Easy Veggie Pizza

I'll leave you off this Friday with an easy and delicious recipe I made for dinner last night. I didn't take a picture of mine because I started eating it before I thought about taking a picture haha! Below is a link to the original recipe. I just tweaked my ingredients a little.

Ease Crescent Veggie Pizza Recipe by Pillsbury 

Here is what I used:
crescent rolls
Garden Vegetable Philadelphia cream cheese
what ever veggies you want
I used: broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, onions

Roll the crescent rolls out flat and bake according to the directions.
While it's baking, chop the veggies.
After taking it out, spread the cream cheese on then sprinkle the veggies and presto: done!

It's Friday people! It's Friday! Here's a little throw back ;)

 


Getting down on Friday--have a great weekend!
 

Portlandia is Back!

The show Portlandia comes back tonight on IFC at 10PM! While the show can be a little raunchy sometimes, for the most part it is just silly, but if you're from Oregon, you know it's pretty close to the truth so it's super funny! Gotta love the publicity it gives our beautiful state--I feel so blessed to live in Oregon, it is so beautiful. Other states don't know what they're missing out on!

So in honor of Portlandia coming back, here is one of my favorite clips!

 

If you LOVE birds like I do, and you feel the need to "put a bird on it" here are some lovely bird products to check out!

Put a Bird on It by barbieforeverett featuring a ceramic drink dispenser

World Market ceramic drink dispenser / Pier 1 Imports bird home decor / Animal painting / Forever 21 bird home decor / Long sleeve blouse / Paza Round Decorative Wall Mirror : Target / JOURNALS :: 5x7" Journals :: Birds nest journal - Ecojot - eco savvy...

Happy Thursday & put a bird on it!

Wednesday Wisdom

I am going to be honest. I, starting in July, I spent months feeling bitter and dejected. It's a long story and I won't go into details, but I didn't get a job that I felt I should have, and it really hurt my ego. I still cannot say I am completely over it. However, I have tried to take the saying "bloom where you are planted" to heart. Maybe I only got a quarter time position running intramural recess activities and mileage club--but gosh darn it--I'm going to be the best recess time PE teacher this school has ever seen! I have to say I love the students and staff at my school and it has been nice to have more time to work with dance teams and dance studios this year and I even have time to volunteer.

I am a little anxious to see where my husband and I end up next year, since he is graduating with his MAT & teaching license in may, but in the mean time I will continue to be the best I can be with what I have been given and Bloom where I am planted.

Source: My own artwork

Happy Hump Day :P
    

Evelyn Henson Floral Paintings

I love floral paintings. When I paint, I usually paint flowers; they are so pretty! One of my favorite artists and bloggers, Evelyn Henson, just put out a bunch of new floral paintings--they are gorgeous! I wish I was in a position to buy one right now because they would look lovely hanging on my wall. I wish she would make some of her florals into prints!

Head over to her website to check out her art and her blog at www.evelynhenson.com

Here are some of my favorites.

Everyday Peionies

The Perfect Peonies

Pink and Green

Rainy Day Boquet

Spring is coming soon! Happy Tuesday!
 

Hair

So up until November I had been growing my hair out until I decided on a whim to chop it all off. I love it. I didn't regret it at all. Occasionally I see pictures of my longer hair and I do think it was really pretty, but short hair makes me feel sassier and it is so much easier to take care of!

Anyway, I have it let it grow for a little too long since my last cut and with this particular style it will start to look like a mullet!! haha, so I need to get it cut again and I am think about playing with the color some more.

My hair is already kind of cut like this, but this is what I want to do with my hair.

via pinterest

I told myself I would never go platinum blonde, but I kind of like this look. Maybe I should just try it once? YOLO right? ;)

via pinterest
I also really like this color. I like color dimensions.

via pinterest
And this color is fun too.

Thoughts from anyone? I'm not sure when I will get it done because I'm in the busy season of high school dance team and from now until Spring Break every weekend is filled with dance competitions and events. I love it. I'm hoping to get done before we head off to state though. I'll post pictures after I get it done!
    

Baby Shower!

My big brother and sister-in-law are having a baby! This will be my first niece or nephew (it's a surprise) on my side of the family. I have 12 nieces and nephews on my husband's side!

 My sister-in-law's two best friends threw her an adorable baby shower and surprised her by hosting it at her favorite restaurant.

Our family from Washington came down for the occasion and it was a great weekend of fun and visiting. Here are a few pictures from the shower.

                                                    Cute decor on fireplace mantle. It was an owl themed shower.

                    My dear cousin who I only get to see a couple times a year. We had delicious raspberry lemon drops :)

                                      Aren't these center pieces so cute? I love the vintage looking alphabet pictures.

