On my last trip to Ikea I spied a few items to use this idea for Kimberly’s baby shower.

candlestick + hot glue + plate = very cute cake stand

Large Cake Stand: $15 ($9.99 candlestick, $4.99 plate)

Small Cake Stand: $7 ($4.99 candlestick base, $1.99 plate)

These cakestands look great and cost a lot less than buying a comparible sized cake stand. I also bought extra plates to use as magnetic boards on our plate wall. Love Ikea! Have you been loving anything from Ikea recently?

Back in high school we used to eat at the Pizza Factory all the time, and I’d always order their chicken caesar pasta salad.

One night many years later I got a craving for it, and thought it’d be super easy to imitate, and it was!

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What You’ll Need:

Bow Tie Pasta

Romaine or Green Leaf Lettuce

Chicken (I use rotisserie)

Regular Bread

Caesar Dressing

Tomatoes/Parmesan Cheese/ Pepper/ Salt/ Olive Oil : for garnishing

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Directions:

Boil water,cook pasta and cool. Meanwhile, chop up lettuce and place in large bowl with cooled pasta. Pour dressing over to taste and mix well. Serve on plate, and top with chicken, parmesan cheese, pepper and a tomato. Toast bread (about 1 slice per serving) under grill with olive oil and salt, when slightly cooled, rip apart and place on salad.

This has become one of our favorite go-to meals because Brock loves it so much. It’s not a guilt free salad, but SOOO yummy and awfully crunchy and perfect for any summertime supper!

Salad season is in full swing so we’ve decided to share a few of our favorite recipes over the next few weeks. First up is this decadent strawberry salad. Our sister, Helen introduced us to this scrumptious salad and it’s been a favorite ever since.

What You’ll Need:

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Salad Dressing:

1 c Diced Red Onion

2 c Canola Oil

1 c White Sugar

2/3 c White Vinegar

2 tsp Dijon Mustard

2 tsp Salt

Salad:

Spring Mix

Strawberries

1 c Pecans

1 c White Sugar

Craisins

Cucumber

Feta

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Directions:

I usually start this salad by making the candied pecans. You’ll want to warm a frying pan on low/medium and mix the pecans and sugar until the sugar melts. You have to consistently stir or else you will burn both pecans and your pan, so make sure to do this ahead when you can have undivided attention. Once the sugar is melted, you can spread the pecans out onto foil to cool.

Next, it’s time to make the salad dressing. Blend all dressing ingredients together and store in air tight containers in your fridge until ready to serve. This makes a lot of dressing so you usually only need half for a large salad. I usually make a full batch as it keeps well in the fridge for a week, which also means you can prepare beforehand if you like.

When you’re ready to serve layer salad ingredients on a platter, drizzle the dressing and top with the candied pecans. You can play around with amounts of salad dressings to whatever you like. I like lots of cucumbers and feta!

Be prepared to dazzle your taste buds and your guests, this is a winner every time!

Last week we threw our sis-in-law, Kimberly a small baby shower. With four boisterous boys, we are thrilled Kimberly is having a girl for her last baby.

We kept the party very simple with just a few decorations and of course some very delicious food.

We found a pink, orange and yellow petal wrapping paper at Target and decided to theme our shower around it…very “spring-y” and girly. For decor, we decided to wrap her presents in coordinating colors for a simple display. We also hung a few Chinese lanterns and pom-poms for a festive entrance.

Kimberly’s eyes say it all…we think she’s excited to be having a girl too :)

I’m sure Baby Catherine will win all of our hearts, but for now her big brother, Teddy has us totally smitten.

We also kept the food very girly with fruit, an over-the-top salad, a variety of Mum’s quiches and Sarah’s legendary lemon buns and meringues.

Such a fun afternoon with some great ladies.

