Insta Friday #10, #11, & #12

***WARNING: This is a very photo-heavy post. Proceed at your own risk.***

In the business of the last few weeks, blogging has mostly fallen by the way side for me. 

I'm looking froward to getting back to a more regular schedule. I've been working on some recipes & projects this week so I'll have some brand new stuff to share with you next week!

Because blogging has taken a back seat, my weekly update - Insta Friday - has also not taken place, although I'm still posting on Instagram when inspiration hits.

Let the epic update begin...

Week 10:

My husband, James, & I started the weekend off with a bang - date night at our fav Mexican joint here in Toon Town, La Bamba. I drank an apple pop in honour of our last trip to Mexico when I was introduced to apple pop. It's yummy!

After supper, we perused a favourite home decor store - Urban Barn.

Never-Fail Chocolate Cake

When I was a beginner in the homemaking profession, a big goal of mine was to build up a repertoire of great recipes that I would go back to & use time & time again.

One such recipe I wanted to find was a great basic chocolate cake that I could use for birthday cakes & such. Ever since I first made this chocolate cake years ago, it's been my go-to recipe for chocolate cake. You can use it for a sheet cake, a layer cake, & it also makes great cupcakes! Just adjust your baking time accordingly.

Another great thing about this recipe is that you can reduce the fat & it tastes just as good if not better! (See my notes in the recipe.)

Spring Break

Hello, friends!

I just wanted to let you know that I'm taking this week off to spend time with my kids on their...

Have a wonderful week & I'll see you back here next week!

Spring Coconut Cake

What kind of recipes do you like to make for Easter? One of my favourite flavours for Spring is coconut.

This past weekend, we had an early Easter/birthday celebration with my family. It was the first opportunity we had to celebrate my husband's 40th birthday with them & since we're all busy people (plus some of us will be out of town next weekend) we also decided to have our Easter get-together a week early.

Happy Easter Card {Stampin' Up!}

Easter weekend is almost here! Can you believe it? It seems to just have snuck up on us this year. I think it's because it's in March this year. 

Well, it's coming & I'm doing a few things to get ready.

I made a few Easter cards to spread the love to some of our family.

Insta Friday #8 & #9

Wow, I have had a couple of crazy weeks! 

Let me give you an update...

Two weeks ago, my family & I went to the Home Show here in Saskatoon. The kids went into it not really wanting to be there, but we told them to just keep a good attitude & they would be blessed. Wow, were they ever! They got tons of candy, colouring stuff, got to jump on a trampoline, play a wack-a-mole wii game, were given balloons & mini footballs. Those businesses sure knew how to treat the kids!

I enjoyed this cool grey sectional couch & gorgeous entryway.

My friend, Laura, & I were both sporting our spring colours for church on Sunday.

Jam-Filled Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins

For some reason, this recipe reminds me of my Granny. She loved to bake & cook. I remember spending cozy Sundays at Granny & Grandpa's house which would always include having faspa, a light evening meal. It would include homemade buns, cold cuts, cheese, jam, pickles, & would always include homemade baking.

The homey flavours of these muffins brought back those memories. Memories of helping Granny set the table, going to her freezer to pick out some baking for the evening, & sitting beside Grandpa while we ate. 

Insta Friday #7

Have you had a good week, friends? I hope so!

Last weekend was a weekend of celebrating for us because...

Last Friday was my husband's 40th birthday! We went out to Chili's for a fun, family supper.

Following supper, we explored Cabela's to look for my sweetie's birthday gift. The kids always love this place too!

Chocolate Dr. Pepper Cake

Last week was my husband's 40th birthday party. Big stuff, right? Happy birthday, hunny!

Every year, I ask him to choose what kind of birthday cake he would like. 

Seriously, he picks the best cakes... even though they usually are really time consuming to make. 

He's worth it! 

After taking a stroll through my "Let Them Eat Cake" board on Pinterest, he chose this cake. 

He's been a lover of Dr. Pepper for a long time.

It turned out to be a wonderful, moist chocolate cake with just a hint of Dr. Pepper flavour.

This was one of the simpler cakes he's chosen for his birthday, but so very yummy!

Paint Dipped Votive Holders

Happy Monday!

How was your weekend? Mine was mostly good. Our little girl had the flu on Saturday, but rested a lot & got better quickly. I ended up staying home from church with her on Sunday just to make sure she didn't have any more episodes. :) Because we were home & she was resting, I hung out in my craft room for a good portion of the weekend. I pulled up my Pinterest boards & did a whole bunch of little projects. It was great to be so productive!

Here's one of the projects I did. I actually just saw a picture & did my own thing to come up with the end result, so I did a little tutorial so you can follow along if you want to try making some of your own paint dipped votive holders.

Insta Friday #6

It was a busy week here in the Richardson household. My husband, James, turns 40 today (Happy birthday, sweetheart!) & I seemed to have a bunch of prep work to get ready for the big day.

But let's start at the beginning.

Last weekend, I baked up one of our favourites - Chai-spiced loaf - for our church's coffee bar. 

Our church friends seemed to really enjoy it! Yay!

I also worked on a fun card order for a sweet lady.

Fantasyland Layout {Echo Park}

It's been a few weeks since I shared a scrapbook layout. This is one that I did for our Disney album from our trip last summer. 

