DIY Spa in a Jar Gift

    Gifts in a jar are fun and simple to make and great to receive. At work this year we had secret sisters, during the year we gave each other little gifts.  Well now it is the end of the year and time to reveal whose sister we are and give our end of the year gift! I decided to make mine a Spa in a Jar gift.

   I got a cute jar at TJ Max and filled it with a couple different face masks, a wash cloth, lotion, a pumas stone, nail polish, and chap stick. All which I found at Target. I then took some paint and a stencil and decorated the lid a little bit. 

 A perfect relaxing gift for a mom and teacher at the end of the year. What are some other great gifts in a jar.

No Churn Cookie Dough Ice Cream

    There is nothing nicer then ice cream on a hot summer day. Memorial Day is the beginning of summer in my book. I have been seeing recipes for no churn ice cream, no need for an ice cream maker, sounded worth a shot to me! 

Married Monday: The Problem with Pride

    Pride is defined as a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority.

   Pride will ruin any relationship you have, and it is so toxic in a marriage. Pride can make a person feel independent like you don’t need anyone, even God.  That should be enough to know you don’t want to be prideful. Here are a few other things that pride can cause and why it hurts your marriage.

McDonald's Famous Hamburger and the New Sirloin Burger

I am a brand ambassador for McDonald’s of Central Arkansas and am being compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions though are my own.

    McDonald’s hamburgers are world famous, a piece of American history in a bag with an order of delicious fries and a soft drink. Their beef burgers include a 100% beef patty with all the trimmings. You can choose from bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion, honey barbecue glaze and a smoky peppered mayo, and so much more all in a cheese-topped bun.

   Kid Meals were the taste of my childhood, a #6 Double Cheeseburger with fries is the taste of my present (especially to take on a picnic with my hubby), and now, the taste of the future for me is the new sirloin burger.

An Indian Dinner, Butter Chicken with Nann

   Disclaimer these are not my recipes I just have to share them because they are so stinking good!!

   We have started to attempt to venture out in our food and try different things. If you’ve been around long you know that Italian used to be all the time in our house, but pasta, while amazing, is not something that we should be eating every night. We do Chinese(ish) often as well, so we went a little different and tried some Indian food.

Married Monday: Pride and Marriage

   Happy Tuesday and late Married Monday. I got so caught up in life I forgot to get my post out yesterday, oops.

   Pride is something that can ruin relationships and next week I am going to dive into how it can hurt a marriage to the point of complete ruin. 

   I was scrolling along my Facebook feed and up popped this picture from Unveiled Wife and it convicted me big time.

Being Generous

   Yesterday I had a guest post go live on the Arkansas Women Bloggers Site! I love getting a chance to write for them, each month has a theme, this month was Generosity.

   I wrote about how you can be more generous, without spending money, which when you start to think about it there are quite a few ways. Of course you can always give money to a cause that means a lot to you, but to the people around you, YOU are much more valuable to them then your money.

Chinese Ribs and Lo Mein

   The other night I was on the hunt for something fun to cook, I went through my recipes from past classes and spotted these Chinese ribs that were so so delicious. Looking for a side I decided to try out Lo Mein.

Married Monday: Balancing Act

   I was reading some articles on Family Circle and found this one on balancing personal needs and marriage. It has some good points, some that I have hit on before about setting boundaries in your marriage and keeping personal time.

Renee Gets Fit

Hey!!
This last week I have started a new fitness journey and challenge. So I decided I wanted to keep myself accountable I decided to start a blog/ vlog.

So I would love if you checked it out here.

To Moms

   So I completely suck at poetry but I wanted to share a sweet poem for Moms today in honor of Mother's Day being Sunday. I found this one and thought it was sweet and perfect for what I wanted to say. 

You Were There... 
You were there when we took our first steps,And went unsteadily across the floor.You pushed and prodded: encouraged and guided,Until our steps took us out the door...You worry now "Are they ok?"Is there more you could have done?As we walk the paths of our unknownYou wonder"Where have my children gone?"Where we are is where you have led us,With your special love you showed us a way,To believe in ourselves and the decisions we make.Taking on the challenge of life day-to-day.And where we go you can be sure,In spirit you shall never be alone.For where you are is what matters most to us,Because to us that will always be home... Author Unknown 
Found here. 

   To my Mom, Thank you for always being my rock and letting me be me. I love you so much and glad to say that you are one of my best friends! Love you so much!

   To my Mother in Law, Thank you for raising the man I love so much, Each day I can see the character and values you instilled in him. Thank you for loving me and trusting me with your precious baby boy. 

Quinoa Bites

    The other night I was looking for a healthy snack to take to a pot luck and came across quinoa bites. I have cooked with quinoa only once before and it was for a supper healthy project so the end product really did not taste incredible, so  I was ready to try it again and thought this would be the perfect time. The ones I found at The Iron You, which I am so glad to find this blog he has some great stuff, are buffalo bites to replace your buffalo chicken wings. They turned out delicious and were a big hit.

Cooking Quinoa

First I toasted it a bit to get a nuttier flavor. Then I cooked it in chicken broth instead of water to add a bit more flavor as well.  All you need to do is add the quinoa into boiling liquid and then let it cook for 15 minutes, make sure all the water is gone. Then fluff with a fork.

Marriage Monday: My Favorite Devotionals for Wives

  

Top 10 Mother's Day Gifts

   It is almost Mother's Day!! I always seem to have a hard time finding a good gift for Mom. When you ask mothers rarely say something they really want, or if they do it is something simple and you feel they deserve so much more. So today I am going to share with you my top 10 gift ideas that I have found and thought of for this year!