Behind The Blogger - Day 7

Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you.

Photo by Gabe Cook

As far as life changing events, getting married has been by far the most influential. Being with my husband every day has opened my eyes to so many things. He believes in me, supports me, makes me laugh, makes me feel beautiful, successful and amazing. The list goes on and on. If someone has changed my life completely, it would have to be him. I guess that's why I married him! :D

There are so many other people and things that have helped shape me along my path in life. Just to name a few:

• My mom
• My sisters and other family 
• My best friend, Jessie and her family
• Other great friends along the way
• Awesome English teachers
• Great books
• Oprah (laugh, but it's true)
• Fascinating pieces of artwork
• Incredible poetry
• Complex and beautiful cultures
• Everyone who has ever believed in me..... and also those who haven't

It's a really incredible thing to sit down and think about who and what influences you in both the big and small ways. I challenge you to try it. You will gain a new appreciation for your surroundings, and a little self-reflection is a good thing.

Thank you to everyone reading this! You are now being added to my list of influential people. I love sharing ideas with you and hearing your thoughts.

- - Happy Blogging! - -

Behind The Blogger - Day 6

Day 06- Favorite super hero and why.

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If you're talking about typical superheros that have their own movies and comics I would have to say that Batman takes the cake for me. I like that he is just a regular normal guy who chooses to use his money and strength to fight the evil of Gotham City. He doesn't have to have any super or special powers to make things happen. And..... well.... Christian Bale isn't too bad looking either!

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When it comes to the type of superhero that I want to be.... well Mary Poppins wins all the way! Who wouldn't want to have an endless supply of anything in their handbag an the ability to sing lovely songs while they make the house spotless?!? 

So, I guess in the end, I want to look at and admire Batman, but I want to BE Mary Poppins! 

Who is your favorite and why?

- - Happy Blogging! - -

Behind The Blogger - Day 5

Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to.

 

These are pictures from our honeymoon last year in Vancouver, BC, Canada. It was the best vacation of my life, and I can't wait to go back there someday.

Here I am journaling about our honeymoon on the balcony of our top floor suite in downtown Vancouver.

This is a view of the harbor from a horse drawn trolley in Stanley Park.

Here I am standing in front of the impressive totem poles in Stanley Park.

Another view of the impressive water, barges, and cityscape

A gorgeous swampland tucked away in the middle of Stanley Park

What was your favorite vacation? Let me know in the comments below!

- - Happy Blogging! - -

Behind The Blogger - Day 4

Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have

Alright.... time to air out my dirty laundry.... well, in this case, it's actually only half-dirty laundry. Literally.

The worst, I mean WORST, habit I ever picked up somewhere along in my life is Piling Clothes! This is a picture of the basket that sits on top of my nightstand. That's great except I can't use the basket when there is a big.....ole.....Heaping.....Pile....of CLOTHES there! 

I have the seriously bad habit of putting any clothes that don't go straight into the hamper on top of this basket. It then becomes a pile of sweatshirts and jeans that get wrinkled and cause chaos. Why can't I just learn to hang things up again properly?!? Every time I clean and put all my clothes away I swear to myself that I will not pile my clothes again. And every time.. there's a breaking point and it starts again. 

So maybe I will fix this little problem by showing you a publicly embarrassing picture of my bad habit. Perhaps that will motivate me to never again allow this to happen so that if, for some reason, any of you ever come to my house, you will be able to head straight to my bedroom and see a perfectly clean nightstand! 

Until then.... Hi, my name is Kara.... and I'm a clothing pile-er. 

- - Happy Blogging! - -

Behind The Blogger - Day 3

Day 03- A picture of you and your friends

While I have many great and wonderful friends, none have been there with me longer or more intensely than my BFF Jessie from Simplicity Eats! She has been with me through the thick, the thin, and the thickest! We have grown together since we were 6 years old. I have learned so much from her, and I think she is so amazingly talented. Please go check out her blog and get to know her a little. She deserves it! 

- - Happy Blogging! - -

Quick Tip Tuesday Easy Stamp Clean Up

Cleaning your stamps off is an important step to maintaining the life of your crafting supplies. You also want to get that ink off so you're not making a mess. There are a lot of great stamp cleaners out there and multiple stamp cleaning methods. If you want a quick and easy way to thoroughly clean your stamps with household products, look no further than your baby wipes or Clorox wipes!

 They easily remove even the stickiest of embossing inks and can also be used to clean up your work surface. They are gentle enough to be used on any type of stamp. I keep a package near my craft table at all times.

- - Happy Crafting! - -

Behind The Blogger - Day 2

 Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name.

