From This to That Friday {with Repurposed Pallets}

 #repurpose #upcycle #pallets #fromthistothat #createitgo #diy #wordart

My favorite days on this blog are From This to That Fridays! I love taking something simple and turning it into...well, MORE! Love a DIY project!

For today, I have a simple sign I want to show you that I made from pallets. Pallets are big for so many projects right now, some big projects even, but I just wanted a simple smooth board. Half the time, we think if we want a smooth board to use for something like this, we think pallets won't work. Often, we think of pine or something similar. BUT, pallets WILL work! And I love the rustic and distressed look that comes with them, not to mention the price! (FREE!)

Romantic Restaurants Round Up in NWA

#Dinner4Valentines #ANightOut #DinnerOut #restaurants #DiningAcrossTheUS #sofab #FavoritePlacesToEat

I love being part of the SoFab community and loved this idea of many of us sharing some of the best restaurants in our own individual areas. It's always hard when you're traveling or when you move to a new place, to know and find a good place to eat, so hopefully this will help you out!

Do you have a big date night planned for Valentines Day? Don't know where to go? Check out all of the fabulous dining across the United States and choose one to try for your big date coming up!

Since I recently moved to Northwest Arkansas (from out of state), I am still finding places myself to go eat. So I asked a bunch of friends that are local what their favorite hot dining spots were and am working on trying them out! I have to say I loved getting this long list of great places to eat right near me! 

If you're in the NWA area and feeling like some Mexican food/Latin cuisine, I have a few suggestions for you:

Table Mesa Bistro, Bentonville, AR

Victoria's, Pea Ridge, AR (Can be a little out of the way, but love the food and prices!)

Abuelos, Rogers, AR (A chain we had in TX too, but love their food!)

Round 2: Collection of DIY Valentines {with Free Printable Valentine Tags}

#valentines #handmade #diy #diyvalentines #valentinesday #valentineideas #classvalentines #valentinesforteachers

Ok! Who's ready for Round 2 of MORE Valentine Ideas?!

I was having so much fun coming up with easy DIY Valentines and making these free printables, I couldn't stop! haha So, today I have another round of them for you!

Library Storytime and Kids Craft for Preschoolers at Home DIY

I have tried more recently to make more time for my two little ones still at home for me. So, one of the things we have done more is to visit our local library most weeks during storytime. BUT...inevitably, sometimes we just can't make it. So. one morning, I thought "Why not do it at home?!" (Why in the world I did not think of this sooner is beyond this mom brain! haha)

So, we started out with one of our favorite books. This book never gets old to my kids. And their reactions while we read it together always bring a smile to my face. I LOVE seeing them engaged as we read and smiling and laughing, Best.feeling.ever!

The Monster at the End of This Book. We all find this book hilarious! It's not all Sesame Street like, just lovable Grover and so much fun with little ones. ( I grew up with this book and ordered a copy for us on Amazon.)

Collection of DIY Valentines {with Free Printable Valentine Tags}

#DIY #valentines #valentinesday #diyvalentines #freeprintable #valentinetags #gluedots

I have to say I have had a lot of fun creating this post! AND...it's actually the first of TWO posts for this year's DIY Valentine Idea collection. So hang on to your hats, because there will still be more to come!

I love seeing all of the creative Valentine ideas out there every year! We do something different every year for each of my kids, for their classes and teachers. It can be a bit overwhelming and if you're anything like me, you enjoy the original ones, but you don't want to spend an entire week making them, or a fortune! So today, I am sharing with you some that are perfect little DIY Valentines, where surely ONE of them might make you smile and be perfect for that special someone! So, here goes!

Lessons Learned {From My Dad} That I Still Use Today

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. 

All opinions are mine alone.

#DropShopAndOil #CollectiveBias #lessonsfrommydad #lifelessons #oilchange

With this beginning of a new year, I have all kinds of things I want to get done this year! And to do better! Ha! I'm thinking positive and writing it all down. That's the key, right?

Well, one of the things I have had on my mind recently, is my car. With a large family and with all the trips we like to take together, in addition to the daily run-them-all-to-school, run-one-to-soccer, run-one-to-basketball, run-another-to-gymnastics, and yet run-another-two-to-preschool, and then church too...it's a big deal to me that my Suburban stays in good working order. It's no fun when I go out at some point and realize I have car problems. 

One thing my dad taught me from the time I bought my first car (We won't say how many years ago that was! heehee), was how important it is to keep up on the oil and that it needs to be changed regularly. He taught me to check the oil myself, to know how much should be in there, and even how to change the oil myself! He even had me under my car once. with him welding a muffler on! (True! Although I have not ever attempted that one myself again. haha)

Fruity Walnut Crunch Salad Recipe with Marie Callender's Pies

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. 

