Everyday Celebrating

Time to GRILL!

Well, it's that time of year again! Time to fire up the grill! Hey, you may already have been firing up the grill, right? Most places have had a fairly warm winter this year. Here in the south, the smell of the grill wafted through the neighborhood fairly frequently this "winter".

But with warm weather and summer approaching, it's the start to the official grilling season. That means getting the patio and backyard ready, cleaning the grill and stocking up on supplies.

One thing I love about grilling and dining outdoors is the relaxed atmosphere it creates. You don't have to dress up, most of the food that accompanies grilling is easy and everyone is just there to enjoy being together and having a good time. You don't stress about perfect table settings or linens or fancy food.

Now, don't get me wrong. It's fun to buy some fun melamine or plastic plates/serving pieces. Mix and match! The dollar stores are perfect for this. You can stock up with fun summer pieces for next to nothing. Pick up some plastic utensils and napkins to match and you have something color and fun with no stress.

I like to make some easy decor for outside gatherings like these ribbon streamers. I just made these with painted bamboo tomato plant stakes I found at the dollar store. I hot glued some ribbons on and stuck them in the ground. They can welcome guests at the end of your driveway or you could line your patio with them. They are really pretty flowing in the breeze.

Another thing I think is fun to do is to serve the unexpected! Like these BBQ Banana treats! Just slice a banana lengthwise still in the peel and throw in your fave toppings like chocolate, marshmallow, nuts, etc. Throw it on the grill until they melt. You could serve it up in a bowl with ice cream.

It's fun to get your guests involved too. How about grilling pizzas? Set up a pizza toppings station where guests can create their own pizzas.

These are just some of the reasons why Grilling is my Happiness. Besides all of the tasty food, tell me what you love about grilling. One of my lucky readers who answers below will win a $25 Sears Gift Card!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sears. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

Easy creative wrapping: Transformer boy's gift

My 5 year old son is knee deep in class birthday parties.  We're still in the phase where you invite the whole class.  My son loves to go to these parties.  Loves to be included and so... we go.

This obviously means I'm wrapping gifts pretty frequently and I like to be a little creative with the wrapping.

The last party was a Transformers party and so naturally, we bought a Transformer gift.  Then I added a small embellishment for the "bow".

I used a Transformers logo I found online and added the birthday boy's name under it.  Printed it out on white card stock.  I cut it into a rectangle to fit the gift and then used a corner rounded for the corners.

Next, I cut strips of construction paper in red, white and black.

From there, I curled the ends of the construction paper with scissors.  Then I stapled them on top of each other to create a bow and finally hot glued the logo in the center.  Doesn't have to be perfect either!

Done!  Just an easy way to create something unique with things you already have around the house!

A meaningful moment of 2011!

Who doesn't have a TON of meaningful moments, right?  And when you have children, they seem to multiply!

I have a 5 year old son and some of the most meaningful moments are just magical observations from him or touching soft moments like when he still wants me to rock him.

One moment that comes to mind was on Christmas Day 2011.

Two days prior to Christmas, my son got his first bunk bed.  He was thrilled. He had spent 2 days in his "man cave" playing and watching cartoons and really enjoying creating his own space with this great new bed.  Anyone that has entered the house since, has been escorted directly to the bed to ooh and ahh.  LOL

On Christmas Day, my mother (or Gran as my son calls her) and I were in his room putting together one of his new Matchbox race tracks.  We had all the pieces laid out and my son was sitting on the top bunk anxiously overseeing the progress.

My mother and I were talking about this piece and that piece. I thought my son was watching the cartoons we had on in the background when he walked down the stairs of the bunk bed and said ...

"I love you, Gran.  I love you more than Saturn."

Which, if you know my son, he loves planets and loving you more than Saturn ranks extremely high on the scale.

It was just an out of the blue, unprompted statement, but boy did it mean the world to not only my Mother, but to me as well. 

We have several of those types of moments with my son and I can't tell you how many times they stop you in your tracks and really make you realize the beauty in everyday life.

Tell me what your most meaningful moment was in the last year for a chance to win one of 10 complete skin care Anti-Age Systems from Meaningful Beauty.

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The opinions and text are all mine.

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DIY: Strawberry tree in urn

Last week, I posted a picture of the strawberry tree centerpieces I had at my 2003 wedding.

This week, here's a different version of the strawberry tree.  Chocolate covered AND in an urn.  

Here's how you create it:

First, let me say that this is not a dessert that is easily transported.  This would be something you'd want to either serve at your home or assemble after you arrive at your destination.

You'll need:

 - one styrofoam cone.  Use styrofoam, not floral cone.  The floral oasis isn't as sturdy. 

 - toothpicks

 - 3 lbs of strawberries to cover a 9X4 cone

 - chocolate melt

 - a block of styrofoam

 - one urn

 - hot glue/gun

 - kale

You'll want to dip your strawberries first.  Wash and cut the green off each strawberry and dip it into melted chocolate.  Stick all the strawberries into the freezer so a) the chocolate can set and b) the strawberries get hard.  A harder strawberry is easier to work with in getting a secure fit.

Next, you'll want to fill up the urn.  You have two ways of achieving this. You can either get a larger cone that will go to the bottom of the urn (shaving off the sides to make it fit) or you can stick a piece of styrofoam in the bottom and glue the cone on top.

In the photo above, I filled the urn with styrofoam and newspaper. I then covered the entire top of the urn in kale.  I did this by using toothpicks and gluing the kale down.

