Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Skinny Strawberry Cream Fruit Dip


Summer is such a great time to fill your diet with fresh fruit. It's also a great option to have at a party or shower. Here's a great dip to include with your next fruit tray or just to have on hand for you & your family! 

It's low fat too so it's a guilt free treat!




Skinny Strawberry Fruit Dip
makes approx. 6 cups

2 envelopes Dream Whip or 4 cups low fat whipped topping
1 package strawberry jello mix
1 cup low fat strawberry yogurt 

Prepare Dream Whip according to package directions. In a separate bowl, prepare the jello  according to directions, but don't allow it to completely set. Only refrigerate for 45 minutes to an hour - until thickened, but still a liquid. Fold jello & strawberry yogurt into the whipped topping. Refrigerate for 2 more hours, until thickened. 

Serve with fruit. 

Note: If it gets runny, you can whip it for 2 minutes on high & it will bring it right back to life!




Enjoy the fruits of summer!

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Monday, July 08, 2013

Shopping Bag Turned Gift Bag


 I always enjoy walking out of a store with a paper shopping bag. Especially these lovely turquoise bags from David's Tea. 

Besides that fact that you're getting some retail therapy, they are also so easy to upcycle to a pretty gift bag!




Start with the shopping bag, glue or an adhesive runner, a pretty patterned paper, & some handmade tissue paper flowers. {Find my tutorial here!} 


Wednesday, July 03, 2013

This Way To Birthday Fun!

Well, after a little blogging break to get settled into summer, I'm back!

Taking a break always usually helps me think of some creative posts to share with you & get fired up for my next project. Breaks are good. They are needed. But it's good to be back.

What have you been up to so far this summer?

~~~

Here's a fun birthday card that perfectly suited to a summer birthday party!


Friday, June 21, 2013

Insta-Friday #22


It's time for Insta-Friday - the time of the week when you hear the stories behind this week's Instagram photos. 


Last Friday was the first day of summer holidays for the kids. Exciting stuff, right? Yes! We had plans to start our 3rd annual park tour & go for frozen yogurt on the beautiful, sunny day... Ya, that would have been great except that... it rained all day. Blah. 

Plan B: Watch an old Disney movie with hot chocolate (in Disney mugs) & giant marshmallows. 

So, that's what happened instead.



Sunday: Father's Day. We spent the day celebrating the dad's in our lives. And I finally got a photo taken with my dad (it's been years)!




One of our kid's favourite things to do with wrestle & tickle with Daddy. Silliness abounds.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Lemon Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Butter Topping


It's berry season - strawberries, blueberries, blackberries - they're all over the grocery stores. I'm looking forward to them being ready for harvest around Saskatchewan!

In the meantime, we buy them at the grocery store & make lots of favourite goodies... like these!


Monday, June 17, 2013

Doily Birthday Card {Echo Park}


In the last several days, it's been raining cats & dogs here in Saskatoon. Today was the first day of sunshine since last week. Because of all the rain, we've been stuck inside. We've been doing alot of reading, playing games, watching movies, & doing crafts. I even got some scrapbooking in, which I haven't done in a long time. 

Sunshiny summer days call for bright, summery colours! 

This was a very fast card, made with a bunch of paper scraps.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Insta-Friday #21

School's out for the summer!!

Woot, woot! We're all really excited around here. 

We have all kinds of fun plans, most of them to take place around here since we're not venturing away from home for very long this summer.

Today was supposed to kick off our 3rd annual park tour (simple idea, but really fun: visiting a different park every week, preferably one that we've never played at before), but it's pouring rain here so that plan will have to wait until the gloomy weather clears up. 

Instead, we'll do some reading, play some games, & maybe bake some cookies.

~~~~~

On to the look at our week via Instagram...

Last Friday consisted of a lot of shopping - groceries, plus a whole bunch of gifts for birthdays, teachers, & Father's Day.

Here's where I ended up for the Father's Day gifts...

I'd never been in by myself. I was a little overwhelmed, but I think I picked out some great gifts.



On Friday night we went out for supper with some good friends. The very fun, laughter-filled evening was topped off by peanut butter pie (which was amazing!).

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Boys Room Reveal!

The day is finally here! 

After giving myself the challenge of completing my son, Parker's, bedroom makeover by the end of May, bit by bit I got projects done & this past weekend we were able to put on the finishing touches. 

Let me show you around! Come on in!


This yellow-with-black-trim room was how it looked when we moved here 6 years ago. And wasn't my little guy cute when he was just 4? I just want to kiss those cheeks! (He's still cute, btw!)


