If I could turn back time...

...if I could find a way

I started pinning way before I had a blog. Here are a few things I made in my pre-blogging days. A throw back blog post. Sorry for the blurry photos. They were taken before I had a fancy thing called an iPhone.

Last year my family came to stay with us for Easter weekend. I wanted to have something nice for breakfast that I didn't have to get up and make in the morning. My littlest sister and I whipped up this yummy Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake. As my family woke up they grabbed a slice out of the fridge.  Find the easy recipe here. 

This Easter I took on a harder task, Cadbury Egg stuffed Cupcakes! I used creme, chocolate and carmel eggs and didn't label them making each cupcake a surprise. These cupcakes aren't much harder to bake than regular ones. The main difference is adding a FROZEN egg in the middle of the batter before baking. Find the full recipe here.

Looking for an easy, delicious dessert? Try Crock Pot Cherry Cobbler! You mix it, heat it and leave it! Plus it smells so good while its cooking! Don't like cherry? Mix in whatever fruit tickles your fancy! Get the scoop on how to make it here.

I tried out a twist on ravioli one night for dinner. You buy a rag of ravioli (the refrigerator kind), shallow fry them in about an inch of oil and BAM you have crispy ravioli. Best served with marina sauce and Parmesan Cheese. The best part is you can make them ahead of time and warm them in the oven at 275 until hot. Great for game day or a party. 

What a pretty meal with so many possibilities! Stuffed bell peppers are filling and easy to make. I used turkey sausage but you could use regular sausage, beef or chicken. The mixture consists of  rice, yellow bell pepper, cheese, onion and spices. Read how to make them here.  

Keep Pinning,

This And That

First off, has anyone heard of Bountiful Baskets? It is a co-op that provides fresh fruits and veggies for $15 twice a month. You order your basket online and pick it up on Saturday at a location near you. We tried it out for the first time last week and it is amazing! The food in our basket inspired some of our meal options this week. Look at all this goodness!

Last night I didn't have anything planned for dinner and D was working late so I opened my fridge and took out a combo of items, some from our Bountiful Basket. I tossed shrimp, tomatoes, onion, banana pepper, jalapeno and bell pepper in a skillet with some olive oil, garlic and oregano. I wrapped the mixture in lettuce, topped it off with come BBQ sauce & cheese then BAM I had dinner all wrapped up!

Hate having your plastic bottle of liquid soap by your sink? I found the perfect pin-solution! I grabbed this glass bottle from World Market and filled it with soap for a much prettier display. I think the bottles are originally intended for oil and vinegar but what can I say, I'm a rebel. I am not sure what I'm going to do with the other bottle yet but I'm sure I'll think of something.

Mornings are not my favorite. The only thing I look forward to in the morning is coffee or a homemade smoothie using fruit from my Bountiful Basket. Lately I have been really into iced coffee because it is HOT outside. I hate how adding ice to my coffee waters it down so much. A few weeks ago I came across a pin that gave 10 uses for ice trays. Remember ice trays? Well they aren't just for ice water anymore. I poured in my coffee and overnight made coffee ice cubes! No more watered down iced coffee! I am going to try vanilla ice cubes next. I'll share how they turn out.

Sometimes men have a little trouble putting down the toilet seat. I found these stickers on Pinterest and thought I would surprise D with a little reminder :) They were really easy to put on and Derek's reaction was priceless! I originally bought them as a joke but I have no plans to remove them. I bought the stickers from this Etsy Shop. 

Keep Pinning!

Sarah

UPDATE: 4th of July Treats & Eats

We had a fabulous 4th of July with plenty of leftovers! I personally love leftovers because they save money and I don't have to take another trip to the store. SCORE! Here are two things I made with my July 4th leftovers.

One of the items on our menu was red velvet marble brownie stars. Read how I made them here.

