Waiting for Easter

Here is a pic of my newest spring arrangement that makes my cake stand/hurricane look great! I'd have to be honest, I personally don't think I have a knack for flower arrangements. I see them in the stores and think "wow, that's beautiful! I can make that." However, if I were to truly try to redo that arrangement it just wouldn't look right. So, with time on my hands I spent nearly an hour coming up with this one. In the end, I love it! Right now this arrangement is on our dining room table and I really do love looking at it! For a touch of Easter I added a little birdie toting an egg.

 

I also spent some time putting Brooklyn's Easter basket together. A couple years ago I set out on a creative venture to create my kids' own Easter baskets. Yes, I believe some of the prefabricated ones in the stores are wonderful. I just wanted something personal for them to have. Well, after making Ryan's 2 years ago I found a basket just like it a few weeks ago. I bought a few more decorations and started gluing! I think they're adorable!

Spring in my steps

There are many reasons why I love Spring. For one, it marks the end of winter! In Colorado, it still snows up until the summer months, but the days are longer, the sun shines a bit warmer and the flowers start to emerge from their wintery hibernation. 

Another reason I love Spring is because I believe Easter is my favorite holiday. As a child I've always loved Easter, especially he egg hunts! Perhaps I was just born with a "scavenger hunt" type spirit, a seek-and-find style of heart. If you ever read a headline in the newspaper that says "Woman rushes past kids, pushing them down, during egg hunt" - that's me! Ha! Well, I hope not, but sometimes I feel that's just how much I love Easter!

Another great reason for my love of Easter, now as an adult, is because I understand that without Easter, Christmas wouldn't matter at all! The resurrection of Christ on the cross is the "finish" of His sacrifice. Christ was born, yes, and indeed He lived. And then He died. When He rose from the dead He was declaring victory over the rule of sin. With His resurrection we now are not only forgiven of our tainted record of self-attempted righteousness, but are now given a new record of perfect obedience. If Christ had only died and not risen, this would mean that we have the ability to be forgiven but would have to live perfectly from that moment on. This is impossible. When Christ rose, this meant that we now have His record of perfect obedience!

He is Risen! 

As summer approaches I often think of what I will do with all that time and sunshine. Spring and summer bring many birthdays about in my family. Memorial day, 4th of July, and the kids birthday's are all examples of everything I begin to plan for. Water parks, picnics, camping and BBQ's are all part of the fun.  Planning for them can be a hassle, but now that I have ideas given to me from the Biltmore Inspiraitions' catalog, meal plans and plenty of wonderful serving dishes, platters and decor, I am ready! And excited! 

As someone who lives in Colorado, anything that reminds me of mountain living makes me feel, well, at home. The thought of a fireplace makes me go "ahhhhhhhhhhh." Colors of nature usually inspire my home decor. Of course, as the seasons change, so does my inspiration.There really is nothing better than the idea to me than of a warm, cozy cottage home. 

Blue Ridge Pedestal Dish

I just started setting my house up for Spring! So happy to see warm weather. It is March, which usually means a blizzard here and there, so I will enjoy this weather as long as it lends itself to me!

Pictured here is the Blue Ridge Pedestal Dish. Yes, it is oven safe should you decide to bake a square pie right inside it! You could put flowers in there, food, serve bread or even house a small turtle. Well, I wouldn't recommend the latter, but it is possible. One of the reasons I love Biltmore Inspirations' products is because they are so versatile, as well as oven, microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe (almost all dishes). I wouldn't recommend putting the Pedestal dish in the dishwasher though, it could break if something else smashed into it while washing. Add height by putting it on a book or two - this makes a great look of dimension and old fashioned antique look if you use old leather journals.

 Small tea light candles underneath would really bring out the green and blue hues during an evening dinner. You can also tie a nice ribbon around the base and serve a beautiful birthday cake! There are so many ideas I have, I will be sure to post any pictures when these ideas come to fruition!

 Happy Spring and Easter!

$7 Bag of Flour?

Is it true? Could I have bypassed this deal for so long? Yes, surely I have! For, oh I don't know, ever, I've been buying 5lb bags of flour at a local store for $3. Today, on our new quest to reduce debt and increase saving, I discovered a 25lb bag of bread flour (which is usually why I use flour) for just under $7 at Costco. Another reason to love that place. I was so excited, and still am, I just had to share my glee!

On another note, I was scouring my pantry (again) to make something sweet. I had already used up the last of my chocolate chips, so my wheels started turning. That's when I found, hiding way in the back, a thing of chocolate frosting. Ah ha! I have all the ingredients for yellow cake, sooooo... I whipped it all up using a recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook. Since Ryan is afraid of cake that isn't chocolate I knew I had to use my wit to deceive my little one into thinking this chocolate cake is awesome! So here's what I did:

Yellow Cake Recipe:
2 1/2 cups flour
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt

 *And that's when my creativity set in: I added 1/2 cup of Biltmore's Raspberry Syrup and about 1/4 cup of black frosting (I had this from decorating a cake for Ryan's 1st birthday). This made the cake batter a deep purple. I baked it in a bunt pan for about 45 minutes at 375 degrees. I warmed up the chocolate frosting and poured it over the cake. Voila! "Chocolate Cake!" 

Oatmeal Pie Crust Cookies

Have you ever searched your kitchen high and low to find something, anything, to make? Well, I do this all the time. We recently finished off any chocolate items in our house, so the other day as I was craving a sweet item I emptied my cupboards and came up with a plan! I had a box of Biltmore Inspirations' Oatmeal Pie Crust mix, so my wheels began turning. I figured if I could add a couple eggs and some sugar I might be able to make some sort of cookie. Turns out, with all the extra stuff I had, I made some great cookies! And it was so easy!

Cookies are served on the Fifth Avenue Circle Tray

Okay, so here's what I did: 

1 Box Oatmeal Pie Crust

1/2 cup butter (or shortening - which is what I had)

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

1/3 cup chocolate chips (the chips were all I had, leftover from previous baking days)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients together until well blended. you could even add vanilla or almond extract if desired. Roll into 2 inch balls and set 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake 18-20 minutes until slightly brown on top. Done! Makes about 18 cookies.

Ever wonder what it's like?

Are you intimidated about the idea of "hosting a party"? Have you been thinking about hosting a party, but just don't know how or when? Are you afraid of asking your friends to come over to "buy things"?

Well, let me tell you that my parties are NOT at all like that! First, as the host, you get free food items to prepare so you don't have to worry about a menu. Second, just invite your friends over for a good time, food and drink. Third, I have a display of items as well as catalogs, and if your friends are interested then they are welcome to ask questions. There is no pressure! I want you and your guests to have FUN, so much fun that perhaps they'd want to host a party too! I might prepare a little game so that someone can win free Biltmore Inspirations products - who doesn't want free stuff?

And as a host you can get even more FREE stuff! Below are the specials for the upcoming months March and April. Easter, Mother's Day, and Graduation are all good reasons to celebrate and make sure you have the right gift - which you may not even have to pay for! Take a peek below!











Don't know anyone near you that is a consultant? That's OK! You can host a catalog party, and I will even ship a party pack to you so you can have the food! Just ask me how.



Have you thought about becoming a consultant, but you don't have the $199 to sign up? Good News - in April you will be able to sign up for $99 with our "Grab & Go Kit". It's a smaller version of our traditional kit, and still comes with catalogs, forms, CD's and all the other resources you'd need to start up your own business!