Recipe: Tropical Thunder Smoothie

Well after eating three Sonic cheeseburgers (and fries) last week, I felt a huge wave of guilt...and stomach ache all weekend.  So today I decided to stop being crazy pregnant lady and start my day off with something healthier.  I threw together this smoothie haphazardly and it turned out to be quite tasty.

I don't have an exact recipe for you, but I found you just kind of have to work with the ingredients until you get the perfect blend.  I call it tropical thunder. :)

Tropical Thunder Smoothie

Ingredients:
Pineapple juice
Cherries (don't forget to pit them!)
Vanilla yogurt
Banana
Ice

Directions:
1. Blend.

2. Eat.

3. Feel healthy.

Saturday Morning Coffee 1.28

Not much news to share today. I just have two questions that I'd like to know the answers to.

1. Why does this have to be my pregnancy craving?  (It was oranges last time!)

2. Why does there have to be a Sonic right next to the grocery store I shop at every week?


Not good.

Coming up on Capernaum Home

I am pretty excited about the month of February as there are some pretty cool things happening in blogland and I wanted to give you a heads up.

First and foremost, starting February 1st, be sure to follow along for the 14 Days of Blogosphere Love created and hosted by Latoya at The Scott's Crib.

You can see the calendar above in the lovely banner made by Latoya. Each blogger will be sharing something amazing for Valentine's Day (yours truly will be sharing on Feb. 8th!). Then link up with us on the 14th with all your Valentine's Day posts.

On top of the 14 Days of Blogosphere Love, I will be posting Valentine's Day related topics--recipes, diy projects/gifts, and the like.  If you are too, be sure to participate in the Find Some Love Fest link party hosted by Pineapple Lily. You know I'll be there.

Also, do you have a small business such as an etsy shop? If so, be sure to tune into Just Lovely Things where Heather will be discussing how she made her business successful for her "love your business" month during February.

I plan to be all ears and hope you will be too. During the month of February, I am going to be hitting my etsy shop goals hard, so this will be really helpful for me.

Lastly, I am working on changing the look of my blog. I highly doubt it will be ready in February, but I'm gonna try. No promises, but it is in the works just an FYI.

Exciting things are coming.

Happy Friday everyone!

Pinteresting Wednesday 1.25

It's Pinterest Wednesday y'all! Here are this week's favorites. What are you pinning today??

Opulent Antiquity

Source: etsy.com via Ashlee on Pinterest

West Elm Flatware--gorgeous.

Source: westelm.com via Ashlee on Pinterest

A pink bus--whoa!

Source: weheartit.com via Ashlee on Pinterest

Rice Krispies Cupcakes?!

Source: familyfun.go.com via Ashlee on Pinterest

Bouquet on an antique chair that I absolutely love.

Source: stylemepretty.com via Ashlee on Pinterest

Ooo, I'd love to wear this during this cold weather.

Source: crushculdesac.tumblr.com via Ashlee on Pinterest

Linked up at The Vintage Apple and This Kind of Love.

Recipe: Molten Chocolate CROCKPOT Cake

With being swamped by our web business, being pregnant (which is equivalent to the word fatigue in my book), chasing around a 10 month old all day, and purchasing a new home just last week, time and energy are precious commodities these days. So I have been looking for easy meals and treats to prepare for entertaining guests, taking to group Bible studies, etc without succumbing to pb & j's

This cake was the perfect solution over the weekend. I literally poured the ingredients into the crockpot, let it brew for two hours while we were at Home Depot picking out paint for our new house, and VOILA...

Your turn to be amazed!

Molten Chocolate Crockpot Cake

Ingredients:

1 box devil's food cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 c vegetable oil
1 2/3 c water
1 pkg chocolate flavor instant pudding mix (or the already prepared kind to make it even easier)
2 c milk
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used 1 1/2 for extra goo--highly recommend it)

Directions:

1. Prepare cake mix into batter using eggs, oil, and water. Pour into crockpot.

2. Prepare pudding mix using milk. Pour this over cake mix in crockpot. Sprinkle with chocolate chips over the top of these layers (remember what I said--more is better!)

3. Cook in crockpot on high setting for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until cake does not jiggle and little volcanoes of spitting chocolate appear on top. Serve hot with ice cream or whip cream if desired.

Note: Be sure to SPRAY your crockpot well beforehand--you will be glad, trust me. And definitely serve with ice cream--again, trust me.

Piece of cake, huh?


Linked up at Craft-O-Maniac, Sew Chatty, Life Made Lovely, Delicate Construction, Making the World Cuter, CRAFT.

