Chicken Avocado Lunchwrap

Hello all! Here is yet another fabulous fast lunch you can eat on the go! I've said it before and I'll say it again... I LOVE LUNCHWRAPS! Do you ever find yourself on the go weather it's at your house, running errands, at work etc. Well here is another lunchwrap idea to save our day! The great thing about this is it's portable, meant to be eaten fast! Quickly put this together, and eat on the run or wrap it up for a fast lunch later! DELISH!

Chicken Avocado Lunchwrap

1 Healthy Homemade Tortilla

1 leaf romaine lettuce

2-3 slices chicken deli meat

A couple drizzles of Copy Cat Cafe Rio Salad Dressing or - Ranch dressing

1/2 Avocado sliced 

*keep the other half with the seed inside - cover with plastic wrap and use tomorrow! The seed keeps it fresh and not brown

 Set your tortilla on a cutting board. Layer the ingredients on the tortilla. Roll up and eat - or roll and wrap up for later! YUM!

Here are a few other Lunchwrap ideas! Check them out!

(click on the title below the picture to take you to the recipe)

Turkey Bacon Ranch Lunchwrap

Chicken Spinach & Hummus Lunchwrap

Linking up here

Sweet Cream Strawberry Hearts - Valentine's Round-Up!

Check out these Sweet Cream Strawberry Hearts I made! They are DIVINE! Talk about a delicious Valentine's Day treat! I got this idea from my dear friend Holli. I helped her make these a long time ago for a little jewelry party she was throwing. They are very simple and don't take much time at all! This is my kind of dessert! Creamy, sweet and wonderful! 

YUMMMM!

Check out all of these other great Valentine's Day Ideas too! SO CUTE!

1) Valentine's Day Cupcakes by Cupcake Diaries

2) Hand Print Valentine's Door Decor by Tiny Sidekick

3) Sweet Cream Strawberry Hearts by Cook and Craft Me Crazy

4) Paper Heart Wreath by Made to be a Momma

5) Bunny Valentine Printable by Whistle and Ivy

6) Valentine's Date Night Match Game by Play .Party. Pin.

7) I Only Have Eyes for You Printable Valentines by Persia Lou

8) Heart-Shaped Chocolate Truffles by Sugar Tart Crafts

9) Maze Valentine Printables by Cutesy Crafts

10) Gold Conversation Hearts by Homemade Ginger

11) Glow Stick Valentines by Keeping it Simple

-Here's how to make my Sweet Cream Strawberry Hearts-

Take your strawberries and cut a "V" at the top to remove the stem...

see - it turns the strawberry into a "Heart"

Core out the middle for the filling to go inside

Sweet Cream Recipe:

6 oz. Cream Cheese - softened

2 T. milk

3 T. Sugar 

Mix with a hand blender or kitchen aid whatever you have - until silky smooth

Place the Sweet Cream in a frosting bag

(If you don't have a frosting bag - take a large plastic zip bag and cut a small hole in one of the corners- fill it up just like you would a frosting bag - it's a good substitute)

Take your "cored" strawberry hearts and fill them with the sweet cream

DELISH!

Cover and refrigerate when done

Linking up here

Orange Mango Banana Smoothie

Here's one of our new favorites! Don't get me wrong we love all of our smoothies - but this one hit the spot! How do you like your smoothies? Thick or thin? That's the great things about smoothies, you add milk to your specific desired consistency. We love trying new frozen fruits, and this attempt was Mango!
 Mmm... we liked this! Check it out!

Orange Mango Banana Smoothie

1 1/2 c. frozen banana slices and frozen mango chunks

1 1/4 c. milk (or add until desired consistency)

1 small orange (cuties)

Blend in a blender - bullet - food processor etc. whatever you have - blend until smooth. Grab a straw and drink up! Yum! 

Remember to drink relatively fast - this is fruit and it will brown. Brown smoothies aren't appealing to drink.

*Add a couple Tablespoons of rolled oats to make it thicker and more of a "meal."

Check out a few of our other favorite smoothies!

Click on the title below the picture to take you to the recipe!

