Caramel Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Baking is amazing.. and whoever discovered the incredible blend of chocolate and caramel is even more amazing! But the most amazing thing of all is this recipe, given to me by a friend of mine. I mean.... look at the name!! Caramel Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars...... MMMMMMMMMM!!!

Here's the recipe!!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

You will need:

1 bag of Caramels (the bag should contain approximately 48)
8 tsp Whipping cream (I used Reddi Wip because thats what I had... it tastes the same, but you will need 1/3 cup of that deliciousness)

1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup oatmeal
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 tsp baking soda
1 1/8 cup MELTED butter

1 (12 oz) bag chocolate chips

Unwrap Caramels and put pile into a microwave safe bowl. mix in your whipping cream.


Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Repeat this process until it looks like this:


Mix flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, salt, and baking soda in large bowl. Add melted butter and mix thoroughly.


Lay half of dough in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Do not grease pan! Pack down, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over dough. Drip caramel over top the chocolate chips. Sprinkle with remaining dough. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 4 hrs. Now doesnt this look incredible??

Look at that chocolatey caramely bubbly deliciousness....

Dont you want to take a bite?

This recipe serves 12.

Tip: Make these the day before serving. If you cant or dont want to, another option is to let them cool for about a half hour, then put them on a hot pad in the freezer for an additional half hour or so.. they set up much faster this way. Enjoy!!

Decorative Pillows

I spent days drawing sketches with all my different ideas for pillows for my living room. I knew I wanted them to be different, and I knew that I wanted teal and brown to go with the valance that I made last year, as well as the flower bouquet I have above my fireplace. After hours at the fabric store (wont do that again with an 18 month old!) I found a nice lined brown that was THE perfect shade. I had left over fabric from my valance to go with it. After figuring out what design I wanted to use, I got to work. Here is the finished project:

LOVE IT!

Now before you think "wow, those are possibly the ugliest pillows I have EVER seen", you have to see them in my living room:

much prettier huh? Yes, I thought so! :).

So here is how you do it!
You will need:
*16" pillow forms. Dont pay full price for these if you can help it. They often go on sale at hancocks and joanns. I got mine for 3 bucks each!
*3/4 yard "home decor" fabric for each pillow (you will need more than that if you pick a fabric with a directional pattern.
*thread that matches your colors just in case your seem is visible (it shouldnt be if you use the smallest length)

The best way to go about picking your fabric is to go with what matches. If you love the pattern, and it goes well with your living space.. then your pillows will be gorgeous!

First things first: cut your pieces. Fabric for the backing will be a square 17.5 inches. The front half is tricky. Each of the 4 triangles shound be 17.5 inches on the long side (2 of each color). Each short side should be 12 3/8 inches long. From the tip of the triangle to the middle of the long side should be 8.75 inches. Are you still with me? This is confusing I know.. it is much easier than it sounds. If you have a rotary mat and cutter, this is much easier! Also... if you use a directional fabric, make sure you cut the pieces going the same direction.

Take one of each color of your triangles. Line them up, right sides together, sew along one short side. Do the same with the other two triangles. These are the 3 pieces you should now have:


Line up the 2 large triangles, right sides together. Stitch the long side. Here is what it should look like now:


Open it up and press seams outward:


Flip it over, it should look like this:


Take this piece and line it with the large square piece of backing, right sides together. Stitch 3 of the 4 sides, leaving an opening big enough to fit the pillow.


Flip right side out and insert pillow form:


Slip-stitch the opening closed: If you dont know how to do a slip-stitch.. take a look at this video. Here is the finished edge:


VOILA!!! gorgeous pillows. These didnt take very long, and I saved SO much money making them, rather than buying them. Have fun!!

Chalkboard pillow 101

Not that I am a pro... or even an amateur for that matter but this really was a super SIMPLE pillow and it is a pillow that keeps giving ad giving. That's right folks, its a CHALKBOARD PILLOW!

