Happy Thanksgiving!!!

    I have so much in my life to be thankful for...but I wanted to take a minute to thank all of my followers for following me and being a part of my life.  I hope each and every one of you have a happy and save Thanksgiving holiday.

    I'm about to head out to fly home and be with my precious family for the rest of the week.  I absolutely cannot wait to squeeze my Momma and Brother and see the rest of my family.  We have a lot going on this week...Thanksgiving at our house, doing wedding planning with Mom, having my very first WEDDING SHOWER....and much, much more!  I'm beyond excited and thankful to be able to share this holiday with my family and close friends.

    I'll be in touch next week.  Tata!  Oh....and GO TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    RGL

Baby Shower Gift

    Again, as I mentioned in my previous post, we had a baby shower last week for one of the girls in my department at work and of course I wanted put my craftiness skill to use.  I had already made her a onesie bouquet, but I wanted to do something else….something to possibly go in the nursery.  Since they aren’t finding out the sex of the baby, it was hard to come up with something.  I was randomly looking online one day for something completely different....and I came across this picture frame on Etsy.com.
    And it hit me…I could paint a picture frame for the nursery, but do it as a “baby divided” instead of a “house divided” because the Mom is a HUGE Florida Gator fan and the Dad is a HUGE Auburn Tiger fan.
    Ok, I’m done now with all of my posts from the baby shower.  If you can’t tell, I had a LOT of fun making things for it. Hopefully I didn’t get on yall’s nerves too bad.   There’s just so many things you can do, you just have to be a little creative about it. 
    I hope you all have fun and exciting plans for this weekend...it's almost Thanksgiving so I'm getting SUPER excited about going home and being with my family.
    RGL

Baby Face Cupcakes

    Happy Friday!!!!!  Again, as I mentioned in my previous post, we had a baby shower last week for one of the girls in my department at work and I wanted to contribute something cute for the desserts.  After researching a little bit, I saw these baby face cupcakes on Pintrest and decided to give them a try. 
    Here’s how I made them:
    What you need: (Note, this is for an any sex baby shower because the Mom’s not finding out if it’s a boy or girl so I had to use all different color pacifiers)
    • Box of cake mix
    • White Icing
    • Cooper Food Coloring
    • Chocolate Chips
    • Pacifiers
    Directions:
    • Step one: Make the cupcakes as you normally would.  When you make them, do not overfill, about half way is fine.  You want them to be flat.  If they puff up after being baked, use a serrated knife to cut off the top.
    • Step two: Color the frosting skin color….add one drip of the copper food coloring.  Yes copper…I know it sounds crazy, but it actually works. If you put more than one drip then it’ll turn a pinkish color. 
    • Step three: After the cupcakes have cooled off, start icing them.
    • Step four:  Make the eyes…I used chocolate chips and inserted them upside down for the eyes.
    • Step five:  Insert the pacifier into the cupcake and you’re good to go.  You can always get brown gel and make hair if you’d like, but I just did mine this way.
    And tadaa...you have baby face cupcakes!!!!  For this being my first time making these, I thought they turned out pretty good.  Plus, the Mom can keep the pacifiers later on to use...perfect! 
    If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them.  And if you decide to make these adorable little things…please let me know…I’d LOVE to see them.
    RGL

Onesie Bouquet

    As I mentioned in my previous post, we had a baby shower last week for one of the girls in my department at work and I wanted to make something crafty yet useful for the shower. I’ve seen cute things before like a ribbon wreath, or a diaper cake, etc…but I wanted to do something different.   After looking online, I came across this adorable idea for a onesie bouquet…ding, ding, ding…this is GENIOUS! 
    It was so much fun to make and it was the perfect center piece as well.
    Here’s how I made it:
    What you need: (Note, this is for an any sex baby because the Mom’s not finding out if it’s a girl or boy)
    • Bucket/tin/container of some sort to put the stuff in.  I got mine from Hobby Lobby and then got the wooden letter H to glue on the bucket to make it more personal.  Since we don’t know the sex of the baby, we don’t know the name either so I went with H because that’s what their last name starts with.
    • Pack of onesies.  I actually got 2 packs…different sizes ranging between 0-3 months and then 3-6 months.  Try to stay with solid colors if you can.
    • Pack of bibs…or whatever else you want…I’ve seen some people do socks as well.
    • Wooden Dowels. This was used to wrap the onesies and bibs around.
    • Tissue Paper. I bought a pack of green, yellow and orange to add a little more color to the bouquet...but I only ended up using the green and yellow…and I probably used about 5 of each color.
    • Clear rubber bands/Yarn/Ribbon tape. This will hold the onesie together after you make it into a flower.
    • Styrofoam block. This was what I stuck the dowels in.
    Directions:
    • Step one- lay the onesie out and snap the bottom. Fold in either side.
    • Step two- starting at the bottom of the folded onesie, take a wooden dowel  at the end of it, start rolling the onesie up tight into a tube that looks like a Swiss cake roll. At the top of your onesie,  it should look like a rose bud. Take the yarn or whatever you have, and tie it around the onesie so it will hold.  I used strips of yarn and tied knots around 2 places of my onesies to secure it.
    • Step three- Arrange the flower-bud onesies/bibs in the pot so that the flower bud is up at the top. Poke the wooden dowels deeply into the foam so that the onesies are securely placed.
    • Step four- Arrange the tissue paper in between the onesies to accent the flower bouquet.  You can use as many or as few as you prefer.
    And tadaa!!!!  You’re done.  This was the first time I’ve ever made one, so I apologize if I didn’t do a good job explaining everything.  If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer any.  And if you decide to create one…please send me the link…I’d LOVE to see it.
    RGL

