Sunday, September 30, 2012

Guest Post: Violet Imperfection

Hi everyone. My name is Leslie and my blog is called Violet Imperfection.

My blog is a little bit of everything, crafting, DIY, recipes and above all about being a stay at home Mama to my six month old daughter, Violet. I am trying to let go of my desire of being perfect and teaching my daughter that life is beautiful, imperfections and all.
Today I am sharing with you a recipe that came from my grandmother's family in Texas. In my family we call it "Texas Family Grape Salad".
You will need:

4lbs of seedless grapes, green / red or a mix
8 oz sour cream
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract ( to taste )

Optional toppings:

Pecans
Granola

To start, rinse the grapes and pull of the stems, set aside.

In a mixing bowl, blend sour cream, cream cheese sugar and vanilla. I use a handheld mixer, you can also just mix by hand.

Stir the grapes into the mixture.

Now if you are preparing this the day before, do not add the topping until the day you are serving. Normally we combine granola ( kashi go lean cereal) and chopped pecans. If I am bringing this dish to a party I will leave the nuts off due to people with nut allergies. Still delicious with just the granola. It is one of those dishes that you can get creative with the toppings. Brown sugar, walnuts, whatever you come up with.

From grapes to deliciousness!

A super simple recipe that is sure to get a lot of compliments.

Thank you so much to Whimsically Homemade for letting me visit their blog. I hope to see some of you over at Violet Imperfection.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Saturday Social Blog Hop

Hey everyone! It's Saturday again and it's time for our social. This linky party will be live until Wednesday. So, please please promote and let's get some new faces!

*IMPORTANT* PLEASE LIKE ALL FACEBOOK PAGES FROM YOUR PERSONAL ACCOUNT! IF YOU DO NOT LIKE FROM YOUR PERSONAL ACCOUNT IT DOESN'T COUNT!

RULES

1. Please follow Whimsically Homemade on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and GFC. Please comment and let us know so that we can return the follow.

2. Please grab the blog hop button and link back so we can help each other!

3. Please no giveaways, Etsy shops, or commercial sites. This is a blog hop to help get more traffic to your blog and Facebook pages.

Whimsically Homemade does reserve the right to remove any links that do not follow Saturday Social rules including but not limited to those that link to your shop, giveaways, round ups, commercial sites, and those that do not link back to Whimsically Homemade.

Link Up Your Blog Here!

Link Up Your Blog's Twitter Page Here!

Link Up Your Blog's Facebook Page Here!

Friday, September 28, 2012

Favorite Finds Friday {22}

Hi everyone! Megan here! So Friday is here and you guys know what that means. Favorite Finds Friday!! I'm just going to cut right to the chase and get to the good stuff today. Hope you guys enjoy.

If you were featured we ask you pretty please to grab a button. It's not mandatory, but it would be nice. We follow all blogs that are featured through most media sites. (Facebook, Twitter, GFC, etc...)

Thirsty Thursday - Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate

Hi everyone! Megan here. So, today is Thirsty Thursday and I thought I would share with you a drink that just screams fall. Pumpkin spice hot chocolate. Yummy! I'm not gonna lie to you, but this stuff is like liquid gold to me. I might be a little bias though because it's got pumpkin in it, but that alright...right? Anyway, the combination of the chocolate and pumpkin is just right in this drink. The chocolate doesn't overpower the pumpkin spice taste and the pumpkin spice doesn't over power the chocolate. It's almost as if the these two belong together.

The foam on top is the best part to me. I'm not sure how exactly it forms. I think it has something do with warming the milk on the stove top and then blending the drink at the end. But however you get this fluffy yummy goodness is fine with me though. I'm glad I decided not to go with my original plan and add homemade whipped cream to the top. I have Alex to thank for that though.

Wordless Wednesday - Boldt Castle

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Picture Chore Chart

Okay so I was going to make this chore chart this weekend, take my time, get nice pictures yada yada yada. But before that Leroy and I needed to replace a wax seal on the toilet. Yeah... we pull up the toilet to find that the floor underneath has rotted out and we need to replace the floor. So needless to say I didn't get to make the chore chart until Monday. Word to the wise blog world, do not buy a 100+ year old house thinking buying a fixer upper will be fun.

Anyways, I saw a chore chart on another blog, I thought I pinned it but apparently I didn't, so I can't find the original sorry y'all. I really like the concept of a chore chart, but the original had words and well, Scarlett can't read yet. She could tell you the letters but she couldn't tell you what c.l.e.a.n. together mean. So I made a young child friendly chore chart.

Mixer Monday Link Party {2}

Hi everyone! Welcome back to Mixer Monday! I hope everyone's weekend was awesome and you got some nifty projects done. I hope you excited to share them with us.

A few rules first....

