Surviving my life as Mom...

It has been waaaaaay too long since I have taken the time to sit down & unload my brain a bit.

Real life has a times become quite real the last few months.  Being a stay-at-home mom already makes me very happy, but it has put my family on a very fixed income the last few years.  But through all of this we have gotten ourselves in a much better position for the upcoming year.  My husband works very hard to accomplish this for us & we are hoping to see the light at the end of the tunnel very soon.  We have been riding the struggle bus so long, but we always make it through.  Having the support of friends & family definitely helps!

Ok, enough about my struggles...

We all have them!

The last 6 months have been quite busy.  LOTS of weddings...
(I will be posting pictures in upcoming posts)

• A good friend got married & had a destination wedding.  (At the same beach I did 2 years ago.  What can I say, we love Sandbridge) I did her flowers & decor for the wedding.
• My brother-in-law got married to an awesome gal I am honored to call my sister.  I spent a week in Ohio helping them get ready before the wedding.  All hands on deck & the brides vision came together beautifully.
• I also got to do my first order for artificial wedding bouquets!  I was VERY excited & loved doing it.  More importantly, the bride loved them.

I have also started to do some custom decorations.   

Here are a few of my creations

Fall Centerpiece

I couldn't resist that cute little Scarecrow

Door Wreath

I must say, I am loving that sprig of orange & red!

I have a few orders for Christmas that will keep me busy the next couple weeks.  I really enjoy decorating.  I am OBSESSED with re-using jars right now! Feeling very ambitious this holiday season, so stay tuned for some DIY ideas to get your home ready for the holidays.

Have a super day!

Quick Chicken with Roasted Red Peppers, Basil & Mozzarella

A few weeks ago I pulled out chicken on a Tuesday & by Thursday I was still trying to figure out what to do with it.   Everything I wanted to do, I was missing some key ingredient.

• Peanut Butter, No Jelly
• Cereal, No Milk
• Ham, No Burger

I know you feel my pain. We've all been there. 

Time for fridge inventory!

Besides the already thawed out chicken, I found

* Mozzarella

* Basil 

* Roasted Red Peppers

You will also need:

* Italian Seasoning

* Olive Oil

First I cooked the Chicken

I put some Olive Oil in the pan

Seasoned the Chicken with Italian Seasoning

Cook on Medium heat for about 10 minutes or until cooked

(Mine were cut pretty thin so it didn't take long)

I put the cooked chicken on a cookie sheet

Then put the Roasted Red Peppers on

Next I put on the Basil, but only on 3 pieces.  

My son is not a fan of Basil, AKA-Green Feathers 

LOL...kids

Finally I top it with Mozzarella

I would have preferred fresh, but all I had was shredded

Cook at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted

Wah La!

I served it with a side of 

Butter Garlic Pesto Angel Hair pasta

The meal probably took about 30-40 minues

Perfect meal for those hectic days

When you are doing the most.

Enjoy & have a great weekend!

2015 Weddings

Wedding season will be here before we know it.  This year I have 2 weddings.  One is a really good friend of mine that loved the idea of my wedding so much, she is having her own beach wedding!  The second wedding is my Brother In Law & his wonderful fiance.  Me, being the lover of all things party related, is helping out in both weddings.

My friend Missy, who is getting married at the beach is not one for crafting & she is quite frugal when it comes to certain things.  Spending money on things like fresh flowers that will be dead in a few days is one thing she is not interested in.  So I will be making her bouquets for her wedding.  I have been making "Throw Away" bouquets for about a year now & quite enjoy it.

Here is one that I made awhile back.  

Her's will have different flowers.

I will also be making a lot of her decorations for the reception dinner, which will be catered at her rental home.  We've been brainstorming to come up with ways to cut corners.  Recycling & re-using everyday household items is something I always try to do. We came up with a great way to re-use jars & empty oatmeal containers.  

Luckily Missy's BF owns a daycare center 

& has been saving us baby food jars.  

They are PERFECT tealight holders.  

I had a few packs of stencils left from

 mine & Grace's weddings

*Note my awesome "Craft"tote from Thirty-One

Think I am going to need a bigger one, lol.

I took the heart stencil traced it on extra large labels that my Mother In Law gave me.
I knew I would find something to do with them.

I used a paint brush & applied the Mod Podge.

(Oops, forgot to take a picture of that step.  Sorry!)

Last week I made some myself 

by mixing regular old glue & water.

Next I took sand & sprinkled it on to the glue on the jar.

Once I peeled the sticker off, I noticed the heart needed reshaped a bit.

I just simply used the end of my paint brush to fix it.  

It was really easy since the glue was still wet.

They turned out adorable!

And even better, the Bride loved them!

For future jars, I am going to make the heart a bit smaller so you can see the top of the hearts a little better.  

My next project will be covering more jars & few very large oatmeal containers. Only next time I will be using twine.

Stay tuned!