Saw it. Pinned it. Did it. - Gift Card Bouquet

Top o' the mornin' to ya, friends! 

Today I bring to you a very simple gift idea for those who, well, just already kinda have everything you need so you never know what to get them for their birthday. AKA: my superwoman of a sister-in-law who just birthed triplets and is probably in SERIOUS need of some "me" (or "her?") time. 

I present to you...the Gift card bouquet! AKA: a little bit of everything gift with MUCH better presentation than those stupid gift card envelopes.

Here's where I found my original inspiration:

Tools:

Flowers of some sort with equal amounts of gift cards. I chose gift cards I knew she would use on herself: Bath & Body Works, Chick-Fil-A, Marble Slab (the girl LOVES her some ice cream!), Panera and Starbucks.

I've seen people cut out flowers from that foam stuff or even cardstock but A) that was too much work and B) all that time and effort that went into cutting out the perfect flower would be dumped in la garbage. I decided to go with a functional flower buy using the flower hair clips from Hobby Lobby. I figure sissy-in-law gets the gift cards, new babies would get to wear the flowers and I didn't have to spend countless hours trying to cut out the most perfect little daisy. Win/win? Yethhhhh.

Oh ya. You'll also need a vase of some sort (this was a tall metal vase/planter from Hobby Lobby), sticks (also from Hobby Lobby), some type of moss, and ribbon of some sort to use as the leaves on the stem of your flower. (The ribbon pictured below ended up not working out so I used green tulle instead and I think it turned out much cuter.)

Okay! Now you're ready!

Step one. Clip and/or hot glue your flower to one of the sticks. We'll call this the "Flower Kabob".

Step two. Make 4 more flower kabobs, or until all your flowers are on their designated sticks.

Step three. Hot glue (or use glue dots, like I did) to stick your gift cards to the backs of your flower kabobs.

Step four. Place a fair amount of moss into the bottom of your vase. You'll want to use quite a bit to see that it will hold your flower kabobs in place.

Step five. Shove your little flowery beauties in there, make leaves on your stem by using ribbon (or green tulle, like I decided to use last minute), tie a ribbon around the top of the vase to give it some extra flair and voila!

Festive AND functional...yes?!

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Butts, Kindergarten & Chasing Mailmen

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As the saying goes, the bigger, the better. Right?

Right.

Well...sometimes. Butts, thighs and pimples are three things I know are not, indeed, better when bigger.

Aaaaand...where was I going with this post?

Oh ya. A bigger AND better Lilly 2014 Lilly agenda is where I was going! 17 months of extra-jumbo goodness is what's about to ROCK your world.

The new Lilly Pulitzer 2014 Jumbo Agenda is huge...measuring 8.75 in x 11 in! Hello enough space for kindergarten bubble writers like myself! OH! And it's 17 months so for all you teachers out there, this one starts August of this year and goes allllll the way through December of 2014...which means you won't be needing another planner for, well, 17 months! Talk about great gifts, too! I've seen these given as bridesmaids gifts with all the important dates already filled out by the bride! So cute, huh?! Why didn't I ever think of that?!!

The ever-so-adorable new designs? Done.

Lucky Charms Pattern

You need yearly? Done.

You need monthly? Done.

You need weekly? Done.

(Not to mention bright & beautiful monthly tabs!)

You need horoscopes? Also done.

And what about a few extra pages for notes? That's right. Done and done.

I swear...Lilly went and pulled every incredible feature from every planner on the market and put it into one giant pad of awesomesauce. Oh-and made it adorable, too. 

To get a full (and downright pretty flippin' amazing) virtual tour of the jumbo agendas, 

you'll want to go here. 

Though these aren't available just yet...I have a little inside scoop action I've been privied to share with you! (Shhh!) These babies are available for pre-order TODAY at Lifeguard Press ONLY and are expected to be delivered late June/early July! I've already pre-ordered mine and know I'll be chasing down the mailman every chance I get! ;) Poor guy.

 Now go! Take a little peeksy and chase mailmen with me, too! ;)

The Best Things in Life Come in Threes

On June 7, 2013, we were blessed to welcome the Patterson girls into this world!
Meet my beautiful nieces!

To my little sweet peas:

  My, my, my how you bring a whole new meaning to life! To see you in real life, outside of your mommy's tummy is without a doubt, the most incredible thing I've ever seen in my 27 years on this planet. To know that you were in her belly just a growin' away for more than 34 weeks and then to see you, in person, all snuggled up in your little bed, in your tiny, tiny hats, squirming around and making the sweetest of noises makes me feel ever so blessed to be your aunt!  I've watched your mom and dad care for you since wayyyyy before they even knew you and I just know their love for you will only grow exponentially as the days go by. Your sister Rylie is the bestest, too. I just know she'll be giving you all the kisses you could ever want and who knows, maybe even a pony ride here and there! ;) Uncle Beau and I just adore you already. We can't wait to get you on a softball field (hehe!) and teach you how to throw, bat and run bases. We also can't wait to give you a little cousin to look after...the kind that doesn't have fur! But most of all, Samantha, Taylor and Mallory, we just can't wait to love you to pieces and watch you grow into beautiful young ladies!

Love always,

Aunt Steph

Just Call Me "Aunt Steph"

'Tis true...I'm an AUNT!

 

TIMES THREE!

 

While I'll be "introducing" the girls later on this week (maybe tomorrow?!) here's a little sneak peek of our weekend happenings!

 

Friday, June 7, 2013 around 7:00am, my sweet triplet nieces were preparing to make their grand entrance into this world!

