Welcome to FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA Link Party #2

Welcome to the 2nd 

FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA!!!

I would like to thank each and every one of you who participated in last week's FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA!   It meant so much to me that you came by and posted your awesome links!  I checked out each and every one and was amazed at the talent out here in the blogosphere!!!  =D

I wanted to highlight a few really great features that stood out to me!

Moni at "Zu Haus at Home" put together this beautiful Casual Spring Brunch! 

What a gorgeous way to start the Spring season!  I love these tulips wrapped in the napkins and that cloche with the bunnies!   
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And, Speaking of BUNNIES, is this not the CUTEST wreath???  

This Rabbit Burrow Spring Wreath was put together by Lizbeth from "Just Dip It in Chocolate!"  I love the colors and the "wreath within a wreath" that she put together!
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My mouth was absolutely watering when I saw this recipe for
Lemon and Blueberry Butter Cake  from "Cupcakes and Crinoline"!!!

 

Actually, she pretty much had me at "BUTTER"!  I also loved this beautiful presentation!  This is a must try!!!
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And the post with the most links for my very first Festive Friday Fiesta was Alycia Nichols over at
"Table Twenty-One"  with her absolutely lovely Birthday Dinner table she created for her blog friend called "The Party She Deserves"! 

Absolutely Stunning!

Thank you one and all for participating!   I've got some buttons to share if you'd like to put them on your site or if you were featured!   Here they are!

Just copy and past this code onto the HTML portion your site.  Please let me know if this does not work!


Here's the Link Party Button!

Here's the code for the general button....    

<center>

<a href="http://www.the-home-girl-blog.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvrADRco0pAZZP82NE8h0SU_2mxM2nGKn-X-45WKHTV5BVLWozMKuouSl4Y7AGzlYfD2h0XSpwVGacPI5gWIQxCkCw54cVbLLaTCWgtLP2HDxrrZooXb1R18y-3VV52YT5O09k9CFTsy8/s1600/FestiveFriday+Fiesta+Button.jpg" /></a></center>

 

Here's the Button if you were featured!

 

 

And here's the code for that button....

 

<center>
<a href="http://www.the-home-girl-blog.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ_mrWl3vcHK2Si-0OvNLTnqhZJxQJ-bRaeqS-IPYOAKPdBjQqFLhkD-iNQQzAMf2RTcGXVWvR_AJPGg5kTXRva8hEsBlyWl6a-8OYAm5NFxist8sKXKEkiGiagHcGyfSvdLgqUxiIKnc/s1600/FestiveFridayFiestaFeatured.jpg" /></a></center>

Hope that works!   Thanks again!

Now, Let's get on to This Week's Party!!!

The Festive Friday Fiesta will be running from 8pm ET on Thursdays to 8pm ET on Sundays!
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Whadda We Eatin' Wednesday #8 - Recipe for "Sprite Southern Drop Butter Biscuits"

Hi all!

Hope you're having a great week so far! 

Yes, it's time for yet another
WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY!!!

Today I want to share a delicious recipe for "Sprite Southern Drop Butter-Biscuits"  (Like my name I gave them?  I think it needs a little work...haha)

I found a similar recipe all over Pinterest recently (not sure who the original creator was...if it was you, please let me know and I'll give you credit!) and made it for a Sunday Family Dinner a while back.  These were so buttery and good!  And I couldn't believe they were made with SPRITE!

Here's all you need for this yummy recipe!  

4 c biscuit mix,
2 c sour cream,
1 can Sprite,
1 stick of butter.
(seasonings of your choice - I used a sun-dried tomato garlic basil seasoning pack and used some of that, but even some salt and/or garlic powder would be great!)

That's it!

 

mix biscuit mix & sour cream, add Sprite a little at a time until a ball is formed (you won’t need the whole can),

melt 1 stick of butter (I also added some seasoning to the butter), and pour 1/2 of it into the bottom of the pan. 

