Super Bowl Series: Penalty Flag Center Piece

You will need: 

- 1/2 yard yellow fabric

-  Yellow mini hair rubber bands

- Rice (or anything else to weight it down)

- Mini rubber footballs

- Purple beads

- Basket

To make penalty flags:

And for those super football fans (or wives of those super football fans :p ):

These could also be used for a game! While we were making them, we were throwing them from the couch into the basket in the kitchen. This could be a good way to keep kids entertained.

Another game is, each person gets a flag and anytime they see a penalty during the game, they can throw the flag. Whoever gets the most right could get a gift card or something..

There really are so many possibilities with this! :)


Updated to add: I saw these penalty flags after I made these and  wrote my post.. $3 each! The 1/2 yard of fabric I got at Hobby Lobby, cost me around that much. And I was able to make at least 9, seriously DIY is the way to go on these! So easy to do yourself! 

Super Bowl Series: Football Utensil Jars

You will need: 

mason jars (I got these at hobby lobby), paint brushes, brown//white paint

Updated to add:

Want to see a different take on these?! Check out the ones Veronica (Passion, Pink, & Pearls) did here! 

Whole Wheat Oatmeal M&M Cookies

Honestly, I'm really excited to share this with you guys!! My two favorite cookies are whole wheat oatmeal chocolate chip, and M&M... so I was thinking, why not combine the two?! So that is what I did! I also used Valentine's Day M&Ms because Valentine's Day is a couple weeks away! :)

Ingredients

- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 cup brown sugar

- 2 large eggs

- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

- 2 cups whole wheat flour

- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 2 cups old-fashioned oats

- 1 (12.6 oz) bag M&Ms

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line cookie sheets and set aside. I have 3 cookie sheets, and I'm pretty sure I used each one twice.

3. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the butters and sugars together. 

4. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract. 

5. Slowly add whole wheat flour and beat until well combined.

6. Add in baking soda, baking powder, and salt, beating until well combined.

7. Add in oats and mix until well combined. I actually use a spatula to do this, because it's too much work for my little hand mixer!

8. Fold in the M&Ms.

9. Scoop cookie dough on cookie sheet.

10. Bake 10-12 minutes. 

Mini Valentine's Day Heart Funfetti Cakes

You will need:

- 1 1/2 cups flour

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 1/2 cup butter

- 1 cup sugar

- 2 eggs

- 1 Tablespoon 

- 1/3 cup milk

- 1/4 cup sprinkles 

(plus more for the sprinkles on the frosting)

I honestly don't even remember where I got these mini cake pans from, but they were cute, so I bought them! Typical right? Well I figured with Valentine's Day coming up, it was the perfect time to use them! 

They didn't turn out quite as "hearty" as I had hoped once they were frosted..but they tasted yummy! 

So here's what I did: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Mix flour and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside.

3. Beat sugar and butter on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes.

4. Lower speed, and add eggs, one at a time. Scrape bowl as needed.

5. Add vanilla, and mix until well combined. 

6. Reduce mixer speed to low, and add half of the flour/baking powder mixture. Mix.

7. Pour in milk, mix.

8. Add other half of the flour/baking powder mixture. Mix until well combined. 

9. Fold in sprinkles with a spatula.

10. Fill mini cake tins with batter. (As you'll see in my pictures, I filled them about 2/3 full, it was way too much, and next time I'll only be filling it about 1/3-1/2 full)

11. Bake for 18-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. (Like I said, I filled mine way too full, so they took awhile.. checking with a toothpick is just always the way to go, every oven is different!)

12. Allow them to cool for a few minutes, and remove cake from pan.

13. Allow to cool completely, and frost the cakes! 

14. Top with sprinkles! 

The Facts of Me!

- I am a total Daddy's girl.- I don't wear heels, ever. Not even on my wedding day. I mean I have before, but I'd say it's been a good 2 years since I've worn any :p If you are comfortable in heels, I say you go girl! But I see these girls who can't walk in them and I just have to wonder why.. why go through that? They make so many cute flats now! 

- You know how most girls dream of their wedding day from when they're really young? Yeah, not me. I actually never wanted to get married. Obviously, until I met the Husband. Then I wanted that life with him. Kids and all. Funny how things change right?- I'm a really picky eater... It's actually a little embarrassing, and people make fun of me for it, but I am who I am :p - When I was younger, I wanted to be a dolphin trainer. And I'm so glad I never went down that path, dolphins belong in the ocean, not in front of us for entertainment. For more on that, feel free to click here.- I get major anxiety when emailing or texting someone back, usually even people I've been friends with for awhile. I honestly don't know why, but I do. and if I've tweeted you or emailed you back, chances are I had the Husband read it before I sent it. I'm working on it, blogging has actually really helped to push me towards it, and it's getting better.. sometimes. 

