Put a Wreath On It

Yesterday, I had a nice little craft-ernoon and made this beauty! It was super easy, and I love how fun and summery it is!

 

 

Here's a quick how-to!

You will need a Styrofoam wreath and drink umbrellas (wreath from Hobby Lobby, umbrellas from Party City). I used a 16 inch wreath, and about 100 umbrellas.

                                             I literally tore into the box I was so excited!

Okay... here are 2 little tricks I figured out. 1: The wreath I got wasn't as 'spongey' as normal Styrofoam, so it was hard to stick that whole toothpick in there. Instead, I broke it in half... success!! 2: You don't want to push the umbrella into the wreath because its fragile and could break. Instead, take the part that you broke off and create a hole for the umbrella to fit into.

Once you get started, it goes really fast!

 

And VOILA! A cute summer wreath!

 

Have a great Tuesday!!

Book Worm

Happy Monday, everyone! I have had GREAT book karma this summer! Every book I've picked up has been really amazing... so here I am to share the wealth!

                                                         (How To Be Lost)
A story about a family and their struggles through alcoholism, depression and a missing child. Suspension and mystery until the end.

                                                         (Garden of Stones)
This book is my favorite so far... A Japanese American family taken to an internment camp after Pearl Harbor. Switches between their time there, and San Francisco in 1978. Struggles and pain continue through 3 generations of women. Could. Not. Put. It. Down.

                                                     (Water for Elephants)
A fun and easy read! A love story that centers around life in the circus. I haven't yet seen the movie, but its on my list!

                                                          (Gone Girl)
A story of a couple and their difficult marriage. Suspense builds when the Nick Dunne's wife disappears and continues throughout the book as the reader learns more and more about their relationship. Would be an awesome book for a book club! So good!

What books are you loving? I am always taking suggestions!! :)

Weekend Recap!

And another great summer weekend comes to an end! We had an awesome one at the lake... boating, grilling, visiting with friends and just plain relaxing! Oh, and not to mention- shopping :)

Proverbial red white & blue outfit

{skirt- JCrew, top- Urban Outfitters}

                           
                                     (I'm still trying to figure out these selfie pics...haha)

                                                    Had to make the nails festive, too!
                                     {polish- Essie's Bikini so Teeny, watch- Michael Kors}

    I made a veggie pizza, the perfect summer appetizer!

       (Recipe to come ...)

And then my hubs took me to the outlet mall early on Sunday morning- every store I went into was 50 % off!

 

                                                  Lightweight sweater from J. Crew

 

                                                 Long sleeve shirt also from J. Crew

                                      Cotton dress from Banana Republic- perfect for teaching!

 

Now we're just relaxing at home (well- I'm relaxing... Tommy is mowing the lawn...) and having a laid back dinner. Tommy's having leftovers, I'm going to try this from Trader Joe's! Looks good!

                                                  
Hope y'all had a great 4th of July!!

Friday Five: Guilty Pleasures

We all have them... things that we love but feel a little "guilty" enjoying them. For me this "guilt" is because I know some of these things are silly... but I love them nonetheless!

Law & Order SVU: Gah... I just love it! I probably have about 20 episodes at a time on my DVR.

Diet Coke: I know how bad it is for me, so I only have one or two a week. Don't know if I'll ever be able to totally kick the habit... oh well :)

Real Housewives of OC: This one is shameful... I don't know what it is, but this show has me hooked.

Demi Lovato: This one is silly too, but her music is cute, catchy and great for the gym!

Statement Necklaces: I must confess, I've been bad lately! I bought 3 necklaces from Groopdealz, two from eBay, and one from J Crew.... whoops! The next one was cuter than the last, I couldn't help myself. I can't wait for Mr. Mailman to bring them!!! :)


What are some of your guilty pleasures?

Have a nice weekend!

Happy Birthday, America!!

Happy 4th everyone!! I love this holiday- fireworks, family time, beer... what could be better?

                                                                            (source)
Today my husband and I are having his parents over for dinner, and then leaving for the lake tomorrow!

Stay safe and have fun today!

Quinoa Mac n Cheese

 

Last night I made quinoa mac n' cheese for the first time. I had never had quinoa before, and neither had my husband... but it was a hit! I posted about it on Facebook and got some requests for the recipe, so I figured I'd post it! I got the original recipe from Pinterest, but I made quite a few tweaks.

What You Need
-1 cup quinoa
-2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth if you're a vegetarian)
-2 eggs
-1 cup milk
-2 cups cheese
-1/2 cup bread crumbs
-salt/pepper

What You Do
-Rinse your quinoa- either with a fine mesh strainer OR if you don't have one (I don't) just swirl some water around in a pot and then pour the water out
-Bring your quinoa and broth to a boil for 5 minutes, then simmer covered for 15 minutes
-Preheat oven to 350
-In a casserole dish whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper
-Once quinoa is done, add to egg mixture
-Add cheese and mix together
-Sprinkle bread crumbs on top
-Bake for 30 mins of until top is browned

I used a combination of colby jack, cheddar and pepper jack cheeses... but use whatever you like or have in the fridge!

Enjoy!

Target Buys + Movies

 

If there is one store that I can ALWAYS find something great in, its Target (or Targe as I lovingly refer to it). I stopped by there this past weekend.... and it was no exception. I can't honestly remember what I went in there to get, but I walked out with an armful of goodies!

 

 

Pens, post its, shoes and jewelry- what more could a girl want?

 

I have been eyeing these shoes for some time, so I finally gave in! They aren't so practical in the summer, but I know I'll get good use out of them during the school year.

And with school meetings starting in about a month, I decided to pick up some new pens and post its! (I know I'm a dork but I'm super excited!!) And ps, these pens are awesome! They have a really fine point and bright colors...love! Oh, did I mention that they were on sale?

Last but not least there was the jewelry aisle... In my defense, I had to walk through there to check out!

                      These earrings look just like Kate Spade but for a fraction of the price.

 

And on a completely unrelated note, I am just dying to get to the movies! I can usually wait until a movie comes out on Red Box, but these three movies look great.

Monster's University

The Heat

 

                                                                      World War Z

 

  

Have a good day!!