Luke's Baby Book Series - The Beginning - Our Pregnancy and Birth Journal

Okay, if you have ever ordered from them before then I am confident that you already know what I am about to say....Shutterfly is happiness in a bright orange box! Especially when you spend lots of screen time sitting in front of your computer, organizing all of your pictures, playing around with the tons of different layouts and design elements they offer, you meticulously put it all together, hit submit and wait for it to arrive, and when it shows up at your doorstep it is exactly what you envisioned...or maybe even a little better!

I decided to create a photobook that would capture our entire pregnancy and birth story all in one place.  I always have these day dreams that someday I will get to sit with Luke and look through all of the pictures and show him just exactly how much he meant to us and how loved he was from the very first second we knew him in my tummy.  And then again when he's older to share it with the girl he loves and will want to marry and have his own incredible journey of life and love and hopefully some super cute babies with (but not until he's like at least 35, because I don't know that I will be ready for any of that to happen any earlier than that, lol)!

Here's a little peek at the book I made and below are some tips for getting it for the lowest price possible.

I started out with our pregnancy announcement - My precious dog daughter holding a sign that she was going to be a big sister...

And from there this book followed me through my first OB appointment, all of our ultra sounds, our BaBy-Q Baby shower, Maternity Pics, our family dinner the night before my scheduled c-section, LUKE'S BIRTH-DAY (!!!), the few days we spent in the hospital

and his first car ride when we brought him home. It is the beginning of his journey and this awesome adventure we have embarked upon as a family, all in one beautiful presentation.  I truly, truly cherish it.

I ended up getting a 12"x12" book with almost 50 pages of memories because I just kept adding more pages instead of narrowing down all of the pictures to fewer pages.

My plan is to do a "Year Book" for each year of his life going forward.  I can't wait to get started on my next one for his first year of life, since we have already experienced so many special moments with our little munchkin, and had some many experiences that make my heart feel like it may just burst when I think about them.

So here's where hopefully I am helpful in some way to anyone reading this....

YOU CAN SCORE SOME SERIOUS DEALS AND DISCOUNTS FOR SHUTTERFLY if you do a little looking around and practice a lot of patience!

I'm sure you've heard the old adage...."Patience is a Virtue." First of all, I learned that to get the best deal, you need to finish your project and have it ready to go...and then you wait.  This is where the patience part comes in. I waited 6 weeks before I felt like I had finally amassed enough discounts and deals to make out like a bandit. Then I took my already finished draft and clicked submit. So work on your book or collage or whatever it may be, get it perfect and ready to print, and then save it for all of the deal stars to align.

As for the discounts and deals, when I was pregnant I signed up for all of the little freebie business reply mail stuff that I got in baby magazines, and online, and I always registered any baby product we purchased by filling out the little postage paid card and mailing it back. And let me tell you, it was worth the 30 seconds it took each time!  We got tons of free stuff: Coupons, offer codes, formula, little insulated bags, bottles, even a $40 gift card to go out to eat at Olive Garden or Red Lobster because we were new parents! But here's where the Shutterfly part comes in...we got probably 5 different offers or coupon books sent to us from Shutterfly for baby books and such.

If you save all of these, plus sign up for their emails to be alerted of sales and specials, plus look online on the numerous coupon and deal code websites that have popped up out there you can usually use them IN COMBINATION with each other....yes, not just limited to one per transaction, but in combo when I did it, and save a lot of money!  On top of all of those options, I also bought a Groupon that I could apply towards the cost of my book, and I waited and waited and waited until I saw that they were running a sale, and then BAM! I took my finished book that had just been waiting patiently in cyberspace and clicked purchase, typed in all of my codes, used my Groupon, snagged the sale price and saved myself over $100! You read that correctly....ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS!

I am keeping my fingers crossed that all of you are able to create something you love as much as I love my first try at a photobook.  And hopefully you are able to take some of my tips and tricks and get something beautiful for a lot less money than you would have otherwise spent!

As always, thank you so much for reading. I appreciate that you have taken the time out of your day to check out my blog!

