Feather Christmas Wreath

I have a photo saved in the depths of my phone albums of a feathery wreath amongst gorgeous Christmas decor.  I loved it so much it was one of the things I was so excited to make this year!

I re-used an old wreath form and just gave it a coat of white spray paint so nothing peaks through.

For the feathers I grabbed some of these feathers from the Christmas craft section at Hobby Lobby.  It was cheaper than buy 3 or 4 boas large & were the exact same thing...they're like mini boas!

Using floral pins, pin in one end, then wrap around & pin the end.  Repeat!  I used 6 of the mini-boas.

Add a little bit of this amazing plaid ribbon (Target dollar spot for the win again!), hang up and then marvel in the gorgeous-ness of your feather Christmas wreath.

#ad Easy & Delicious Holiday Meal

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HolidayHens #CollectiveBias

One of my favorite parts of the holidays is hosting friends and family.  Throwing a party AND cooking dinner can seem over whelming, but it doesn't have to be!  With Tyson® Premium Cornish Hens entertaining can be not only fun but also easy.  This recipe lets you put them in your crock pot, walk away, and finish prepping for your party.

I stopped at the Fry's grocery store down the street and grabbed 2 packs of Tyson® Premium Cornish Hens.  My favorite part about them is there's nothing stuffed inside them you have to reach in and cringe as you pull it out. 

After defrosting your hens, mix thyme, sage, salt & pepper.  Stuff one sprig of rosemary & one clove of garlic inside of each hen.  Rub the outside with a slice of lemon, then sprinkle on the dry seasons.

Put on cooking sheet lined with foil and put under your oven broiler for 5-10 minutes until they skin gets nice light brown.  Then place in your slow cooker on high for 4-5 hours. 

This gives you plenty of time and free hands to make other side dishes, set the table or clean!

Carefully pull out the Tyson® Premium Cornish Hens and plate with rosemary sprigs & lemon. Elegant, gorgeous, delicious & super simple!

Be sure to check out more delicious cheese recipes at tyson.com. I'd love to hear about your favorite easy holiday dinner recipes!

Ingredients

4 servings

• 2-4 Tyson® Premium Cornish Hens
• 1 Tablespoon thyme
• 1 Tablespoon sage
• salt & pepper to taste

• 1 sprig of rosemary per hen
• 1 clove of garlic per hen
• 1 slice lemon per hen
• Add all ingredients to list

Directions

After defrosting your hens, mix thyme, sage, salt & pepper.
Stuff one sprig of rosemary & one clove of garlic inside of each hen. Rub the outside with a slice of lemon, then sprinkle on the dry seasons.
Put on cooking sheet lined with foil and put under your oven broiler for 5-10 minutes until they skin gets nice light brown.
Then place in your slow cooker on high for 4-5 hours.
Carefully pull out the Tyson® Premium Cornish Hens and plate with rosemary sprigs & lemon.
Let rest 15 minutes before cutting & serving.

A Little Fall Decor

Against all my impulses I resisted the VERY strong urge to pull out my Christmas decorations after I put Halloween away.  I put up just a little bit of Fall/Thanksgiving decorations before I put up Christmas in November, because I'm an adult who loves Christmas so I do what I want. But for now...Thanksgiving.

THANKFUL marquee sign from Target   Tis the Season sign from Hobby Lobby    

& marquee from Target    FALL apple from Own Impression

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Protein Balls

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SpreadTheMagic #CollectiveBias

My son & I LOVE protein balls! I make a batch and store them in the fridge and a week later they're already all gone.  This is the perfect healthy snack & my son thinks they're even tasty enough to be called a treat. It's a win win for everyone!

 The hero of this recipe is the new Peter Pan Simply Ground Original and Honey Roast peanut butter. It's creamy with perfect amount of crunch. Peter Pan®Simply Ground Peanut Butter has no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. And unlike some peanut butters, there's no need to stir after opening.  It adds the perfect texture to these snack balls without feeling like you ate a whole peanut!

1/2 cup Peter Pan Simply Ground Original Peanut Butter

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup pumpkin

1 tsp. vanilla

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

2 Tablespoons ground flax (optional)

1 1/2 cups oats

In mixing bowl, stir together peanut butter and honey. Add in pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, protein powder, flax and stir until combined.  Slowly stir in oats until incorporated. Using a cookie scoop, scoop mixture onto cookie sheet and allow to cool & solidify in fridge. Store in fridge in tubberware.

To package these festive flavored treats, place a napkin in a fruit basket (available at any craft store), add in peanut butter protein balls, then place basket in large plastic treat bag.  

Tie the bag & initial monogram with twine.  Perfect to gift this delicious goodness! I love how flavorful, a little crunchy & healthy these are. They're a great snack no matter what age.

What Peanut Butter Flavor Fits Your Personality? Take the fun quiz here: http://cbi.as/vyn6 You'll also get a coupon and access to more peanut butter recipes!

Sparkling Pomegranate Apple Drink

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PassTheTEN #CollectiveBias

With the holidays fast approaching that means two things, drinks & food and plenty of parties. To make your holidays even easier, here's a delicious drink recipe that is not only simple, but starts with a base of 7UP TEN®. As in, 10 calories! I grabbed the ingredients at Walmart and got to mixing.

To make a glass, start with lots of ice. 

Add in -1 cup of 7UP TEN®

-1/2 cup apple juice

-1/2 c. pomegranate simple syrup (or pomegranate juice)

Stir, garnish with pomegranate seeds or (blackberries) & drink up!

It's sparkling & full of festive taste without all the guilt of other holiday drinks. To make a "grown-up" version, just mix in your choice of vodka and enjoy your holiday party! Be sure to vote for your favorite TEN™ recipe and check out these awesome mocktail recipes! We would love to hear your favorite way to enjoy TEN™ soda varieties during the holidays. #PassTheTEN Sweepstakes Use this coupon for Save $1 on TWO (2) 2-Liter bottles of 7UP TEN®, A&W TEN®, Canada Dry TEN®, RC TEN®, Squirt TEN™, or Sunkist® TEN™.

#PassTheTEN Sweepstakes

Toddler Halloween Party

So yesterday...yes actually yesterday...my son had his first ever Halloween party!  It was so much fun to plan and I think the kids had a great time! So here's a realistic, low-budget, toddler Halloween party.

Plates & forks from Target, cups & napkins from Michaels.

At the entry way there were gift bags, foam dollar store grave stones & vinyl on the floor.

The living got a little extra decor like plenty of spider webs, some hanging garland & paper fans, mini pumpkins & we had a game of pin the spider on the web.

So at the party, we decorated cookies, played pin the spider on the web, decorated mini pumpkins with foam stickers, and colored in little canvas Halloween bags.  There were 6 kids (including mine), and I think it was just the right size and by the end of the party I think everyone was best friends!