What I Wore

The weather this week has been beautiful!

All of you back East are going to hate me for saying this but it has felt like Spring in the middle of January!

Most of the week it has been in the high 70's or low 80's.

Anyways, here are my week's worth of outfits!

Enjoy!

shirt: Banana Republic

cardigan: Forever 21

jeggings: Forever 21

boots: Cathy Jean

teal sweater top: Target maternity (back when I was prego with Mackenzie)

cardigan: Target

jeggings: Forever 21

boots: Cathy Jean

necklace: Forever 21

my baby bump!

top: H&M (with blank tank underneath)

jeggings: Forever 21

boots: Cathy Jean

ruffle sleeve shirt: H&M

( with a blank tank underneath)

jeans: H&M maternity

flats: Naturalizer

dress: Macy's

belt: vintage

boots: Cathy Jean

Can you tell I like my new boots? Aaron was joking with me the other day saying, "Are you going to ever wear any of your other shoes?"

blue tank: Motherhood Maternity

cardigan: vintage

jeans: H&M maternity

flats: Naturalizer

brown tank: local boutique

cardigan: Nordstroms

jeans: H&M maternity

flats: Naturalizer

Princess Wand Tutorial

Remember Mackenzie's princess party way back in the beginning of December?

I'm finally getting around to posting the tutorials for the party favors I made.

I know...I can be a major slacker!

Today I'm going to show you how to make a princess (or prince!) wand and Thursday I'll show you how to make a princess crown/tiara.

I made most of the wands for Mackenzie's party very girly for all the princesses

but I also made a few more manly versions for the princes.

Ok let's begin:

You will need:
-wooden dowels (I got mine in a package from Michaels or Walmart...I bought them so long ago I can't remember where I found them)
-felt
-ribbon
-hot glue gun
-puffy paint (optional)

Step 1:
Cut out two star shape templates, one slightly larger than the other.
(When I make templates for anything I usually try to use cardstock if I have any laying around, otherwise I just use some scrap paper.)

Step 2:
Using your templates, cut the two star shapes out of felt.
Then, using the larger of the two star templates, cut one more slightly larger star shape out of felt. This will be used for the back of the wand.

Step 3:
Cut 3 pieces of ribbon for each wand. You can make them as short or long as you like, depending on the length of your dowel.

All that pretty ribbon makes me happy :)

Step 4:
Layer the 3 pieces of ribbon on top of each other,

and tie in a knot around the top of your dowel.

Repeat a zillion times if you are making them as party favors :)

Step 5:
Hot glue the smallest star onto the next largest star. These 2 pieces will be the front of your wand.
*Please note you should NOT glue the largest star (which will be the back piece) on yet! This picture is totally misleading. Sorry!

Step 6:
Grab the largest star (the back piece) and hold it in your hand.

Apply a generous amount of hot glue in the center of the star, then stick the dowel with the ribbon down into it.

*I think I also added a tiny bit of hot glue to attach the ribbon knot to the dowel to make it extra secure.

Step 7:
Apply a generous amount of hot glue to the entire star (being careful not to go too far out to the edges because a bit of it will show from the front) and then quickly and carefully attach the front star piece, sandwiching the ribbon and dowel in between the two layers.

And there you have it!

A beautiful princess wand!

As a last minute detail before the party I decided to add each child's name to the front of the wand with puffy paint.
I didn't want there to be any fights over who had who's wand since they were all a little different.

As a craft during the party I even let the kids decorate the back of their wands with glitter. The kids had a great time and it ended up turing out really cute. Check out the details here :)

Don't forget to check back on Thursday for the princess crown tutorial.

But in the meantime,
happy wand making!

And as always, feel free to contact me with any questions :)

Yum

Last night I stumbled across this 2 ingredient fudge recipe.

It looks dangerous, very dangerous.

And oh so good!

I think it would be a great Valentines Day treat to make for our neighbors!

What are some of your favorite

and easy

homemade treats?

Most embarrassing Mom moment

Yesterday I had my most embarrassing Mom moment to date.

I'll walk you through it...

I run to the grocery store before dinner to grab a quick loaf of bread.

I'm walking down a teeny tiny aisle of the grocery store looking for the kind of bread I need when the following conversation takes place:

Mackenzie (in a very loud voice): "Mommy, I don't like that lady!" (speaking about the lady who is standing right next to us)

Me: "Baby! That is not kind. We don't talk like that. You don't even know that lady. I'm sure she's very nice."

Lady: "Why don't you like me? I'm a nice lady."

Me (feeling awful): "I'm so sorry! Mackenzie, you need to apologize to the lady for talking unkindly."

Mackenzie: "I'm sorry."

Mackenzie starts to smile realizing that the lady really is nice.