From here, break toothpicks in half and start working your way up from the bottom.  You want to put your largest strawberries on the bottom and work your way up in sizes.  There may be places where the strawberries don't meet.  For those places, you can stick in a few pieces of kale or sprigs of mint to cover the styrofoam.

 

Finally, you can decorate your urn with a ribbon or other festive ornament.   Easy and makes a great centerpiece for your dessert table!

This dessert is great for other occasions too like July 4th, showers, Valentine's Day, etc.

Your favorite holiday tradition!

'Tis the season for traditions! I'd venture to say that Christmas holds the most traditions for families and for good reason!

I have a five year old son and as a family, we're just now starting our traditions. Having a child means some of your traditions and priorities shift like maybe in the early years making sure your home for Christmas so Santa can find you. ;)

Something that is emerging as a tradition for us is hosting two meals. We have a full Christmas Eve dinner. I like to serve Italian. Why? Well, I love it. And it's just different. I feel like we just had Thanksgiving and that type of food and it's nice to go a different route. So I make soup, salad and lasagna, etc.

Around mid-morning on Christmas Day, I make a large breakfast. This is after my son has opened his gifts and oohhed and ahhhed over Santa coming. This meal will include everything from biscuits to fruit to hashbrown casserole, muffins and plenty of hot coffee!

This works out nicely for our family. Usually with eating a large breakfast, we are full for several hours. The rest of the day is spent relaxing and watching my son play with his gifts and just being together. Later in the day, we'll eat snacks, but no other large meal is prepared.

What are YOUR favorite holiday traditions? Baking with family? Crafting?

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions expressed by me do not necessarily reflect the view of the International Delight Brand.

Printable Christmas Subway art

I ran across this free Christmas printable from It is what it is and loved the simplity and color scheme.

Not only can you frame it as shown above, but I love her ideas for using it in your holiday wrapping.

Simply print out and glue to a paper bag, add a simple ribbon.

or wrap around a bottle of nice wine....

The image is free for download and personal use.  Add an original piece of art to your holiday wrapping!

Display your holiday cards!

A super easy way to display all those beautiful cards you're getting.

All you need is a cabinet, ribbon and clothespins.

Just cut a long length of ribbon, wrap it around your cabinet door and tie the ends in the back.

Pin the cards on as you receive them.

A great and easy way to enjoy your cards all season!

Girls Night In!

Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There's no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! www.duncanhines.com.

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Now is the perfect time of year for a fun Girls' Night In!  The weather may be dreary or cold, but the Christmas lights are cheery so it's the perfect time to invite girlfriends over for a fun night of wrapping gifts!

Now is the time of year that everyone has some wrapping to do and why not invite a few friends over to share in the fun.

It doesn't take a lot to create this fun night.  Ask each person to bring a couple rolls of wrapping paper or ribbon/embellishments.  You supply the tape and scissors and refreshments.  Or, ask everyone to bring one roll of wrapping paper and a snack.

With everyone bringing wrapping paper, you're guaranteed an assortment of festive papers under the tree. Encourage others to bring inexpensive embellishments from the dollar store to share.

Then when guests arrive, turn on some holiday music or a Lifetime/Hallmark holiday movie as your background and enjoy the evening with friends while marking something off your holiday to do list.

Need suggestions on embellishments or unique wrapping tips?  Follow my Pinterest board called "creative wrapping" where you'll see tips like how to turn those wrapping paper scraps into bows like this:

 

So set a date, evite your friends and create an occasion!  It doesn't have to be formal or fancy!  Just a relaxed good time to get together with friends!

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Remember to check out Duncan Hines' website www.duncanhines.com to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

DIY: Christmas Present Tree Stand

Do you put up several Christmas trees?  Or are you not a fan of tree skirts?  

Looking for a unique way to hide the tree stand?

Hide your tree stand in a present!   

Here's how you do it:

1.  Find a box that is at least as big as your tree stand.  Also, make sure the box will clear the bottom of your tree.  I lucked out with this box!   Just happened to be in my garage.  You'll notice that I cut off two of the flaps.  I cut off two flaps so I wouldn't have to cut through 4 flaps when making the hole for the tree.

2.  Place the stand inside the box (like above).  Close the flaps and tape together.  Then cut a hole in the top of the box so it coordinates in placement with the hole in the stand inside.

3.  From there, wrap the box like you would a present.  Depending on the size of the box and how much room the stand has to move or flip over, you may want to wrap the box without flipping it over like you would a normal present.  I wrapped this one by putting the seam on the top and back of the box.  This way, the front of the box would be smooth with no seam.  Also, make sure you add a bow or other embellishments before you install the tree. After you finish wrapping, cut the same hole in the wrapping paper, so the stand is visible from the outside of the wrapped box.

4.  You'll need help with the next step.  Have one person lower the tree into the box.  The other person will guide the tree into the stand inside the box.  If your box is much bigger than the stand, you may want to cut a larger hole so that one of your hands can move the stand if needed.

Done!  No more ugly stand!

A perfect addition to a decorative tree that you may not be using as your main tree.

 
Stay tuned ... lots more holiday decor ideas to come! 

DIY: Layered Ribbon tree

We all remember the coffee filter trees that were the craze last year.  Well... here's another fun DIY tree that you can make with ribbon.

These fab trees are from Sparkle and she gives a tutorial on how to create them. 

While she suggest uses styrofoam bases, remember that you can roll poster board for the same affect.  Styrofoam is expensive if you're creating several of these trees.  Here's where I talk about creating cones out of poster board.  2 sheets for $1 at the Dollar Tree and... you can create any size you need depending on how you cut/roll it.