Pulling out the stars created a lot of brownie scraps so my friend suggested I save them and make cake balls! I rolled the scraps into balls and placed them on a waxed paper covered pan. I then placed the pan in the freezer to cool while I made the icing. I melted white chocolate using the same technique I used to make my white chocolate covered strawberries. I poured the chocolate in a clear bottle and squeezed it on top of the cake then placed them in the fridge to harden.

After making chocolate covered strawberries and watermelon & blueberry salad I had a bit of fruit leftover. I put all the leftover fruit in a blender with a little bit of orange juice and some ice. After a few swirls of my blender I had a delicious smoothie for breakfast. YUM! 

Have you ever been creative with your leftovers??

Keep Pinning,

Sarah
 

4th of July Treats & Eats

Forth of July will always have a special place in my heart. Growing up we would spend the day with my grandparents watching fireworks at the Lufkin Zoo. Now that I am an old married lady, Derek and I are creating our own traditions. For starters how sweet are these shoes??

The red, white and blue festivities started at breakfast with raspberry and blueberry muffins. YUM! I used Martha White mix and just added milk. You can also use this mix to make pancakes.

Next on the menu, star spangled fruit. I cut a watermelon into thin round slices, punched out stars with a star cookie cutter then tossed in some fresh blueberries for a delicious summer treat!  

My red velvet marble brownie stars were a big hit! I found a pin that led to this blog full of awesome recipes. This blogger made hearts with her recipe but I used stars to go with our 4th of July theme. The stars were hard to get out of the pan :( maybe hearts are easier? 

UPDATE: Find out what I did with the brownie scraps here

White chocolate covered strawberries are a big hit in my house! I make them every Valentines day. Normally I drizzle milk chocolate over them but this time I tried something new I saw on Pinterest.

Step 1) In a microwave safe bowl add 1 cup of while chocolate chips
Step 2) Pour 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over the chips
Step 3) Microwave in 20 or 30 second intervals, stirring each time
Step 4) Stop heating when most, but not all, of the chips are melted. Stir until chocolate is smooth and chips are completely melted. BE CAREFUL not to overcook
Step 5) Hold a strawberry by the green stem and dip in chocolate, let extra chocolate run off
Step 6) Hold the strawberry until no chocolate runs off and dip the tip in a small bowl of blue sprinkles
Step 7) Place on parchment paper or a waxed paper lined pan
Step 8) Cool in the fridge then enjoy!

We needed something to wash down all this 4th of July goodness. I searched for 'pink punch' on Pinterest and found this Champagne Punch recipe. All you need is a pitcher, 2 bottles of champagne, 2 cans of Welche's Strawberry Breeze frozen juice concentrate and slices of fruit. Defrost the cans of juice before making. Open the juice cans and pour 1 into the pitcher then add both bottles of champagne. Add the second can of juice to taste. I ended up using all of the second can in our punch. Place your slices of fruit in the pitcher to top off the drink.  

We finished the day watching the downtown and Fiesta Texas fireworks from the top of a hill. I hope your 4th of July was filled with glittering fireworks, homemade BBQ and sunburned shoulders!

Keep Pinning!

Here Goes Nothing...Part 2

I found a blog on Pinterest written by a recently married bride. She hilariously listed a few things as would have done differently at her wedding. Having a fancy hanger to display her dress was one of those things. I'm glad I listened to her and got this beautiful Mrs. Frye hanger, with ivory ribbon, from a Etsy shop!

Derek and I both have lost a few important family members that, if still living, wouldn't have missed our big day for the world. We wanted to include them all somehow in the wedding. We placed this 'In Loving Memory of' candle on my great grandmothers vintage vanity with a few photos.

I came across a pin that featured all the members of a bridal party with different super hero cuff-links. It blew my mind. If you have met Derek then you know he is a little obsessed with Superman. So I included these Superman cuff-links in his wedding gift. A subtle way to show love for his childhood hero. 

