Well, apparently not only do people follow that mantra, but apparently our weather does too! Last weekend we had the craziest weather! Snow, Hail, Rain, Sunshine, Fog… you name it, and all in just a few hours!!!

So in honor of the crazy weather, I made a simple and cute wallpaper!

If you want to download it, click here!

I hope you enjoy it!

Did you make any resolutions? Goals? I really hope you guys can keep/achieve them! Nothing better than to be what you want to be =)

I want to share one of my resolutions: Be more organized.

It has been greatly inspired by one of my favorite blogs I Heart Organizing! She is amazing, makes organizing look like fun, and everything she posts is beautiful! Hard not to be inspired by her.

I don’t have my Silhouette Cameo yet, but when I do, the organization in this house will look even better. But I decided to start off with some Didi-Made labels, they are not the fanciest or prettiest labels you can make, but I had fun making them. AND it didn’t take me all day to organize our Holiday décor. Just a few Photoshop minutes, some printing and ta-da!

I made some Fall and Halloween labels as well, but I haven’t used them! As soon as I do, I will take pictures.

I hope you guys enjoy this post! And please remember to visit I Heart Organizing if you want some SERIOUS organizing inspiration!

Do you like to read?! It’s ok if you don’t, not many people do. My husband doesn’t and I still love him!

I love to read, it’s something I will always do, and sharing that love of reading with friends makes it all even better! So I decided to write about our book club meetings! Last night we had our second book club meeting, and I hosted it! <—SO MUCH FUN!

{Spoiler Alert! I am talking about the book, so if you haven’t read it, be careful!}

I’ll write about the one last night, and talk about different topics and opinions that were said about the book we read, and then I’ll probably make a shorter post about the first meeting. It’s been a month, so there’s a lot I don’t remember.

The book we discussed last night was The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. We wanted something to go along with the time of year, and we thought it went very nicely with Halloween. It was very easy to read. Since it’s a children’s book, it left most of us wanting more character development, more action… just more. Ruth (a member of the book club) said she found it superficial; and I agree. Some of us said we never truly fell in love with the main character, Bod. But everyone did agree that we would’ve rather read more about other characters such as Silas and Miss Lupescu. They kept leaving the Graveyard constantly, and had adventures that we never really learned about. I think Mr. Gaiman should write an adult-oriented book which deals with Silas, who he is, what he does, and all of his amazing adventures. He is by far, the most interesting character of them all {in my opinion; others thought Miss Lupescu was better being a Hound of God and all}.

All in all it was an entertaining book, I have never read a book with so many pictures/drawings. It made it very interesting and visual for me. We all enjoyed it very much. Have you read this book? What are your thoughts on it? Have you read any other books by Neil Gaiman? Any that you would recommend?

And now I want to share some pictures about the decorations I made for the meeting. I hope you enjoy them!

What do you guys think?!

xoxo~ Didi

I started by making a simple yellow cake in a 13×9 inch pan. Letting it completely cool. Since she wants everything to be pink, I added some food coloring to the cake mixture, but I think that what really made it pink in the end was the PINK FROSTING I made!! It’s simple cream cheese frosting, my go-to frosting for cake pops. Check out the color!

Sweet, huh?! I let the cake cool completely. This is important. Don’t rush, I know it’s exciting and you just want to make the cake pops, but it’s essential for it to be cool. When it’s ready to be made into cake pops, grab a mixing bowl and crumble it all! {Well except for any edges/corners that have browned a little and are tougher than the rest of the cake. You don’t want to add that part}. See? Crumbled yellow cake –>

Then add a small amount of your frosting. It is very important that you start with a small amount and increase as you see fit. Too much frosting and your cake pops will literally fall part. And you don’t want that!

Mix it all together, I recommend doing it by hand, but whatever works best for you. Just get it all mixed into a dough-y consistency.

Then I use a 1 tbsp scoop, and shape the dough into balls. This will take some time, and depending on how big you make them one 13×9 inch pan will make between 30 and 40 pops. Place them on a wax covered cookie sheet, and freeze them for 10 – 20 minutes. Until firm but not frozen. Then dip your sticks in the candy melt and insert it halfway in the cake ball. You’ll get a little gathering of the candy melts at the bottom, and I think it looks super cute! This step will help ensure your stick stays in place.

