Ready for some more fun Valentine Printables? Here we go!
{Please click on blog name to print/download.}
So many awesome ones to choose from and I still have one more roundup for you!!
Happy Soiree Day!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Vintage Gwen Chapel-Prayer For The Home
So I've been thinking about my new house a lot. Surprised? I'm just so excited because technically it's my first purchase. I can't wait to make it a home. Not just 4 walls but a safe, peaceful, place of comfort for not just us 3 but for all who enter. I looked in my Prayers That Avail Much book and found this awesome prayer to share. I would love to have you join me in praying this over our homes.
The Home
Father, I thank You that You have blessed me with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.
Through skillful and godly wisdom is my house (my life, my home, my family) built, and by understanding it is established on a sound and good foundation. And by knowledge shall the chambers (of its every area) be filled with all precious and pleasant riches-great priceless treasure. The house of the uncompromisingly righteous shall stand. Prosperity and welfare are in my house in the name of Jesus.
My house is securely built. It is founded on a rock-revelation knowledge of Your Word, Father. Jesus is my Cornerstone. Jesus is Lord of my household. Jesus is our Lord-spirit, soul, and body.
Whatever may be our task, we work at it heartily as something done for You, Lord, and not for men. We love each other with the God kind of love, and we dwell in peace. My home is deposited into Your charge, entrusted to Your protection and care.
Father, as for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord, in Jesus' name. Hallelujah! Amen.
May the Lord bless your home!!
Happy Weekend!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
{Guest Series} The Best of Me-Feeding My Temple
Let's face it, we all love Italian food. But we all know it can sometimes be very high in calories, fat, and carbs. I have a great go to recipe for Parmesan Chicken that is a regular in our dinner rotation. I promise the small amount of prep work is worth it!
Skinny Chicken Parmesan
adapted from both Skinny Taste and The Girl Who Ate Everything
serves 4 (one chicken breast each, 225 calories)
2 (8 oz) chicken breasts, sliced in half (horizontally, or butterflied but cut all the way through. You will end up with 4 pieces of chicken)
3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings (I don't necessarily like a lot of Italian seasoning, so add more if you like it!)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (This does not have to be fresh. In fact a use the stuff in the green bottle more times than not)
1 1/2-2 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1 cup marinara or your favorite spaghetti sauce
cooking spray
Preheat oven to 450°. Line large baking sheet with foil (easy clean up) and spray lightly with cooking spray.
Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and Italian seasonings in a bowl. Melt the butter in the microwave in another bowl (this is usually melted after about 20 seconds, so watch it closely.) Lightly brush the butter onto the chicken, then dip into breadcrumb/cheese mixture. Place on baking sheet and repeat with the remaining 3 pieces of chicken.
Lightly spray a little more cooking spray on top (this makes it nice and crispy) and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and turn over. Spoon sauce over each piece and top with mozzarella cheese and bake another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
I like to serve this on a bed of whole grain spaghetti tossed in additional spaghetti sauce. You can also enjoy it with a side salad or veggies.
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Also, have you heard about the upcoming Find Some Love Fest? Grab the button and meet back here February 1st!
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Didn't that sound yum!? I love Italian! Allison is an awesome cook and baker! I've enjoyed getting to know her and co host our monthly Birchbox Beauty Bash with her...it's so fun!! Tomorrow is our 2nd party so check it out and make sure and join in on her Love Fest!
Happy Thursday!!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Soiree Day-Valentine Printables {1}
Ok so after making the move announcement yesterday I gave it a thought and for the next 3 Tuesdays I'll be bringing you 3 great roundups of Valentine printables from around blog world.
I love printables! They make party planning and gift giving a little less stressful!
Enjoy!!
{Please go directly to each blog and download. Just click on blog name!}
These are all so fun!
Happy Soiree Day!!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Making It Official...We're Moving!
I contemplated about writing this post since I don't have any pictures but time is ticking and I wanted you lovelies to know what was going on!
I've mentioned a few times that we are finally selling our house after 15 months of it being on the market!!