Time Flies and life passes by much too quickly...a little update...

WOW! I started this blog back in 2011 and I had the best of intentions of posting all of the time.  I thought oh this will be easy to just write up a quick little post, snap some pictures to go along with it, send it out there into the world and go about my busy day.  Well back then I was working full time, running a household, being social when I had extra time and always taking on new projects here and there.....all of which didn't really jive well with having the time I needed to devote to posting regularly. I was actually chuckling because when I logged in I re-read my about me and it was like I was reading about a stranger, not myself and the "about me" I associate myself with now.  I was a busy working girl who had just gotten engaged, and was about to begin planning a wedding.

Well to bring you up to speed and show just how long it's been since I last posted...I planned a wedding, got married, got pregnant, had a baby, and have been home raising that precious precious baby for the past 10 months, and began working on the start of my own business! So it's safe to say it was time to update my about me ;)

As you can see, life took over (which I am sure everyone can relate to) and so many things kept getting moved higher on the priority list that my short lived blogging days always just fell by the wayside.

So for the past few months I have been thinking about my blog on here and how lonely it must be getting without me checking on it EVERRRR.  I decided to login today and when I did I couldn't believe it! I actually had thousands of views on my previous posts! PEOPLE READ WHAT I WROTE! And on top of that, I had a few comments! WAIT, so you're telling me that people not only somehow found my blog (side note: Pinterest is really to thank I think for pointing folks in my direction), and read what I wrote, but they ALSO COMMENTED! No freaking way! How cool is that??!?!

So I am vowing to myself that I am going to try to be more diligent when it comes to keeping up with my posts. I have had so many amazing things happen in the past few years.  I have had some incredible celebrations with lots and lots of cute DIY and fun ideas that I want to share with others so that you all can maybe get inspired and use some of it for important moments in your own lives.

I opened up drafts of the following upcoming topics and I hope they will serve as inspiration for others to stretch your creativity muscles, I plan to start working on these topics over the next few weeks (who am I kidding, it will probably be months):

• My Parisian Themed Bridal Shower
• Our Wedding - LOTS of DIY and also links to my Etsy.com store where I sell many of the items featured in my wedding
• Blush Pink and Doily Themed Champagne Brunch
• And Baby makes Three! - All about our little munchkin Luke and our journey to becoming parents (I am so excited now to also be able to share with fellow and future mommies my thoughts and ratings on baby related items, something I relied heavily upon when planning and shopping)
• BaBy-Q Baby Shower
• Our Pregnancy and Birth Photo Journal - Featuring my Shutterfly photobook I made and some tips on how to save big on your own!
• I started a Boutique! - Yes I Did! Or at least I am trying to, and learning the ropes of being in business for myself (first thing I have learned...Quickbooks is HARD and I may need to go back to college to understand it lol)

Check out my boutique on Instagram: shopfrillsboutique and on Facebook: Frills Boutique, and once the website is finished I will be sure to post an update!

So hopefully I will be able to block out some time every once in a while to write a new post, share a new project or party (my friends and I LOVE a good outfit and a good party....and trust me, between all of us, we have lots of both), or just post a few quick pics that you can use for your own special occasions.  

As always, thank you so so SO MUCH for reading (apparently there are more of you that check this out than I ever realized), I truly appreciate it!

Creamy Velvet Chicken Soup

Yesterday was the first day that we got some rain and cold weather (actually I should really say "we got a crazy storm" because it was insane), and I couldn't wait to get started on dinner because we had our favorite soup, Creamy Velvet Chicken in a sourdough bread bowl.  This soup is seriously AMAZING, and just too good not to share the recipe....plus, it's REALLY easy to make.

