Today is my deal on VERY JANE!!!
If you head over to Very Jane today you can get my signs for only $15. That's $10 off the original price.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
GIVEAWAY!
Yep, that's right...Blickenstaff's has given us a
$20 gift card
to their store for one lucky winner!
Like I mentioned before, my cousin took me and my kids there and we each picked some of our favorites and ended up spending $100!
That's how many favorites we found :)
They have vintage candy and soda that I've never seen anywhere else.
It's magical and fun and whoever wins this is going to L.O.V.E. it!
Here's how you enter:
1. Mandatory: check out Blickenstaff's website and tell me what your favorite candy is.
For additional entries:
2. Become a public blog follower of cait + create
3. "Like" cait + create on facebook
4. "Like" Blickenstaff's on facebook
*Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry
And...if you want to win a Keep Calm and Carry On sign from cait + create...
check out these two facebook giveaways:
and
Good luck!!!
(Blickenstaff's giveaway ends Monday May 9th at midnight. Winner will be announced Tuesday May 10th.)
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Brand to Blogger Event
So...here's the story...
My cousin Brittany from Love Stitched was signed up to attend the Brand to Blogger Event at the Riverwoods with her friend Leslie from Little Mookie. Brittany ended up having to go out of town at the last minute and asked me to take her place as her "assistant." Ha ha. Ok. So, I did.
I wore a name tag that said "Brittany from Love Stitched" and had to explain to people that while I am representing Love Stitched, I also have my own blog (cait + create) but also work with a FABULOUS new company called Very Jane. It was quite the introduction!
Let me take you on a tour of what we did:
I have been to Blickenstaff's before. Back in November I threw a Harry Potter 7 part 1 movie party/birthday party for my cousin Mike. We wanted to serve only food mentioned in the book, and of course, we needed the candy. It turns out that not many places sell Harry Potter candy. Some friends of our recommended that we check out Blickenstaff's because they have all kinds of unique and vintage candy and toys. Our friends always go to get vintage soda that they've never found anywhere else. Lucky for us, they do in fact carry Harry Potter candy! And while we were there, my cousin Mike loaded up on $100 worth of candy! It was that cool! Think Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium...
I'm kind of a sucker for vintage toys too. They carry some of the favorites that we already have (Melissa & Doug wooden toys, Hopping Rody Pony, wiggle car) and some that I really want but don't have yet (rocking horse, trike, vintage games, etc).
This is how excited we were:
Funny side note: Leslie and I wore the same thing...ha ha...skinny jeans, purple cardigan, black boots...it was great :)
They have a huge section of vintage "candy by decade" including abba zabba. Are those vintage? I still eat those...
I loved the wax mustache! I can totally see it on Saxon!
Leslie and I doing our own picture inside the photo booth.
Yep, they have a photo booth!
This is a super-fun shop specializing in modest swimwear for women.
Have you ever tried to find a cute and modest swimsuit?
It is not easy!
My sister Brooke just got accepted to BYU Hawaii (Yay Brooke!)
We have been searching high and low for a 1 piece suit that was not speedo.
Now I know where to send her :) How cute are these retro-suits!
And a bonus for moms like me who spend all summer outside...
mini-rash guards.
I call my Dad in California every year to send rash guards to my boys for the summer. We spend SO MUCH time in the sun that I have to protect their skin. For how much we use them, the kind you can buy at wal-mart and target just don't work. A real rash guard is long and skinny, dries quickly, and has a tie down at the bottom to attach to their board shorts and keep it from rolling up. The fake kind don't do the trick for us. At "Called to Surf" I even found a little bitty rash guard in size 2T. Fabulous!
Now this is somewhere that my kids would go CRAZY over! A carousel, mini crochet, arcade games, a MASSIVE ropes course, indoor surfing and more! They managed to give it that "Santa Monica Peer" type of feel in an indoor place in Provo Utah. Wanna know the coolest part...they have a Spa. So, Dad can play games with the kids and mom can get a massage. Mmm...I can see it already...ha ha. My sister-in-law once told me that it is the benefit of having all boys. Send the boys away to do "boy things" and have yourself a spa day.
I am dying to try this! (Although I wish I could have my first try without an audience, ha ha). The Flowrider indoor surfing.
Oh WOW, this place was AMAZING! I've actually seen it several times and always wanted to try it but have never had the chance. I LOVED everything I tasted! It has a laid back feel inside (so I wouldn't be afraid to take my kids) and they bring you your food within minutes...literally.
The best part...for every meal bought, they donate a meal to a child in Malawi. They have all of their overhead costs taken care of privately, so it is actually a 1:1 exchange. 1 meal bought = 1 meal for a child in Malawi.
