Caprese Inspired Salad

Since Insalata Caprese literally means "salad in the style of Capri" (thank you, Wikipedia), I guess I need to ask this question: Can a salad inspire a salad? I think so! I looove a good Caprese salad.

So this recipe is just something I thought up while scrounging around the kitchen trying to figure out what to eat for lunch. I'm sure you've been there :)

Have you seen these squeezable containers of fresh herbs? They carry them at my local WalMart in the produce section. I always keep the basil blend on hand because it has a longer shelf life and it is way more cost effective than buying basil every couple weeks when I need it.

So here's what I did:

1. Place a small handful of spring mix (baby spinach, arugula, etc.) in a bowl.
2. Top with a handful of chopped Roma tomatoes and handful of fresh mozzarella cut into chunks.
3. In a separate ramekin add balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil (I used 1 tablespoon of each) and 1 teaspoon of the basil blend. Whisk and pour over the salad.
4. Top with a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper.
Enjoy!

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A little inspiration * bear rabbit bear *Bubbly Nature Creations 
French Country Cottage * House of Hepworths * I can teach my child
It's Overflowing * Oopsey Daisy * Ruby Jean * Six Sisters Stuff * Tatertots and Jello  
The Girl Creative * The Grant Life * The Southern Institute * Whipperberry

A quick birthday card idea

My cousin has five adorable kids and I try to remember to send them each a birthday card. Unfortunately, remembering birthdays and special days is not my forte. I'm two weeks late on this sweet little girl's card ::shakes head in shame:: If it makes it any better, I am learning how to use iCalendar and putting all the birthday reminders in there since clearly my binder method hasn't been working ;)

Even though it will be over two weeks late, I still wanted to send a {belated} birthday card. The card is pretty simple but I think the birthday girl will like it. If you are looking for amazing talent, you came to the wrong place. There is much better talent out there in the blogosphere but I just wanted to share a quick, easy card idea.

Here is the outside of the card. Inspired by this pin.

And the inside of the card. I always send $5 for each birthday. Isn't this a lot cuter than stuffing money in a card?! I had to search a while to find a tutorial...and then I asked the hubby to fold it! Ha! Here is a tutorial that the hubby used....but I thought this video looked helpful if I ever try it ;)

Sharing this with...
A little inspiration * bear rabbit bear *Bubbly Nature Creations 
French Country Cottage * House of Hepworths * I can teach my child
It's Overflowing * Oopsey Daisy * Ruby Jean * Six Sisters Stuff * Tatertots and Jello  
The Girl Creative * The Grant Life * The Southern Institute * Whipperberry

Fairy Party Planning

For Ellie's 3rd birthday, we debated between one of these party themes:
a) Princess
b) Fairies
c) Taylor Swift

It was a hard decision. We play princesses every. single. day. I'm kinda burnt out so...

a) Princess

b) Fairies

c) Taylor Swift

All the inflatable guitars I looked at online were out of stock. (That is not a joke.)

a) Princess

b) Fairies

c) Taylor Swift

Fairy party it is then! Here is the only problem. We have been sick for the past six weeks; the kind of sick that means everything gets put on hold. Plus, we were out of town the last two weeks. I have four days to plan this party. My type A personality is freaking out a little BUT it is just a three year old birthday party and not likely to be remembered by its guest of honor.

Pinterest has been such a great tool for event planning. My fairy party board provided lots of inspiration, thought it will obviously be a lot more simple than the lavish parties I drooled over pinned. 

Fortunately, I was able to order some of the supplies online and picked up a few other items so far:

Sharing this with...
A little inspiration * bear rabbit bear *Bubbly Nature Creations 
French Country Cottage * House of Hepworths * I can teach my child
It's Overflowing * Oopsey Daisy * Ruby Jean * Six Sisters Stuff * Tatertots and Jello  
The Girl Creative * The Grant Life * The Southern Institute * Whipperberry

A Visit to Fredericksburg

We just got back from two weeks of traveling. Whew! Here are a few pictures from along the way.
Shopping in Fredericksburg. This town is lovely and the shops are so quaint.

Penguin Hat

During our family Bible time, Ellie decided that we needed to make a penguin hat. What?! To appeal to her penguin interest, we talked about how God makes penguins and what penguins eat and so on. Recently, I posted about the different hats Ellie and I have made, including the most recent being an elephant hat. We have still been a little under the weather (I know, enough already!) but I asked Chase to bring me a glue stick, scissors and some construction paper. I was able to throw this together in just a couple minutes.

Sharing this with...
A little inspiration * bear rabbit bear *Bubbly Nature Creations 
French Country Cottage * House of Hepworths * I can teach my child
It's Overflowing * Oopsey Daisy * Ruby Jean * Six Sisters Stuff * Tatertots and Jello  
The Girl Creative * The Grant Life * The Southern Institute * Whipperberry

Fleas and 'Tiques

During a recent visit to Arkansas, I stopped by one of my favorite Flea Market/Antique shops called Fleas and 'Tiques. Here are some of the lovelies that I found:

Aren't these pink juice glasses darling? They probably only hold 6 ounces or so. Growing up my mom always poured us a glass of juice in a tiny vintage glass like these. We had to drink our little cup of juice before going to school :)

Aren't these pink hobnail sherbet cups dreamy? I love all things hobnail and combined with this color...I really wanted to bring these home!

A whole wall of depression glass. And it's all pink! Imagine that.

These striped glasses reminded me of summertime. Can't you see them lined up on a tray with a pitcher of sweet tea? I resisted the urge to buy them. Which is good since I just bought some thrifty jars to use as glasses.

Vintage blue tinted mason jars with zinc lids. I wanted the whole shelf but settled on just one of these pretties to put in my windowsill above the sink.

What have you spotted on your latest shopping venture?


Sharing this with...
A little inspiration * bear rabbit bear *Bubbly Nature Creations 
French Country Cottage * House of Hepworths * It's Overflowing
Oopsey Daisy * Ruby Jean *Tatertots and Jello * The Girl Creative  
The Grant Life * The Southern Institute * Whipperberry

Trifle and parfait

I rarely find a trifle dessert that I actually love. This one is perfection.

                                                                           Source: tasteofhome.com via Kristen on Pinterest

It looks amazing, right? You can get the recipe over at Taste of Home. Because of all the ingredients, it isn't a cheap dessert to make. I save this one for special events. I did find that there was more toppings and peanut butter mixture than what would fit in my trifle bowl. What a shame. The hubby thought it would be fun to use our sundae glasses to make some parfaits to use the remaining yummy goodness. 

Again, what a shame ;)

Sharing this with...

bear rabbit bear *Bubbly Nature Creations * French Country Cottage 
 It's Overflowing * Oopsey Daisy * Ruby Jean * Tatertots and Jello 
The Girl Creative * The Southern Institute * Whipperberry

A trip to the thrift store

I have been itching to go to a local thrift shop. Now that the holidays are over, I treated myself to a short trip! I enjoyed just browsing and looking for potential among the junk. I limited myself to these pretties:

I have no idea if these jars are old or new but I thought they had a lovely vintage look. Can't you picture them next to a pitcher of lemonade? I bought eight. I guess that means I really liked them :)

I also found this old tin. Rustic and simple.

For a grand total of $10. What have you thrifted lately?

Sharing this with...


bear rabbit bear
Bubbly Nature Creations
French Country Cottage
It's Overflowing
Oopsey Daisy
Ruby Jean
Tatertots and Jello
The Girl Creative
The Southern Institute
Whipperberry