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Friday Favorites – Week 61

April 29, 2011 12 Comments

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Hey guys.  Sorry this is late.  We took a last minute trip to Mobile today to stay with family, due to widespread power outages and other happenings in our area after the big tornados on Wednesday night.
 
They say we won’t have power for at least 5-7 anywhere in North Alabama, so I’m not sure when I’ll be back to posting as I usually do; however, I will try to check emails and respond whenever I can.
 
Lucky for us, our town was not hit and everyone in my family is okay. But please pray for people in my surrounding areas who lost their homes, businesses, and loved ones. 
 

 

Crepe Paper Pomander from Jessa Jill

Bird Bibs from Tinkeranniebelle

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins from Shih’s Cooking

Easter Eye Candy from Chic on a Shoestring

Polymer Clay Cakes from Tiffiny Walls of Wisdom
This post is sponsored by Petite Rouge. Are you looking for the perfect finishing touch? Petite Rouge has it. Simple, elegant blossoms to brighten up any outfit. Dainty enough for your smallest princess. Sophisticated enough for your growing girls. Clip on a headband or wear alone. 

I look forward to seeing your posts. Link them up below!

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Filed Under: Friday Favorites

Freschetta Simply Inspired Pizza Review and Giveaway

April 28, 2011 87 Comments
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FRESCHETTA®. All opinions are 100% mine.

This week we have a yummy food review with a giveaway brought to you by Freschetta!  As someone who loves pizza I was so excited when I got picked for this campaign.
I’m sure you’re familiar with Freschetta pizza. Even if you’ve never tried it you are bound to have seen the commercials. Right?  But what you may not know is that there is a new line of FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ Pizzas .
Simply…Inspired Pizzas feature larger cuts of fresh-tasting vegetables, a thin, light crispy crust, flavorful, real cheeses and signature sauces, creating deliciously different pizzas from toppings to bottom.  They are also packaged using Freschetta’s new Fresch-Taste Seal package, which locks in the vibrant flavors, while using 30% less packaging material.
The Simply…Inspired line features eight great-tasting varieties!  Check out their website to see which one is simply…you!
For my review I chose the Southern BBQ Recipe Chicken.  I was impressed by the new Fresch-Taste Seal package.  I could tell that it does a good job of locking in the flavors because the moment I opened the pizza I could actually smell the ingredients!
And it cooked up deliciously!  I’m a little picky when it comes to frozen pizza but I totally loved this one.  First off the ingredients tasted very fresh and much better than other frozen pizzas I’ve tried.  
And we loved the combination of flavors and spices in the barbeque sauce and on the pizza as a whole.  I also loved the taste of the cheese on this pizza. It was a very flavorful mix of mozzarella and gouda.
And perhaps my favorite part of the pizza was the chicken.  The chicken was fajita-flavored, and it was very tender, juicy, and full of flavor. It actually tasted like something that was just freshly cooked at a restaurant!
My husband and I would definitely give this pizza two thumbs up, and we’d definitely eat it again!
Connect: Follower @FreschettaSI on Twitter and “like” Freschetta Simply Inspired on Facebook.
Win it! One Simply Sweet Home reader will win a Freschetta Simply…Inspired Pizza Prize Pack, which includes a coupon for a FREE Simply Inspired Pizza and a bamboo cutting board and cheese tray with utensils!

Mandatory Entry:  You must be a public follower of my blog.  Then check out the Freschetta website and leave a comment on this post letting us know which Freschetta Simply…Inspired Pizza is simply…you.  Deadline: May 15

Additional Entries: Leave one comment for each.
-1 if you follow @FreschettaSI on Twitter.
-1 if you like Freschetta Simply Inspired on Facebook.
-1 if you follow @SimplySweetHome on Twitter.
-1 if  you subscribe to Simply Sweet Home via email.

 -1 if you like Simply Sweet Home on facebook.
-1 for subscribing to my RSS feeds through Feedburner.
 -1 for sharing this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook. (Sample Tweet: I want to win a Freschetta Simply Inspired Prize Pack! http://bit.ly/kNkMbq @SimplySweetHome) (Limit one tweet entry per day.)

