Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Broccoli Cashew Salad~ OH MY!!


Ok, ya'll, this is seriously so tasty! We had friends over this weekend and this was the dish they brought! It's the perfect salad to bring! With the sauce and the other scrumptious goodies the broccoli didn't taste completely like broccoli. That does make sense when you bite into it!

Get ready, here's what ya need:

Aprx. 4 bunches of broccoli cut into bite size pieces
1/2 to 3/4 Cup Cashews
1/2 to 3/4 Cup Craisins
1/2 bottle of real bacon chips {not those little nasty crunchy ones!}
1 bundle of green onions sliced into pieces {I barely even knew these were in there!}
Mix all these goodies in a bowl!

For the dressing:
1 Cup Mayonnaise {Not miracle whip!}
1/3rd Cup sugar
2 Tbsp white vinegar
Mix all of this together and pour onto your fixin's above!
(*Note, my g/f did tell me that she thought it needed a little more sauce, so she whipped up another 1/2 batch to pour on!)

Yum-a-yum-yum!! This was so delicious that I ate the left overs for breakfast! What??? I fed my husband and daughter oatmeal!!

Monday, May 28, 2012

Hello Kitty Packing tape belt~



Back in the day {my day~I'm showing my age!}, there was grey duck tape and clear packing tape!~
Nothing more, nothing less, just blah...but it was good for 100 things {and more right?!?}!
Today as I was strolling through the store I found Hello Kitty packing tape! It's a must have since my daughters digs Hello Kitty! Not to mentions, I saw a GREAT idea over at Dukes and Duchesses and had to give it a try myself...Randi actually used two colors of duct tape and created her own belt, I simply covered my daughters as a fix to her existing crumbly one! Ahh, what will we come up with next?!
My daughter got such a kick out of this belt {and loved it!} that she put it on with her PJ's and wore it the rest of the night! Love crafts that are a hit!

Found this at Target...
 Little belt that's seen better days...
 Put the packing tape down the back side and folded the overhang over...
 Went ahead and used a hole punch to punch thru the holes, so I'd know where they were...
 Put another strip on the front side and folded the overhang back onto the back side...
 Cut 2 small strips to go in between the top of the buckle and a little piece to go around the tuck part... {very technical terms~ha!}
 That's it! What a super simple craft! I think I need to try some other designs too!!

Loooove~Scrap N' Book

Good morning! I hope everyone had {still having} a wonderful holiday weekend!
I thought I was being so ahead of the game and "scheduled" this post for Friday, along with todays {which still will post at 8am} but this one was in the drafts!!
So, here it is! It's one ya didn't want to miss!!
************************************
For us crafters, this is what it must look like at the end of the rainbow!! Rows and rows of everything to get our craft on!!


Introducing Scrap N Book in Puyallap, Washington
Owned by Lily Garoutte

Even if you're not a crafter, she has great premade projects that would be wonderful gifts! Or in a time crunch, didn't have time to whip something hand made on your own...here ya go!
Seriously, this store oozes with inspiration! I love to go here when I'm experiencing "scrapper's block"!

It's not all paper, buttons and ribbon {which are lovely}, but so much more!

It's so frustrating when I'm in the middle of several projects and find I need just one of these or a couple of those...
Lily's made it way to easy for us to get what we need! There's a huge variety of little cups n' bins like these of "buy as many as ya need" instead of an entire pack! I love this!!

Everything is nicely organized by color so it's way easy to find!


I did say rows and rows of goodies, right?!?

Need a place to get your girlie's together?
Lots of room to spread our "stuff" here!
Feel like learning something new, brushing up on something old or getting inspiration from other crafters?
Check out her list of classes!

Look at all these little "one or two each-ers"! 


Lily has tons of wonderful ideas throughout her store!





If you get a chance you should definitely stop by and visit this little place of wonderfulness! 
Lily is super sweet and one crafty gal!! 
Oh, I must mention...
Lily is a fanatical pinner! No, really, over 5000 pins and a list of boards! I'm pretty sure she's a Pinterest Junkie!
You can find Lily and her Inspiration here:


Thanks for visiting today!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

My Favorite things~ right now...


As I'm widdling through the things in my craft closet, trying to figure out what needs to be out in the open in my new craft room, I realized something...Holy cow do I have  A LOT of stuff! {My husbands not reading this right?!?}

Here are some pictures of my favorite things~ for now...

Buttons~ a must! Think about it, they're great for scrapbooking, sewing...every craft out there!!


Good 'ol Washi tape!...what can't you do with this little bit of heaven?


Ba`bing~ bakers twine! Love it in every color! This will be a favorite for weeks n' weeks!


Stamps~  I love getting cards even if they're not home made, but I'm a big giver of my own home grown!
 Candy dots ~ I truly haven't used these a lot, but I see others do great things with them..someday...

Clips ~ I've already gone through 2 packs of these! I love for everything to be out to inspire me!!


Scrabble tiles ~ I love making gifts with these babies!!


Ahhh...Paper, paper, paper...I LOVE PAPER AND WELCOME MY ADDICTION!!!
My addiction is actually on the patterned sheets, but I always need a solid backing!!!


