The Best Fruit Salad in the World

Have you seen that show The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Network??

If you haven't, the title pretty much sums it up.

Tonight I am going to share with you {ONE} of the best things I ever ate. 

Let me set the scene... 

I came home from the hospital with my very first baby. Got to the house, and 10 minutes later my sweet visiting teacher showed up with dinner. Little did I know that it would change my life.

Ok... Ok... I am being dramatic here! But seriously. She showed up with dinner plus this fruit salad. I think I pretty much ate the whole bowl by myself. It was THE BEST thing I had ever eaten! It tasted like heaven on a spoon. It might have had something to do with the fact that I had just given birth 2 days previous, but I still consider it one of the best things I have ever eaten

After I recovered and took her dishes back to her, I begged for the recipe... So now almost 3 years later, I am going to share it with ya'll! 

I feel bad that I can't give credit to whoever came up with this recipe... But if anyone knows- let me know so I can send them a million thank yous! This is my go-to fruit salad for any event and everyone LOVES it!

To make this salad you will need:

1 12 oz bag of frozen raspberries (keep frozen- don't thaw)

2 15 oz cans of mandarin oranges (drained)

1 large lime

1 small container of cool whip

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Mix the cool whip, condensed milk, and juice of the lime in a large mixing bowl. Then mix in the raspberries and mandarin oranges. 

Easy right??

I think it is best served ULTRA cold! Like keep it in the freezer until you serve it cold. 

I have also made this salad with other fruit added as well and it is so yummy too! I have tried raspberries, oranges, strawberries, grapes, and kiwis all together and it was delicious! I am sure you could make it with any fruit and it would be so yummy! The sauce makes it taste almost like a dessert. 

Try it... You will love it!

Guest Posting @ I Heart Naptime

Today I am over at I Heart Naptime sharing my newest tutorial to make the scripture case I made for my daughter... Go check it out:)

Tied with a Bow Skirt

A week ago I saw this Shabby Apple skirt and LOVED it! I decided that I wanted to copy the idea and make one for myself.

(image source)

While making this skirt I had many "Sewing Milestones"! It was my first time sewing darts, sewing in an invisible zipper, sewing a button hole, making a "real" pattern, and it was also my first attempt of making a "knock off". I am not going to say that everything went exactly as planned, but the end product FIT and looked how I wanted it to- so I felt like I had a victory!!! ;)

Sorry that it doesn't come with a tutorial! I was kinda flying by the seat of my pants with this one and had no idea if it was even going to work! ha ha

Linked up here.

Confessions of a Stay At Home Mom

Being a stay at home mom is one of the hardest, but most rewarding jobs I have ever done in my whole life. 

It's something that I have wanted to do since I can remember. Whenever someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was always "a mommy". 

When the day finally came that I was finally living my dream, it was amazing. It is hard to describe the love I have for my little ones, other than that it is the most intense feeling of love I have ever felt. Of course I love my hubby like crazy too- but the love I have for my kids is that "momma bear, do anything to protect your baby" kind of love! ;)

But, like I said, being a mom is also the hardest job I have ever had. It has tried my patience to the extreme, pointed out my shortcomings, and at times can be physically draining! There are some nights that I literally fall into bed and feel like I never want to move again! ha ha I am sure my fellow mommies out there know exactly what I am talking about.

One thing that I have learned in my almost 3 years as a mommy (don't laugh- I know I am a newbie still), is that us mommies need time for ourselves! Even if it is just a few minutes per day. Luckily I have been blessed with a husband that realizes this and makes  a huge effort to let me have time for myself when he comes home from a day of work. In fact yesterday when I felt like I was going to pull my hair out because being a mom was feeling overwhelming at the moment- he sent me out for 5 hours of alone time to go shopping. Can I get a Hallelujah!?! What a guy! Anything that I want to do whether it is my monthly craft night, book club, or whatever- he makes it work no matter how busy he is. He really is the best husband in the world!

Ok.. I totally know I am rambling here! I guess my reason for writing this post is just to thank all of my readers. As a mom, sometimes praise comes few and far between, so to have all of you all write all the sweet comments you write on my blog, means the world to me!! I feel like I have already met so many new "blog friends" and gotten to know some of you through email and I love it! I  can't thank you guys enough for being so supportive of me and my new blog- you guys are the best!!

xoxo, Ashley J

Guest Posting @ UCREATE

I am so excited to be guest posting for the first time over at the UCREATE blog!!! 

Check it out!!

"Tied with a Bow" Pouch Tutorial

Ruffled Tote Tutorial

My friend Mallory and I teamed up to put together a tutorial to make this cute tote!  Not only is Mallory great at doing hair, but she is also good at sewing! 

She has a very similar bag to this one that I have been in love with ever since I saw it so I totally copied it but I added the ruffle to the pocket to make mine a little different from hers- so I am not a TOTAL copycat- Ok... I totally am;)

My bag is roughly 15 x17 inches so all the measurements coordinate with this size but could easily be changed to work with any size bag you wanted.