Baby Shower Gifts/Treats

    Happy Thursday.  Hope everyone is doing great.  I’ve been dying to do this post for a while now, but I had to wait until after the shower to do it so the “Momma to be” wouldn’t see it.
    Last week we had a baby shower for one of the gals in my department at work.  Of course I wanted to do something that was cute and creative so I started looking on Pintrest and other websites to come up with ideas.  She isn’t finding out the sex of her baby so it made it challenging to me on what to give her.
    Below are pictures of all four things I contributed to the shower, but I’ll do more posts that explain how to make each of these.
    Onesie Bouquet...click here to see how I made it.
    
    Baby Face Cupcakes...click here to see how I made them.
    Baby Rattle Cupcakes
    Painted Picture Frame...the Mom's a huge Flordia Gator fan and the Dad's a huge Auburn Tiger fan.

    Have any of yall been to a baby shower lately?  What did you do or see that was creative or cute?  I don’t think I honestly remember the last time I went to a baby shower.  I’ll have to say, this one was pretty awesome.  We all had a blast.
    RGL

Country Music’s Biggest Night: CMAs 2011

    Tonight is the 45th Annual CMA Awards and I cannot wait to watch it.  I’ve always enjoyed watching the CMA awards, but now that I live in Nashville, I enjoy it so much more.  Downtown has been busy all week and will get even busier tonight…hopefully they’ll let us out early from work so we can get a head start out of the traffic.
    If you don’t know what the CMA Awards are…then #1, shame on you…#2, don’t bother reading the rest of this post because it will more than likely bore you to tears…haha kidding…the CMA Awards is a celebration of all things country and for the fourth straight year, Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley are the hosts.  YAY!  I just love them…I can’t wait to see all of Carrie’s outfits tonight either. She always looks amazing!
    The show will start out with Blake Shelton and Kenny Loggins performing together.  They will be singing ‘Footloose’ from the new hit movie.  Which is an amazing by the way.  This should, or will hopefully be one of the best performances of tonight.
    I read that Faith says the CMA Awards stage feels like home, and she’s very excited to debut her song ‘Come Home’ tonight. 
    This is the first time in five years that she’s performed on the CMAs.  The song is the first taste of her new album that will be out in the beginning of next year.  YAY!!!!
    If you are hoping your favorite will perform on the show, I’ve listed below the performers for tonight:

    Jason Aldean, The Band Perry, Natasha Beddingfield, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Sara Evans, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Kenny Loggins, Martina McBride, Scotty McCreery, Matt Nathanson, Brad Paisley, Grace Potter, Rascal Flatts, Lionel Richie, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Thompson Square, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Chris Young and Zac Brown Band.

    Yes, ladies and gentlemen…I’m pretty excited about watching this tonight.  I’ll try and do a “re-cap” post tomorrow or Friday on how it went tonight.
    Are any of yall watching it?  It comes on tonight airing live from 7 to 10 p.m. on ABC.
    RGL

DIY Fall Wreaths

    A great way to add a touch of the any season to your home is with a wreath!  And a wreath is something that pretty much anyone can do quite easily. 
    I was thinking about making some wreaths and giving them away as Christmas gifts this year, but I haven’t decided for sure if that’s what I want to do….so in the meantime, I decided to round up Fall wreath ideas for you in case yall are also looking for something to spruce up your front door.   
    I’ve looked and gathered about 20-25 great DIY Fall wreaths that are in a wide variety—different styles ranging from really easy to some that are a little more time-consuming. These could be GREAT ways to not only add a touch of the Fall season to your home/apartment, but some can also be used as centerpieces as well….OR if you’re going to a Holiday party or Thanksgiving at someone else’s house, these would make a great hostess gift.
    Grapevine wreath with burlap flowers,
    painted pumpkins, and monogram.
    Click here for tutorial.
    Pinecone Wreath
    Click here for tutorial.
    Yarn Wreath & Felt Flowers
    Click here to see a tutorial.
    Click here to see a fabric flower tutorial.
    
    Other Yarn Wreaths


     


    Personalized Ribbon Wreath
    click here for the tutorial from this post of mine….then all you do is add the wooden letter to it.
    Acorn Wreath
    Click here for tutorial.
    Indian Corn Wreath
    Click here for tutorial.
    Argyle Wreaths
    Click here for tutorial.
    More Argyle Wreaths



    Yarn Wrapped Letter
    Click here for tutorial.
    Yarn Pom-Pom Wreath
    Click here for tutorial.
    Burlap Wreath w/ Monogram
    Click here for tutorial.