 Here is what you will need to get started:

Ingredients

• 1/3  cup  butter or margarine
• 1/3  cup  all-purpose flour
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground white pepper (I use a lot more than the recipe calls when I make it)
• 3  cups  chicken broth
• 1/3  cup  half-and-half or light cream
• 1/3  cup  milk
• 1-1/2  cups  finely shredded, cooked chicken (I always use a little more chicken too)
• Optional - I like to add thinly sliced celery and a little bit of corn to this just for some extra substance
• Optional - Salt and Pepper
• Mini Sourdough Bread loafs (the small round kind to make into a bread bowl)

Directions

To Make the Chicken and Bread Bowl:
First, to cook the chicken I buy frozen boneless, skinless chicken breast and boil them in half water, half chicken broth until they are thoroughly cooked.  Then I take them and place them on a cutting board and using two forks I begin pulling the fork back towards me to shred the chicken into small strands. Once that is done, set it aside until you will later add it to the rest of your ingredients.

While your chicken is cooking, cut a circle in the top of the bread loaves (kind of like you would cut the top off of a pumpkin you are planing to carve) pull off the top piece and then using your hands press all of the bread inside the bowl firmly against the sides to compact it and make the bowl more spacious. Save the top and once you have filled the bowl with soup and are ready to serve place it on the plate to use for dipping into the soup!

To make the Creamy Soup Base:
1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter.
2. Stir in flour and white pepper. Stir in chicken broth, half-and-half, and milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. (This should be about the consistency of gravy, pretty creamy and not watery)
3. Stir in chicken; heat through. Serve immediately.


I recommend enjoying this warm, fulfilling soup snuggled up on the couch on a chilly day!

Bon Appetit!!!

Mickey Mouse Caramel Apples

My best friend Sarah and I went to Disneyland last year and we saw these adorable Mickey and Minnie Caramel/Candied Apples in one of the Sweets Shops.  After taking about a bunch pictures of them, we tried to recreate them for a birthday party our friend was throwing for her son. Just wanted to share the idea with anyone out there throwing a Disney themed party, or anyone that thinks these are just too cute not to make as a fun weekend project!

Here are the original Disney Apples we saw during our visit:

For this project you will need:

• Large Apples
• Some type of a stick (if you can find some that are round and thick enough to support the weight of the apple that is ideal, maybe something like a dowel you buy at Michael's or any home improvement store)
• Caramel - DO NOT GET THE CARAMEL YOU USE FOR DIPPING SLICES OF APPLES INTO!!! It will not harden and will be a huge mess....trust me, we learned the hard way!
• Melting Chocolate
• Jumbo Marshmallows
• Jelly beans for the buttons on Mickey's pants
• M&M's for the button on Minnie's Skirt
• Red Sprinkles
• Some type of ribbon for the base of the stick if you plan to make Minnie Mouse Apples (you can use real ribbon or an edible item)
• A Double Boiler to melt the chocolate
• Wax Paper to set the finished product on
• Cookie Sheet
• I also had some ribbon that we used to tie the little flags/bows on the tops of the sticks just for extra decoration

Step-by-Step:

1. Wash Apples and remove stem.

2. Stick the stick into the top of the apple.

3. After melting your caramel in your double boiler, use a tiny bit to secure two marshmallows on their sides for the ears.

4. Dip the apple into the caramel and set on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper (you may also be able to drizzle the caramel over with a ladle or spoon, making sure to coat the entire apple, but we used the dipping method).

5. Let the caramel harden.

6. After melting your chocolate in your double boiler, dip apple into melted chocolate and set on cookie sheet covered in wax paper while chocolate hardens.

7. To create the pants/skirt/bottoms, dip only the bottom half of the apple back into the chocolate and cover with sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet so the sprinkles will stick, set back on cookie sheet covered in wax paper.

8. Take a tiny bit of melted chocolate and use it like glue to stick the jellybeans or M&M's in the place you want them on the pants/skirt/bottoms.

9. Affix bows at base of stick if you are doing the Minnie Mouse Version.

Let it all harden and dry, then add any other decoration you would like...for example, little paper flags on the stick, or bows, name tags, etc.

Here are some pictures of our finished product (Please keep in mind it was our first time doing this, and we did A LOT of of guessing and trial and error, next time they will hopefully be perfect) - Also, we didn't have Jelly Beans for Mickey's buttons so we used white M&M's:

DIY - Canvas Tote Bags

A few weeks ago I made these little canvas tote bags for my mom and sister as a fun project one night when I was bored.