I placed the pops in the freezer one more time, but I’m not sure this was such a wise idea. Your pops should not be too cold, because I found out, the candy melts don’t appreciate it! It wouldn’t cooperate with me until the cake pops were just a little bit warmer…. to speed up the process and ensure a nice shape, I rolled them in my hand a few times.

Now it’s time to candy coat it! Mind you, I still have lumps and unevenness when covering my pops, so there must be a better way of doing this, and as soon as I figure it out I will share it, but for now this is how I do it: stick the cake pop in the candy melt straight down. With a spoon, make sure all pop is covered by the candy melt. Try not to move it too much in the candy, it tends to fall apart. If you pull the cake pop straight up, you will have a ‘peak’ at the top. If that is what you want, GREAT! If you want a smooth surface, try to lift it up as you are bringing the pop upright. Make it one swift even motion. you will still have a ‘peak’ off to the side, but it you tap the stick on the side of your bowl, it will fall off.

Then have fun decorating! I will try more complex décor in the future, but right now I’m trying to perfect the actual cake pop, and not the cuteness of it. ALTHOUGH, I have to say these sprinkles are SUPER CUTE. So it’s kind of like a win – win situation right?

Share your stories! Share your tips and tricks! I would love to hear it all!

xoxo

Didi

Hello fellow Trubies!

Before we start, did you guys hear that Game of Thrones fans are calling themselves Thronies?! I should say, we are calling ourselves Thronies!? I love it!

Good Afternoon! I hope you all have a big smile after dreaming about bad-ass sexy Jessica. Don’t lie, I know I wasn’t the only one. Just so you know, that was the highlight of the episode for me! Ah! She looked so cool and mean next to Pam! ♥

But, let me start my review of last Sunday’s episode of TB from the start. Sookie’s kick ass powers. Last time I said I like how she’s not a damsel in distress, she can actually kick some butt with her faerie powers {as opposed to the book, where she has none}, and it was EPIC! I loved it! In a couple seconds Sookie was able to undo Marnie/Antonia’s spell, give Eric his memory back, and shift the balance of the ‘war’ with the witches significantly. In my opinion. I also really appreciate that this happened at the very beginning, it got me HOOKED! Let me explain more:

1) As soon as that happened and the screen went black, my husband and I both looked at each other with wide eyes and mouths open! Then we both proceeded to saying something to the effect of: “That was so cool!” {Yes, we are dorks!}

2) All of the past episodes of this season I have literally been playing with my phone, and tweeting while watching the episodes. After that ONE scene, I put my phone down and didn’t pick it back up until the end.

3) The first thing I did after the show was over? {I watched the previews for next week, obviously!! But.. after that?} I logged on to Facebook to tell everyone I was in shock! I absolutely loved the episode!

We then see a not-so-sure-about-anything-anymore Sookie who couldn’t even look up at Eric. Old Eric. Mean Eric. Mysteriously sexy Eric. He was Emo-Eric no more! I can understand her doubts, especially when he doesn’t even back Sookie up in her attempts at trying to reason with ‘King’ Bill NOT to kill all the innocent people inside Moon Goddess Emporium. Bad move Eric, bad move. Then Sookie discovers, or finally admits to herself, that she’s in love with both vampires. WAIT A MINUTE! In love with Bill? With the same Vampire Bill that almost sucked her dry, and the same vampire Bill who lied to her face as to why he had gone back to Bon Temps in the first place? Manipulative, egocentric Bill? KING BILL? No, it can’t be. The writers MUST be confused. She’s ONLY in love with Eric, she’s just not sure about Eric with all of his memories back. But it’ll be OK, she’ll get past the whole evilness and love him forever. Right!?

Ahh… oh well. Hoyt you gotta move on buddy. Jessica is WAY more exciting without you! And to tell you the truth, I’M LOVING IT! …. That’s pretty much everything I have to say on Hoyt.

