Easy DIY Sweets and Treats - Fall & Halloween

This weekend my daughter and I made a bunch of super easy DIY Fall and Halloween sweets and treats.

We wanted to spend a day making candy treats, but without much baking involved so we decided we would work with a few simple basics... Pretzels, marshmallows & Rice Krispy treats.  I admit I had never even made rice kripsy treats, but my daughter had and said they were super easy.

We started out our day by visiting our local craft store that has a cake/candy supply aisle.  We bought candy melts, sugar eyeballs, candy sprinkles, cellophane treat bags, food coloring markers and lollipop sticks.  Then we went to our local grocery store for the pretzels, rice krispies, marshmallows and butter.

She wanted to make enough for everyone at her work so we got allot!!!

If you haven't used candy melts before, they are super easy to use and tons of fun.  They come with simple melting and thinning instructions on the back of the package.  I put the melts in oven safe dishes, then use the microwave method to melt them.  Then I sit them in an electric skillet (on simmer), with 1" of water at the bottom of the skillet (to keep them melted melted and smooth to work with.  The water in the skillet keeps the melts from potentially burning at the bottom of the cups.

Making the rice krispy treats was so simple.  It only took about 5 minutes.  We decided this is by far the fastest and easiest treat ever to make!  With only three ingredients, Rice Krispies, butter and marshmallows, it was a cinch!

We used an edible food coloring marker to draw on our cute little Frankensteins and ghosts.

We dipped marshmallows to look like candy corn.  We first dipped the entire marshmallow in white.  Then put it in the refrigerator to harden the coating quickly, then came back and dipped the orange (harden), then the yellow at the bottom.

We put the candies onto wax paper while they hardened.  The wax paper removes easily from them.

We cut the rice krispy treats into triangles and then shaped them into the different things we wanted to make.  They are soft and pliable so it was easy to do.

Candied pretzels are super easy!  You just dip them in the cup of melted candy or chocolate or use a spoon to drizzle the candy onto them.  

Sprinkles are applied while the candy coating is wet (it holds them on like glue).  

This little Frankenstein is my favorite of all the treats we made.  My daughter actually made him and I think he is so cute!

After we were done making all of our candy treats and they had hardened, we put them into cellophane treat bags and tied a ribbon around each.  We had gotten a cake box to put them all in for my daughter to take them to work today.

During our day I tried not to eat too many, but I admit I did eat a few :)  Yummy!

I hope these super easy sweets and treats inspire you to make a few creations of your own.

Until next time...
Happy decorating!
  

Linkin up - 
Home Stories A to Z

Are You Addicted to Blogging? Finding Your Balance

Many bloggers feel the need to blog all the time.  Every single day and many nights too, blog blog blog...  The laptop can become like an umbilical cord (a lifeline) and separating from it can be difficult at times.  Often bloggers spend so much of their time blogging, doing projects for their blog, talking to other bloggers about their blog and planning what to do for their next blog post.  For some, blogging becomes a type of addiction.  Blogging is a ton of fun and it can be very rewarding.  However, if you let it, it can become an obsession and cause you to neglect other areas of your life that need your attention too.

The ability to have this forum where we connect with so many people from all over the world is, simply put, amazing.  But we need to keep it in balance with other things that are important in our lives too.  

Could you be spending too much time blogging?  

Are you neglecting other areas of your life that need attention?  

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to see if you have the proper balance in your personal vs. blogging life.  There are no right or wrong answers, just be honest with yourself when thinking about your answers.

If you have children... Do you spend true quality time with your kids?  Or do you put them off telling them "we will do that later"?  

If you are in a relationship, do you and your spouse (or that special someone) have enough "together" time?  Or do you often find yourself online, blogging or working on projects for your blog when they are around?

Do you neglect your family, your friends, your faith, or anything else that should be a priority in your life all for the sake of blogging?

Do you ignore your household chores and blog instead?  (I admit that I am super guilty of this one!!!)

Have you become a workaholic, or should I call it a Blogaholic???

If you have, there are boundaries you can set for yourself to help find and maintain balance.  Below are a few suggestions to help you get back balance in your life:

• Treat blogging like a job.  If you are doing it full time, then try allowing just 40 hours a week to devote to it.

•  If you have kids at school and/or a spouse at work, try to work on your blog mostly while they are away.

• When the kids are home, plan a few activities with them each week.  Even simple activities can be very special.  Schedule the activity ahead of time like it's a date.  Maybe a trip to the park, read a book or watch a movie together, make them a special lunch, or take them out for ice cream.  By planning little dates with them they know you have set special time aside just for them.  It makes them feel special and it gives them something to look forward to when you are busy.

• Also remember to take a little "me" time... time for yourself.  Soak in a tub, get a massage or a manicure (if you like that sort of thing)... Read a good book.  Take time to re-charge your batteries so you will have the energy to keep up with everything else.

Keeping balance for me means that I post to my blog only a few times each week.  I work on my DIY projects a few days a week and I try to keep my nights open for spending quality time with my hubby.  I am lucky that my husband likes to do DIY house projects and so we get to enjoy doing the larger projects together (usually on weekends).  My daughters, now adults, both live an hour or more away so I don't see them as often as I would like, but we do talk on the phone often and get together when we can.  I remember to take "me" time every day.  I learned to do this about 11 years ago when I got slammed with Fibromyalgia.  When you live with chronic pain you need to "re-charge" your batteries on a regular basis...  So things like a soak in a bubble bath, reading a good book, and getting massages are regular "to do" items on my list. 

I don't know exactly what inspired me to write this post other than it's been on my mind lately.  If this post can help even one person realize that it is important to have balance in their life, that is all I can ask for.  Being blog obsessed might be fine for some peoples lifestyles.  But if you have a blog and you have loved one's then remember they both need to be given quality time and attention!  I suggest spending as much time with your family as you can, because the blog will still be there when you are done.

