Tablescape Tuesday - My 6 Year Old Daughter Designed a Tablescape for Mother's Day!

Hello Everyone!!!  

I hope all you moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day!   I certainly did!  My family each made me a homemade card for Mother's Day (my son even made a card from our dog saying "Rappy Mother's Day...I Rove You!" (like Scooby Doo talks)  with paw prints he drew...haha!)

Then they made me a nice pancake breakfast and we drove to Marco Island to pick shells at the beach and have a nice lunch at a resort!   I got some nice sand and shells for a future tablescape!  YAY!

Then we came home and had a nice SUNDAY FAMILY DINNER at a tablescape made by my daughter!!!

In case you're wondering about our tradition of our Sunday Family Dinners...here's a short blurb about it...if you already know about and wish to skip this part, just scroll down...haha!
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We started a new family tradition in January 2013 (a New Years' Resolution) that I hope continues even after the kids are grown.

"SUNDAY FAMILY DINNERS!"

We pretty much have dinner together as a family most nights, but on Sundays, we have a special dinner in the dining room as opposed to the kitchen table, where we normally eat.

I get out the fine china and candles and make a special meal and so far, it has been something we look forward to each week.

Then once a month, we invite some of our extended family to join us for a Sunday family dinner.

It's also been giving me a chance to do lots of new TABLESCAPES..haha!

To see my previous tablescapes from other Sunday Family Dinners, you can click here:

Sunday Family Dinner #1 - Red and Blue Toile
S.F.D.#2 - Black, White and Silver
S.F.D.#3 - Winter Woods With White
S.F.D.#4 - The "Royal Treatment"
S.F.D.#5 - Super Bowl Table
S.F.D. #6 - Mardi Gras Table
S.F.D. #7 - Spring is Springing Up
S.F.D. #8 - "Apple of My Eye"
S.F.D. #9 - "Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss"
S.F.D. #10 - The "KNego" Tablescape (Designed by my 9 year old son)
S.F.D. #11 - The St. Patrick's Day Tablescape
S.F.D. #12 - Last-Minute Lavender Tablescape
S.F.D. #13 - 3 Easter Tables
S.F.D. #14 - Wrapped In Love Tablescape
S.F.D. #15 - Wrapped Up in Family Tablescape
S.F.D. #16 - Orange You Ready for a Picnic Tablescape
 

 

 Because I'm on a budget but love to switch up my decor for the various tablescapes each week, I'm decorating my tables almost entirely on BARGAINS....finds from the Dollar Stores, Thrift Stores, or regular stores with sales or clearance items.

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My daughter had been talking about wanting to design a tablescape for the longest time....especially after my son designed one for us a couple months ago.  That tablescape is the "KNego Tablescape shown above at S.F.D. #10 if you would like to see it.  

So we decided that this Sunday would be the one where she could design the table.   She was so excited!

 She decided she wanted a Barbie theme...but not just ANY Barbie theme...she wanted to theme it around the movie "Barbie and the Pink Shoes" Which is a new Barbie ballet movie...

So we kind of did Dancing Barbies all around the table...with the main character from the movie "Kristin" - played by Barbie dancing at the center!  She had gotten this Barbie for her Birthday this year and it's one of her favorites!

 
We had to get inventive to figure out how to get them all to stand up...since we only had one Barbie stand....so this dancing couple are in a standing silverware holder...haha!




This Ken Doll had some suspenders on his outfit that were a bit stretched out...so I put them behind him and fastened them to this silver candleholder....then he just held his partner to keep her up! 

 

The other Barbies were leaning against the tall pillar candleholders that I recently bought at Goodwill.  They had a neat swirl pattern that kinda reminded us of "twirling"  lol

 

 

Not every Barbie had a handsome partner so they just did their own dancing!

 

We ran out of nice dancing outfits for her boy dolls...so this couple was sportin' a cowboy/surfer/medieval look! lolol

 

 

She picked out all of the accessories and flowers (with just a little help...but not much!) 

 

The table runners were pink and one of them had ballet shoes...we paired that with another runner going across it in multiple shades of pink...both were actually 1/2 yard strips of fabric from Joann's Fabric! 

 The place settings were chosen by my daughter to match the theme.  Pink charger plates from Michaels, Our Dollar Store white dinner plates, some pretty pink salad plates that were a fabulous Goodwill find for $1 each, a white Gibson dessert plate and the lovely petal bowls from Homegoods on top.

 We also put up floral bouquets on either side of the centerpiece as well as pretty silver tea cups and saucers from Ross  (it came with a set of 6 cups and 6 saucers and match a teapot set I also found recently at Ross!)  We didn't have any tea, but she insisted that we put them out!  haha! They did look lovely there!   She has a good eye!