The lady smiles back, turns around and starts to walk away but is still very close by.

Mackenzie (again very loud): "Mommy! She is a nice lady! She just has scary teeth!"

So embarrassing.

What's your most embarrassing Mom moment?

Copy Cat Panera Bread, Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe

I love soup.

During the fall and winter

{or let's be honest, any time of the year}

I could eat it everyday.

Add a yummy salad and a baguette

and I'm in food heaven.

The other day Aaron, the kids and I went to Panera Bread for dinner.

I got their broccoli cheese soup (which I haven't had in a while)

and after the first bite I knew I was in trouble.

Now I pretty much crave it daily.

It's that good!

So, what did I do as soon as I got home?

Went on the Internet to find a Panera Bread Broccoli Cheese soup copy cat recipe, of course!

I know, I'm crazy like that.

Anyways, I found one that was almost as good as the real one from Panera Bread.

I thought I'd share it with you guys.

Enjoy!

Copy Cat Panera Bread

Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

-1 tablespoon butter (for onions)

-1/2 medium onion, chopped

-1/4 cup butter

-1/4 cup flour

-2 cups half and half

-2 cups chicken stock

(I added another cup or more of milk)

-1/2 pound broccoli cut up small (now that I'm writing this out for you guys, I realized that I read it wrong and added more broccoli then I should have. Opps!)

-1 cup carrots, julienned (about 1 carrot. I just shredded it with a peeler.)

-8 ounces grated sharp cheddar

-salt and pepper to taste

-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Step 1:

Saute onion in butter

(I also added some of the broccoli stock to soften it up a bit).

Set aside.

Step 2:

Melt butter in pot.

Add flour to melted butter,

and whisk continuously over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.

Step 3:

Stirring continuously, slowly add the half and half.

Add the chicken stock, whisking all the time.

Let simmer for 20 minutes.

Step 4:

Add the broccoli, carrots and onion.

Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender.

Step 5:

Add salt and pepper (the soup should be thickened by now).

Add cheese and stir until well blended.

Step 6:

Stir in nutmeg

and serve!

Yumm!!

*I have a question for all of you who know much more about cooking then I do....

It seemed like the soup wasn't quite as smooth as I would have liked. I think it had to do something with the flour not incorporating all the way.

Does anyone know why that might happen?

I only cooked the flour and butter mixture for 3 minutes instead of 5. Maybe that wasn't long enough? Thanks for your thoughts!

What I Wore

Hey Guys!

Hope everyone is having a great week.

Here's my usual Wednesday rendition of "What I Wore"

enjoy!

red top: Macy's

jeans: H&M maternity

boots: Emu

shirt: Banana Republic

jeans: H&M maternity

ruffle flats: Payless

and because I'm always freezing I threw a cardigan on top.

cardigan: Macy's

This is one of my favorite after Christmas purchases.

If you love Banana Republic clothes but hate spending the money on them you must check out their day-after-Christmas sale.

I go every year and stock up on a bunch of things.

I think this shirt was originally $65 and I got it for $18.

I love a good deal!

sweater top: H&M

jeggings: Forever 21 (real leggings material)

boots: Cathy Jean

shirt: Target maternity

jacket: Macy's

jeggings: Forever 21

black boots: H&M

ruffle top: Target

cardigan: Forever 21

jeggings: Forever 21

boots: H&M

black long sleeve top underneath: Target maternity

wrap: Old Navy maternity

jeans: H&M maternity

flats: Naturalizers

hair clip: Made by me

Baby belly :)

teal tank: Old Navy

cardigan: Forever 21

jeggings: Forever 21

boots: Cathy Jean

necklace: Forever 21

Now for a word on jeggings.

If you are pregnant you need a pair, or in my case 3.

If you are not pregnant you still need a pair or 3.

They are the most comfortable thing you have ever worn.

Seriously.

And they are so cheap!

I bought the 3 pairs above all from Forever 21 (they have a huge selection).

The pair on the left was $13 and the two others were $9 each.

How can you beat that!

Plus they fit perfectly into tall boots (which most of my regular jeans don't).

*The two pairs on the left are a thin jean material while the pair on the far right is actual legging material that just looks like jean.

Along with my beloved jeggings

I also have 2 other maternity jeans that I love.

The pair on the left is from H&M. I think it is called their straight leg maternity jean.

They are super comfy and I love the top part that goes over your belly.

I actually loved them so much that I bought 2 pairs.

I think they were $24.95 each.

The other pair is from Old Navy.

It's a skinny jean (maternity) with the underbelly waistband.

I like them so much because they are long enough for me (I'm 5'9.)

which is hard to find, especially in maternity pants.

What were or are some of your favorite maternity pants/clothes?