    Burlap Flower Fall Wreath
    Click here for tutorial.
    Burlap & Pinecone Wreath
    Click here for tutorial.
    $10 DIY Fall Wreath
    Click here for tutorial.
    Fall Felt Leaves Wreath
    Click here for tutorial.

      Other Felt Wreaths


    Whew! I hope yall enjoyed those as much as I did.  So if you feel inspired, grab your hot glue gun and get to crafting! 

    RGL

Splurge-Worthy Thanksgiving Desserts

    Well...Halloween is over and Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  Are yall making any desserts for Thanksgiving this year?  I'm actually going home to South Carolina for Thanksgiving and was looking up something I could add to the table and came across some of these delicious looking dessert recipes.  I saw these recipes on Southern Living and had to share some of my favorites....

    Pumpkin-Pecan Cheesecake
    Combine your favorite Thanksgiving desserts into one delicious cheesecake! A sweet Praline Topping sends this dessert over the edge. Click here for recipe.
    Caramel-Pecan Pie
    One bite of rich and gooey Caramel-Pecan Pie, and you’ll be thankful you tried this recipe. Click here for recipe.
    Pumpkin Pie Spectacular

    Crushed gingersnaps pressed into the crust add a spicy depth of flavor in Pumpkin Pie Spectacular. Click here for recipe.

    Double Apple Pie With Cornmeal Crust

    A mix of Granny Smith and Braeburn apples gives this special pie a rich, complex flavor and texture. Ice-cold apple cider is just one of the secrets to the tender, flaky crust. Click here for recipe.

    Blackberry-Apple Pie
    Blackberry-Apple Pie takes the cake with a from-scratch white Cheddar cheese crust. The filling can me prepared up to 1 week ahead, making this pie easier than it seems. Click here for recipe.
    Lemon Curd Pound Cake
    Sweet-and-tart Lemon Curd Pound Cake is the perfect way to end a Thanksgiving meal. A Lemon Curd Glaze makes the pound cake extra moist and delicious. Click here for recipe.
    Sweet Potato Pie with Marshmallow Meringue
    This impressive dessert showcases one of fall’s sweetest gems—sweet potatoes. With simple prep and make-ahead ease, it only looks like you spent hours in the kitchen. Click here for recipe.

    Brandy Alexander Cheesecake
     
    Garnish this rich cheesecake with berries and currents for a party-perfect presentation. The cake can be baked and frozen up to a month ahead. Click here for recipe.

    Best Carrot Cake
    We are not lying when we say this is the "best". One online reader loved the cake so much, she also made cupcakes out of the batter. Click here for recipe.

    Sweet Potato-Pecan Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting
    Rich spices complement the sweet potato flavor in these cupcakes for grown-ups. With the decadent cake batter and Cream Cheese Frosting, you’ll forget there’s technically a veggie in the mix. Click here for recipe.

    Coconut-Almond Cream Cake
    This decadent cake is deliciously rich as well as moist. For a colorful presentation, garnish with kumquats, currants, and fresh mint sprigs. Click here for recipe.

    Caramel-Pecan-Pumpkin Bread Puddings
    Caramel-Pecan-Pumpkin Bread Puddings are a great way to use the delicious, seasonal flavor of pumpkin. If you're short on time (or dishes) you can make this recipe in a 13- x 9-inch casserole just as easily. Click here for recipe.

    Pecan Cheesecake Pie
    Who wants to choose between cheesecake and pie? You can have both with Pecan Cheesecake Pie. This indulgent treat has layers of creamy cheesecake batter, a classic pecan pie filling, and crunchy pecans. Click here for recipe.
    Banana Pudding Trifle
    Down-home comfort takes an upscale spin in this spirited version of banana pudding. Vanilla wafers, laced with bourbon and rum, and crunchy bits of chocolate-covered toffee bars make it too delicious to resist. Click here for recipe.

    Mini Pumpkin Cakes

    Delicious pumpkin flavor and pumpkin pie spices make this treat a yummy way to celebrate the season. With only 30 minutes of hands-on time it's doable for a special dinner party or just a fun treat for the kids. Click here for recipe.
    Applesauce Pie
    Everyone loves apple pie, especially fresh from the oven on a chilly fall day. You can make this easy applesauce filling up to 1 week ahead and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator – ready to spoon into a crust whenever you get a craving.  Click here for recipe.

    Mocha-Pecan Mud Pie
    This indulgent coffeehouse treat is always a hit and fun for the whole family to make. To quickly soften the ice cream, let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes; remove from the carton, and place in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric stand mixer. Beat at low speed, using the paddle attachment, 5 to 10 seconds or until just smooth enough to spread into the crust. Click here for recipe.

    Peanut Butter-Banana Sandwich Bread Pudding
    These puff much like soufflés, so present to guests right out of the oven. Encourage them to hold off enjoying the desserts for five minutes while they cool slightly. Click here for recipe.


    Which ones were your favorites????  I really liked the mini pumpkin cakes....I might try and make those this year.

    RGL
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