     My mom, my sister-in-law and I went shopping together the day before and decided to color coordinate our outfits :) I                               love spending time with them! This is how I styled my striped blazer from Target!

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!
    

Recent Splurges

I thought I would share some of my recent splurges. I'm excited to showcase some outfits with the pieces I got!

Target
I love stripes and I needed a good blazer. I got this to wear to my sister-in-law's baby shower which I will share on Friday.

Women's Tailored Blazer from Target

Target
Bicycles and hot pink have a special place in my heart... I will fill you in on bicycles in another post.

Women's Button-down shirt from Target

 Close up of the print. I love it!

 ASOS
Loving Navy blue right now! I needed a pair of rain boots. My husband got me adorable red tall rain boots for Christmas, but my calves are too big for them :( I'm hoping maybe if I loose some weight they will fit eventually. For now these one's are adorable and they also come in pale pink with gold bows and red with cream bows.

Navy Bow Ankle Boot from ASOS

Antiquing
Fenton Glass! The color is soo pretty, I had to get it! Went to my favorite antique store with my family spotted this beauty. If you're in the area, check out the Albany Antique Mall or find them on facebook!

Happy Thursday!
   

Wednesday Wisdom

Recently I have found out the some people near and dear to me are struggling with anxiety and depression. I just want everyone to know that it's OK, and they are loved.

I'm not sure where this picture came from because I found it on Pinterest, but it inspired this post. I struggle with anxiety and have had bouts of depression. Thankfully it has not been to the extent that some have. I think everyone needs to hear this message:

Remember this as you go through your day today.
    

Valentine's Day!

Here's a little Valentine's Day tip from Urban Decay Cosmetics: Always wear red lipstick and a hot pair of heels. Check! My husband and I went out to our favorite little wine bar to celebrate this year.

Here's a look at my Valentine's Day!

Blouse: LC Lauren Conrad from Kohls // Skirt: Kirkland from Costco (similar) //
Shoes: Christian Siriano for Payless (similar)// Necklace: Baublebar //
Pearls: gift (similar) // Clutch: Kohls (similar)

Flowers from my hubby :)

Close up of my necklaces

 Every Valentine's day I make my husband his favorite dessert: Grasshopper pie.

  Here is a link to the recipe I used (note, I used a pre-made pie crust and I also 

                            didn't follow the recipe exactly like usual).

                 

Hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day!


 

Cupcake Turnout

The Shirley Temple cupcakes were a success! Here's how they looked:

So I tried the recipe I posted earlier, here, the one with the cherry 7 up. It turned out OK for the first batch, but for the second batch I just decided to follow the direction on the back of the box for regular cherry chip cake and then added a little of the 7 up and grenadine.

For the frosting I tried this jello frosting recipe, but I guess I did something wrong because it didn't turn out. So instead, I used my go to recipe which is instant vanilla pudding, only using half of the milk called for, mixed with a tub of cool whip. Then I added some of the cherry jello mixture I tried to make to give it a cherry flavor and pretty pink flavoring. If I make it again I might just do the cool whip frosting with cherry extract and some food coloring.

I used a large storage ziplock bag to pipe the frosting. Put the frosting in the bag then cut the tip off of one of the corners. I finished them off with a marachino cherry on top of each cupcake. They were lovely for Valentine's day and some of my co-workers appreciated the sentiment for Shirley Temple.

Have a happy Monday!
   

My Valentine's Day Look

Well, I'm in the process of making Shirley Temple cupcake disasters. My oven is not working properly so my cupcakes are turning out undercooked and burnt at the same time. It will be a miracle if any of these cupcakes turn out well enough to take to work tomorrow! In the mean time here's a sneak peak of an outfit similar to what I plan on wearing for my Valentine's date with my Hubby tomorrow. I will post the real thing next week!

My Valentine's Day Look by barbieforeverett featuring Call it SPRING

LC Lauren Conrad blouse / Forever 21 black skirt / Call it SPRING shoes, $19 / Silver handbag / Red necklace / Finesse silver necklace, $39 / Elizabeth Arden lipstick, $33

I will drift to sleep tonight to the smell of burnt cupcakes. Sweet dreams!

Wednesday Wisdom

I'm going to be honest. Lately I have been very materialistic. I am getting caught up in coveting things I don't have and I spent money on things I shouldn't have. I read this in my devotional today and I thought I would share it.