1. YOU MUST FOLLOW OR SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG.

2. Your project must be made by you and specific to this blog. (up to 3 links per blog)

3. No Esty shops, giveaways, round ups, or commercial sites.

4. Link to the specific post and not your main page.

5. Grab the button and post it on your site so more people can join in the fun here.

6. Lastly, please visit at least 1 other participants and show them some love.

Whimsically Homemade does reserve the right to remove any links that do not follow Mixer Monday rules including but not limited to those that link to your shop, giveaways, round ups, commercial sites, and those that do not link back to Whimsically Homemade. By submitting a link you are authorizing Whimsically Homemade to use your picture and project to be featured. All featured projects will include a picture and a link back to the owner's site.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Saturday Social Blog Hop

Hi everyone! Happy Saturday and welcome to Whimsically Homemade's first Saturday Social Blog Hop! We're super excited to be having this event every week and we hope that everyone else is too. Before we get started, I just wanted to remind everyone that we have TWO great giveaways going on right now. The first is the $200 Instant Bucks Amazon Gift Card Giveaway that will be going on until the 1st of October. The second is our biggest giveaway yet. The Hello Fall $1000 Cash Giveaway launched today and will end on October 22nd. Guys, please be sure to stop by and enter so you don't miss out on all these great prizes.

Are we ready to get this party started? Yeah? Okay. Good. But first, a few rules. I know. I know. Who likes rules? But we gotta have them.

*IMPORTANT* PLEASE LIKE ALL FACEBOOK PAGES FROM YOUR PERSONAL ACCOUNT! IF YOU DO NOT LIKE FROM YOUR PERSONAL ACCOUNT IT DOESN'T COUNT!

RULES

1. Please follow Whimsically Homemade on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and GFC. Please comment and let us know so that we can return the follow.

2. Please grab the blog hop button and link back so we can help each other!

3. Please no giveaways, Etsy shops, or commercial sites. This is a blog hop to help get more traffic to your blog and Facebook pages.

Link up your blog here! Link up your Facebook page here! Link up your Twitter page here!

Hello Fall $1000 Cash Giveaway

Welcome to Hello Fall $1000 Cash Giveaway

Happy Home and Family and Jenn’s Blah Blah Blog together with the most amazing group of bloggers are bringing you once again another FABULOUS event where one very lucky reader will win $1000 cold hard cash!

Special thanks to: Diva Fabulosa & Pink Ninja Media

So what would you do with a thousand dollars if you win, tell us your plan :)?

Whimsically Homemade is excited to be participating in yet another giveaway. Our biggest one yet! Please be sure to stop by and thank all hosts and co-hosts. Happy Fall! Good luck to everyone!

Giveaway will run September 22 at 12:01 am EST – October 22 at 11:59 PM EST
OPEN WORLDWIDE
You must be 18 years or older to enter.
Must have a paypal account
Entries will be verified so please don’t cheat, it’s a waste of time.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Goodluck everyone! Disclaimer: Whimsically Homemade is not responsible for shipment of prize, nor did I accept any form of payment to promote this event. All entries will be verified.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Favorite Finds Friday+Heatherly Loves Mug Swap

Hi everyone! Megan here! So, we've made it to another Friday. This week seemed to zoom by. But I guess that happens when you're busy. Emily, Melissa, and I have been super busy this week working on projects for the masquerade dinner party we're hosting next month. I'm pretty excited about it. I've already ordered my mask and Alex's too. There's going to be a lot of great tutorials for you guys. YAY!

So, earlier this week I was invited to a mug swap. What is a mug swap you ask? Well, basically it's an event where you get know other blogs and swap mugs with them. It's a great idea! The mug swap I was invited to his being hosted my friend Heather over and Heatherly Loves. I was super honored to be invited, so now I want to help her out by promoting her mug swap. So, all my bloggy friends, please stop by and join Heather's mug swap. You won't be disappointed!

Also, a few reminders. The $200 Instant Bucks Amazon Gift Card Giveaway is still going on. But only until October 1st. Don't miss out for you chance to win. Also, the big Hello Fall $1000 Cash Giveaway starts tomorrow! It will be posted here 12:01 am September 22nd. Make sure you stop by to enter.

Thirsty Thursday - Strawberry Coconut Daiquiri

Hey there everybody! Melissa here with another delicious Thirsty Thursday post. Recently I've been on a health kick and we all know some drinks can really pack on the lbs. (aka "beer gut"). Well I wanted to share with y'all a low calorie fun and fruity drink. It's called a Strawberry Coconut Daiquiri and it's only 112 calories. Woohoo!

Wordless Wednesday - Savannah

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

French Vanilla Coffee Bean Candles

Hello everyone! Megan here! So recently it was Alex's sister's birthday. Her name also happens to be Megan. Weird, right? Well, with her birthday on the horizon I knew we had to get her something. Alex wasn't any help because he's the worst gift giver ever. Ask me what he got me for our first Christmas together. I dare you. So, back to the story. Megan is a real big coffee fiend. She's constantly in and out of Starbucks. If it's not Starbucks then it's her own brew at home. We had done Starbucks gift cards as her gift before and I just didn't want to go down that road again. I knew we had to get Megan something for her birthday. But nothing was coming to me. Then, Pintrest to the rescue!

(Now, the original site that hosted this project is gone. I scoured every web search engine looking for it to no avail. So. I'm sooooo sorry I have no one to credit for this brilliant idea.)

Mixer Monday {1}

Welcome to Whimsically Homemade's first Mixer Monday. It's going to be so great having so many creative and wonderful ideas in one place. So come link up!

