Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Foodie Pen Pals!

Ok so good ol' Instagram is my favorite social media EVER!

I've "met" more bloggers, companies, and people that are actually real on the other side of technology hahaha.

I no longer have a personal Facebook because it's just ridiculous...yes i realize they bought Instagram but it hasn't gone to the dark side...yet :-|

SO! FOODIE PEN PALS! This is by far one of the best things I've been exposed to through Instagram thanks to a fellow follower :-).

You get your match on the 5th of every month
You mail your goods on the 15th of every month which ensures your recipient receives their awesome goodies before the end of the month
You spend limit is $15
You include a little handwritten note and/or recipe
This is literally open, almost, worldwide. Canadians are paired with fellow Canadians and UK residents are paired with UK residents..makes things runs smoother, obviously.
You sign up every month so don't forget!!
This is open to blog readers and bloggers...so you don't have to have a blog to join...JOIN AWAY!!!
Store bought and/or homemade goodies!

This is one of the best exchanges i think. you send to a different than you receive from so networking/creating new friends is endless!!!

ok so...i was paired to send to Lexi in New York! We emailed each other to make sure we were real people hahaha and she sent me her likes, dislikes and if she had any dietary needs. So I tried to think of something local to send to New York...yeah i thought of NADA...ZILCH...BLANK...and then i re-read her likes...peanut butter and chocolate and dessert...DING DING DING DING!!!!

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE FUDGE! in heart shapes for Valentine's Day!
oh by the way...i'm the moron who didn't take a photo of what i sent :(...blogger fail....I'm a doofus i know


SO ON TO THE NEXT BEST THING!...What i recieved! so here we go...


I LOVE SNAIL MAIL!! I think it's so much more special than an email or text...so when the box came I was SUUUUPER excited!!!

Drum rooooooollllllllllll

HEALTHY PUMPKIN BARS!! SERIOUSLY! I opened the box and it was like smelling childhood christmas! (my mom never made "pumpkin" stuff but the smell was just AMAZING!!)


My partner, Annie from Maryland, sent a little note and included her recipe with the modifications she made to make the healthier version...um I scarfed down about 4 of them while I read it hahaha


 This swap is so fun! I love food and I love snail mail...perfect for me hahaha

seriously get in on this if you think you have the time. you sign up every month so you can do it one month, take a month off, do it again the month after

Check it out here:

The Lean Green Bean

Lindsay does such a great job and seriously check out her blog...makes my tummy grumble every time because her food always looks AMAZING!

Alright back to Vodka...er...I mean homework ;-)

LISA


Friday, January 18, 2013

some things i've realized

going creative is fun...keeps you on your toes...it's fun...thoughts are things...i can be as opinionated and obnoxious as i want without offending anyone...creative blocks SUCK but you get over them, even if the idea comes to you at 2 am when you're asleep.

work hard at playing hard
but to play hard 
you need to work hard
so make work fun

i'm super excited to delve into this awesome world of creative advertising. i've always been a corporate job junkie who hated waking up in the morning to go to work. this industry, though i'm just starting, is amazing. you can break the rules. you need to know the rules first. but once you understand the rules...there are no rules...the creative freedom is never ending. 

the outlets and industries and products you can work on are never ending. things we use on an everyday basis will always need advertising. paper advertising will never go away. i don't care what anyone says. how did you find out about that new website? from a flyer? from a magazine? how did hear about that new line of whatever? oh from the ad IN the magazine? yes technology is taking over but print ads will always be there.

advertising will never go away. it will just become more intricate which means we will need to come up with more clever ways to reach the consumer. case in point...the dvr...you can fast forward through pretty much everything. product placement has become so important because no one wants to watch the ads anymore.

the best part about the advertising industry...the more an ad will make you think, the better it is. keep it simple. the most intriguing, interesting, weird, disturbing ads are usually the good one's because those are the ads that will keep the brand in your head, make you talk about the ad to your friends, and make visit their website or store to find out what they're really about. you may not like what the ad said but you talked about it didn't you? you may think it was genius and then you talked about it. the good, the bad, and the ugly...they all exist. and advertising is the perfect home for all 3 of them.

