Garbage Disposal Cleaner

 I have always run citrus peels in my garbage disposal with hot water to get rid of any smells, but I recently heard freezing citrus peels in Vinegar and putting them down your disposal works so much better!

I don't have an ice cube tray, ha ha. So I used these tiny cups from my kids bathroom. I love easy, cheap, homemade cleaners!

Get rid of Carpet Marks

 I know everyone hates these carpet marks. Every time I rearrange my furniture or move into a new place they are everywhere! I was once told to use a fork to fluff the carpet back up, but that takes forever, nd it still wasn't perfect. Then my Mother in Law told me what she does, and it is so easy, cheap, and works amazingly! 

The secret ingredient:

Yep, all you need is ice! Lay ice on your carpet marks before bed and let it melt overnight. In the morning, run your hand over the carpet lightly just to somewhat "fluff" it back up and then vacuum. It will look like there was never anything there!

Honey Lime Tilapia

I didn't get a photo of this one, but it is so good! I found the recipe on Pinterest and wanted to share. Even my husband that is not a fan of fish at all kept saying how yummy it was! The only thing I changed was I used coconut oil instead of olive oil. :)

Ingredients:

For the fish and marinade:
4 (4-5oz) tilapia fillets (thawed if frozen)
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder

For dredging and cooking:
1/2c flour (I tried both white flour and whole wheat pastry flour with good results)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1-2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:
Assemble marinade by combining lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, honey, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a gallon-sized zip-top bag or shallow container with a lid. Add fish and marinate in the refrigerator anywhere from 1 hour up to 24 hours*.

When ready to cook, combine flour with salt and pepper on a plate. Remove each fish fillet from the marinade and dredge lightly with the flour on both sides (just a light, light coating).

Heat 1-2 Tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook fillets 2 at a time for 3-4 minutes per side or until opaque and browned (this works best if you don’t disturb the fish much while letting it cook).

Serve with lime wedges or peach salsa.

Serves 4.

*If you want to plan this meal in advance, you can prepare the fish and marinade in a large freezer bag and keep it in the freezer. Move frozen fish and marinade to the refrigerator the morning you plan to serve the fish and allow it to thaw in the refrigerator. It will marinate while it thaws!

Baking Fail

 You know those silicone baking dishes? Apparently you have to make sure they are made specifically for Baking, otherwise this will happen... Fail. And my family was so excited for muffins that morning. Lol.

How to make a sign stay hung on your doorbell!

 I made this sign because unfortunately my doorbell thingy is right outside of my baby's room. And UPS people seem to find it necessary to ring the bell a million times. Ugh. 

At first I hung it on my door with my wreath, but nobody seemed to notice it until AFTER they had rung the bell. Then I tried hanging it on the doorbell, but even a slight breeze would make it fall. I could think of many permanent ways to make it stay, but I didn't want this sign up forever! Then I found these...

 My husband bought them after we painted our cabinets to put on the back of the doors. They're like little sticky silicone glue dot thingies! (I know, I sounded so smart right then.) We got ours at Lowes

I stuck one on the edge of my doorbell and hung the ribbon behind it, and now my sign always stays hung! I imagine you could get the same results by putting a dot of hot glue there and letting it harden. But these seem much easier to remove in the future.
Now I need to find a way to make my doorbell cuter, it's pretty sad looking!

Wall Decor

 I made these with my girls a few months ago, they are pretty much my favorite thing hanging in my house right now, and I know I will treasure them forever.

 I got the frames at Walmart for about ten dollars each. I already had the paint and pics at home, so it was a cheap project!

Below is the vinyl I have hung above my girls' doors. Paige's room is on the Left, Zoey's on the right. I knew I had to put a cute quote above their doors and I stole this quote from one my mom has hanging above the photos of me and my sisters in our wedding dresses.

"Diamonds may be precious, but daughters are Priceless."

Printed in Ma Sexy Font

Cabinet Transformations

I know these aren't the greatest photos, but I just wanted to say I love how easy Rustoleum Cabinet transformations are, and the finished product looks great! I forgot to take before and after photos so the first photo is the kids bathroom and the second is ours. Our cabinets used to look just like theirs, but bigger.