 

Excited daddy

Proud Uncle Beau

Anxious Grandma

 

Beau's mom (above) made us these t-shirts for the triplet's birthday! Are they not adorable?! EVERYONE in the hospital knew who we were once we got there lol.





 

Right before they took momma back to the O.R.!

It goes without saying...Julie was SO ready to meet these girls!



Visiting our precious nieces for the first time in the NICU!

 

Momma Julie and baby girls are doing OUT-FREAKING-STANDING! Their health right now has amazed us ALL! I think I also speak for us all when I say we SO appreciate all the kind thoughts, prayers, comments, texts, tweets and emails hoping for a safe delivery of the girls. They worked more than you could ever know!

 

Next up...you'll get to meet the little sweet peas, NAMES and all! (Nobody knew their names this entire time until yesterday afternoon!)I'm so excited for you to meet them I can hardly stand it! If you follow me on Instagram, you already got a little sneak peek of these precious angel babes! ;) Just sayin...

Saw it. Pinned it. Did it. - Cilantro Garlic Hummus

Well, my friends, another Thursday is upon us and that can only mean 3 things...

1. Only one more day til Friday

2. Only ONE MORE SLEEP TIL I'M AN AUNT! (Yes! Tomorrow is THE day!!!) 

3. It's time for Saw it. Pinned it. Did it!

Did you recreate a pin and blog about it?! Link up with us, wouldya?!

This week's inspiration came from this glorious photo below. As soon as I spotted the chickpeas, I knew it was meant to be. Y'all...my cravings for hummus have been worse than that of an 8 month pregnant woman craving a pound of froyo on a nightly basis. No lie. I'm almost ashamed to say I've been eating it off of a spoon every single day for going on several weeks now...

via

You know your addiction is bad when you start calculating the ways to make to MOST amount of hummus for the LEAST amount of money. Shoot...when you go through 3 tubs/week, that stuff adds up, y'all!

Alas...hummus addicts unite!

Ingredients:

• 2 cans chickpeas, drained (garbanzo beans)
• 1/2 C tahini
• 1/2 C olive oil
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1/2 cucumber, peeled & sliced
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• dash of pickle juice
• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder (I used MUCH more + fresh garlic)
• pepper

Toss all your 'gredients into the blender (or Ninja) and blend well. Add water if needed. Tweak ingredients to meet your tastebud's likings. (I added extra garlic, garlic salt & pepper) Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy any way you like...on veggies, chips, crackers...or...straight off a spoon. ;)

*NOTE: this recipe made a TON! I didn't measure it but if I had to guess I'd say at least 2-3 cups! Lets just say my hummustooth will be satisfied for a while!

Stephanie tested. Husband approved.

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Your turn!

1. Link up using the linky tool below.

2. Link back to mine & Katie's blogs in your post so other people can know where to find the link up!

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4. Visit & re-pin other blog images to get new inspiration and find new friends!

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Come back and join us every Thursday for Saw it. Pinned it. Did it. 

We promise we'll love you forever! ;)

Oh, Oakley...

My little spicy redhead...

19 weeks young...

Weighing in at a whopping 50 pounds...

And sassy as ALL get out...

Nicknames: Baby girl, Baby bird, Oaks, Oakie, Oakie Pokey (don't ask?)

Guilty pleasures: peanut butter, apples, her ducky, more peanut butter, and now...sleeping in the bed with mom and dad. #whoops

Though puppyhood can be as frustrating as EVER...my, my, my how we just adore this child of ours.

(& yes...her belly button is an outty!) :) 

This post sponsored by: Zuke's all-natural training treats. 

LOTS and LOTS of training treats...

PS: if you think my obsession with taking pictures of my dog is bad...just you wait until we have kids. ;)

Skinny Stir Fry

It's quite possible that I'm just 27 years late to this party but holy mother of stir fry...WHY have I never made this before? 

I guess when I heard the term "stir fry" I always associated it with egg rolls, fortune cookies and buddha bellies...3 things I strive to stay away from...until one day someone (I don't even know who) posted a picture of her stir fry on the ol' Insta and I thought to myself "I'm totally making that...sans the buddha belly part".

Off to the grocery store I went and two helpings later (for my husband)...we were both in a stir fry coma. Not to mention Beau has requested it twice within a 3 day period. (Two points for the wife!)

Seriously SO easy...gluten-free...pretty gosh darn healthy (if you ask me) and makes for GREAT leftovers? 

Win/win/win

Here's what you'll need:

bag of fresh stir fry veggies (or cut up your own broccoli and carrots) | 4 chicken breasts | 2 C mushrooms, sliced | 1 can sliced water chestnuts | half onion, chopped | 3/4 C gluten-free teriyaki stir fry sauce | 1/8 C low sodium soy sauce | 3 T coconut oil

One. Place unflavored coconut oil in bottom of large skillet (or wok if you're a cool kid and actually own one of those things) and allow to melt. 

*Fun fact: coconut oil helps increase thyroid function, speed up metabolism and burn fat. It's also more stable than olive oil so for cooking purposes, always, always, always use coconut oil. (Olive oil loses it's structure and therefore, becomes harmful to you when you cook it at a high heat. Only use olive oil in cold recipes...i.e. salads)

Two. Toss in chicken first and allow to cook for about 4-5 minutes before throwing in the rest of your veggies.

Next step? You guessed it. Toss in all your veggies.

 

Four. Pour in stir fry sauce and soy sauce and stir.

Five. Call in your lovely assistant for moral support.

Six. Continue stirring until chicken and veggies are cooked thoroughly. Add a little sea salt & pepper, serve over brown rice and friggin' en-joy!

 

This made a TON - at least 5 servings - so  you'll have plenty left over for lunch or dinner the next day. Score!