Hey Everybody, It's Mickey! Today is Saturday July 21st and I'm sharing our July Costco haul, an Erin Condren Life Planner unboxing and a great dinner recipe! I must be crazy to head out to Costco and Target on a Saturday but I am ready to go in my mostly from Target out fit of the day!
My shoes, jeans and ruffle top are all from Target and my Cardigan is from Ann Taylor!
Our July Costco haul is full of some long time favorites like the packaged Rotisserie Chicken that I buy every time I see it, it's always a time saver especially in the Chicken Alfredo Casserole I'm sharing below!
It's has been a while since I received a box from Erin Condren! I was so excited to come home to some happy mail on my front porch! I ordered a 18 month Hourly Life Planner in the Metallic Painted Petals, so beautiful! I also ordered a notebook with their new zippered Planner Folio! I can't wait to share with you all how I use and organize my planner in upcoming videos! If you would like to save $10 on your own Life Planner, Click Here
My project for the day is getting Boo's bedroom back together. She moved into this room after one of her brothers left for college and never had the chance to make it her own. She loves pale blue and gray so we painted and bought some new bedding and curtains to make it a little more hers. I'm sure pictures will follow once we have everything in its place.
So I promised a great recipe using the rotisserie chicken from Costco. This is the easiest recipe and the results are creamy, cheesy and delicious!
For all the ingredients and step by step be sure to watch:
Chicken Alfredo Casserole
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1 1/2 lbs cooked cubed chicken
12oz cooked broccoli
3 cups dry pasta
1-2 jars Alfredo Sauce
1/2 Romano Cheese
2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend
s/p
tsp garlic powder
tsp Mrs Dash
Tsp minced onion
tsp Italian seasoning
Crushed Ritz crackers
Dried Parsley
Cook pasta and broccoli according to package directions. In a large bowl combine cooked chicken, pasta and broccoli. Add Alfredo sauce 1 cup of shredded cheese and 1/4 cup Romano cheese. Mix well. Add seasonings and transfer into a greased 9x13 pan. Top casserole with remaining cheeses and crushed Ritz crackers and sprinkle with parsley. Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
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Joining in with these lovely blogs this week: Ducks In A Row
So today I thought we would spend the day together! Head out on a field trip to my favorite vintage spot, sharing a spring OOTD
and having a sneak peek at our family room rehaul! Today is Friday April 6 and is the first day of my birthday week! The fun started early this morning as the carpet guys can to install our new family room carpet, after school we head to Lucketts Va and visit my favorite vintage antique spot where I always find great inspiration for decorating and maybe even a new piece here and there to add to my collection at home.
I am so happy to share the big project we have been working on; chalk painting our china cabinet in the family room!
I always seem to making something in these vlogs, no food today but I do share an easy DIY on how to make a sweet lambs ear wreath.
It always makes me happy when I can create something that I have a picture of in my head. In this case, I wanted a lambs ear wreath for my kitchen and all the ones I saw on line that I liked were too expensive for my budget. I love the way my wreath turned out and it looks so perfect on the old window frame above the little cabinet in the kitchen.
Click the video below for all the wonderful details!
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Happy New Year Everyone! What a wonderful holiday season! We all spend so much time preparing for Christmas every year and I am always surprised at how fast the days fly by! Our holiday this year was one of the best we have had! Our home was full of friends, family and food! In the videos below I share some ways that we prepared for the holidays this year. Although these days are busy, I am grateful for the happy times we shared! I hope you enjoy watching my Holiday House Tour and please leave me a comment below and let me know what your favorite part of the holiday season is at your house!
Thank you so much for spending some time with me today and I wish all of you a very Happy New Year and may 2017 be full of many blessing for you and your family!
Monday is the big day when I introduce The Elf on the Shelf to my preschool class! In this video I share with you how I wrap it up and reveal our elf friend to my class. This is such a cute idea and can easily be done for your little ones at home. The idea is to make the package look as if it has traveled all the way from the North Pole. Once I get to school in the morning I will put it in the school freezer to get it nice and cold, it came from the North Pole you know! I will have someone radio our classroom to say that we have a special delivery package and the elf magic can begin! Watch the video below to see how you can wrap your own Elf on the Shelf for his big reveal at your house!