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Visit Sponsor's Site 

Filed Under: casseroles and quick meals, Giveaways, product review

Big Spring Flower Wreath

April 26, 2011 1 Comment
I love the colors of spring!  This spring I’m welcoming people in to my home with the colors of this wreath on my front door! Isn’t it pretty?  
And before I go further, you’re right the door in the picture actually isn’t the front door. Actually I put it up this up in the living room last month, but I moved it to the front door a couple of weeks ago for the Easter and Mother’s Day holidays.  But I think, this time next month, I’m going to put it back up in the living room, as it goes with some other rose themed decor that I have.
There’s no tutorial today because I didn’t make this, although I wish I had!
But I do have a tip!  They have a lot of wreaths at Walmart that are similar to this.  You can find them in the craft section with the flowers  They start as low as $20 (perhaps even cheaper for something smaller), and then they go up in price from there.  That’s just about the best price you can find for something new. And for a wreath of this size and fullness, you can’t really beat it!
Even if you made your own, you’d spend about that much in materials for a wreath of this size  The only catch is that the back of it is a plastic frame as opposed to a metal frame, but you can’t see the frame anyway, so it’s pefectly good to me!

Linking up to these parties.

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Filed Under: decorating, Home/Garden, Wreaths

Indulge at Nicole’s Homemade Treats

April 25, 2011 7 Comments

There’s nothing like homemade candies and treats to satisfy your sweet tooth!  But if you’re like me, you may not always have the time and patience to spend making your own candies.  But now thanks to Nicole’s Homemade Treats you don’t have to have time or  patience. 
Nicole’s Homemade Treats is a fabulous etsy shop offering yummy, delectable, sweet treats.  They have everything from chocolate caramel truffles and peanut butter cups to chocolate covered cherries and much more!
Nicole is a stay at home mom of two boys and a military spouse. She uses candy-making as a stress reliever and creative outlet. For Nicole, selling her products locally and online is a fun and rewarding endeavor. And she has spent many hours trying to get her treats “just right!”
Nicole’s Homemade Treats is an LLC operating out of New York State. All the products are prepared in a fully licensed kitchen. NYS Dept. of Agriculture #31AAAA
The treats are prepared in small batches, to preserve the taste and quality of the product, and to ensure that there is no waste. It takes about 5-7 days to produce your order. But Nicole PROMISES – they will be worth the wait!
If you’re shopping for someone else, gift certificates are available.  And Nicole also offers chocolate samplers where you’ll get a one pound assortment each month for 3 months, 6 months, or an entire year! (Talk about a gift that keeps on giving.)

Be sure to check out Nicole’s Homemade Treats on etsy! You can also connect with Nicole at her blog and on twitter @Nikid70.  Go ahead and indulge!

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Disclosure:  Nicole’s Homemade Treats is a paid sponsor on my blog.  If you’d like become a sponsor, please check out my PR page or email me for details.

Filed Under: cookies and candy, shopping, Sponsors

Friday Favorites – Week 60

April 21, 2011 12 Comments

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Happy Friday! And Happy Easter weekend! I’m so excited to be celebrating week 60 of Friday Favorites this week and even more excited to share some cute Easter ideas with you!  I have to tell you, it was quite a chore this week trying to decide what items to feature!
My featured giveaway this week is for a bottle of Method Laundry Detergent.  I’ve also extended the Two Broads Design Giveaway.  It will be open through Saturday, so you still have time to get some last minute entries in!

 

Easter Egg Bouquet from Ms Not So Perfect

Cookie Dough Easter Egg Ornaments from Ramblings from the Sunshine State

Marshmallow Quacks from From Apples to Zucchini

Easter Wreath from Two Little Cookie Monsters

Peter Rabbit Tea Party from Homespun With Love

This post is sponsored by Petite Rouge. Are you looking for the perfect finishing touch? Petite Rouge has it. Simple, elegant blossoms to brighten up any outfit. Dainty enough for your smallest princess. Sophisticated enough for your growing girls. Clip on a headband or wear alone. 

Join the party! Link up your posts below!
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Filed Under: Friday Favorites

My Easter Vignettes

April 20, 2011 2 Comments
I’ve been meaning to share my Easter Decor for weeks, but I guess the week before the holiday is better late than never, right?  I had the hardest time deciding how to decorate!  For one thing, some of my cutest pieces are packed up in storage, and I decided against getting them out, and then I also have some really cute glass eggs in my “treasure cabinet” that I’ve collected in the past few years, and oddly enough, I didn’t use those either!
So at first I was working with just a few different things that didn’t seem to go to together in one display, but I managed to throw some more things into the mix to make it work and actually made 3 displays. 

