Thinking Out Loud Thursday - February 19, 2015

Hello!  Here we are at Thursday before the Oscars and I'm busy in my mind trying to pull my Oscar Party together.  If you don't mind, I'm going to do a little thinking out loud about the party.  Over the years, I've had several Oscar parties so I know the lay of the land, but still need to mentally think through all the logistics of Sunday night.  This is one party I love to throw -- sitting around eating great appetizers with my friends, being catty watching the red carpet is always a good time!

At the time of publishing this post, I've seen six of the eight best picture nominated films.  My favorite for best picture right now is a close race between The Theory of Everything and The Imitation Game.  Selma has dropped out of many theaters near us so I'm going to have to do some searching to see it and Whiplash is on my agenda for Friday night.  Has anyone seen all eight movies?  Which are your favorites?  I know everyone is saying Birdman is the front runner, but I just didn't love it.

American Sniper

Birdman

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Selma

The Theory of Everything

Whiplash

If you're thinking of having a little Oscar-themed soiree, some of the below items might help you out.

First -- everyone needs a ballot.  Not only does it help answer questions like "who is up for best actor", but it also is fun to see if you can guess the winners correctly.  Sugar and Charm has this adorable free printable.  Even if you're watching alone or with your roommate, this is a fun thing to print out and have handy.

                                                          

To have a little fun while watching (and to keep you focused on the actual award ceremony), here's a printable Oscar Bingo card.  Over at punchbowl.com, you can find this cute set of 15 bingo cards for you and all your guests.  

                                                     

I'm still working on my menu and decorations.  Thankfully I have this crew coming over on Saturday to help me set up.  They are the best friends ever and I'm looking forward to the set up as much as I am the actual party.  You know how fun pre-parties can be!!

So that's my thoughts for today.  I'll show you the end result next week!  Don't forget to link up and share with me and Vanessa from X-tremely V what you're Thinking Out Loud about -- we'd love to hear from you.
                                               

Enjoy more Thoughts for Thursday at

Home of Malones

East Coast Chic

A Handful of Everything
Hodges Podges
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
The Deliberate Mom

Let's Be Friends Blog Hop - February 17, 2015

Welcome to the Let's Be Friends Blog Hop!

A blog hop is a set time frame for current or aspiring bloggers to find new blogs and quality content. It is a great way to make new friends and find inspiration! It is also a fabulous way to promote your own blog and posts.

Dear Friends,

What a day to celebrate! This is the 105th week of the Let's Be Friends blog hop! Thanks for joining us on this special day. Chelsee and Tiffany are extremely delighted to see the way this hop has grown and love to see your faces each week!

Join us every Tuesday at 7am (MST). This blog hop focuses on content. LINK UP YOUR FAVORITE POST from last week in this fun content-sharing blog hop! I love the idea of blog hopping, but I love the idea of reading posts and quality content on new blogs I've never been to even more. Instead of simply linking up your blog button, you are now able to link up your favorite post you recently wrote. Have a delicious recipe to share, DIY tutorial, or heartfelt post? Share it with us! All hosts and co-hosts put up some unique and fun content from the past week. Make sure to check them out. P.S.- you may still link up your blog button and blog name, but it is encouraged to link up your favorite post instead. You will get more page views and interest if you do so! Some of the most successful blog hops I have participate in focus on content rather than just exchanging follows. You never know who will become a loyal follower or pin that delicious new recipe you posted!

The BEST part of this blog hop? Each week there will be a WINNER! That's right, each week we will choose one lucky blog to feature from the previous week's hop. This hop receives thousands of page views every week, so your blog will have the chance to be center stage for free. You must follow all the hosts and co-hosts in order to win. Only those who link up a specific post are eligible to be featured! *You must follow all the hosts and co-hosts in order to win.

The last exciting change is that the co-host spots will now be available to all sponsors of The Dwelling Tree or Southern Beauty Guide. If you are interested in co-hosting the blog hop, email Tiffany or Chelsee about sponsorship opportunities and how to co-host the weekly hop!