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Leave me a comment and let me know what your Elf on the Shelf has been up to at your house or just say Hello!
An unforgettable day holds a special place in your heart and should hold a special spot in your bullet journal as well. The thing I love the best about bullet journaling is that on any given day your journal can be a to-do list to get things done, your schedule for appointments to be met or your diary to record all those big and small moments of your life. Whether good or bad these days are all unforgettable. This past weekend was a big deal in our family, we packed up my son Patrick, loaded the car and we headed to Indiana where he will be attending law school. We all drove out with him to help him move into his new apartment and get settled. Now, this was a big adventure for us as we live in VA so the ride out to Indiana was 12 hours long! Although I would like nothing more then to forget about that drive, it was a big part of the adventure and I wanted to be sure to record it. I may not be the best artist out there, but I do like to doodle in my journal and I thought this would be a great spot to add some artwork. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, especially when you sat in a car for most of the day.
On the next 2 pages is where I recorded the bulk of our trip. Moving in to Pat's apartment on August 5th and visiting the campus on August 6th to see where he will be spending the majority of his time.
To help me record these memories I used the Polaroid Zip Mobile Photo Printer. I was able to take pictures with my cellphone and almost immediately be able to print the pictures out for my journal. The photos are printed out with an adhesive on the back like a sticker which makes them just perfect to use in your journal or life planner.
I found my Polaroid Zip on Amazon during their Prime Days sale. You can find it HERE. This machine is great, it's very small and compact. The Zip works from an app on your phone that allows you to print, make collages etc.
It's so simple to use and is a wonderful addition to your planner supplies. More details on journaling unforgettable days can be found on my YouTube channel:
I hope you have found some helpful ideas that you can use for your own bullet journal. Please leave me a comment below and tell me how you record those special days in your planner. Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next!
Until next time I hope you love the life that you have and I will see you next time!
Everyone loves a party! My favorite parties to give or attend are those celebrating someone special and their accomplishments. We are celebrating two graduations in our house this month, my son is graduating from college and my daughter is graduating from high school. I have taken some time away the last couple of weeks to fully appreciate, enjoy and celebrate my children and their hard earned success. I have so much to share with you about some fun DIY projects I've done to decorate the party with a budget in mind and some party prep tips that can help you organized and prepare for your next party. So make yourself a cup of coffee and sit back, this is a long post with many pictures and not one but two videos attached!
Part 1 DIY Party Decor -
I love including photographs in my party decorating. It allows you a peek into the honoree's life a bit and photos can so easily be adapted into so many budget friendly DIY party decor ideas. Since we were dealing with two different schools with two different sets of school colors, I opted to use my favorite colors and textures for the the party; chalkboard, burlap, twine and craft paper.
An easy way to work photos into your decor would be with a Photo Garland.
So simple to make and they have such a big impact. The only supplies needed are twine, mini clothes pins and a stack of pictures. These photo garlands were in our dinning room where the buffet was laid out. One side of the room had photos of my daughter and the other side had photos of my son.
Inspired by Pinterest, these photo jars were so fun and easy to put together that I ended up creating several to place throughout the party. I chose to use sand as my base for my jars but beads, rocks or colored sand can also be used. Those mini clothespins came into play again attached to the photo it was easy to sink the pin into the sand to help the pic stand up. Once closed the lid can be decorated however you want.
I thought the jars looked great in the table centerpiece too. Every graduation party needs a place to put cards and gifts. This easy to make card box is also a great spot to add pictures of your special graduates.
I found this burlap covered lidded box at Hobby Lobby and I added some pictures to the inside of the lid. I made a small "cards" banner and filled the bottom with burlap and a sprinkling of shredded paper.
I set the card box out on my china cabinet in the den along with pics of the kids and wallet sized graduation pictures for the guests to keep.
We also used our graduates pictures in our party invitation. I am a bit old fashion, I think every good party begins with a formal snail mailed invitation. There are so many online sites that allow you to upload some pictures and create an invitation perfect for your party. I found a template on Snapfish that fit perfectly with our theme.
You can find more information about the DIY projects you see here by watching my YouTube video below:
Part 2 Party Prep -
I really enjoy prepping for a big party. I start as far in advanced of the big day as possible, gathering ideas and recipes. I keep everything organized in a party binder that I put together years ago. Inside I keep details of the parties I've had in the past like menus, guest list etc.