Banana Apple Shake

Banana Pineapple Smoothie

Banana Raspberry Oatmeal Shake

Very Berry Oatmeal Shake

Linking up here

Kids Travel Packet

Hello all! Today I'm sharing a small gift I put together for a dear friend who was traveling with her 2 year old. They were going to be flying and driving, and I knew it would be nice to have something "new" to keep her busy. I threw this together in 5 minutes. These are all things my little girl loved to do when she was 2. My mom is a genius. One time sitting in church my little girl (at the time was 2) would NOT sit still - so my mom pulled out a stash of stickers. HALLELUJAH! She was so intrigued with the stickers on her hands and putting them on paper. After that, I won't go ANYWHERE without some stickers in my purse. This is a great little present for children of any age - weather they are traveling, going to church, doctors appointments or moving. 

Contents of the Packet:

1 stack of stickers - I love a variety -especially animal stickers for small kids (they love to make the sounds)

1 small packet of crayons (they give them for free at a lot of restaurants - If you have multiple children only use one package for your kids and save the other!)

2 small notepads - made with typing paper, scrapbook paper scraps and staples

Cut a small stack of typing paper. 

Take a few scraps of scrapbook paper and cut 2 long strips for the top. Place the strips of paper over the stack of typing paper and staple all together.

Take a paper punch or cut out a design for the front- then glue it in place.

*you can add snacks into the little packet or anything else you think would keep the kids entertained!

Linking up here

Party Time Bean Dip

Guess what's coming up?! THE SUPER BOWL! WAHOOO! I love the super bowl - you know what I love most about the super bowl?! THE FOOD! I love eating different dips and chips - BBQ Smokies - Super Nachos - Tortilla Roll-ups etc. ALL DAY LONG! Well, here is a FABULOUS Bean dip to add to your list of delicious munchies to make! My husband, kids and I took this down like it was no one's business! Talk about a home run! 

"Super" fast and "Super" delicious for the "SUPER" BOWL!! 

Party Time Bean Dip

2 cans Pinto Beans - drained and rinsed

In a small fry pan saute:

1/3 large onion chopped

1 garlic clove minced 

1 tsp. olive oil

Saute until onion is transparent and starting to brown.

In a blender - mixer - bullet- food processor - anything you have place...

the drained pinto beans

the sauted onion and garlic

2 T. Olive Oil

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cumin

 Blend/mix all together until smooth or desired consistency.

Serve with Healthy Homemade Tortilla Chips - YUM!

* This makes about 2 to 2 1/2 c. bean dip, so for a big group I would double the recipe

Here are a few other ideas for Super Bowl Snacks!

4 Ingredient BBQ Smokies

Tasty Taco Cups

Tortilla Roll Ups

Homemade Hummus

Pizza Bites

Grape Stick Appetizers

White Chocolate Oreo Popcorn

Smore's Popcorn

Black Bean Dip

Dip your veggies in this - Copy Cat Cafe Rio Salad Dressing

Broccoli Bacon Salad

Linking up here

Apple Energy Slices

Do you get low on energy between lunch and dinner? I sure do! We are definitely a snack family. I love simple snacks that are easy to put together and even easier to eat. These sure perked up my attitude and boosted my energy level. Not to mention they are deliciously healthy! Check it out!
By the way, our kids love to eat these just as much as we do! This is an awesome after school/ after nap snack! 

Apple Energy Slices

1 apple- sliced  

peanut butter - natural - creamy- crunchy - whatever floats your boat

Your favorite cereal

(This is where it gets fun - you can change up the texture and flavor everyday)

We love "Great Grains" (shown above is Great Grains - Cranberry Almond)

I've used Rice cereal, all kinds of Chex, Kix, etc. We've also loved granola bars we crush up. They are all good!

*Optional - sliced almonds - chopped pecans - chopped walnuts etc.