There are a couple of great giveaways going on right now at Southern Beauty Guide and The Dwelling Tree. Go check them out! :)

Let's Be Friend's Blog Hop Guidelines

1. Link up your favorite post from your week.

2. Follow your hosts and co-hosts.

3. Grab the button and post it on your blog so we can share the love.

4. Visit 3 other blogs, comment, and follow them along!

5. Tweet about this blog hop, using #letsbefriends

6. Pin the button on pinterest so we can spread the news!

***Once a week, one blog will be chosen to be the featured blogger from the previous blog hop.

Meet your hosts:

The Dwelling Tree: Blog, Bloglovin'

Southern Beauty Guide: Blog, Bloglovin'

Meet this week's co-hosts:

Penny @ Penny's Passion

Courtney @ Foster Party of Four

Chelsea @ Married Filing Jointly

***This weeks featured post from last week's hop:

Seven Graces

5 Tips to keep your Facebook Page Alive!

Thank you all once again for continually linking up at our blog hop. It is such a fun time and I am so impressed each week with all the amazing posts. Please continue to link up an actual post instead of your blog. We want to keep reading your content and it makes it more fun to pick a winner!

Is there anything we can do differently or better? Please share in the comments!

... onto the winner!

Hello everyone! This is Chelsee. I seem to always fail at keeping up my Facebook page. I am always on the go and most of the time working from my phone. I use to think this could be a hindrance, but after reading this post from Kristy, I know I will be able to now manage my Facebook page more efficiently. For those of you that feel that your Blog Facebook page is quite dead, just read this post! It is super educational and shows the best tips! Since this helped me so much I just had to pass it along. She also has tons of other helpful mosts that I refer to often and I find she gives the best tips! Make sure you head over and check out Kristy's blog! 

Keep posting awesome content! You make it so fun for us to read all your posts! If you can, please link up a specific post. It makes it easier for us to come and visit!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Shrimp and Scallop Stroganoff

Hey guys -- I'm here today to share the recipe for the shrimp and scallop stroganoff I fixed on Valentine's Day.  It had literally been about 16 years since I fixed this recipe and I was hoping it was as good as I remembered it being -- and it definitely was!

This recipe has been in my recipe box for so long I honestly can't remember exactly where it originated from -- I'm thinking it was a Good Housekeeping magazine.  Now that I've dusted it off and exposed Eric to this wonderful blend of flavors, I have a feeling we'll be having it again before 16 years pass us by.

Ingredients

1 lb. jumbo or large shrimp

1 lb. sea scallops

1/2 lb. mushrooms

3 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. dry sherry
2 Tbsp. flour

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 envelope chicken bouillon (I used 2 chicken bouillon cubes)

8 oz. sour cream

2 tsp. parsley (garnish)

Here's what you do:

Peel shrimp and slice mushrooms.

Cook shrimp and scallops in 2 tablespoons of butter until shrimp are a light pink.  Remove from skillet.

Add 1 tablespoon butter to skillet and cook mushrooms and sherry until mushrooms are tender.

Stir together flour, bouillon, pepper and 1 cup of water.  Add to mushrooms mix.  Stir.  Let cook until mixture boils and thickens.

Stir in sour cream.

Add in shrimp and scallops.  Do not boil.  Serve over noodles when warm.

The whole process took about 20 minutes from start to finish.  I served it over egg noodles.  If I were going to do anything different, I would probably add a few  more mushrooms.

Eat and enjoy!

Look at those scrumptious scallops and shrimp!

Linking up with:
Pint Sized Baker
Mandy's Recipe Box

Handmade Tuesday's with Kristen

Let's Be Friends Blog Hop with The Dwelling Tree
Green Fashionista and Martinis & Bikinis: Recipe Swap Eat Drink & Be Mary: Delicious Dish Tuesday Love From The Kitchen: Tuesday's Table The Diary of a Real Housewife

Weekending - Valentine's Weekend

If you're celebrating President's Day by being off work, I'm so jealous of you right now!  It's Sunday night and I'm preparing for work on Monday.  The only good thing about working on a holiday is usually the traffic is light, but we are supposed to get 6-10 inches of snow tonight so the drive in could be a little challenging tomorrow.

Many of you were asking for the recipe Vanessa from X-tremely V talked about in our Thoughts on Thursday link up party -- the dinner in a pumpkin.  You can find it HERE.  We would love for you to visit on Thursday and link up with us.

