ArmSwagSunday

Haven't done an ARM SWAG SUNDAY post in FOREVER!!!! 

Bracelets - Lane Bryant (last year)
Silver Flower Ring - Antique Mall
Turquoise Ring - HSN 2001

Aqua Studded Bracelet, Taupe Braided and Beaded One - Torrid
MOP Peace Sign - Walmart
Name Bracelet - Clearwater Florida Docks

A DAY IN THE LIFE....

....snapshots via my iphone from the past week.....

Making some summer flip-flops

Christmas in July Pasta

Work Work Work Work Work

My besties cat had kittens...

Birthday Celebration dinner with my FAVORITE date

My daughter rescued 3 frogs that fell down the window well...HE was the most beautiful one of all

Picked up this beauty at a garage sale....will make a FAB display piece for my booth and maybe later a very chic pendant for a work room

Been elbow deep in glitter....there's NO filter in this pic - love how the glitter S*P*A*R*K*L*E*S*

Birthday gifts from my bestie!

Red Velvet Cupcakes at midnight...courtesy of my kids!! 

Trying THIS #browndrink @starbucks (I can cross it off my summer bucket list now)

CHEERS with a free Birthday (#browndrink) Drink

 What have YOU been up to?!??!!

FOODIE FRIDAY....Good Table Parmesan Herb Mix

I have a few of those coupon money saving apps on my phone and "Good Table" Parmesan & Herb was a suggestion (and a reimbursed coupon when purchased). Do you guys remember the kit by Kraft from a few years ago?!?!

They were the BOMB Diggity!! And I can't find them anywhere anymore....

So when i saw this I was hoping it was similar....

(you see that?!?!? I am an EXTREME Couponer even for meat!!! Target is AWESOME for marking down their meat BUT you have to get there early...and Gold N Plump is my FAVE brand of chicken).

The kit comes with the herb mixture, a ranch-mayo like mixture and the bread crumbs

Mix the herbs and bread crumbs on a "shallow plate"

Coat chicken in ranch, drudge through crumb mixture and bake according to directions

The chicken was MOIST, flavorful and the perfect accompaniment for salad and a SMALL serving of rice!

Have YOU tried anything new that I should try?!??! Buen provecho!

A DAY IN THE LIFE.....

.....pics via my iphone from the past week.....

IDK about you BUT I take almost ALL my pics with my iphone (just because I always have it with me). I bought a nice camera earlier this year and have done myself a TOTAL disservice NOT figuring out how to use it. Maybe that'll be on my summer bucket list....

Picked this off the curb (For a FAB future project)

Speaking of projects....SO EASY, not sure what the hold up was - come back next week to see WHAT I'm talking about!

Coconut Cream Pie HOMEMADE Iced Coffee (trying to save the cash and the calories)

Summer nights SHOULD be spent on the ball field (and YEP, that 10 is the WIN for us!!!)

Gorgeous evening on the patio working....

They may not have won the Championship (MAYBE it's because our 11yo were playing almost 16yo) BUT the boys gave it their all, played as a team and GREW their skills throughout the season!

2nd Place

Made tye-dyed t-shirts at the Block Party - WHO KNEW the swirl was SO EASY?!?!?! I wanna tye-dye ER'THING!!

Celebrated #nationalicecreamday with some @Culvers Sunday. 

The take home for the rest of the fam didn't fair as well....

Some finished statement  pieces for the collection debuting August 13th (GET YOURS TODAY by leaving a comment and which piece). Made with vintage religious regalia, beads, swarovski beads, mixed metals and vintage pieces!

Mary Mary quite contrary how dies your garden grow?!??! Those are Hungarian Wax Peppers and tomatoes in my drawer planter (one day I'll share the EPIC fail with y'all).

What did YOU do this week!?!?!? Any fun home decor projects out there?!?!

FOODIE FRIDAY...ONE PAN ITALIAN SAUSAGE and PASTA

In the summer I want QUICK easy HEALTHY meals for my family and I. I planned all winter how I would be a MASTER veggie grower this summer (EPIC fail). BUT my basil is growing (the lil bit I can harvest in between the japanese beetles having a feast with it). 

My daughter was in the mood for Italian Sausage (I PREFER Johnsonville). So I got out the electric skillet and got to work!!!

HOW To:
Cook your sausages (remove from heat when cooked BUT DO NOT DRAIN the drippings)
Add 1 3/4 cup of water (for al dente pasta)
Add a box of rigatoni (you can use ANY pasta you want just not sure about to water:pasta ratio)
Cook for about 15 minutes covered - check on your pasta - if at desired texture turn to low, add sausage back in and add sliced peppers (I have sweet red and yellow and some left over green)

Again, cook until the peppers are your desired texture. 

VIOLA!!! Pop it on a plate, top with grated parmesan, red pepper flakes and fresh basil! 

TRY IT THURSDAY.....BASEBALL T-SHIRT

WE ALL KNOW any good project starts with RESEARCH!!! (I have totally been reflecting lately on how much childhood PREPARES you for adulthood....in lotsa ways. We always thought those teachers were just being pesky making us research BUT it's a REAL life skill people!!! More on this another day). I combed #pinterest to see what I could find in the way of a #baseballt-shirt since this was my sons first year playing. I found a TON of FAB ideas (but wasn't ready to commit to a monogrammed tee or anything until I knew my son was sticking with it...I just wanted a lil something something to show my support - albeit LATE in the season aka the last 2 playoff games BUT better late than never right?!?!? And now I can cross something off my summer bucket list!!). 