{Are ya smiling with me?}
The buyer wants in as soon as possible. So we thought we'd rent for a little bit and not be in a rush to find something to buy. We've looked on and off over the last 15 months and just couldn't find what we really wanted. Which basically is a little bit of land and a bigger house. Either the properties we were finding were out of our price range or the houses desperately needed to be updated.
Well I'm happy to report that we, by Divine Providence, found a house to buy.
{God is so good!}
Honestly at first I wasn't excited....there's some cons and I was trying to figure out in my mind how to overcome them before I was to the excited point that I'm at now. But God had me make a Pros/Cons list and He brought to my memory some things I had forgotten that I wanted in a house.
Pros: 14 Cons: 2
{Some of the cons we'll work on immediately...the ones under the line. ☺}
Did ya catch that? I get a crafting space!! Whoopee!!
Just a little about the house...
It's a 2022 square foot house built in 1975 that's been completely redone on the inside. It's on 5.27 acres!
And it's 10 minutes from our church and only 15-20 minutes from plenty of shopping! I'm having to sacrifice closet space and a full bath in the master bath (it's 3/4 bath). It worked out that I'm getting a pantry and island made for the kitchen!
Everything is just falling into place.
And our payment is going to be less then we are paying for an 1200 square foot house!!
I. Am. Excited!
So I said all that to say this...posts may be fewer the next month or so until we get settled.
Show & Share on Wednesdays will continue...I'd love to see some closet storage ideas. Hint, hint. And I've got some great guests lined up for Thursdays in my The Best of Me series. The Birchbox Beauty Bash is continuing too. Other than that I'm just not sure, we'll see how it goes but at least you'll know what's going on!
I'm sorry I have no pictures but as soon as I can I promise to show ya!
And now it's official!!
☺
Happy Monday!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Vintage Gwen Chapel-Worry Is Irrelevant
I recently saw a church sign that said
"Worry is irrelevant. God is Provider."
How very true!
A simple definition of irrelevant is "not connected with". Worry and God are not and won't ever be connected. Worry doesn't move God. At. All. In fact, doesn't it just prolong things?
One of God's many names is Provider. It's what He does and worry won't ever change the fact that He willingly, happily provides for His children.
So why do it?
The bible says that worrying doesn't even "add a single hour" to our life.
Knowing and believing all this I still worry. It's a constant part of life to overcome worry. In some situations I easily overcome it...others I have to constantly remind myself who God is and the provisions that He already has made for me.
How do you handle worry?
Happy Weekend lovelies!
Friday, January 20, 2012
January Birchbox
I can't believe it has been a month already since signing up for Birchbox!
I know I only have 2 under my belt but this box is my favorite so far!
I'm loving the Birchbox magnet, Juicy Couture fragrance and especially the Zoya nail polish!!
Here's the polish in action!
Isn't it a nice neutral? This is my first time using this brand and I was pleased that I could have gotten away with just one coat. But since my hands are in water a lot I went ahead and did 2 coats. I'm loving it!
Oh and the granola was pretty tasty! I haven't used the cream or serum yet, I'm a Mary Kay user, have been for years so the creams and serums will be a little hard for me to be eager to try, if ya know what I mean.
Anyone join Birchbox lately?
I'm excited for our 2nd Birchbox Beauty Bash next Friday!
Link up your beauty related posts such as beauty advice, tips, reviews, tricks, secrets, DIY/handmade products, tutorials(makeup or hair) and of course a Birchbox post!
Hope you'll join Allison and I!
Mark your calendars!
Happy Friday!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
{Guest Series} The Best of Me-Summit Street Joy
My name is Lauren and I will be guest posting today, which I could not be more excited about!
Isn't this such a lovely little space Jennifer has going?! :) Thanks for having me Jennifer!
I blog over at Summit St Joy about all sorts of stuff, like budget decorating, thrifty living, and frugal crafting, but mostly I write about our journey to making our new house into a cozy home. Lots of love, laughter, and budget decorating fills our walls! I hope you'll stop by from time to time and check in on my thrifty finds, crafty projects, and freebie printables. Oh, and every Friday I post my Fave{5} on Friday, so check that out too! :)
Ok, now on to the good stuff!