                                                     

So, did you make it through Valentine's Day?  We did and had a relaxing, lovely evening.  Eric worked on Saturday and I had the day to myself.  We went to the grocery store Friday night because the weather people were saying there was going to be 30 mile per hour winds and freezing cold temps.  Proved to be a good call because Saturday's weather was nasty.  Spring -- where are you?!?

I hit the mail jackpot on Saturday.  Don't you love opening the mailbox and seeing a bunch of fun stuff inside?  I had two products to try, an All You magazine, my February Ipsy bag, AND my quarterly check from Ebates.  Plus the UPS driver dropped off a box full of things I ordered for my Oscar party next weekend.  We didn't win the big lottery jackpot Wednesday night, but Saturday's mail almost made up for it.

As I was working my way through Saturday, I was thinking about other Valentine's Days I had spent with Eric.  I remembered one where we went to a restaurant and sat by their fireplace.  Loved it!  Then it hit me that we should sit next to our fireplace, so I decided to sit up our dinner table by the fireplace!  I don't know why I hadn't thought of this before.

The shrimp and scallop stroganoff turned out as good as I remembered it.  Recipe to come tomorrow.

Here's some other scenes from our dinner.

After dinner, we watched The Theory of Everything.  Eddie Redmayne did an AMAZING job playing Stephen Hawking.  Oscar Best Picture movie count:  6 down, 2 to go.

                                               

Now I must sign off to pay attention to SNL's 40th anniversary show.  They have so much happening, you can not look away for a second!  So many hilarious skits!!  Studio 8H is definitely hopping tonight.

                                
Have a great Monday!  I'm looking forward to sharing some fun stuff with you this week so hope you stop back by.

Check out what others were up to this weekend.

Champagne and Suburbs

B Loved Boston

I Should Be Mopping the Floor

Life of Meg

More Pieces of Me
Bella and the City
Oak and Oats
A Cute Angle

Five on Friday - February 13, 2015

Hello Friday the 13th!!  Don't let the fact that it's Friday the 13th scare you -- some of my best days have been on Friday the 13th.  Who knows - maybe today will be another magical one.

Today's Five on Friday is going to be a Valentine edition.  Eric is working tomorrow and neither of us are fans of going out on Valentine's to a crowded restaurant, so I'm fixing a special dinner for us at home - Seafood Stroganoff.  I haven't made it in YEARS!!  Pictures and recipe to come next week.  But for now, here's my Five on Friday.

1.  Ed Sheeran | Thinking Out Loud
This song just makes me melt!!  I seriously think it's one of the most touching songs I've heard in a long time.  His tour is coming to St. Louis May 10 and I'm going to do everything in my power to be there to swoon.  This will definitely be playing in the background of our Valentine's dinner at home.

2.  $10 Great Dates Book
This is a great resource for anyone - not just those of us who are married.    $10 Great Dates: Connecting Love, Marriage, and Fun on a Budget talks about economical things/places to go, gives you talking points and things you can take away from the adventure.  I could see this working for parents with the kids, people on first dates or just getting to know their partner and out of town visitors.  They lay out 52 "date" options so some of them will surely appeal to you.

                                                               

3.  Easy Fudge Recipe
What is Valentine's Day without a little chocolate?!?  Well, this is a winner fudge recipe.  Very few ingredients and VERY easy to make.  You need a little lead time (2 hours) -- so make it tonight for tomorrow.  You won't be sorry.

Foolproof Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients

3 cups (18 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

Dash salt

1/2 to 1 cups chopped nuts (optional)

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

Line 8- or 9-inch square pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan.

Melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt in heavy saucepan over low heat.  Remove from heat.  Stir in nuts and vanilla.  Spread evenly into prepared pan.

Chill 2 hours or until firm.  Remove from pan by lifting edges of foil.  Cut into squares.

Variations
Creamy Dark Chocolate Fudge:  Melt 2 cups miniature marshmallows with chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk.  Proceed as above.