Spoon and drop your biscuit mix into the pan, then brush on the remaining melted butter.  Don't be shy....slather that melted butter on there!   You'll do one more brushing halfway through baking, but no need to ration too much!  lol

Bake @ 375 for 20 minutes, until golden brown, brushing more butter on the biscuits at the halfway mark (10 minutes).

  

 

The biscuits soak up the butter from the bottom of the pan and make them extra yummy!

Oh my goodness...these were awesome! The family loved them (except my non-bread-eating daughter)

I sure wanted to eat more than half of one, but I have been low carbing and I knew any more would send me into a "shame-spiral" from which I might never recover!  haha!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe and let me know what YOU think!  Have you made these yet?  What did you think of them? 

Hope to see you tomorrow night for the FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA Link Party!  The links open at 8pm ET. 

Have a great night!  Thanks again for visiting and I look forward to seeing you soon!

This Post was added to...
Open House Party
Wonderful Food Wednesday
Be Inspired Friday
Foodie Friday
Masterpiece Monday
Inspire Me Monday
Monday Funday
On the Menu Monday
Weekend Wrap Up

Tablescape Tuesday - The "Knego" Tablecape (Designed by my 9 year old son)

Hey Everyone!

I hope you're having a great week so far!  

Happy TABLESCAPE TUESDAY!

For today's Tablescape Tuesday....I would like to share with you the table MY SON created for our most recent Sunday Family Dinner!

In case you're new to my blog and haven't heard of our Sunday Family Dinners, feel free to read this short snippet about our new tradition....if you've heard it all before, feel free to skip this part....

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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 every night, 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"
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Last week after our Sunday Family Dinner, and after looking at one of my design books I got from the library, Preston Bailey's "Decorating for Events",  my son asked if he could design our next tablescape.  I was so excited for his enthusiasm!   

I told him that would be great and asked him to draw up some plans as part of a school project.   He would design, put together and write about this tablescape.

So he drew up a cute sketch of what he wanted for his table and we set to work creating what he wanted.   He chose the dishes, and the colors, and he put up his creation...with just a tiny bit of help. 

He also wanted to write a "blog post" about it, like his mama!  (made me so proud...haha!)   So I let him write a report about what he did at the table, and I told him I'd post portions of his post in my blog! 

Here are some snipets from his "blog post"...in his own words....(his comments will be in green and italicized)

"I like Legos and Knex so I made a "Knego" tablescape for Sunday Family Dinner.

We are going to have chicken, rice, green beans and sparkle grapes. 

Sparkle grapes are white grapes covered in lime Jell-o {mix}.  



My sister is putting the menu together. 



I filled a vase with Legos and then I put red and white flowers on the top of the vase.

 

"I made lots of stuff out of Legos and Knex so I put all of 

my stuff that I made on the table." 

"I made 2 big Lego space ships, a Lego jetpack sled, 

a small Lego helicopter, a jetpack Lego skateboard, 

a Lego boat, a Lego car and a Lego Star Wars gun shooter. 

For Knex, I made a Ferris Wheel, a truck, a bug and a wand."

I made the plates red, white and blue.  

The chargers are gray, blue and red.  

(the blue and red ones were on the buffet.)

The tables are red and white with red candles and nice gray candle holders.  

Beautiful glass cups are placed on the table.  

Lots of Lego guys are standing on the table.    

The food was great and I couldn’t stop eating the sparkle grapes, they were so good.

THE END!!!!!!!!!!!!

He did a great job!  I gave him an A+ on this project!  

Hope you enjoyed this Tablescape Tuesday!  I really enjoyed sharing this one with you.  I'm so proud of my son and his desire and hard work to complete this tablescape for our Sunday Family Dinner!

Have a great rest of the week!  Thanks again for stopping by!

This post is being added to...
Tabletop Tuesday
Fluster's Creative Muster
Winter Blues Wednesday
Centerpiece Wednesday
Open House Party
Tablescape Thursday

A Feminine Twist on the St. Patty's Day Greens!