 

I'm so proud of my little girl for creating such a lovely table for us to eat our special Mother's Day Sunday Family Dinner!!!   I will always cherish these masterpieces that my kids make...and I LOVE that they enjoy creating them almost as much as I do!  =D

Thanks so much for joining me for another TABLESCAPE TUESDAY!   Hope to see you again soon! 


This post is being added to...
Inspire Me Tuesday
Centerpiece Wednesday
Let's Dish
Tablescape Thursday
Open House Party
Pink Saturday
Thrifty Things Friday
Festive Friday Fiesta

FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA Link Party # 9

Hi Everyone!

 

Welcome to another festive Friday Fiesta!!!  So glad you could be here!!!

 

 

I'm running crazy this week but wanted to post a couple of features so I thought I'd post the two most-viewed links this week.  There was a tie!!!  And both were WONDERFUL Cinco De Mayo Tables!!!

 

First is Jenna at the Painted Apron with her Cinco De Mayo Table!

 

 

 

Next is Alycia at Table Twenty-One with HER Cinco De Mayo Table...Livin' La Vida Loca!

 

 

 

Gorgeous, ladies!!   Love both of these!

 

Now...LET'S PARTY!!!!

 

Can't wait to see everyone's creativity this week!

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WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY - Recipe for an Easy Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole!

Hi Everyone!!!

Soooo, a few weeks ago, I hosted a Homeschool Moms' Prayer Breakfast.  It was a wonderful morning and a much needed time for me!  It is funny how sometimes when you do something to try to bless others, that you get blessed even more!  =D

While trying to decide what to serve for the breakfast....I needed something easy to make because I had been out the night before on a date night with my hubby and knew I'd be tired the next morning.

I decided to make this great recipe I found here for a nice dish that would cook while I slept!  I LOVED that idea!  I made a few tweaks to make it easier for me but would also like to try it by following the recipe exactly sometime.  it sounded good too, but I didn't have time to make it so I went for an easier alternative!

It's a Easy and delicious Crock Pot Southwest Breakfast Casserole!  A nice flavorful wake-up for your mouth!

Here's what you need:

 

1 bag of frozen Hash Browns (2 lb bag)
1 jar of salsa
1 bag of real bacon bits
1 small bag of shredded cheddar cheese  (2 cups)
1 carton of eggs (one dozen)
1 cup of whole milk
Salt and pepper to taste (the salsa adds lots of flavor, but you certainly can add some if you want)


First, spray the crock pot with non-stick cooking spray...

Then layer in 1/3 of the Hash browns


On top of that, 1/3 of the bag of bacon bits...Then 1/3 of the jar of salsa.

Then 1/3 of the cheese

Continue this pattern two more times, finishing off with the cheese on top.

Then, in a bowl, mix the 12 eggs and the cup of milk.  Add the salt and pepper if needed and mix.  Pour evenly into the crock pot on top of the layers.

Set the crock pot on low, cover and cook overnight (8 to 10 hours)!

In the morning, your breakfast casserole should look something like this...



This was very yummy and everyone at the prayer breakfast seemed to like it!   The best part is that it was so easy!!!




Hope you enjoyed this WHADDA WE EATIN WEDNESDAY!  Have a great rest of your week!  =)

Tablescape Tuesday - The TABLESCAPE AWARDS!!

Hi guys!

I hope you are doing great and having a great week! 

We had made plans to go to my son's best friend's Birthday party so I didn't create a tablescape for this week's Sunday family dinner.   We ended up not going after all (long story, but it involved two misbehaving kids in trouble...big trouble...lol)  so I just kept up the old tablescape for our dinner.

Soooooo, since I don't have a table of my own to share with you, I thought I'd do something a little different....

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you....the HOME GIRL'S TABLESCAPE AWARDS, 2013 "Preview" edition!!!

This is a shortened version of a longer "awards" post that will come later in the year...but I wanted to give you a taste of what is to come! 

Here are just a few of the categories...in no particular order!

The first award goes out for BEST BLING!   This table is a delight to look at...it's grand and stately....the bling is awesome....everything is put together so nicely...and the NAME of the tablescape is absolutely awesome!

And the award for BEST BLING goes to......

Alycia Nichols of "Table Twenty-One" for her SHOULD HAVE PUT A RING ON IT Tablescape!!

Up Next....The award for BEST USE OF COLOR!    This table wows from the moment you view it!   I love her brilliant colors in this Cinco De Mayo table and she really made a festive table with these gorgeous colors which, what seemed to me, the perfect amount of every color represented!!

So without further ado....the award for the BEST USE OF COLOR  goes to....

Ann from "Corner of Plaid and Paisley" for her Color Explosion Table!!

