Jalapeno Ranch Salsa (Chuy's Copycat Recipe)

Welcome back! As per usual with me, life has gotten a little busy and this blog was the first thing to go on the back burner. I've got lots of plans for new posts, so let's hope I can get my stuff together and get them written and posted! I've got some lofty goals for 2017 including fitness, finally opening my Etsy shop, and of course, this blog! Stay tuned, I promise I'll be trying hard to stay on track and give y'all some fun DIY projects, recipes, product reviews, and who knows what else!

Date Night Jar

Hey y'all!! How is it already March?? I feel like this year is flying by and it just started like last week! Let me start today with a life update...husband is officially getting out of the Army this spring after 6 years of service! While we (mostly) enjoyed our time as a military family, we are more than ready to go back to the slightly more stable civilian life and hopefully move closer to family in Texas. While nothing is 100% set in stone yet, husband got accepted into a Veterans program with a technology company. After completion of the program (and passing a couple of very hard tests), he will hopefully be offered a full time job in...wait for it...the Dallas area! While it's not Houston, it's in Texas, and if that's as close as we can get right now, that's good enough for us!  We've already begun working on the little things the house needs to sell and I've started cleaning out rooms and closets to get rid of stuff we just don't need or use anymore--you don't realize how much stuff you accumulate until it's time to pack and move it all. Luckily, the Army will send packers and movers, so we won't have to do much physical work, but the thought of someone packing and moving all of your worldly possessions is way more mentally exhausting! So stick around as I share with you the pains and joys of selling our home, finding a new home, moving, and getting re-adjusted to life outside the military! 2017 is about to get crazy, folks!

Vodka Cherry Limeade Slush

Texas in the summertime. There's not much to say about it, except that it's hot. Hot AF. You are either in a pool or in the a/c. No one spends much time outside to avoid melting or just spontaneously combusting from the heat. Today it was 116 degrees here in Dallas. Yea. You read that right, 1- 1- 6. It was miserable to say the least. We spent some time at the pool, but don't dare walk from the chair to the water without flip flops or you will be left with very little skin left on your feet! 

 Doesn't that just look DIVINE??

Spring Wreath Tutorial!

Hello Friends!! Long time no see! :) We've had some MAJOR life changes since my last posts, so I'm here and ready to catch you up! 

My husband got out of the Army in April 2017, studied his little heart out and passed a series of exams to get some IT certifications and progress through a veterans program with Cisco Systems. He accepted a position at their office in the Dallas area and in July 2017 we sold our home in North Carolina and moved halfway across the country! We settled in a suburb north of Dallas and absolutely LOVE it here!!

Kiddo has been busy with Cub Scouts, taekwondo, and baseball as well as playing with new friends and spending every free moment at the pool (in the spring/summer months). 

Work and being a taxi driver (to shuttle kiddo from activity to activity) has kept me busy, along with unpacking the house and getting us settled in. We are currently just renting, so we don't have a lot of DIY house projects right now, but if all goes as planned, we will be buying a home in another year or two (which will surely bring SO many new projects for me to share with you!). I'm slowly getting back to working on my Etsy shop now that life is settling down again, so be on the lookout for an opening announcement and sale in the coming months!

It's not even June yet, but it already feels like summer here in Dallas (temps are in the 90's, ugh), and I've got a tutorial for you today on how to make a fun wreath for your door! I made mine light and bright for spring and summer, but you can easily change the colors to make it suitable for any season! Let's get to it!

Beach Vacation Must Haves!

The beach is my ultimate happy place. The breeze, the crashing waves, the warm sand, what's not to love?? Whether it's adult time in a chair drinking something cold and reading a book, or family time covered in sand making castles, I cannot turn down time at the beach. We are about 2 hours away from the nearest beach and we love to take day trips in the summer and if work schedules and finances allowed it, we'd take a week long beach vacation every year! We have been having some pretty warm weather around here and with Memorial Day fast approaching, I thought I'd share some of the things on my "must pack" list for a beach vacation! Some of these are major must haves if you are taking kiddos and others are great for anyone going to the beach! So if this is your first beach trip as a family, or your 50th, hopefully I can help you pack some extras that will make your vacation more enjoyable!

DIY Lazy Susan Organizer!

Hey guys!! Today I've got a super quick and easy pantry organization project for you! Previously my spices were sitting in little bins, which kept them contained and together in the pantry, but it was super hard to find the one I was looking for (I needed to clean out the old expired spices as well-there were a lot!).

 I love the idea of using a lazy susan/spinnner to keep the spices so they are easy to find, but have you priced those things lately?? Walmart, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and the Container Store have them for $8 or more! Sorry friends, but I'm not paying that much money for something sitting in my pantry. So I found this little DIY lazy susan hack that only cost $3 each! Boom! I made 4 of these for just over the price of one in the store! I actually like these more than the store bought ones anyway because they have sides, so the spices won't fall over easily. These can be used for just about anything from spices to lotion and other bathroom items, to anything you want easy and organized access to!

All you need is 2 round cake pans and  bag of marbles. You can get all of these things for $1 each at the Dollar Tree, making each one only $3! Walmart has 9" cake pans for $.88, however I had a really hard time finding a store that had them in stock (I went to 4 different stores with no luck!), so I used the 8" pans I found at the Dollar Tree and they were a great size for spices. I eventually found some at a Walmart and made 2 more of these for our bathroom cabinets! 

Step 1: Put marbles in one of the cake pans.

Step 2: Put the second cake pan on top.

Step 3: Put in your spices.

Step 4: Smile, you are done! :) And spin it around 100 times because, well, its fun!

Here's my BEFORE. :( A MESS!!

And the AFTER!! SOO much better!!

Let me know if you make these or have any other genius organization hacks!!

-A