This is on top of the fridge.  I used a pink runner, and then in the center, there is a flower adorned wishing well with a glittery Easter sign.

My mom gave me this glass Easter basket either last year or the year before.  It was probably a Hallmark or Cracker Barrel find, as those are two of her favorite places!  And it is just super cute in person!
And I just threw this bird house up there because it’s springy and went with the color scheme.
Growing up, we always had a bunch of “country rabbits” like these.  I’ve been thinking of getting rid of them because I don’t have a place for them, but I figured I could at least use them for Easter! 
And that’s a Beatrix Potter tin in the center! My mom and dad collected tins when I was kid, and this one’s from their collection. It’s dated 1992.
And if you checked about my Easter Egg Banner last week, you probably noticed all the stuff on top of my treasure cabinet.

I actually keep this “runner” (it’s not actually a runner) on top of the cabinet all year round, except at Christmas.  It was on the end of my bed when it was a kid, and I’ve always loved it.

Actually come to think of it, I’ve had most of this stuff since I was little, except for all the egg pictures.  But I think they all came together quite nicely! What do you think?

I’m linking up here.

This post is sponsored by Petite Rouge. Are you looking for the perfect finishing touch? Petite Rouge has it. Simple, elegant blossoms to brighten up any outfit. Dainty enough for your smallest princess. Sophisticated enough for your growing girls. Clip on a headband or wear alone. 

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Filed Under: decorating, Easter

Birdsong Bows Giveaway

April 19, 2011 39 Comments
A couple of weeks ago I introduced you to Birdsong Bows, a company that sells patterns and tutorials for hairbows, felt flower clips, barrettes, tutus, and accessories.

Birdsong Bows is owned by Deanna McCool.  She’s been designing hairbows since 2006 and now she has a passion for teaching others the art.  Deanna creates professional looking tutorials in PDF format with elaborate, easy to follow instructions and even video tutorials.
Deanna also offers discounts when you purchase the tutorials in bundles. And if you decide you’d like to set up your own bow shop, she’s got a book of online sales strategies!

And if you’re all thumbs when it comes to crafting, or you just don’t have the time, you can also order some hairbows through Deanna’s site!  You may choose crystals, buttons, marabou (feathers), and anything that will match your dreams.  Deanna will consult with you through emails and send you photos as she goes along, until your dream bow is a reality!
Deanna’s tutorials are available through her website, BirdsongBows.com, or you can purchase through her etsy shop.  

Win it! Two Simply Sweet Home readers will win One Free Tutorial from Birdsong Bows.
Mandatory Entry: To win, please visit Birdsong Bows and leave a comment on this post telling us something you would like to make. Deadline: May 3

Additional Entries: Leave one comment for each.
-1 entry if you follow Birdsong Bow’s Blog.
-1 entry if you Birdsong Bow’s on Facebook.
-1 entry if you Add Deanna to your Etsy circle.
-1 entry if you Heart her etsy shop.
-1 if you my blog publicly.
-1 if you follow @SimplySweetHome on Twitter.
-1 if  you subscribe to Simply Sweet Home via email.

-1 if you like Simply Sweet Home on facebook.
-1 for subscribing to my RSS feeds through Feedburner.
-1 for sharing this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook.
(Sample Tweet:  I want to win a tutorial from Birdsong Bows! http://bit.ly/herbVi @SimplySweetHome)  (Limit one tweet entry per day.)

