Birthday Party!! - welcome activity

See this crazy kid?  She had a birthday.  11 years old and full of spunk.  She invited 15 friends over (15!!!)  for her party.  I gave her a budget and said she could invite as many as she could within her dollar amount.  We did an amazing job for under $65.  And that included EVERYTHING.

One way we stayed on budget was NOT to have dinner.  It seems all birthday parties include pizza now.  Well, we cut that out.  We started the party at 7 pm and went till 9.  Post dinner, and late enough for a bunch of 10 and 11 year olds to feel cool.

Now I love a beautifully staged pinterest worthy party as much as the next mom.  But I have to be honest.  It's not me.   When I have only a certain amount of $, I prefer spending it on the activities, not the decor.  We did make some cute pom poms from tissue paper, and a darling banner.  But picture worthy, probably not.  ;)

So this week I wanted to share some of the fun things we did for the party.

Today, our WELCOME activity!

The girls all tend to trickle in at different times, so we decided to start by painting some picture frames.  I got these at Michaels for $1 each.  We had stickers to put on them, also.

When the girls were done painting (some were speedy, some were slow) we moved on to the picture studio.

I was a bed sheet on top of our TV.  Perfect, right?

I got my mustache and lips printables from here.  We just taped them on a wooden skewer.  

Even my little one had a ball with them!

The plan was to print off the photos during the rest of the party.  They could bring home their frames with a fun pic.  That didn't actually happen, though.  The frames were still so wet, we brought them over to all the girls the next day.

This party was all smiles!  Stay tuned for tomorrow - more fun had by all!

Temple Prints you will love and a {Giveaway!}

For Valentines Day this year, I gave each of my children a picture of their favorite temple to frame and keep in their bedrooms.
Ainsley loves the Snowflake Arizona Temple

Brandon loves the Manti Temple.  He thinks this picture looks like a fortress.

And Alexa chose the Salt Lake Temple because it is where mommy and daddy got married!

I bought these prints from Kacy Hughes Photography.  Kacy has such beautiful pictures, and her prices are great!  She has offered to do a giveaway on my blog today!  I am thrilled to give away an 11x14 print of the temple of your choice!  You guys are so lucky!

Before we get into the details, I have even better news....

Kacy has offered ANYONE who enters this giveaway (locals only, of course!) $25 off a standard 1 hour on-location photo session!  (Must be scheduled before June 1, 2012 to apply!)  When you contact her to schedule your appointment, just mention Home Delicious to her!

To see her gallery click here.

Now for the giveaway:
  a Rafflecopter giveaway


Again, here are her links:  http://photosbykacy.com and http://templeprints.wordpress.com
Good luck!!!

A little love for Brazil (and a recipe!)

Do you know what is going on right now in Brazil?  It's Carnaval!  It's the most famous holiday in Brazil!  I thought I would share some Brazilian love today, some thoughts and a great recipe!

Do you know why they celebrate carnaval?  Lent is coming - a time for abstaining and repenting before Easter.  So hurry and get all your sinning and craziness in now!

I remember a few things about carnaval.  Men dressed like women, dancing in the streets, mostly.

This is carnaval in Natal.  I lived there for a while and loved it.

image via wikipedia

This is in Recife, a place I also lived.  I remember the big chicken!

image via google images

I have a great friend I met in Recife, named Damiana.  I told her I was going to do a post on Brazil and asked her to share a favorite recipe.  This girl is amazing and beautiful.  I miss her! Every time I went to her house she, her sister and her mom would make us yummy food.  And they would giggle at my portuguese.

Is she not the cutest thing?

So, if your husband, brother, sister, parents or even yourself went to Brazil and you want to surprise them with a fun and simple recipe to bring them saudades (make them miss it), here is one for you.

Supresa De Uva (Grape Surprise!)

Ingredients:

grapes (about 20)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 Tablespoon butter

about 1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Pour sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan with butter.  You can add a few drops of food coloring, if you want.  Damiana likes it white, so I took her advice.  I like it white, too!  Cook on low heat, stirring constantly until it is think and doesn't stick to the pan any longer.  It took me about 12 minutes.  I know this sounds odd, but you will know when it's time.  It just literally feels more like peanut butter all of a sudden.

see how thick it is?

Plop (isn't that a great word?) it on a plate with granulated sugar on it.  This will keep it from sticking to the plate.  Let it cool.

Take a small amount in your fingers and flatten it.  Put the grape on it and roll it in your hands, making a ball.

Roll it in a little more sugar for a pretty texture.  That's it!  These are so delicious!  I broke my no-sugar rule for a minute and was so glad I did!  

