fun frames...spring {patience}

This spring for us has been about patience. Patience with each other, with situations we are in, with ourselves. These fun frames have actually been up for a while but I just got around to blogging about them. The end of the year for a teacher is...busy, to say the least!!

I knew this was the word I wanted to use but I didn't know colors or anything so I went to craft warehouse for some inspiration...and I found some {surprise, surprise}. I saw a lot of fun spring colors but decided I liked the green/pink/white color palette best. Since I can't change the red/khaki of the walls I figured this would go good together! Plus basically everything except for the pink I could reuse in other seasons...BONUS :-)

I used my Cricut to cut the letters, SureCutsALot to make the letters and flowers, and DaFont.com to find the letters - These letters are called "sunshine poppy" and they are my favorite!! Once I had the following decor I needed to decide what colors to make all the pieces of the fun frames. Looking back I kind of wish I'd done the green on the background, the white on the letters, and kept the pink flowers, alas, I did not.

The mantel. The wooden piece with the glass votives can be changed out every season!!

Thanks to the girls at eighteen25 for the Subway Art!!

Spring votive.

The space above the TV.

The three hurricanes. Similar colors, different sizes and fillings!!

These are all above the TV.

Reese's Pieces Cookies

These are one of my favorite cookies!!! They are sweet, a tiny bit salty, and include Reese's Pieces candies!!!

{from the iPhone}

Reese's Pieces Cookies

1 C Liquid Shortening (Vegetable Oil)

1 C Brown Sugar - packed

1/2 C White Sugar

2 Eggs

2 tsp Vanilla

2 1/4 C Flour

1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

Reece's candies

Bake at 350 degrees for 9 minutes. Cookie will 'settle' after they come out of the oven. Take out when light/golden brown. They will look a 'undone' or not as dark as the end result.

Baked Potato Salad

This was such an easy and yummy dish to make!! I had everything in the house and could easily be made a head for an event or day of! This was totally inspired by PWM's most recent Tasty Kitchen Blog Roll!

Baked Potato Salad
Served 4

8 potatoes. I used 4 small white and 4 small Russet. It was what I had on hand.
1/2 C sour cream
1/4 C mayo
3 diced green onions
1/4 cup shredded cheese
2 well cooked bacon pieces

Bake potatoes at 450 degrees for 1 hour or until a knife can be cleanly inserted. This can be done the night before, that is how I did it. If you bake them on the same day, cool before adding to mixture.

Mix all other ingredients together in a bowl.

Once the potatoes are cooled peel them and chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Pour mixture of other ingredients over potatoes and fold (or mix gently) together. I mixed in some of the bacon and left some for the topping.

The great thing about a dish like this is you can make it whatever and however you want!! I foresee us having lots of similar dishes this summer. This is something I can make during the day and then have ready when Jason gets home from work!!