No more baby-vamp Jessica! *woot*

I love the interaction between Terry and Andy. I never really got the sense of cousins almost brothers in the book, and I’m glad they brought that out more in the series. Terry makes my heart melt. ♥

I’m liking Holly a little bit more now. She hasn’t changed her mind about anything in the last two episodes! Record breaking for her character! I like that she’s willing to fight Marnie/Antonia. I still wish Tara would go away. And there’s a witch in there with them that makes me smile every time they show her.  On the other hand, Marnie/Antonia’s sidekick dude? Not so much. I think I want to puke every time I see his face, and his character just annoys me. But I guess that was their intention right? He’s definitely not a good person. And neither is Marnie! Marnie you are evil! Whatever this ‘conection’ you think you have with Antonia isn’t even real. She’s acting as if this is the only meaningful relationship she’s ever had, and the way she pleaded for Antonia to stay with her, was like a teenage girl after her first breakup.

I love Jesus, he’s ALWAYS trying to do the right thing no matter what. I love that about him. I also think that he and Lafayette make a super cute couple! I’m very happy they met! I think the fact that Jesus now has a demon at his command is kick ass. How could a witch ever be a match for a demon? I hope Jesus and Sookie kick Marnie/Antonia’s ass next episode.

Did you guys see how happy Pam was when she finally got to see Eric? *Her* Eric?! Aww it was SO CUTE! I love her character! I really do. I like that she has to dress all ‘goth’ for Fangtasia, but in reality all she wants to do is wear pink and look pretty. But don’t mess with her because she has no compassion for you! I love it! Such a weird mixture of style/emotions/character! She’s always doing something or saying something that impresses me or at the very least catches my attention.

With all that being said there’s only one last scene left to discuss. I know I said like a million times that I wanted Tommy to die, but now I feel bad about it! He was a pain in the ass but his death was a little to painful and gross to even be remotely justifiable. But the best part of that whole storyline, is that Alcide is now pissed, joined forces with Sam and Marcus is going to get his ass kicked! At the same time, since the whore {read: Debbie Pelt} is probably going to end up being with Marcus, I hope she dies in the process!

What I just said is probably going to end up biting me in the ass, didn’t I just say I felt bad about how Tommy died? It’s like I don’t learn….

So I cannot wait for next week’s episode! I really hope it’s awesome! I have a feeling it will be! What are your thoughts and opinions on the whole matter? Did the ‘parallel universe’ idea help get you through the episode?

~Dd

Hello there! I hope that your days are still filled with Summer, wherever you are! Summer makes me smile! Does it make you smile? I love long days. I really do. If I were a vampire in the True Blood series, I would definitely ask my ‘human donor’ to spend the whole day in the sun so I could taste sunshine in their blood. At least that’s how Bill describes Sookie’s blood in the book.

Have you guys read the books? So good! Although I have to admit this last one, Dead Reckoning, is a little too repetitive? It definitely answers a lot of questions, but everything that happens already has happened before. So it was a little boring. But I’m not here today, on this beautiful Monday afternoon, to talk about the book! {Please let me know if you want me to talk about my take on the books, I would love to share my thoughts}. I’m here to talk about the series. Are they even associated with the books anymore?

Sigh.

Here’s the deal. I think I hate the series because I’m constantly comparing it to the books. The books are so good, and I love the books therefore it boggles my mind as to why the writers decide to change SO MUCH. I understand changing certain things, but now they are basically a completely different thing. Like, a True Blood Parallel Universe. And don’t get me wrong, some of those changes have been amazing; for example Lafayette not dying was the best part of season one, and when Jessica was introduced to the show I immediately fell in love with her. At the moment I’m really liking Luna, but I’m not completely certain of it. So the writers were doing good in the first two seasons. But what the hell happened with the third and fourth season!?

There is something I need to get off my chest before I continue on, it is a question directed at the True Blood writers, ready? WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU KILL CLAUDINE!? WHY!?

I hope I get an answer to this question, and it better be good! Killing her was not cool, NOT cool people!

