Will you be my Flowergirl and Ringbearer gifts

Here is the really simple, easy and cute way I asked my flower girls and ringbearer to be in our wedding:

I made little cards for each of the kids with a message inside.

For the girls, I made quick little Flowergirl poems. Here is a sample from one of them:

"Will you be my flower girl,
And wear a fancy dress?
our wedding will be the best day ever,
If you'd just say 'yes!'"

The girls got flower lollipops (amazon.com)

And our ring bearer got ring pops:

Super easy and fun to do!

Will you be my bridesmaid gifts?

To wanted to find something unique, simple and also inexpensive to give my bridesmaids when I asked them to be in my wedding. Thanks to Pinterest and Artbeads.com, I found the perfect gift! I made each girl a gold bracelet with a mother of pearl charm and another gold charm that reminded me of them.

In total, I spent $30 (not including postage to send the gifts), for six bracelets--I had to make myself one of course :) That's $5 bucks a pop...not bad, right?

I bought the bracelets with the clasp already assembled, and each charm individually. The most expensive item was the bracelet, so if you know how to put the little clasps and fasteners on, you might save some money by doing it that way too:

Because the fastener was already on the chain, I pried it open just enough to slip it off the chain. Don't open it anymore that absolutely necessary because those little suckers are hard to close back up.

I love the mother of pearl charm. In the light it reflects blue and pink tones...so pretty!

This one was for my sister, the maid of honor:

Once the charms are on, I put the fastener back on (is that what's it's called by the way? I just guessed...my other option was little loopy thing that you hook the other end of your bracelet to. 

And voila! That's it...couldn't be any simpler...

Four leaf clover...

Bow...

Bumble bee...

Kitty-cat...

And mine...the hummingbird :)

Then, I poked two small holes on either side of some previously purchased cards I had lying around:

I stuck either end of the bracelet through each hole and attached the ends in the back (like how you would find a bracelet packaged at a store) and wrote a little note.

And off they went in the mail!

Pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving

Because I can't wait for Thanksgiving dinner in a few days (literally), I decided to make a mini-thanksgiving tonight for dinner. And let me tell you--my tummy is definitely giving thanks!

On the menu was Turkey Shepard's pie and corn casserole. I borrowed the corn casserole recipe from Paula Deen, so I won't bore you (or infringe on copyrights) with that recipe. But the Shepard's pie was so yummy and easy, I had to share:

First, I boiled the potatoes (about 4 medium sized russets):

While they boiled away, I sautéed a half of a large yellow onion in some veggie oil, celery seed and some garlic salt:

Once they were translucent, I threw in 1 lb ground turkey, and a good sized squeeze from the garlic tube, some salt and pepper:

I cooked the turkey until it was browned then threw it in my casserole dish:

Followed by a layer of canned peas and carrots (frozen would be good too):

And finally, I prepared my mashed potatoes and threw them on top (hint: make the potatoes wetter than you think they should be. They'll dry out in the oven, and mine were definitely a little too dry) 

Top with paprika if you're feeling fancy, then bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Sprinkle with some cheddar cheese with about 10 minutes left in the oven:

And devour promptly ;)

Oh, here's the corn casserole if you're curious. It's crispy and cheesy on the outside and warm and gooey in the inside. Tim's favorite part of the meal, hands down.

Spinach Tomato Soup

Today in the spirit of my Italian heritage and the November chill, I decided to make a hearty--but light (I do have a wedding dress to fit into after all ;) ) fall soup.

Here are the main ingredients:

1 15oz can diced tomatoes

1 15oz can stewed tomatoes

1 little can of tomato sauce

1 15 oz can cannellini beans

1 15 oz can garbanzo beans

1 yellow onion

1/2 bag spinach leaves

1 cup pasta (any kind...I prefer something small)

5-6 chicken tenders

1 large can (50 oz? ) chicken broth

Garlic paste, dried parsley and oregano to taste

First, fill your pot about 2" full with water and boil your chicken, I added garlic salt to the water for added flavor as well:

Cook the chicken until fork tender (about 10 minutes or so). While the chicken is cooking, sautéed your chopped onions in some veggie oil with some dried parsley, oregano and garlic until they are translucent:

 They should look like this when they're done:

Once the chicken is done, remove the tenders from the water and add the onions and all of your tomatoes:

Cook until your soup is boiling:

Then add your pasta and cook based on the package instructions:

While the pasta is cooking, chop your chicken into bite size pieces:

After pasta is tender, add your chicken back to the soup as well as your beans:

Then add your spinach and stir until it wilts down to a manageable size:

And add your chicken stock:

My favorite part is the stewed tomatoes :)

Try this and tell me it isn't pure Heaven!

Enjoy!

Roasted Harvest Vegetable Soup

The plus side of Tim being away for hockey is that I can watch Food Network uninterrupted for hours on end. The downside is that I always feel the need to make a hybrid of everything I see.

Yesterday, I made what I like to call Roasted Harvest Vegetable Soup. And its delicious! Here's the recipe if you want to try it:

You start with these basic ingredients (I only ended up using one can of chicken broth)--oh, and the Coke was just for me :) (Although, I wouldn't judge if you added a little soda to your soup--might be something wonderful??)

2 cups uncooked little noodles (little tube ones--I forget what they're called)
1 can diced tomatoes (I bought the pre-seasoned ones)
1 little can of tomato sauce
1 little can of corn kernels
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of white beans
a bunch of carrots, peeled and cubed
3 yellow squashes, cubed
2 zucchinis, cubed
1 yellow onion, cubed
1 large can of chicken stock
2 teaspoons garlic paste
a bundle of thyme or lemon thyme
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
bread (for dipping)
Parmesan cheese (to sprinkle over the top)

 

 

I chopped all the veggies into a similar size and threw them into a big bowl.

 

 

To the veggies, I added a teaspoon of garlic paste and a bundle of fresh lemon thyme (regular thyme would be perfect as well), and about two tablespoons of vegetable oil.

 

 

If you could smell this picture, you would die. It was Christmas morning and Thanksgiving dinner rolled into one.

 

I forgot to take pictures for a few steps because I was so excited to eat this! Here's what I missed:

 

I put the veggies on two baking sheets and cooked them in the over for 30 minutes at 450 degrees.

While they were roasting, I put two cups of mini noodles into a boiling pot of water and strained them.

Then, in the same pot I just used, I added another teaspoon of garlic, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and stirred.

 

That's when I came to my senses and started taking pictures again. To the tomatoes, I added the roasted veggies and continued cooking over medium heat.

 

 

Followed by the beans and corn...

 

 

Noodles...

 

 

And lastly, one big can of chicken stock...

 

 

The comes the fun part--seasoning. I ended up adding about a teaspoon of salt, teaspoon of pepper, a pinch of celery seeds and about a teaspoon of garlic salt. This is really a blank slate soup, so add what you like and taste between seasoning.

 

Before eating, I toasted a few slices of bread (on the same baking sheet as the one I used for the veggies--because, why not?) with some oil and garlic salt.

 

And voila, Roasted Harvest Vegetable Soup!