saturday spotlight: traci with "beneath my heart"

Traci is full of great ideas. I enjoy getting her updates in my inbox, seeing what DIY project she's currently in the middle of. I was looking at her website and noticed she's going to be adding recipes soon - making me very excited! I think my favorite posts include her adorable son, Eli - he just adds something special with his singing to Layla :)

Head over to Beneath My Heart and find some inspiration!

book review: "grandma's attic" by arleta richardson

"Grandma did what? You might be surprised. When Grandma Mabel was a young girl, trouble seemed to follow her everywhere. And somehow her best friend, Sarah Jane, always found herself in the middle of it too. Whether sneaking out to a birthday party, cutting corners when sewing a dress, or teaching her brother a lesson, Mabel's brilliant ideas only seem to show how much she has to learn. One can find an awful lot of adventure on a farm, even back in the 1800s."

I enjoyed these books! I read Grandma's Attic when I was in middle school and loved it! I was excited at the opportunity to be able to read the stories again. I laughed at Mabel's experiences, wondering how one girl could find herself in so many "scrapes." I think the story about the face cream might be one of my favorites. I liked how the stories weren't super long, making them good for quick reads. I like everything about the books - really great reads!

tweet of the week

"Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given and then sink yourself into that." Gal 6:4 (Msg) - I tweeted this after I came across the verse and it was one of those verses that jumped out at me in that moment and I still really like it.

giveaway: "running blind" by shirlee mccoy

Congratulations to Rebecca for winning Covert Pursuit by Terri Reed!

This month I'm giving away a copy of Running Blind by Shirlee McCoy! To enter, just leave me a comment along with an email address for me to contact you. Contest ends Monday, October 31 at midnight.

For extra entries:
- tell me how you heard about this giveaway
- become a follower of my blog

saturday spotlight: melissa with "the inspired room"

Cute DIY projects make me want smile. I love seeing creative ways to either recycle materials or just great ideas in general. I subscribed to The Inspired Room a few months ago and absolutely love the amazing ideas Melissa shares. This book wreath isn't her idea but just by her sharing it, it makes me even more a fan of her. I want to try this on my own some day but for now I'll have to just order one if I don't want to wait :) You can also follow a step-by-step tutorial at Living with Lindsay.

Melissa is just very cool. Here's a blurb from her "About Me" page: "I like to open my eyes to new things to inspire me in living an authentic life — hopefully things that will inspire you too! I love to dream, find inspiration in all sorts of places, and then take what I find and apply it (on a budget and usually using what I already have!) to my own home and life."

never give up

I was looking through a stack of books in one of the classrooms I was working in a few weeks ago and the title of the book on the top jumped out at me. Never Give Up by Regina Burch is part of a Character Education series and the theme of the book is applicable to adults as well as children. The book constantly repeats the phrase "never give up" and I love that message! The illustrations are super cute and I love the idea of encouraging kids with this book.

Whatever you might be going through, never give up! Life doesn't always make sense and sometimes we wonder where God is when we're in the midst of our struggles or pain. Never give up! We have to continue moving forward and continue trusting - even when it doesn't seem like our circumstances have changed. Never give up!

recipe: peanut butter fudge brownie trifle

As soon as I saw this picture, I knew I had to make this. All the chocolate and peanut butter - oh, I had no choice but to add it to my list of recipes to try! It's from a blog called "How Sweet It Is." You can also view the complete recipe by clicking here.

Ingredients
-peanut butter mixture layer from this peanut butter pie recipe]
- 1 batch of your favorite brownies, boxed or from scratch, cooled and cut into cubes
- 1 large box (5-ounce) of instant chocolate pudding, prepared and chilled
- 1 bag of peanut butter cups, chopped
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 3-4 tablespoons granulated sugar, depending on your desired level of sweetness
- 1 cup of creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup of powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 8 ounces of whipped cream cheese, at room temperature

Directions
"In the bowl of an electric mixer (or using a hand mixer), beat heavy cream and sugar on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to an separate bowl and stick in the fridge until ready to use. I did not even clean the bowl of my electric mixer and just began mixing the peanut butter mixture.

Add the peanut butter and cream cheese to the bowl and beat at medium speed, scraping down the sides a few times until mixture is creamy. Add in powdered sugar and mix until combined, then mix in 2 tablespoons of milk. Remove the whipped cream from the fridge and add 1 cup of it to the peanut butter, folding it in until the mixture turns lighter in color and is mostly combined.

Grab your trifle dish and begin to layer your ingredients however you’d like. I did a layer of brownies, then peanut butter, then a handful of chopped peanut butter cups, chocolate pudding, whipped cream, and so on. I repeated it until I got to the top, then piped the remaining whipped cream on top and sprinkled the candy on. You really can’t go wrong with layering – just use a long spoon to serve!"