DIY Bottle Transformation

                                                   Empty water bottles

                                                   Peel labels off

                                                   Bottles without labels

                                         Measure out your new label space

                                         Cut them to size

                                 Attach in place with tape, glue, or any adhesive

                                                   Final product

Ever hang on to a bottle after you are done drinking whatever it was you were drinking? Just because it was pretty? Well all you have to do is remove the label and personalize it anyway you wish! Above I simply show you how I turned my old water bottles into potential flower holders. You can also reuse clean bottles and fill them with homemade drinks and have a pretty new serving bottle. You can personalize them with a name or a "drink me" note attached. The possibilities are limitless.

**Need help removing stubborn labels? Try this! You will need three bottles, 16 tablespoons of baking soda and 32 cups of water. Combine and soak for 30 minutes. Brush off excess with a sponge or steel wool.

I got this awesome tip from:  How to Remove a Bottle Label - Label Removal Lab Test - Popular Mechanics

Taco Tuesday

                                                Homemade macaroni and cheese

                                                  Veggie tacos

This weekend was full of food and family. Went over to my in laws home yesterday for BBQ. Made my special homemade mac'n cheese for everyone, they all loved it. Its a very secret recipe, everyone tries to get it out of me but I wont budge. Tonight I made veggie tacos, simple, yummy, and filling. As I mentioned a few days ago, this week of family time isn't over yet. Still have my cousins wedding coming up this Saturday, I will be sure to include pictures!

Graduation

                                         Teresa

                                         Nicole (sister)

                                                   Me and Cortnei

                                         Me and Matt

So tonight my sister Nicole and a bunch of friends of mine graduated from college tonight. Afterward we met up and went out to eat Mexican food. Its been a really busy day and I am ready to go to bed already! Well, congratulations everyone!

Cherry Berry

Today I made cherry berry jam. I have been playing with some flavor combinations for a while now and I've finally perfected it! I will try and work on new labels for them and post about that soon. My sister is graduating tomorrow so I will be very busy with my family all day. Have a great weekend!

Mischief

My little guy up to no good haha. But he's so gosh darn cute I don't mind the mess. It's been a family filled week so I apologize for not posting much. My sister is graduating from college, my grandma's coming to visit, and my cousins getting married soon. All in all should be a wonderful ushering into summer.

Spaghetti & Pepperoni

Tonight I put a nontraditional spin on a classic meal, spaghetti with pepperoni. And boy oh boy was it yummy. Regular spaghetti and meatballs can get boring after a while so I decided to spice it up. Pepperoni is great because I like my food to have a lot of spice and flavor. I used the leftovers in the package I had from pizza night.

My Niece

                                                     Rock star party for my nieces 19th birthday

Now today, my little sweet niece is 21 years old! I posted a picture of my niece Mourissa, my brother (her dad), and myself from a previous birthday of hers. My family likes to do themed parties and so that year we did a rock star theme, can you guess who we are? My brother is Run DMC and my niece is Lady Gaga. And well me... I don't know haha. I think I was going for a Madonna type look. Time flies. I have 10 nieces and nephews and one great nephew. My other niece Serina who is also 21 had a baby boy last August. My brother Mourice has four children, my sister Nicole has three, and my sister Sofia has three as well. And that leaves me with none. They all dived into the baby making business early in life, I've decided to take my time.

Pizza Feast

                                         Pepperoni, mushroom, black olive, and bell pepper

                                         Sausage and mushroom

                                         Both pizzas made by scratch

                                         Salad bar style, fresh cut beets, bell peppers, mushroom, raw sunflower seeds

                                         Dessert pizza (my secret recipe)

                                         Homemade orange cream sherbert

Tonight we entertained an old friend we haven't seen in a while. I fixed up two large homemade pizzas from scratch in the oven. Threw together and cut up some veggies salad bar style so everyone can have their favorite toppings. After we had time to digest, I baked my secret special dessert pizza which is always requested. Yummy as always. Couldn't resist putting my new ice cream maker to use, so we had orange cream sherbert to end the night. We all have happy and full bellies.