When I die, I don't want to be remembered as this - "Wow, she was a really good blogger"... but rather I'd like to be remembered as a Godly woman, a good wife, a good mother and a good friend.

Blessings,

Diana

Master Bedroom Progress - Sneak Peak

Our master bedroom project is coming along nicely.  Even though we are nowhere near finished, I thought I would share a few sneak peak pictures and show you some of our progress.  My goal is to give our room the feeling of a Chic Boutique Hotel Suite.

This first picture was taken just before we started the project.  The two queen beds were delivered and then we started to take apart the room.  We decided to switch from one king bed to two queen beds.  

Wondering why two beds?  To make a long story short, my hubby has restless leg syndrome (which means his legs sometimes twitch at night).  I myself am a super light sleeper.  He often lost sleep while worrying about potentially waking me up, and sometimes I was losing sleep because he was a bit too restless.  With the two beds, I don't have to kick him out of bed to sleep in the guest room anymore, I can just kick him over to the next bed :)

We decided to do a wood wall treatment on the wall that previously had the faux headboard on it.  These wood panels wall will add some texture and architectural interest to the room.  In a later post I will share how we did this wall treatment on a tiny budget.

This wall will be painted the same silver sage as the other walls in the room.  The added texture of the wood and the seams will add more interest to the space.  This room has an 8 foot ceiling height.  We ran the boards vertical to give the illusion of the room being taller than it actually is (the boards running up and down elongate the feeling of the room).  If we had run the boards horizontally, which was my first thought, the room would feel shorter.

Our bedroom is pretty large.  It measures almost 18' across x 14' long with an extra 2' deep niche that we will have a wall unit and bookshelves in.  Our room is plenty large to have two beds.  You wouldn't know it in this next picture because our beds are crammed into the middle of the room while we are working around them.  We are still sleeping in the room while the project is going on.  We left a perimeter of about four feet around the edges so we have room to work on the walls and trim.

These beds will each have a linen look canvas headboard (DIY'd from paint dropcloths) when we are finished.  The wall with the three windows will be covered in off white floor to ceiling drapery.  Full wall drapes sort of like what you would find in a luxury hotel (but mine won't be nearly as expensive)!


We are in the process of installing the new 6" baseboards.  We've installed them on the head wall first.  We are getting this wall completed first so we can push the beds back soon.

I've found that filling all of the nail holes and seams with wood putty and then sanding them by hand is pretty time consuming.  So far I have finished the main wall and touched up the paint over the putty spots.  All of the little details take quite a bit of time so it will still be awhile before we are finished.



This past week we took a trip to Ikea and purchased the ceiling track drapery hardware and the curtain panels.  Installing a whole wall of floor to ceiling drapery will also help the room feel taller. 

This coming weekend we will hopefully make allot of progress.  I am hopeful that we will get all of the construction parts of the room completed.  

Once we get to that point, the fun of the actual decorating begins... I can hardly wait!!!  

Tonight hubby and I are going to Home Goods to look for a few items for the room... (lucky me)  I love that store!

Until next time...
Happy decorating!

Fall Front Porch Ideas 2012

I love front porch decorations during the holidays.  Here are some fun and simple ideas for decorating your front porch for the Fall season.  I snapped these first pictures this past weekend in downtown Redlands, California.

Simple pumpkins lining the walk add tons of color and charm to the entry.

These next photos are from Hoosier Homemade.  Liz, from Hoosier is very talented and has incorporated a bunch of great ideas into this porch.

I love how Liz mixed several vintage pieces with the pumpkins, flowers and fall items.

Visit Liz's blog to see more of her beautiful photos and the tutorial on how she decorated this fabulous front porch.

Until next time,
Happy decorating!

2012 Believe Walk - For the Cure

Yesterday we were blessed to be a part of the 2012 Believe Walk in Redlands, California.  This was the 5th Annual Walk presented by Stater Bros Markets, supporting Women of the Inland Empire Fighting Cancer.  Over 10,000 participants walked or ran in support of this Charity event.  Over $500,000 was raised.

My hubby and I posed for a quick photo before the event began.  

This is my wonderful husband Jim, with my beautiful daughter Britney (right) and her good friend Kasondra.

As the walk began pink and white tissue paper floated through the air and rained down on the streets.  It almost looked like snow falling.

We stopped to take pictures in front of the "save the ta-tas" mobile that was covered in decorated bras.

There were both a 5k and a 10k route for runners, walkers, strollers, wheelchairs and even pets.  My husband and I walked the 5k while our daughter and her good friend ran the 10k.  I was so busy taking pictures that I think the girls finished before we did :)

Redlands California is a historical town in Southern California.  It has many beautiful 100+ year old homes lining the streets near the downtown area.  As we walked the 5k there were so many beautiful bungalows, cottages, Colonial and Victorian homes everywhere I looked.  I especially loved the homes with wrap around front porches!

Here are a few pictures of some of the homes that I liked.

This beauty is being restored.  I look forward to seeing it next year after it is finished.

There were so many homes and porches that I could envision decorating for the holidays.  The next is one of my favorites!  

Hundreds of people, including cheerleaders, musicians, dancers, ballerinas and more lined the streets cheering us and all of the participants on.

This next picture is my absolute favorite picture from the entire day, these sweet little ballerinas were so precious!  They were passing out water bottles.  I love how the second girl from the right is holding the water above her head and dancing around.

I was so busy taking pictures while we were walking that the finish line came faster than I would have thought.  If my feet didn't hurt so much I could have walked around this beautiful neighborhood all day!

It was a beautiful day with perfect sunny California weather.  We were so blessed to have been a part of it!

Blessings,
Diana