Pinteresting: With Speculoos!

I went to Trader Joe's for the first (and second) in my life.  I meandered down all the aisles.  I grabbed up cheeses, bread, granola bars, fruit leathers, and of course, speculoos cookie butter.  Now I have to decide what to make with it.  I know, I know.  I could take full advantage of my drawer full of spoons with this cookie butter, but that seems somehow wasteful (waist-full?).  I immediately thought of ice cream and buttercream frosting (not at the same time) and went off to Pinterest to see what inspiration I could find there.  Here's some of what I came up with:

Vanilla macarons with speculoos filling

 

Specudoodles

My original plan was actually chocolate cupcakes with cookie butter frosting.  Yummy!

 

Cookie butter cups.

 

Speculoos ice cream with syrup waffles.

 

 

I think I'll stop now before I have to run 10 miles to make up for all the calories in this ooey gooey eye candy.

Pinteresting for the 4th of July

 

I love the idea of using food dye (probably Wilton's cake dye over McCormick's) to color the noodles for a festive pasta salad. 

Here's a manicure you can actually do yourself.  There's a touch of gold glitter polish over the white polish.

 

This pin takes you to a site with 17 decoration ideas for your party.   I like the printable matchbox labels idea.  Of course everyone needs matches on the 4th!

"Sometimes all it takes to be patriotic is a few well-placed sprinkles."

 

Have fun and enjoy your family, freedom, food, friends, and fireworks!

 (I was amazed by the smiley face fireworks when I went to the Macy's show in New York years ago.  I think it was the smiley introduction to the show that year and they've been included in bigger and better ways every year since.  Getting off the way back train now--that must have been nearly 20 years ago.  Eep.)

What do you have planned for your holiday celebration?

Pinteresting: Summertime

I fell back down the Pinterest rabbit hole!  In honor of the start of summer, here are a few summer-themed pins for you to check out.

 

Thai quinoa salad with fresh herbs and a lime vinaigrette.   Perfect for a light lunch, or add some chicken, shrimp, or crab meat for a hearty and healthy dinner.  Best of all, you won't heat up your kitchen making this!

Need something a little "stronger?"  Enjoy a simple strawberry lime mojito.  Skip the rum and the kids can have some too.

 

Always a good time for a reminder to eat local and wear sunscreen.  Though some wellness practitioners would tell you to get outside for 15 minutes without sunscreen to get your Vitamin D for the day.  Doctors never agree on anything.

 

Summer could be a good time to create an inviting place for the fairies to visit?  Try a bird bath fairy garden.

 

Buzzfeed always has the best dos and don'ts.  Check out this one for summer.

 

I would be remiss if I didn't suggest a sewing project.  I've had my eye on this weekender bag by Amy Butler for a while.  I highly recommend checking out this blog post for a helpful link roundup if you are considering taking on your own weekender.

I'm pretty sure I'm heading to Houston and Las Vegas this summer.  First time for both!  Do you have any summer travel plans?

Pinteresting: For the Super Bowl

I love sporting events, especially football.  I don't have a favorite team though.  Whenever people ask me who I'm rooting for, I always say "GO BLUE TEAM!!!!"  It's a totally unscientific way of picking the winner, but it works for me.  If there isn't a blue team, I cheer for whichever team looks better in the pants. 

Super Bowl parties are always loads of fun.  So much delicious food is consumed at these parties.  So much food.  Remember my bacon cheese twisty things?  Bring some of those to your party.  You will be the VIP at every event to follow.

Here's the pin too.

 

Pizza poppers.  Don't forget the marinara for dunking!

 

 

Made from scratch meatballs

Bacon, jalapenos, butter, cheese.  What could go wrong?

I was also digging these bingo games.  You could have a buy in with them, so players could win some money.  I guess it depends on how your Super Bowl parties go.  We are never in front of the TV the entire game.  Short attention spans I guess.

 

One for commercials

 

And one for the game itself.

Whatever you are doing for the big game, be safe and don't drink and drive.  I'm not a big proponent of PSAs, but I think that's a necessary one.

And GO BLUE TEAM!!!

Pinteresting: with Giftmas Craps...errr...Crafts.

Who's done with the Giftmas shopping?  she asks sheepishly...

Yeah.  Not me.  Not even close.  Not even a little bit.  Last year, I mostly skipped Christmas.  I watched fireworks from the rooftop terrace of a hostel in Guatemala.  I rang in the new year in Granada.  I basically loved every minute of it.  I didn't stress about holiday cooking or presents or anything.  I don't know why I'm stressing about it this year.  Perhaps financial constraints among the family?  Perhaps time constraints?  I dunno. 

So if you are into some last minute giftmas crafting, I culled through my personal crafty Pinterest board and selected a few things I think would be awesome gifts for the people in your life that would appreciate them.

This adorable apron would be great for that hostess with the mostess in your life.

And who couldn't use another reusable shopping bag?  Especially one that folds up and can easily be stored away.  (As an aside, I hate having piles of those shopping bags all over my house.  They don't fold neatly and the stitching sucks.)

 

I adore fabric covered notebooks.  It's a great way to use up some of those scraps you have laying around and you have a place to keep all your crafty notes in.  :)  Or give away.  I have to stop thinking about what I like and think about other people.  Good gravy batman.  This is why I suck at Giftmas.

 

Know someone in the arctic expecting a wee one this winter?  This is a perfectly simple baby bundler.

 

This heart pouch is perfect for earbuds or keeping loose change.  That little princess in your life would love one of these (I think).

 

And if none of the above work for you, here's a pin for 39 handmade gifts you would actually love to receive.

Are you crafting anything for your loved ones this year?  I'd love to hear about it!

Have a great weekend!