When I started my blog I knew I wanted it to be a place to share all my favorite crafting projects and homemaking tips. All of those feel-good things are often called Nesting. I wanted my blog to revolve around all things home, so I knew Nest could be part of the title. 

When I think of all my favorite tips and tricks I've read at other blogs, they are almost like candy. They are sweet little morsels of information and almost as addictive as chocolate. I simply put the two words Nest and Candy together to equal - The Sweetest Tips To Make Your House a Home. 

That's really all there was to it. I wanted my blog to be a place to find those sweet little morsels of information and fun. I hope that I have delivered that so far and that my blog will continue to be a place for fun and learning. 

- - Happy Blogging! - -

Money Saving Monday How to Save Money on Spring Cleaning

 It's that time of year again-- rain showers and melting snow, brighter sunshine, and SPRING CLEANING! It's no surprise why we want to clear out our clutter during this time of year. We are preparing for summer by going through our clothing and storing sweaters, pulling out bathing suits. There is more mud outside, which often tries to make its way inside. The light is finally shining on all those dusty surfaces and into those nooks and crannies of piled stuff. It's time to CLEAN it up or MOVE it out!

Just because you want to clean every room in house doesn't mean you need a lot of expensive cleaning products in your arsenal. You can get a sparkling clean home with five fantastic products you probably already have at home.

• Distilled White Vinegar
• Lemon Juice
• Dishwashing Liquid
• Baking Soda
• An All-Purpose Cleaner

 {Distilled White Vinegar}

• Mix with equal parts water in a spray bottle to wipe down countertops and appliances. 
• Use to remove annoying water rings that build up on fish tanks or glasses lost and forgotten somewhere.
• Use it in a pinch with warm water to clean up animal accidents. The vinegar will help eliminate the odor, hopefully preventing future accidents in that spot. 
• Add 1/2 Cup of vinegar to your rinse cycle to keep lint from sticking to clothing.
• Run vinegar through the washing machine without clothes to break up soap scum and lint buildup.
• Mix with salt to form a paste for removing coffee and tea stains from dishes.
• Run vinegar through your empty dishwasher to clean out soap buildup.
• Unclog drains with baking soda and vinegar. (Volcanoes anyone?)
• Clean and deodorize the fridge with equal parts vinegar and water.
• Use with water to clean the inside of your car windows.
• For a more extensive list of ways to use vinegar please visit this website.

{Lemon Juice}

• Make a paste with salt to clean and shine copper.
• Use to clean cutting boards with stubborn stains.
• Make a paste with baking soda and place in cracks of the shower where mildew builds up. Leave for 30 minutes then gently scrub with a toothbrush and rinse. 
• Wipe down shower doors or other glass surfaces.
• Put lemon juice and rinds down the garbage disposal to freshen.
• Make homemade wood polish with olive oil.

{Dishwashing Liquid}

• Lather on a rag with water to wipe down countertops for a streak-free finish. 
• Use with water to clean tough grease stains on stove tops.
• Use with water to remove grease and grime from inside your oven.
• Use with water to remove stubborn stains from your carpet.
• Use with water to clean the inside of your car windows. (non-tinted windows only)
• Use with water to wipe down the dash of your car.
• Do the DISHES! 

{Baking Soda} 

• Use with distilled white vinegar to unclog drains.

• Use with lemon juice to remove mildew buildup.
• Mix with water in a spray bottle and spritz your dirty oven. Wait for it to dry and spritz again. After repeating several times, wipe out the grease and buildup that has been loosened. Repeat the process until the oven is sparkling!
• Use with water to wash out and deodorize garbage cans.
• Use in the wash to remove oil and grease stains from fabrics.
• Run a water and baking soda solution through your coffee pot, then rinse.
• Use with water and fill stinky food containers. Leave to soak.
• Make a paste with water and use to cover a sunburn. (If you receive one from all the outdoor activity you'll be doing!)
• Use dry with a toothbrush to remove stains from canvas bags.

 {All-Purpose Cleaner}

• Clean Floors
• Clean Countertops
• Clean Appliances
• Wipe Down Bathrooms
• Read the label for directions, and use it on pretty much any surface. It really is ALL purpose!
• To take it a step further, read how to make your own homemade all purpose cleaner.

 There is a lot that can be handled with these simple five ingredients. You can even learn how to combine them to make a powerhouse cleaning crew. If you need to get a stain out or clean a stubborn surface, chances are these ingredients from nature are going to help you out. Take the time to look it up, and you'll learn all about these great old-school tricks - chemical free. 