Hi All!

So, I know St. Patrick's Day isn't until the 17th, and on that day, I will be creating a St. Patrick's Day Table for my Sunday Family Dinner....

HOWEVER!  There is a super fun St. Patrick's Day BLOG CRAWL put on by Cuisine Kathleen coming up where we can share St Patty's Day themes for our tables, so I thought I'd put together this feminine breakfast/morning teatime table in honor of the upcoming Holiday.  There's also a "Spring Fling" Blog Hop in the works, so I thought I'd contribute to that one too, since this has a bit of Spring Flavor to it!  =D



This is a bit of a feminine take on the St. Patrick's Day Greens...

The inspiration for this table comes from this beautiful teapot given to me by a friend of mine several years ago!  I have always just adored it, but never used it in a tablescape.....until NOW!

A month ago or so, I found this beautiful pitcher at a thrift store which had the same colors as the beautiful teapot and I knew they'd look so nice together!

Then a few weeks ago, I found these cute quilted placemats at Goodwill in good condition for $2 for all 4...I grabbed these from my placemats and set them out and I liked how it all looked.

The off-white candleholder in the center with the teapot and pitcher was a find at our church's local thrift store.  They were having a 75% off sale on all their vases and candleholders.  This was 75 cents after the discount!  I stocked up on a lot with that 75% off sale!



Here's a plate breakdown for you!   The pink chargers were $1.50 each at Michael's on sale.  On top of that is my dollar store "white workhorse" plate. 


On top of that were these adorable plates I found at Goodwill.  I loved the patterns around the edges and each plate had something different in the middle....a different flower or fruit.  They were too cute to pass up!



Then I put another Goodwill find...my Gibson plate....although in retrospect, I sure wish I would have put a smaller plate so I could see more of the edges of that green plate with the interesting edges.  I just can't see enough of that!


On top of that are another great Goodwill find.  75 cent saucer plates in this adorable pattern!



On top of that are my cute little Pier1 Bowls.  They are making their appearance once again on my table.

The napkin rings were an e-bay find and the napkins themselves came from another local thrift store...25 cents each!   Gotta love that!

This simple table was fun to put together, even though I didn't have any special occasion for it....other than the blog crawl and blog hop..haha!


Hope you have a great day!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  It truly means a lot!  =D

This Post is being added to....
Seasonal Sunday
A New Creation
Masterpiece Monday
Tuesday To Do
Wow Us Wednesdays
Centerpiece Wednesday
Let's Dish St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl
Tablescape Thursday
Be Inspired Friday
Feathered Nest Friday
Thrifty Things Friday
Show and Tell Friday
Monday Funday
A Bouquet of Talent

Welcome to the Very First "FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA" Link Party!!!

Hi Everyone!

I'm so excited to finally be able to introduce the

VERY FIRST...

FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA!!! 

Source

Ole!!!   =D

Yes, it's true, after many weeks of saying how much I wanted to host a link party.....I've FINALLY figured out how to get a link party going.  YAY! 

This will be replacing my FIVE FABULOUS FINDS posts each week....instead, I want to see YOUR Fabulous stuff!

Feel free to link up Crafts, DIY, Tablescapes, Recipes, Fashion, Makeovers, Befores and Afters, Home Tours, Tips...anything that's family friendly and created by you!

This weekly Fiesta is open from 8pm Eastern Time on Thursdays to 12pm Eastern Time on Sundays!

Next Friday I will Feature the three most viewed links as well as a few of my personal faves/features!

I can't wait to see everyone's great ideas, recipes, crafts, tablescapes, tips, etc!

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I'm looking forward to seeing your FABULOSO posts and projects!  

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend! 

WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY #7 - Delcious Crock Pot "As Good as Honey-Baked" Ham

Hey all!

