Let's talk Fridays-DIY

Free is nice. I love looking on the internet and finding some free item for my blog or a free template ofr a craft or even, yes a lesson plan or knitting project. But I wonder....how do these wonderful people get the free stuff? I mean, somehow one needs to either buy paper, take a picture of it, then do a bunch of designs on it to make a pretty post right?I made my buttons using word clip art. That was it, but word clip art doesn't have a lot of options to choose from  and sometimes, it's not the best thing.  So where do these people get this free stuff?

There are a few website I would like to share with you because they do have some pretty awesome free items for just about any Do it yourself-er

http://www.thecottagemarket.com/

http://shabbyblogsblog.blogspot.com/

http://www.freeprettythingsforyou.com/

The above sites seem pretty cool and have  a ton of awesome free stuff. Now, how do they make it? That is my question. What are your thoughts and comments.

Candy Buffet

I can't believe it's  been over 7 months that I've been married. I also can't believe I've been forgetting to share some of the wonderful experiences of my wedding. I have covered;  the flowers, the dress, what to do with the flowers after the wedding, the cake, shoes, and the invitations. I covered tips on how to save for a wedding and I briefly mentioned my favors.

Today I'm going to talk more about my favors.

I had the traditional Jordan Almonds in white. There were five of them all wrapped up in a small tulle bag. Attached to the bag was a small card saying

" Five Sugared Almonds for each guest to eat,

To remind us that life is both bitter and sweet. 

Five wishes for the new husband and wife, 

Health, wealth, happiness, children,

And a long life."

 For the buffet I had:

A lollipop tree
Gummi bears
Air heads
Jolly Ranchers
Salt Water Taffy
Laffy Taffy
Kisses
Twizzlers
M &Ms
Apples and Oranges
Pixie Stixs
Skittles
Reese's Pieces
Mints
Mike and Ikes
 and a mixed variety of sweets.

I know it's a lot. But at the end- there wasn't much candy left over at all (which was what Jeff and I wanted) My guests loved the variety on the Candy buffet. To let the guests know to take from the buffet we had a very cute sign

"Thank You 

for joining us on our very special day. 

Please enjoy some treats from our

Candy Buffet

Love, 

Dani & Jeff"

 And now some pictures. All the pictures are from Mandy (My Photographer)

Pinterest Sunday- homemade food

This week, Jeff and I have been working on eating healthier and cutting back his sodium count. Thinking about how to lower this, I realized that sodium is often found in seasons. Now, we can eat food that is bland and unseasoned, but Jeff and I love  a little bit of spice in our life.

This week, I pinned a bunch of home made seasonings, mixes and condiments to help keep spice in your food but keep all the MSG away. For all these pins and more head to my Cooking board.

Coffee creamer? Jeff doesn't use much creamer in his coffee, I do, but I'm in this diet with him, so why not make my coffee healthier?

Salsa- I did do a variation of this recipe. I love salsa but I much prefer to experiment until i get one that both Jeff and I like.

We just ran out of out Ketchup yesterday. So why not make Ketchup this week when we go shopping?

Seasonings- I made the taco one. It is yummy, buy I like some spice so here are my three additions

1/4 teaspoon of Cilantro
1/8th teaspoon of black peppe
1/8th  teaspoon of  Crushed Red Pepper flakes

 and here is my own creation which I put on Pinterest. The link for the recipe is here

Pomegranate Salad dressing. 

That's it for Pinterest Sunday today. Keep pinning and if you happen to find anything you want to share let me know.
Ciao,

Homemade salad dressing

This week, I was bored with all the store brought salad dressing that we had in our fridge (we only have one in our fridge so that should say alot)

So, for dinner this week, we used a salad dressing I made. pomegranate

Pomegranate Vinaigrette Salad Dressing:

• 1/4 Cup of white Vinegar
• 1/4 Cup of Apple cider Vinegar
• 1/8 Cup of organic pomegranate juice
• 1 Tbsp of lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp of lime juice
• 2 Tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tsp of black pepper
• 1/2 tsp of sea salt
• 1/2 tsp of garlic powder

Put it all in a jar or spray bottle  and shake it all up. You can store it in the fridge (that's what I did) but take it our about  half hour before you use it since my oil did solidify. (I think that means that my fridge is too cold). 

