Make Archives • Page 11 of 20 • diy mama

by Shelly on November 18, 2016 Leave a Comment

Grown Up Mac & Cheese

This is a sponsored blog; while the views expressed here were genuinely mine, consideration was paid to me by Keystone Bar & Grill to review this product.

You know how you go to a restaurant and you order the exact same thing every time because you wouldn’t dream of missing out on it while you’re there? That’s totally me. I’m also the huge skeptic. Once I see that my perfect dish at my favorite restaurant is being sold in the frozen food aisle at my grocery store; ‘there’s no WAY that is going to be as good as it was at the restaurant!’ My mind has recently been blown, my friends. I have found that magical unicorn called Keystone Bar and Grill’s Frozen Mac & Cheese aka Grown Up Mac n Cheese.

There is no better time than now to stock up on this savory side to get us through these brisk nights. Buffalo Bleu mac & cheese combines powerfully scented dense bleu cheese crumbles with Keystone’s tangy, spicy Buffalo-style sauce. BBQ & Bacon mac & cheese mixes smoky bacon with Keystone’s signature sweet and savory BBQ sauce. The BBQ & Bacon mac & cheese was a huge hit in the Bergman house. It can stand alone but we paired it with brats from the butcher.

For $8.99 retail, consumers can now get a 16-oz serving of the popular mac & cheese to consume as an entrée for two, a side dish for four, or as mac & cheese bite appetizers for 8. To best replicate the restaurant experience, Keystone recommends preparation in a conventional oven. I haven’t tried it in the microwave but it was delicious in the oven. You can use my special link to save $2.50 off your purchase by downloading the coupon here: http://bit.ly/kscro-4. Be sure to print out a copy as Kroger does not accept digital coupons (I learned that the hard way).

If you’ve got an idea for a great Mac N’ Cheese flavor you can submit it at this sweepstakes where Keystone Bar & Grill will add it to their menu! If you’d like to find out more about how this fan favorite came to be in your grocery store, check out their website.

by Shelly on October 11, 2016 4 Comments

Hearty Oatmeal with Maple Roasted Pears & Pomegranate

Hearty Oatmeal with Maple Roasted Pears & Pomegranate: this post contains affiliate links- Our favorite recipe this winter has been a hearty oatmeal with maple roasted pears & pomegranate. Even though this has been a very mild winter, I still can’t seem to shake the chill in my bones. We’ve been so lucky to have very little snow here in the midwest but I am ready for Spring!

In an attempt to keep my family warm, I’ve been cooking more comfort foods. Since Sophie is such a picky eater, we must make sure she eats a full breakfast to last her through the day. Oatmeal has always been a favorite of hers but I often put in the same old toppings (peanut butter, honey or blueberries). We often buy new fruits for her to try and she was enamored by the seeds of a pomegranate so I knew I had to figure out a way to incorporate poms in her oatmeal.

My newest ‘How to be an Awesome Mom’ tip is online ordering my groceries. Can I just say that we’ve not only been eating healthier but cut our grocery bill significantly by using Kroger’s online ordering service called ClickList. I’m a little obsessed with the routine I’ve figured out to eliminate the ‘what should we have for dinner’ headache.

Every Sunday I take 15-20 min to find one or two new recipes. I hop on Kroger’s site and order our groceries for the week. I write out the meal plan and stick it to the fridge so there’s never a question of what we’ll be eating for dinner. It’s helped us to not waste food because we only order exactly what we’ll need for our recipes as well as snacks and lunch for Sophie. TIP: add a reminder in your phone for crock-pot meals. This post is not sponsored by Kroger, I’m simply sharing because it rocks.

Back to the point of this post- the miracle breakfast that my picky toddler loves.

Hearty Oatmeal with Maple Roasted Pears & Pomegranate

1/2 c Quaker oats
1 c water or milk (I used unsweetened cashew milk)
pinch of sea salt
spoonful of raw pumpkin seeds
sprinkle of pomegranate seeds
sliced pears (see below for Roasted Maple Pear recipe for added awesomeness)

Bring the Quaker® Oats and milk to a light boil in a medium sauce pan. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes. If you’d like to add some superfood like chia seeds or flax seeds, add now and cook for another 5 minutes or until the oats have reached a creamy consistency.

Divide the oats into bowls, then top with pomegranate, pumpkin seeds, splash of cashew milk, drizzle of maple syrup and the maple roasted pears.

Maple Roasted Pears

4-6 seckel pears halved (any pear will do)
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 c maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a mixing bowl whisk together the coconut oil, maple syrup + vanilla extra. Toss in the pears and evenly coat. Roast the pears on their backs 15-20 min flipping half way through.

There are at least a hundred different combinations you could use to enhance your hearty oatmeal breakfast. Breakfast is essential fuel for your day so make it count. What do you add to your oatmeal? I’d love some new ideas!

by Shelly on May 16, 2016 5 Comments

Simple Embroidery for Beginners

Simple embroidery is my new favorite form of art. I gravitate towards crafts that have thread, ribbon, yarn or any type of string. I’d been in a crafting rut over the past couple months and wanted a craft that was simple. I was also looking for something I could put down when my 2 year old wanted to play without worrying about the mess I would be leaving out. This simple embroidery was the perfect intro to embroidery because I was able to pick it up where I left off without any hassle.

