Trip to Nashville Recap

If you know me, you know I love Nashville.  It holds so many wonderful memories and some of our best friends are there.  It's also now home to

 THIS GUY...

We had a great excuse to buy 3 plane tickets to go, and so go we did.  Katie will be attending the same university in the Fall that Benny is currently attending.  She was invited to a Presidential Weekend for prospective students.

 #scholarship  

So what really makes this whole thing even more fun is that I went to the same school and now some of my friends kids are also going to college with my kids. It's so crazy to be on my stomping grounds, with my friends, but now my kids are claiming it as their own.

 Ready to go!!!!

Waiting at the Nashville airport for our friend to pick us up.

 When we arrived on campus Friday morning the mascot was there to greet us.  #goBisons

A walk down memory lane...Katie wasn't impressed

I'm just impressed I can even remember the number of my mailbox.

Friday night we went downtown for a dinner to honor all the Presidential qualifiers.

 We had our friend Isabel along to hang out.

She's such a precious girl!

Katie is all about Snapchat. Lucky for me she catches lots of funny moments.

Trying to get a good picture of these two takes a lot of patience.

Finally! 

 I love this guy!!!!

 And...Here we go again.

 Seriously, it's like this everytime.

 Getting closer, 3 out 4

Not great quality, but at least we're all looking in the same direction.

#thestruggleisreal

And while I was in Nashville I got to see snow.  I haven't seen that in 3 years. It was beautiful and unlike snow in Minnesota, it's already gone. 

I've got to get in the habit of  taking more pictures. I just never seem to think to take them.  I would have loved to have had a picture of  Katie before her interview, lunch with my girls, and pictures with our friends Paul and Elizabeth,  but it got by me...imagine that.

I'll get better. I promise.

Valentine Traditions

For as long as I can remember I've been making Oreo Truffles for my kiddos and husband for Valentine's Day.  To say they LOVE them would be an understatement.  I usually pack them in cute little Chinese "to go" boxes and they each get there own. (This keeps things fair. Wink, wink)

I just returned to CA from a wonderful week in Nashville.  We took our daughter for a Presidential Weekend at the university she will attend in the fall.  We are so excited for her.  Our son is attending the same school and they will overlap for a year so we are very blessed that we will have them in the same place.  I think we all know what this means...lots of trips for MOM!!! We are also lucky to have so many good friends to see when we are there so it's a winner, winner.

Before I left last week I made a big batch of these treats to take to Benny and the friends we were staying with.  I think they were all excited when they got them.  It's so fun to have traditions that carry on from year to year and that people look forward to. I can't just keep these a secret so I'm going to share with you just how easy it is to start your own tradition of Oreo Truffles for Valentine's Day, or any day for that matter.  They are surprisingly easy and yet impressive at the same time.

OREO TRUFFLES

1 Package Oreos   (Mix it up and use Mint or another variety if you like)
1 8oz block of Cream Cheese                                              
1 Block Chocolate Almond Bark
NonPareils (fancy name for sprinkles)
*Note: I use Reduced Fat everything whenever possible.  Oreos and Neufchatel Cream Cheese. Because come on, doesn't that mean I can have another one?  :)

Place the Oreos in a food processor and crush to a fine crumb texture like breadcrumbs.  If you don't have a food processor just place in a Ziploc and beat them with a rolling pin. (this just might be your method of choice if you're having a stressful day ;)

Once you've got the crumbs made, place them in your mixer and add the cream cheese.  For years I did this part by hand and then one day I threw them in the mixer and never looked back.  At this point you can go ahead and scoop them with a small ice cream scoop or stick the mix in the fridge until you're ready to move on.

Once you have all the balls scooped, roll them in your hands to smooth the surface.  They dip better if they are cold.

I made a "double boiler" out of a Pyrex bowl and a small saucepan. Melt the bark over simmering water (don't let it touch the bottom of the chocolate). If you prefer you can melt the chocolate in the microwave.  I've done it both ways, but I think it's stays easier to work with in the stove top method.The little tool pictured above makes dipping them really easy.  If you don't have one, just use a fork.  Drop a truffle in the chocolate, roll it around and pick it up letting the excess drip back in the pot.  Place on a Silpat  or wax paper lined baking sheet. You can dip a few then go back and add the NonPareils (sprinkles) before the chocolate cools so they will stick. Once they are all dipped, place in the refrigerator to cool.  These need to be stored in the fridge as well.

I had a couple of extra Oreos so I just dipped those for Benny too.
Oreo + Chocolate = L♥VE

It's COLD season

Morning friends!