Today I'll be sharing one of my top tips for budget decorating and a little example of how I use it.
Really, we have next to nothing to spend on decor in our house, so I love to thrift and make all sorts of decor out anything I can find for free or cheap.
Here's one budget decorating tip that's taken me a long way.
You ready for it?
Use Paper
Yes, that's it. That's my big tip!
Pretty scrapbook paper is cheap (watch for it at yard sales or on craigslist so you don't pay full retail for the fancy pages), and if you're using your scraps, they're essentially free!
Pretty papers are an easy, inexpensive way you can make a big impact with little or no budget.
Here are some pretty Valentine paper projects floating around blogland these days:
And now I'd like to share a super easy little paper craft with you.
{PAPER HEART GARLAND}
Here's the complete supply list:
:::SUPPLIES:::
- 1 sheet of double sided scrapbook paper
- scissors (or, if you have a Cricut, go for it!)
- ribbon
- grapevine or wood wreath form
- hot glue
I used a Cricut die cutting machine for mine {you can read about that budget purchase here}, but you can easily cut out little hearts and get the exact effect.
Simply cut (or Cricut) your hearts out. Use as few or as many as you like!
Attach to a piece of string or ribbon using hot glue or other adhesive.
And that's IT!
In no time you've made a pretty piece of paper heart garland.
You can hang your garland any which way you choose.
Or try wrapping it around a grapevine wreath for easy peasy front door decor:
My cost breakdown:
- scrap ribbon $0
- scrap scrapbook paper $0
- wreath $1 (dollar store)
So there ya have yourself some lovely, easy, and most importantly BUDGET Valentine's Day decor.
Speaking of handmade Valentine's goodness, I'm having a link party for handmade and homemade Valentine's gifts, decor, treats, and crafts. I would love for you to link up your pretty pink and red projects with us! The party's already started and goes through Feb 14th- so stop by and join in!
Ok, end shameless plug ;)
Well, that's it for today, friends! Thank you again to Jennifer - I love sponsoring Vintage Gwen!
Blessings,
Lauren
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Such lovely budget friendly projects!! So glad Lauren shared some Valentine projects as I'm not getting to! And these would be great to do with your kids! Be sure and check her out and link up to her fun Handmade Valentine Party!
Happy Thursday!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Soiree Day-50th Wedding Anniversary
Today's soiree is a very special one. One of my best friends gave her fabulous parents a surprise 50th Wedding Anniversary party 2 weeks ago and I had the pleasure and honor in helping! The celebration was held at one of the fairly new hospitals in the area...they have an Education Center that has a terrific space for parties, meetings and such.
*Warning: lots of photos ahead!*
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There were 3 'vignettes' down the all before the room that we set up.
Small Welcome Table
Yep! That's my chalkboard stand! That sucker is so useful!
Leave a Sentiment Buffet
There was a place to hang a picture of the couple already so I took full advantage of that!. My friend had purchased the amazing stars from Pier 1 a year ago! The candle holder I just happened to find at Kirkland's on sale for $13!! We used 2! And I made the sign-in sign with papers my friend got at Hobby Lobby.☺
Memory Lane Counter
I arranged the photos while my friend put all 7 stars together!
Reception Room
The flower arrangements were provided as part of the room rental. I believe my friend added the candles and just simply scattered sepia tone photos of the couple on each table. Simple and fun!
Cake Table
(Sorry for the darkness! I'm by no means a professional!)
Bride and Groom figurine is a family heirloom!
Money saving tip: do a small special cake for the couple and then do a simple sheet cake to feed guests.
So glad I got this shot! These are extremely wonderful people! Very down to earth, hard working, love the Lord good people. What an awesome example of love and devotion!
They were happily surprised and the evening was lovely.
My friend did a fabulous job planning!
It was so fun to help!
Happy Soiree Day!
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