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Red, White, and Blue Pizza Recipe

14 May By 28 Comments

With Memorial Day and July 4th coming up shortly, I wanted to make a red, white, and blue recipe. A challenge if you will!

Do you know how many foods are red, white, and blue??

I went through a wide range of failed red, white and blue cupcakes, strawberry cake (total icing disaster) and red velvet cake that just didn’t quite capture what I was looking for.

This entire time I have been wanting to focus on fruit  because honestly, when I think of July 4th, I think of Strawberries and Cream, watermelon slices, and all sorts of fresh fruits. Even so, I was afraid to use fruit because when you are talking about a challenge, how “guilty” can a bowl of strawberries get?

Then I realized I was thinking way too literally…the strawberries just needed to be bathed in something guilty. I have seen “fruit” pizzas done so many different ways so here is mine to add to your ever growing recipes. I truly hope you love it and I would so love to hear about your rendition of this dessert.

Red, White, and Blue (Brownie) Pizza

 

Red, White, and Blue Pizza Recipe
Recipe Type: dessert
Author: trisha haas
Serves: 10

Red, White, and Blue Brownie and Berry Dessert Pizza

Ingredients
  • 1 package of brownie mix
  • 1/3 cup boiling water
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1 package of cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1tsp vanilla
  • lots of fruit! (i used strawberries, blueberries, bananas, raspberries)
  • optional edible glitter
Instructions
  1. Take brownie mix, water, oil and egg and blend. Spread in a pizza pan. I used a 9 inch to have a taller brownie, but you can use up to a 12 inch. Make sure the pan is greased and floured. Bake on 350 for 25 minutes.
  2. Take softened cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Spread on brownie pizza and bake 15 more minutes. Cool.
  3. Arrange cut organic strawberries, bananas, and other fruits and top with cute glitter for a fun surprise.

~Trisha

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Inspiring Quotes and Pictures

28 Oct By 3 Comments

I am sure I am not the only one that needs inspiration from time to time. Sometimes life seems so challenging and then realize there are people that depend on you and life needs you to be ok. Whether its a relationship, a job, your children, whatever it is, I hope you draw on some strength tonight.

 

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Grand Finale! My Nursery Reveal!

15 Jul By 58 Comments

Chase Baby Blueprint Nursery Challenge

First of all, if you missed my first three posts, make sure you catch up! This adventure has been a blast taking care of getting the old purple playroom into something that is more suitable for a newborn baby boy. I would first like to thank Chase for creating a campaign that allowed us three bloggers to take $2000 and budget it into the baby room.

Now on with the show!

Here is the room PRIOR to the makeover. It was Charlotte’s play room and was done in purple and hand painted murals (that I did) and of course, an abundance of toys…

BEFORE PICTURES

 

I have left you with many, many questions. From chair rail to murals, which route did I go? I think showing is better than telling.

So TADA!!!!!!!!!!

My Baby Boy Beach Nursery

 AFTER PICTURES

 


Is that a makeover or WHAT!~

Now let me break it down for you.

I changed the nursery first by finding the crib. Once I had a crib to center the room around, I found custom made beach bedding which set the colors and tone of where I wanted to go, which prompted a painting match. Next, I found the surfboard fan, which I was afraid would change the entire feel of the room, but has actually been a very welcome piece that keeps the room cool and brings in a wooden element.

From there it was about incorporating some elements that would bring the room more personalization. I had this vision in my head of huge pictures the baby would see when he woke up (of family) and took some pictures and had them framed in large black and whites in the wainscoting-eseque frames. Then I added open shadow box shelves and started shopping and collecting seashells and other trinkets from the local area. It was very important to me to have some artisan work from our own coastline artists, so I used the “Pensacola Pelican”, which is an icon around here, some glass pieces from the beach shops, and even a beach car that I got right at a gas station.

Now the palm tree picture on the dresser is actually from Mexico. That was all finger painting if you can believe it!

I also picked up items that you cant see very well like a seashell nightlight and pewter covers for the light switches that are engraved with beach life.

Originally I had picked up that rug randomly trying to break up some of the beige in the room and once I got it in I was unsure….I decided to keep it and feel the room out and once the mural was on the wall, I just really loved the way it all came together. Last but not least, I added a baby hamper and a small storage and sitting bench where I could put toys, stuffed animals, or right now before he can reach it, baby supplies and shoes.