- - Happy Cleaning! - - 

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! 

So far I have had a great day. The husband and I always get each other Easter presents and hide our baskets somewhere in the house. This morning I got his basket together and hid it in the dog's toy box! He was downstairs in the office making a lot of noise in my crafting corner. When he came up, he handed me my very own handmade Easter card!

He had used my crafting supplies and my Cricut to make me an Easter card! How cute is that?!

After much searching and laughing we finally found our Easter baskets. I thought I would should you what he got for me. He knows me so well!

The Haul!

The Encyclopedia of Greeting Card Tools & Techniques - Susan Pickering Rothamel

Encyclopedia of Scrapbooking - Leisure Arts

An EOS lip balm in Honeydew!

The card my hubby made for me using my crafting supplies and my Cricut!

 I hope you all have a fantastic Easter. I am off to bake some potatoes and get the applesauce going! I have a lot of cooking and eating ahead of me. Tell me about your Easter in the comments below!

- - Happy Easter! - -

Behind The Blogger - Day 1

Okay everyone, my BFF Jessie over at Simplicity Eats jumped on the blogger bandwagon. She is posting the 30 day challenge of Behind the Blogger. I think this is a fun idea, so I'm going to join in too. Hopefully you can learn a little about me. Hopefully I can learn a little about me too. So what do you say? Are you in?

Here is the layout for the next 30 days:

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself.
Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name.
Day 03- A picture of you and your friends
Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have
Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to.
Day 06- Favorite super hero and why.
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you.
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why.
Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days.
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad.
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends.
Day 12- How you found out about blogging and why you made one.
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you recently.
Day 14- A picture of you and your family.
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play.
Day 16- Another picture of yourself (baby pic!)
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why.
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have?
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them?
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future.
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy.
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else?
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot.
Day 24- A letter to your parents.
Day 25- What I would find in your bag?
Day 26- What you think about your friends?
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge?
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned?
Day 30- Who are you?

{DAY 1}

This is a picture of my husband and me from February. We went out to see a play at the University. I {LOVE} date nights!

1. I am a newlywed. July will mark our 1 year anniversary.
2. I have been making homemade cards for 2 1/2 years now
3. I (We) adopted my first ever dog 2 years ago, and I can't imagine life without a dog now. 
4. I have been best friends with Jessie @ Simplicity Eats since I was 6! 
5. When I was little I wanted to be an actress or a writer. Now I don't know what I want to be.
6. I love to read. I go through phases where you can't find me without a book in my hands.
7. I love makeup. I also go through phases where I'm constantly buying new makeup products. 
8. Even though I live in Wyoming, I have only ridden a horse twice.
9. I am still driving my very first car.
10. I am trying to learn all about wine. It's going very slowly. 
11. I used to be a party animal, but now I'd rather stay in with the hubby.
12. I love playing board games.
13. I like to cook new foods and learn about the culinary world. (That's where Jessie comes in!)
14. I love going out to eat. I like long conversations over a dinner I didn't have to make.
15. I love all things crafty and creative, and I find I'm much happier when I have a creative outlet.

So there you have it! 15 fun facts about me. I hope you learned something interesting. Why don't you join in the fun? I would love to read all about you!

- - Happy Blogging! - -

Scrappin Saturday - - Easter Cards

 I didn't take step by step pictures for tutorials, but I still wanted to share some last minute Easter Card ideas. I hope you like them!

- - Happy Crafting! - -

Favorite Friday - Easter Edition

 {Favorite Dinner Ideas}

This delicious Apricot Brown Sugar Ham is what we will be having for Easter Dinner. I think the combination of flavors sounds incredible! Now let's just hope it turns out correctly.

Photo by Trisha via

This Twice Baked Potato Casserole is one of my favorites. My sister in-law made this for us, and I was hooked! The picture absolutely does not do it justice. I can't wait to pile some of these on my plate this Sunday.

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These EggMallow Treats  over at Landee See Landee Do are SO super cute and fun. I really wanted to make these for a dessert, but I can't find the egg shapes anywhere. I think we might just do it with regular ones and decorate them in Spring colors!

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{Decorations}

I am dying to make something like this Easter Banner found at Every Creative Endeavor. Look how cute those colors and the egg shapes are! 

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This Easter Tablescape from Frugal Fine Living is beyond cute. It is so inviting. I want something like that someday in my house. Let's just say, it won't be happening this year.

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I can't tell you how much I {LOVE} this Easter Peeps Centerpiece idea is. I have seen a few in blogland lately, but this one comes from MixMingleGlow's blog. I have to make this!