When I’d stumbled upon the adorable Penguin & Fish feed on IG, I knew exactly what my next crafting adventure would be! Embroidery is perfect for people who have multiple interruptions during their free time. I made this bunny embroidery for my niece Lyla in two days. If I’d had a longer chance to sit down, it easily would have been a one day project. It went so fast and was super addicting. I’m already looking for my next piece to work on.

I’d say my favorite part was learning each new stitch. The kits are laid out in a way that you do each stitch until you master it. I wanted to start with a kit as my first embroidery because of it’s simplicity and accessibility.

Simple Embroidery

Each hand embroidery kit includes:

Iron on pattern
Traceable pattern (if someone doesn’t want to use an iron)
Embroidery needle
Embroidery thread in several colors
8″ Embroidery hoop
Cotton muslin fabric
Stitch and color guide
Simple embroidery instructions

I’m still a beginner but I definitely got better throughout this piece. I am able to see small mistakes I’d made but it’s difficult to see by the untrained eye- meaning, it’s hard to screw up! Alyssa from Penguin & Fish has great tutorials on her site but my favorite way of following her is Facebook. She does live chats where she’ll demonstrate stitches or products she’s using to help make embroidery easier. When her new patterns pop up I get the itch to start a new embroidery piece.

I added the small detail of my niece Lyla’s name as a personal touch. I’m excited about how fun and easy this project was. I’ve also bought the Unicorn embroidery pattern to try next and will likely hang it in Soph’s room. How awesome will it be to stitch out a unicorn on my back deck, sitting in my sun chair while my daughter plays on the swing set?! Have you tried embroidery? What crafts do you like to do that you can easily leave and come back to?

by Shelly on March 23, 2016 1 Comment

Teacher Appreciation Gift

This post has been compensated by Nehemiah Manufacturing Company. All opinions are mine alone.
As room mom for Sophie’s class, I wanted to make sure her teacher felt appreciated. Teacher appreciation week is fast approaching and I know she’ll be getting lots of fun treats from the students but I wanted to make sure she had a relaxing, stress free vacation this spring break. She works so hard with the pre-schoolers, constantly bending over to their level. I was thinking how bad I would need a pampering vacation after working with those little kids and wanted to make her a Spring Break Relaxation Kit for her travels. We’re so excited to give her the teacher appreciation gift to help her be energized when she returns.

Teacher Appreciation Gift

It was fun choosing the items I thought would be convenient for her travels but help her feel relaxed on her trip.

Spring Break Kit Essentials:

Travel tote
Sunglasses
SPF lip balm
Soothing face wipes
Mini loofah
Sunscreen
Detox mask
Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus
DIY Sea salt hair spray (see below for instructions)
Nail polish
Dry shampoo
Airplane gum
Chocolate treat

My main focus was making her life as easy as possible. I thought about the tasks I always dread while on a vacation; things I don’t like spending time doing because I want to be enjoying my trip. We always book the earliest flights so we can have as much time as possible at our destination. Starting with her early morning, I chose dry shampoo, face wipes, and gum for her flight helping her to freshen up. Once she gets off the plane, she can head to the hotel to drop off her luggage, spritzing some Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus on her ‘plane clothes’ in lieu of ironing. She’ll have polish, sunscreen, SPF lip balm, sunglasses and a chocolate treat to toss in her beach bag and head straight out for some ocean air. To relax after a day at the beach I’ve got her covered with some sea salt hair spray, a mini loofah and a detox mask so she’ll be refreshed for the rest of her vacation.

I have not found a sea salt hair spray that I like, so I tried making one and fell in love. I have naturally curly hair but the entire top layer is hardly wavy. The sea salt spray gives my hair the perfect beachy wave that is effortless to accomplish.

DIY Sea Salt Hair Spray

Plastic spray bottle (found in the travel section)
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp organic coconut oil
1 tbsp leave in conditioner (I’ve also tried gel but my hair likes conditioner)
1 cup warm water
a few drops of lemon juice or essential oil (optional)

Step 1: Pour warm water and sea salt in measuring cup and stir until salt dissolves.

Step 2: Combine melted coconut oil and leave in conditioner in separate bowl, then add mixture to measuring cup.

Step 3: Add a few drops of essential oil, add to spray bottle and shake until well mixed. Apply to towel dried hair.

I’m not one for ironing. All of our clothes are wrinkle-free because neither my husband nor I will ever iron. I was bummed when I bought all new curtains for our new home because that meant I had to iron these huge pieces of fabric. I had complained about this to a friend and she suggested trying the Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus on my linen curtains. I will now never have to iron another piece of fabric again. I used the Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus on my curtains while they were hanging and was shocked at how smooth the fabric was once it had dried! I now only keep my iron for house guests.

If you are anti-iron, like me, you can use this link to get a coupon for $1 off. You can also check out what Downy Wrinkle Releaser Plus is up to on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest for more tips on keeping those fabrics fresh!

I’m wishing I had bought two of everything so I could take a trip myself with this perfect Spring Break Kit! Are you heading anywhere for Spring Break or are you doing a Staycation like we are?

Check out my past teacher appreciation gift: Crayon Planter or my GIFTS board for more inspiration.

by Shelly on March 12, 2016 Leave a Comment

St Patricks Day Crafts for Kids

We’re not huge St. Patrick’s Day celebrators in our family. This is surprising to me because I love rainbows, four leaf clover hunting and shamrock shakes. I wanted to find a few easy St Patricks Day crafts for kids to try out with Sophie so I’m sharing them here with you. These are simple, last minute crafts, many of which are made with supplies you’ll already have on hand.