How to glam up your iPhone

So I know I am late to the iPhone game but I have finally traded in my beaten up android for the iPhone 5. The one complaint I have about the iPhone is that it looks like everyone else's.

Yes I can get a snazzy phone cover but when it comes down to it my iPhone screen looks just like my husbands iPhone screen and that just doesn't work for me.

While browsing the App Store I came across this really neat app called CocoPPa. I believe it had to originate somewhere in Asia because a lot of the writing is not in English. Don't let that through you though!

It's super easy to turn your home screen into something cute, chic and girly or whatever you like.

Start by downloading the app CocoPPa.

Open up your app. This is what the home screen should look like.

Now scroll to the bottom to the search area and type what icon you want to look for. I choose Facebook because I think almost everyone has that app. It's easier to just search what you are looking for then browsing the other categories they have listed.

So here's the fun part. Just start going thought the pages until you find the icon you love.

Click on the icon.

Now click the brown 'set up link'.

Now you are going to have to choose where you want this icon to take you. Since Facebook is an app that you had to download, chose the 'app search' option.

Type in Facebook.

When you see the Facebook icon show up, choose it.

Choose what you want to name your icon and click ok.

A box will pull up asking you to open up safari, say yes.

Follow the directions on the next screen to place your app on your home screen.

Now you will have to keep your original app, so I placed them in a folder marked originals.

Have fun and decorate the heck out of your home screen!

Here is mine, so far.

Customizable Candle Printable

I know that I am not the only person who is in love with Bath and Body Works candles. They have such an enticing smell and with a house full of boys, lighting up one of these on my vanity while I am putting on my make-up takes me to my girly place. A space full of pink, chevron, monograms, heavenly smells and the perfect small chandler hanging from the ceiling. Then reality hits when I step on the poor abandoned hot wheel hidden under my table, which served as a prison for the zombies earlier in the day.

I also love to give these as gifts. But somehow wanted to make them a little more personal. While I was looking for a place to create my own printable monogram, I came across this wonderful post on how to create your own personalized monogrammed candle printable. 

You can also get a little creative by making coordinating matchboxes and gift tags. Go, print out your monogram and get to creating a chic and girly gift for one of your favorite ladies!

Image and the link for the printable from ForChicSake

Cake Batter Milkshakes

I love to bake. Baking is definitely my stress reliever  The one bad thing about having a passion to bake, you eat it all. Batter, especially cake batter, do not even tempt me. It takes all the will-power I have to not eat all of the batter  before it even touches the pan. While scanning Pinterest for some new recipes I came upon these. How wrong is it to incorporate one of my favorite things into drinkable form. A milkshake that embodies everything delicious about cake batter, enjoy!

Funfetti Milkshakes, makes 3-4 servings

Needed: 1 box of Funfetti cake mix, additional ingredients the box directions call for (except eggs), 4-5 cups milk and 4-5 scoops of vanilla ice-cream. Serve with extra sprinkles if you like! I rub a little bit of corn syrup on the edges of my glasses then dipped them in sprinkles to get this pretty rim look. 

Devils Food Cake Batter Milkshakes, makes 3-4 servings

Needed: 1 box of Devil's Food (or chocolate) cake mix, additional ingredients the box directions call for (except eggs), 4-5 cups milk and 4-5 scoops of chocolate ice-cream. Serve with extra sprinkles if you like! I rub a little bit of corn syrup on the edges of my glasses then dipped them in sprinkles to get this pretty rim look. 

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Batter Milkshakes, makes 3-4 servings

Needed: 1 box of Pineapple cake mix, additional ingredients the box directions call for (except eggs), 2 cups fresh or canned pineapple, 4-5 cups skim milk and 2-3 scoops of nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt, and pineapple chunks + cherries for garnish.

Images and recipes from A Beautiful Mess

Monogrammed Facebook Cover Photos

Well, guess what I figured out? You can now make your Facebook cover pretty too by giving it a monogram. There is a wonderful selection of different designs to choose from and you can personalize it however you want.

I have Windows on my computer and this is the easiest way I could figure out how to create my monogram.

Go on over to ForChicSake to download your pdf file.

To download your file, right click on the "download pdf" button and choose "save link as".

Save it where ever you would like on your computer.

Once it is saved, open it up in Adobe.

The first page includes all the direction on how to customize it.

Have fun and share it on our Facebook page if you try it out!

Easter Centerpieces

To all of my readers who celebrate Easter, Happy Easter. Unlike every other year, I decided not to get out my Easter decorations. We are making a big move in only 2 months and I did not feel like rummaging through boxes to get to them. 

Yesterday while we were out running errands, my oldest son found the prettiest bouquet of flowers. With those big brown eyes, he looked at me and said "can we at least put these on our table?" All right, how could I say no to that face....off to Dollar Tree we went, WITH our new bouquet of flowers.

I wanted to find something inexpensive just in case we decided to through it away instead of packing it. Not only was this under $8 bucks, it came out super cute and it will be packed into a box and will find a place on the table next Easter.

Easter grass, any color

bunny peeps

jelly beans

glass container

egg decorations

First pour the jellybeans into the glass containers. Fill about 1/4 of the way full.

Next line up your bunny peeps all around the container.

Now fill the middle in with the Easter grass.

Take your egg decorations and stick them into the grass, through the jellybeans until you hit bottom. 

Voila! As you can see, my oldest was quite proud of himself. He did a wonderful job. Looks like he will be making them next year too.

Green Tea Brown Rice

I will admit: I had a mini celebration when I found out that green tea has the incredible power to shift your metabolism into high gear. Not only does it aid in weight loss, the benefits of drinking tea can help you live a healthier life. Here is what you are getting out of your cup: green tea can aid in boosting endurance, help reduce the risk of heart attack and certain types of cancers, it helps fight free radicals and also can help in improving bone density.

Not only is green tea beneficial to adults, it can provide children with with some notable health benefits also. It helps by boosting the immune system and supports vital functions of the body such as circulation.

With all the benefits of tea drinking, I wanted to get my whole family on board. My husband and I drink tea pretty regularly but my children, if its not good ol' Southern sweet tea, forget about it. I was able to find some wonderful children's tea at a local tea shop. Not only do they come in yummy flavors, Jumbo Grape is the winner around here, they also have children's versions of "grown-up" teas, like chamomile.  

While I love sneaking any healthy ingredients into my children's food, I wanted to find a way for them to get the benefits of green tea, but drinking it was way out of the question.Then it dawned on me. My plan was a little out there, but I knew there was someway I could sneak it in. 

Green tea brown rice:

2 1/2 cups of water

2 green tea packets

1 cup of brown rice

Add your water to the pan. 

Place your packets into the water and let steep, for about 5 minutes, while you are allowing the water to come to a boil.

Take out the packets.

Once boiling put your rice in the pot and cook like normal. 

Easter bunny origami tag

Easter bunny origami---free template

This week is spring break. I have been scouring the internet for ideas to help keep them occupied . Anything to avoid the countless hours staring at the TV or playing video games. We might not have the perfect Spring weather yet, but I believe that kids need to be outside, exploring, as much as they can. 

We have had a few rainy days so far and after we turned our living room into a fort, played pirates, baked way to many yummy treats, settled down and watched a family movie...I need more ideas for inside play. 

I came across these beautiful tags and thought that my kids could "help" me with them. Theirs came out, interesting, to say the least but they were adorable and will look beautiful when they are adorned on bags full of Easter goodies for the grandparents.