It's a Bit Chili

                                         Vegetarian chili

                                         Cayenne corn muffins

Yesterday I was craving my homemade chili so I whipped up a batch along with my famous cayenne corn muffins. It's the perfect combination of savory, sweet, and spicy. What's great about this chili, because it's meatless, is that it tastes good both hot and cold. So it's very versatile in both the winter and summer time.

Soft Serve

cuisinart soft serve ice cream maker

I now am the proud owner of a Cuisinart Soft Serve ice Cream maker! It is a good day! Especially since I bought a semi used one off of Craigslist. I linked the website above for those who want to purchase it brand new. I was lucky enough to find one for $25 in excellent condition, thanks to good old Craigslist! This summer will be even better with this little baby. I have been making homemade popsicles lately and I will post about those later.

Four years to date

Four years ago today, I married my best friend. In total be have been together for 10 years now. We were high school sweet hearts and now I guess we are just sweet hearts. Today we are going out to eat and shop and just enjoy the day. We've come so far in the last four years, I'm excited to see where life takes us. I am a blessed woman.

Minestrone

                                         Homemade minestrone soup

                                         Topped with Parmesan cheese and served with sesame seed bread

Yesterday I made a batch of the yummiest minestrone soup. I typically make soups in the winter but I was craving this yummy dish. So I chopped up some veggies, made my broth, and threw in some pasta shells and had a totally tasty meal with plenty of leftovers!

Food Storage

                                                   Fridge head on

                                                  Fridge door

                                         Freezer

                                         Freezer door

                                         Can, box, bag cupboard

                                         Counter space with bread, sugar, flour, kettle ect

                                         Counter space with spices, utensils, toaster ect.

                                                   Snack cupboard with cookies and coconut oil for cool keeping

                                         Spice cupboard

                                                   Tea, honey, sweetener

Here's a peek of my kitchen food storage areas. There are a few other areas in my kitchen I could have displayed but this is the gist of my food storage. I forgot to snap a picture of my fruit bowl, oh well. I wouldn't say my cupboards or refrigerator are very neat and organized but they do well keeping the things I need cool and stored. I don't put to much thought into being organized to the tee, just clean enough to find what I need.

Good Luck Gina!

                                          

There's nothing like old friends getting together! It's been three years since these ladies and I got together. We are all former employees and good friends. My friend Gina J (the one getting kissed) if off to start the next chapter of her life in Arizona, we will miss her! We went out to Mexican food and Karaoke and had a blast catching up! Cherished memories! Tonight I am going out with my other friend and bestie Gina G to celebrate Cinco De Mayo and our anniversary or "frenniversary" as some call it! About to walk out the door!

Avengers

                                                    Goofing off

                                          Blueberry muffin

Yesterday was amazing! Saw the Avengers at midnight. Such a good movie! Got to hang out with my husband and see lots of friends! Oh man oh man it was good. I took the day off work today to get a few extra hours of sleep, it really helped! Earlier I ate a yummy blueberry muffin from Mimi's Cafe. I am getting ready to go to a going away party tonight for an old co-worker of mine. We were in the accounting department together a few years back at the law firm. Shes going on to bigger and better things and will be missed! I have another busy day tomorrow starting bright and early, but I am very excited to celebrate Cinco De Mayo with my best friend Gina on our anniversary!

Nacho

Made nachos for a snack earlier. Busy busy busy. Tomorrow is going to be insane and I most likely wont have anytime to blog about my day but I will try. After work tomorrow I will be meeting my mother out for dinner. We have book club right after that. And after that's all over around 8pm I have to wait in line at the movie theater to get good seats for the Avengers midnight movie release here in California. Man oh man I am already feeling tired.

Growing fast

                                         Green bean buds

                                         Green bean buds

                                         Zucchini

My seedlings have grown so fast in the last few weeks! I am gushing with excitement! I must have talked my grandmas ear off earlier about my garden. I call her once a week just to catch up. Shes a gardener too and at 91 years old she is still going strong! I get my passion from her! I will have to space some of my sprouts in new pots to give them room soon. The weather is getting a little colder again, so maybe in a few days.