Congratulations Dan, Kimberly and boys, we can’t wait to meet your little baby girl xxx

I’ve always loved clothes pegs, maybe because I loved washing day when mum would hang the yummy smelling laundry out on the line, (ha, sometimes when I tell stories of my childhood Brock asks me what century I grew up in!). Anyhow, these are super versicle little tools, here’s how they I like to put them to use.

As a place setting:

Helping to organize my ribbon ends:

 As a label for my plants:

As a tag on a gift:

Plain old chip clip, or in this case marshmallow:

A pack of these run about $1…holler, I can’t think of any think more handy for that price.

How do you put yours to use?

I used to be grossed out about food from the Dollar Tree, but since I’ve been stopping in there more regularly I see the stock gets turned over really fast it’s all new and fresh.

The verdict is in; they are ubber yummy and a steal for a dollar…holler!!!

A few weeks ago, I had a baby shower for my good friend Brea. I wanted a quick and different way to decorate the party cupcakes, so went through my ‘scrap box’ and ended up using remnant ribbon and washi tape:

I simply tied knots of ribbon and folded washi tape in half around toothpicks, the result being easy and festive.

The cupcakes looked so great grouped together, and the toppers worked out to be considerably less expensive than store-bought versions! Do you have any thrifty tips for party planning? We’d love to hear!

Today we’d filled our caffeine quota before noon, yikes!!! Later, we stopped by Sonic, so I could introduce Em to my new treat, their lime slush…YUM!

Their slushies and drinks are half off at happy hour (between 2-4 daily), so this little bad boy was just under a buck (for a medium). It’s so refreshing!

We’ve found our new pool-side treat! Whoot whoot!

When we first immigrated to the states little luxuries like popping to the local bakery was terribly missed.

It was out of necessity we figured out how to replicate our favorite treats with American ingredients. This one is super easy and a crowd favorite:

The Lemon Cream Bun:

YOU WILL NEED:

12 Rhodes Frozen Rolls

1 Packet  of Jello Instant Lemon Pudding Mix

2 Cups of Milk (to make the pudding)

About 1 Pint of Fresh Whipped Cream

2 Tablespoons of Sugar (to add to cream)

About 2 Cups of Powdered Sugar

HOW TO:

Defrost and cook rolls as instructed on bag.

Prep pudding, and set in fridge (instructions on box).

When cooled, slice rolls and spread a thin layer of pudding on each roll like you were making a sandwich.

Then add a healthy dollop of cream and fold top of roll over.

Then, mix about 2 tablespoons of the prepared pudding with the powdered sugar. The mixture should be quite thick so it doesn’t run off the bun, if it’s not add more powdered sugar. Immediately, spread a spoonful on the top of each bun, and spread with the back of the spoon.

Ta Dah, you’re done!

You may think adding pudding and cream to a bun is weird, but trust me it’s delish! And the perfect dessert for an Easter brunch. Will you be giving it a try?

I was delighted when I found my favorite dish soap in miniature version in the Target dollar aisle. Why is everything so much cuter smaller?

Perfect for a kitchenette, outside kitchen, camping pack, guest quarters, or wherever…I am in love.

Yesterday Em took us into the world of It’s Complicated, and I can’t think of that movie with out thinking about Chocolate Croissants. I just love the scene when Meryl Streep is baking with Steve Martin. Sign me up for a late night baking date!

Homemade croissants are the best, but I figured out a not so complicated version by using Pillsbury Crescets, and any chocolate you have lying around, in my case Galaxy (thanks parents for the recent yummies!).

Simply follow all the directions on can, but add your own additions before you roll em’ up.

I had them for breakfast yesterday, which made me feel quite French!

There is one thing to make a delicious dessert look even more enticing…a beautiful cake stand. We adore pretty cake stands and can’t get enough of them. We have been drooling over beautiful glass cake stands like this for years, but haven’t been able to justify the splurge with more than enough cake stands already in the cupboard.

$55 at Amazon

We’re glad we waited when we spied a very similar one at World Market last week:

$13 World Market

At $13 there is no need to resist! Click here for details, other sizes and pricing. Time to get our bake on!