When we moved here, we painted his room & replaced the flooring, but that's about it. 

Monday, June 10, 2013

Pink Lemonade Cookies

Ahhh... Summer...

Sunshine.

Swimming in the pool.

Vacations.

Lemonade stands.

Did you ever have a lemonade stand as a kid? 

I did. We weren't very successful as we lived on a q-u-i-e-t street in a small town. Plus, we probably drank all the lemonade. That can't help, right?

Maybe if we had made some of these cookies to sell along with our lemonade, we would have had more success! ☺


Saturday, June 08, 2013

Insta-Friday #18, #19, & #20 (The late edition!)

Welcome to Insta-Friday... the late edition! 

It's been a few weeks since I've done one of these posts, so I have alot of photos to share.

Let's dive in!


Spring has brought such amazing weather here & I've been going on lots of walks to take advantage of it.

Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Monday, June 03, 2013

Greek Style Grilled Pork Chop Meal


Barbecue season is here! Well, it's been here for awhile, but now that school is almost done, we are planning to have more time outside with friends.

And this is the perfect meal to prepare for nights like that!


Thursday, May 30, 2013

Repurposing with Spray Paint


Earlier this spring, as soon as it was nice enough outside on a weekend, I gathered a bunch of my spray paint & thrifty items, as well as some things I had shopped from around my house.

Out I went & set up my driveway as Spray Painting Central!



Here's what happened that day...

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Polka Dot Baby Card


Polka dots are all the rage, have you noticed? Geometric patterns are my fav so I'm loving the polka dots, stripes, & chevron that I'm seeing everywhere. 

I also enjoy bringing trends into my paper crafts as well...


Enter the polka dot baby card! A fun way to mix & match patterns too!

Monday, May 27, 2013

Strawberry Covered Chocolate Trifle


Happy Monday, friends! I hope those of you in the U.S. are having a great Memorial weekend.

Last week, we were invited over by some friends for supper - it was a fabulous night with lots of laughs, great conversation, & delicious food. My friend, Sarah, asked me if I would bring a dessert & I was happy to oblige! 

I did a twist on my Strawberries & Cream Trifle. Here's what I came up with...

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Boy's Room Makeover (Part 2): The Dresser


My son's room makeover marches on!

Last week, I painted his beat up dresser a fun shade of orange...




Here is the war-torn dresser before...
(Complete with little boy hieroglyphics from years past.)




Friday, May 17, 2013

Insta-Friday #17

Welcome to Insta-Friday #17 - My week in pictures!

Last Friday, I had an errand to do downtown. I plugged my meter with an hour's worth of time & then finished my errand in about 10 minutes. So, I took the rest of the hour, & walked around downtown by the river, enjoying the wonderful weather & our beautiful city.


Saturday morning, I was up bright & early to go out to a town wide garage sale. This house had a ton of homemade baking for sale as well as fresh (she pulled them out of the frier while we watched), homemade donuts! My friend, Vanessa, & I couldn't resist trying them!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Button Baby Card


Is there anything more sweet than a new baby? I think God makes them so adorable so that we want to be around them & take care of them. :)

And because babies are so cute, we want the things around them & the things that celebrate them to be cute too!

Monday, May 13, 2013

Asian Mandarin Salad


Eating healthy can be hard for me sometimes. I find that when I have a meal plan, even if it's just in my head, that works the best for me. This is one of my favourite lunches to throw together - easy, healthy, & delicious! It's on my meal plan often! I first got the idea from a salad I had at Appleby's. 

If you want to make this into an entree, add a grilled chicken breast = yummy!


Friday, May 10, 2013

Insta-Friday #16

Welcome to my week in photos!

I think I say this every week, but it's been an exciting, fun week. You know, keeping track of my life on Instagram makes me really appreciate the small things in life. Even the seemingly meaningless errands & chores take on a new meaning when you can see a bit of beauty in them.


Last friday was spent doing doing some thrifting & errands with my friend, Sarah. I was on the hunt for some fabric to sew a window valance for my son's bedroom makeover. We discovered a fabulous quilting shop & I found the perfect fabric!


While we were out thrifting, we each found a large treasure! I found the blue trunk & she the great chair. We think a hotel was redecorating & got rid of a bunch of these chairs. It was in fabulous condition!


We also enjoyed seeing the cheery flowers at the Home Depot even though it's still a bit early here to be planting. Give it another week or two & we'll be good to go!


On Saturday, my husband, daughter, & I went garage saling for a bit. This pink elephant sadly was not for sale. :(
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