Gold Glam Easter Eggs

I don't celebrate Easter but I always like a fun holiday craft project.

These dyed Easter eggs were fun and easy to decorate, and look so bright & glam with the gold shimmer.

What you'll need:

1 dozen eggs, hard boiled

Food coloring

White wine vinegar

Gold glitter paint

Small paint brush

Gold sharpie paint pen

Hard boil the eggs and let cool completely. 

In separate bowls add 1/2 cup boiling water, 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar and 20 drops food coloring of your choice. 

Immerse eggs in the dye until achieved color of your choice. (I did about 5 minutes. The longer you keep it in the darker the color). Using a slotted spoon take them out and let dry. 

Using gold glitter paint and a paint brush, brush the egg. While still wet put back in the food coloring for only a few seconds. Take the egg back out and let dry completely.

When dry use a gold sharpie marker and decorate as you desire.

Happy Easter!

Best Baby Shower Advice

Check out Shabou Creations on Mommy Poppins for the new trends in baby showers!

Spring has sprung

This week was the official beginning of Spring. Hard to believe considering we got 6 inches of snow. To get myself in the "spring spirit" I decided to whip up some cheery cupcakes.

I don't know if they will make the warm weather come any sooner but they surely tasted delicious.

Happy Friday!

Children's Crochet Beaded Necklaces

I am always keeping an eye out for unique children's products.

As you know I am a big etsy.com fan. I love that you are getting a one of a kind piece (in most cases) at really reasonable prices. 

I found these adorable crochet beaded necklaces for children. They are made with with 100% cotton threads, all natural materials and are eco friendly. There are also no small or metal parts in the necklace so you can have your little one wear it without worry.

They are adorable and very well priced ranging from $15-$25. 

She also offers customization if you want to pick your own colors. 

She even has little crochet fruit beads. Can it get any cuter?

I already have one on the way for Harper!

You can find her products here

Quick & Easy Weeknight Dinners

I love to cook dinner but during the week it can definitely be hard to find the time to grocery shop, prepare and cook while also running after Harper. 

Keeping her busy at the grocery with some cookies

I found this great recipe for grilled tuna with herbed aioli sauce on epicurious.

It took all of 15 minutes to make and turned out really delicious.

I served it aside some roasted asparagus and cous cous. 

An easy weeknight dinner that tasted great and took no time to get on the table.

Ingredients:

4 7-ounce tuna steaks, about 1 inch thick

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

2 teaspoons dried tarragon

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup mayonnaise

Whisk together all the ingredients except the mayo and set aside.

Place mayonnaise in a separate bowl. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of the marinade and set aside.

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper and a little olive oil . Turn to coat evenly and let marinate at room temperature. On a grill pan grill fish to desired doneness About 3 minutes per side for medium.

 Finished product

I love that the day's are getting longer and its staying light out later.  The sun was just setting as I was cooking dinner. A much nicer view then the pitch blackness it has been all winter.

I can't wait until it's warm enough to eat dinner outside with a glass of wine. 

Next stop, outdoor furniture & grill shopping!

ahoy mates!

A friend of mine had her son's 3rd Birthday Party this weekend.  She asked me to do the cupcakes

and of course I was thrilled to. I am trying to get my new business, Shabou Creations  off the ground, so what a great way to get the word out.

Ben's birthday theme was Pirates. I went online and found these adorable printables. I printed them out and using a 2" round circle cutter, cut them out.

Using a hot glue gun and a toothpick I was able to construct these adorable cupcake toppers.

Since the color theme was red, black and white I made my own red frosting using red icing color. 

Link here. 

They have a ton of color options to choose from. I prefer this to food coloring because only a small amount of this gel is needed to produce the color you want to achieve. The gel also won't change the consistency of the icing. 

The Bakers Confections on etsy has a great variety of cupcake liners for really reasonable prices. 

They also sell adorable sprinkles, paper straws, flags and utensils. I would definitely recommend checking them out!

I got these chocolate covered gold coins at Party City to look like "sunken treasure".

What do you think?

          

Affordable Playroom Design

Since we moved I have been wanting to do something fun with the playroom for Harper.

I came across this image on Ikea and loved the idea of painting a chalkboard wall that ties in to the toys. 

Both cute and functional.

Everything below is from Ikea, except for the paint, and all comes to under $100!

Creating a fun & unique kids space doesn't have to be expensive. 

(especially since it usually ends up trashed in the end anyway)

Mini Kitchen

$79.99

14-piece vegetable set

$7.99

Plate & Bowl Set

$9.99

Colored Chalk

$1.99

Matte Black Chalkboard Paint

Quick and easy weeknight dinners

With a busy week ahead and not too much time to spend in the kitchen, a quick & easy weeknight dinner is a must.

I love orecchiette with broccoli rabe and sausage. Below is a healthy and easy take on the classic favorite.

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken sausage (I like Bilinski's but you can use whatever you prefer)

1 pound orecchiette pasta

1 bag fresh spinach

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup shaved Parmesan Cheese

Bilinski's makes a great organic chicken sausage. 

I really like the Spinach & Feta flavor, especially for this dish.

It's also super low in fat.

 Usually broccoli rabe is used for this recipe but that takes a little more time to prepare. Buy a bag of fresh spinach. It's already washed so all you have to do is add it to the pan. Couldn't be easier.

 Mince 3 cloves of garlic and saute in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Make sure not to burn the garlic as it cooks fast. 

To keep it from burning saute on a low flame.

 Once garlic is cooked through, about 5 minutes, add the fresh spinach. Use the whole bag. I know it seems like a lot but it cooks down to almost nothing. Add in the chicken broth and let reduce to about half.

In a separate saute pan heat a tablespoon of olive oil and cook the sausage. Get a nice browning on the outside. When done to your liking take off heat, slice and add to spinach mixture. 

In a separate pot boil water for the orecchiette with a pinch of salt. Boil to just about done and add pasta to the spinach and sausage mixture. Reserve 1/4 cup of the water the pasta was boiled in and add that to the spinach mixture as well. Add red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste.

Toss all together and let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes, so it thickens up.

Sprinkle shaved Parmesan cheese on top and serve immediately. 

Enjoy!

Happy Friday everyone

Have a fabulous weekend!