Ok… Back to what I was saying. There are way too many things that are just way too different from the book. Some I appreciate, some I hate, others make me never want to watch the show again. Of course that will probably never happen, but the feeling is still there. The last straw, the one that made me want to write this blog post, was in Sunday’s episode. 1) Debbie and Sookie are teaming up?! How is that even remotely OK? In what universe is Sookie killing Debbie with a shotgun, asking Eric to bury her body, and then getting in a sh*t pile of trouble for having killed her, {AKA: Sandra Pelt anyone?} NOT THE BEST STORYLINE EVER?! I *LOVE* the animosity between them. Do you like Debbie and Sookie as besties? Or would you rather have some gory, gruesome scenes of two hot chicks fighting? {You probably already figured out I pick the latter}.

2) I like the fact that Sookie has fairy powers. I enjoy that she is not just a damsel in distress but can actually kick some butt, even if it’s a little lame. What do you think?

3) I wish they would just write Tara off the show, or leave her in the far background like they do in the book. I DO NOT CARE FOR TARA. It’s pretty cool she got herself a hot asian-y chick for a girlfriend, but she should’ve just left town with her! Tara just *ucks everything up, and not in a good way.

4) I love you Jess, I really do. I love your red hair, and your silly teenage mind. I love your innocence. I love that you want to go wild and feel that Hoyt is holding you back {because he is}. I love that you shared your blood with Jason, and the sexual tension between you two is phenomenal! Yup, that’s all I have to say. I love Jess. And I don’t like you Hoyt. I just don’t.

5) Holly. Oh Holly, Holly, Holly. Weren’t you supposed to be a cute 30-something year old? Who ever thought Lauren Bowles was the perfect candidate for Holly did not imagine her the same way I did. Why aren’t you with Hoyt? The strangest part for me is that one second you’re ‘dating’ Andy Bellefleur, the next you’re raging against vampires, and suddenly you’re completely against Marnie/Antonia and don’t want to go up against the vampires. What The Hell!? Aren’t you supposed to be the centered, always do-gooder Holly? worried about your kids? The only reason you are Wiccan is because you are so in touch with nature and yourself. I love you Book-Holly. I wish you would be in the series as well.

6) Jason. What are we going to do with you Jason? You should be a Were-Panther by now!! In the book you make all these bad choices, and you have such bad luck… I wonder if Jason from the series is better? Being a cop? Not effing up *as much*. I’m not quite sure what to think. What is your opinion on the matter? Which Jason is better?

7)I hate Marnie/Antonia. I don’t think there has been any other ‘villain’ I’ve hated more than her…. Them… Whatever. And it’s not a good hate! I know you’re supposed to hate villains, obviously they’re evil for a reason. But I cannot stand her character. I cannot stand her voice. I hate her 10 times more than I hated Maryann. I hate her more than I hate Tommy and his family. It’s bad, people…I don’t think I can stand any more episodes with her in them. And there’s only THREE episodes left in the season. What a waste of episodes…. what a waste.

And finally… Sookie, Eric and Bill. They are all under one category because all they seem to do in the series is be part of sex scenes. Last week’s episode, with Sookie’s dream was over the top. I mean, don’t get me wrong, she looked absolutely delicious in that red outfit with those black heels. That girl’s got a body to die for… but, will someone please explain to me what the dream was all about? Was there any meaning behind it other than getting you all horny and feasting your eyes with a Sookie+Bill+Eric threesome? I don’t think so… but if YOU know what that ‘other’ meaning was, PLEASE let me know.

I was talking with my husband earlier today, and he said something that I think might help with watching the series from now on. He suggested I view it as a Parallel Universe. A what if situation. A spin off from the book. Kind of like Fringe and Olivia and Faux-Livia. I’ll give it a try and see how I feel after this weeks episode. The thing you have to understand is that he hasn’t read the books, and he actually likes the series. He says it’s fun and entertaining. He’s not concerned with what storyline is the same as the book, and what they’ve changed. He just enjoys it as it is. I think this is something I will never be able to do, but maybe I can try to be a little less picky about things if I think of it as an alternate universe.

Thanks for letting me bore you to death with my review of TB. Actually, I wrote this more for myself than anything else, I really needed to get all of these thoughts out there and share them. I would LOVE to hear what you guys think! I don’t mind posting one of these every week if you guys want to discuss True Blood with me!

xoxo

Dd

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything on here, but I have been crazy busy lately! I just got married, and had my family in town for almost two weeks! Yes, we had a blast, and everything went perfectly! YAY!

