This recipe is so easy and great for entertaining! It will look like you spent a lot of time preparing for your guests and it only takes a few minutes to put it together!

Ingredients:

Bread Crumbs
1 Package of Spinach
1 Package of sliced mushrooms
6 Boneless Chicken Breasts
6 Slices of Deli Swiss Cheese
Garlic Powder
Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Melted Butter
1/2 cup White Wine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a large baking dish (I use a lasagna pan) with non-stick spray and then layer the bottom of the pan with bread crumbs. Next, layer with the bag of spinach, mushrooms, chicken and swiss cheese. Sprinkle garlic powder over the cheese. Then, generously sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Pour the butter and wine over all of the chicken. (I find I use more butter and wine then what the recipe calls for so there is sauce to serve over noodles.) The layers will be piled higher than the edge of the pan but it reduces down as it bakes.

Bake for about 40 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

I serve this over fettucini noodles but it can be served on its own with various side dishes. Serves 6. Enjoy!

I came across this article that just made me smile. I love the title, ‘10 Simple Things To Make You Happier At Home.’ http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/10-things-that-will-make-you-happier-at-home-174151?utm_campaign=topblock&utm_medium=web&utm_source=main-entry
I love number 4. It’s not new, and Oprah refers to it as “the magic of gratitude.” Check it out. Which one speaks to you?

Did you make your bed today? http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/make-your-bed-it-just-might-make-you-productive-profitable-and-peaceful-173046

Gone are the days of chemical household cleaning. We are all shifting towards a greener way of life. However you may have noticed that the so called green cleaners you can buy at the store are a bit pricy and some are made by the larger chemical companies which makes me wonder how green they really are. The United States does not do anything to monitor terms like “biodegradable” or “natural,” so the only way you can find out if the natural cleaning products you are considering are truly natural is to check the label and be able to read between the lines.

Here are some great cleaning tips using basic items that cost pennies compared to the cleaners out there.

For an overall kitchen counter cleaner take a squirt of a degreasing dish soap like Dawn and add it to warm water. Put in a small spray bottle and give a little shake. It’s perfect for after dinner cleaning.

Forget the disinfecting wipes in a can. Not only are they quite pricy but just think of the trash they accumulate. A simple solution of rubbing alcohol and hot water. Add a few drops of lemon juice for a fresh scent and extra cleaning power.

The old fashion trick of vinegar and water makes your windows really sparkle. If you want you can add a few drops of lavender essential oil so it smells pretty. Just add two cups of water and a ¼ cup of vinegar to a spray bottle.

Plain baking soda sprinkled on carpets and vacuumed up will deodorize any room without that overly perfumed smell of regular carpet deodorizers.

Funky smell in your garbage disposal? Freeze vinegar and lemon slices in ice cube trays and pop into your disposal to clean out.

Just be sure to properly label the bottles you have. Since you are being green why not cut down on the paper towels used in cleaning. Old t-shirts make great rags and newspaper is perfect for cleaning windows. Happy Cleaning!

Interior Decorating Tips for Couples:

Recently, my husband and I sat down to discuss making over our bedroom from floor to ceiling. Like every woman, the wheels start turning on what colors, fabrics, and shiny new things we can get. I can already see the room coming together when he wakes me from my daydream and starts telling me his ideas. OH NO! I am slowly envisioning this man cave with sports memorabilia and other manly things throughout the room. This can’t happen! It will be horrible! I won’t be able to sleep! What will I do?!

I started to think about the simple things that we could most likely agree on easily and asked for his input. “So, what color were you thinking for the walls?” His quick reply was like music to my ears: “Oh, something neutral. What do you think would be a good color?” I mentioned gray and he seemed to be intrigued, so we looked at a few gray samples, one of which we both agreed would work- so on the walls it went.

Now for accent colors, which I originally dreamt would be teal, yellow, or both. So again I asked what he thought about those colors. I did get a little resistance, so I waited and then slowly introduced a few teal accents to the room. He didn’t like them, so I took them back to the store and purchased something yellow. I couldn’t wait for him to decide on a color he would prefer, so I figured I would give him some visuals of my idea. That worked like a charm, so now we have gray walls with yellow accents… and a little teal!

