round brush. Five minutes max. I don't use ay product in my hair, but since not washing my hair with shampoo anymore, it is so easy to style, I love it.

My hair is thicker, and healthier than ever. However I really want to cut it again, maybe chin length, what do you think? I'm also growing out the bangs, still can't decide to keep them or not.

I want to cut my hair, because I can't stand sweating, and having it on my neck, ewww. So then what is the point of having long hair, when it's always up?

This is also BEFORE and makeup, he he. Can you tell or what?

I don't use foundation. So a quick 10 second powder application took care of the shine, and covered up a little. I don't like looking flawless, because clearly I'm not, so I think if you have freckles for example, DO NOT try and cover them all up. it looks so fake, and I don't like that.

Also if you look closely, you may or may not see some lovely hair on my upper lip. Yeah, I don't wax, or shave it, because my legs are too much work already, BUT sometimes, like NOW, I wish I did.

Mmm, hmmm, do you see it. Ok, then, enough about that. Yes I have a mustache, ok, thanks.
Oh and I haven't plucked my eyebrows in YEARS as well. I guess after doing it for a good 10 years, they just remember not to grow back. Having a nicely shaped brow is so important. It can open up your eyes, and make you look younger, it is amazing what a good tweeze can do for you.

My next step is applying some blush. I love blush, and even on days when I don't wear powder I might apply some blush. I apply it to the cheek bones, and middle of forehead down towards the nose, and frame the jawbone a little.

Next I apply a metallic cream color, all over the lid. Sometimes it is matte, but since I normally on wear makeup at night, then it is usually shimmery.

Then I go in with a mauvy reddish, brownish color. This is my most favorite color ever, and I apply it in the crease of the eye. Sometimes I go in with a darker color just to give it a deeper look, but these two shadows are my most basic, and favorite color combo.

Ok, so now that a whole 2 minutes have passed, I quickly applied a little eyeliner to the top lid. Making it thicker as I get towards the edge of the eye, and I then sweep the liner upwards just a little. I use a pencil black liner, sometimes brown, and this time I also went over the black with a mauve.

Usually I only line the top a little, but this time I did a thicker line on top, and did a little on the bottom as well. Liquid liner makes a crisper line, but I prefer a softer look.

Next of course is eye lash curler, (a MUST), and mascara. I use a black, and never waterproof.

So I'm almost done.

Just need to put on the lipstick. I couldn't find my sharpener, and my lip pencil, was totally worn down, so I could barely line my lips. I love a well lined lip, and I just couldn't do it this time, he he. Oh well, and I love red lips, but recently bought a more pinkish color, and have really likes it as well.

A quick smile, for a quick makeup job. YAY,, I think maybe 5 minutes tops. Not bad right?

No I'm not showing off my pimple, although it is pretty big. I never use concealer either. I know I'm totally weird, but I like to look as natural as possible, even though CLEARLY I am wearing makeup, does that even make any sense. I mean I did powder the zit a little, but well, duh it's there, and no amount of concealer or foundation will cover it up. In fact when you look at me, you will just see a covered up zit, so whats the point of that, lol.

My bracelet, is actually just a long necklace that I wrapped around my wrist.

My pretty necklace that Lesley made - Fabulously Flawed

That about wraps it up. 10 minutes from start to finish, NO JOKE. Well maybe it took me a bit longer to take all these silly pictures, BUT it was for a good cause, lol.

On Wednesday I'm linking up to these great parties. Go get your groove on, join the fun!

More Mehndi, Henna designs - fun with the family -

2011-08-27T08:03:00.005-04:00

Henna, Mehndi Designs
Last night I just wanted to chill. While at the Indian store this week my daughter picked up a couple cones of henna, so we decided to have some fun with it last night. While this wasn't our first time, it has been a pretty long while since we last had this done, so we were both pretty excited.

With the help of my dear friend Khadija over at Creative Mind. and all her wonderful henna designs I had no problem getting inspired. So I got to work trying to recreate a beautiful design myself. While I always use a picture as inspiration because I'm just not good at coming up with designs myself, I can never duplicate it exactly. I always start doing my own thing, and I guess thats what makes it so much fun. It's like taking a pen to paper and you just keep going. Our hands were the canvas, and I had an entire cone to use up :)

The smaller hand and foot are my little princess, and the Japanese writing was my oldest sons. He tried to do the top of my hand, but said it was too hard, lol. It is hard holding a henna cone. You really need to get used to it. I am such a beginner, but hopefully both of us can work on it, and get better. I really need someone to help do my right hand, he he. (Big B that would be you), not to mention he is an amazing artist. That would be so fun, and maybe one day I'll let the princess do it too.