But today’s post isn’t about that, though I do promise you a little glimpse into our wedding. Today’s post is about the cute little, quick and easy lunch I made my hubby! *YAY!*  I can say hubby now!!

Do you guys like tuna? I do, but I only like it when its creamy! AKA full of mayonnaise. Empty calories galore. So? What can a wifey do for her hubby so they can eat some yummy, delicious, creamy and HEALTHY tuna salad? Good question! And here’s my answer:

Non-Fat Greek Yogurt and Avocado!

No kidding.

Here’s my recipe:

• 1 can of water packed tuna {I love Albacore}
• 2 – 3 spoonfulls of non-fat greek yogurt {depends on how dry or creamy you like it}
• 1/2 of a ripe avocado {play around with the amount, I think I might use a whole one next time}
• 2 spoolfulls of dijon mustard {wasabi mustard tastes great too!}
• a bunch of green onions, chopped
• fresh cilantro, chopped
• salt, pepper and garlic powder, to taste!
• 1 whole cucumber, sliced thinly

It’s very easy, just combine all of the ingredients. I’m not sure exactly how much of each ingredient I used, just do what feels right! My hubby like it to taste more tuna-ish, so I add more tuna, and I like it creamier. It’s all about what tastes good to YOU. Then spoon small amounts on to your thin cucumber slices. I found it tastes better when the slices aren’t too thick.

Viola!

Healthy, awesome snack!

Tuna Salad Bites VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

It’s funny, cute, silly, yet it still manages to touch on VERY important topics. I love McPuppy Pants and I love Alison’s sense of humor. And recently I have been LOVING her giveaways!

Seriously? How could I not be head over heels for this blog? First the Sarah Seven giveaway, which I hope you all still have your fingers crossed for me, but now she has this amazing Tessa Kim giveaway! Talk about beautiful stuff here guys!

I’m in love!

And honestly… even if I don’t win either of her giveaways… I’m probably still going to purchase something from those two. They are… for lack of a better word, geniuses!

Anyway.. here’s a link to her newest giveaway: http://theknottybride.com/21370

And here’s a couple images of my favorite fascinator (even though I really love all of them):

Keep crossing those fingers for me friends!!!!!

xoxo

Didi

I want to use it for the rehearsal dinner! It would without a doubt be the greatest dress I own, next to my wedding dress.. which is amazing!

Anyway, you should all enter! The Knotty Bride always makes her giveaways fun and easy! Plus she’s a great blogger! Always makes me laugh!

I’m keeping my *fingers crossed*

Link to giveaway –> http://theknottybride.com/21086

Link to Sarah Seven’s webpage –> http://www.sarahseven.com/

Ingredients:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 Onion, chopped

2 – 3 cloves of Garlic, chopped

3 cups of Chicken Broth (or Vegetable if you want vegetarian)

2 Broccoli Stalks, chopped (more or less depending on how you want it)

3 tbsp. of Butter

3 tbsp. of Spelt Flour

1 cup of Half and Half

Add 2 tbps. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to a large pot. Sauté onions (on medium to high heat) for 5 minutes, then add the garlic. Lower heat and let cook for 2 – 3 minutes. Chop the broccoli stalks, florets and leaves, and add them to the pot. Add Chicken Broth. Depending on the consistency you want you can adjust by adding more or less of the broth. Add salt and garlic powder. Let it cook for 15 – 20 minutes until broccoli is soft.

Add half of the soup to a blender and blend it until is has a nice smooth consistency. The other half mash it with a potato masher, carefully so you end up with chunky pieces in your soup. If you don’t care for chunky soup, then just blend it all. Pour back into the large pot, over medium heat.

In a small pot, melt the butter and add the Spelt Flour. Carefully add the Half and Half while mixing consistently, until you have a think bubbly mixture. Pour this mixture in with the soup and mix it well. Season with pepper.

I like to eat protein with every meal so I recommend adding some crumbled crispy turkey bacon on top! Delicous!

Get Cooking!