In two days we went from this:

 To this:

 Our bathroom looks so much better now, and I can't wait to do finish the other little projects we have in plan for it!

This kit comes with EVERYTHING you will need for your cabinet transformation. And they have so many colors to choose from. 

The kitchen is next! Yay!

Baked Salmon

I'm not sure if you can really call this a recipe because I didn't measure anything, but it turned out really good, so here it is! You will need:

Dill Weed

Lemon Pepper

Paprika

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Mayonnaise

Mix it all together to taste

 De-bone your Salmon and put it skin down in a pan covered with foil that's either non stick or been sprayed with cooking spray. Then spread your dressing mix onto the Salmon, in my opinion the more the better, so don't be shy!

Bake at 350 for 25-30 min or until Salmon flakes easily. 

Enjoy :)

Creamy Lemon Herb Chicken

This is my families favorite chicken recipe, even my four year old loves it! And it is super easy to make, baked or on the grill.

 You will need: 

1 cup Miracle Whip

1/4 C. Lemon Juice

2 Tbs Water

1 Tbs Oregano

1Tbs Garlic Powder

1/2 Tsp Pepper

1/2 Tsp Salt

3-4 Chicken breasts (My husband likes it better with the skin, it works with or without)

 Stir all the ingredients minus the chicken together until it's a creamy sauce.

 Cover Chicken breasts with Sauce. For the oven bake at 350 for 60min or until chicken is fully cooked.

To cook on the grill cover chicken with Sauce and let marinade for at least 30 min in the fridge. Remove chicken from marinade; reserve marinade. Place on grill over medium coals. Grill covered 20 minutes. Brush with marinade. Continue grilling 15 to 20 minutes, or until cooked through, turning occasionally.

Seriously, you will not be disappointed. It is AMAZING.

I served mine with Spinach and Artichoke Pasta. If you want the recipe for that, here it is:

1 pound short-cut pasta
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 package dry Italian dressing
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 cups milk
1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained
1 can chopped artichoke hearts in water, drained
2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend, plus additional for sprinkling on top
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus additional for sprinkling on top

1. Place a large pot of water over high heat to cook the pasta. When the water is boiling, salt it well and drop in the pasta. Cook to al dente, according to the package directions. Drain the pasta and reserve.

2. While the pasta is cooking, place a medium pot over medium-low heat with the olive oil and the butter. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook the veggies until very soft, about 10 minutes.

3. Turn the heat up to medium-high and sprinkle the flour into the pan. Cook for about 1 minute, then whisk the chicken stock into the pan, cooking for another minute. Whisk the milk into the pan and bring up to a bubble. Add the vegetables, Italian dressing and salt and pepper to taste to the sauce and simmer until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cheeses to the sauce and stir until melted.

4. Toss the prepared sauce with the cooked pasta and transfer to a casserole dish. Sprinkle more of the cheeses over the top and broil under low heat until the cheese has melted and the top is golden brown.

Fun Hair

 I've been playing with new hairstyles on Zoey lately and wanted to share this one just because it's so easy and cute!

Mailing Hugs

We live far from Family, and the girls' grandparents always say they just want to give our girls a big hug. So for Valentines day we decided to mail them one! 

Zoey had so much fun making this project, and picking out the colors of paper and ribbon. After tracing and cutting out the hands I measured their arm span and cut a ribbon to that exact size, so it really is a Zoey and Paige sized hug just for their grandparents. :)

Nursing Cover

To make this Nursing cover you will need:

Material measuring at least 20in high and 70in long (This size fits most)

Satin Binding (optional) 

Elastic

 First cut your material to the correct length

 Fold the edges in about 1in and sew with a 1/4 in seam allowance. This creates an opening in your material to insert the elastic in later.

Next, if you are using the satin binding you simply open it up under your material, lining the inside fold up with the edge of your material.

 Then fold over your material and pin in place

 I burn the edges of my satin binding so they don't fray, you don't want strings hanging off of something your baby will be eating in! Also, I swear I didn't mean to be flipping you all off in this photo. Ha ha.

