Bridal Shower Wine Bucket

Over the weekend our family hosted a couples wedding shower for my youngest brother and his fiancée.  We kept things pretty casual, making it a fun gathering for the wedding party and immediate family members. The weather was perfect for the outdoor occasion.

I wanted to come up with a unique gift for their special day. After browsing the Internet, I came across several good ideas but this wine bucket stuck out. Knowing my soon to be sister-in-law loves wine, I figured I could put together something pretty cute.

I had never heard of such gifts before, but what a fun way to celebrate their new life together. So I combined some of my favorite poems I found and made my own version. It was fairly simple and didn't take too long.

Essentially all you need:

 a large basket, or ice bucket like I used.
few bottles of wine, 1 champagne and 1 sparkling juice
card stock and ribbon

Each bottle will have a cute poem attached. I typed these up on my computer and printed them. Then glued them onto the card stock. I incorporated their wedding colors; navy blue and tan. But you can use any colors you like.

These are the following poems I used:

Wedding Night
The night you have dreamed of is finally here
The future surrounds you with hope and yet fear.
You've been to the chapel and married your soulmate,
So sip this wine and toast this date.
The night is meant for you each to share,
(Bride's name) and (Groom's name) -- perfect pair.

Honeymoon
Whether in the mountains or at the beach
Be sure to keep this bottle within reach!
Take time to have fun: It's your honeymoon!
Sadly you'll be back  before too soon,
You had a great time, but now it's done...
At least you have pictures to remember the fun!

First Dinner Party
Open your home to entertain and eat
Catch up with old friends and new ones to meet.
When the night is over share this bottle of wine
But don't sit down yet, it's clean up time!

First Fight
Love as you might,
You'll have your first fight...
Drink this wine,
While you make up all night.

First Anniversary
This past year has found you
In good health and good spirit,
So keep saying I Love You,
One always needs to hear it.
Raise your glasses to each other,
As you look back at year one.
There's so much that you've been through
Yet there's so much more to come!

First Baby
The news that a baby will soon share your life,
Will make you a mother nit only a wife.
You'll see it through good times and sometimes bad.
(Bride's name) the loving mother and (Groom's name) the dearest dad
Even though she must toast with this sparkling juice.
In nine months she'll have bubbly with baby beside her!


Know anyone getting married soon? Maybe go in together with a couple friends and surprise them with this adorable wine bucket. They are sure to love it!

Freezer Meal Gift Basket #2

Last July I shared with you a gift I made for one of my friends whom had just had her fourth baby. I had never made anything like this before but knew I wanted to combine my love of freezer cooking with something that would benefit her and her family in the coming weeks. Now if I had unlimited resources and time, I honestly would have stocked her freezer for months to come; but we know that's not possible. So I settled on a few items I thought they would enjoy.

Today, that first freezer meal basket is my most popular post on the blog. I can't get over the excitement about this idea, I only wish I would have thought of it sooner! I'm so glad that others are able to share this sort of gift with their friends and family, because all of us moms know how wonderful it is to have home cooked meals within arms reach during those first weeks home with the little one.

I used some of my free time last week to work on another basket for one of my good friends. She's due with her second child any day now and I know how much this will help them while they're getting adjusted to having another child in the home.

I had a hard time finding just the right container for the meals, I really had hoped for one of the cloth totes I used last year. I finally settled on this nesting basket, I figured it's got plenty of space for other storage such as toys. Plus I love the handles!

I included the following items:

Mini pancake bites - both blueberry and sausage
Twice baked potatoes
Meatloaf burgers
Overnight coffee cake
Mexican chicken stuffed shells

Each recipe makes quite a bit, especially for smaller families. The stuffed shells for example, I was able to get three pans of 12 shells. That's like three separate meals for them. When preparing a gift like this, it helps to know some of their favorites, things they don't like and any allergies. Fortunately I think my friends are probably some of the most easy going people and like just about anything.

So there you have it, another awesome gift to surprise a new mom with. I love making these, they are a lot of fun and much appreciated.

Have you ever done anything like this for a friend or family member? Share some of your stories below, I'd love to hear them!

Freezer Meal Gift Basket

One of my friends and daycare clients had her fourth baby boy last week. I knew I wanted to do something special for her but having three other boys already I figured she was pretty set on most items. Diapers are always a good thing but having home-cooked meals within arms reach sounded even more tempting. So that's the route I took.

Now she participated in my last freezer swap and I knew she was saving most of those for when the baby arrived. Still wanting this to be a surprise and not knowing what all she had stashed away I decided to make up a variety of items to help her out.

I found this really cute and reasonably priced (if I might add) tote at Target to package the meals in. That way she can use it for storage later on.

