Highlighted Links (Project Ideas)

Hello, hello! If you're here to link up to Weekend Bloggy Reading, it's open for new links until 10 pm (ET) tonight. Please share your best post of the week with us...crafts, recipes, home decor, book reviews--all kinds of posts are welcome.

On Sundays, I like to share fabulous projects from the link party with my readers. I add many of these Features to my Pinterest page as well as Facebook, so be sure to link back in your post!

Here are a few links from Weekend Bloggy Reading that caught my eye:

~Cabinet Drawer Chalkboards via Crafty Texas Girls

~Mini Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting via Me and My Pink Mixer

~DIY Leather Camera Strap via Cleverly Inspired

Share Your Best Post of the Week!

Happy Saturday! What are you up to today? I just wanted to offer you guys a quick "weekend update." Please pop in to link up YOUR best post of the week at my Weekend Bloggy Reading link party. Today's the day to link up because I'm busy rounding up more Features for tomorrow! I'd love to know which ones caught your eye.

All kinds of posts are welcome here: We have recipes, party ideas, room makeovers, crafts, printables, tips and tricks, home decor, DIY, fashion advice, and more! The code for the button is near the end of this post, or you can add a text link back to me within your post.

This is just a quick "sneak peek" snapshot of all the awesome projects that have been shared at the party this week. You can click the party link above to check them out and share your own project! I'd love to Feature you in tomorrow's post!

If you haven't linked up yet, hop on over! Be sure to browse some of the amazing projects that have been shared.

If you missed this week's posts at Serenity Now, here are some links for you:

• Three-Cheese Spinach Quiche Recipe
• Choosing a Party Theme (Birthday Party Planning 101)
• Best of DIY
• Garden Sunlight Chart (Garden Planning Tip)

So, what did you have up your sleeve this week? Come by and share it with us here! Be sure to check out some of the other bloggers' work too. Here's the button in case you'd rather use that than a text link back.

<a href=" http://www.serenitynow4amanda.blogspot.com/ " target="_blank"><img src="http://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae332/Amanda_SerenityNow/Blog%20Party%20Buttons/WeekendBloggyReading.png" border="0" alt="Weekend Bloggy Reading"></a>

More Features coming tomorrow!

* If you are a Pinterest user, Pin from the original source so that each blogger gets credit for his/her work.*

If I've featured you, feel free to snag a button for your blog here.

::Weekend Bloggy Reading:: Link Up!

Welcome to my Weekend Bloggy Reading link party. This is the day of the week where other bloggers stop by to link up their best post of the week, and readers get to browse tons of fun project ideas. If you're new here, don't forget to "Follow" or subscribe so you don't miss future parties and projects! Please be sure to read my guidelines before you add a link.

This party is a great place to showcase your very best post of the week (home decor, crafts, party ideas, recipes, DIY, tips and tricks, etc.) and to see what else is out there.

Here are a few of my faves I spotted around the web this week:

sources listed below

~Swiss Cross Kitchen Tiles via A Home in the Making

~DIY Floating Sideboard via Nalle's House

~DIY Fence Window for Pets via The Happy Homebodies

~Crib Spring Photo Display via Decor and the Dog

~And Me? I'd love it if you have a moment to click over. This week featured:

• Three-Cheese Spinach Quiche Recipe
• Choosing a Party Theme (Birthday Party Planning 101)
• Best of DIY
• Garden Sunlight Chart (Garden Planning Tip)

Time to link up your best post of the week!

DIY Garden Sunlight Chart (How to Plan for Your Garden)

Virginia weather leaped from arctic chill to blistering equator this week. Venturing out of the house without a heavy overcoat has been nice except when I have to look at my barren yard. All of the fun new projects popping up around Blogland have me dreaming about fresh flowers and outdoor entertaining. I have visions of hydrangeas, peonies, roses, and marigolds. I don't know that this year's budget will permit a large overhaul of our outdoor living areas, but it is wise to plan ahead. Today, I'm going to share a Gardening Tip with you. Take a peek at my Garden Sunlight Chart.