- I have a slight love affair with dandelions. - I love my name. Of course I got made fun of in school, and always got called a "he", until I'd say oh, that's me haha. But I really do love it, and would never change it. - In case you're wondering, I get my name from the movie Point Break! 

starshollow.tumblr.com- I'm obsessed with Gilmore Girls and have watched the entire series, from start to finish, more than 3 times. I have the box-set with all the seasons. I'll tell ya, sometimes I'm even tempted to want a daughter someday, just so I can make her watch it! ;) - We plan on adopting kids.. in about 8-10 years. We want to be completely on our feet financially and ready to go. We also plan on not raising them here in Arizona! We were thinking Colorado, now I think we're leaning toward Boise, Idaho...- I could be an only, youngest, oldest, middle child, it all just depends on how you look at it. Between my mom and dad, I'm an only. On my mom's side, I have a younger sister and stepbrother, making me the oldest. On my dad's side, I have an older brother and sister, making me the youngest. And overall, I am the middle child. Confusing? Kind of. - I'm way more comfortable just being one of the guys.. I tend to think like a guy, and I blame me being so close with my dad for that one :p 

- I love my husband more than anything in the world.. Even though we're young, we've been through a lot together. Everything that should've torn us completely apart, but we made it. And our marriage is so much stronger because of it. It's also given us the faith in each other to know if we could get through all of that, we can get through anything. And we'll always be able to say we were high school sweethearts... ;) 

Homemade {Almost} Oreos!

For the cookies you will need:

- 1 cup unsalted butter

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 egg

- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

- 2 cups all purpose flour 

- 3/4 dutch process cocoa powder (I used Hershey's unsweeted cocoa powder, and they turned out fine. I do think next time I'll look for Hershey's dark chocolate cocoa powder though!)

- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1 teaspoon salt 

(not pictured: cookie cutters approx. 2" in diameter)

For the filling you'll need:

- 1/2 cup butter

- 2 Tablespoons half and half

- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

- pinch of salt

- 3 - 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar 

(not pictured: piping bag and large round tip) 

Start with the cookies:

1. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. 

2. Combine butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.

3. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until well incorporated.

4. Gradually add in the dry mixture, beating on a low speed. Continue to mix on low speed.

5. Divide the dough in half, and shape into two disks.

6. Wrap in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for about an hour. 

7. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 

8. When the cookie dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

9. Take the first disk of dough out of the fridge and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.

10. Roll the dough to 1/8" - 1/4" inch thick. (The thinner the dough, the crunchier the cookie will be)

11. Use a cookie cutter  to cut out the cookies and transfer to cookie sheet.

12. Bake for 12 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack and let cookies cool completely.

While cookies are cooling, prepare the filling

13. Combine butter, half and half, vanilla, and salt. Beat until well combined. 

14. Slowly add the powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time. (It will be a little bit stiffer than cupcake frosting)

15. Transfer filling into a piping bag with a large round tip. 

16. Pipe filling onto half the cookies, then top with the other cookies, making oreo-like cookies! 

These cookies were really good! They didn't taste quite like oreos, but they were definitely yummy! We also used food coloring to make our filling purple, Go Ravens! ;) 

Recipe from: My Kitchen Addiction Makes approx. 3 dozen cookies

Instagram: tybabess

Easy Organizing: Storing Ribbon

I used wooden sticks that look like mini paint mixing sticks, 

but wide popsicle sticks work too! 

Just wrap the ribbon around, and secure with a map pin. Super easy!

Inspiration: Kreative Jewels

M&M Cookies

Recipe from: Six Sisters' Stuff

Ingredients:

- 1 cup packed brown sugar

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1 cup butter (2 sticks)

- 2 eggs

- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

- 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

- 1 teaspoon baking soda

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1 1/2 cups M&Ms

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, mix sugars, eggs, butter, and vanilla.

3. Add salt, baking soda, and slowly add flour. Blend well.

4. Add 3/4 cup of the M&Ms.

5. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

6. Slightly push a few of the candies left on top of each ball of dough.

7. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until slightly golden. 

2012 Bucket List Update

I revised my bucket list, and it's more of an "our" bucket list now :) And I'm sure we'll be adding to it.
Here's what we completed last year!

#3: Buy a Car

#18: Go to a MLB game

#24: Make a travel map

#25: Ruby's Diner - Huntington Beach

#31: Go on a road trip, just the two of us