RECIPE: BEST APPLESAUCE EVER!!

While living in New York City, I was a nanny.

A nanny for a FABULOUS family that just had a baby.

While trying to find recipes that would also work for the baby, I started experimenting.   One day after the family had been upstate, apple picking, I stumbled across the BEST APPLESAUCE EVER!!

No sugar.
No preservatives.
Just as AMAZING as EVER!!

BEST APPLESAUCE EVER

Apples (I usually use 6-9)
Cinnamon (optional)
Apple Pie Spice (optional)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Peel and core your apples (any variety will do, my favorite is yellow delicious.)

Cut each apple into about 8 pieces or use an Apple Wedger.

Place apples in covered casserole dish.

Sprinkle with optional spices.  Sprinkle to taste.

Bake at 350 for 45 min, or until you can see bubbly juices at the bottom of the pan.

Remove apples from oven and let cool for 15-20 min.

Use immersion blender or blender and blend until desired consistency is reached.

Serve and enjoy.

Flower Hair Clip Tutorial

This is one of the FASTEST and EASIEST clips EVER!!

They are also VERY inexpensive!!

I love to make these because they are just adorable and perfect for everyday wear or to clip on interchangeable headbands and hats.  So adorable!!

Let gather our supplies and get started.

I used:

 2 stems from silk flowers ( I purchased them at the local dollar store)

Lined alligator clip

Iridescent gemstone

Start by taking the flower heads off the stems.

Turn the flowers over and take off the backs.

Separate all the petals.

Choose a layout that you like.

Once you find the layout you like, put hot glue between each layer.  

Make sure that the layers are secured tightly together.

Turn your flower over and attach your lined alligator clip by placing a line of glue on the top of the clip.

Press firmly to attach clip to flower.

Turn back over and secure your gem with a dab of hot glue.

FINISHED!!

Enjoy your clip!! (How easy was that?)

Linked up at the All Stars Block Party.

PHOTOS: KUSADASI, TURKEY & ANCIENT EPHESUS

Last year I was able to visit Kusadasi, Turkey, and the ruins of Ancient Ephesus.
 

I was ecstatic to visit there, because of all of it's biblical history, and the role it played in the early civilizations.

It turned out to be AMAZING!!

I LOVED being able to see where John the Beloved built his church.

I LOVED being able to see the house rumored to have housed the Virgin Mary before her death.

I LOVE LOVED being able to see the bustling city of Ephesus, and tried to get a glimpse of how they lived.

I honestly had NO idea I was such a nerd.

I am.

 

FAMILY PHOTO WALL ART

For those of you who know me... you know I have an irrational fear of putting holes in the walls.
CRAZY, RIDICULOUS AND IRRATIONAL!!

This fear makes it difficult for me to decorate my house. Here we are at 3 years and I still have mostly bare walls.

I HAVE BIG PLANS TO FIX THIS!

 This is a hallway that you see coming in through my front door on the way to my kitchen. When we moved in our original thought was to buy a gigantic picture that would look good in that alcove. I spent 2 years looking. I could not find one that I liked enough to spend outrageous amounts of money on. So then this thought came to me when my friend brought me over the vinyl FAMILY for another project, (we decided that our family name  would work better,) and another friend said she wanted to take our pictures.

I achieved this look by finding 2 11X14 size frames at my local dollar store, using 3 8X10 frames I already had, and picking up a 12X16 frame at Hobby Lobby when frames were 50% off.

I laid out the frames and decided the placement that I liked and then started hanging them.  I triple checked to make sure everything was centered in the alcove as well as lined up symmetrical with  the stuff around it, (and still have 2 extra holes in the wall.)

For the 3 frames that are layered on top of the other frames I made sure to use and EXTRA long nail, like a 1.5" or 2".  To make sure that I could still have them sturdy enough to hold the frame.

My crafty genius of a bestie provided the FAMILY vinyl, and I cut out the Andrew and Ashley using my Cricut.

I absolutely LOVE how this arrangement turned out and love to walk past it every day!

Hopefully soon I can finish all the rest of my BIG PLANS!! 

Thanks to Alisha Hunsaker Photography for the pictures!!
Thanks to Chelsea, my crafty buddy for the vinyl!!

What big plans do you have?

I linked up at The All Stars Block Party.

PHOTOS: 4TH, FAMILY AND FUN

How was your week?

Did you have a great 4th?

My husband and I took a week to travel north, to have a much needed rest from the heat, and join in all the patriotic activities that bring us back to our childhood.

We also got to see some FANTASTIC people we don't often get to see.

It was wonderful!!

On the way up we stopped over for a night in Las Vegas, and decided to try out a hotel in the downtown district.  We usually stay on or close to the strip. This time we decided to be adventurous and stay in a hotel that we found at a SUPER deal, in an area that we had not been to before.

It ended up being in a really FUN location.  The whole area had such a different feel than the strip, almost a nostalgia to it.

We spent the night enjoying and exploring The Fremont St. Experience.  They have a huge light and sound show that is displayed on the ceiling every hour, street performers, a zip line, lots of casinos you can duck into for some cheap refreshments. I am a complete sucker for deep fried Oreos!

It was definitely a different Vegas experience than any I have ever had.

On the way north from Las Vegas, there were some crazy fires along the way.  I feel so terrible for all the people affected by fires this year.  The sheer number of them are ridiculous.

Then up to Northern Utah, for good food, fireworks and lots of family.

What a great combination.

On the way home we stopped by to visit more family, it happened to be on my Brother-In-Law's birthday.  He had planned himself a birthday outing and we asked about a month ago if we could join in the fun. 

We ended up going to a Japanese Teppanyaki type steak house called Ninja, and then off to the Utah Shakespearean Festival to see Les Misérables.

What an amazing night!!

Not to mention I got to hang out with 4 of my favorite little girls for a while as well!!

How was your 4th?