Pinterest Wins

Happy Made-Up Holiday!

In these parts sharing the love is limited to those age 9 and under, but I do love both my readers, so I am going to share a little Pinterest love with you, mainly in the form of recipes.  I've tried a lot of crap recipes (oatmeal muffins I am looking at you), but when I find a winner, it goes straight into the meal-planning rotation.  If it's beloved by all, it even gets its own home in my recipe binder.  Here's a few winners for you to try (sorry, no pictures.  Blogger is being difficult):

Smothered Chile Colorado Burritos.  SO EASY.  Because my crock pot is VERY hot, I don't even bother defrosting the meat first.  Stew meat + enchilada sauce + garlic salt = yum.

Lighter Tastes Like Lasagna Soup.  AWESOME.  I only use 1/4 of a green pepper, as I am a pepper-hater.  And whole-wheat lasagna noodles are not important enough to me to make a special trip to the Walmarts, so I use what I have.  Maybe not as "light", but still very tasty.

Baked Potato Soup.  I am suspicious of recipes that "hide" vegetables.  I think this is a hold over from childhood - after all, the primary veggies in our house were iceberg lettuce, baked potatoes, or corn.  So, I was skeptical of a recipe that subs in cauliflower for half the potatoes.  But it works here and is 100% delicious.  I also love that I don't have to run all over town looking for ingredients.  Another family favorite!  

Finally, a tip:  I have a panini press and have found the downside to it is the clean up.  I *think* it was Pinterest where I read about wetting paper towels and laying them on the hot surface.  Close the lid for about a minute to let it steam, then open and let it cool for another minute or so.  Wipe away the goo & toss those paper towels.  I bet this will work on my waffle maker, too!

A Belated 9th Birthday

After last year's mega-party, I swore that my girl would not get another party until she turned 12.  Possibly 16.  Yes, it was that much work.  And yet I somehow allowed myself to be roped into hosting a few of her friends for a Spa Party.  

I know, I am a sucker. 

We invited 4 friends, and 2 came, so it was actually very manageable.  

We made invitations in the shape of a sleep mask, and filled in the details with glittery pen.  

As party favors, we put together a personalized "spa kit" with a dollar store container, flip flops, a wash cloth, face scrubber, nailpolish, combs, head bands, hair elastics, and a manicure kit.  I bought everything at the Dollar Tree, so even though it seems like a lot of "stuff" it was totally reasonable.  

I personalized each container with the girls' names - I love how they turned out!  

We decorated the buffet in party style with a banner, tissue paper flowers, 

personalized art, and yummy treats.  

It was an afternoon party, so we had root beer and candy popcorn for treats, and of course cupcakes & ice cream.  

Flower cupcake papers were the perfect girly touch!

With a spa party theme we decorated flip flops with ribbon & tulle, played musical manicure, enjoyed an all-natural face mask, and then painted toenails.  

And then enjoyed those delicious cupcakes!  This year's secret: Nutella frosting.  I was dying.  

Happy Birthday, baby girl!  9 going on 19!