Fantasyland was one of our favourite parts of the whole Disneyland park. It was our very first stop on our very first morning.

Chewy Ginger Cookies

Does anyone else love the cookbooks that are collections of recipes from a church, business, or organization? Aren't they the best? They're always chock full of treasures that quickly become family favourites.

The recipe I have to share with you today is from one such cookbook. It's from the cookbook that my high school put out back when I was still in school... way back when. :)

My mom bought me a copy of the cookbook at the time to have for when I "grew up & moved out". 

When my husband & I got married & set up house, I was suddenly plunged into the duties of cook & baker. My mom had taught me some, but I learned mostly from experience.

In that first year of marriage, I tried so many new recipes - searching for our own family favourites. This recipe was one of those & has been a favourite ever since. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

DIY Pennant Gift Bag

Today I'm showing you an easy way to dress up a plain gift bag.

Pennants/bunting/banners are all the rage right now & this is such a simple little project you can do in such a short time.

Here's what you need:

Insta Friday #5

Another week has come & gone. Wow! This week felt so short. 

Probably because the kids didn't have school on Monday or Tuesday.

While they were off, I got a few hours to do some crafty things, one of which I'll be posting later today. 

Stay tuned. :)

Even though we're still in the freezer temperature-wise, the kids enjoyed some snow time on their days off...

Beef & Barley Soup

I'm sure looking forward to spring. Are you with me? From some of the photos I've been seeing, there are those of you who are seeing sprouts of green in your gardens & are feeling the sun on your faces. We are sure seeing the sun here in Saskatchewan, but our gardens are still buried under 2 feet of snow. No tulips will be seen for awhile...

For the time being, we are hunkering down, staying warm, & trying not to envy the people who are holidaying or living in warmer climates. My parents are in Mexico right now... sigh. (I choose to be happy, I choose to be happy.)

Anyway, how was your long weekend? Ours was good. My husband is now in his last week of school. Soon he'll be a journeyman plumber! (I'm so proud!) He did a lot of studying on the weekend, so the kids & I hung out together, but we went swimming as a family on Saturday. On Monday afternoon, I fired up my iTunes podcast library (my fav thing to do while I'm cooking or baking is listen to preaching podcasts. I learn a lot & am encouraged in the process) as well as the oven. I made a chocolate cake, chewy ginger cookies, biscuits, & a big pot of this yummy Beef & Barley Soup...

Only one change. I used venison this time. It's delicious with either kind of meat. After it simmers together for an hour & a half, you can't even taste the difference.

Insta Friday #4

Another week has come & gone. I fell off the posting wagon this week a bit. Sorry about that. We have a long weekend this weekend & I'm planning some creative time with some projects to share with you this coming week.

This week, my family took a little trip down memory lane & I posted a few favourite photos from a couple of our past Mexico trips.

And because we couldn't be in Mexico, I lifted my spirits by doing one of my other favourite things... some baking! :) Raspberry muffins with vanilla glaze were a yummy weekend treat.

8 Gift Wrap Ideas

With Valentine's Day coming up this week, 

you may be looking for some ideas for wrapping that gift you bought for your special someone. 

Why not give one of these a try?

How To Make Tissue Paper Flowers

Rolled Paper Flowers

Owl Valentine Bag

Doily Gift Bag

Felt Pinwheels on Brown Paper

Map Covered Gift Box

Butterfly Gift Bag

Map Pinwheel Gift Bag

I hope you're feeling inspired to get crafty with your wrapping!

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, I'd love it if you would become a follower on Google Friend Connect, subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), 

or follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or Twitter. 

And please leave a comment when you do so I know who my new friends are! :)

Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!

Insta Friday #3

This week's wrap up...

Valentine's Day is well on it's way, along with the kids admiring all the love day goodies in the stores.

This is Audrey's "Can I have it, Mom? Can I pleeeeeease have it?" face.

Last weekend I went scrapbooking with some dear friends. We consumed large quantities of Starbucks & chocolate while we were at it. What could be better? Wait, we thought of something better... being on a cruise, scrapbooking with friends, & having Starbucks & chocolate! Don't you agree??

 (And yes, the weekend was Epic. "We ARE the focus group." Haha, you had to be there!)

Pretty As A Princess {Echo Park}

Last weekend, I spent a wonderful time with some friends at a scrapbooking retreat. I'm still plugging away at our Disney album so that's what I worked on the whole time.

I was excited to scrapbook these photos from the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Disneyland because I could pull out my girly stash & make something pretty. I guess I was tired of all the yellow & red Mickey Mouse products I had been working with. :)

As you can see, my journalling isn't done. I'm leaving it all to the end & will do it all at once... hopefully.

Like I did with the wedding card I recently made, I cut up some jewel flourishes I had to make them stretch & work with my layout.

Products used:

• Cardstock - American Crafts
• Patterned Paper - Echo Park
• Scalloped border sticker - Echo Park
• Journalling sticker - Echo Park
• Silver letter stickers - Making Memories
• Paper flowers - Michael's
• Jewel flourish - Dollarama
• Single jewels - Michael's

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, I'd love it if you would become a follower on Google Friend Connect, subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), 

or follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or Twitter. 

And please leave a comment when you do so I know who my new friends are! :)

Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!