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me!

Other than the occasional birthday freak out (once every 5 years or so) I absolutely LOVE my birthday. A day full of family, friends, messages and goodies…what’s not to love?

This year I’ll be out for my birthday dinner, but that doesn’t stop me from drooling over these amazing cakes…

Double Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova from What Katie Ate

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting from Always With Butter

Salted Caramel Chocolate Fudge from Sweetopolita

Chocolate Christmas Cake (with Malt Balls) from Urbane Fruits

Looks like I’ll be getting my bake on, lots of Birthdays in March.

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Also, I’ve got LOTS of birthday freebies to enjoy today. See THIS post if you haven’t signed up for yours yet.

It’s pppppppancake day!!! And I’m feeling the excitement of childhood, pancakes for dinner…yippee!

English pancakes are pretty much the same thing as crepes, and in our home we stuck to our favorite toppings: lemon + sugar, butter + jam, golden syrup, nutella and bananas. I like them simple.

However after visiting Roll Up Cafe in Orem the other night, I might be convinced to go a little crazy. Their Break Up crepe was to DIE FOR, with nutella, oreo’s and chocolate ice cream.

These recipes also have caught my eye:

(Biscoff & Raspberry Crepe Cake over at Whipperberry)

(Chocolate Crepes at Kwestiasmaku)

(Meyer Lemon Crepe Cake from Martha Stewart)

So beautiful.

Be sure to check out our Mum’s recipe HERE, it’s really easy and delish!

My goodness, I don’t usually get the ‘Winter Blues’, but this year I’m praying Spring shows her face early this year. Here are a few things that I’ve been loving this month, simple necessities to see me through.

1. Nightly bath with gorgeous products: to warm up and relax

2. A cozy book: to take me somewhere else

3. Fluffy slippers: to keep me snug

4. Enticing Drama’s: to help entertain

5. Green smoothies: to make up for all the carbs!

What are your survival secrets?

Brad is a huge fan of clementines and they are being consumed by the dozens right now in attempt to pack as much vitamins and minerals into our bodies during flu and cold season. I have been putting a peel down the disposal every night, as apparently citric acid helps lift grime. A side effect is a delicious-smelling kitchen.

In the bathroom, I have been loving this orange ginger soap. The scent is so fragrant in our poky bathroom, it feels like it is transformed into a spa. It smells SO good!

Bath and Body Works are currently having their semi-annual sale. Many items are 75% off and the Aromatherapy Collection is buy 2 get 1 free. I picked up this orange ginger sugar scrub to try..can’t wait to give myself a little pedicure with this.

Along with a cup of my favorite wild sweet orange tazo tea, I am feeling fine and literally in clementine heaven. What things are you enjoying this January?

This post brought to you by: Gygi

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Good morning everyone! Today we’re sharing our third and final treat from our afternoon of holiday baking. It’s our fave so we hope you enjoy!

We’ve mentioned before how much we love caramel apples for gift-giving, and we’ve been dying to make a batch of delicious caramel apples all year long.

After hearing people rave about Peter’s Caramel,we have finally found the perfect occasion to try it out, and made a double batch for all our neighbors and friends for Christmas. We couldn’t decide on which candy topping would be best, so we decided to prepare a sampler instead.:)

We used these tips from Orson Gygi and are happy to report present-worthy results.

This is what you’ll need: Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate, Peter’s Caramel, Candy for toppings, Apple Skewers, and Parchment Paper.

How To: First, we prepped our apples using these steps. We used small fuji and gala apples so we could fit two different apples in one box.

Next, we prepped the caramel like this.

After dipping and setting the caramel, it was time for the chocolate. We went with the less-stress approach and used Guittard milk chocolate a-peels, and melted them in the microwave, stopping and stirring every 20 seconds. We drizzled the chocolate onto the apples and then sprinkled our candy topping before the chocolate set.

