Show and Tell Tuesdays: How to Win My Heart

Happy Tuesday!  Today is Show and Tell Tuesday!  What does this mean?  Every other Tuesday, I am participating in a really fun Link Up!  Today's topic: HOW TO WIN MY HEART! 

It has been almost 10 years since this guy walked into my life with his long hair and earrings and won my heart!

And he didn't win my heart with flowers!

#iamnotaflowergirl

But you can totally win my heart with chocolate! 

Chocolate cake, chocolate candy, chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered pretzels...

I'm not picky!  John will come home with a treat if he's knows that I'm having a bad day or just because! 

Other than chocolate there were lots of other ways John won my heart while we were dating:

1. Lots of Starbucks

2. He is always willing to watch my shows - like the Bachelor and General Hospital

3. He became a part of my family - instantly.  And I became a part of his.  After only dating for 6 months we sent out Christmas Cards! 

4. Speaking of Christmas - John totally gets how much I love this holiday!  He puts up with Christmas music from November 1st - January 1st. and lets me put up the tree the first weekend in November.  For our first married Christmas, we spent days going to every store I could think of (and back to a few store for a second look) so that I could find our perfect tree.  

5. He's my BEST FRIEND!  I cannot imagine spending my life with anyone else!  John is the man I want by my side now and in 60 years! 

How John Keeps Winning My Heart Now That We Have Three Kids:

1. Bathtime.  Seriously if I don't have to give the kids a bath, it's a happy day!

2. Waking up early on Saturday morning to run out and get bagels.  John knows that after making breakfast all week, I need a break.  So he has been getting bagels every Saturday since Paisley was born!

3. Knowing when I need a minute to myself.  I don't have to tell him.  He just knows! 

4. Embracing the GIRL DAD!  He loves this role

5. When I see him in sweet moments with our girls, I fall in love over and over again! 

Don't forget to come back in 2 weeks for my next Show and Tell Tuesday!

Friday Favorites: Anniversary Edition

It's our Anniversary!  Six years ago, John and I said "I Do."  On May 15, 2009 we stood on the alter at the church I was raised in and we promised to love, honor, and cherish each other in front of our family, friends, and the Lord.  Our marriage isn't perfect, but I believe we have lived up to that promise.  Other than the birth of our three girls - our wedding day will always be my very favorite day!  Six years, three beautiful daughters, and one townhouse that is bursting at the seams with babies and love - I couldn't ask for more!  I am so blessed to have this life!

1. Our Wedding Day - 5/15/09
I have so many beautiful photos from our wedding day!  It's so funny to think how, if we got married today, there would probably be more pictures because everyone has phones that take pictures!  But if you watch our wedding video, you can see our friends and family on the dance floor with their little point and shoot digital cameras!  Here are some of my favorite pictures from that day:

2. Our Swarovski Crystal Toasting Glasses
I absolutely love the champagne glasses we bought for the first toast at our wedding!  They sit in our china closet, and they always make me smile when I look at them!  We drank champagne out of them on our very first anniversary...and then I've been pregnant for every anniversary since!  So this year, since I am not pregnant, we can take the glasses out and use them again!

3. Hubby/Wifey Tees
I mean how cute are these?!?

4. Love Decor
At one point - before kids - our walls were covered with pictures of us and love quotes! Now only a few pictures of us remain because the girls have taken over! But I still love shopping for different pillows and frames that quote LOVE!

5. Wedding Paraphernalia
We have so many sweet little mementoes from our special day sprinkled around our house!

Like this wedding Mickey and Minnie that my sister got us in Disney!

And our cake cutting set!

And our Precious Moments Wedding Statue

Today I am Linking Up with
Momfessionals and A Little Bit of Everything

and
 

Valentine's Day Kiss Cookies

Last Friday, I shared with you how excited I am about the upcoming PINK Holiday!  Yes people, I am referring to Valentine's Day!!!  It's one of my favorite holidays.  I know some people don't like it or view it as a "fake" holiday...but I am not one of them!  Any holiday that brings love and the color pink into focus is a great reason to celebrate!

This week I had actually planned on sharing a different Valentine's Day dessert with you (one that I made John last year) but then I was at Wegmans and inspiration hit me in the holiday aisle!  I came across this

 VALENTINE'S DAY FUNFETTI CAKE MIX!!!

And then I saw a package of these

VALENTINE'S DAY HUGS KISSES

And I was INSPIRED!  I knew I needed to make cookies with these two ingredients! 

So I came home and whipped up a batch of Valentine's Day Kiss Cookies!  They are just like the ones I made at Christmas...but even better for two reasons:

1. They are a cake mix recipe (cake mix recipe #23 to be exact)!

2. They are PINK! (and red and white too)

Here's What You Need to Make the Valentine's Day Kiss Cookies:

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 box Valentine's Day Funfetti Cake Mix 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 24 unwrapped Raspberry Hugs Kisses - they are so so so pretty 
  
• assorted sugar sprinkles in holiday colors - I used hot pink, a light pink and white mixture, and red

Now Let's Make the Valentine's Day Kiss Cookies:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, eggs, and vanilla extract
3. Add the cake mix and the baking powder and beat together until a soft dough forms
   
4. Use a cookie scoop to form dough into 24 balls (about 1 inch each)
5. Roll each dough ball into the sugar sprinkles
   
6. Place onto prepared baking sheets and bake in oven for 10 minutes
7. Remove from oven and immediately press a kiss into the center of each cookie
8. Allow to cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely
9. Once cookies are cool and the kiss has reset, store in an airtight container

These cookies taste amazing and look so pretty at the same time!  It doesn't hurt that I was able to whip up the dough in about 3 minutes...in fact rolling the dough in the sprinkles is the most time consuming part - and if you have older kiddos they can definitely help you with that!