Linked today at: Craftomaniac, Keeping it simple, skip to my lou, Sugar Bee, Hope Sturios,  A2Z, Chef in Training, Mommy by day, Not just a housewife, Lil Luna, Ginger Snap, Its Overflowing, Blue Cricket Design, Rae Gun Ramblings

Happy Love

I love you like a love song, baby!  Have a LOVEly day!

Valentines Day - what we will be eating!

I love love love having special food for Valentines Day.  My kids get so giddy with excitement wondering what they will find in their lunch boxes, and what fancy dinner we will have.

I found a few ideas around the web I would like to spotlight.  This is most likely what we will be eating tomorrow.

Breakfast:

Found HERE

If you pull out the stem of the strawberry instead of cutting it (like they did here) it looks more like a heart.  And we will most likely be having strawberry milk with our breakfast!

Lunch:

If you haven't seen all the fun Valentines lunch box ideas at Lisa Storms website, hurry over there before tomorrow!

Dinner:

found here

We usually go fancy schmancy.  It's the one day a year.  But I think we will have twice baked potatoes.  It's the kids favorite!  Probably these with a little turkey bacon added and (of course!) greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

How about you all?  Any special meals planned for tomorrow?

Chocolate Cherry Valentine Torte

We have a traditional Valentines desert around here.  We have had it every year since we were married 14 years ago!  I love the chewy brownie bottom with the creamy top.  I promise you will LOVE this!

Chocolate Cherry Valentine Torte Source: and old deseret news recipe from many years ago
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup chilled whipping cream
1 can cherry pie filling
chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350.  Grease bottom of a 9" springform pan.
Stir together melted butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla in large bowl.  Add eggs and mix well.  (Tip: Use  a spoon, not a beater.)  Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in separate bowl.  Gradually add to egg mixture.  Mix well with spoon.  Spread into prepared pan.
Bake 25 minutes.  Cake will look fudgey and test not done.  That is OK!  Cool pan on wire rack.
Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar in medium bowl until well blended.  In a separate bowl, beat cream until stiff.  Gradually fold into cream cheese mixture.  Spread over top of the torte.  Refrigerate several hours or until set.  With knife, loosen cake from sides of pan and remove the side of the springform pan.
Just before serving, put chocolate chips in a heart outline on cake.  Fill in with cherry filling.  Serve with extra cherry filling on the side.  Refrigerate any left overs.


Linking at:  Lil Luna, Somewhat simple, House of Hepworths, Lolly Jane, Tater Tots and Jello, Every Creative Endeavor

Love in Any Language - Pallet Art

I know that pallet art is all over these days.  But I really wanted to make a lovey dovey sign for my hubby to hang in our bedroom.  You know?  Some sweet valentines love all year round.

I was inspired by Katie at Sweet Rose.  Her pallet was beautiful.  However, I wanted to do something relevant to me and my sweetie.  Ryan speaks French and I speak Portuguese.  Of course we both speak English.  lol.  So I love you in our favorite languages sounded perfect.

Anyhow, here are the details.

I went to Lowes and picked up 2 ten feet pieces of wood.  They were not in the best shape ond only $3 a piece.  Perfect!  Yes, I have a table saw, but I don't know how to use it, so I had them cut me 6 three feet pieces.

Next, I used a vinegar and tea method of aging wood that I found on Pinterest.

Here is what my wood looked like before and after:

Cool, right?
First, you take some steel wool and soak it in vinegar over night.  I used about 1 cup of vinegar and just put it in a mason jar with a hunk of steel wool.

The next day I was ready to go.  But I forgot one problem.  I don't drink tea!  I found some green tea in my cupboard, but it didn't really work.  I called my mom.  She LAUGHED AND LAUGHED.  Black tea, dear.  Black tea.  Oh.  So I picked some up. and brewed it.

I took a paint brush and dipped it in the tea, then spread it on the wood.  Then, I dipped it in the vinegar and brushed it on top.  It was amazing and I was thrilled with the results!  So much safer than some old pallet!

After it dried, I used wood glue and glued those babies together.

Then, I took the scraps and used them as braces on the back, screwing them in from the front.  I liked the look of the screws.  Honestly, how did I miss a pic of this?  Click on Lolly Janes tutorial for a picture of theirs.  Way cute!

Using my Silhouette, I cut out the text I wanted, then stuck it on there as a stencil

Painted, removed stencil and voila!

It fits perfectly and I adore it!


linked at: Sassy Sites, Hope Studios, Chef in Training, Home Stories AtoZ, Every Creative Endeavor, Not Just a Housewife, Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Mommy by day..., Sugar Bee, Lil Luna, DIY by Design, Ginger Snap, Blue Cricket, It's Overflowing, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, Lolly Jane