Milk Chocolate Fudge:  Omit 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Add 1 cup milk chocolate chips.  Proceed as above.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Glazed Fudge:  Follow above recipe using 3/4 cup peanut butter chips instead of nuts.  For glaze, melt 1/2 cup peanut butter chips with 1/2 cup heavy cream.  Stir until thick and smooth.  Spread over chilled fudge.

I borrowed this picture from the Eagle Brands website

4.  My Valentine
I'd like to give a big shout out to my Valentine - my husband Eric.  In 2000, I was a single mom looking for love and in walked Eric.   He stepped into the role of husband and father like a real champ.  Ian and I were both so lucky he came along!  He is my number one supporter, encourager and friend.  He truly is a wonderful husband for me.  When I go out with friends (which is often), he NEVER is angry or begrudging.  And when I say, "Hey, can you do me a favor?" (which again is often) he always says yes.  I love you, Eric!!

5.  Valentine Funny
                                         

Have a fabulous weekend!  It's going to be a cold one in St. Louis -- but, hey -- every day we're one step closer to Spring!

Linking up with:

Rebecca at XOXO Rebecca

Jennie at The Diary of a Real Housewife

Amy at The Farmer's Wife

Amanda at Meet At The Barre

Erika at Little Bit of Everything

Hill Collection

Simply Sweet Home
High Five for Friday
5 on Friday 
The Jenny Evolution

Thoughts on Thursday - February 12, 2015

Today I'd like to introduce you to the co-host of Thoughts on Thursday -- Vanessa.  I just love reading her blog - X-tremely V!  Take a peek at her blog and you're going to love it also.

So let's play 10 questions and learn a little bit more about Vanessa:

1. Go-to date night idea? 

Going out to dinner is the easiest option for us. I am not a movie theater person, so we rarely go there. Last summer most of our date nights were going to couple’s yoga, followed by dinner with friends. But if I had my choice it would be to attend a sporting event like a Cleveland Browns game.

2. Favorite recipe to make? 
Dinner in a Pumpkin – You definitely have to plan ahead when making it since it takes about 2 hours, but the results are more than worth it! It is the perfect fall dish!

3. Pink or Red? 

RED always! I am too much of a tomboy for pink. Plus my high school colors were Red, Black & White!

4. Favorite sport & team? 

Pro football! Of course my favorite team is the Cleveland Browns! #diehardfan

5. Chocolate or Flowers? 

Neither – While I don’t mind chocolate, I would totally prefer a coffee from Starbucks J But for answering the question sake, I would say chocolate. I can just picture a warm pot of fondue now!

6. Favorite Ohio dish? 

While I am not a Cinci girl, hands down my favorite Ohio dish is Cincinnati Chili! Skyline Chili to be exact! The town/county I live in currently is known for making shredded chicken – so not my thing! And Cleveland is more known for all different kinds of ethnic foods – Polish, Hungarian, Italian, etc.

7. Dress up or dress down? 

I am such a dress down person! While I don’t mind getting dressed up for weddings and such, I am so much more comfortable in a pair of jeans and a comfy tee. And that is also as laid back as I go! Unless I am going to workout, you won’t catch me running errands or anything in yoga pants or sweats. I.Just.Can’t.Do.It.

8. Favorite holiday excluding Christmas? 

Halloween! I love the colors, the fun of picking out a costume, seeing the little ones so excited to walk around and get candy, and the fact that it takes place in the Fall.

9. Rock, Pop, or Country? 

All of the above! I LOVE music! From ACDC to Justin Timberlake to Carrie Underwood…I love it all! My first concert was when I was 8 years old! I saw Madonna with my dad JI just love live music!

And because I absolutely loved high school

10. Who were you in high school?  

First and foremost I was super shy! But I was also a cheerleader and softball player all throughout growing up and through high school. I was also in the band for a year, but gave it up because cheerleading was more important to me (at our school you couldn’t cheer football and be in the band). After high school I went back and coached cheerleading and helped my dad from time to time with the softball team (he became the head coach after I graduated). I would still be a cheerleader today if I could! Lol! I am always sporting the colors of the team I am cheering for, dressing the part for a themed party, and overall being matchy-matchy J

See why I love her -- she's just the sweetest thing!!  So glad she let me be a part of Thinking Out Loud Thursdays.