   Because Satin binding is hard to keep perfectly straight I usually use a zig zag stitch, and sew it "cute side up" so that I can keep it even along the edge.

 Because this is what my back usually ends up looking like. It's not nearly as straight and neat.

 My adorable "helper" for this project :)

 Next cut two strips of elastic 22in long and thread it through not just the satin binding, but also the opening you created in your material, which gives it extra strength. I pin a safety pin on the end of my elastic to make threading it through a million times easier.

Once you get the elastic all the way through you can pin them together so you don't lose either end and do the other side. After that you sew the elastic together, and pin the raw edges of material together and sew the whole thing into a big elastic tube of material.

And you have a simple DIY nursing cover! 

To put it on you put one arm through the top, and keep the other arm inside to support your baby. You wear it kinda like a beauty queen sash. :)

These are my favorite covers because in my opinion they give the most coverage. When your baby is little you can tuck the whole baby inside the cover, and when they are bigger you can have half of their body sticking out the bottom. As your baby gets older they won't be flashing your goods to anyone, because this cover actually stays in place! The only issue I have ever had with it is when my little girl was a newborn and still needed help latching, it was a little hard to maneuver around inside of it and see what I was doing. But once she got better at latching on herself I wouldn't leave the house without it!

Yarn Wreaths

I love the look of yarn wreaths! I've seen them on Etsy, but they cost so much! So I decided to make my own.

I didn't take any pictures along the way, so if anyone wants an actual tutorial on how to make one with pictures let me know. They are pretty self explanatory though. You can buy a Styrofoam wreath at hobby lobby (can you tell how much I love that store?) and then just wrap yarn around it and add whatever you want. 

I wish I had taken pictures of the ones I made as Christmas presents before giving them away to show different styles!

Chocolate Strawberry Hearts

Zoey and I made Chocolate strawberry hearts yesterday :)

 All you need are cut up strawberries, chocolate and an ice tray (or some type of mold) to stick it all in. I have these cute silicone trays I found at the dollar store one year in the shape of hearts, perfect for Valentines day!

  Fill the bottom with chocolate and put strawberries on top

 

Then cover completely in chocolate

 Stick in fridge or freezer to harden

And voila! Is there any better mixture than strawberries and chocolate? I think not

Scrappy Flip Flops

I saw these adorable flip flops on one of my nieces and because I have sooo much extra material I decided to make a few. You can get kids flip flops for just over a dollar at hobby lobby, and since I already had all the material this whole project cost me about $1.50 each pair. If you don't have material or want specific colors I suggest buying a pack of fat quarters from Hobby lobby.

I cut a bunch of material in pieces about 1 in wide and 4 in long. This will of course vary on the size of flip flop you are using.

Wrap the pieces around the straps of the shoes and tie a
knot. 

Alternate the colors and push close together to make fuller.
Repeat until both straps are covered.

Trim to preferred length for your finished product.

I love them, and best of all, so does Zoey!

Mango Chicken Chilli

This is a great recipe if you want a mild Chilli

Ingredients: 

1 package taco seasoning

1 jar Peach and mango Salsa

1 can cream of Mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream

3-4 Chicken breasts

1 cup cooked rice

Frozen corn

1 can black beans

Toppings that you prefer (I use cheese and occasionally green onions)

First you take the Salsa, Taco Seasoning and Cream of mushroom soup

 Place chicken in crock pot and sprinkle with Taco seasoning, then pour salsa and soup over the top. Cook on low 4-6 hours

 When your chicken is fully cooked remove it from the crock pot and shred with a fork, put chicken back in crock pot and cook 30-60  min so it can soak up all the yummy flavor

Cook your Rice, then add it to the crock pot along with your can of black beans and approx one cup frozen corn.

Stir it all up and let it cook until everything is nice and warm

Add one cup sour cream (optional)  right before serving. 

Then add garnish, which I didn't take a picture of but I'm confident you can figure it out on our own. Ha ha.

It's so yummy, and perfect for a cold day, I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!