A Winner!....A little late

Its been a little crazy around here this week/weekend
My trip back to North Carolina was a little longer than anticipated which means a lot had to be done this weekend. But who cares about that stuff right!?!?!?! Lucy and her trusty bucket picked the winner.
The winner of the bag is.......

Court!

Court said:
"I'm a new follower"

Send me your address and I'll get that to you this week!

Dance bag Tutorial and GIVEAWAY!-CLOSED

 When Lucy started dance again back in the fall,

she needed new tap shoes, ballet shoes, tutus, tights, and of course leotards!

I couldn't believe that in one summer she outgrew everything!

With all this fancy schmancy dance attire, she had to have  could use a new bag, right?

I must warn you, if you were looking for a difficult dance bag tutorial, 

you are in the wrong place

I made 2 of these, 1 for Lucy, and of course one for Marin.

These girls get crazy compliments on these bags and have even sold a few

Supplies needed:
White tote bags (You can find a 3 pack at Hobby Lobby for $6.99)
Tulle of any color
Coordinating Ribbon
Hot Glue (and Gun :o))

I have an embroidery machine so I decided to embroider Lucy's name
If you decide to do the same, or have someone do it for you, Make sure this is your first step
You don't want the tulle to get tangled or malled
Step 1
Lay out your bag of choice and the tulle
Tulle is extremely difficult to work with 
I find that when it comes to tulle be as simple as possible
I folded over the tulle several times to make it fuller and the right size

Pin the tulle to the bag starting in the middle
I wanted a cleaner look for this bag so I pinned the tulle straight
If you want a "rufflier" bag, pleat every 2 inches
Is rufflier a word? It should be!

sew with a straight stitch
Don't worry about making it perfect, you'll cover with the ribbon 

It should look like this

Now that you have the tulle sewn, pull out your ribbon
You can sew this on or use your Hot Glue
I prefer to sew since it is being carried by kids

Sew a straight stitch on top, and on the bottom
Set the bag to the side
Take your ribbon and make a bow
You can find that tutorial here
Glue your bow to the center of the ribbon

Since I take the easy way out when working with tulle and fold it to make it fuller,
you will want to cut it to make it fluffy
You can see in the picture below where to cut

 Here you go! I love the leopard with the pink

This is fun for holidays too. 

Now for the GIVEAWAY!

Yay! My first one!
This bag can be yours!


Here are the rules:
1. Become a follower and leave a comment saying you are
(leave a comment if you always have been)
2.Blog about the giveaway and leave a comment letting me know

Day 5! Laughing Cow Queso

Welcome to Day 5 in the Faux Health, Faux Sure Series. I've definitely saved the best for last with this one. In fact, this post is a little late because I had to make a second batch for the family.

Ingredients Needed:

1 pack (8 wedges) Laughing Cow Swiss Cheese Light

1/4 C. Salsa of your choice

Splash of Milk or Water

Mix all your ingredients into a microwave safe bowl, and microwave for 45 second intervals, taking out to mix each time. For a lower calorie version you can use water. If you aren't to concerned than milk will give it a richer taste. Either one keeps it creamy.

Since I'm the one trying to watch the calories I love to eat mine with Pretzel chips.

Little Lu, and hubby prefer tortilla chips.

Okay, so here we go with the good stuff! Because the nature of the dish I'm breaking the down the stats for the overall dish not serving. You will have to add calories and fat for what you decide to eat the dip on.As a reminder, I am in no way a nutritionist. I read labels and try to consume healthy alternatives to dishes I love.

{Calories 310}

{Fat 12}

{Carbs 10}


Can't wait to show you all what I have in the works for next week. There will be a giveaway!

Giveaway at All things Vintage

I wanted to let you all know about an amazing giveaway happening right now over at

All things Vintage. I recently discovered Sara's blog and love not only her amazing 

sense of style, but her talent as well!

Go check her out and become a follower!

Day 4 Faux Mashed Potatoes

Yes, you guessed it!

Another Cauliflower recipe

I have no pictures of this recipe because it actually got gone way too fast!

Ooops.

Ingredients Needed:

1 head of cauliflower

1/4 c. Non fat Cream cheese

2 tablespoons of fat free butter (like parkay)

Salt and Pepper

Cut and boil your cauliflower as shown here

If you like a chunkier texture, you can use a masher

For a creamier texture, use a food processor to puree the cauliflower

Add your cream cheese, butter, salt, and pepper

Mash or puree

Serve Hot. Quite honestly, once it begins to cool it goes back to tasting like cauliflower

The dish serves 4-6 people, and the nutrition information is per serving (not dish)

I would also like to point out that I am in no way a nutritionist

I read labels and make sure that my family consumes healthy alternatives when possible

{Calories:31}

{Fat:0}

{Carbs:1}

Day 3 Faux Potato Chips

Have you tried Baked Kale yet?