To make this bag you will need:

 -Two coordinating fabrics. 

(I got mine in the home decor fabrics at Joann's. This fabric is pretty thick, but not quite as thick as canvas. I bought a yard of each but have a little leftover of each one so you could probably get away with buying less if you measured everything out exactly and knew how much you needed before going to buy it.)

-Fusible Interfacing (light- meduim depending on how thick your fabric is)

-Thread

Step 1: Cut out 2 pieces of each fabric to measure 15 x 17 inches each. Then cut out 2 pieces of fusible interfacing that are 15 x 17 inches each.

Step 2: Iron the fusible interfacing onto the wrong sides of both of your inside fabrics (striped fabric). Now set these pieces aside.

Step 3: Cut out two pieces of fabric for the pocket measuring 9 x 9 inches. (Initially I had planned on using the striped fabric for my pocket but changed my mind and used the floral fabric for the pocket and the striped for the ruffle. So you can use whatever fabric you would like for this part)

Step 4: Put both of the pieces of fabric you cut out for your pocket so that they are right side together and sew along both the sides and the bottom of your pocket but leave the top unstitched so you can turn it right side out. After you turn it right side out press the seams so they lay flat. 

Lay this part aside for a minute.

Step 5: Cut out a strip of fabric that is 2 x 18 inches. This will be for your ruffle. 

Step 6: Iron your 2x18 inch fabric in half so it is 1x18 inches. Then use a basting stitch along the raw edge of the fabric so you can create a gather.

Step 7: Gather your fabric so that it is 1/2 inch wider than the width of your pocket. Once you have the fabric gathered to the width you would like, roll the raw edges on both sides twice and sew a small seam on both sides so that the raw edges are not exposed.

Step 8: Open the top of your pocket you have sewn and fold all the edges inside the pocket and iron your seam flat so it stays in place. Then insert your bottom edge or unfinished edge of your fabric in between both fabrics and pin in place. Sew a small seam along the top edge of your pocket to close it and hold the ruffles in place.

Step 9: Pin your finished pocket to the front piece of your bag. (Just the floral fabric) And sew it in place around 3 edges- don't sew the top edge obviously;)

Step 10: Now take the front piece that has the pocket sewn to it and line it up with a striped piece so that the right sides of the fabric are facing eachother. Sew along both sides and the bottom- leaving the top un sewn. Then take the other floral piece and striped piece and put them right sides together and do the same. After you sew both, turn them right side out and iron the seams flat.

Step 11: With both side of the bags right side facing out (so the striped fabric sides are facing each other on the inside and the floral fabrics are both facing out), line them up to each other, pin in place and sew along both sides and bottom of the bag. Sew as close to the edge as you can. I went around twice just to make sure that the seam was sturdy.

Step 12: Cut out two straps for the bag. They will need to be 5 inches wide and then whatever length you would like them to be. Fold them in half so they are now 2 1/2 inched wide and iron. Next, open up and fold both edges into the line you just ironed and and iron... After it is all folded back up you should have a strap that is 4 layers thick. Stitch as close as you can to each side of the strap for both straps.

Step 13: Take your bag and push the raw edges of the fabric into the inside of each side so that no raw edges are exposed. Iron and pin your seams down. Insert handles into each side and pin in place. Make sure that the straps and not twisted.

Step 14: Sew all the way around the top of your bag as close to the edge as you can to close your seams and hold the straps in place. (I stay stitched back and forth a few times when I went over each handle just to make sure they don't come off.)

Now you are finished!!!

Linked up here.

Cowboy Salsa Remix

My favorite snacks in the world are chips. The only thing better than a chip- is something to dip a chip in. 

So I am sharing my favorite recipe for a chip dip with you... It's more of a chunky salsa than a dip though...

It is what I called my Cowboy Salsa Remix.

It's basically my own take on cowboy salsa- minus the oil and vingear. I just wanted to come up with something that tasted fresher and not oily at all. So this is what I came up with.

What you need to make it is:

-2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

-1 can whole corn kernels, drained

-1 small bunch of cilantro

- 4 to 5 green onions chopped finely

-2 large limes

-3 to 4 roma tomatos

- 4 avocados

- 1 cup of your favorite salsa

- salt

This will make a large bowl full, big enough to take to a party to share with lots of salsa loving people! :)

To start, rinse and drain both cans of black beans and put in a bowl. Drain the corn and put in the bowl. Chop tomatoes, green onions, and avocado into bite sized pieces and add to bowl. Remove all the cilantro leaves, chop into small pieces and add to bowl. Juice the limes into the bowl. And add 1 cup of your favorite salsa to the bowl. (I always use leftovers from Chilis or my favorite mexican restaurant, but any salsa will do... The salsa just coats everything and ties it all together:)

Once you have everything in the bowl, add salt to taste and mix just enough to coat all the ingredients with salsa. (Be sure not to over mix of the avocado will turn to mush.)

Serve with chips and enjoy!! :)

Linked here.