Saturday Morning Coffee 1.21

This Thursday after signing more papers than I ever have in my entire life, Grant and I became HOMEOWNERS!  That is right, we bought our very first house! It has been a long looking process and getting the contract wrapped up, so now that it is official I can hardly believe it.  Obviously we are beyond excited--why wouldn't we be? It's exactly the type of house we wanted, it's in our favorite part of the city, it has plenty of room for our growing family, and the price was just right. But I'll be honest. I have some anxiety and fear mixed in there too!  I mean seriously, it's such a huge responsibility and so far we have rented which means the burden of everything has always fallen upon someone else when something breaks down.  Plus we will be having baby #2 around the same time it's ready to move in (it's needs some work that will take a few months).  Life will just be a little crazy I suppose (but is it even possible to get any crazier than having two babies under two?) Anyway, I will keep you updated as progress is made and hope to share some pictures sometime!  And if you have any first time homeowner advice, do share. :)

Recipe: Fried Ice Cream

Today sums up the recipes from my Mexican themed dinner party--fried ice cream! Fried and ice cream? What's not to love??

This was so much fun to make and was a real treat to my friends since usually you only get it when you go to a Mexican restaurant.  I have always been stumped at how they fry ice cream when I have ordered it on special occasions, but it's actually a whole lot simpler to make than you would think!

Now I'd love to share the recipe with you...you'll thank me later. :)

Fried Ice Cream

Ingredients

1 qt vanilla ice cream (but who says it has to be vanilla??)
3 c crushed corn flakes
1 c coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 T milk
1 1/2 c vegetable oil
honey, whip cream, cherries for garnishing

Directions

1. Using an ice cream scoop, dish up 8 scoops of vanilla ice cream (about the size of a small orange) onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Place the balls into the freezer for at least 1 hour or until they are very firm.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix the crushed corn flakes, coconut, and cinnamon. In a shallow bowl, mix the eggs and milk with a fork. Set aside.

3. Now get those ice cream balls from the freezer and roll them in the corn flake mixture, making sure it gets packed on tightly. Then roll them in the egg mixture. Once they are coated with the egg mixture, roll them again in the corn flakes packing it on tightly. Return them to the freezer for at least another hour. They need to be very hard to be dropped in the oil.

4. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over low to medium heat until it reaches 375 degrees. Drop each ball, one at a time, into the oil for about 30-45 seconds or until golden brown.

5. Place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil, then serve immediately on a plate drizzled with honey and topped with whip cream and a cherry if desired.

Next time I make this, I might try using vanilla wafers or graham crackers just for a little more sweetness although I did like the corn flakes.  Also, I added a little more milk than the recipe called for.

Hope you will try out this recipe sometime--it's delish!

Pinteresting Wednesday 1.18

Here are a few pins that I'm loving today.  Did you share some too?  Leave a comment with your post!

Crazy amazing floor.

Source: freundevonfreunden.com via Ashlee on Pinterest

A mixed glass centerpiece. Simple and beautiful!

Source: wholeliving.com via Ashlee on Pinterest

So in love with these prismatic post earrings by Urban Outfitters.

Source: urbanoutfitters.com via Ashlee on Pinterest

Gorgeous vintage wedding dress.

Source: annnniegirl.tumblr.com via Ashlee on Pinterest

Love this artwork!

Source: Uploaded by user via Ashlee on Pinterest

Linked up at The Vintage Apple and This Kind of Love.

Recipe: Easiest Guacamole

Guacamole is one of my absolute favorite treats, especially when it is homemade. I have used this easy recipe for many occasions, and it is always loved by all. It was the perfect starter for our Mexican themed dinner party this weekend.  Be sure to check out yesterday's post and stay tuned for how to make fried ice cream. :)

Easiest Guacamole

2 avocados
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 c salsa
1 lime, juiced
salt to taste

Peel avocados and mash in a small bowl.  Add all ingredients and mix.  Just chill before serving with tortilla chips.

Themed Dinner Party Idea

This weekend I hosted a themed dinner night for 8 of my girl friends which was a BLAST. I was looking for something a little different and more memorable than the typical ladies night where we go out to eat, go to a movie night, etc. Those nights are always great, but I thought it would be fun to choose a theme for a dinner party and have everyone bring something within the theme.

The theme I chose was Mexican. I made cheesy chicken enchiladas, homemade guacamole, and fried ice cream (which I plan to share all of these recipes in the upcoming week.) The ladies brought stuff to make soft tacos, beans, and rice. In other words, we had a FIESTA.

I also bought Mexican bottled pop which added a lovely array of color to the table setting. 