I hope you're having a great week!   Ours has been eventful, with an emergency trip to the dentist because my son's tooth cap was coming off.  We were long overdue for a dentist visit anyway so I took both the kids.  Fortunately, the cap was coming off because the tooth was coming out, so that was a relief.   I also found out that my son will likely need braces and both kids are about to have multiple visits from the tooth fairy very soon!

Well, it's Wednesday...and that means it's time for another
WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY!!!

I'm very excited to share with you a new recipe I found for a DELICIOUS CROCK POT HAM!

I found this recipe on Pinterest, while looking for an easy Crock Pot Ham recipe for my "Green Eggs and HAM" for our Doctor Seuss Themed Tablescape celebrating Dr. Seuss's Birthday!

Let me tell you, this ham was so good!  I might even go so far as to say it was as good as the "Honey Baked Hams" from the "Honey Baked Ham" Store!  

A bold claim?  Yes indeed...however, I'm willing to make it because my whole family agreed (except for my non-ham-eating daughter)  that this was an amazing ham.  Even my gourmet cook father and his girlfriend loved it!   We all kept going back for more!

It was also so easy....of course...because I'm definitely all about easy!  I'm totally going to make this again for Easter Dinner!  We have lots of company coming and this was just too easy and too delicious not to make again!!!

Here's the recipe.  Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the full ham coming out of the crock pot...but I'll use the pinterest picture for that. 

Here's what you'll need....

 

1.  A ham that will fit in your crock pot (pre-cooked, preferably spiral sliced, but if you can't find that, just pre-cooked works) 

2.  4 cups of Brown Sugar

3.  1 can of chunk pineapple with the juice 
(I used one can, but i might use 2 next time, because the pineapples infused with the brown sugar and ham juices were just SO delicious, I wanted more!)
 
That's it!  3 ingredients!  So Easy!


First, you line the crock pot with about 2 1/2 cups of your brown sugar.


Then you open the ham and let all the juices run into the crock pot...then place the ham in there.

Then you open the can(s) of pineapple and just dump them onto the ham.

Then sprinkle about 1/2 cup of the brown sugar over top of the ham!

Let it cook on low for 7-8 hours.   About halfway through, I turned my ham over and sprinked another 1/2 cup of brown sugar over the other side. 

Once finished, make sure to drizzle some of that delicious brown sugar pineapple sauce all over the ham slices!

Source

This makes a delicous ham that my family really loved...  I am so glad I tried it this way...No fuss...just deliciousness! 



Here's the presentation of the "Green Eggs and Ham" 

And may I say again...those pineapple chunks with that brown sugar glaze...ooooh myyyyy!  So delicious!

Hope you enjoy this recipe!  Let me know if you try it!

Also, don't forget, tomorrow (Thursday) night at 8pm ET I will be opening the link for the very first FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA Link Party!  I'd love to see your creations! 

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful day!

This post is being added to....
Show N Share Wednesday
Open House Party
Showcase Your Talent Thursday
Transformation Thursday
Be Inspired Thursday
Feathered Nest Friday
Foodie Friday
Show and Tell Friday
Pinworthy Projects
On the Menu Monday
Tuesday To Do
Weekend Wrap Up
Get Schooled Saturday
Crock Pot Recipe Link Party

Tablescape Tuesday - "Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!"

Hi everyone! 

Welcome to another TABLESCAPE TUESDAY!!!

I'm happy, yes happy, oh fiddle-dee-dee,
To share this here table, created by me.
It's in honor of one author so clever, so wise.
His books have brought whimsy to many kids' eyes!

Source

 

Yes, Saturday, March 2nd was Dr. Seuss's Birthday....

and to celebrate, I decided to do a "Dr. Seuss" themed Sunday Family Dinner.
 
 
For those of you familiar with our   tradition of Sunday family dinners, feel free to skip this part.  If you're new to my blog and have not heard of our Sunday Family dinners...

Oh, lend me your ears,
Listen up, if you please,
As I tell you the tale
Of our dinners like these!