Chase

Let me re-remind you:

Project Nursery:

  • Objective: Create Nursery using my Slate card with Blueprint staying on Budget
  • Budget: $2000 from Chase to accomplish the task
  • Goal: To balance it all out, get my needs (and a few wants) and use my Chase Slate card with Blueprint to keep this shopping experience painless and stress free
  • Prize: $500 and up!

Now of course Chase Slate with Blueprint has been there through it all, from the first purchase to the last, I have been able to keep control on where the majority of my money has been spent and how quickly I am paying it down.

Don’t forget that this was a nursery challenge, so its a competition (Vote for me!) and making sure I stay on task was of the utmost importance. The last thing I needed to distract me from the end goal of this room was worrying about money. Slate allowed me an easy way to pay for my purchases while Blueprint allowed me an easily accessible and easy ability to set up payment plans that fit right into that budget.

Controlling interest charges are always a big deal for anyone utilizing credit cards and knowing that I have the ability to pay exactly within my own budget based on the payment plan I choose, from Full Pay, Split Pay, or Finish It will keep any parent (or anybody) with a fantastic hold on their own personal budgets.

Again, thanks to Chase and thanks to everyone that has followed this challenge and enjoyed watching my purple playroom go to Baby boy Nursery.

Now all I need is a baby.

~Trisha

*disclosure: This post is a part of the Chase Blueprint Baby Challenge where I am in competition against 3 other bloggers showcased on Parents.com for a nursery makeover.  This is a compensated and sponsored post. To learn more about Chase, please go here. To read more about the other bloggers, go here.

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Not too boy, but oh so baby…

6 Jul By 10 Comments

(this is post #3 in the Chase Baby Blueprint Nursery Makeover Challenge)

The time is almost here for the big reveal! It seems as soon as I get one thing done, I have 10 more that need to be completed. You would think the awesomeness of having a nursery challenge would really make me just love to shop, but in reality its like when you are on a shopping spree and you cant bear to spend any money.

Sometimes I walk into stores and just walk and walk and stare and go home empty handed.

Now a few things I knew I wanted were personal touches. While I don’t have anything more than an ultrasound picture of this little one, I did want to make sure he is surrounded by family when he wakes up, so it was important for me to develop some photos of the family to display around the room. I searched through 100′s of our photos (Ok, make that 1000′s) to find some shots that were taken on the beach and had them done into 11 x 14 black and whites. Then a friend and I searched high and low for while frames and found a nearly perfect design at the craft store. No surprise there, right?

But I really love we found the paneled white wood around the frames; take a look!

I also spent a good 4 hours and 10 stores trying to find shadow box frames to sit nick nacks in. Of course Charlotte came along and added her own items for now, but I can assure you the painted shells wont be staying….

I did, however, let her add her own addition she picked up this weekend over in Florida while visiting her grandparents… Although, I’m not 100% positive why they painted a “Surfs Up” on something that says Mobile on it…we don’t have surf here!

And last, but not least, I really wanted to show off this adorable Shark robe that I have added to the wall….practical, useful, and total decor right now.

Now through it all I have been able to keep my balances straight and my budget in line with my Slate with Blueprint card, but I bet you are wondering from the last post did I do the mural? Did I add a stripe or some chair rail to the room?

I can tell you I spent every penny of the $2000 Chase gave me to budget for the nursery..and then maybe a few more. But the truth is, I completely love it. The entire idea that I had in my head, fell together, piece by piece, until it was exactly how I had envisioned it. And if you have ever been a pregnant mama, you can imagine how stressful making something come to life is.

One thing I never had to worry about failing me was logging into Blueprint and keeping track of my purchases. Because I was on a budget, every dollar counted, because it was one more dollar I could add to the decor or an upgrade of something that was just perfect.

Baby Phoenyx deserves the best, right?

I found that my Slate card was so easy to use and with Blueprint there to keep me steady and let me know exactly what I was spending, where, in what category, and budgeting the payment to my needs, I feel like from beginning to end the nursery went off without a hitch!

See you on the next post with all the pictures and touches that I did and I sincerely hope you love my “not too boy, but oh so baby” nursery choices.