Well it's funny how life dictates things.  When I was thinking about things I could blog about I never thought about health tips. But now, seeing as I've developed a cold, I'll share a couple of things I use with you.  

During our 3 LONG winters in Minneapolis, MN (that's how we marked our time up there) I met a friend who introduced me to the Neti Pot.  It took quite a bit of urging from her and a really stuffy head before I finally gave in and tried it.  I'll admit it's a weird feeling when you use it, and a little scary the first time.  I was worried it would hurt, but it didn't.  What it did do was help to clean out your head. Was it a miracle cure?  No, but maybe it will lessen the duration of a cold if you can keep your head cleaned out. Neti Pots are easy to find at Target, WalMart, etc...

Recently my brother (Thanks Dae-Dae) told me about another product similar to the Neti Pot he'd started using a couple of years ago.  It's called Alkalol.  He tends to get frequent sinus infections and said since starting to use it at the first signs of one he hasn't developed a full blown sinus infection in a couple of years. My daughter was sick last month so I went on the hunt for it.  I started with the usual places but had to go to an actual drugstore to find it. I found it at CVS.  

So what's the difference in these?  The Alkalol has some alcohol qualities as the name suggests.  It has a menthol effect. The Neti Pot is a saline rinse.  I don't like the way you administer the Alkalol as well as the Neti Pot, but if it kills the germs in your sinuses I'm willing to give it a shot.  I started using it yesterday and the first thing I noticed is the tingly feeling in my nose.  It reminds me of using a Halls cough drop as far as the way you can breath better for a few minutes after using it.  Again, not an overnight cure but I'm hopeful it will lessen the duration of my cold and keep me from developing an infection.

I hope if you find yourself becoming a hostage to a cold this might help you out.  

Stay healthy!!!!

DIY Valentine Bunting

February 1st means one thing...Valentine's Day is just around the corner.  Last year I made this cute bunting to hang on my mantel.  I don't like to go overboard with decorating for Valentine's Day since I'm just coming off the Christmas cleanup, but I do like to do a little something and this bunting adds just a touch of sweetness.  I see all kinds of  ideas for these on PINTEREST and if I had to guess I'm sure my inspiration came from there.

I have a friend that I like to make things for so over the weekend I put one together for her...no names so she'll be surprised. I took pictures just using my phone since my camera battery was dead, so they aren't stellar quality, but you can get a pretty good idea.

First I gathered my supplies.

All of these items came from my favorite craft store, Hobby Lobby.  I can wander around in there forever.  So much so my family now hates to go with me. (Insert eye rolls here) They have great sales and those have a definite rhythm/rotation to them so once you watch you will learn when things will be 1/2 off and know to stock up.  Now that I know I like to make these buntings (I also have a Christmas themed one) I buy a couple of packages of the ready made burlap triangles and keep them on hand for when I'm hit with an idea. I treat my craft supplies much like my pantry because when the notion strikes I don't want to run out and get everything together. Unfortunately crafting goes hand in hand with hoarding. #savethosescraps

I covered my work surface with paper and laid out all of my triangles.  I didn't have the light pink paint I needed so I mixed my own with white and a dot of red (go easy on the red, you can always add more)

I started by mixing only a small amount but ended up using almost the entire bottle of white.

Covering the burlap takes a lot of paint.  I'll warn you, it doesn't go on evenly but dries fine.

Once the pink has had a while to dry you can stencil on the red letters.  This pack of stencils didn't come with shapes so I made the heart out of a piece of poster board.  The tricky part here is holding down the stencils so you don't get "bleed" under and around your letters.  I also learned this time I needed to use a lighter touch when stenciling.  My letters on the bunting came out much bolder than the previous one I'd made so I went back and used a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to "distress" them a little and was happier with the look. I used a round sponge "pouncer" to make the white dots.  These come in a package of multiple sizes and are usually found near the acrylic paint.

Once everything's had a chance to dry (I left mine over night) it's time to add the ribbon.  I used my trusty glue gun and attached one triangle at a time leaving a small space in between.  You can get creative here and use whatever you like. This time I used a cute little polka dot ribbon, but I've also used Ric-Rac trim. (The picture below shows the difference in the vibrancy of the letters after sanding them. It's subtle, but more to my liking.)

And finally, the finished product...so CUTE!!!

 Here's a little tip on how I hang mine. I LOVE Command hooks.  I use them all over the place. These are tiny ones and you can just tie a knot in your ribbon and use it to stop it from sliding out.

The options for banners like this are endless.  All you need is a little imagination.

Happy Monday!!!!