CSN Stores Giveaway!!!

I was so excited when CSN Stores contacted me to do a giveaway!!!  Yep, that's right,
CSN Stores is offering one of my lucky readers a $20 promotional code towards any of their online stores!  CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find everything from stylish furniture, leather messenger bags, or great cookware!

I've been looking for a white duvet cover for my bedroom.  

This one is so pretty!

And how fun are these red pumps?

I love this quatrefoil rug!

CSN Stores offers such a variety of products, it's a one-stop shopping center - you can buy just about anything you need right there!  Plus, they offer FREE SHIPPING on almost everything.  You can't beat that!

TO ENTER:

1)  Become a public follower of Loving Every Second!  {1 entry}

2)  Go to CSN Stores and tell me what item you would choose {1 entry}

3)  Grab a Loving Every Second Button and put it on your blog {1 entry}

4)  Put a link on Facebook about the giveaway {1 entry}

5)  Blog about this giveaway and include the link in your comment {2 entries}

Please leave a comment for each entry.  You have until midnight on Wednesday, December 15th to enter.  

I will announce the winner on Thursday, December 16th and he/she will have 48 hours to contact me.  If I do not hear from the winner within that 48 hour period, a new winner will be chosen.

Good luck!!!

Blog button!

I finally made a blog button!

I used this tutorial from Vintage Wanna Bee to make it and it was a piece of cake.

So grab one if you'd like!  I'd love for you to share the bloggy love :)

Just copy and paste the code below the button:

<center><a href="http://www.lovingeverysecond.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa154/chellebell54/LESBlogButtonJPG.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a>" /></center>

Apricot-Glazed Rosemary BBQ Chicken

How many times have you gone out to eat, just to be disappointed by what you ordered?  I often think that I could make my food better at home.

Well, a few weeks ago, my husband and I went out to dinner.  I ordered the Apricot Glazed Chicken 'cuz it sounded really yummy.  I'm one of those people who loves sweet and savory things together.  

I got my dinner and was totally disappointed.  I knew I could make it WAY better myself!

So I did!

I added a few extras to mine, though.  Really the only thing the Apricot Chicken that I ordered had on it was apricot jam, which is why it was so disappointing.

Here's my recipe:

Apricot-Glazed Rosemary BBQ Chicken

4 chicken breasts

1 15.5 oz jar Smucker’s Low Sugar Apricot Preserves {I used almost a whole jar}

2-3 Tbsp Barbecue sauce {use your favorite or whatever is in your fridge}

½ tsp Onion Powder

1 tsp Garlic Salt

2 tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary {or about 1 tsp dried rosemary}

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

I used low sugar jam because we try to cut out sugar wherever we can at our house.  And I love this Smucker's Low Sugar Apricot Preserves.  I can't even tell it's low sugar and it's really yummy!  But, I've only found it at Walmart - just a little FYI for you:

So here's what you do:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.   

In a bowl, combine apricot preserves, barbecue sauce, onion powder, garlic salt, rosemary and onions.  Set aside.   

Make sure your chicken is trimmed.  There's nothing worse than biting into a piece of chicken that hasn't been trimmed.  Cut each chicken breast into three parts, like so:

  {I decided to do this after it was all ready to go in the oven.  I wanted the chicken to cook faster so I took the breasts out and cut them up}

Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil (it will make the clean-up so fast and easy!!!  I do this with lots of dishes) and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Arrange your chicken in the bottom of the pan.  Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides:

 {This pic obviously taken before I decided to cut the breasts up}

  Spoon the glaze mixture over the chicken:

 Bake for 25 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.  And, voila!

It looks and smells delish!

Serve with a couple sides of veggies, or even over rice.  I served mine with a baked potato and roasted brussels sprouts {I had some from my Bountiful Basket - they had been sitting in my fridge for a week or two and I finally decided I wouldn't be scared of them!  And you know what?  I actually liked them!  I tried this recipe.  I also think they would be really yummy with a little fresh lemon juice}:

 I think I will make this in the crock pot next time.  Just add all ingredients and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours.  You wouldn't need to cut the breasts into three parts if you did it that way.  I'm a sucker for super easy slow cooker recipes {feel free to share any of your favorites with me!}.

And a close-up:

Try it!  You won't be disappointed!

Christmas Card Wall Hanger

I have been wanting a Christmas card holder forEVER!

I've seen some super cute ones, but I'm not willing to pay the prices for them.

I decided that this Christmas would be the one that I would get my Christmas card holder!!!

Since I didn't want to pay the big bucks, that meant that I needed to make one.  And this one was SO super easy!

I got a Christmas wall plaque that my mom gave me a few years ago for Christmas:

I got some twine and cut five pieces different lengths {I didn't want them all the same length}:

Then I hot-glued them onto the back of the wall plaque:

And here she is!

So easy {have I told you I LOVE easy projects?} and so cute!

I clipped the cards on with clothes pins {I had some on hand}

I don't have any Christmas cards yet, so I improvised :)

I can't wait to fill this bad-boy up!

Oh, and want to know how much this project cost me?  

I had everything on-hand, so it was FREE!

Tinkerbell Birthday Party

Hey everyone!  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

On to the post . . .

My daughter just turned four and she requested a Tinkerbell birthday party.  She absolutely LOVED it!!!
{For more Tinkerbell ideas, check out my other Tinkerbell party post!}

Here's what we did.

For the decorations, I stayed with the green, purple and pink theme of Tinkerbell.  I used a purple tablecloth and used some sparkly chartreuse fabric as a table runner (I bought a yard and then tied it in a loose knot in the middle):

{You can kind of see it here}

Then I made some tissue paper pom poms.  They are SO easy and SO cute!  You can find a tutorial from Martha Stewart:

 The pom poms are now hanging in my daughter's room.  So cute.

Here are the invitations I made for the party:

All I did was download a desktop background and used that as the background for the invitation.  So easy!  And I am all about easy.

For the party, I sprinkled "Pixie Dust" on the kids as they came through the door.  I used a glitter brush.

Next, I read a Tinkerbell story to the kids.  Just a short one, I needed to keep their attention!

I had the kids decorate stars that I cut out on the cricut and then they played "Pin the Star on Tinkerbell's Wand."  I drew a wand on a posterboard, blindfolded the kids and they pinned their star on Tinkerbell's wand!

I decided to make Tinkerbell cupcakes.  I was going to make some cupcake toppers, but I found some at Walmart!  WAY easier than making my own!  I made homemade strawberry frosting (so it would be pink!) and sprinkled the cupcakes with "Pixie Dust" {pink sugar sprinkles}:

The party was perfect for my four-year-old!  I have to enjoy the easy parties while I can!

For the party bags, I used my cricut to cut out green flowers.  I wrote each child's name on them and taped them to white lunch sacks.  I punched holes in the tops and tied them with purple and green ribbon.

For the party favors, I bought star wands at the dollar store.  I tied purple and green ribbons to those, too!  I also got little glitter containers at the dollar store.  I used sticker paper, wrote "Pixie Dust" on it, and stuck it to each container.  The rest of the goody bag was candy from the pinata, princess hair clips and earrings and Tinkerbell stickers (all also from the dollar store).  I forgot to take pics of the favors!

Overall, the party was a success!  There were 10 kids in all (way too many - next year, I think I will let my daughter invite three or four of her friends) and my daughter had a great time, which was what was important.