#WarmthInACrust #CollectiveBias #recipe #saladrecipes

I am one of those people that LOVE winter! Don't get me wrong...I love spring and especially fall too, but I love getting to wear winter clothes...the boots, the scarves...AND I love the cold weather recipes, the warm beverages, and the warm food! So I decided to bake some Marie Callender's pies recently for my family for dinner, and came up with a great recipe of a fruity and crunchy side gelatin salad to go with it. With the recent cold-front moving through, pot pies are the perfect comfort food to warm you up. It was the perfect combination on a cold night! Some warm yummy pie goodness, and a sweet salad to go next to it. 

For those of you that don't know, I have five (Yep, 5!) children and every single one of them has their own opinions and tastes (no matter how much I try otherwise! ha!). So choosing a dinner that everyone will at least EAT (let alone like) is not always an easy task. We have a rule in our house, that you at least have to try it, and eat as many bites as you are old.

Popular Past DIY Valentine Projects and Snacks

‪#‎diyvalentines‬ ‪#‎diy‬ ‪#‎valentines‬ #‪#‎valentinescrafts‬‪#‎valentinesideas‬ ‪#‎ontheblog‬ ‪#‎roundupvalentinesideas‬

It's that time of year again, when those of us who have kids, are searching for different ideas for their class parties, their Valentine Boxes, and for DIY valentines. Well, today I have a roundup of my past popular posts for Valentines day all combined into one post for you! PLUS, I have more new ones coming soon too! So have fun perusing and come back soon! ;)

Purple Minion Valentine Box

Scrumptious Pumpkin Pancakes {Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Egg Free}

I know that some of us can't eat some of the things others can. For instance, my husband has LOTS of food sensitivities and hidden food allergies, that we have only recently in the past 3 years, been aware of. So...if you don't already follow and know me this way...I like to cook and bake just about anything, but sometimes I also like to tweak recipes and make them more allergy friendly. (And sometimes I think we should all eat this way MUCH more often!)

So, the other morning, I was going to make some pancakes for breakfast. I always use almond milk, but realized I didn't have any eggs on hand. Normally, I just gel some chia or flax seeds to replace the eggs with, but this time I just decided to add some pumpkin and totally skip the eggs (or egg substitutes) and see how they came out. Well, apparently, they came out great! Because all of my kids starting asking what I did differently, because they were soooooo good! haha I have to admit, sometimes I'm a little afraid to tell them what I did differently, because for them, just knowing I made something with "Dad's healthy ingredients" can turn them off. Not this time though! They all wanted more!

Top 10 Blog Posts from 2014 {Create it. Go!}

I'm always surprised each year to find out the top posts. Some of them are my favorites too, but some totally catch me by surprise!

Well this past year in 2014, my top visited post on the blog was the DIY Sock Minion. Yay! Totally made me smile to think that maybe a bunch of people had fun making him as well. You can find the tutorial here if you haven't seen it yet.

Two for One Today! Recipe 1: Cherry Almond Pecan Apple Crisp & Recipe 2: Cocoa Roasted Caramel Almond Protein Squares

 This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Quaker. All opinions are mine alone. 

#LoveMyCereal #QuakerUp #CollectiveBias #cbias #cereal #recipe #recipeoftheday

How many of you eat cereal JUST for breakfast? No, I don't mean, do you eat cereal for lunch and dinner also. haha (Although I can't say that I never have done that before!) BUT...other than making your traditional marshmallow treats, have you ever thought to use cereal to make something else? I hadn't much until recently and I am addicted!

I set out to Walmart to pick up some ingredients to make a new, warm afternoon snack for my kids. With the wind and the real feels in the negatives lately, I am in the mood to bake and serve them something warm when they come home from school. I wanted something that would fill them up and give them some needed protein too though, so I thought I would grab some cereal to use in a new recipe. 

The only problem I had in gathering my ingredients was that I had a hard time choosing from so many yummy combinations among Quaker® cereals, that I had a hard time choosing just one. I love your traditional granola in Quaker® Simply Granola, but I also love the combinations (like Cherry Almond Pecan found in Quaker® Real Medleys®. And then there still are my kids favorites with Quaker® Life and in Quaker® Oatmeal Squares (especially the brown sugar!).  No matter which one you like of Quaker® cereals, you can find it at and all the ingredients you need for these recipes at Wal-Mart. Needless, to say I grabbed several and had a couple of ideas for a warm snack for them. So, you get a two for one deal today! haha Two recipes in one post. They both turned out so good, I have to share!