the other, totally interesting part about advertising...making people think what we want. think about it. why did you buy something? because the advertisement was meant to target your way of thinking, your lifestyle, your part of the brain that went "i could use that" or "i totally need that" or "the kids will think that is so cool". manipulating is fun. being sarcastic is fun. so why not be a manipulative, sarcastic, witty, mind reader? there's a job for that ;-).

we are all creative. anyone can create a recipe. it may fail but you created it. we can all finger paint something. that's creative. we can all write something. it may not be a novel but you wrote it and created it. and the more you practice the more you excel. does your mind wander like mine? keeping a handy notepad in your purse, car, and really anywhere helps a million times over.

multi tasking is my thing. i need a clone. that way i can work on one thing while my clones (yes more than one clone) work on everything running through my brain haha. 

like right now...these are my thoughts:
i need to do laundry
i should organize the toys
i really need to finish laundry
619 vodka
i need some taglines for them
i really need to try it
hotel del field trip
need to bust out some roughs for the hotel
crap i need a picture of screaming kids
i really need a bigger computer
maybe i'll play the lottery
the beatles are awesome (what i'm listening to)
i need to update my linkedin account
i'm hungry
i'll make a cup of coffee

i mean seriously...mom going to school full time = household, school, life thoughts all the time. and yes we are taking a "field trip" to the hotel del coronado :-). 

i have an issue with prioritizing time...the school library has become my home away from home. if i try to do homework or concept at home, i start thinking/worrying about all of the things that need to be done at home and then get nothing done. there is also this big thing hanging on the wall that slowly stalks my every move called the "television"...i wonder if i recorded anything? maybe there's a new movie on netflix?...hence...off to the library i go.  i work best with music. it's not distracting. it's stimulating.

the crock pot has become my best friend. major leftovers and dinner is done when we get home.
i might get a part time job...might...remember my time management problem? i get more things done when the kids are home than when they aren't...i think it's the "mom panic mode"/zero patience for snail movement.

i do miss making things...there is time but not really...i've neglected steered my attention from Pinterest for a while except when i need some typography inspiration.  really some good ideas on there. i no longer, well haven't for quite some time, have a personal facebook page anymore because honestly it's a time sucker. i talked and communicate with everyone i need to. and honestly, between text, calling, emailing, stalking my house, there are many other more convenient ways to get ahold of me...texting is best fyi.

i am, however, an Instagram junkie. i love photos. i love seeing what other people are doing, accomplishing, conquering, creating. it's fun. it only takes about 5-10 minutes to look through versus what could have turned into 3 hours of facebook stalking. facebook has become a more business oriented, promotion website for the social aka exactly how i use it. you won't get a job with your facebook profile...you may, however, get fired...think about it.

so back to creating. over loading and releasing everything that is in the right side of my brain. breaking grammar rules to get my point across. making up new words.

like the great David Ogilvy said:

“I don’t know the rules of grammar. . . . If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.”

and end thoughts...

Friday, November 2, 2012

Cheesy, Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

So school has pretty much consumed my life which is fine and also means the blog has taken a backseat but don't fret!!!!! I found this recipe on Pinterest, of course.



Sounds amazing, right??? After I laid out all of the ingredients I noticed we were about to, literally, eat a farm. Turkey, beef, eggs, cheese, bacon...the farm hahaha.

Now I wanted to add bacon! Everything is better with bacon! Plus I didn't have all of these ingredients on hand and the hubs doesn't like onions :-/ so I used onion powder...it's just not the same

So here are the ingredients I used:

1 1/2 Pounds Ground Turkey
1 Pound Ground Beef
2 Eggs
1/2 Pound Bacon or as much as you want hahaha
1/4 Cup Onion Powder (I am pretty certain an 
onion diced would be muuuuuuch tastier)
1/4 Cup Breadcrumbs
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan to mix into the meat (I just used the 
cheap, Kraft kind)
2 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 Tspn Basil
1/2 Tspn Thyme
1/2 Tspn Salt
1/2 Tspn Pepper

1/2 Cups Italian Cheese blend (to melt on top)

BEGIN!!!