When I was little, my mom made me write thank you notes when I received gifts. I have grown to appreciate there importance but I still don't like writing them. So anything that makes this task a little bit easier gets my vote. I saw a pin of a couple holding up a Mr. & Mrs. banner to use for their Save the Dates. We had already taken our Save the Date photos but I really liked the idea so I put a little twist on it. We took a photo holding a Thank You banner, purchased here, after our wedding. I took the photo and created Thank You post cards with 'Just Married' custom postage! (If you still haven't received a Thank You note yet IM SORRY! I know I'm late but I am almost done!)   

I came across a Pin that listed celebrities you could invite to your wedding and get a card in return! I invited about 5 different celebs/public figures and got two cards back in return. One from Minnie and Mickey Mouse and the other from the President and First Lady. It was really cool to find these in our mail box.   

I could go on and on but I pretty sure you are over my wedding by now...right??

Until next time, Keep Pinning.

Around the House

Since April 20th Derek and I have been making our house a home. We currently share a three bedroom house (plus a man cave) with our three furry kids, Texan, Dempsey and Princess.

I have been decorating a cleaning like crazy. Here are a few things I did in our house that I found on Pinterest.

I travel for work every 6 weeks and love to meet up with friends for adventures. Over time I have collected little bottles of shampoo, conditioner, soap and mouthwash. I bought this cute jar from Target and placed it above the guest bathroom toilet. Now guests don't need to ask for something if they left something at home!

I use a bobby pin or two in my hair everyday. I feel like I am always misplacing them or finding them all over the place. Not any more! I found the perfect Pin-solution! I placed a magnet strip, that I bought at Walmart, on my cabinet door and now I always know where my bobby pins are. WARNING: Don't use a band aid to hold up the sides until it fully sticks to the cabinet. The band aid does not come off of the magnet strip! If you look carefully you can see some pink Hello Kitty band aid still stuck to the left side. Whatever, I love Hello Kitty, she rocks and heals my cuts.

 
I dislike hate mornings. I need an IV of coffee and a breath mint stat! Anything that makes my morning routine easier is A-ok in my book. I found a glass that matches my cotton ball and toothbrush holder and filled it with coffee beans that hold my make up brushes. My brushes never get lost or dirty and the smell of the coffee beans in the morning is amazing.

Until next time. Keep Pinning.

Here Goes Nothing...Part 1

I am what you would call a Pinterest fanatic. Every dish, craft or party I have put together for the last two years has roots in Pinterest. A little less than two months ago I got married, so of course I had a wedding full of ideas I got from from Pinterest users, here are a few.

Mr. & Mrs. Derek Frye starring in 'A Pinterest Wedding'

I knew from the beginning I didn't want to have a normal guest book. Who really sits down and reads lines and lines of names scribbled in a little white book. No-one, that's who. So when I saw a drinkable version of the guestbook I knew it was the one for me us. We created a bottle to open on our 5, 10, 15 and 20th anniversary. I cant wait to eat the top of our wedding cake and pop open the first bottle on April 20th 2014.

 

               
It takes a village to help a bride navigate a wedding. I wanted to get my bridesmaids (21 and over), my friend who read a scripture during the ceremony and our florist a little something to say thank you. The gift had to be personalized and something they could use again, so what better then flasks! I purchased these flasks here. I'm sensing a boozy theme. How cute are we??

Moving on to a nonalcoholic topic. I needed a place for our wonderful guests to leave cards. I thought about the typical birdcage or box until a ran across the perfect pin-solution, a vintage suitcase! My mom just so happened to have my great grandmothers suitcase with her initials MRS on it. Could it be anymore perfect?

We got married outside which normally means your program, no matter how pretty, gets used as a fan. So when I saw fan-programs on Pinterest I knew that was the way to go! My bridesmaid, Lauren is a wonderful graphic designer. She was able to whip these up with the same theme as our wedding invitations. We displayed these in white vintage dresser drawers.

WARNING: These were very time consuming to make! I recommend paying to have them made as fans. My mom and sisters were up until 2am the night before the wedding cutting and gluing when we should have been getting our beauty sleep!

                                                                                   
Well I could go on and on but Ill stop here for now...stay tuned!