happy hearts day

hope your day is full of

LOVE

my little loves doing what they do best

making me smile.

xoxo

 



to you and yours

 

image found here

 

 

have yourself a Merry little Christmas

xo

Gentri

{last-minute gift idea}

 

{this is a re-post from last year}

so fun not to share again...

 

 

I've come up with a fun, last-minute neighbor gift

that is so versatile, and can be

personalized any way you'd like

and best of all it's {cheap} and {easy}

hoop-art ornament

1. start with your embroidery hoop,

the smallest hoop you'll find is 3 in and that's perfect

for a little personalized ornament.

2. cut out your background fabric and leave

some extra fabric around the edges for later on.

{i used a linen blend for 2 and a cotton pattern for 1)

3. next i "google imaged" the shapes i wanted to work with

and simply traced those onto paper

(or if you're awesome and can free-hand any drawing, that's easy too)

4. cut out your desired shape and pin to felt

and cut out your felt piece

5. simply glue the center of the shape onto

the fabric in the hoop

(fabric glue works wonderfully)

I chose to do 3 different ornaments

an apple for my son's teacher

a "T" for a family friend

and a star for a neighbor

this is the fun part,

the possibilities are endless

a "1" for a couple's first Christmas

or a baby's first Christmas

a date

2012

an initial

a snowflake

the word "JOY"

etc

6. with cooridinating thread

hand-stitch the outside of the shape

7. lightly glue your leftover threads

out of the way of the edges, like the above picture

8. next, glue around the inside of the hoop

around the back and tuck in your fabric

9. cut out a small felt circle and glue to the back of your hoop

this way the thread's stay in place and it gives it a nice finishing touch

10. that's it.

you have a cute, personalized ornament

to gift to someone

...last, but not least

tie some twine, ribbon, thread or yarn

to the clasp at the top.

that way it can actually hang

like an ornament

I'm attaching my hoop ornaments

to little jolly treat bags

and spreading the joy of Christmas

need some treats to fill it with?

go HERE for a yummy gingerbread cookie recipe

or big white chocolate dipped pretzel rods would be just as delicious!

Happy Holidays,
Gentri

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies

 
Happy Fall everyone!
not sure who is still sticking around with this blog
but life is busy, and it's been tough to get going on this
so here's a great recipe to get your pumpkin cravings in
it's a repeat post from last fall...so if you haven't tried it yet
you must...


the {BEST} cookie recipe you will ever try!

{ingredients}

1 cup oil
2 eggs
1 large can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups sugar
5 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 pkg semisweet chocolate chips

{directions}

add dry ingredients together then wet. mix well. bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 min.

(i always bake til 12 min. just be sure they're not gooey on top if you shorten the time)

*makes an enormous batch so share, share away!

Pin It

Stella & Dot

hey ladies

I am currently hosting an online

trunk show with

Stella & Dot

if you haven't heard of their jewlery line

or if you're interested

check out the link below

and let me know what you think!

their stuff is darling

and they have some killer deals right now

so take a look around and

let me know if you have any questions!

I scream, YOU scream

well hello out there
it's been quite awhile since I've posted
anything on this little blog...
life just got really busy
and it still is really busy, but in the midst
of traveling, buying a house and moving for
the upteenth time-not to mention enjoying
the beautiful summer's Michigan has to offer
I tried out a new ice cream recipe
because if anyone knows me they know
I pretty much love ice cream, with all my heart

Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 Cups Heavy Cream
1 Cup Whole Milk
12-15 Large fresh mint sprigs, coarsely torn
7 Large egg yolks
3/4 Cup sugar
3 Oz. Semi-sweet chocolate
3 drops green food coloring



Directions:

1. In a medium-heavy saucepan, bring cream and milk to a boil. Remove from heat. Add mint sprigs, cover pot, and allow to steep 30 minutes.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale. Add a few tablespoons of warm milk mixture to egg mixture, whisking vigorously. Once combined, add egg mixture back into milk mixture, whisking continuously.

3. Return to saucepan; cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (a mark should remain when you can run your finger down the spoon). Now is a great time to add a few drops of green food coloring, this step is completely optional.

4. Take custard (mint sprigs and all) and cover and refigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 1 day. (To quicken chilling time, place glass bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice water until custard thickens slightly and is completely cool to touch).

5. Freeze custard according to ice cream maker instructions. To make chocolate chips, take 3 one oz squares of semi-sweet chocolate and melt in microwave for 30 seconds on half power. Stir and repeat until chocolate is smooth and completely melted. When ice cream has about 5 minutes left and you hear your machine slowing down, take chocolate mixture and gradually pour into ice cream. The heat of the chocolate mixed into the frozen ice cream will create chocolate shavings, or chocolate chips.

Serve immediately or for best results transfer to airtight container and freeze up to 1 day. Before serving remove from freezer to soften. Recipe adapted from Delish.com

you may not want to share,

but trust me, kids of all ages will

love this homemade ice cream.



Easter Brunch

i know it's been awhile since my last post

but to make up for it i have something

to share with you that you'll love me for

this amazing, mouthwatering, delicious recipe

was first introduced to me by my friend at breakfast club

please check out her blog, you'll love her.

if you're in need of a fantastic brunch recipe for

Easter morning, this is it people. 

Whole Wheat Waffles

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 C. milk

2 Tbsp. butter (melted)

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 egg

1/4 C. oil

Mix together with whisk. May double or triple recipe.

Delicious Creamy Syrup

1 C. buttermilk (or 1 C. milk and 1 tsp. vinegar)

1 C. sugar

1 C. butter, melted

2 Tbsp. corn syrup

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

Bring to a boil over stove, then simmer for a few minutes.

*when making one single serving of the waffle recipe for my family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children) i always half the syrup recipe.

You must make these two together, then cover your waffles in fresh strawberries. Trust me. It's the best combination you'll ever put in your mouth.




Happy Easter