A few years back, I took a couple of days to chart the sunny/shady areas in the backyard. It was really helpful when choosing a plant to know which areas of my yard were full sun vs. partial shade, etc. I kept it on the counter next to the kitchen sink. It overlooks the back yard, making it easy for me to remember to fill it in.

I made a very rough sketch of the back of my house and the back yard. 

Clearly, it's not to scale. The scribbles that look like clouds are large bushes. I know you're shocked I don't have an art degree.


I assigned different letters/colors to certain areas of the yard and then wrote down what kind of sunlight each area had at different points in the day. 

For example, section D (blue) is full sun most of the day, and was the perfect spot to grow tomatoes. They more than quadrupled in size that year. Section E (red) is mostly shade, and was a terrific spot for my hydrangea bushes. (I also have hydrangea tips on the blog!) 

This might seem really boring, but I am learning that planning is essential to gardening. I wish I'd known that when I planted my daffodil bulbs a few years ago. It looks like someone just came and threw fistfuls of daffodils in my front flower beds. I may not have the resources to grow my dream garden this year, but I can take steps in the right direction.

{What's your favorite thing to plant, come Spring?}



If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments!

*This post was originally live here on the blog a few years ago, but I thought it would be nice to edit it and bring it back for new readers. 

Choosing a Party Theme (Birthday Party Planning 101)

Hello, hello! I took a little time off from the (Budget) Birthday Party Planning 101 series for Spring Break, but we're back today with a new post. Let's talk about Choosing a Birthday Party Theme, shall we?

Choosing a theme should be your first order of business. It's the core that you will plan the birthday party around.

sources, clockwise from left: Hi Sugarplum, Hostess with the Mostesst, Greene Acres Hobby Farm, Hi Sugarplum, dimple prints

Celebrating your child:

I encourage you to use this as an opportunity to celebrate your child's interests. I've seen a few party themes here and there that just don't seem to fit what most kiddos enjoy. For example, a Chanel themed party for a toddler. Unless your three year old is extremely brand conscious and will throw a fit if you can't hand out Dolce and Gabbana bags as party favors, perhaps try for something a bit more age appropriate like Cookie Monster, the circus, Princess, etc. There are some great websites out there that list party theme ideas by age and sex! (See the bottom of this post for resources)

On the other hand, sometimes it's not mom and dad coming up with off-the-wall themes to impress others. If your seven year old wants an Olympic high-diving party, maybe steer him towards something fun at the local pool...maybe a pirate theme? Remember, you're the parent! Just because Joey wants you to rent out a state park and go bear hunting doesn't mean you have to go that route. Redirect! Maybe Joey could be happy with a camping themed party and a fun bear or fishing game in your backyard?

*Use the first year or two to have fun with your themes and do whatever you want...because they will have an opinion later on!

Time of the Year:

Think about holidays or the season that is close to your child's celebration date. You don't have to necessarily decorate for a holiday, but you can use the colors that are prominent in that holiday and incorporate them into your party.

OR, you can go the opposite route, which is what I tend to do. My girls have birthdays in December and January. I know there is absolutely NO way I can decorate for Christmas, undecorate, decorate for a party, undecorate from the party, and redecorate for Christmas without going completely bonkers. All that hauling back and forth from the attic makes for a really cranky mommy who just wants to keep her kids happy and enjoy the holiday season at the same time.

I do decorate my home for Christmas, but I also carve out little "party areas" (the kitchen, play area, etc) that are dedicated to celebration. I don't have to continually switch out decor, and the birthday girl still feels special!

In the kitchen:

In the dining room (coloring center):

In the play area (DIY Barbie Fashion Show Puppet Theatre):

Inspiration:

Look online at websites, blogs, and yes, even Pinterest to find fun new ideas. The library can also be a great resource with party planning books, or grab a couple issues of the latest magazines at Target. Parenting magazines usually have great party layouts, but you can always tailor ideas from home magazines to fit children's parties too. So many of the items sold online and advertised in magazines can be recreated for a fraction of the cost!