Enjoy more Thoughts for Thursday at

Home of Malones

East Coast Chic

A Handful of Everything
Hodges Podges
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
The Deliberate Mom

Now it is your turn!

Just add the photo below to your Thursday post, and make sure to link back to

 X-tremely V and Penny's Passion!

It's that simple!

And if you are posting anything social media use #ThinkingOutLoudThursdays.  

Let's Be Friends Blog Hop - February 10, 2015

Hello friends!  I'm hooking up with Tiffany from The Dwelling Tree and Chelsee from Southern Beauty Guide to bring you another blog hop.  Hope you enjoy clicking around and seeing what other bloggers are posting.  If you're a blogger, we would love to have to link up and join the fun.

Welcome to the Let's Be Friends Blog Hop!

A blog hop is a set time frame for current or aspiring bloggers to find new blogs and quality content. It is a great way to make new friends and find inspiration! It is also a fabulous way to promote your own blog and posts.

Dear Friends,

What a day to celebrate! This is the 103rd week of the Let's Be Friends blog hop! Thanks for joining us on this special day. Chelsee and Tiffany are extremely delighted to see the way this hop has grown and love to see your faces each week!

Join us every Tuesday at 7am (MST). This blog hop focuses on content. LINK UP YOUR FAVORITE POST from last week in this fun content-sharing blog hop! I love the idea of blog hopping, but I love the idea of reading posts and quality content on new blogs I've never been to even more. Instead of simply linking up your blog button, you are now able to link up your favorite post you recently wrote. Have a delicious recipe to share, DIY tutorial, or heartfelt post? Share it with us! All hosts and co-hosts put up some unique and fun content from the past week. Make sure to check them out. P.S.- you may still link up your blog button and blog name, but it is encouraged to link up your favorite post instead. You will get more page views and interest if you do so! Some of the most successful blog hops I have participate in focus on content rather than just exchanging follows. You never know who will become a loyal follower or pin that delicious new recipe you posted!

The BEST part of this blog hop? Each week there will be a WINNER! That's right, each week we will choose one lucky blog to feature from the previous week's hop. This hop receives thousands of page views every week, so your blog will have the chance to be center stage for free. You must follow all the hosts and co-hosts in order to win. Only those who link up a specific post are eligible to be featured! *You must follow all the hosts and co-hosts in order to win.

The last exciting change is that the co-host spots will now be available to all sponsors of The Dwelling Tree or Southern Beauty Guide. If you are interested in co-hosting the blog hop, email Tiffany or Chelsee about sponsorship opportunities and how to co-host the weekly hop!

There are a couple of great giveaways going on right now at Southern Beauty Guide and The Dwelling Tree. Go check them out! :)

Let's Be Friend's Blog Hop Guidelines

1. Link up your favorite post from your week.

2. Follow your hosts and co-hosts.

3. Grab the button and post it on your blog so we can share the love.

4. Visit 3 other blogs, comment, and follow them along!

5. Tweet about this blog hop, using #letsbefriends

6. Pin the button on pinterest so we can spread the news!

***Once a week, one blog will be chosen to be the featured blogger from the previous blog hop.

Meet your hosts:

The Dwelling Tree: Blog, Bloglovin'

Southern Beauty Guide: Blog, Bloglovin'

Meet this week's co-hosts:

Tabitha @ A Hundred Tiny Wishes

Penny @ Penny's Passion

***This weeks featured post from last week's hop:

Mommyzoid

Time Saving Blog Tools

Thank you all once again for continually linking up at our blog hop. It is such a fun time and I am so impressed each week with all the amazing posts. Please continue to link up an actual post instead of your blog. We want to keep reading your content and it makes it more fun to pick a winner!

Is there anything we can do differently or better? Please share in the comments!

... onto the winner!

Hello everyone! This is Tiffany. I always love a great post that can offer some blog tips. This post from Mommyzoid is great, and offers some tips to save you time blogging. Her blog is filled with other awesome posts that you will love! Stop by and check out this post, and follow Mommyzoid!

Thank all of you for your amazing posts each week. I love reading all that you share!

Keep posting awesome content! You make it so fun for us to read all your posts! If you can, please link up a specific post. It makes it easier for us to come and visit!

An InLinkz Link-up