A shirt dress

I have had this adorable shirt dress tutorial from MADE bookmarked in my "projects to try" folder for almost a year now and I finally got around to making one. I think it turned out pretty cute.



I made it from this thrift store shirt that only cost me $2!

(Grand)Mother's Day gifts

I think Mother's Day is one of the most difficult holidays to come up with gifts for. I don't know about you, but it seems like my mom already has everything she needs (that fits in my price range anyways). I think I've given pictures for the last bajillion Mother's days and was in the mood for something a little more fun. This is what I came up with for this year.



I used this awesome tutorial from YouTube for the gift boxes. I used 12 x 12 paper for the pink box, 10 x 10 paper for the green box, 8 x 8 paper for the purple box, and 6 x 6 paper for the blue box. The boxes ended up with the following measurements. Pink-5 inches square, green-4 inches square, purple-3 inches square, and blue-2 inches square.

I thought Brenna's artwork would add the perfect personalized touch. I had her color these cute pictures with coordinating colors and then attached them to the bottom of the inside of the boxes.



I had a bunch of ideas about what to put inside the boxes. Here are the 4 I narrowed it down to.

In the biggest box: pictures...I know, I know, I do that every year.



Next, homemade caramels. My gift is going to take a little trip through the postal system before my mom gets it...so I thought caramels would make the trip much better than most sweets.



Then, white chocolate covered pretzels. Can you really celebrate mothers and womanhood without chocolate...I don't think so.



And last, everyones favorite...cold hard cash. Folded into a heart for a feminine twist of course. I used this great tutorial on YouTube to fold the money.



This was a very fun and affordable project. I just had to make an extra set for my mother in law.



And if I know these women, I think they will be as excited about the re-usable gift boxes as anything.



Happy Mother's Day!

Linking up to these fun parties:

http://paisleypassions.blogspot.com/2011/05/thrilling-thursday-linky-party.html
http://www.thrifty101.blogspot.com/
http://www.houseofhepworths.com/
http://sweetpeasandbb.blogspot.com/
http://rhinestonebeagle.blogspot.com/

Easy Cheesy Lasagna (freezer cooking recipe)

1 lb. ground beef, browned

1 jar spaghetti sauce

1 lb. cottage cheese

8 oz. sour cream

10 uncooked lasagna noodles (oven ready type)

mozzarella cheese

1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese

If you will be using my freezer cooking method multiply this recipe according to the size of your family and the amount of times you want to eat it. I multiply it by 5 and it makes 10 meals for my family of 3.

Combine beef and spaghetti sauce. Combine sour cream and cottage cheese in a separate bowl and blend well. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce in bottom of 9 x 13 inch pan. Place half the noodles over sauce. Layer half the cottage cheese mixture over noodles. Layer half the mozzarella cheese. layer hal the remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle 1/4 c. parmesan cheese over meat. Reapeat layers starting with the noodles. End with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover tightly with foil.

If you will be eating right away bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Freezer instructions: I suggest freezing in an aluminum container that you can put right in the oven. Bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours. No need to thaw first.

Recipe from: The Recipe Thief, by Kay Webster.