Easter Cake Balls

On Sunday we had a cookout with some friends from our community group and I volunteered to contribute the dessert. Since most of us are working on eating healthier, I wanted something bite-sized for dessert so that I that we would not eat 1,000 calories worth of dessert. So I decided what better bite-sized dessert is there than cake balls!

On Saturday night I whipped up a batch (using the crubmled cake-icing method for the inside), dipped them in fun springy green white chocolate, and covered them in Easter Sprinkles!

 

Once the chocolate had hardened, I placed a piece of parchment paper in my easter basket and arranged them inside.

 I love the "eggs in the easter basket" look! Such a fun way to transport cake balls!

 Really, they just made me smile! I love love love this super easy dessert! Makes me want to make another batch just to look at them!

Spring Flowers

You may remember when I shared my Spring Mantle (here) that I opted to use real flowers that I found in our yard. Well, a week later they were starting to get a bit crispy. So I threw out the old, and set about finding new blooms...still from our yard!

I started with some beautiful dogwood branches in the vase on the entryway table. They had just bloomed and still look fresh!

 For the pitcher on the mantle, I did something I thought I would never do. I stole flowers from the outside! We planted parrot tulips a couple of years ago and they just came up about 2 weeks ago. I love the way that they dress up the outside of the house, but I figured three for the mantle was no biggie :)

 I love the way that they just sort of have a mine of their own. And they are a lovely pop of color!

 I also replaced the old branches in the mason jar with dogwoods.

 I think they are so cute! I really love the look of fresh flowers in the living room!

Also, for a little bit of accountability for us, I wanted to put this out there. Michael and I have decided both for the sake of our dietary changes and mainly for the sake of finances, we are going to take a fast from eating out (lunch, dinner, dessert, etc.) for the entire month of April. We figure we spend $300-400 a month on that junk and its something that we can live without for a month to help pay off other things. I am also hoping that cooking at home a lot more will give my diet another kick-start!

So, my local friends/family, if you invite us out and we politely decline, know that we love you and have a conviction and a reason for turning you down. We are totally okay with having people over or eating in at other people's houses, just trying to cut the money for a bit! :)

Mom's Birthday Cake

Hey friends! I for once have quite a few little projects that I need to get posted on here! This one, I could not WAIT to show you guys!

We celebrated my sweet momma's birthday on Friday. I was commissioned to make the cake. I have this bad habit of putting lots of effort into cakes that I am being paid for, but then slacking when I make them for the ones that I love. So I decided to make this one a labor of love and part of our gift to her. She has always loved when I did basketweave piping on cakes, but it has been years since I have done it! So when I was planning her cake, I knew I wanted to incorporate that at least on part of it.

 I wanted to fill the basket with something, like maybe fruit or flowers. I settled on hydrangeas because they are one of the prettiest spring plants in my opinion!

 Here is the top view. I decided to mix the blue in for some contrast.

 I had initially planned to make the bottom cake white too, but then I thought it would be really fun to make that lavender. That is actually what inspired the hydrangeas. I could not be more pleased with the way that it turned out!

So one last time, Happy Birthday Mom! I love you and I hope that you enjoyed (and are still enjoying...I made way too much!) your cake!

DIY Thursday: File Cabinet Makeover Pt1

Its DIY Thursday!

Today's project shows how I used EAD Designs Vinyl to recover my pee green file cabinet. It is so much easier than paint and so much less messy! This is only Part 1, there is more to do! Head on over to EAD Designs to see how I did it!

My Newest Addition!

Betcha thought this post was going to be about a pet, child or decor item? Nope! As I mentioned on here oh...forever ago (btw I had a huge relapse since then), and then again right after my hospital scare, I have been on a journey to make healthy lifestyle changes and get in shape. I really committed to this back in mid-January and have lost 15lbs so far, just working out 4 days a week and eating healthy.

Probably 80% of the problem for me when I am trying to get in shape is that I get really bored with doing the same workout day in and day out. Also my body adjusts to them and they stop working. So this time I have been constantly looking for new ways to work out.

Recently my husband got into kettlebell fitness and I can see that he is having great results. I have wanted to start using them too, because I know they are great, but his is way over my weight limit. So today I was in WalMart and came across one just my size for $15! I couldn't walk away. I figure that he can teach me the moves that he does and help me out with it. Only problem was that I wanted to try it tonight and he had to work! So I started scouring the web and found this workout:
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/around-the-body-pass?workout=21113

It actually is not super hard. I have been using an 8 lbs kettlebell. Most of the movements are pretty easy, like this one:

However, after doing several reps you start to feel it. I also really love the swings, because I can feel them in my core.

I did the full workout in 2 circuits, waited an hour and half (a bad storm hit and I decided to chill and wait it out...tornado warnings, etc) and then 2 more full circuits when the storm was done. It was a great workout! I know I will be feeling it in the morning! Anyone looking to start a workout or to diversify the one that they are doing, I would HIGHLY recommend getting a kettlebell!

I will let you know how trying to do these with my husband goes!

Spring Mantle

Happy Saturday, friends! The other day I decided that I had had enough of our winter mantle, so I decided to switch all of that chilly decor out for some spring! I was wanting to do it without spending anything, so I went outside and cut some blooms and branches to use in the livingroom.

For the entryway, I placed some branches in my quatrefoil vase and then filled my cloche with jute wrapped eggs that I made last year and some moss balls.

 For the mantle, I rearranged a lot of what was already there and brought my cute Phaltzgraff pitcher in and filled in with branches.

 Its so cheerful and bright! I know they will wilt soon, but I plan to juse keep replacing them with other branches. I am rebelling against the concept of buying fake ones!

 For the other end, I filled a ball jar with water and placed some blooms in that as well.

 Its such a cheerful change to the feel of the living room. We are spending a lot more time wit the windows open so it even feels and smells more Springy.

 I also filled my little decanter with water, snipped some greens and placed them in the water. It turned out so cute!

There you have it! our lovely Spring mantle and cute little entryway vignette. Have you done anything to spring up your house? I plan to try to do some spring cleaning today!

DIY Thursday: Monogrammed Pail

Its DIY Thursday!

Today's project shows how I used EAD Designs Vinyl to turn a simple white pail into a beautiful spring decoration! I am IN LOVE with the way it turned out!  Head on over to EAD Designs to see how I did it!