Kids Closet Storage {with Rubbermaid Drawer Dresser and Vinyl Labels}

I don't know about you, but I have organization on my brain! I shared recently on FB, that this was one of my main goals this year. I want to go through my entire house and re-organize each and every room! (Especially the craft closet, the garage, and my laundry room!) But one of the first things I wanted to tackle was also my girls' bedroom. It seems to get out of control SOOOOO easily! And then who is called in? ME! They get too overwhelmed to be able to get it back in order themselves.
When I realized that this would go right along with our Silhouette FB Challenge this month, it was the perfect time to get started!

So...one of the first items of business in their room, was to tackle finding a home for everything. I started with the closet, bc their clothes seem to be the biggest problem. They are everywhere!
So for us, we have multiple girls sharing a room. So, I always try and use my space as wisely as possible. That means utilizing closet space as a room space saver. I was trying to figure out how I could fit a dresser IN the closet, rather than putting multiple ones in their bedroom. I realized that the Rubbermaid drawers fit perfectly!

Then the wheels started turning!

DIY Five Minute <$5 Infinity Scarf (No Sew)

#inifinityscarf #DIY #DIYinfinityscarf #nosew #fiveminutecraft #minutecrafts

It's From this to that Friday and I am excited to show you how easy this DIY is!

I don't know about you, but this cold weather is making me want to bring a different scarf out every day lately!

Well, a few months ago, as I was shopping at Walmart, this "yarn" caught my eye over by the craft section and I immediately thought that it would make a super easy and cute scarf. There were lots of colors to choose from and I loved how they even changed from one color to another in just the one roll/skein. I picked a couple up and was ready to start when I got home. And let me tell you, it was easy as pie! (Actually it was much easier than baking a pie! hahaha)

It truly took me maybe 5 minutes and I didn't sew at all! In fact, all I did was measure a tad, make lots of loops and tie a couple knots and wala!

So, here's a little tutorial for you!

GIVEAWAY! Frozen Inspired Olaf's face in VINYL for DIY Mug

Guess what?! 

IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!

I thought it would be a great way to start off the new year and to celebrate with all of our new followers by giving away several of one of my top 10 posts from 2014! 

Frozen Inspired, Olaf's face, in vinyl! 

I will pick three winners through the rafflecopter and each winner will receive two adhesive backed vinyl cut outs of Olaf's face, ready for YOU to DIY and apply to the mug of your choice,

We'll keep the giveaway going through the rest of the month and will pick the winners on January 30th, 2015. So. just enter the rafflecopter below and thanks for visiting! Happy 2015! It's going to be a great year!

(Mug not included.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Top 10 Tips to Smooth and Successful Potty Training

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. 

All opinions are mine alone. 

#PUBigKid #ad #pottytraining #howtopottytrain #cbias #CollectiveBias

Have you ever potty trained a child? Do you have one that is getting ready to be potty trained? Are you dreading and procrastinating potty training yours right now? Well, I've been there. FIVE times to be exact! With five children, ages ranging from 15 down to 3, I have done my share of potty training. It's never a "fun" time necessarily, BUT it isn't something that has to be dreaded either.

When I first started potty training my first, my husband was gone with work for a couple months and I was absolutely clueless. Until a friend gave me some tips. I am forever indebted to her for making it go so much smoother, so I wanted to share my top 10 tips for Potty Training with you today as well. Because, face it...we can all use a little help raising our kids. (Unless you were lucky enough to get a handbook that came with your child at birth...Mine seemed to be missing their instruction manuals when they were born. Ha!)

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffin Recipe {with Natural Sweetener}

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. 

All opinions are mine alone. 

#SweetWarmUp #CollectiveBias #cbias #recipe #muffin #tea #naturalsweetener

Hellllooooo 2015!

It's going to be a great year! 

And to start it off right, I have a great new recipe for you with some great natural sweetener options! 

I don't know about you, but after all the sweets that I have been surrounded by the last few weeks, er...months...haha...I am ready to change my diet and feel better! My family and I try really hard to limit the amount of sugar and calories that we eat and try to eat clean. Well, this recipe is a great one to help you switch over to a natural sweetener by using Truvia in your baking. It is great for reducing calories (since it's a Zero-Calorie sweetener!!), and it tastes great! It doesn't have that different "after-taste" (in my opinion), that some others have as well. I absolutely loved it in this new muffin recipe I came up with!

Winter Bucket List

I'm BA-ACK! It's been wayyy too long!!!

I don't know about you, but I always have things in the back of my mind, that never seem to make it to the front...haha...or to actually happening!

So, this year, (and this is a first for me) I am making a winter bucket list...for me AND for my family! I know that my kids will love it and I am hoping it will help me make time for more things to happen. So this is our family's bucket list, with suggestions from many! lol