All you need is a few things and a box of chalk. I got my chalkboard cloth here from Ebay. I picked out some orange-y/brown fabric and used an old pillow I got for $5 at Walmart.

Now, just cut to length your fabric and your chalk cloth. I did a simple square that was about 3" shorter than the front of the pillow. I also added some ruffles to one side. Now I wish I would had added ruffles to all 4 sides.

Just measure, pin, sew, stuff and whola! You are done and now are the proud owner of your very own chalkboard pillow. I was thinking this is a really great gift to give for weddings, showers, birthday, or just to say You are my friend.

Chili's Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

Here it is folks. You can look at it here or visit him on YouTube.

I am on a baking roll this week gearing up for my Valentines Day Party.

My Husband Rocks

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. Mignon McLaughlin

VERSES

Love is one long sweet dream, and marriage is the alarm clock.~ Unknown

Do you, as I do, see two different points of view here? It seems that marriage has changed over time. "Starter Marriages" are common and accepted. I have not been married long but I would like to think that I have become a pro at one thing... that is, I have become a pro at loving my husband through it all. 

Whether it is the lazy-sleep-in-Saturday or the-hurry-out-the-door- Mondays, marriage is hard work. And it is something that requires constant, daily care. 

I came across this quote from Union 28 website while I was visiting Love Actually. 

"...Some may say it’s a stretch to attribute marital improvement to a slogan or symbol on a t-shirt, but we know better. God intricately designed us to be affected by simple things. Why else would we get such joy from an ice cream cone on a hot day, be moved to tears by watching a new dad hold his baby for the first time, or feel completely withered by one harsh word?

I am a woman. And I am a sensitive woman at that. This past weekend, ice cream really cheered me up. A few days ago, a friend said something in passing and my heart was crushed!

I was happy to find this site all about how "My Husband Rocks" Fridays. And I decided that I too, would participate. One of the things I did a lot while we were dating was leave notes for him. On his door, on his car, hidden in scriptures for later... And unfortunatley it is something that has seemed to fallen off my to-do list of late. 

I am really excited to participate and I hope that you will as well. AND.... be sure to get a few shirts from Union 28. As an added bonus, read this and you can get your shipping charges refunded. 

I think I am going to order these:

$5 Candy Sundae

Each month I visit two wonderful ladies in correlation with my church's Visiting Teaching Program. My sister sent me this link from JesseKate Designs and I knew I wanted to make this for them.
Its my $3 Candy Sundae! Here is the full tutorial

I got my glass and styrofoam from the $1 store. And the candy from WalMart

Dump the candy in, trim down the styrofoam, add the straws and warm up that hot glue gun.  {note: add the hot glue to the candy FIRST}

...and hopefully you can give it away before a certain toddler grabs it and it ends up like mine.

Groundhogs Day Cupcake

I saw this at Family Fun and KNEW I had to make it. Meet Punxsutawney Phil declared six more weeks of winter this morning. 

Mine did not turn out as nice. But I think after this trial run, next year will be even better.

All you will need is:

white jelly beans

Almond Joy bars
Red chewy candy
mini m&m's or chocolate chips (i would use the m&m's)
white and black frosting
cupcakes
chocolate cookie (to crumble for the "dirt")

Cut the jelly beans in half for the eye's and add black frosting for the pupils. 

Cut the red candy to make the nose. 

I forgot to make the cheeks AND the teeth. It was late. It was MIDNIGHT!

And the result of midnight groundhog making? I think it looks a lot more like an owl. 

so far

So far.. I am still an avid copy cat of others work. So, here is what I have made so far.
They are from places like My Momma Made It and Ruffles and Stuff and How Does She and The Lucky Penny. And since I have just a few minutes and I know there are a million pictures I should post, I am going to sign off and just start fresh from this point forward. And all the while I think... if I had a nanny and a million dollars I could do so much more

welcome

My little way of keeping track of things. And I doubt that this will do but it better for now