I know you're dying to find out what all's in here, so here we go:

Waffles - these will make for quick and easy breakfasts, just warm in the toaster
Frozen Fruit Cups - these are a great snack or side dish for the kiddos
Shredded Chicken - I included two bags, she can use these for quesadillas, tacos, wraps, salads, etc.
Blueberry Banana Bread
Banana Bread
Strawberry Freezer Jam
Chicken Pesto Meatballs - Ally's Sweet and Savory Eats suggested these and provided the recipe, they were really good. Of course I had to do a trial run to taste test, I should have made some extras!
Taco Pasta Bake - one of my new fav meals, this made enough for two pans.


There you go, a nice variety of meals and other items that I think will benefit the whole family in these first few weeks with a newborn. I spread out my work over the course of a week, just preparing things when I had extra time. It wasn't much work at all really, I wish I could have done a lot more, but then again that's just the type of person I am.

Feel free to use any of the recipes and borrow this idea, it's a great way to gift a new mother. This would also work wonderfully for a friend or relative that's recently had surgery and maybe can't do a whole lot yet. If you're wanting some other meal ideas leave a comment below and I'd be glad to help you out.

Weekend Recap

We spent our weekend up at the river celebrating my mother's 50th birthday. But first, Friday was the last day of school for the girls. The school year sure did fly by! We made this flower pot for my kindergartner's teacher who we just love dearly. Gracie painted the whole thing (I did do one extra coat of yellow) and then I did the writing but she did a very good job making this herself. I also let her pick out the flowers.

Friday was a lot harder on her than I ever imagined. She became really attached to her teacher this year and just loves her. When she got off the bus she immediately burst into tears. So it took us a little while to calm down. It just breaks my heart to see her so upset.

Today she's still a little upset but I think by the end of the week she'll be happy to have a little break and enjoy her summer. I sure am happy to have them around me more!

Anyways so we had a two hour drive Friday night before we arrived at my parent's cabin. My youngest brother and his girlfriend followed behind us. My mom had no idea we were coming, as soon as we got there, we walked down to their friend's cabin where they all were talking, etc. I can't believe she still couldn't hear us walking up on the gravel, but we stood there for a good minute before she turned around and seen the group of us standing there.

It was great to see her expression, she was so shocked! We had a nice little get together planned for Saturday night. I took care of the salads, appetizers and of course cake. I was afraid of transporting a large tiered cake that far so two smaller cakes were easy enough and they went over very well!

The first cake is a vanilla cake with strawberry fruit filling and topped with fresh strawberries. One of my very favorite ones to make!

Next we have a chocolate cake with a snicker filling: caramel buttercream, chopped snickers and more caramel drizzled on top. It's then covered in regular buttercream, I love this design! It's really so easy to make.

I think I was so busy with everything that I completely forgot to take many pictures over the weekend. We had a great time though. The girls had so much fun, stayed up way too late both nights and up pretty early. Last night I was happy to be in bed by a decent time.

Check out these fun new pans my mom found at a garage sale. All for $2! She's always on the look out for extra baking pans for me.

Ice Cream Cone Rice Krispie Treats

Friday was the girls' last day of school, I can't believe how fast this year has gone! Our 4-year-old daughter had her preschool graduation the week before and I made these adorable treats for her to share with her classmates.

I stumbled upon some really fun cookie cutters at a local craft store and a ice cream cone shape was one. I knew they would be perfect for making my cut-out sugar cookies but also wanted to do something a little more unique with them. That's where these rice krispie treats come in. What kid (or adult) doesn't love a good ol' rice krispie treat?

I'm confident that anyone can pull these off, even if you're not much of a cake decorator. They're that easy and the kids love them. Wouldn't these be a perfect summertime treat? You must give these a try, get the kids involved, use any shape you'd like.....get those creative juices flowing!

Ice cream cone Rice Krispie treats

1 pan of Rice Krispie treats ( I just used the standard recipe on the box)
Buttercream frosting or store bought canned frosting
Icing coloring/gel paste ( I like to use the AmeriColor brand but standard food coloring will work as well)
Fun sprinkles
Ice cream cone shaped cookie cutter, or use any shape you'd like

Directions:
Using your cookie cutter, cut out rice krispie treats and place on parchment paper. Tint frosting desired colors using either gel paste or food coloring. Spread your frosting over top of treat to look like ice cream. Don't worry about it being perfect. I only spread frosting on the front and top of the treats, leaving the back uncovered. Finish off with some fun sprinkles. Let dry a little bit before storing in an airtight container, if they make it that long! I got about 14 treats from one pan, plus I had plenty of scraps for us to munch on!


Since it was the end of the school year we also wanted to thank our daughter's preschool teacher for all of her hard work and for being a special influence in her life. I came across some really fun gift ideas on Pinterest. One in particular stood out and it was a perfect gift for her teacher.

Isn't this a fun last day of school gift?! We included a beach towel, small bottle of sunscreen, a magazine and a treat. I tied that all up with a bow and of course I had to include some of my Peanut Butter Cup cupcakes! She absolutely loved it. I found the idea on this blog.

Well now that summer's officially started, I can't wait to spend some extra time with my girls and do some fun activities. I've been creating a list of things we want to do throughout the next few months and can't wait to get started!