Pinterest, you give me all the best recipes.

Good Morning! It's Tuesday and I'm feeling pretty darn good today.  I think it may be the extra sleep that I got this morning or maybe its just the sunshine but for the first time in a few weeks, I'm ready to start the day without a pot of coffee.

Not that I'd make coffee on most days.  I get too busy with other stuff.

So I found an awesome recipe on Pinterest the other day. I know.  You. Are. Shocked.

Puddin'Head frosting.  The blogger over at Not Just Cute posted this simple recipe, along with a ton of things to use it on.  I'm (not) ashamed to admit I've just been eating it straight out of the container I made it in.  Yeah, it went on a cake too but it's just delicious on it's own.

Don't judge me.

Here it is.  Puddin' Head in all it's delicious whipped glory.  I'm thinking this is my new go to frosting since it's cheap, simple, quick and easily customizable.  All you do is mix a package of instant pudding and half of the milk it calls for on the box.  Once the pudding begins to thicken up a bit, fold in a container of whipped cream.

And done.   Seriously, a 5 minute frosting.

I used vanilla but I'm positive just about any pudding flavor would be delicious. I love how this stuff tastes too... Not overpoweringly sweet but not as bland as some of the other whipped frostings.

I'm thinking of stuffing it between to cookies today.  Um. Yes.  I am going to do that.



So today's Summer Blog Challenge Prompt is...

Share a black and white photo you've taken.

I don't really take black and white photos.  I like color...  So how about I share what I took a picture of the other day!

That was taken from my deck the other day after a storm.  Please note the grey.  This almost fulfills today's SBC requirements of black and white. ;)

Until next time, Happy Tuesday!

Pinterest Pick! DIY Felt Matching Game

I'm late!  So, yesterday I ended up having to spend some time at the dr.  Turns out I over reacted (as usual) and in turn, missed my Pinterest Pick.

Yeah.

So this week, I'm going to share an activity I found that's not only fun to make but educational as well!  My two kids helped put this together and have played with it since.  (Even though it's probably meant for younger ones...)

So Dandee at Dandee-designs.com made an amazing felt and wood matching game.  Sure, you can buy a matching game with at any store but this is SO MUCH BETTER.  

The awesome thing about this craft is that while a tutorial is provided at Dandee Design, you do not need one.  Turns out I made mine a little differently than the blogger that originally made these.

These are the supplies I used.  Oh. And Fabric Glue.  But I'm sure that you could use hot glue or tacky glue  The wood disks are easily obtainable at any craft store.  I found my bag of 22 at Michaels.

All you have to do is cut shapes out of felt and glue them to the disks. Easy easy.  

I chose to do basic shapes but the possibilities are endless. Animals, bugs, letters... I'm even thinking that it would be fun to mod podge pictures of familiar faces on these things.  (Who'd have thought that wooden disks would be so fun?)

Oh!  And I chose to match the colors of the shapes.  That way it's not just matching shapes but colors as well.

Seriously, how cute is this? And it's so cheap to make!  The disks were 2.99 for a package of 22. The felt is .29 a sheet. You only need a little bit so I'm guessing you'll already have it in your stash.  If you don't, don't be afraid to play with other ideas.  Paper, other fabrics, paint... Seriously, the possibilities are endless.

So there it is! And here's a Valentines Day tip! Make small sets to send with the preschooler you know that's having a Valentine's Day Party. You could include a note that says "We make a great match, Valentine!"

(I'm all about anti candy crafty Valentines favors)

In fact, be ready for a Valentines post this week.  With Vday just around the corner, we all need some last minute ideas.

Happy Tuesday!

Pinterest Pick of the Week! Slow Cooked Chili

Ah ha!

After a week end of issues signing in, I'm finally back!  Wooo!  (Not sure what was up...)

Either way, it's that time of week again. Time for my latest Pinterest Pick!

"We want the room reveal!" my imaginary readers are shrieking.  I know you do... But I think I'm going to hold off for OOOOOONE more project. Just one. I promise.  It'll be worth it.

Instead, I'm going to explode with enthusiasm over the chili recipe that I found!  

Okay, so I'm a HUGE chili fan.  There are few things I find as satisfying as a bowl of chili.  Especially when it's slow cooked for.ev.er. So when I cam across this awesome base recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to give it a go.

The recipe itself is simple. Throw the handful of basic ingredients into a crock pot for 8-10 hours on low and tada!!!! Chili.  But like i said.  It's a base recipe.  The beauty of this recipe is that you can add nearly anything you want and it's going to be amazing.  So I added corn, mushrooms, extra ground turkey, black beans and a can of Rotel.  You know... for an extra kick.

Wanna know what I got at the end of the day?

This amazingly amazing chili.  It was hearty enough to eat on it's own but we paired it with cornbread.  (Which, by the way, was too dry. Gotta work on that...)  Not only did it smell and taste amazing, it made enough for hubby and I to enjoy leftovers for DAYS. (I even gave some away!) All for next to nothing. 

Wanna try it too? Here's the base recipe, which started out on allrecipes.com before being pinned!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 (16 ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• Shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Transfer to a slow cooker. Add the next nine ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4 hours. Garnish individual servings with cheese if desired.

Holy wow! One step. That's awesome. 

If you make it (and you should!) leave me a comment and let me know what YOU added to it.  I've been reading all over the net the different things you can. Everything from beer to cocoa powder. Please, some one tell me they've tried the cocoa powder and it was amazing.  Cause for some reason, it sounded delicious to me. 

Ah, chili. You are a delicious dish indeed.

Pinterest Pick of the Week!

Ah, Monday.  And not just any Monday.  It's the very first week of the Pinterest Pick of the week. Oh, do I have a gem for you!

So not long ago, I was doing what I do best and browsing pinterest.  Not really looking for anything in particular, I came across a pin for something called a "Mind Jar."

(Tada! A Mind Jar!)

The Mind Jar is literally a glittery fluid filled jar.  Almost snow globe like.  According to the blogger, she uses this as a replacement for time outs.  Whenever there's a tantrum or some upset, she shakes the jar and the child is to sit and watch the glitter fall to the bottom.  It should take about five minutes for it all to settle.  By the end of that time, the child is calm/distracted from the original issues.

Sounds pretty awesome, right?  I thought so too.  Luckily, the original blogger posted abit of a tutorial for this awesome idea.  Hot water, a tube of glitter glue and glitter combined in a jar will create the mind jar.

And there's no science behind it.  Seriously.  I just added without measuring anything.  

I added blue food coloring to my water because, well, I like blue. But feel free to add whatever color you want. Or don't. It's all up to you.  So this is my "Mind Jar" all non shaken like.

And here it is all shaken up!  

Beautiful.  And believe it or not, it works!  Anytime there's any anxiety in the house, the Mind Jar is shaken up and watched.  The kids tend to get impatient waiting for it to settle but they always end up calming right down. Maybe it should be a Calm Down Jar? 

It definitely should be... Even Jon and I use it just to recenter when we get over whelmed.

(We use it more than the children, honestly.)

I'm giving this Pinterest a 2 thumbs up.  Even if you DON'T have children, this is an amazing tool for calming. And it's way pretty to look at.

Want to make your own?  Head over to Herewearetogether.com for a basic tutorial.  And if you do, be sure to leave me a comment and let me know if I'm the only one entranced by the awesomely awesome Mind Jar.