a protein powder to love...

in the past i was never really a fan of protein shakes. i had never found a protein i could tolerate for more than a day or so let alone making it part of my daily routine after working out. 

then my husband came along and introduced me to muscle milk…let me tell you it is tasty and the best protein i had ever had.  banana cream was my go to and then the vanilla so i could add berries and other fruit. we actually purchase this from bodybuilding.com 

the only thing i was not a huge fan of was the artificial sweetener in the muscle milk. so while i would still use it i was on a search for an all natural protein powder. 

then i found all kinds of information on the good and the bad of the protein powder world. and the fact is not all are created equal.

after trying a couple all natural powders i met an arbonne representative clarissa…insert a smile!

she introduced me to an amazing line of products and i absolutely love the vanilla protein powder.

the ingredients are all natural…no soy, whey or artificial sweeteners. those were my main three "concerns" the artificial sweeteners being number one. 

you can contact clarissa through her website

clarissahann.arbonne.com

email

clarissahann@yahoo.com

shoe organization

i really enjoy being organized. if i have the proper containers, shelves, cabinets etc. i will organize it all and love every minute of it. 

for a little while now i had the idea of storing my shoes in clear containers so i could easily stack them and also see what they were. i had googled a few websites and the plastic shoe containers were way to pricey for my liking so i figured when i came across what i was looking for i would know what.

surprise…surprise…my mom (the best) remembered our conversation from a while back and she came across these little gems so they showed up for christmas this year and i couldn't be happier.

these are 6 quart sterilite clear storage containers. 

i wish i would have gotten a before picture with all of the different sized boxes and how not so organized they looked. i must have been too excited because i didn't even think of the before shot till after : )

here is the start of my shoe organization…i actually need more bins to finish my collection and also will get some extra to have for new shoe purchases. 

the aftermath...

mario birthday partry

this extra special mario themed party was for our son ethan. his little heart was set on a tiered cake with mario and princess peach at the top…then a smaller cake set a little ways away from the larger cake with bowser on it. and yes he came up with that on his own…we opted for cake, cupcakes and cookies. 

we purchased the invitations from etsy. the original shop we ordered them from is no longer "open but just do a search of "mario invitations" and a ton will come up 

the mustache stickers on the cups, the coins and the mustache whistles were all purchased from the oriental trading company 

we absolutely loved the cake! reeves cake shop made the cake then i purchased the characters from amazon and made the pipe on the top. the pipe was made from a plastic pipe i purchased from the home depot found in the plumbing department. then i picked up some thick green foam paper at the flower factory (or any craft store)  and cut the size according to the pipe then added the additional layer of foam to the top of the pipe for added dimension and so it looked like mario. 

these little gems turned out perfect!! the star and toadstool cookies were made by meredith the owner of baked happy!! she does an amazing job and they even taste better than they look…which says a lot about her work. 

we hand made the piranha plants and the clouds. the clouds were cut from large sheets of styrofoam then batting was glued on one side. you could definitely do both sides with the fluffy batting if necessary.

the piranha plants were a little more tricky. 

you will need:

styrofoam balls 

red acrylic craft paint

green spray paint

white and green felt

dowel rods

flower pots 

flower arrangement foam for inside the pot 

stay tuned for a instruction post on the piranha plant

just a few little touches to add to the mario theme. toadstool radishes in the salad, blue sky punch and we served pasta and meatballs since thats what mario and luigi eat.

kids loved the mustaches and the party was a hit...

best gift of all was seeing ethan's excitement.  

i love our little family <3

mm cookies

this recipe is from the hershey’s 1934 cookbook and was given to me by my cousin alisha. it was given to her by my great grandmother edna, whom we called minnie. i was lucky enough to be able to know her and actually spent a lot of time with her so this seemed extra special to me. 

the recipe is actually a base for any type of candy you would like to add to a cookie. i chose mm’s. as you can see from the pick the store was all out of the festive green and red so i opted for the regular colors. i think i nailed this recipe its pretty yummy. instead of sour milk though I used regular whole milk and i only used about a cup and a half of mm’s.

ingredients
¾ cup of sugar
½ cup light brown sugar packed
2/3 cup of butter softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup sour milk or regular whole milk
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ teaspoon of salt
2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips or other candy or nuts


preparation
1. pre-heat oven to 375 F cream the sugars and butter until light and fluffy. then add egg and vanilla; beat well. lastly add the milk and beat into mixture. 

2. in separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. whisk together to combine all dry ingredients.

3. slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture and mix.

4. lastly fold in candy and nuts of your choice and also the desired amount you want.

5. drop by spoonfuls on cookie pan/sheet and bake 8-11 minutes

enjoy!

minnie and papa dixon (love) 

fettuccine with basil, parmesan and italian turkey sausage

last monday i was in the mood for pasta and red sauce…once in a while i crave this combination. 

i am not much for either one, so my italian husband really appreciates these moments. 

this could also be turned into a crock pot meal but I would boil the pasta right before its dinner time. 

i had these ingredients at home already and felt a little creative... here is what i came up with…it turned out amazing! 

my husbands comment, "this is better than any italian restaurant."(he's very honest)

 mission accomplished!

4-8 oz of fettuccine (this was dinner for 2 so i probably used 4 oz.)
4 sweet italian turkey sausage
2 large garlic cloves
1 jar of mids pasta sauce (i used half of the jar)
1 block of parmesan reggiano (shaved)
basil leaves
olive oil
crushed red pepper (optional)

1. fill pan with water to prepare the pasta as directed on box. cut sausage into slices and brown in a skillet with a little olive oil.

2. once sausage is thoroughly cooked add pasta sauce and garlic to the skillet then let simmer. boil noodles.

3. shave desired amount of parmesan cheese and shop 6-7 leaves of basil. drain pasta and place on plate. spoon pasta sauce and sausage over the fettuccine then garnish with cheese and basil.


cooks tip: if you freeze the sausage for a little bit it makes it easier to slice.


enjoy!!

peanut butter corn flake cookies

these amazing treats are little bites of something amazing! so simple and no baking involved!!


peanut butter cornflake cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup karo corn syrup

bring to a rolling boil, turn off heat and add: 

2 cups peanut butter

mix well ; pour over 6 ½ cups cornflakes

drop on wax paper with a teaspoon or roll them into little balls like i do! (just be careful they are hot!) i make them bite sized so they are eater friendly!

makes about 7 dozen 

cooks tip:
be very careful you don’t over boil the sugar and corn syrup; you don’t want it to turn hard. 
once you have it down according to your pan and stove make a note of how many minutes 
so your cookies will turn out crunchy creamy every time.

all aboard…i'm one!

i thought this was absolutely adorable and like nothing i have seen in photography before. 

melinda did such a great job on her sons first birthday pictures i had to sure this one with you.

right now she does photos for fun but might eventually think of turning her hobby into something more.

you can contact her through facebook