PREHEAT YOUR OVEN 350 DEGREES FARENHEIT

Grab your loaf pan and spray it with cooking spray

Line your loaf pan with the bacon strips; as many bacon strips as you want haha

Put everything (except the Italian Cheese for the topping and bacon, thought i have to say...diced bacon may be amazing mixed into the meatloaf...just sayin') into a bowl and mix it all together. I just used my hands. Moosh everything together so it's blended but don't overwork it.


Shape your meat all together and place it on top of your bacon in your loaf.

Now tuck your bacon in! Just pull the bacon slices and overlap them so your meat is nice and tucked in for the oven :-)

I put a baking pan underneath my loaf pan in the oven because of the bacon splatter and meaty juices...

Cook for 45 minutes - 1 hour (we have a gas oven and 45 minutes was perfect)

Take your bacony meatloaf out and sprinkle the cheese on top. 

Pop it back into the oven for about 7-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

The hubs put ketchup on top and I think next time I might put some bbq sauce or pasta sauce on top of the meat before I tuck in the bacon...but this is pretty much food coma, amazingess!!


We ate it with the husband's famous roasted potatoes (I honestly don't know what he puts in it otherwise I would share :-/) and roasted asparagus with cheese!

The asparagus is beyond easy! 
Oil a baking dish
Lay your asparagus in and sprinkle with some salt and garlic powder
I used the italian blended shredded cheese and just sprinkled it all over the asparagus
Cook in the oven at 400 F for about 10 minutes
YUM!!


THAT'S IT! Super easy and super filling dinner! and seriously takes no time at all and while the meatloaf cooked...we may or may not have made rice krispie treats hahaha ;-)


ENJOY!!!!!!

- Lisa


the Grant life

Monday, October 1, 2012

Park Your Broom HERE..for 1 hour

HALLOWEEN IS COMING! It's officially OCTOBER!!!

SO GOOD OL' PINTEREST TO THE RESCUE!

We are totally decorating this year...we have some skeletons to put and crafts with the kids but to start with...the witches need to park somewhere...DUH!!

So here is the awesome lady who did it on Pinterest!


She used those awesome plain boards at the craft store! I couldn't find any :-( so I went to the next best place...IKEA...specifically the As-Is section and found a sweet door for $3!!


Snagged some Orange paint from Michael's and spiders from Michael's...with a coupon of coooouuurse!




Busted the trusty, amazing Silhouette Cameo and printed out the words, witches, and witch hats:


STEP ONE DONE!! TA DAAAAAA!!!


AND DONE! Super easy thanks to the Cameo of course...I snagged the hooks from Lowe's for about $2 each, glued on the spiders, and that's Emma's broom for her witch costume!


I couldn't find a little frog/toad...just HUGE one's soooo I might print out a little toad silhouette and stick it on there...maybe...I'm definitely busting out some more of these...possibly for a shop that may possibly open next week ;-) I'll keep you all posted!

We also have a Halloween Fairy that needed to a place to park her broom so here's a mini version with some different color vinyl :-).  These are those mini boards at Michael's for about $2!


The only thing that's left to add are little hooks for her broom :-)

I'm linking up here for October!!!

More coming!!! Pinterest (ok...Homework haha) is calling my name with all of their holiday shenanigans!! I LOVE IT!!!

ENJOY!

Lisa!

Friday, September 28, 2012

Busy, Fantastical Time!!

WHOA...SEPTEMBER ENDS SUNDAY!!! Well to back track since it's been a little bit of a time consumed month....