Linking up here

Children's Book Banner

Guess what's happening this Saturday?! I'm helping a couple of great gals throw a baby shower for our friend Michelle. Michelle is expecting a baby girl, and told us that she's already been given a TON of clothes. What were we to do? Throw her another shower where she would get even MORE clothes? Uh, uh! No way. We are throwing her a Book and Diaper shower! Books can be expensive, so what better way to begin a little library than a baby shower?! And who doesn't need more diapers?! az

So in celebration of Michelle, I made this Children's Book Banner! This was VERY simple! I can't wait to put it up to show off!

 As you can tell I used the Little Golden Book Pinocchio. It just so happened that I had an extra book in our collection. I thought it was perfect being gender neutral and the illustrations were darling!

Start by wiggling the binding to loosed up the cardboard and staples. All I did was push down and lifted up then the staples released! EASY!

Remove the pages

Cut the pages so they are single pages

Make a stencil of the design of banner you want, and start tracing each page- then cut out.

Here are 2 of the cut out book pages 

Print off on white card stock the letters you want on the banner. Punch the letters out with a circle punch and glue onto different green/yellow scrapbook papers. Then cut around leaving a small border.

Glue the "bordered circles" onto the bottom of the banner book pages

Pull about 6 in of extra thread (and a little extra of the bobbin thread) to use as a hanger.

Start sewing the book pages together

Keep about 1/2 - 1 " in between each page for wiggle room.

When done sewing all of the pages together tie a double knot with the "hanger" strings.

Cut the smallest string (the bobbin thread) so you only have 1 string to worry about not tangling!

Here is the finished product! SO CUTE!

 Linking up here

Valentine's Day Mantel

I just LOVE Valentine's Day! The colors, the flowers, the chocolates and the decorations! I love showing others how much I love and appreciate them - especially through letters. This holiday is just like Thanksgiving in my mind. Here is our festive mantel decorations. The vintage cards have a special story - scroll down to see! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

See how to make this Valentine's Day Paper & Hearts Banner- click here!

See how to make these cute Paper Heart Sticks - click here!

This is one of my favorite things in my home. My dear Aunt gave me some letters my grandpa kept while he was in the service during WWII. This is a letter his mother (my great-grandma) sent him for his birthday! The post mark is Aug.1944. Pretty amazing! 

This little card from a mother to a daughter, is an old one of my moms! Her mom gave it to her, and now she gave it to me.

This is one of the OLDEST things I have in my house! This card was written to my Grandma's mother - so my Great-grandma from HER MOM! So I have my Great-Great Grandmother's card given to my Great Grandma! How neat is that!? What fun family history

Linking up here

Check it out!

Check it out! I'm guest posting over at Dessert Now, Dinner Later today! I made a special Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Smoothie! It's DELICIOUS! Go over and check Amber's blog out- its AWESOME! 

See recipe HERE

Valentine's Day Paper & Hearts Banner

Check this out! I made this darling paper and felt heart banner in just 30 minutes! It MADE my mantel! Now my house looks like Valentine's day is tomorrow. So cute! This was very simple, it just took a little time! See how to make this below!

Fold a paper in half and cut out a sideways oval like so...

To make a heart stencil

Grab your felt - heart stencil - a pen or pencil and your scissors

Trace the heart stencil onto your desired felt colors - 3 each color - then cut out

On a scrap piece of typing paper measure out 4 in wide and 6 in long. Measure in the middle and draw a 2 in line. Then from the top down - measure 4 1/2 in and make a dot. From the dot- line it up to the corners of the banner and draw lines - seen below. Now just cut out the banner pattern.

Trace the banner pattern onto pieces of card stock then cut out

Hot glue the cut out felt hearts onto the card stock.

Take the heart stencil and trace a heart with your heart stencil you used on your felt hearts. Grab some gold sequins and hot glue the sequins onto the pencil line.

Pull out about 6 in of thread before you start sewing the paper banner together for you to hang with. Start sewing the paper along the top...

Leave about 1/2 - 1' in between each paper for wiggle room. Continue to sew along the tops leaving spaces in between. 

When done sewing all of the papers in the order you want - don't forget to pull out an extra 6 in. of thread to have something to hang it by on the other side! 

Hang up and you're DONE! Enjoy the brightness and LOVE that comes from your new darling banner!

 Linking up here