The bigger challenge was going to be incorporating his taste in bedroom furniture with mine. So off to the furniture stores we went – and those trips were painful! What he liked, I didn’t, and what I liked was too expensive. I started to do a little searching on line and, as I found things, I would print them out. I tried to print things that were a hint of what he liked and more affordable so he could see I was paying attention to his ideas and concerns. Once we were able to bring those photos of furniture into the room, it made it a bit easier to decide on the style and color that would be best.

I pretty much ended up with exactly what I envisioned for the room, without him ever feeling like I pushed it on him and he had no say.

So here are some tools I used to do it:

1. Have a specific budget
2. Ask for input and ideas
3. Be open to the suggestions
4. Have specific/clear ideas to share
5. Find or ask for alternatives to ideas you aren’t keen on
6. Introduce items of your choice into the room to offer a visual
7. Figure out which design elements you can easily allow the other to make decisions on.

Rum Sangria
I love all the exotic cocktails that can be enjoyed throughout the summer and think this unique Champagne and rum based Sangria is one of the best! This light and refreshing recipe will keep you hydrated and help make any summertime gathering extra special! You can cut this recipe in half- but why would you want to?!

1 bottle of Mango Rum
2 bottles of Champagne
1 Bottle of Sprite
1 bottle of white Cranberry and Peach juice
1 bottle of Club Soda

Add sliced fruits such as peaches, oranges and strawberries- enjoy!

I know this blog is typically a carefree and fun place to check in but, in light of what happened Friday in Colorado, it just seems appropriate to take a giant step back for a minute. After the actions of one selfish coward, there are twelve people who won’t get to see the end of the summer. Twelve families trying to cope with immeasurable loss. Dozens of injured people trying to comprehend how close they came and how lucky they are. A nation that’s realizing that what happened in Colorado could have happened anywhere. The world is a crazy place – and we should be thankful for each moment we’re in it and the people we’re fortunate enough to go through it with. Above all else, though, we should be good to each other. We should <em>at least</em> be able to do that.

I don’t know about you but most days I need an afternoon pick-me-up! It could be something sweet or salty, I prefer sweet. I shouldn’t have one every day for obvious reasons but once in a while. My afternoon pick-me-ups usually are chocolate, ice cream (with jimmies of course) and sometimes a piece of cake. I came across this recipe for a Lemon-Blackberry Cheesecake. As I am sitting at my desk my mouth is watering and I am trying to figure out how I can get a piece of this cake delivered right to my desk! I would love this afternoon pick-me-up today!
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
softened 1 cup sour cream
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 pounds cream cheese
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 pints blackberries
3/4 cup milk
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
4 eggs

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350˚. Grease a 9-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Mix the graham cracker crumbs with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a medium bowl. Press onto the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan.
In a large bowl, use a handheld mixer to combine the cream cheese with the sugar until smooth. Blend in the milk, then beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in the sour cream, flour, and vanilla until smooth. Divide the mixture between two bowls.
In a food processor or blender, purée 1 pint of the blackberries with the lemon zest and juice. Pour the purée into one bowl of the cheese mixture along with the remaining 1⁄2 pint of whole blackberries and mix well.
Pour the blackberry filling on top of the prepared crust. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and pour the remaining filling over the top. Return to the oven to bake for 1 hour, until the topping is set. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
I can’t wait to try this recipe out, and mix it up a little with different fruits.

Looking for a new summer dessert? Try this scrumptious and easy to make dessert! Click the link below and follow the simple step by step instructions. Perfect for a hot day!

http://theinspiredcollection.blogspot.com/2011/10/dessert-kabobs.html

I was a 90’s teen. You remember us… We were awesome. Ok, we were kinda lame cause we couldn’t figure out our place in the world after the big hair of the 80’s had just trampled everything, leaving us in a haze of Aqua Net and bobbie pins. We went the opposite… Some who wanted to embrace all cultures went over to wearing cross colors and flip up glasses, others went the moody, grungy, Kurt Cobain loving, “I only shop in second hand stores” look. I was the later.

