{image courtesy of Honeysuckle Life}

An unexpectedly free afternoon resulted in some pretty fabulous marbled dyed eggs for Easter. It made me remember all the times I did this with my mom and siblings on our kitchen counter.

{image courtesy of Honeysuckle Life}

Easy Marbled Eggs

Ingredients:

Hard boiled eggs
3 cups hot water (per color)
White vinegar
Food Dye
Oil (any type)

Supplies:

Large bowl (one per color)
Ice cream scoop or large spoon
Drying rack with paper towels underneath it (I put down plastic wrap first, then the paper towels, then …

On Tuesday I texted my husband to ask if he wanted to make jambalaya for dinner. Because it wasn’t just any Tuesday — it was Fat Tuesday. And because he loves spicy Cajun food. It took him less than a minute to respond, “Yes!” He even did the grocery shopping before I got home from work. In addition to the necessary ingredients — onions, peppers, tomatoes, and kielbasa — he picked up some Carolina long-grain …

With the usual parade chocolate truffles and conversation hearts behind us, you can still brighten the one you love’s morning with a cheeky breakfast treat!  After all, nothing spells L-O-V-E like a C-H-E-E-S-Y, gooey, melty, warm sandwich!

{image via Cooking with My Kid}

Croque Madame in a Hole, for 2

Ingredients:

1+ T. butter
4 slices of bread of your choice {I prefer to go traditional with sourdough, but honey whole wheat is delightful too!}
4 slices of Gruyère or Swiss cheese
4 slices of thick-sliced smoked ham {like …

This was our second married Christmas and our second year splitting the holiday between the east coast and the west coast — my parents live in central Pennsylvania, and Nick’s parents live in southern California. I’m not sure that I’ll ever get used to palm trees and sunshine and sandals in December, but I’ll admit that it was nice to escape the bitter cold winter of the east coast.

We visited La Jolla and Oceanside. We walked along the water …

Earlier this month, my husband surprised me with a Kindle for Chanukah. When I opened the box I was at a loss of words for two reasons:

I didn’t realize we were exchanging Chanukah gifts.
I didn’t really want a Kindle.

You might be asking yourself, “Well, why wouldn’t they exchange gifts for Chanukah?” First, Chanukah is not really as a big a deal as Christmas. That’s just the honest truth. Yes, as children we were slightly spoiled with presents, but, as I’m …

There is just something so sweet and classic about handmade holiday decor.  Especially the type of handmade decor items that you can pull out year after year.  They add a little something extra special in the effort to make your home festive.

Handmade holiday decorations can also be very budget friendly and green.  Whether you are saving for or just paid for a wedding, are starting to add kiddos to your family, or are maybe just saving for a before baby …

I love buying and giving gifts. It is honestly one of my favorite things about the holiday season. I’ve never read the book or taken the quiz, but I would guess it is my “love language.” Not to toot my own horn, but I’ve been told I’m a fantastic gift giver. My friends are typically delighted when I remember that one item they saw earlier in the year or treat them to something they wouldn’t normally buy themselves.

Despite my gift-giving …

If you’re anything like me, December did a pretty good job of sneaking up on you… I still have a perfectly good pumpkin display on my porch, and yet, there are holiday cards popping up in my mailbox on a daily basis!

Yes, it looks like it’s officially time to engage in the December Mall Parking Wars (or, if you prefer, the Will-It-Or-Will-It-Not-Be-Shipped-In-Time-For-Christmas Quiz Show).   To help keep your holiday merry and stress-free, here are a few of my favorite …

Well, the Holiday season is upon us! Have you started your gift shopping yet? I can’t help but feel painfully behind. At this point, I have only purchased one gift. Heck, I haven’t even gotten to designing a holiday card yet. Yikes! Never fear, I have a feeling I’ll get a few more holiday prize purchases under my belt starting on Wednesday…

The Real Simple Pop-Up shop is expecting up to 10,000 visitors a day, and I will be one of …

{Food, Beverage, & Entertainment Edition}

While I’m a major Christmas Freak, Fall is by far my favorite season.  Unfortunately, we get so little of it down here in Texas that I tend to get all wrapped up in tinsel and holly and eggnog before I’ve truly taken the opportunity to stop and smell the cinnamon sticks and crunchy fallen leaves.

Happily, I think I might have just created the optimal “Get the Most Out of Fall” itinerary!  Here’s the skinny on how …