There are so many more themes running through my head to try in the future (Italian, Chinese, a formal dinner party) but for the first one I wanted to keep it easy to see how it would turn out. It was definitely a big hit, so I think in the future making formal invites and using themed decorations would be a nice touch.

Hosting a themed dinner party is easy, but here are a few how-to's, ideas, and tips:

• Pick a theme (obviously). Possibilities are endless, but some I am thinking of for the future are Italian, Chinese, a formal dinner, breakfast for dinner, Hawaiian, and an entire fondue meal.
• Send out theme matching invites
• Ask everyone to bring something theme oriented (or just do it all yourself if you don't feel right asking). Just make sure all the bases are covered from appetizer to dessert, plus a fun drink.
• Make or buy some cheap themed decorations.  I wish I had done this for this time, but I felt it was more of an experiment to see if anyone even thought it was cool.  The answer was yes! I totally would have had a pinata or something, but I was too chicken to go overboard this time around.
• Dress according to the theme if possible.  Example: I'm thinking of handing out leis for a Hawaiian theme, and having everyone get gussied up for a formal dinner party.

Give it a try even by starting on a small scale like me. It was so much fun!

Saturday Morning Coffee 1.14

Today Ashyr turns ten months old. Only two more until a year--crazy! This is going too fast. Anyway, at ten months, Ashyr loves:

Playing with my whisk! He finds it in the kitchen drawer and carries it around just about every day. (Please ignore the disgusting peas all over his shirt, thanks.)

Helping me do laundry. I fold it. He unfolds it. Without fail. :)

And the camera. He always perks up when I get it out and smiles for me. Love him!

Guest Post: Latoya @ The Scott's Crib

Check out this inspiring guest post today from the one and only Latoya from The Scott's Crib! Amazing!

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Weight loss shouldn't be equated with a diet, it should be considered a journey.  And boy has it been a journey for me!  

Hi, my name is Latoya and I blog over at The Scott's Crib.  I blog about thrifting, diy, family, and natural living.  My motto to every messed up creation I make is that I am unsavvy at diy and I proud of it!

I recently started on my journey to healthier living and the first thing I knew I needed to do was get control of the excessive weight gain that was threatening to take over my life.  Here I am before I began my weight loss journey.  Brace yourself...

It gets a tad bit better...here is my picture after my 3 month journey, down 14 lbs and 11 inches total.

So do you want to know how I did it?  Well before I get into that I want to let you in on my biggest secret. 

So what's the secret?  

GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK!  That's the big secret!

You know how it goes, we go on a diet, have a bad day, all of a sudden the world starts crashing down and we suddenly abandon our skinny jean dreams.  Don't do that.  It really isn't that serious.  So my secret, give yourself a break applies to any regimen you are using to drop some pounds.

Take things one day at a time.  If you cave in and have a brownie sundae or two on any given day, its not an excuse to give up.  Lift some weights and keep it moving.  I'm serious!  I did this on too many days to count so if I had a bad day I would go pick up my dumb bells, do a couple of reps and get over it.  

Lifting weights gives you an advantage because you are burning calories long after you put the weights down.  So with that being said, just relax, take it slowly and never give up until you get to your desired weight.  But enough of that, some of you are wondering when I'm going to get to the "how did I do it" part.

Read all about my tumultuous weight loss journey here over at the crib.  In the meantime I want you all to think of one thing that you can do consistently.  Just one!  Want to drink more water?  Do it and stop making excuses.  Want to walk?  Start walking once a week and build yourself up throughout this year.  Need some accountability? See me!

And after you have came up with your one thing, come over to my blog once a month and link up to my Healthier Crib and Family Challenge!  You'll be glad you did because every person that links up will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a healthier living related prize!  Cool hunh?

Thanks so much Capernaum Home readers and thanks to Ashlee for having me over, its been bunches of fun!

Like what you see? Never Miss Another Post! Subscribe to The Scott's Crib by Email

Pinteresting Wednesday 1.11

I have a few of my favorite recent pins for you today. Enjoy!

Absolutely love this...on of my favorite songs ever. Will be making my own sometime.

Source: Uploaded by user via Ashlee on Pinterest

A yellow fridge--how cute!

Source: theprettychronicles.blogspot.com via Ashlee on Pinterest

YUM. Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes.

Source: annies-eats.com via Ashlee on Pinterest

Want some just like these.

Source: kimberlypesch.tumblr.com via Ashlee on Pinterest

Just gorgeous.

Source: stylemepretty.com via Ashlee on Pinterest

Linked up at The Vintage Apple and This Kind of Love.