Ok, so calm down, it’s not like I had thread wraps in my hair, or hemp necklaces, or book bags with patches and song lyrics written all over them… Never mind the corderoy pants I didn’t have that were held together on the seam with a million bead decorated safty pins. Wait…OK, so I had all those things, but I thought I was cool! Where are those pants they were amazing…

Anyway, so what’s the point of this blog? Oh yeah. One of my FAVORITE things from being a 90’s teenager, was mixtapes. OH did I love my mixtapes!!! Do you remember making them? You would sit by the radio for HOURS waiting for that one song to come on, the one you have been dying to hear, that you MUST record, because buying the entire cassette tape was WAY to expensive and you didn’t like the other songs on there anyway. Sometimes me and my brother would request the songs on the radio, so we knew when they were coming on, so we would actually record a little of the LAST song, and not miss a second of our precious gem!

I was always highly disappointed when you were recording the beautiful lyrics from Smashing Pumpkins or Toad the Wet Sprocket and the tape would end in the middle of the song, leaving you crushed… with eye liner (any REM fans?)

But my absolute favorite thing about mixtapes was the gift of a mixtape. Oh nothing made my heart pitter patter louder than when a boy at school would make me a mixtape! You made sure to look for meaning in every single song. And I loved when you were given a mixtape as a gift, and the person wrote out ever song on the little sleeve that tenderly held that little box with all those beautiful songs on it. I even had a pen pal who used to send them to me all the time and really school me in music! I think his mixtapes were the best ever.

As yes… I miss the good old days of working to save your passion! Technology has made us pretty lazy with that. Here are some of the songs that bring me right back to my mixtape days: Disarm by Smashing Pumpkins, Tell Her by Delamitri, Ironic by Alanis Morrisette, and You Say by Lisa Lobe. How about you? Do you remember?

If you’re like me, you are a worrier – someone who can relate to just about any stressful situation. I am not proud of this, nor am I bragging about it. It’s just a fact. It’s who I am. I take pride in my work and in my personal accomplishments, as well. It is important for me, not just to get the job done, but to be the best at it!

This is the time of year, in our business, where we are so busy that we sometimes forget about what’s good for us. Yes, the job must get done and yes, expectations are high. But the bottom line is this…if you can’t control your level of stress, you can’t control anything. And for me, as a control freak, that is the worst! 🙂 If you are not doing what is good for you, you are good for no one….not even yourself.

Keeping life balance is important. While most of us put all things before ourselves, we must remind ourselves to keep things in check. Managing stress is a critical part to being able to perform optimally, personally and professionally. So while it seems like there is no time for lunch or no time to take a quick break, you must find small ways of doing it! It doesn’t have to be anything more than just taking a quick walk away from your desk or the office. Sometimes what I like to do is offer to go pick up coffee or ice cream for everyone in the office, just to mentally take a quick break.

You need it. Do it.

It is so important to maintain focus and balance to be able to function day to day. Our world moves at the speed of lightning now and most days I feel like I simply can’t keep up! Emails have become equivalent to snail mail. Facebook and texts have replaced face to face conversations and have given us the illusion that we are in touch without actually being “in touch”. It’s crazy! But it works. It’s all I have time for these days, it seems. Our attention spans keep getting shorter and shorter….

Faster and faster. Technology is moving us to a level of frenzy that is almost unbelievable.

I think back on the days of my childhood. Riding bikes – miles – across town. No means of communication except to ring someone’s door bell or call from your house phone or maybe a payphone, in an emergency. Playing – actually playing outside until the streetlights came on – then it was time to go home. My parents didn’t drive me places – I got to where I wanted to go on my bike, by bus or by foot! No checking in/ No tracking devices. We just figured stuff out on our own. Wow.

I think I just proved my point about maintaining focus. I was interrupted 3 times while typing this and look where my train of thought ended up! I started out talking about stress and ended up in one of those “back in my day..” rants. Hmmmm. It says a lot.

Keep it simple. Keep lists so you don’t forget. Smile. Laugh. Work Hard. Have fun. Be kind. Be good to yourself. Practice random acts of kindness. These small things all make a difference.

In the meantime, here are some ideas to help reduce stress:

http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/reducing-stress-tips

And I’m sure you all know that “stressed” is “desserts” spelled backwards. So on that note, I’m going to go grab some lunch!

Have a great day and keep smiling!!