Do you want to check out our previous Henna designs? Go HERE to see!!

Was that fun or what? Have you ever tried doing henna, or mehndi?

Before I go just wanted to remind you all that there is only 4 more days until I pick a winner.

Have you entered yet? Have you even checked it out? You do not want to miss this!

WIWW - Blisters and Brown

2011-08-24T09:53:00.001-04:00

WIWW - Blisters and Brown

So last week I had yet another photo shoot at my local CVS, ha ha. I tried posing a bit better. My last WIWW post - Akward Poses, was just that. Very AKWARD. While I still felt like SUCH a DORK, I decided standing up, and posing just isn't for me, YET. So I sat down in most of these pics, and I think my princess did a fabulous job making me look like less of the dork that I am.

I will make it my mission to learn to pose, one day, but for now these will do. Hope you enjoy!

Headband - LUXE BOULEVARD

Earring and necklace - ??

Tank - Khols

Jeans - Khols

Shoes - Goodwill

Sandals - Walmart

These bad girls gave me blisters :(

Wrinkles, def a sign a wisdom right?

Grey hair, my natural FREE highlight solution!

Blister!

Blister relief, but now you get to see my lovely pedicure!

My kids giving me lessons on how to pose.

Gosh, they are good. I'll try that next time guys, THANKS!!

Check out these parties for more lovely fashion goodness!

Amaze me August #51~ ROMANIAN PARTY FOOD ~ Come eat with me!!

2011-08-22T22:40:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the 51st edition of:

I'm totally happy you are here, you can link up below, just make sure to grab a button will ya!!

ROMANIAN PARTY FOOD

Do you all know I'm Romanian. Well I am, I was born in Romania, but raised in the US, 24 years in California before moving to the south! If there is one thing you must know about Romanians it's that we love our food, A LOT! Oh and we are also really loud, especially the woman.

Back in Romania people used to raise much of their own food, especially if you lived in the country, which is where most of my family lived. Pork was a staple food back then, and still is for many. Even though we all pretty much have lived here for over 20 years, we still eat like we are back home, especially when it comes to party food.

While many of you know that I am really trying hard to eat healthier, local, organic food, I have a major weakness for Romanian food. I just enjoy it too much, so thankfully we don't party all the time, and I stay clear of it most of the time. If you are not a meat eater, you might just FREAK OUT with the amount of meat here, but hey, it is how Romanians typically eat, so I am happy to share it with you today. I hope you enjoy the tour.

Without fail if there is a Romanian party going on, you will ALWAYS have the same kinds of food, EVERY SINGLE TIME. You will have appetizers, which consist of all kinds of PORK lovely meat. Salamis, bacon, head cheese, PORK, PORK, PORK. Typically there will be sausages too, usually homemade by the uncles, which I have two of here, so we always have a good supply of this. Then we have the main meal, which is more MEAT, but we vary, sometimes chicken, beef, and usually PORK as well. Cabbage Rolls are a very traditional food, and those are made typically with pork. Then of course we have dessert.

I wanted to take you with me through the buffet line at my aunt and uncles house. We had a party there this weekend, celebrating a birthday and a graduation. It was tons of fun, and i thought you might enjoy this little walk through of what you can eat at a typical Romanian party. Ready??? Lets GO.

This was my FIRST appetizer plate. I kind of had seconds. The appetizers are probably my most favorite part of the meal. I just LOVE them.

These are my uncles getting ready to drink some Romanian plum whiskey, homemade, and pretty much DEADLY if you aren't used to it. My nose hairs literally burn just smelling it. I can't drink that NO way, but it is a tradition, and men regularly take a shot OR two EVERY SINGLE day back in Romanian after a long days work, to get ready for dinner. It's supposed to work up an appetite :)

You see, we eat fruits too, lol. There were green grapes, and peaches in the basket.

ALRIGHT lets get started. This is where the food starts.
BREAD!!

YUMMY meat platter. That in the middle is bacon, raw smoked bacon, and thats just how we eat it, thank you very much. It is SOOOO good too. (sigh)

Green onions, and hot chillies, yes please. We totally have onion breath at out parties, and nobody cares.

An assortment of lovely veggies, because this is how we eat our appetizer. MEAT, VEGGIES, BREAD. That is a very typical snack food too. Just grab some salami from the fridge, cut some tomato a cucumber, some feta cheese, some olives, garlic, or onion, and bread. YUMM!!

Did I mention the onion breath??

Tomatoes!

Cheese!!

Eggplant salad - VINETE - or baba ga something, lol.

The tastiest homemade meatballs EVER!!

Chicken liver cooked with onions, moist, delicious, and oh so good.

