Yay for Giveaways!

I won! I just started my own blog and have already won a giveaway! Yay!
My incredible friend and oh-so talented artist Lindsay @ Paint Me A Picture hosted a giveaway a few weeks ago and I won a gift certificate to Lizzie, Izzie + James.

So I actually didn't dally for a change and checked out the full line of crowns for my boys. Sherryl kindly emailed with me for a few days and then this arrived...

With Spring in the air, we had a family picnic dinner in our backyard and I gave the boys the box.

 

Thanks to Lindsay & Lizzie, Izzie + James for this great item!

Late is still great

 I know Valentines Day was a week ago, but I still want to share something sweet.

My husband and I don't do much for Valentine's Day. He loves me all the time (of course!) and humors my moods, endless projects and everything else our family slides his way. We don't make a fuss about gifts and such for each other except for our anniversary, and Mothers & Fathers Days, and birthdays. We try to celebrate 'us' in the smallest & simplest of ways every day. That gets harder as our family grows, but we love it all. Who can complain about lack of dates when your 3 year old agrees to be your Valentine? Kids make holidays fun in new ways for all of us.

At any rate, we decided to get some couples together for a fun date night. Brilliant idea? Bowling! One couple graciously offered to help host in their new home. Cocktails & appetizers at their home and then on to the bowling lanes. 'Nooter' lovingly divided our group into two teams so that spouses were split, and then gave us each a new nickname. By the way, I granny bowl and I do it well. Well, usually, but not that night.

I made this delicious and pretty treat for our pre-bowling social hour and had to share. It was easy and yummy. Thanks to this blog that inspired me, my friends rolled their eyes at me and called me "Martha". I really think Shayna's (Texas Monkey) are prettier, but I didn't have the time or the budget for chocolate dipped strawberries, nor do I own square cake pans.

Here's what I used:

1 Box of Chocolate Mousse cake mix
(it even comes with the mousse makings). I would love to say I am thrilled that I discovered this wonderful box, but I am not, if only because I now know how easy it is to get a really good chocolate fix from a boxed mix.

2 boxes of these hazelnuts yummies
(or 1 can of the real deal Pirouettes, both available at WalMart)
but I recommend 3 boxes.
They are called 'rolled wafers' in case you need to know.
The reason I recommend 3 boxes is what I won't show on the back side of the cake. I had to piece together the broken ends and it wasn't pretty.

1 lb of fresh strawberries, cleaned, trimmed and sliced in half.






 

Bake the cake according to the package directions, then top with the mousse (which tastes like pudding to me). Break your wafers about 2/3 of the way down and stick them to the sides of your frosted cake. (I purposely broke mine so they would would be varying heights.) Top cake with strawberries and tie a ribbon around the whole thing. Tada. Seriously.
Note: my decorated cake just barely fit under the dome of my cake plate so plan ahead.

Fancy Pants (a preview)

Please check out my facebook page and website for more samples of Fancy Pants products. I will be updating this blog with new (and older) pictures as soon as I can. Thanks for your patience!
Here are a few of my favorites.

 

 

Brown Bag Burritos aka Freezer Frijoles or BBB (Beef 'n Bean Burritos)

I originally found this through Money Saving Mom by this link for freezer cooking. You can find the original post here from another great lady, Amy (and you should check out her site.)
This is by far one of the best freezer meal ideas/recipes I have come across to date.  You have to try these. This is (sadly) one of the very few recipes even my ultra-picky almost-3 year old will eat without hesitation. I love to cook, but with 2 little people underfoot, my meals tend to be only those that are quick, easy and cheap. I think my favorite part is how well they freeze. With a side salad, talk about an easy lunch in 2 minutes!

My recipe notes:
I use fresh onion, sauteed, not dried.
I only use  2 cups of shredded cheese.
I use fajita size tortillas and get 30-something burritos.
I just roll them, no tucking for this chica.
Two fajita size burritos, rolled, fit nicely in a paper towel (then foil) & you can get the whole batch into 3 gallon size zipper freezer bags. (Anyone have a great suggestion for freezer containers, besides glass?)
These are great to make for dinner, then freeze what your family doesn't eat.

MY ALL TIME FAVORITE FREEZER COOKING TIP:
Brown ground meats before you freeze them. We buy ground beef in bulk, so I always take an hour to divvy it up, saving some to freeze uncooked for things like meatloaf or burgers, before browning the rest. I bought some freezer safe containers at Wal-Mart for a few bucks for the browned portions. You really won't believe how much of a time saver this is until you can make chili or spaghetti or Upside Down Pizza or Tater Tot Casserole in about 30-35 minutes.

I just realized I need to make a tab for recipes:)

Starting Out

My first diaper cake turned out just as I'd planned,

but don't ask how long it took or how much ribbon was used!

From there....a few I have done since then:



The following cakes are availabe now, for immediate sale.

 

Small 2 Tier Baby Blue Dog LUVS Diaper Cake $25

Custom order your diaper cake today! Made to order, the possibilities are endless.

Need it to match a nursery or baby shower. No problem!

See website for detailed cake ordering info.

Blogged Down....

I must admit the real reason I haven't managed to get anything posted: I have become utterly addicted and drowning in every other blog I stumble upon. I find all of you oh-so talented and inspiring; it's just so hard to stop looking at all the goodness!o

Being the perfectionist I am, I want everything just so and I am still getting familiar with blogger. I also became an addict to trying to find the 'perfect' free design template. I spent hours for several days looking before I gave up.

Turns out this blog will about many things...

~my little business - BCFP: my outlet, my 'me time' and true enjoyment - making diaper cakes, wreaths, custom appliqued clothing, etc.

~food & recipes (you will learn I have a special relationship with food)

~decor (mostly DIY)

~projects I admire (that I will likely never aspire to create)

~projects that inspire (oh, you have no idea how long my LIST grows daily. it's ridiculous, really)

~my family: my amazing husband. my sweet, silly, energetic, positively hectic, boys. the dog, who now resides with my incredible parents.

~the list goes on...


OK, what is it about social networks and blogs that make me want to just unload every thought and whim for the whole world to see? I will refrain, I promise. Just understand the urge is there, thus random things will appear here.

I vow to get some pictures of my craft on here. That was my original point to this blog, after all. In the meantime, I already follow a few of my faves. Check them out, AFTER you visit my FaceBook page and/or website. Pretty please forgive my lack of web design skills and photos! I'm workin' on it. Well, workin' on the plan in my head.