Excerpt from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

"Let Me be your positive Focus. When you look to Me, knowing Me as God with you, you experience Joy. This is according to My ancient design, when I first crafted man. Modern man seeks his positive focus elsewhere: in sports, sensations, acquiring new possessions. Advertising capitalizes on the longing of people for a positive focus in their lives. I planted that longing in human souls, knowing that only I could fully satisfy it. Delight yourself in Me; let Me become the Desire of your heart."

I love this devotional. It has a little something to read everyday accompanied with bible versus to support the message. If your looking for a little Jesus in your day check it out!

Click the picture to view on amazon










What have your struggles been lately? Have your brought them to Jesus? He's willing to help!

 

Oh My Goodness! Tribute to Shirley Temple

I grew up watching Shirley Temple movies. Shirley Temple is probably a big part of the reason why I started dancing. I loved watching her dance in all of her movies. The first dance class I ever took was was a tap class. Whenever I got to order a special drink at the my favorite Chinese restaurant as a little girl, I would ALWAYS get a Shirley Temple. Truthfully, I still order Shirley Temples sometimes :) Here is one of my all time favorite dance scenes:

 

 I have to bring treats to work for the staff on Friday, and since it is Valentines day I think Shirley Temple cupcakes would be perfect! I'd like to make cupcakes that are super pretty and sophisticated like these ones I found on Pinterest from the Whimsical Cupcake blog (click on picture to go to the recipe):

thewhimsicalcupcake.wordpress.com

But let's be honest, I'll probably make more of a "semi-homemade" version using this recipe from Heck Fridays Blog--It looks way more do-able for my skills! I'll try it and let you know how they turn out!

Check out the recipe by clicking this link clicking the link below:

Heck Friday's Shirley Temple Cupcakes












Happy Tuesday--Drink a Shirley Temple this week!

Snowpacolypse Day 5: My Husband is Home!!!!

My husband is finally home!!! He brought me goodies from IKEA and he put them together for me! Unfortunately I have discovered that our home is too small for the shoe cabinets he brought me so I may have to remove some of my wall decorations to make it fit :( Sigh, the dilemma of style vs. organization. But now maybe we won't have shoes lying around everywhere--maybe we should get rid of some of our shoes, we BOTH have too many.

Speaking of things I don't need. I came across this dress on Nordstrom's Hautelook today and I fell in love with it! Wouldn't this be so fun for a New Year's Eve party?

Corey Lynn Calter Sequin Embellished Shift Dress

I will go to bed dreaming of wearing this dress somewhere! Sweet dreams!

Snopocalypse Day 4

My goodness! That last uphill stretch of the Olympic Men's Cross Country Skiathalon made me tired just watching it! What an exciting finish and what amazing athleticism! 
 
Let's see, day 4 of Snopocalypse: I did get around to cleaning house today. I watched lots of Olympics. 13 going on 30 was on TV and even though I own it and have seen it a million times I watched anyway...and enjoyed it :) I also made a craft today. I was inspired by a post on the blog "My Crafty Spot". You can get the directions to the craft by clicking on the link below.

Gold Glitter and Felt Rosette Love Sign | My Crafty Spot - When Life Gets Creative
 






I had to make do with the materials I had on hand so I didn't make a felt heart I just used glitter paper and I wish I had gold glitter paper instead of silver because the silver doesn't stand out as much but still cute!
 
 
Here is my version:

First Post: Finding Your Inner Hippo

Well, "snowpocalypse 2014" has trapped me in my house all alone, while my husband is in San Fran. So what do I decide to do? Clean house? Work on choreography? Finish a painting? Nope, I decided to start a blog! 

The background behind my title comes from a question posed to me my senior year of high school: If you were an animal what would you be? The answer actually came to me fairly quickly. Earlier that year I had learned that Hippos were actually quite ferocious fighters despite looking super cute and friendly. I have always felt that people put me in a box because I am short, sweet, and somewhat quiet. I was labeled as "shy", and called "cute" by people younger than me. While those things don't bother me quite so much now that I have grown up some, they did in high school.

So my answer was: a Hippo, because I may look cute and friendly but if you set me off I can fight back. Of course, often my fighting back was followed by me feeling horrible and then apologizing, but the point was that I had a back bone. I was not afraid to debate people on issues that I felt passionately about. So despite the box that many people put me in, I feel that I have been stepping out of it little by little as I grow.

Are you a closet hippo? What secret talents and passions are you hiding? What is the spark that will inspire you to attack the world?

Despite the special place in my heart for hippos, I have yet to include a hippo in my home decor. Here are some items I love!

Hippo Love by barbieforeverett featuring gold home decor 
1. Striped t shirt / 2. Gold home decor /3. Home decor / 4. Wall art / 5. Vase /  6. Holiday decoration / 
7. imm Living King's Subject Hippopotamus Container