Now that the sun is finally showing its face (halelluiah!), I am thrilled to team up with Smart Buy Glasses to give a lucky reader a pair of the new Ray Ban Wayfarers! 3 color options as displayed above! These sunnies don’t mess around. Durable and stylish, and made of acetate and glass. These will last you for miles.
In case you are not familiar with the site, Smart Buy Glasses offers everything from prescription lenses to designer shades at all price ranges, so it is worth the look!
Enter the giveaway below, and we will draw a winner next Tuesday!
This Double Layer Strawberry Shortcake is one of my favorite Easter desserts, and it can serve a large crowd! Super easy to make, and you can prep some of the steps ahead of time.
And just like that we are at the end of March…(?!!)
This quote seemed to reflect our Encourage Beauty Challenge so well. In the small decisions to choose uplifting words to those around us, you can notice the small changes in your own heart. This is something I have learned from all of you who participated. That even if its just a moment we take for someone else, you an change that day for a person.
Mandy shared with us that one of her readers who read about the challenge wrote the following:
I just have to thank you for mentioning the “encourage beauty” campaign at the beginning of the month. It inspired me to send a brief note/card to all the women in my life (mom’s, sisters, friends) just telling them that they are beautiful and that I love them.
I cannot tell you how I many of them have contacted me to tell me how much it meant, or that it came at “just” the right time, when they needed to hear it! (Of course, don’t we all long to hear that everyday – or rather need to hear it everyday!). It made everyone feel beautiful!!!
This was all I needed to remind me to live more aware of my words, but also to act upon them. Hilary is sharing another print we made that you will have to check out. We decided this challenge should be something we can partake in anytime. If you are new and missed the original post, feel free too use the updated calendar to make the Encourage Beauty campaign part of your year!
If you ever want to share a story, just email us or use the hashtag #encouragebeauty. You can download these prints here. Thank you for all of you who took part with us. You were a motivation to us in so many ways!
Spring Salad Recipe: 1 Bag of Spinach, rinsed and dried
1 handful of Dried Cranberries (or more to taste)
2-3 Tbs. Toasted Slivered Almonds
1 Orange cut into sections
4 slices Cook Crumbled Bacon
Cheese of Choice (Mozarella, or Crumbled Feta)
Balsamic Vinigarette Dressing
Twice Baked Potatoes
These will be gone in minutes!
4 Large Baking Potatoes
1/4 to 1/2 cup of Milk (I usually use whole)
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 cup of Butter
3 Slices of Bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 Cup of Sharp Cheddar Cheese, plus more for garnish
1 Tbs. Green Onions
Preheat Oven to 375.
Wash Potatoes, puncture each potato with fork a few times to release steam.
Bake potatoes at 375 degrees for about 1 hour or when tender when poked through with a fork. Carefully slice potatoes in half lengthwise and let cool. Turn oven up to 400 degrees.
When cool enough, spoon out center and place in a large bowl. Leave a little potato around the rim so that the skins don’t sink and fall inward.
Add softened butter, milk, and salt. Beat with electric mixer until whipped and potatoes are creamy and smooth. I love my Kitchen Aid mixture for this! Stir in green onions, cheese, and bacon. With a large spoon, fill potato skins really full.
Place potatoes on a shallow baking tray and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Place in oven and heat for another 15-20 minutes until heated through and cheese has melted.
My Food Philosophy: Because the effort to make good food is a gift to those around me, it’s happy memories, togetherness, the living part of life.
I had a glorious forced break from work these past 4 days.
My computer died on me and despite deadlines and big goals for the weekend, God decided I needed to rest and be still. I can’t believe the wonders it did for me. I tackled logo design with pen and paper, my house got cleaned, some DIY projects were completed, I started this book (fascinating so far), and the kids and I built lots of forts and block towers. Gabe and I also watched an unhealthy amount of NCAA basketball and our new addiction “Once Upon a Time” on netflix.
I think I will hide my computer more often;) These small things made me so happy. Its not easy to unplug when your job depends on your computer, but I realize how necessary it is for my own well being.
Hope you all had a good weekend despite the fact that spring seems to be on strike nationwide!
Well friends, my computer died on me but don’t worry, I managed to get this sucker up because you all deserve to be apart of this chance to win a grand! I’ve teamed up with a group of fabulous ladies to bring you something special today. One very lucky reader will have the chance to live glam with a grand – you’ll win a $1,000 Visa Gift Card!
To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter below. Points will be earned for each item completed – the more you do, the closer you’ll be to winning the prize! The $1,000 Glam Grand Giveaway will run until midnight Friday 29th March 2013 and is open to participants worldwide. After this, the winner will be announced and contacted via email.
So, now all you have to do is enter, go meet these other fun gals and start thinking about how you’d spend a grand. (I’d love to know your ideas, share them in the comments below.)
Terms & Conditions: The Glam Grand Giveaway is for one USD $1,000 Visa Gift Card. This giveaway is open worldwide to people aged 18 years and over. It will run from Friday 22nd March 2013 to Friday 29th March 2013. Entries will be verified, so please be honest in completing items. Once the giveaway closes, the winner will be announced on this Rafflecopter and also contacted via email. To claim your prize, please respond to the email within 72 hours, failure to do so will result in a re-draw. Once the winner has been selected, this decision is final and no further correspondence will be entered into regarding this matter. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with Visa or any other social media platform. Good luck!
The Easter Holiday is an extraordinary occasion to celebrate. Since we come from a big Catholic family, its one of the most significant days we celebrate out of the year, so it entails a big feast 🙂 So I thought I would post on my Easter dinner menu and hope you can try some or all of these out for friends and family. We will start with the main dish….
Easter Main Dish: Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2 lbs. pork tenderloin
1/2 cup of Catlina or French Dressing, divided
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
1tsp. dry mustard
1tsp. paprika
1/2tsp. dried thyme leaves
2Tbsp. honey
Place pork tenderloin in a baking dish. (I usually put mine on a baking mat and on a baking sheet because it is 10times easier to clean)
Spread about 4 Tbs. of dressing over pork. Combine all spices and rub over the meat on both sides. Place in oven and bake for about 12 minutes. Meanwhile combine the 4Tbs. of dressing and 2Tbs. of honey. Brush over meat after 12 minutes and place back into oven for another 10 minutes or until interal temp is 145degrees.
It will have a slightly charred look, but the meat will be very moist with incredible flavor, serves 8. Recipe adapted from Kraft.
Stay tuned for Easter Sides and Desserts!
My Food Philosophy: Because the effort to make good food is a gift to those around me, it’s happy memories, togetherness, the living part of life.
*Post by my sister, Maria. You can find the rest of her beautiful eats here.
(fascinating so far), and the kids and I built lots of forts and block towers. Gabe and I also watched an unhealthy amount of NCAA basketball and our new addiction “Once Upon a Time” on netflix. 