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Filed Under: fashion, Giveaways

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

April 18, 2011 32 Comments
I’m really excited to bring you this week’s recipe!  It is a homemade version of one of my all time favorite candies—the peanut butter cup!
I first saw this recipe in Taste of Home magazine a few years ago, and I marked the page but never got around to trying the recipe. (This tends to happen a lot with me.)  But a few days ago, I was wanting to make some kind of new spring/Easter treat, so I started looking through my old magazines, and found these again.  I had all the ingredients I needed, and they were pretty easy to make, so I decided to give it a whirl!
I have to warn, these things are very tasty!  They remind me of the gourmet peanut butter cups that you order, except they’re much cheaper, and the peanut butter is more sweet, almost like a Reese Cup!  And since these are so easy to make, I’d say if you make them once, you’ll probably be tempted to make them again and again.  So don’t say I didn’t warn you!  Hope you enjoy!
Recipe for Homemade Peanut Butter Cups:
Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter, divided
4-1/2 teaspoons butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
4 milk chocolate candy bars (1.55 ounces each), coarsely chopped
Colored sprinkles, optional
Directions:  In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup peanut butter, butter, confectioners’ sugar and salt until smooth; set aside.
In a microwave, melt the chocolate chips, candy bars and remaining peanut butter; stir until smooth.
Drop teaspoonfuls of chocolate mixture into paper-lined miniature muffin cups. (I didn’t have any miniatures, so I used the regular sized cups and started with about a tablespoon of chocolate in each cup, but I recommend making miniatures, because these things are rich!)
Top each with about a teaspoonful of peanut butter mixture. (For the regular sized cups, I actually used a cookie scoop to measure, so it was just under a tablespoon of peanut butter.  Then I rolled it into a ball See pic below.)
Then top with another teaspoonful of chocolate mixture. (tablespoon for regular size cups)
For fun and extra added cuteness, decorate with sprinkles! Refrigerate until set. Store in an airtight container.
This makes 3 dozen minature cups, and anywhere from 12 to 18 regular sized cups, depending on how you distribute the ingredients and how big you make the cups.
This post is sponsored by Petite Rouge. Are you looking for the perfect finishing touch? Petite Rouge has it. Simple, elegant blossoms to brighten up any outfit. Dainty enough for your smallest princess. Sophisticated enough for your growing girls. Clip on a headband or wear alone.

I’m linking up at these weekly linky parties.

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If you’d like to sponsor some posts on Simply Sweet Home, please email me for details.

Filed Under: cookies and candy, desserts, Easter, Misc Holidays, Recipe of the Week Tagged With: ,

Bright Beginnings for Baby

April 17, 2011 Leave a Comment
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of PBM Products for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
For the new mom who wants to start her child off with the best in nutrition, consider infant formula from Bright Beginnings. 
The mission of this company is to provide Premium Nutrition Without The Premium Price. Comparable to the leading brands, Bright Beginnings offers milk based baby formula with DHA and ARA, the key nutrients found in breast milk.
Four unique formulas are available to fit your child’s special dietary needs, including Premium, Soy, Gentle, and Organic Formula.
And now the busy mom can save time and avoid a trip to the store by purchasing the baby formula online!  Bright Beginnings is available to buy on diapers.com. And they have lots of great deals, including Free 1-2 day shipping when you make a purchase of $49 or more!
They also have great prices on Bright Beginnings, starting as low as $9.79 for a 12.9 ounce can of Premium Formula and just $22.59 for the 25.75 ounce can of Organic Formula.  And you can save even more money on Diapers.com by purchasing the Bright Beginnings Formula in 6 packs.
For more product and nutritional information, updates, coupon codes, and deals, you can check out and “like” Bright Beginnings on Facebook.

Visit Sponsor's Site

Filed Under: Baby, saving money, shopping

Friday Favorites – Week 59

April 14, 2011 9 Comments

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Happy Friday to you!  Thanks for making last week’s Friday Favorites event the biggest yet with 141 links! Woohoo!  Maybe we’ll even make it to 150 soon!

While you’re here, please sign up for my featured giveaway, which is a $15 Gift Certificate to Two Broads Design, a cute jewelry shop on etsy!

This edition of Friday Favorites is sponsored by Petite Rouge. Are you looking for the perfect finishing touch? Petite Rouge has it. Simple, elegant blossoms to brighten up any outfit. Dainty enough for your smallest princess. Sophisticated enough for your growing girls. Clip on a headband or wear alone.
Hope you enjoy this weeks picks!

Vera Wang Ribbon Rosette Bib Necklace Knock Off from Cut the Craft

Rice Krispy Easter Eggs from Will Cook For Smiles

Basket of Flowers from Craft a World

Oven Pancake from A Little Nosh

Penchant for Pennants from Garden Berber

Join the party by linking your post up below!

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Filed Under: Friday Favorites
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