Wasn’t it the first of March just a few days ago? Obviously, Easter is sneaking up on me. Before it’s here and gone I thought I should decorate so, of course, I started with the mantel. And deciding to make this a cost-free decorating holiday, I used what I already had in my home to make this colorful Easter mantel.

Let’s start with the fabric hoops. The yellow polka dot and green chevron hoops are left over from the St. Partrick’s Day Mantel. I changed out the other green one for this cute blue polka dot fabric.

I bought the moss bunnies at Pier 1 a few years ago. As of last year they still had them in the store, they might still have them available this year.

I placed small rocks from Dollar Tree in the white pitchers to hold the bunny topiaries in place.

Click on the link for a tutorial of the Shadow Box Flower Garden I made last week.

I purchased the carrots at a craft shop a few years ago, but I’m sure they would be fairly easy to make.

I have been so indecisive about this rusty bunny. I really love it, but am always tempted to paint him. I’ll post it on instagram if I decide to give him a new paint color.

The frame needed a little color but I didn’t want to paint it so I used washi tape to give it some color and pattern.

I bought some beautiful ceramic eggs years and years ago. I love them all, but this one is my favorite.

Now that the mantel is decorated it’s time to decorate the rest of the house. I’m taking the weekend off to spend time with the family, but I will be back on Monday to share some fantastic banner ideas with you.

Since moving we have the boys sharing one room. Organizing and decorating their small room and closet has been a challenge. I’ll be sharing their room over the next few weeks, but let’s focus on the organized boys closet today. One of my favorite organizing pieces to use in any closet are these ClosetMaid shelving units. Luckily my boys need very little hanging storage so I was able to use 3 of these units in their closet for better storage options. My boys are sharing one dresser and it only has 4 drawers so their socks, underwear, and PJ’s are kept on the shelves in the closet. The boys shoes are kept in the closet downstairs by the garage door since that’s where they were always ending up anyway, and there is more storage available there.

The cloth boxes from IKEA are kept on top of the shelving units. One box holds Ammon’s scout things and ties. Zach has 2 boxes, one holds scout things and one holds soccer things.

The boys have 2 shelves each to hold their books.

Since they don’t have room for an art center anymore they have colored pencils stored on the top shelf in buckets. Paper is stored close by in a crate.

The boys have different colored hangers. Zach’s are blue and Ammon’s are red. We are only using half the hanging space available in the closet for both boys, mostly for church and scout clothes (obviously I need to do their laundry). They each have drawstring bags that are used for day trips, car rides, small hikes, etc.

There are 4 crates across the top of the closet. 2 hold Zach’s things and 2 hold Ammon’s things.

Ammon has stacking plastic drawers on the other side of the closet that hold his toys. Zach’s “toys” or things are stored somewhere else that I’ll show you later this week. Even when my boys were younger they never had a toy box. It’s much easier to keep things organized and for them to find what they need in smaller containers. Each drawer is designated for different toys.

Even though the drawers are fairly small Ammon still had some small toys that needed to be contained even more. The blue containers came from Dollar Tree, the green lids are from WalMart (4 for $1.57), and the small metal lunch box is from Michael’s. I decorated the last one with scrapbook paper and it holds his eraser collection.

I already had everything I needed to organize their closet except for the small blue containers and 2 of the crates, so the total cost was only $13.

In their previous rooms they had over-the-door shoe organizers on the back of their closet doors to hold small toys and electronics. Unfortunately these closet doors don’t make that possible. You can check out what we’ve done for LEGO storage in a previous post.

I really wish I lived close to Melissa, my food contributor, because every time she writes a post I want to sample her recipe. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to make it myself. I can’t think of anything that goes better together than peanut butter and chocolate. If you feel the same way you are going to love this cookie recipe from Melissa this week.

Hello! It’s the first Thursday of the month which means I’m back to share a recipe with you. I love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate–whoever decided to combine the two is a genius in my book. I try my hardest to limit treats, but I couldn’t resist trying out these chocolate peanut butter chip cookies. I’m happy to say, these cookies were worth it. The soft and chewy chocolate cookie is filled with peanut buttery goodness. These were so incredible right out of the oven! They were gooey, warm and chocolatey. Warning: these cookies are addicting.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

(Makes about 4 dozen cookies)

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 (10 oz) package peanut butter chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Add flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt to a medium bowl. Stir together.

3. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

4. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in peanut butter chips.

5. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-9 minutes (cookies will be soft, do not overbake).

6. Cool slightly on cookie sheet, remove and add to wire rack. Cool completely.

I think you should make these soon. I’ll probably be making them this Sunday for my family. Don’t forget to also check out My Mommy Style where Melissa blogs regularly. I totally love their new blog look!