HERE is the finished product...uber easy....

Get yo'self the following :

White T-shirt (mine was from Michaels)

Red Craft Paint

Baseball printed ribbon (optional)

Wax paper and a paint brush

(I did NOT wash my shirt first, I did not get fabric paint AND at the last minute I decided to cut off the sleeves)

Slide the wax paper inside the shirt (to prevent the paint from bleeding through)
Make an angled line (like above)
Along the line make those birds you made on your drawings as kids (to resemble the thread of the baseball)

Repeat on the bottom corner as well (I don't recommend doing the lines along the sides of the shirt or else it may not be as flattering as you would hope and may accentuate your belly if ya have one like I do).

I cut the ribbon (once I ran through the shoulder of the shirt and tied a faux ribbon to make sure the length was good), cut, tied, slid over my head and was on my way to a WINNING game!!!

WHAT I WORE WEDNESDAY...

Smells like TEAM Spirit

 What I'm wearing:
T-shirt made by me (come back tomorrow for the HOW TO)
Jeans - YMI from Burlington Coat Factory
Flip Flops - Dollar Tree (they have a nice woven bamboo like lining)

GOING WILD 

(at the city Block Party)

What I'm wearing:
Headband - Target
Necklace - Lane Bryant (2008)
Floral Lace Top (or the MRS ROPER top as my sister referred to it) - Walmart

NOT a very in depth WIWW post....these haven't been a major priority since I have gained SO much weight and NOTHING fits (I am making due BECAUSE I am changing my eating habits and working on getting BACK into my old clothes vs spending money on bigger). Linking up with The Pleated Poppy http://thepleatedpoppy.com/category/what-i-wore/ for some inspo

MANI MONDAY....Aztec MINT and Electric Blue NAILS

If you read my post last week you know #dollartree is the place for me when it comes to buying accent nails to change up my mani!

Sassy + Chic Nails - Dollar Tree

Sinful Colors - Endless Blue

LA Colors - Fresh

I am NOT promoting the Vodka ALTHOUGH some days just call for a drink (or the entire bottle!!) BUT I knew if I didn't take the pic right after polishing them they'd get ruined at work (and I was right - the thumb nail cracked on the side BUT held on like a champ the balance of the week).

A FUN summer mani!! Painted my toes the Endless Blue color (which so happen to match my bathing suit). 

FOODIE FRIDAY.....CHICKEN STUFFED PEPPERS

Do you ever get in a cooking rut?!?!? When this happens to me I go to Pinterest and check out what I have pinned. I then like to make a list that uses LIKE ingredients SO the cooking for the week is easy (and inexpensive BECAUSE I will have everything on hand instead of running to the grocer and paying $3.00 for sour cream because I didn't get it on sale or at the big box store). 

Earlier in the week I had made crock pot chicken tacos (I just popped the chicken in the slow cooker with minced garlic, a 1/4 package of taco seasoning and a 1/2 teaspoon of Chile salt and half a squeezed lime). 

The meat was SO tender it was easy to shred....we loved our chicken tacos that night. I was planning ahead and made enough meat because I knew I was making stuffed peppers later in week. It was SO easy!!! 

 I added the following:
1/2 can of rinsed black beans
1/2 can of diced tomatoes with chiles
1/2 bag of frozen corn
shredded chicken
Combined all the ingredients and put the mixture in the peppers topped with shredded taco cheese and popped in the toaster oven for 20 minutes or so until the cheese was golden brown (in the summer WHO wants to heat up the entire house to make dinner!?!??!).

Served with rice. SUPER delish, a hit with the kids and healthy!!!

MANI MONDAY.....FLAMINGO NAILS

Mani Monday on a Tuesday.....

The mani was SO cute (and actually from a few weeks ago...SO I figured I'd better get caught up!!!). My daughter called Flamingo's "Flying-mingos" when she was small....I've always had a love for them because they are tropical!!! Did you know they get their color from the brine shrimp and blue-green algae they eat?!?!? Enzymes in their liver break down the carotenoids into the pink and orange coloring found in their feathers and legs. 

I LOVE #dollartree and find the BEST stuff there!! 

Got these CUTIE #flamingo nails (and the honeycomb) at Dollar Tree

(I get ALL my fun funky nails there and they hold up really awesome)

 I like to add a fun nail in my mani for something different and unexpected!

(as you can see above I originally had the flying-mingo nail on with all light pink BUT it needed a kick so I changed the other nails to aqua and added the darker pink to the pinky)

Look for the Sassy+Chic nails at your local dollar tree (you do need to buy the glue separate and this can be found at any local retailer {my Dollar Tree did not have the glue}).

 Nails - Dollar Tree
Aqua Color - Milani "Mint Crush"
OPI - Charged Up Cherry
Light Pink (seen in first pic) - NYC "Pink Champagne"

I LOVE getting the no-chip mani's....BUT I am trying to "live like no one else SO I can live like no one else" so that's one thing I have cut out for now. Doing my own nails allows me variety and changing it up!