 Twine n' Burlap ~ Need I say more?....These items rock!

 Moss ~ Now this is a new one for me, but I'm sure enjoying it! I'll be showing a lil' project next week! I wish it didn't smell though...yuck! ~ I know, sitll lovin' it!


I seriously am like a junkie with my craft goodies! I'm so glad my husband has his own addiction, golf! I can always toss that out when he even looks my way... as I'm carrying in yet another shopping bag!!
Along the craft line...check back tomorrow for a glimpse at what heaven must look like! {Totally kidding, but this place does ROCK!}

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Ranch Chicken~ sooo gooood~



I don't know about you, but I find that chicken doesn't have that much flavor?! It always seems pretty bland-O to me.
Now, what you put on the chicken is what makes it tasty! Here's a simple way to do
chicken and the family will be asking you to make it again and again!!

Whatcha need:
4 large chicken breasts (cut length wise in half and pounded flat)
1 carton (24oz) sour cream
1 package of Uncle Dan's
1 package Panko break crumbs
Butter
Parmesan Cheese


Take the chicken breast (tenders work too!), cover with plastic wrap and flatten to about 1/4" thick


Mix one packet of Uncle Dan's Creamy Ranch mix with 1 carton (24oz) of sour cream.
Dip the chicken in the sour cream ranch mix, making sure it's super covered on both sides! Then move it over to the Panko Bread crumb bowl and again cover both sides.
Heat the griddle to 400. Cover it with butter {this is not low fat, but it is delicious!!} and then place the dipped pieces on it. You may need to add butter under each piece it it's not browning up!
When one side is all browned up, turn it over to cook the other. Sprinkle this side up with Parmesan cheese! While the other sides cooking the cheese will be melting!

                                                
                                                           Mmmmmmmmmmmmm................


This is grubbin'! We always put a simple veggie with it because the chicken's so flavorful!
Enjoy!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Washi Tape Hutch~


Today I've been tinkering with a little hutch that's been passed down through the family.  I didn't want to alter it too much, so I changed out the knobs, slapped on a new coat of white paint and.....added my new favorite thing...WASHI TAPE!! That stuff has endless possibilities! Not to mention, if {when} I get the urge to change colors in the room, add a pop of color or whatever else I dream up, I can peel the washi right off and I have a plain white hutch to start with again!!

Nothing like waiting until the last minute {day}...I'm linking this up to Pinspired & Rewired over at Ginger Snap Crafts for the Washi Tape theme!! Also hosted by Southern Lovely, Family Ever After, The Gunny Sack and guest judge Holy Craft!!
Wish me luck!!!





Monday, May 21, 2012

Made for Monday #2~ Crafted Letter K


This is a simple little made for Monday that almost didn't make it today! It's frustrating how having a job gets in the way of my "me time"! {Ha-ha!}
I'd never gone into a "Tuesday Morning" until a few weeks ago. I visit Joann's way more than I should right next door, but never take the extra time to buzz in . I had a few minutes to browse, so I finally went in. It's a little bit of everything you can think of! Some high prices, some low and everything in between. I found a cool...hmmm what do I call it....not really an ottoman or a coffee table... it's a fabric covered rectangle that opens! Terrible description I know! Once I get it recovered and in my living room you'll be seeing it!
Oh, back to today!!...While I was at Tuesday Morning I found this letter K. I was going to use it for my daughter's room, but decided to put it in our craft room instead and use it for both of us since our names both start with letter K! It may be super simple, but it fits perfectly and add a little somethin'-somethin' to the room! Everything I've been working on lately is to put spruce up that darn craft room! It'll sure be great when it's done!...I'm pleased with the transformation so far!!!

Besides the craft paper, buttons and bakers twine I used Mod Podge and a can of paint from Restoration Hardware that I had lying around!




Now I have to get back to finishing my Washi tape project to get linked up at Gingersnap Crafts! I think I have to get it there tomorrow or I'm tooooo late! I love her Pinspired and Rewired over there!!

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Run Of Hope~Benefiting Children's Hospital


Here's my little Peanut at the Run of Hope last year! That is her best friend, Dani, in the picture that she lost 2 years ago to a brain tumor. I have to say, I'm so proud of my daughter for the love, compassion and true friendship she displayed over the last few months of Dani's life and it continues today! I know everyone has their "cause" that is near and dear to their hearts, but if you could take a quick minute to check out this one that is close to our hearts we'd sure appreciate it!
My daughters goal is to "raise more money than anyone", but we settled on $1500 (more would be great!) and she's up to $358! We're having a cupcake sale soon, selling necklaces she's making, a garage sale (she emptied out several things in her toy room and bedroom!)...and.....and....
You can visit the site here:
 http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=1446082&langPref=en-CA
You can also visit her little piece of the bloggy world here:
http://kileysbirdy.blogspot.com/ (You'd think she won the lotto when she got 3 followers!...Ahhh the simple things in life that make ya happy!)
Have a great rest of your weekend and thanks for stopping by!!
Hugs!
Kristy