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I hope these favorites sparked some ideas in your mind. I know I can't wait to get my hands into some of these cute projects!

- - Happy Crafting! - -

A Chocolate Layer Cake

Today is a friend's birthday, and I needed a reason to bake something, so why not bake a cake? I chose a yellow cake with chocolate butter cream frosting. On top I sprinkled chopped up chocolate chips and finely chopped walnuts. I then added strawberries for added decoration!

Yes I need a cake stand, and yes it is difficult to frost a cake on a dinner plate!

Not too bad for my second layer cake ever! I hope it tastes as good as it looks and smells. :)

- - Happy Baking! - -

Decorative Easter Egg Card

I thought I would share a card tutorial with you today. Sorry the lighting is so awful! I have the hardest time getting an ounce of natural light in my crafting corner of the office. I am working on it though!

This year I thought I would have some fun with egg shaped cards. The first thing I did was cut out two egg shapes using my Cricut with the Doodlecharms cartridge. One of the eggs will be the front of the card and one will be the back. I chose purple (front) and pink (back).

Once you have your egg shapes, you need to attach them. The best way to do this is to score and fold the back egg (pink). That way, it will bend when you open the card, but the front egg (purple) will still look pretty and unfolded. I used a ruler and bone folder to create the crease. I glued the two eggs together at the top where the folded flap was.

Now it is time to decorate your egg! I wanted mine to have pretty, lacy ribbon running through the middle, so I punched some holes and threaded it through.

Next, I added some cute embellishments with more ribbon and glitter.

The final touches consisted of a few little buttons at the bottom and a nice, handwritten message inside. 

Again, sorry for the picture quality!

I hope you will make one of these adorable Easter Egg Cards and share it with me. I would love to see pictures. The possibilities for this card are seriously endless! Let your imagination run wild.

- - Happy Crafting! - -

Linking up here

What's For Dinner- Sausage Mixed Bean Stew

 Tonight we tried a new recipe for a sausage mixed bean stew. I won't publish the entire recipe out of the cookbook, but since I changed a few things, I'll tell you what I did.

The recipe was designed for a slow cooker, allowing the ingredients to cook over 4-5 hours. If you did it this way, you would use dry beans. I chose to use canned beans and cook the ingredients on the stove over an hour and a half.

I simmered 9 cups of chicken broth with chopped up carrots and celery in it for about an hour. I then cooked my Italian sweet sausage in a skillet and added it to the pot. I cooked that for about 15-20 minutes. In the last 10 minutes I added pinto beans, navy beans, and kidney beans. Once everything was heated thoroughly, it was ready to serve.

I served it with hot cornbread and cinnamon butter. The recipe suggested grating fresh parmesan cheese on top. Overall, it was a very flavorful and hearty meal. I was worried about the depth of flavor since I didn't allow the ingredients to cook all day. I think it turned out just fine.

What new recipes are you trying? Let me know in the comments below!

UPDATE: This was even better reheated for lunch! I am thinking the slow cooker is the way to go for bold flavor after all. If you want to make it the fast way for dinner, just know that it makes a delicious lunch the next day!

- - Happy Eating! - -

Quick Tip Tuesday How to Thaw A Ham in the Refrigerator

If you need to thaw a frozen ham, using the refrigerator is considered the safest method. You will want to leave it in its original packaging to help prevent the ham from leaking or drying out. You will want to store the ham towards the bottom of the refrigerator. To contain any leaks you will want some type of tray under the ham.

According to Recipe Tips it will take 4-6 hours per pound (depending on the size of the ham and the refrigerator temp.) to thaw. You should allow 3-4 days for the ham to thaw, and it will be safe for 3-5 days after it is thawed.

If you are using a frozen ham for Easter, you better get that baby in the refrigerator!

- - Happy Thawing! - -

Money Saving Monday How to Use Cardboard Instead of Chipboard

Have you ever been in the middle of a scrapbook page or making a card when you realize a chipboard embellishment would be really cute? Well, chipboard can be expensive, and if you don't have the money or you just don't have the time to go out and buy some, here is a super cheap alternative!

Use those food boxes you already have! As soon as you empty a cereal or any food box, just flatten it and store it with your crafting supplies. You can use any shape or size as long as one side is plain brown.

They flatten out and are easily stored. You can cut them or disassemble them into small sections. You can cut these by hand into the desired shape, or you can use a Cricut with a deep cutting blade. I used my Cricut to cut out this cute Easter basket.

Use this money saving tip when you need chipboard shapes. You can be frugal and feel good about recycling. You can customize the image, and no one will ever suspect it once contained your food!