~Trisha

*disclosure: This post is a part of the Chase Blueprint Baby Challenge where I am in competition against 3 other bloggers showcased on Parents.com for a nursery makeover.  This is a compensated and sponsored post. To learn more about Chase, please go here. To read more about the other bloggers, go here. To read my first post in this challenge, visit Chase Blueprint Baby Challenge: Homage to my Gulf Coast Roots.  To read my second post, please go to Nursery Makeover.

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Nursery Makeover….a soft place for the baby to sleep

30 Jun By 17 Comments

You would think that doing a nursery would be fun, exciting even. But wow! It has been hard to have one theme in your head to have ten more show up.

I had originally planned a beach theme, a beach theme that included soft sands, and soft walls, and white furniture, and I am still going that way. But I keep finding adorable items that end up more on the “tiki” or “surf theme” and while they both include water, they totally clash.

Lets start with the crib.

We finally got that crib up. Happily, the crib was the easiest thing I had to do! Even though I went with a white crib which can traditionally be thought of for a girl, I love how the lines on it are all straight across which give it more of a masculine feel. My daughters crib was all fancy and curvy, and also white, but they are so different that it still works for me and this theme.

This crib is in Vanilla and you can see that I have laid in my starfish bedding and organic cotton sheets. My only disappointment was that as much as I liked the crib, and liked the bedding, they dont seem to go together. You cant see the lovely ruffles on the bottom of the bedding set, but they seem to make a great hiding place for the cats!

Also, my daughter Charlotte has started to get into the game and surprised me with a few additions of her own on the walls, including this seahorse I found taped in the room today.

I do believe I will frame it for his room from his big sister.

Now with the walls, going from that dark purple mural to blue was quite a treat. It made my daughter cringe a bit since this was her playroom, but ultimately I do believe I achieved a beautiful wall color that is pleasant to the eye, not too soft, but also dark enough to feel like the ocean.

My thoughts from here were to put wainscoting on the walls and really give it a finished look, but would you know after buying $200 in wainscoting and chair rail, driving it home w/ the hatch up on my truck, and dragging it up the stairs, and I thought it was far too stark next to the white furniture.

So of course down the stairs, back to the truck, back to the store.

And back to square one. My new thoughts now are to perhaps get a mural. I just emailed them today to find out how long it would take to ship, but I do believe it might really finish the room behind the crib.

Right now I am considering this “Florida Skies” mural, which I believe may compliment the color and theme of the room and also give the baby something soft to look at when he wakes up:

If for some reason that would take a few months and I cant get it in time (can you believe the baby will be here in 12 weeks? EEK!), my back up plan is paint a stripe around the room to separate the top and bottom, so thats also still a possibility.

I have looked at a ton of “wave” rub ons and even sayings like this one I found, but overall making a commitment has been so hard!

One commitment I have made that I do love however is my glider. I didn’t get that with Charlotte, so I wanted to make sure I had a place to rock the baby for the middle of the night feedings.  I absolutely fell in love with this Glider in this soft cream and matching ottoman, where I can rock or kick my feet up. It just feels so lush and when I sit on it I can almost imagine looking out over the Ocean.

Come to think of it, that reminds me, I totally have to find some ocean sounds to play!

From this point forward, what I have to do is decide between a mural or stripes, or even leaving those blue walls the way they are. I have to get in some of my left over furniture like Charlotte’s old nursery dresser and start fixing up some shelves. I also need to clean out the excess toys from the closet and figure out some real storage.

In short…I have to do everything still!

Through it all, the Chase Slate card has been keeping my purchases straight and I can track them on Blueprint anytime I need to which gives me peace of mind and the ability to control my budget each month. Of course having the Chase card with Blueprint makes it easy with all those upcoming purchases as well. I can easily find out what categories my money is being spent in, set up payment plans to make it easy to pay my debt down or off, and its one less thing on my mind with all these nursery designs and plans.

Signing in has been so easy. Finding out my balance, knowing what the upcoming bill will be based on how I want to pay, and using all the budgeting tools has made this project extremely low key as far as stress is concerned for me.