____________________________________
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 every night, 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"
_________________________

So, I knew that this table needed to be all about fun.  I had been pouring over Pinterest to find some great ideas, and I got some great inspiration from several bloggers who had held birthday parties with the Dr. Seuss Theme....all were colorful, with the main colors being Turquoise Blue, White, and Red!

 

 It was so much fun putting this table together.  My dad and his girlfriend were coming to join us for this Sunday Family Dinner so I was setting the table for 6 this time! 

I had my daughter help with setting up this table...she put out the plates and the fabric "runners" for me  The runners were fabric from Wal-mart.  Two half-yards of each color.  



I love how these three colors look together.  So cheerful and festive!



I really wanted a bit of whimsy for this table so I made some little paper swirls with some red construction paper and one of my scrapbook paper punchers to go with the turquoise blue glass marbles as "table scatter".  Then I was out at a thrift store and found these red glass marbles so I knew I had to get them and add them to the table as well!

Here's a "plate breakdown" for you, so you can see how each place setting was set.  There were basically two sides to this.  If the place setting was on a turquoise runner, or a red and white striped runner.

If it was on the red and white striped runner,  I used a TURQUOISE charger...

If it was on the turquoise runner, I used a RED charger...

Then the "White Workhorse" plate.  If you're looking to start investing in making tablescapes, let me just say, your first and best investment would be to get a nice set of WHITE or IVORY dinner plates!   You can find them cheap at local thrift stores, or around the Holidays, this Dollar Store plate is a nice option. 

 Find a nice plate with some texture around the edges and this makes a great springboard for any color tablescape!  

 On top of that, the plates varied again...with a turquoise plate on the setting with the red charger, and a red square plate on the setting with the turquoise charger!

 Then on top of that, a white dessert plate...

 Then on top of that, my cute red and white polka dot saucer plates from Ross!

On top of that, I put a place card with everyone's names on it and this quote from Dr. Seuss!



For the centerpiece, I turned a glass cylinder vase upside down on a dollar store black plate and wrapped white and red streamers around it.   

Around the "Cat in the Hat...er...HAT" I placed some red tealights inside my cute pier 1 bowls ($1.50 each at Pier 1)

Here was everything all together!

I just loved putting this table together!

For the Buffet, I used a turquoise and white checkered tablecloth that I've had for quite a while, with a red round tablecloth folded to make a runner down the center.  

We served "Green Eggs and Ham" (chipolte deviled eggs with green food coloring and a wonderful crock pot ham, which I will post the recipe for tomorrow...so easy!), "Oodles of Noodles" (pesto pasta salad and mac-n-cheese) and my tribute to "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" (blue jello made with sprite and swedish fish)

 

We had various books from Dr. Seuss from our home collection put up for the occasion.  It was very fun!

Thanks so much for joining me for this "Tablescape Tuesday"

I hope you have a very good day,
That it's good to you in every way
May your sunshine be sunny and your starlight be starry
And may I see you this Friday for my First Ever Link Party!

 

That's right!  If you hadn't seen yet, starting this Friday March 8th, I'll be hosting a new link party called the "FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA"   I can't wait to see all your awesome creations!  

This will be a weekly link party going from 8pm Eastern Time on Thursday nights through Noon on Sundays!  

I've gotten so many wonderful ideas from posts that I found through link parties, so I can't wait to host one and see even more fantastic ideas!!!  =D 

I'll post all the info throughout the week, but I'm really looking forward to doing this weekly link party!  =D

Have a great day and I'll talk with you soon!

This post is being added to...
Festive Friday Fiesta
Tabletop Tuesday
Design Decor Tuesday
Tuesday Confessional
Time To Shine
Two Girls and a Party
Centerpiece Wednesday
Let's Dish
Open House Party
Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits
Tablescape Thursday
Feathered Nest Friday
Thrifty Things Friday
Seasonal Sunday