The next award is for MOST CREATIVE TABLESCAPE...and it goes to someone who really wowed me with her creativity!  Even some of the food she served was just so creative!

And the award for MOST CREATIVE TABLESCAPE goes to....Jenna from The Painted Apron with her Bunny Garden Tablecape.   You have to check out the whole post to see all the creative ideas she had!

This is a shortened version of the Tablescape Awards, but be on the lookout later this year when I do the full version...complete with more categories and possibly even prizes!  =D

Hopefully this will also entice you to post your best tablescapes on my new Link Party...the FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA!!!   This runs every week starting Thursday nights at 8pm ET through Sundays at 8pm ET.  

Thanks again for joining me and I hope you have a great day!  Congratulations to the "winners"!   =D

FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA Link Party #8 and Features!!!

Hi all!

Welcome to another Exciting FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA!!!

Well, as usual, we had some great link ups to this party last week!   I hope you'll check out these wonderful features, if you haven't already! 


Marigene from In the Middle of Nowhere shared this gorgeous blue and green dragonfly Table! 

I love the mix of these gorgeous vivid colors and those wonderful dragonfly plates and napkin rings!

Lizbeth from Just Dip It in Chocolate has done it again with her FABULOUS-looking Lemon Meringue Pie Milkshake!! 

Oh goodness..this looks so awesome!!!


Sarah from Hyacinths for the Soul shared her lovely stay in the Texas Hill Country! 

What a gorgeous setting and a wonderful-looking luncheon!  You should see some of the flowers on this beautiful ranch!

Congratulations to all who were featured!!! 

Just a friendly reminder to make sure to place a link back to this party on your posts.  I had several other bloggers' posts that I wanted to feature this week, but there were no links to this party on their posts.   If you'd like to be featured, I'm afraid that is a must.  =)

Well, on to this week's party!  Can't wait to see what you have to share this weekend!!!  =D

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WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY - Recipe for "Creamy Dreamy Crock Pot Chicken and Noodles"!

Hi there friends!!!!

How's your week going???   Mine is good...it's having its ups and downs.

The ups?   This morning I got up to wake up the kids, only to find my son already awake, lying on the floor reading his Bible!   We didn't even tell him he had to...he just decided to do it on his own!  That was awesome!  He said he enjoyed reading this morning about the story of Jonah!

The downs?  I found out this week that I have rosacea!  UGH!  I had a feeling it was something like that, but to now have it confirmed...not my favorite thing to hear!  It means I'm gonna need to make some changes to keep it at bay...I've already had a few flare ups, and I guess it can get worse with age.  Not happy about that!  =(

More ups?  Tonight, I made a really yummy, and very easy dish, that I'm gonna share with you on this week's...

WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY!!!!

I was taking the kids to a playdate today so I knew we wouldn't get home until dinner time.  I had to make something fast and easy and this recipe from Pinterest (I'm actually not sure who to credit it to, the pin goes to some weird site that doesn't actually post the recipe but all the instructions were on the pin itself) looked interesting and worth trying.

Since it didn't have a name on Pinterest, I thought I'd name it..."CREAMY DREAMY CHICKEN AND NOODLES". 

I'd also like to call it...a perfect weeknight dinner for busy families!!!  =)

Sooo easy!   I only got 1 picture, due to time constraints, but believe me when I say...I rarely can find a dish that BOTH of my children like....so when I find it, I feel the need to SHARE!  lol  My hubby and I also really liked this as well.

Here's how you make it!

Ingredients:
4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 7-8 boneless skinless tenderloins, which is what I used.)
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 can of cheddar cheese soup
1 stick of butter, sliced
4 cups of chicken broth (I used water with 4 bullion cubes dissolved in them, which gave the dish a saltier flavor than broth would)
1 bag of egg noodles (or a box of your favorite pasta)
Seasoning (I used 3 tbsp dried minced onion, 2 tsp garlic powder, and 2 tsp onion powder, and then threw about 1 tsp parsley at the end)
1/4 cup grated parmesean cheese (optional)

Throw everything in the crock pot except the egg noodles.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.  Then dump the noodles in and cook for another hour on low or another 1/2 hour on high.  

I cooked everything on high. 

Here's what it looked like when it was all made and in the crock pot!

This was enough to feed a fairly hungry family of four and still have leftovers for another night for all of us!   I love that because I've started freezing meals for easy prep another night!  

The sauce may be a little runny at the end, but it does thicken with a little time.  If you'd like to thicken it a bit more, I added some grated parmesean to it and stirred it in. It did thicken even more as we ate it.

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UPDATE - I froze this and reheated this for lunch the following day to see how it tasted...and it was great!   Love this recipe even more now!!!  =)
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This is a very versatile recipe too....you could add peas or corn or broccoli or tomatoes OR mushrooms...you get the idea...haha...and I bet it would be very yummy too!

