Truffles

The other night I went over to my friend's house with some other friends for pedicures. It was really fun and relaxing. We sat and chatted for several hours while stuffing our faces with some yummy treats. One of those treats included truffles. They were so delicious that I had to try them myself. Recipes are from Bakerella. When I was looking at them, I couldn't decide which ones to try....so I tried them all. I started off with peanut butter truffles.Next came Oreo truffles dipped in white chocolate. For a twist, I did the next batch Mint Oreo. ( I used the mint oreos and added green food coloring to the white chocolate). Last I did red velvet cake balls. You can tell as the night went on that my chocolate dipping got progressively worse. They were all really delicious, but me and the hubby both agreed that our favorite was the regular Oreo. They are pretty rich so you can only eat a few at a time, but I definitely think we will be making these again.

Spring Fling Giveaway

Prize Package #1: 2-night stay at Humphrey’s Half Moon Inn & Suites in San Diego, California

Prize Package #2: Nikon 3100 DSLR camera

JoTotes camera bag (your choice)

Kristen Duke’s beginner and intermediate photography eBooks

Prize Package #3: $50 Gift card to Hoop-La Earrings

2 pairs earrings from Elisabeth Ashlie Jewelry

$25 Gift card to Caroline G

$50 Gift card to The Chic Orchid

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Giveaway will end at 11:59PM (MST) on April 26, 2013 . Three winners will be chosen using random.org and will be notified via email within 48 hours of the giveaway close. Winners will be announced on the post, not on Facebook. The winner must respond within 48 hours of receiving the email or a new winner will be chosen. No purchase necessary. The total prize package has an msrp value of $1,250.00. No purchase necessary. 2-night stay in San Diego is transferable, should the winner wish to gift the stay. It does not include transportation to/from San Diego, California. Must be 18 years of age or older and a resident of the U.S. to enter. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with Facebook or Pinterest. Facebook and Pinterest will be completely released by each entrant. One entry per person. Entry includes filling out the form above including name, email and pinning. One entry for filling in the form. You are providing the information to the The Chic Orchid who will in no way sell or give your information to anyone including Facebook or Pinterest.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Once again I was inspired by Char. (Is this a broken record playing over and over again)? She recently made freezer jam. I have only ever made cooked jam, but after hearing how simple and easy freezer jam is, I decided to give it a whirl. Macey's had a flat of strawberries on sale for only $8.95, so I went with strawberry. My friend, Elizabeth, came over and together we made 20 jars! Yum!We used Ball's No Cook Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin along with Ball's Plastic (8 oz) Freezer Jars, all from Macey's. The only other ingredient you need is 1 1/2 cups sugar/batch. SUPER fast and SOOOO easy. If you've ever wanted to make jam, I promise you could do this. Delicious!

Easter Dresses

I finally finished the last of my sewing projects. I bought the fabric 6 months ago, but I needed help to get these dresses done. Another idea from Char...the wrap-around dress. Tuesday I went over and once again, Char walked me through getting them sewn. Thanks Char! You really are the best!! We got them mostly done, and tonight I finished them up. Since the colors of the fabric are "Springy", I've decided to use these as the girls' Easter dresses. I have to say that I am pretty excited about them. It was fun and I feel like I'm getting better at sewing.

Easter Crafts

Today the girls and I once again migrated to Char's house to make some fun Easter crafts with some friends. First up are "tie-dyed eggs". You literally use a neck tie to decorate the eggs. Char just happened to have a whole bunch of OLD ties, but if you don't have any, try the thrift store. Sometimes the best eggs were the ugliest ties. The tie has to be 100% silk, but then you wrap the egg, boil it in water and vinegar, and voilla...the pattern from the tie transfers to the egg. We probably did at least 2 dozen, but here are some of my favorites. I wish I had a better camera so you could see how cool they really look, but there you go! The next craft was chick cake pops. They are little balls of cake dipped in chocolate, then decorated like spring chicks.Jami mentioned that she was going to be making these, so I decided to copy her and do it as well. I was surprised how cute they turned out! They definitely don't look as awesome as the professional's, but I think we did a pretty darn good job. My girls loved these and couldn't wait to eat them! Thanks for a fun day ladies!

How Stinkin' Cute Are These?

Thanks to this month's sewing group, where a bunch of us neighborhood gals gather to Char's house, I am now a HUGE fan of this fabulous stuff called Wonder Under. Check out these appliqued tshirts and onesies for my kiddos.

For my girls: For Baby Boy Bennett to wear to church: For Baby Boy Bennett to play: They were so easy and quite fun. You don't even need a sewing machine. I still need to hand-backstitch a few of them, but you get the idea.