 I have finished my first quarter of school (wooo!!), Emma turned 4, my older younger brother got hitched, my youngest brother turned 23, Emma started back to pre-school, Taitum is climbing on EVERYTHING...and a whole lot more that I'm sure I'm missing so I'm sorry haha

To the IMPORTANT thing!! My older younger brother got hitched!!! aka...he's the middle child...i'm oldest and we have a youngest...so he's the older, younger one hahaha

The location was fantastic! The weather was perfect! The speeches were perfect! And everyone looked amazing!!

Here are some photos I snagged and some from my pops!  Cannon's in Dana Point...so great!

This is totally normal...from left to right: my hubs, Nik aka the groom, my older brother, Michal

This is also totally normal...hahahaha Michal, the hubs, Paki the youngest and Nik in the chair haha

The flower girls!!!

THE CEREMONY!!!

THE NEWLYWEDS!!

Uncle Paki and Emma
 This is very normal hahaha me and Paki!

 The hubs and I!

 We can do serious hahaha...it's boring but we can do it haha

KELLY AND NIK!



 and here is some of the swag i made for them :-)






 One awesome celebration done!!!  NOW ONTO SOME HALLOWEEN DECORATING ON MONDAY!!!

Check me out on Instagram to see some projects getting done!! Post coming next week!

@3girls_and_a_boy

HAVE A FANTASTICAL WEEKEND!!!

Lisa!

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Cheese Stuffed Chicken with BACON

bacon...like the awesome Ann Marie over at White House, Black Shutters always says "makes everything taste better!!" seriously...it's true!

ok anyway, I saw a recipe on Pinterest aka the amazingly, fantastical website we all know and love :-)

BUT now i can't find it because for some reason I didn't pin it :-/ but here is the recipe!!

chicken breast
string cheese
bacon
toothpicks

super easy

Preheat your oven to 500 F...yes 500

I sliced my chicken in half lengthwise so they were thinner pieces or you could pound them because you are going to be wrapping them around a piece of string these

Cut your string in half...

Place your cheese in your chicken and then roll your chicken

Take a slice (I used 2 haha) of bacon and wrap around your chicken

Secure with your toothpicks

I used a 9 x 13 dish sprayed with cooking spray...THIS WILL SPLATTER but my dish wiped clean...after a soak haha

Put in the oven for 15-20 minutes

um this was amazical!!!!

The Pinterest recipe didn't have bacon...we added that haha

Super easy...quick...and great leftovers! Plus since you slice the chicken breast in have you can technically get 2 chicken wraps from one breast or a mini one and a bigger one haha

Here's our end photo!!!  Serve with some garlic bread and veggies or rice or whatever really..eggs? haha



HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEKEND! 

We are having a Mad Hatter Tea Party for Emma's 4th Birthday tomorrow!!! Pics and what we did will be up as soon as I can :-)

-- Lisa!!





Saturday, September 1, 2012

Kids...

oh man...emma has been on a roll lately with comments hahaha

here are some I wrote down

Me: Hey Emma! what do you want for dinner on your birthday?? (it's wednesday!)
Emma: Chicken...and rice! OH Pears!!
do i like pears? yes I love pears!
Me: ok...anything else?
Emma: ummm YEAH! PICKLES! and broccoli and carrots. That's all

hahaha

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emma: mommy?
Me: yes emma?
Emma: do you have a baby in your tummy?
Me: no! why?!
Emma: oh...are you suuuuure? you look like you have a baby in your tummy
Me to Dad: BABE! Emma just said I have a baby in my tummy!
Dad: hahaha just called you fat
Me: BABE
Emma: mommy it's ok. you're pretty
Me: thanks emma

ha...man...


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emma: mommy, can i be Ariel when i get bigger?
Me: sure emma...you can try of course
Emma: MOOOOOM! i can't be a mermaid! i'm a human girl!
Me: oh...ok yeah well you're right

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emma: ok taitum, you're going to be the dog and I'm going to walk you
Me: um WHOA WHOA WHOA!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

yeah...that's all i remembered to write down hahaha...I hope you're all having a fantastical Labor Day Weekend!!!