Thanks so much for joining me for another

WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY!!! 

Have a great day!

This post is being added to...
Wonderful Food Wednesday
Fluster's Creative Muster
Festive Friday Fiesta

TABLESCAPE TUESDAY! "Orange you ready for a picnic?"

Hi everyone!

I hope you are having a great week so far!

I had a wonderful weekend....On Saturday, I took the kids out for a craft class at our local Michael's Craft store.   They have them every Saturday from 10am to 12pm and you can come anytime during that time and the kids can make a craft that they provide all the materials for.  The cost is just 2 dollars, but worth it...and the kids love it.  If you want, you can even shop around the store while they're doing the craft!  It's great!   Then we went shopping, so I had some happy kids this weekend.

On Sunday, a very sweet friend of mine treated me and some of her other friends to a wonderful Spa Day!  It was so nice and such a wonderful time for friends to get together and get some pampering!

I got home just a few hours before we had our Sunday Family Dinner...

In case you're wondering about what our "Sunday Family Dinners" are all about, here is a little snipet to explain this new tradition of ours...

______________________________

We started a new family tradition in January 2013 (a New Years' Resolution) that I hope continues even after the kids are grown.

"SUNDAY FAMILY DINNERS!"

We pretty much have dinner together as a family most nights, but on Sundays, we have a special dinner in the dining room as opposed to the kitchen table, where we normally eat.

I get out the fine china and candles and make a special meal and so far, it has been something we look forward to each week.

Then once a month, we invite some of our extended family to join us for a Sunday family dinner.

It's also been giving me a chance to do lots of new TABLESCAPES..haha!

To see my previous tablescapes from other Sunday Family Dinners, you can click here:

Sunday Family Dinner #1 - Red and Blue Toile
S.F.D.#2 - Black, White and Silver
S.F.D.#3 - Winter Woods With White
S.F.D.#4 - The "Royal Treatment"
S.F.D.#5 - Super Bowl Table
S.F.D. #6 - Mardi Gras Table
S.F.D. #7 - Spring is Springing Up
S.F.D. #8 - "Apple of My Eye"
S.F.D. #9 - "Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss"
S.F.D. #10 - The "KNego" Tablescape (Designed by my 9 year old son)
S.F.D. #11 - The St. Patrick's Day Tablescape
S.F.D. #12 - Last-Minute Lavender Tablescape
S.F.D. #13 - 3 Easter Tables
S.F.D. #14 - Wrapped In Love Tablescape
S.F.D. #15 - Wrapped Up in Family Tablescape
 

 

 Because I'm on a budget but love to switch up my decor for the various tablescapes each week, I'm decorating my tables almost entirely on BARGAINS....finds from the Dollar Stores, Thrift Stores, or regular stores with sales or clearance items.

_________________________

For our Sunday Family dinner this week....I decided to do an Orange and white theme.  I found this cute tablecloth at Old Time Pottery on sale, so I picked it up...it almost looked like a picnic blanket...so I thought I'd go for a simple kind of "picnic" theme.



I kept my white tablecloth on from last week, and just added this cute orange and white plaid tablecloth I got on sale from Old Time Pottery!   I wanted this to be a casual table...something somewhat reminiscent of a picnic, if possible, but maybe with a little more flair. 

Here's the plate breakdown...

I found these adorable orange flower chargers at Michael's on sale for 99 cents each...love those deals!



On top of that is my French White plate that I've had since I got married many years ago.


On top of that is a new orange salad plate with such pretty scroll edging from Old Time Pottery...just $1.49 each! 


On top of that is a 50 cent Goodwill dessert/bread plate in a pretty pattern similar to my dinner plate, but it actually goes great with both of my sets of white plates, so I'm a happy girl!

The Orange bowls are from the Dollar Tree...they have them in most stores now in some pretty colors!  =)   I also used paper napkins to portray the picnic theme.



In the center is my soup tureen filled with orange and white flowers and placed on my homemade pedestal...



and on each side are my IKEA pillar candleholders with some orange/coral candles on top.  

It was a nice meal, but I did end up taking the tureen off the pedestal so I could see my husband when we were sitting diagonal from eachother.  A thing I should have kept in mind when setting this table...if you want your guests to be able to talk with people across from them, make sure you set your table appropriately so that your centerpieces and décor is not blocking your guests's sight of eachother!


Thanks so much for joining me for this Tablescape Tuesday!  I hope you have a great week and I hope to see you again soon!  =)

This post is being added to...
Inspire Me Tuesday
Centerpiece Wednesday
Let's Dish
Open House Party
Tablescape Thursday
Thrifty Things Friday
Festive Friday Fiesta