Bell pepper and onion roasted goodness. - ZAKUSCA -
READY FOR THE SECOND COURSE???Oh another thing, our parties usually only start at around 7pm, whit everyone usually showing up between 8-9pm, because Romanian are ALWAYS, ALWAYS late. So dinner is usually served at around 11pm, or even later sometimes. We are crazy, and the party lasts easily until 4-5 am in the morning. Lots of dancing, and always lots of homemade drinks.

Potatoes, seasoned with vegeta, and paprika, and surely some pork drippings.

Turkey!

Rice!

Cabbage Rolls, OMG I love these. I can't wait to share some recipes with you!!

Our veggie for dinner. A cabbage salad, he he.

Chicken! NO thats not ALL fat, :)

Pork, SHNITEL. I dont' know what to call this in English people, HELP??

Chicken!

More chicken!

Pretty flowers.

My dessert plate, OMG, totally had seconds too.

Walnut croissants, with powdered sugar. - CORNULETE-

A delicious coffe mocha cake, with crunchy chocolaty something in the cake. FINGER licking good.

A plum preserve honey cake, with some tasty cream and fluffy whipped cream on top.

Plum jelly rolls.

A lemony dessert.

Cozonac- A sweet bread.

Oh and the CAKES. If you want to see the close ups make sure to stop by my cake blog. They were pretty amazing. A jewelry box cake, and a graduation star cake.
I'll be posting them tomorrow!!
EURO STYLE CAKES.

So there you have it. A tour of our party food. Lucky for you, I don't think you can gain any weight by looking, but I assure you, take one bite, and you can't stop. 4 pounds later, I think I'm full, lol.
Actually this is NOT funny, I seriously PIGGED out. I need to work on saying NO to the party food. Tell me, do you have a hard time eating well at parties? Do you even care? Obviously I don't, which is kinda bad, since I am trying to get healthier here. Hopefully I will do better next time :)
Oh and have you check THIS out yet. Make sure you do, I promise, you don't want to miss out.

How to make Rice Crispy Treat ELMO -- Cake Tutorial

2011-08-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

Have you guys ever wondered how you to make those nifty cake toppers. Things that you just can't imagine actually carving out of cake. I'll let you in on a little secret. In the cake business we usually make those from RICE CRISPY TREATS. Yup, it's the perfect solution. You can easily shape it, carve it, and then decorate it with buttercream, and even fondant. It is light, and won't add extra weight to an already heavy cake. It's also TASTY, I love Rice Crispy, so what is there not to love?

Today's tutorial is how to make Elmo from Rice Crispy Treats.

My mom insisted on taking some pics of me. Great!!

Ok mom, enough already, lol.

Follow your favorite recipe for making Rice Crispy Treats. I use the basic recipe, nothing fancy. Well except that I'm pretty sure I toasted mine a bit too much, ooops. It sure tasted good so no biggie.

Roll out log shapes for the legs, and arms.

Make a round head.

Shape the body, an oval shape will do.

Roll out three smaller balls for the eyes, and nose.

1. Make sure you pack everything TIGHT, and compact. You do not want your rice crispy to fall apart on you.

2. Attach the arms, Legs, Head, Eyes, and Nose with wooded dowels, or toothpicks.

Cover the eyes, and nose with Fondant. Make sure your fondant is rather thick, or else the eyes, and nose will look rather lumpy. Even though you made everything compact, and as smooth as possible, you will still see the texture. So make sure your fondant is thick and it will be smooth. Like if you look REALLY close, I could have made mine thicker, BUT by this time, his poor eyes, and nose were ALREADY sooooo BIG, I didn't want to add another layer, lol.

Just goofing off, I gave Elmo a mustache, he he.

Ok, so Elmo is kinda naked right now, next step is to get him all filled up.

Use a star tip and start piping in Elmos fur. Cover his entire body, and refrigerate.

Are you curious to see what he looks life all finished?

Come check out the finished cake on:

EURO STYLE CAKES - ELMO CAKE

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How to make a fondant LADY BUG ~ Cake Tutorial ~

2011-08-20T16:55:00.000-04:00

Why hello there!! Today I'm going to show you how to make some fondant ladybugs. They may look easy, and they are, but trust me when I tell you they are also pretty time consuming. Don't be fooled by their small size, these little buggers take a lot of time to create!!

Thats about it. Was that easy enough? I know you can do this, just be prepared to spend some time on it. If you want to see the finished cake, and I know you do, make sure to check it out on:

EURO STYLE CAKES - LADY BUG CAKE

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Bella

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How to make a fondant LADY BUG ~ Cake Tutorial ~

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