I keep all my working list in here from shopping list, timeline prep and even cleaning and organizing lists. Especially with something like a graduation there is a lot of paper work to keep track of, cap/gown orders, announcement orders, graduation weekend schedules etc. I always store any recipes that I will be making for a party in this binder as well. It really is an invaluable tool to help me feel prepared.
I like to set out my dishes and platters, serving pieces and utensils on the buffet several days before the party. It helps me visually see what I have and how its best organized on the table. I also like to label every dish using a post it note with what will be put in every dish. This helps me stay organized and also allows someone who is helping know where everything goes.
I wanted something special for our guest to sign with out being a formal guest book and Pinterest came through for me again. We used the Dr. Seuss book "Oh The Places You'll Go" for my daughter who will be going to school to be a Literature teacher. Everyone wrote a little note to her with some special advise or just well wishes. For my son, I had everyone sign a Jenga piece. Everyone seem to enjoy the idea and we had so many laughs reading the messages.
Photo: www.thelettermate.com
We had stacks of announcements and invitations to send out and this envelope addressing stencil by The Lettermate was so helpful. It is a stencil that you put over your envelopes that help you keep your lines straight. If you are like me, I am good for about 10 envelopes and then my handwriting gets all wonky. This little gadget was such a big help. They can be found here and are under $10. The Letterman website has such great ideas on fun and creative ways to address envelopes.
For more information on all these party prep ideas, please watch:
Milestones, like graduations, are worth celebrating in a big way and so worth the time and effort put in. I truly believe that these are the times of our lives that are remembered most. If you have made it to the end of this post THANK YOU! I have loved sharing our celebration with you. I hope you will take a minute to subscribe to my channel on YouTube and to follow the blog. Leave me a comment below and let me know what you are celebrating this month. Until next time, I hope you love the life that you have and I will see you all next time.
Preparing for the holidays, any holiday, is one of my favorite things to do. I love the holidays so much because they mean that I will be surrounded by the people I love the most and everyone is happy to be together. We always gather for a huge meal, usually full of much loved traditional dishes, Easter is no different. We gather with a few family and friends to celebrate Easter Sunday. I thought it would be fun to take you all along with me while I do some of my Easter prep. There are usually three steps to prepping for a holiday meal. the table, the food, and the buffet. For the tablescape this year, I chose to go with a pink and white theme. Pink always reminds me of spring and and white is my favorite color of table linens and place settings.
I like to start with the centerpiece to help bring color to the table. I usually like to use some kind of live arrangement. I found this pretty pot of flowers at Walmart for under $10 and I thought the ability to plant it in the yard after Easter was an added bonus.
Keeping with the pink theme I wrapped the pot in some pink tissue and sparkly ribbon. This always dresses the centerpiece for the celebration!
The adorable napkins I purchased at the dollar spot at my favorite Target. They are really Tea Towels but I thought they were so cute and my family could use a little extra napkin space!
One of the recipes we make every year to go along with our Easter ham is something we call Grammy's Pineapple Bake. This is a recipe I got from my friends grandmother, it has been in their family for decades. The recipe only has a few ingredients and it is so easy to throw together.
Grammy's Pineapple Bake
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
a pinch of salt
3 slightly beaten eggs
1 20oz can of (Dole) crushed pineapple
5 slices of white sandwich bread
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 9x11 casserole dish with non stick cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together with a hand mixer, the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the pinch of salt and the beaten eggs. Add the crushed pineapple and mix with a spoon until blended. Tear the 5 slices of bread into tiny pieces and add to the mix. Stir until well blended. Let sit for 5 minutes. Stir mix and add to prepared casserole dish. Bake in 350 oven for 40-45 minutes, until top is just beginning to turn brown.
This recipe is great with your Easter ham!
For the holidays, we eat buffet style. We sit down in the dinning room and the food is laid out in the kitchen. I always place my platters and dishes out early so I can be sure I will have what I need. I put out the serving pieces and the warming trays too. It helps me feel like I'm prepared!
Looking for more information on my Easter Prep? Check out this video!
Thank you so much for spending some time with me today and I hope you take a minute to subscribe. Leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite part of spring is.
