Today we are celebrating our ONE-year Blogiversary! I can’t believe that it’s been a whole year! It’s been a great experience working on this blog together as friends and getting to do a lot of fun stuff.
This blog has been a great outlet for our creativity and we’re proud of what we’ve done, showcasing each of our hobbies and adventures. Thank you to our family, friends and readers who have supported us through this journey!
To celebrate and to show our appreciation we are giving away a $50 gift card to Alex and Ani over on our @sweetlemonmade IG and Facebook!
Need a sweet treat for Valentine’s Day? We’ve got you covered. We made these Strawberries and Cream Muddy Buddies for our Galentine’s Day Brunch. They are easy to make and taste delicious!
Life is weird as you get older. Four months can feel like four days and it becomes harder and harder to connect with friends that you have loved for years. Good ideas and the best of intentions often fall quickly off your radar and before you know it, a year has gone by.
Well, hallelujah for the blog, because it has really motivated us to stay more connected as friends, despite our busy, different lives. And thank you Target dollar spot, for continually inspiring me with seasonal party favors.
Enter Valentine’s Day, or “galentine’s” if you are celebrating with your favorite gal-pals. I mean, who doesn’t want an excuse to get together, eat great food, and talk for hours? Exactly. We all want that. So naturally, we dusted off our Pinterest boards, bought gold flatware, and invited all of our old high school pals that we rarely talk to but love spending time with.
The menu was a collaborative effort full of simple and fun brunch foods. I was particularly excited about the french toast kebabs. This was literally my first pin ever on Pinterest (like years and years ago) and I was dying to finally make these babies. I adapted the Martha Stewart recipe only slightly and added almond and coconut extract to the batter to give the French toast bites a little more pizazz and they turned out great. Definitely try this fun idea for your next brunch gathering!
Another tasty element of the brunch was the Bacon Broccoli Frittata Ashley made. Rather than baking it in a larger pie dish she baked them in muffin tins and they were a perfect single-serving size.
Megan whipped up a classic berry and granola parfait enhanced with some dollar spot embellishments from Target and she used Noosa honey yogurt—oh man, so creamy, so good!
Strawberry orange smoothie rounded out the menu and Ashley made some strawberries and cream “puppy chow” or “muddy buddies”…whatever you call chex cereal doused with deliciousness..for the party favors in cute little muslin bags (ah hem, dollar spot, again).
The decorations were fun and festive. Check out all the fun pieces below:
Our little “Galentine’s gathering” was awesome. We ate way more than we should have and talked way longer than we planned. It’s amazing how you can reconnect and pick right up where you left off with some friends. I love it when those moments happen. They are both fulfilling and rejuvenating. As we sat and caught up on the events of life since we had last connected, I couldn’t help but feel validated and inspired by these ladies. All of our lives have turned out far different than we planned back in high school and are personalities have grown and evolved in beautiful ways as a result. Some are married, some are mothers, some work full-time, some work at home, some watch CNN, others only watch HGTV, some are going through heartache, some just survived heartache, some love to read, some love to write, some are democrats, some are republicans.
Regardless of our differences, our bond of friendship unites us. And although our experiences have been very different from one another, every time we get together, we realize that many of our feelings are the same. There is beauty and empathy in hearing someone say, “oh my gosh, me too!” May you all reconnect with those awesome ladies in your life that make say, “me too!” And do it over bacon and carbs, obviously.
Need a quick and easy appetizer you can throw together without any hassel? We’ve got you covered with these delicious stuffed mushrooms! You only need three ingredients: sausage, cream cheese and mushrooms. You can’t get any simpler than that. Not only are these stuffed mushrooms easy to make they are absolutly delicious. A true crowd pleaser.
Looking for some fun super bowl decor to spruce up your party? Look no further. You can make this easy football banner and faux football field just in time for the big game. All you need in order to make the football banner is some brown and white card stock and string. Cut the brown card stock to desired size and cut the white card stock into strips. Punch holes in each side of the banner and string along a wall. To make the faux football field, head on over to your local Walmart and purchase some Astroturf and white paint. Cut the Astroturf to size and paint the lines and numbers onto the football field.
It’s been a whole month and I have to say that it’s been a commitment to stay committed! I have been trying super hard to stick to my goal of staying committed but, it hasn’t been easy. I tried to go full force and dive right in and change my ways all at once but, it got too overwhelming and I knew I had to tackle it in baby steps without stressing myself out and failing. It’s especially hard for a natural procrastinator of 20+ years to do! If you are a fellow procrastinator reading this right now, raise your hand if you agree with me. Let me know in the comments your tips for me or what you have done to curb this bad habit. Because if I’m being honest, I don’t think that I will ever rid of this bad habit completely but, with time, practice, planning, and follow through I will become better and procrastinate less. With some creative reminders, I have made my self more accountable each time I see my one word and making a conscious effort to stay focused and committed to following through.
Some great ways I have reminded myself, kept myself on track, and held accountable for my one word include having it on my phone wall paper, on a sign in my bedroom, putting it in my planner, and writing it on my lists!
Throughout this process of sticking with my goal, I have come to learn that part of my problem is planning ahead. I knew I needed to start using my planner more effectively! I have a habit of making lists and jotting down all the things that come to mind, but planning ahead was always my down fall. Now that I know my weakness, I have been approaching my lists differently. I look at my list and if there is anything that can be done now I put a star next to it and then anything else left on the list gets prioritized on my list and in my planner. I have definitely noticed a difference in my follow through. Another thing I have done to hold me accountable is telling a friend or family member when I want something needs to be done.