Resources:
Cozi
Spoonful
Parents
Birthday Party Ideas
Martha Stewart
Birthday Express
Celebrations at Home
Best Party Ever
Express Birthday Planning

What are some of your favorite birthday party themes?

*You can read from the beginning of the series here!

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments!

Three-Cheese Spinach Quiche Recipe {Great for Brunch!}

I shared photos from my sister's baby shower brunch last week, and hands-down, the tastiest item on the menu was the Three-Cheese Spinach Quiche that my sister-in-law made. It was so good that I knew I'd have to share the recipe with you all today!

Ingredients:

1 refrigerated pie crust

1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach

1 c. whipping cream OR milk

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 (7 oz) jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese

1/2 c. finely chopped onion, optional

Directions:

-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. 

1. Unfold pie crust into a 9 inch deep dish pie plate. Fold edges under and crimp. 

2. Cook spinach according to package directions. Squeeze spinach between a few layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture.

3. Combine spinach, cream, salt, pepper, and eggs, stirring well. 

4. Sprinkle mozzarella and cheddar cheeses (and onion) into the pie crust. 

5. Add spinach mixture, top with red pepper. Sprinkle with feta cheese.

6. Bake, uncovered for 55 minutes, or until set. Cover loosely with aluminum foil, and let stand for 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

The quiche was so yummy that this was all that was left at the end of the shower...I made them leave me a slice to photograph (oh, the life of a blogger!). YUM!

Do you have a favorite recipe you love to make for brunch?

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments!

Best of DIY!

I've vaguely mentioned here and there that I've been working on a big project. I tossed up a very brief announcement about it on Friday, but with the link party and it being the end of Spring Break for so many of us, I wanted to give it its very own post! If you read Centsational Girl, then you probably saw her announcement on Friday. Not-so-coincidentally, my announcement goes along with hers!

source

Most of you know that I work with Kate to put together a "Best of the Blogosphere" column several times a month. The column features the latest and greatest from blogs all over the world. Awesome home improvement projects, great design, easy-to-follow sewing projects, painting how-tos, you name it. After a couple of years of sharing all that fabulousness with readers, Kate decided it was time to put together a comprehensive, searchable library of all those fantastic links...plus more.

So we got started. 

And, many months later, Best of DIY was launched this past Friday! 

We both put in a lot of long hours and late nights on this project. Each of the photos you see on the site had to manually clipped, saved, resized, saved again, coded and added to the appropriate galleries. Along with coding for each website link. Times 1000+. I only tell you this so you can see that a lot of thought and dedication went into this site. It's meant to be a go-to resource for anyone looking to make their home a meaningful space. It wasn't an afterthought or something Kate said, "Hey, let's throw this baby together and post about it next week." Nope, it was carefully planned and thought out. 

You'll find everything thoughtfully organized in categories like Building Projects, IKEA Hacks, Wall and Art Projects, Sewing Projects, Baby and Kids, and more. The drop down menus make the site easy to navigate.

Most importantly, as a blogger, I appreciate that Kate made the call to have each and every link take you directly to its original source. We all adore Pinterest, but it can be a real pain in the rear to click around or scroll through sites trying to find the source for projects. Best of DIY truly is a wonderful resource!

I have to tell you all what a pleasure it is to work with Kate, who is as friendly and kind as she seems on her blog! I can honestly say that this is my favorite job I've ever had, and I'm so very grateful that she offered me the work. Kate gives credit where credit is due, and I am impressed with her willingness to feature small, up-and-coming bloggers along side some of the mega-bloggers we all love. To me, that's what makes Best of DIY a real treasure...because it focuses on great DIY, regardless of whether the blogger is well-known or just starting out.

I encourage you to head over to Best of DIY today. I will warn you...it can addictive to see all of that fab inspiration in one space! 

*If you'd like to be Featured on Best of DIY and the Best of the Blogosphere column, you can email us a link to your post at bestoftheblogosphere(at)gmail(dot)com. Helpful Tip: We look for large, well-lit photos!

Happy DIYing! I'll be back tomorrow with a mouth-watering recipe!