Like our pretzel sticks, this was SO MUCH FUN and incredibly easy with Gygi’s quality products. We are so happy with the results and hope our recipients are too. :) We also really loved these brown cake boxes, they were perfect for this project and only 65 cents each (see HERE).

A big thanks again to Gygi, for being our one-stop shop and for offering our readers 10% off everything! Just use code: “BOXWOOD10″ at checkout.

This post brought to you by: Gygi

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Ever since we saw Mel’s yummy Chocolate Bark over at You Are My Fave last year we’ve been wanting to make our own. But since it was our first try we decided to stick to the classic Peppermint version.

It’s soooo easy and yummy … in fact I’m nibbling on it now. :)

All you need is: Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate, Peppermint Flavoring, Peppermint sticks, foil, ziplock bag and a baking tray.

(We used: this milk chocolate,  this white chocolate, this peppermint flavoring, and these peppermint sticks.)

How To: First, line baking tray completely with foil. Then place peppermint sticks in a ziplock bag and crush by beating with rolling pin.

Next, melt milk chocolate in microwave stirring every 30 seconds about 1 1/2 minutes total, then spread chocolate evenly covering whole pan. Place in fridge for 15 – 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt white chocolate the same way but note it melts in slightly less time. Then add peppermint flavoring to taste, about 2-3 drops. Spread white chocolate over hardened milk chocolate, and immediately sprinkle crushed peppermint sticks on top.

Once set, cut or break into triangle pieces and package. We used THESE adorable boxes (lined with parchment paper), and wrapped in our favorite twine found HERE.

We really do love Gygi for our holiday baking. Seriously, what’s better than finding all you need in one place!?

Remember to use code “BOXWOOD10″ at checkout for 10% off everything!

This post brought to you by: Gygi

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Good morning everyone!

Today we have a tasty treat to share that we think would be a perfect little gift for co-workers, teachers, neighbors…or anyone really!

Our friend Bri used to make these all the time, and they helped make any old night more festive. We LOVE them because not only are they uber delish but they are so fast and easy, and so cute…don’t you think?

All you need is: Pretzel Rods, Caramel (melted), Milk Chocolate (melted), White Chocolate (melted).

(We used these pretzels, this caramel, this milk chocolate and this white chocolate.)

How To: Simply melt caramel (we did ours in our cast iron pot in the oven at 200 degrees for about an hour) and dip or drizzle on pretzel. Allow to set for a couple minutes, then drizzle with chocolate.

When they are fully dried, place a few in a bag like these and tie with string or ribbon. Voila! Done and done!

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Buying ingredients in bulk can be very cost effective, so we’ll be sharing a couple of other treats soon using some of these basic yummies.

Don’t forget that all you lovely readers can get 10% off everything at Gygi with code “BOXWOOD10″. Plus, you local readers don’t have to pay shipping if you pick up in store; just order a day in advance. :)

Yesterday we made our Mum’s yummy, Spicy Carrot Soup. It is healthy, easy, inexpensive and perfect for a Halloween supper.

Here is the recipe:

2 lbs carrots

2 medium potatoes

1 large or 2 medium onions

2 knorr stock cubes or chicken stock

1/2 cup of long grain rice

Salt + Pepper to taste

Curry Powder to taste

Peel potatos and carrots and cut in even pieces, peel and cut up the onion/s. Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan and then saute the vegetables in the oil for a few minutes until partially cooked. Cover with water and add stock cubes (or chicken stock), add the rice and bring to the boil. Once boiled turn down the heat and simmer for at least an hour or until veg are very tender. Blend with a hand blender or blend with a food processor and season to taste with S&P and curry powder.

Serve soup piping hot, and garnish with blob of sour cream, a swirl of fresh cream, grated cheese, or a sprig of cilantro.

This soups is perfect with our favorite no-knead bread and  is so hearty and warming I think it should be a new Halloween tradition, it would be perfect before sending the kids out on a cold night! Thanks for the recipe Mum! What are you up to this Halloween?