Salads, pizza, pasta, dessert...I loved everything I tasted, and believe me, I tasted everything. I can't wait to go back!
After having a fun afternoon out with the girls, I was ready to come home to my munchkins. And...I came home with gifts! They got a bag of vintage candy from Blickenstaff's and some dessert pizza from Malawi's.
The favorite by far: Razzles.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Oil and Vinegar
Do you remember around Christmas time, when Groupon offered a gift certificate to Mountain Town Olive Oil? Well, I bought two. I gave them to Nate for Christmas and envisioned us going on a date to Park City, going out to dinner, and sampling all of the gourmet olive oils and balsamic vinegars at Mountain Town Olive Oil.
This is how it actually went...
I bought the gift certificates in October, gave them to Nate in December, they expire May 1. So, on April 30, we rushed over to Park City, kids in tow, to redeem our gift certificates before we lost them. We made it there an hour before they closed.
The minute I walked in, I was in love. I sampled just about everything and LOVED all of it. Even the ones that sounded strange (coconut balsamic?). I was envisioning all of the yummy recipes that I would make if I had all of them.
It didn't take long for my kids to become too rowdy for the small store, so we had to make a quick decision and hit the road. The girl that runs it was amazingly helpful. She could tell us about each and every oil and vinegar, where they came from, how long ago they were pressed, what pairs well with what, and recipe ideas.
We settled on Persian Lime Olive Oil with Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar, and Tuscan Herb Olive Oil with Fig Balsamic Vinegar.
For dinner we made whole wheat rotini pasta with sliced olives and fresh mozzarella. We drizzled it in Tuscan Herb Olive Oil and Fig Balsamic Vinegar.
Be prepared for lots of recipes with my new oils and vinegars!
I can't wait to get started!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Love Stitched Giveaway and a little secret...
Brittany from Love Stitched is giving away one of my signs today!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
A Recipe and a Link
First: I've donated a sign to Little Love's Designs 1000th fan giveaway!
Giveaway ends May 15th
Second: I wanted to share another fun recipe with you...
Fettuccine Alfredo
(Although after living in Italy, Nate insists that it is called "white sauce")
This is one of our favorite quick and easy dinners.
So here it is...
"White Sauce"
-1 3/4 cup milk
-1/4 butter or margarine (we use light margarine and it turns out fine)
-1/4 cup flour
-a sprinkle of freshly ground nutmeg
-a sprinkle of pepper
-a sprinkle of salt
-1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and then slowly add 1 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of flour stirring constantly with a whisk. When it starts to thicken, add the rest of the milk. Continue to stir for a few minutes and then the rest of the ingredients.
Remember, true "white sauce" should not be thick and goopy liked the kind you buy in a jar. You can add more or less milk depending on the consistency that you like.
Boil Barilla Fettuccine pasta according to instructions.
We sprinkle fresh Romano on ours because my kids LOVE cheese. It goes well with steamed broccoli and/or grilled chicken. Last night we made it veggie, but it's good to add some grilled chicken pieces and turn it to into "Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo."
Another fun variation is to add several of your favorite steamed veggies and it becomes "pasta primavera"!
Or...use it in place of ricotta cheese in lasagna...Mmmm....
The boys favorite, use it as a dip for garlic bread.
See! Several recipes in one, and all fairly easy!
Try it out and tell me how it goes!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
attempt #256
Today, we had one of those mornings.
I woke up late (since I was up til 2 a.m. quilting...but that's another story),
so I had to rush the kids to get ready for school (which never goes well).
My kids don't rush.
The harder I push to hurry...the slower they seem to move.
We finally make it out the door, baby still in his jammies, and get to preschool 20 minutes late.
Since I didn't have time to wrap the package I was supposed to mail, and forgot the check I was supposed to cash, we opted for a trip to the gas station and a large diet coke instead :)
Bridger and I each picked a drink and I bought a pack of licorice for us to share.
Sure enough, I left the licorice on top of the car when I drove away.
So when I had visions of a photo shoot with Bridger this morning, holding my newly painted "I am a child of God" sign, smiling, sun shining, birds singing, beautiful spring weather. etc...I should have known better...
So while holding the baby in one arm (still in his jammies) and the camera in the other, I tried everything I could think of:
"SMILE!"
"Look at Mommy"
"Say Cheese!"
"I'll give you a treat..."
After a couple hundred attempts, this is the best we could do:
"I am a child of God" hand painted distressed wood sign.
Custom colors available.
Ha ha...oh well.
We'll try again another day!
How was your morning?
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Shine Project
Head over to Ashley's blog to enter the giveaway and join the project!
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