Can't find the Valentine's Day Cake Mix?  You can use white cake mix and add extra sprinkles to the batter! 

Happy Pink Baking! 

Happy Wednesday

Today's post is going to be short and sweet, because I have two bigger and better posts planned for Thursday and Friday!

I am so thankful that it is already Wednesday!  That means John only has one more day of work before a three day weekend to celebrate Sweet B's first birthday!

Speaking of Blakely - the pox are on their way out the door!  It has been one week since the appearance of any new pox which means she is no longer contagious!  Woohoo!  She has also given up the "baba."  And by this I mean I cut her off the "baba" (we had been gradually decreasing her bottles for awhile).  She didn't miss them...until bedtime.  Ohh that first night was rough but last night (night 2) was much MUCH better.  NO MORE BOTTLES TO WASH!!!  She is even starting to come around on the milk, although I don't hold onto too much hope - no one else in the family likes milk!

Last Bottle! 

Drinking whole milk out of her sippy! 

We have been a little Blakely-focused because of the pox, but I just love my sweet Lacie Jane!  This is the face that I get to see every night when I tuck her in!  I am a lucky mama! 

Yesterday, we received our monthly K-Cup shipment.  Oh when those boxes show up on my doorstep it is a good day!  I was even more excited that this delightful, seasonal flavor was in this month's delivery! 

Today I did our family food shopping, and Wegmans is already stocked with holiday cheer and food!  These were a part of the Christmas display! If you don't already know, I am a bit obsessed with these little gems of candy coated chocolate.  I swear John and I lost five pounds each when Easter was over this year and we stopped eating these little chocolate eggs every single night while sitting on the couch.  I did not know that they made CHRISTMAS ONES!!!  And when I turned them over to read the label and I saw that they are SAFE for my peanut free princess to enjoy, I felt like crying tears of joy and said a "thank you Jesus" prayer right there in the aisle.  Honestly, I said those three words out loud I was so excited! 

Tomorrow's post will be my first Christmas Cookie Post!  Get excited!!! 

The Dessert That Started It All!

Happy Friday Everyone!!!  Friday is always Dessert Day in our pink house!  And this weekend's dessert is a special one!  In order to honor the anniversary of John asking me to be his wife (Monday October 21st will be 6 years since his special proposal) I am making the dessert that started it all:

Heath Bar Crunch

October 21, 2007

On the day I met John - June 3, 2006, I had made a batch of this amazing dessert for a party!  He ate some at the party...Then, I sent more home with him...He ate it and thought it would be a great idea to find me, call me, and ask me out on our first date one week later!  This is the dessert that made John fall in love with me!  Make a batch and you may just meet your soulmate! 

Now, this is not my own recipe.  I don't know where this originated, but I'm sure that you have had it somewhere.  In addition to the name Heath Bar Crunch, I have also heard of it under the name "Christmas Crack," which is very fitting because it is super addictive.  So even if you don't think you have eaten it, you will probably make it and taste it and then recognize the taste.  These little candy pieces are simple to make and are guaranteed to be LOVED by all!  

Here's What You Need to Make the Heath Bar Crunch:

• 1 sleeve of salted saltine crackers (you may need a few more if some are broken...and please don't use unsalted crackers)
• 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter (again don't use unsalted...you want the salt!)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (I used light but dark is fine too)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda 
• 1 bag semisweet chocolate chips (milk chocolate will work in a pinch also)
• foil and cooking spray

Now Let's Make the Heath Bar Crunch:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray it liberally with cooking spray (like PAM)
3. Arrange saltine crackers in a single layer, covering the entire pan (you may need to break pieces to make them fit)
   
4. In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter and mix in brown sugar
5. Stir occasionally until the butter and sugar are thoroughly combined
6. When the mixture starts to bubble, continue to stir for exactly 2 minutes (seriously set your timer)
7. After the 2 minutes is up, add in the 1/4 tsp of baking soda and stir constantly for exactly 1 minute (the mixture should get lighter and bubble higher)
   
   Like This! 
   
   
8. Working quickly, pour mixture evenly over crackers and put in oven for 7 minutes
9. Take pan out of oven and sprinkle entire bag of chocolate chips evenly over pan
10. Allow to sit one minute (chocolate will begin to melt) and then use the back of a spoon to spread into an even layer
11. Place pan in freezer until set (at least 30 minutes to 1 hour)
12. Remove from freezer, using foil remove from pan and peel off foil
13. Break into bite size pieces and serve or store in freezer (you can store it in the fridge too it will just be a bit softer - I eat it right out of the freezer!)

A few tips that will help the baking process go smoothly!  Preheat your oven before you start!  Also, clear off a spot in your freezer before you start!  Have all your ingredients ready because you will have to move quickly with this recipe!  And that baking soda this recipe calls for...make sure it is fresh!  If you can't remember the last time you replaced your baking soda, it is too old.  Get a new box before you make the Heath Bar Crunch!  It is important! 

You will love this!  Now you know I am a big fan of "use what you have" but that's not really the case with this recipe!  The ingredients are very specific other than your choice of light or dark brown sugar!  If you don't have the ingredients on hand, you can also try making a batch of my Heath Bar Crunch Cookie Bars.  They are fantastic as well!