A few rules first....

1. YOU MUST FOLLOW OR SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG.

2. Your project must be made by you and specific to this blog. (up to 3 links per blog)

3. No Esty shops, giveaways, round ups, or commercial sites.

4. Link to the specific post and not your main page.

5. Grab the button and post it on your site so more people can join in the fun here.

6. Lastly, please visit at least 1 other participants and show them some love.

Alright! Let's have some fun!

Favorite Finds Friday {20}

Hi everyone! Megan here! I have a couple of exciting announcements to make. Starting next week, Whimsically Homemade will be launching it's first linky party! Our Mixer Monday link party will be held every Monday. We encourage all of our guests to come and link up one (or a few) of your projects. Also, we're going to be doing a Saturday Social the following Saturday. All of our blogger friends are more than welcome to come and link up their blog to help expand their following.

Whimsically Homemade now offers advertising options too! If your interested, just check out our advertising page on the navigation bar. We also offer ad swaps! Ad swaps come with the option to guest post with us. We've got some great stuff going on, but nothing is greater than a giveaway. Right, guys? Starting September 22nd, the Hello Fall $1000 Cash Giveaway begins. This giveaway is hosted by our friends over at Happy Home and Family and Jenn's Blah Blah Blog, but you can enter right here at Whimsically Homemade the day the giveaway goes live. If you can't wait until the 22nd, then you can enter the $200 Instant Bucks Amazon Gift Card Giveaway going on right now until October 1st. Anyway, enough chit chat. Let's get to this week's Favorite Finds.

Thirsty Thursday - Amaretto Sour

Another Thursday? Well at least it means we are one day closer to Friday right? And at least we can make these Amaretto Sours to get us through the last bit of the week.

Amaretto Sour is one of my favorite drinks. I don't remember how I found them, maybe it was my older sister who use to bartend, or maybe I was out with Leroy and asked the server to recommend something, who knows. One sip and I was in love. It doesn't taste very "alcohol-y" because Amaretto isn't a liquor that burns as it goes down, and this (at least for me and Melissa) is a giggly drink.

Wordless Wednesday - Cinderella's Castle

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

DIY Hair Tie Holders

Hey everybody! Hope y'all are having a wonderful week so far. I know I sure am! The humidity finally let up here. We are finally starting to slip into fall. Of course I know y'all didn't come here to listen to me talk about the weather, so i'll get right down to it. This week i'll be showing you how to make your own personalized hair tie holders. Very simple and VERY cheap. The idea actually came to me while my boyfriends daughter was in town. I was sitting on the couch watching TV when she came in and brought me a toilet paper roll with a bunch of hair ties on it. The idea blossomed from there and we ended up having a blast making them.

Owls Owls Everywhere!

Hi everyone! Megan here! So.....TA DA!! What do you guys think of the new layout? Love it? Hate it? Thoughts anyone? Well, I personally love it. I'm a little biased though. I just spent nearly a week and half designing it. You guys have no idea how many backgrounds I created before I found one that everyone was happy with. Over all though, I think it came out pretty well. If you guys haven't guessed already; I'm owl crazy. So, to introduce this new owl layout, I made owl cupcakes!

How cute! Honestly, I made these cupcakes for Labor Day. I thought it would be nice share them with you to celebrate this awesome new layout though. Besides they kinda go with the theme, right? I've seen pictures of these floating around the web everywhere and knew I just had to try them!

Favorite Finds Friday {19}

Hi everyone! Megan here! My, the week sure did go by fast. But that usually happens when you have a short week. It's always really nice when you get Monday off. I hope everyone has enjoyed this week as much as I have. Fall has started. Pumpkin Spice Latte's are at Starbucks. Football season is finally here. And all my fall stuff is finally out. Fall life is good. Anyway, I'm gonna make it short and to the point this week. Everyone please enjoy this week's favorite finds!

Thirsty Thursday - Pumpkin Pie Whiskey Milkshake

Hi guys! Megan here! Welcome to Thirsty Thursday! Fall is almost here. September 22nd! But, if I'm really honest with myself, fall starts Sept 1st. At least to me. I'm just too excited about fall and I think I'm kinda bias. My birthday is in the fall and Halloween, which is my favorite holiday EVER. Pumpkin carving is in the fall. And let's not forget Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte. (Which I personally think they should serve all year, DARN IT!) September 1st is when all my fall stuff comes out, October 1st is Halloween (which lasts all month for me), and after Halloween all the fall stuff comes back out. My fall doesn't end until the end of the first week of December. I seriously think I suffer from separation anxiety when fall is away. So, now you know my love for fall so I'm gonna share with you a Pumpkin Pie Whiskey Milkshake. The best part of this drink is that you can make it year round. It's perfect for someone like me that misses fall come March when Starbucks stops serving the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Yes, you can still order a Pumpkin Spice Latte in March. Ask me how I know. And don't judge me.

Oh, yeah! Yummy, yummy, yummy. And Alex even likes these things, which is saying a lot. He doesn't like sweets because he's a weirdo. So, wanna know how to make these little beauties?