Like I mentioned in my previous blog, my mom is in a cake decorating class and has become very into baking...so hers was a cake theme and I figured she could use it to carry supplies to her baking classes.  My sisters was a Fleur de Lis (something you will probably see a lot on my blog...since I am obsessed with it).  I bought both images as digital downloads off of Etsy.com ---Side note -Etsy is hands down one of the best sites ever created I swear--- okay, back to the bags, I printed them on to iron-on transfers that I bought at WalMart ($9.98 for 6 sheets), and ironed them on to canvas tote bags, which I also bought at WalMart (I think I got a package of three for under $6.00). After I had the images on the bags I used some Jewel-It glue by Alene's to glue rhinestones onto the design. You can also find all of these supplies at Michaels, Joann's and other craft stores, as well as online.

Here are a few tips:

• Make sure you buy transfers specifically for either dark or light fabric, it makes a difference.
• Make sure you print anything with writing as a mirror-image, the option will be in your printer preferences, so that when you iron it on the letters don't turn out backwards.
• Cut away as much unprinted are away from the transfer as possible so that only your design is left.
• The canvas bags I bought were pre-washed and ready to use, but a lot of things you do with fabric will require washing and drying before hand to eliminate any chances of shrinking and distortion of your image later on.
• Don't use steam with the iron, press down and hold the iron firmly in the same place for at least 30 seconds...it only says 20 on the package I had but it definitely needed more time when I did it.

Here are my finished products:

The front of my mom's bag (there are tiny pink rhinestones on some of the dots on the cake)

The back (I found this quote online and just typed it up in Word and then printed it...since it had words on it I had to remember to print it as a mirror image)

My sisters bag (there are black rhinestones on the five circles, they're just hard to see (I need to start using my SLR and not my iPhone for pictures, it's just such a pain when I'm in a hurry though)

This was such an easy, fast and inexpensive gift to make! I think I'm going to make these as part of the gift basket I am going to give my bridesmaids too!

Happy Crafting :)

Hello Blogging World!

Welcome to my new blog!  I decided to start working on this about a month ago and am just now getting around to getting up and running (I have a feeling it will be a continual work in progress and I am still trying to figure out my way around the blogging world...but I'll get the hang of it eventually I'm sure).

First and foremost, I have always been the first person to voice my opinion that I think blogging can be kind of narcissistic (just ask my best friend, she's heard about it more than once), and that I think people with blogs should either be parents and have a family that they are keeping in touch with loved ones by posting about their life and putting up pictures of their adorable babies....OR a person that has something to share with others that they can actually use.  What I'm getting at here is that I really don't like people that blog just to blog, when they have no kids, no crafts, and no reason to.  I know a few people that blog DAILY about what they had for lunch and what they wore to work and if they were having a bad hair day or not....I am not a fan of those types of blogs.  SO, I am hoping not to be one of those people (someone tell me if I turn into one) and the mission of my blog will be to first, post things that people will enjoying reading and seeing and that you can use and share (DIY, crafts I have completed or am working on, wedding planning ideas, great websites, coupons, recipes, etc.) and second, to stay in touch with my family and friends since we are all so spread out and I miss everyone being a part of everything.

If you read my about me section I'm sure you already know that I am a bride-to be and I have quickly learned that wedding planning can be overwhelming and overly expensive.....it makes me just want to crawl into bed and pull the sheets over my head sometimes, but other times it can be really fun.....so up until my wedding I am predicting that many of my posts will be to help other brides like me and to share all of the amazing ideas I have found throughout my wedding planning adventures!

I hope that you enjoy reading what I have to say and I would love to hear from anyone who has comments, ideas or suggestions!

Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake

My mom has been taking cake baking classes for the past few months and when I found this recipe online at http://juneberry-lane.blogspot.com/2011/08/yummy-yellow-triple-lemonblueberry.html (which is one of my favorite blogs btw), I knew I had to send it to her and see if she could work her magic and whip this yummy creation up! She called me a few days later and said she had made it (all from scratch) and that everyone was saying it is the best cake she has made so far! Just looking at it makes my mouth water! This cake looks too good not to share, so here is everything you will need to make one of your own! Also, I was thinking you could also use strawberries instead of blueberries and just dye the frosting pink instead of yellow...yum!!!

Here is picture of my mom's version (it was her first try and she had some bugs to work out but she said it tasted delicious):

Here is the post from Juneberry-Lane:

Lemon-Blueberry Layer Cake 


Ingredients:

2 cups plus 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups fresh blueberries

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened about 20 minutes out of refrigerator

1 1/2 cups white sugar

4 large eggs

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8″ round cake pans with parchment paper, butter and flour. Sift dry ingredients into medium bowl. ***Note from my mom*** Dry ingredients does not include the sugar, keep the sugar out of this mixture because you will need to use it separately later. Transfer 1 tablespoon flour mixture to larger bowl. Add fresh blueberries and toss to coat them with flour. Set remaining flour mixture and blueberries aside.

Stir whole milk, sour cream, vanilla extract, lemon extract and lemon zest in small bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar, until pale yellow and very fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, until well combined. Mix in flour mixture alternately with milk mixture, starting and ending with flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Gently fold in blueberries. Divide batter equally among 8″ round pans.

Bake cakes until toothpick inserted into centre comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks for about 10 minutes, then invert onto racks until completely cool.

Zesty Lemon Frosting        

Ingredients:
1 cup soft unsalted butter

2 teaspoons lemon zest

5 cups icing sugar (or 6 for  sweeter version)

60 ml fresh lemon juice

6 tablespoons whipping cream (35% cream)

1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract

2 tablespoons water

pinch salt

1 drop of AmeriColor “Electric Yellow” gel color (optional)

Method:
Cream butter and lemon zest in bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, about 3 minutes. Slowly add icing sugar, mixing on low speed for about 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and beat on med-high for 3-4 minutes until very fluffy. If using color gel, add a drop or two (really, no more than that, because too much sunshine really can be a bad thing!), then beat until blended. Yields enough to frost outside of three layer 8″ round cake.

Filling: 2 x Lemon Curd recipe from Martha Stewart

Assembly:
***Note from my mom*** You will want to add either a little powdered sugar or put the frosting in the refrigerator before you begin, to make sure it is firm, otherwise it will be difficult to do the piping on your cake and it will kind of melt and not look as clean. 
Spread thin dollop of frosting on an 8″ thin cake board. Transfer 1 cake layer to board, face up. *Create a dam around the perimeter of the layer using frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a coupler, then spread lemon curd (apprx 1 cup) inside the dam–this prevents the curd from reaching out over edges. Top with another cake layer, face up; repeat frosting around perimeter and lemon curd filling. Top with third cake layer, face down (brown smooth side up). Spread thin layer (crumb coat) of Zesty Lemon Frosting over top and sides of cake, using offset palette knife and bench scraper for smooth finish. Place cake in refrigerator for apprx 30 mins. Remove from refrigerator and using same method, frost cake with generous layer of frosting, smoothing again. For ruffled border, add frosting to piping bag with petal tip (Wilton #123), and with skinny end facing out, use back and forth/up and down motion to create short ruffles.

Due to the lemon curd filling, keep cake covered and refrigerated (for up to 2 days) but serve room temperature.

Is this cake not so gorgeous!? I hope she'll make another one for me to try when I go home to visit!

Bon appetit!!!

*Since I don't know all of the rules about re posting things I found on other peoples blogs and websites, I want to make sure I give credit where credit is due....I found this recipe and the pictures at http://juneberry-lane.blogspot.com/2011/08/yummy-yellow-triple-lemonblueberry.html
*The Lemon-Blueberry cake base adapted  from Epicurious
*Juneberry Lane originally got this recipe from the bakers over at http://sweetapolita.com/