It seems like everyone is trying to eat lighter and healthier lately. It’s been a concern of mine for a while because as you age it gets harder and harder to stay at a healthy weight. The last thing I want to do is drink and eat empty calories. It’s also important for me to teach my kids to eat healthy and limit their sugar intake. One of the easiest ways to do this is to alter a recipe that is already a family favorite. One of my favorite Summer meals is this Crock Pot 7Up Shredded Turkey. The best thing about this meal is that you can start it before you go to bed at night then finish it in the morning and keep it on warm until it’s time for dinner. It’s perfect for picnics, barbeques, or Summer parties. By substituting 7Up Ten you get full delicious flavor with only 10 calories per serving.

7Up Shredded Turkey Recipe

Frozen Turkey Breast
2 cups 7Up TEN
3/4 cup reduced sodium gluten-free soy sauce
1/8 cup oil

Rinse turkey and place in crock pot. Mix 7Up TEN, soy sauce, and oil in medium bowl. Pour sauce over meat. Cover and heat in crock pot on low for 10 hours. A few times during the cooking process turn the turkey to get the sauce on all sides. After 10 hours, place the turkey on a cutting board and remove all the bones. Now is also a good time to remove any of the fat you were not able to remove before cooking. Shred the turkey using 2 forks. Strain the juice to get all the bones and fat out then return to the crock pot. Place the shredded turkey back in the juice and mix well. Place crock pot setting on warm or serve setting until ready to serve. Serve on hard rolls. This also freezes really well in freezer bags.

The weather here has been gorgeous and we had the perfect day to have a little family picnic. Family meals are important to us and just moving it outside in warm weather makes it special and more enjoyable. It only takes a few minutes to set up a lovely table for your family. I used empty 7Up and A&W TEN cans as vases for the flowers and containers to hold the utensils. I know my picky kids will always eat fresh fruits and vegetables so those are always included with the meal.

One of my favorite drinks as a child was a Shirley Temple. The first time I had ever had one was on a flight from Indiana to California. I was only 11 and thought it was so special. I introduced it to my kids when they were younger but we rarely had soda in our home because of the empty calories so they rarely got it. The kids were so excited when I made them Shirley Temples using 7Up TEN. I didn’t even mind when they had a second glass.

Shirley Temple

Ice
7Up TEN
Splash of Grenadine

Add a striped straw and stir!

We can’t forget dessert, right? I’m not much of a root beer drinker although I do like a good root beer float every once in a while. Hubby on the other hand loves root beer! He loved A&W TEN and had already downed a can while I was preparing dinner. He kept saying how good it was, so I’m pretty sure it was a hit with him and obviously there was no lack of great taste.

Drinking and cooking with Four TEN Calorie DPSG Products is one way to cut calories but I’m always looking for other ways to make my favorite recipes taste delicious but have less fat. Here are some of the ways I’ve found to alter my recipes but not the taste.

Healthy Substitutions Click to Print!
It’s as easy as thinking about what you’re eating and serving your family and trying to make it a bit healthier. I doesn’t really take anymore time, just a little thought. The kids are loving how the fridge is stocked.

Being a busy wife and mother, as I’m sure you are also, I like to limit my shopping to one store as much as possible. I was able to purchase everything for our meal at my local WalMart.

My mom gave me a beautiful towel a few years ago. I used it a few times but didn’t want to ruin it so I tucked it away and almost forgot about it. Remember when I talked about decorating with intent a few days ago? That has become really important to me. I want  to keep things I really love around me and not just go out and buy things to fill space in my home. My mom said when she saw this towel it reminded her of me and my creativity. Not only do I love what it says but I love that she thought of me when she saw it. I also used to embroider years ago, hopefully some day I’ll take it up again.

I added the towel hoop art to my craft room gallery wall. I love this wall and how inspiring it is while I’m crafting. The color of the towel fit in perfectly too.

Simply place the hoop on the fabric where it frames the portion you want to include. Tighten the hoop, then cut off the excess fabric.

I love that hoops have come back to being used a lot in decorating. I’m actually old enough to remember the last time it was rather popular. Plate walls have been extremely popular the last few years, it would be easy to substitute hoops for plates and have the wall be just as beautiful and probably even more interesting.

I used hoops in creating my St. Patrick’s Day mantel this year. I might be leaving them up for Easter because they resemble Easter eggs, don’t you think?

I incorporated a few hoops into Emilee’s gallery wall in our last house. Maybe I’ll do something similar in our home now.

Here are a few more decorating ideas using hoops.