Enjoy your new Salad dressing. 

Ciao,

Let's talk- gun control

Today I want to talk about gun control. It's a pretty big topic in the news right now. Everyone has their own opinions on what should be done about guns.  There are some who think that the violence starts with guns, there are others who think that the violence starts with the person.  Then there are some who don't know what to think and keep changing their mind.

Here is my view on it. People kill people. It doesn't matter What the person has a gun, a knife, a bat or even a spoon- if a murder is intent to kill, they will find a way to do it. Now, does this mean we need to regulate everything? No, I don't think so, but I do think we need to have some form of gun control, I just don't know what I think we as a country, as a world should do? What do you think?
Ciao,

Sunshine

Today is the 3rd day in a row where there has been a lot of sunshine. So much so, that I'm almost tempted to open the windows and start spring cleaning.  I know, I know, in January I really shouldn't open windows because it's only 30 degrees outside.  But, it's 30 degrees outside. That's huge compared to when it's 3 or -5 with out the windchill. So, with 30 degree weather plus sunshine, I have gotten into spring cleaning mode.  Today I  came up with a list. I know it's not a big list and I know I may be missing a lot of items and places to clean- but it's my list and I'm sharing it with you all. For anything I have missed, please tell me in the comment section. I promise I will add to the list those comments and other items that I have found needs to be cleaned.

The list will go room by room.

All rooms

•  Sweep the floor.
• Vacuum.
• Shampoo the carpet.
• Wash the windows, baseboards and walls. 
• Clean all the cobwebs from the ceiling.
• Make sure all the light bulbs are working and clean off the lap shades.
• Clean the blinds/curtains.
• Dust all the shelves

Kitchen

• Clean all the dishes and put them away. 
• Clean the sink. 
• Clean out the fridge- (take all the food out and clean the shelves, then put back the food that you are keeping and throw out the food that has gone bad. Wash the front of the fridge)
• Clean the stove- (This includes the inside of the oven, the oven drip pans on the burner and the outside/top of the stove)
• Clean the Microwave
• Gather all the laundry and wash it (Kitchen towels, dish rags, table clothes and napkins and such)

Bathroom

• Clean the Mirror
• Clean the sink
• Clean the toilet (do not just do the top where you sit- but the whole toilet, including the sides and the back and the floor around it.)
• Clean the tub/shower- wash the shower door and the shower curtain. 
• Clean the shower head. 
• Gather the laundry and wash is (Towels, mats and such)

Living Rooms/family room/TV room

• Wipe down the TV.
• Sprinkle the couch with baking soda- wait 15 minutes  and vacuum it off. 
• wipe down any other electronics and dust all the tables

Bedroom

• Gather all the laundry (clothes, sheets, bedding) and wash it
• Dust the top of the dressers
• Go through dressers and closets- donate what you want
• When mattress is bare- sprinkle baking soda on it, wait 15 minutes then vacuum, Then put freshly launder linens on mattress. 

Well, there you go a small spring cleaning list. I do hope to adjust this and make it more detailed as it does get closer to spring. 

Ciao,

Pinterest Sunday-organizing

My oh my how the weekend flew by. I posted on my phone a very short post on Friday. Today I'm  going to share some pins from my Organized board. We all need some organization in our life, and it's important to start somewhere. My husband and I spent the day trying to find space for all the thing our family sent us home with. We have a small apartment and right now everything is in the spare room. We want to use that room so we've been cleaning things out. So far we have two tubs filled with things to donate. Now on to some of my pins

For homemade recipes

How to organize your Linen closet

 a spice rack to keep things off the counter

and

the same for a pantry

Ciao,

2012 a year in review

2012 has been a big year for me. In 2011 the only exciting thing that occurred was me graduating college (YAY) but 2012...well, his year was a bang.

To highlight the happy points of my year:

 I've beenable to keep Winston alive for a year. As someone who can't keep plants alive, keeping a dog alive is wonderful.  Plus, he is not only my dog anymore because...

I got to marry the love of my life. I had the happiest day of my life in 2012.

I started my blog in 2012 and  I have begun my search for a job.   

What will 2013 bring? I have a lot of hopes and wishes of what it will bring, all of which will be documented here and of which will be wonderful too.

Ciao,