Don’t forget, this is a challenge! The Blueprint Baby Challenge! The Blueprint Baby Challenge is where three bloggers, including myself, are competing to redesign a room in our house into a nursery to win up to $3000 with our amazing designs. Chase has given us $2000 in order to complete this makeover task as well. So not only do I have to make this nursery perfect for my little one, goodness knows he will be the last, but I have to edge those other mommies beautiful designs out to win.

The Pressure! The Pressure!

I cant wait to share the finished product…when it’s finished that is!

~Trisha

*disclosure: This post is a part of the Chase Blueprint Baby Challenge where I am in competition against 3 other bloggers showcased on Parents.com for a nursery makeover.  This is a compensated and sponsored post. To learn more about Chase, please go here. To read more about the other bloggers, go here. To read my first post in this challenge, visit Chase Blueprint Baby Challenge: Homage to my Gulf Coast Roots.

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MomDot in Parents Magazine!

26 Jun By 20 Comments

This month (July) in Parents Magazine, you can see Charlotte and I (and two other bloggers) on page 16. We are competing in the Blueprint Baby Nursery Challenge.

My first post for the nursery challenge is here, but please come back over the next few weeks to watch it all unfold! My nursery is all done and I am itching to share the final shots…ack! I really love it to be honest.

I am trying to be patient and share on schedule, but its soooo hard.

This is my first national magazine publish with my blog name, so that was also a very cool thing to share with Baby Phoenyx when he gets older. Of course…its not Charlotte’s.

 

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Nursery Makeover Challenge: Homage to My Gulf Coast Roots

23 Jun By 29 Comments

Chase Blueprint Baby Challenge

The Baby

When I first found out I was pregnant, the panic set in. I had fully intended on being a mother of 1. A mother of one had two parents against one child. It’s completely brilliant! A mother of 1 older child had her own bath time, freedom to shop alone, and enough money to (probably) get her off to college. The swirl of insanity swept into my brain and it took a few months to gather my wits and realize that I had done this once.

And survived.

Not only that, but having a baby is actually fun. Aside from the midnight, 3 am, and 6am feedings, gas buildup, and endless diapers, I was going to get a chance to go shopping for baby stuff, develop a brand new nursery, and get a second chance to raise a child that might possibly eat broccoli without gagging. Ooh, and I got that added benefit of using the basket underneath the stroller for a purse.

Total parenting plus there.

Having a 6.5 year old does present its challenges and even more so when its a girl. I had far gotten rid of any thing under the category of “baby”, including the crib, all the toys, and clothing. Just as Murphys Law would have it, I actually had just sold my daughters crib in a farewell moment during a yard sell just this past summer.

I keep imagining it in all its glory at someone else’s house.

C’est La Vie.

As luck would have it, I was selected to participate in a nursery makeover, or for me, a nursery re-do in its entirety, and along with two other bloggers, had a challenge to stay in budget while using my Slate card with Blueprint and create a baby room I was proud of.

Pregnancy got better! I mean, what woman over the age of 6 doesn’t like shopping, am I right?

The Goal

Project Nursery:

Objective: Create Nursery using my Slate card with Blueprint staying on Budget

Budget: $2000 from Chase (for me, that means really watching my pennies! remember, I need EVERYTHING for my new baby!)

Goal: To balance it all out, get my needs (and a few wants) and use my Chase Slate card with Blueprint to keep this shopping experience painless and stress free

Prize: $500 and up!

Although I was getting a chance to work with Chase as a blogger, it most definitely wasn’t my first experience as a consumer. We proudly finance our home mortgage and carry another credit card with Chase, so I was anxious to check out what made the Slate card with Blueprint a good resource to help organize my finances. Blueprint is a way I can pick how I want my purchases paid off and is already on my card – for free!

Honestly, when you are planning for baby that’s really what it comes down to. Budget. What must you get, what do you want, and how do you balance those two differences and keep it reasonable. Lucky for me, Chase Slate and Blueprint has made it incredibly easy.

Here, I’ll show you!

Once you have your Slate card, you can login to your Chase account and go to Blueprint. From there, you can choose to full pay, split, finish paying and even track where your money is going.

(the * icon is mine to show you more!)

For example, in our household when it comes down to larger items, like bedding, I definitely need an extra month or two to cover those.