It's time for my February Favorites! These are the items that I have used and loved in the month of February. There are some beauty items, kitchen items and, of course, you must have a candle thrown in there too if your doing a favorites post. So let's jump right in shall we!
I just love the Dandelion Necklace from Bauble Bar! I had purchased it a few months ago, wore it a few times and then stuck it in my drawer. I pulled it out a few weeks ago and remembered why I loved it so much! Although the Dandelion necklace is very sparkly it is subtle, it's the perfect necklace to wear to work but you could also dress it up easily. The chain is a brushed gold finish that I think gives the necklace a vintage look, which I always love.
I have tried so many skin care items at various price points over my adult life with varying results. Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting Liquid is one of the few skin care products that I have used and had almost immediate results with. In about a week my skin was smoother and my pores were reduced. Paula's Choice is a liquid so I used it with a cotton round in the morning and evening with my regular skin care routine. My skin can be sensitive but I had no issue with this product. I have already repurchased this item and it has become a permanent part of my everyday skin care routine!
Now, I love me some hair products! The Short Sexy Hair Texturizing Spray has been so helpful keeping my unruly hair in place. After I heat style my hair, I have been spray this texturizing spray through out my hair, I let it set and my hair is much more manageable. My hair stays in place with out any heavy residue that weighs the hair down. Love it, this too has been a permanent addition to my hair routine!
Now an item for all my planner friends. Frixion Gel Pens by Pilot are pens that are erasable using the hard rubber tip on the top of the pen. I have used erasable pens in the past with out much success. They have always smeared, faded and made a mess all over my hands as I used them. The Frixion Gel Pens are nothing like the pens of the past. The colors are vibrant and can be erased completely with out damaging your paper or leaving a residue behind. Frixion Gel Pens by Pilot are the perfect choice to color coordinator your calendars and planners.
For entertainment this month, like many of you I'm sure, my favorite choice has been Downton Abbey Season 6 DVD. My daughter and I have loved this series and are so sad that the 6th season is the final season. We have loved the fashions, the homes, the scenery and without a doubt the phenomenal Maggie Smith. We always re watch a few seasons to be sure we remember all the glorious details. Although we are not finished watching the 6th season, so far it is just wonderful!
Now, it wouldn't be a favorites list with out a candle and the Dashing Through the Snow candle from Bath & Body Works is a new favorite. I am more of a savory Fall and Winter fragrance girl then a sweet Spring and Summer fragrance girl so I usually purchase enough candles in the Fall and Winter to last me all year long. This candle has the balsam notes that I love from the Fresh Balsam candle along with winter musk and a "jingle" of citrus. I wish I had purchase a few more Dashing Through the Snow candles, hopefully they will be back next year!
I loved the Wire Milk Crate basket, that I found at Target, so much that I bought 3 of them! I have been using all 3 of them in my office, two on the bookcase and one on my desk. This basket can be used anywhere, its a gray wire basket with cooper colored handles.
Now, off to the kitchen for the remainder of my February Favorites. My first Kitchen favorite is a cute little baking gadget. The OXO Cupcake Corer is a little gadget you use to core a cupcake preparing it for a filling. I am a big baker and cupcakes are a family favorite. To fill a cupcake, in the past, I have gone at the poor thing with a knife,gouging out the center. This little gadget makes this whole process easier and neater.
I have been a dedicated user of Mrs Meyers counter spray for years. Although I really like Mrs Meyers, sometimes the fragrances can be a bit overwhelming for me and sometimes it leaves my counter top dull looking. So I had been shopping for something new when I came across J.R. Watkins All Purpose Cleaner. J.R. Watkins has a line of products, hand soap, lotions, and other cleaning products. This all purpose cleaner had a fresh grapefruit scent and left my counters shiny. I still like Mrs Meyers, her cranberry scent that comes out around the holidays is still one of my favorites, but it's fun to try something new.
The last thing on my February Favorites list are Halo's Mandarin Oranges. My whole family goes through bags of these this time of year. They are so sweet and are so easy to peel. Even my preschool students love them, they fit into their tiny hands just perfectly. These oranges are the perfect snack to take with you or pack in your lunch. Love them!
I share more about my February Favorites here:
Thanks so much for visiting me today, I hope you will take a minute to leave me a comment and let me know what some of your February Favorites are. Don't forget to subscribe!
Hello Friends!