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Do you think you’ll be incorporating hoops in your decor any time soon? Maybe just for holidays?

Have you tried quinoa? I eat it rather often since it’s gluten free. It’s perfect for breakfast and great in many other recipes plus my family actually likes it. I made this Mediterranean Quinoa salad the other day and everyone loved it so I’m sharing it with you.

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon roasted garlic spread
1/2 cup chopped drained roasted red bell peppers
1/2 cup cubed provolone cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons fat free Italian dressing

Rinse quinoa under cold water. Drain well.

In saucepan, heat quinoa, broth and roasted garlic to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until quinoa is tender. Drain any remaining liquid. Cool completely.

While quinoa is cooling, mix red bell peppers, provolone cheese, fresh basil and dressing.

In large serving bowl, toss quinoa and above mixed ingredients. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. Enjoy!

To say that the boys have a lot of LEGO mini figures would be an understatement. This isn’t even all of them. I’ve had this Printer Tray for a couple years and was determined to use it in my craft room in the home we live in now, but once I realized the LEGO figures fit perfectly in it I knew that’s what I had to use it for. Now I want to find another one for the rest of the mini figures. The figures are easy to get down to play with and easy to put back, which is the most important part.

This tray sits on the table where they build and play with some of their LEGOs. As soon as I find another tray it will be on the wall above this one. Since the boys are sharing a room right now they are also sharing the table. It’s a little crowded, but it works.

The bookcase holds some of the finished LEGOs which are also easy to get down for play.

More LEGO pieces are stored in buckets, in a drawer, in the closet until they are turned into new creations. Ammon is always working on something. We also have a travel case they can put pieces in for weekend trips. We are so limited on space right now but there has to be room for Ammon’s favorite toys and I think we make it work pretty well. Since my boys are a little older it actually stays really neat.

Here are a few more fantastic ideas on how to display LEGO mini figures.

I’m working on more storage and organizing ideas for the boys small room and will be sharing them over the next couple weeks. Don’t forget to come by and visit often.

I like to decorate for as many holidays as possible and my family pretty much expects it now. I like to keep it pretty simple though. One of my favorite things to do is walk around the house collecting items in the colors of that holiday, such as green for St. Patrick’s Day decor. It makes decorating so much easier and for less cost, then I make a few things to fill in empty spots and I’m done. I made this Shamrock Banner last year.

I spray painted this tray emerald green last year. I love the color and it’s perfect for St. Patrick’s Day and Spring. This tray holds my favorite color combo right now. These were the colors in my living room before we moved.

These decorative mossy balls scream Spring but because of the color, are also perfect for St. Patrick’s Day.

My friend gave me this darling clover tray a few years ago. Do you think it’s time to refinish this table? I’m still trying to decide on a color.

Of course the bookcases had to also get a holiday makeover.

Some green on the bookshelves and I also added a bit of yellow.

I love colored glass. I painted some of these bottles a few years ago. Learn how to make them using this tutorial.

I love using Scrabble tiles to spell out words, especially for holidays. What would you spell?

I change out the empty frames every holiday. I like having a rotating wall display, especially since we don’t have much wall space in this house.

You can also check out the Green and Yellow Mantel I decorated a few weeks ago.

Do you decorate for St. Patrick’s Day?

I just love my creative friends and contributors. Here’s Anne sharing fun and stylish food labels perfect for your next party.

Hey there everyone and happy March. It’s Anne and I am here with another party-related post for you all. I decided to switch it up a little bit this month and show you a quick DIY you can do to dress up your buffet table. Since chalkboard is still the “in” thing, as well as my favorite obsession right now, gold, these chalkboard food labels will definitely dress up your swanky soiree in style!

I am super excited about these. They were so easy to make (although I did have to break the spray painting rules by painting in 25° weather), are super cheap, and I have already gotten lots of compliments on how fabulous they are when I put them out at a recent get-together. But I’ll let you decide…

You will need:

• Medium binder clips
• Gold spray paint
• Chalkboard paint
• 1 package of 6-3 inch wood discs

Take the wire pieces off of the clips, saving all but two. You will use them later to assemble your labels. Spray paint the clips.

Meanwhile, paint your wooden discs (front and back). I did two coats on each side. And the cups? I used those to hold the discs while I painted.

Once everything is dry use the two wires you saved to open the clip and get the wood disc in place. Repeat with the remaining clips and discs.

Then you are ready to use them!

(forgive my messy handwriting…)

I think these would make great place markers too. Thanks for reading and I hope you love this tutorial! Enjoy!

Seriously! How awesome are these? I need to have a party just so I can make them. Don’t forget to visit Anne at Circusberry. where she blogs regularly.