It is surprisingly crunchy, salty, and even a bit nutty

Ingredients Needed:

Kale

Olive Oil

Kosher Salt

You can buy the Kale loose or by the bag

I have done both and like the bag option better

The kale seems to be crisper which is better for baking

Arrange your Kale on your cookie sheet

Coat with Olive oil and salt

Bake at 300* for 20 minutes

Easy Peasy 

Day 2 Faux Blueberry Cobbler

This recipe is so easy a caveman could do it!

Okay, okay....cheesy I know

Ingredients needed:

1 c. blueberries

1 tablespoon splenda

2 tablespoons light whipped cream

Put your blueberries in a microwave safe bowl

Sprinkle with Splenda

Heat for 1 minute

blueberries with be gooey and syrup like

Add whipped cream

Voila!

Now, for the good stuff!

{Calories:93}

{Fat:.5}

{Carbs:19.5}

Day 1 Potatoes Au Gratin

Welcome to Day 1 of the Faux Health, Faux Sure Series

Potatoes Au Gratin

Ingredients Needed:

1 head of Cauliflower

1/2 c. light Velveeta (sliced very thin)

1/4 c. Reduced Fat Cheddar

1 tablespoon Calorie/Fat Free Butter (parkay spray)

1/4 C. Panko Bread Crumbs

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

Preheat Oven to 350*

Take your Cauliflower and cut up into Small pieces

And Boil under fork tender ( about 10 minutes)

Drain your Cauliflower and move over to a baking dish

Add your low calorie butter and get to mashing

You don't have to mash, but I think it taste a little cheesier!

Once mashed into the consistency you like, Sprinkle with Parmesan, 

cheddar, and Velveeta

Once melted, top with Bread Crumbs and Broil to brown and crunchy

{Yum}

Now, on to Nutrition

The dish serves 4-6 people, and the nutrition information is per serving (not dish)

I would also like to point out that I am in no way a nutritionist

I read labels and make sure that my family consumes healthy alternatives when possible

If my picky husband and 3 year old love it, you will too!

{Calories:43}

{Fat:2}

{Carbs:5}

I'll be linking here

Where I Party

Periodically I will link up my projects
 at some very fun and inspiring Parties

Check these ladies out and link up yourself!

I just love a good partay!

Monday

Making the World Cuter
Girl Creative


Tuesday
Lady Bug Blessing


Wednesday
Domestically Speaking
Blue Cricket Designs
Room to Inspire


Thursday
Somewhat Simple
The Shabby Chic Cottage


Friday
Tatertots and jello

Butterfly Bow Tutorial

Hair bow tutorials seem to be so secretive on the internet

I guess thats because it is the most sold item at small town festivals

I know how to make them, and I still buy them!

I was making several for some of Lucy's new outfits and thought I would share with you

Items Needed:

Ribbon

Hair Clip (you can use alligator or clamp style)

No Fray

Thick thread

Hair Clip (they kind beauty salons use)

Hot Glue Gun and Glue

First, you want to measure your ribbon. I usually cut mine around 38 inches

Fold your ribbon as shown

Then, fold the other side. This is where you can eyeball it 

to make sure that the sides are even

Take the center of the right side of the ribbon and pull down to the middle

Do they same to the other side, and secure with the Hair Clip
You can see the Butterfly take shape here

Take your heavy thread and pull it through the hair clip as shown

Pull the thread tightly and slowly being sure not to snap it

And secure it with a knot

Now its time to start on the middle piece

Because I didn't have a smaller coordinating ribbon on hand I made my own

Take a small piece of ribbon and a thin line of hot glue

Fold 1/2 over, then repeat until you have a smaller ribbon

On the front of the bow add a small dot in the middle

and add the small piece of ribbon

Flip over and glue your choice of clip
I chose to use a barrette clip

Open the clip and remove the center so you can glue the other side of ribbon

Cut your ends.....

Add a little Fray block.....

And Voila!

Don't forget to come back on Monday to check out 
my Faux Health, Faux Real Series


I'll be linking here

Coming Soon!

Today is February 1, which means that most of us are now 30 days into

our new years resolution.

To be completely honest, I think the whole idea of New Year's Resolutions are sort of  silly

Why wait until the year is over and a new one is beginning to change what you dislike about you, or someone else!?

So with that said, this is NOT, I repeat NOT a New Years Resolution

But a lifestyle change

Since having Lucy, my weight just cant seem to come off.

I put on a total of 65 pounds with her, and turned my size 4 to a 14!

Its not that I haven't been motivated to lose the weight,

I have.

My body just isn't the same

I lose 20 pounds, then they stop

Months go by and I lost another 20 pounds.

I exercise on a regular basis and like to think I eat well

But after seeing my husbands diabetes progress I have decided to go one step further

I would like to share my new Mock, or Faux recipes with you all.

Starting on Monday February 7, I will begin the 

Faux Health, Faux Sure series

I hope you will come back and join me and even share a few of your favorite health recipes

Monday      Faux Potatoes Au Gratin

Tuesday   Faux Blueberry Cobbler  

Wednesday      Faux Potato Chips      

Thursday      Faux Mashed Potatoes

Friday      Faux Dip

Can't wait to see you at the Partay!