Here you can see I set up one of my larger purchases thus far, a paddle fan, into two payments. It automatically lets me know my payment and my estimated end date so I can see my progress:

Once I realized how easy this was and how little I needed even math skills to accomplish, I mentioned it to a neighbor. Her exact response was “We LOVE blueprint!” Being able to plan out exactly where my money is, under what categories I am making my purchases and how they are being paid off, has been a huge time savor and stress reducer to this pregnant mom. And the benefit of full pay is that you don’t have to pay interest on your purchases, even when you carry a balance.

The Nursery

Once I found out that I was having a boy, my mind started to go to work. In a world of pink princess and tiaras, I wasn’t 100% sure how to translate over to cars, trucks, and trains. In fact I wasn’t entirely sure if that kind of nursery was actually “me” and since Jr over here wouldn’t get an opinion for a few more years, I had to make sure it was something we both could live with. After some careful thinking, I decided to play homage to my Gulf Coast roots and create a beach nursery for my son. I started with a surfboard ceiling fan from Lowes and got a soft grey-blue paint – Stormy Cove – for the walls. No, it may not be overly traditional, or even often thought of often when it comes to baby rooms, but I really wanted the challenge of finding something unique and different for our house and this room. On a more traditional note, I chose a soft glider from Hayneedle that’ll be perfect for nursing the baby. And some fabulous custom bedding – one of a kind and handmade right from Etsy.

Here is a sneak peek:

That’s about it for now. I look forward to sharing my story back into babyhood with everyone and hope along the way it inspires you on your own pregnancy journey.

~Trisha

*disclosure: This post is a part of the Chase Blueprint Baby Challenge where I am in competition against 3 other bloggers showcased on Parents.com for a nursery makeover. This is a compensated and sponsored post. To learn more about Chase, please go here. To read more about the other bloggers, go here.

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Take Bissell’s Sock Test and Win!

2 May By Leave a Comment

It’s a time for hardworking moms to kick back, enjoy brunch … and brave a visit from the in-laws. The kids love seeing Grandma, but meeting Mom’s high cleaning standards can be stressful – She’ll notice hard-to-reach dust on blinds, spots on the tablecloth and dirt in the carpet. If your readers are among the 70 percent of women stressed by mothers-in-law, help them prep for Mom’s visit with two simple, at-home tests. These timely tasks can be done before company arrives – and they’re so easy, kids can help too!

Pass the white glove test: This iconic test is an old standby for catching dust – Use it in your home to catch spots you don’t clean every week. Have kids use a glove (or an old white t-shirt) to “inspect”’ for dust hidden in areas like blinds, dining room chairs and wall paneling. Follow closely behind your little detective to remove the dust before your mother-in-law finds it!

Pass BISSELL’s White Sock Test (and win prizes!): Your home may be hiding dirt you’ve never noticed – each square foot of carpet can hold up to a pound of dirt before it’s visible! BISSELL’s White Sock Test reveals deep-down dirt vacuuming may leave behind. To take the test, have your kids put on a clean, damp white sock and do “the twist” in a high-traffic carpeted area for 30 seconds. The carpets’ grime will be revealed in the socks – If it’s not pretty, make sure to deep clean carpets before Mom arrives.

 

(Here is mine!)

(this is about 2 minutes of dancing to Youtube)

Meanwhile, adults can upload a photo of those dirty socks to Facebook.com/bissell, and be randomly entered to win a $15,000 home makeover. You can also visit BISSELL’s Facebook page daily for instant-win prizes like Visa gift cards and BISSELL deep cleaning systems. (Cleaner carpets and a home makeover? Mom will be so proud!)

You can visit Bissell.com/socktest for more details.

The White Sock Test

Your socks know how much dirt is lurking in your carpet. Do you?
If you vacuum your carpet regularly, you probably think it’s clean. But if you don’t deep clean, it’s probably not. Don’t believe us? Take the BISSELL White Sock Test and find out for yourself.

  1. Wet a clean white sock.
  2. Do “the twist” in a high traffic area of your carpet for at least 30 seconds. (Really get your foot in there!)
  3. What’s the sock look like now?

Take the White Sock Test and enter for a chance to win a $15,000 home makeover, plus get daily chances to win instant prizes like a BISSELL deep cleaner or $25 Visa gift card.

Happy Mother’s Day!

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