Rayban Wayfarer Giveaway with Smart Buy Glasses

Now that the sun is finally showing its face (halelluiah!), I am thrilled to team up with Smart Buy Glasses to give a lucky reader a pair of the new Ray Ban Wayfarers! 3 color options as displayed above! These sunnies don't mess around. Durable and stylish, and made of acetate and glass. These will last you for miles. 

In case you are not familiar with the site, Smart Buy Glasses offers everything from prescription lenses to designer shades at all price ranges, so it is worth the look!

Enter the giveaway below, and we will draw a winner next Tuesday!

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April 1st Fresh Picks

Image 1 // Image 2
Citrus Print // Necklace // Shoes // Plates

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With Easter came little signs of new life surrounding us.
Its a sunny warm day in Atlanta, the birds are chirping, and the trees blossomed in our neighborhood. I think there is a reason for the seasons....anyone else almost lose it in March?? ;) How was your Easter? I shared a few snapshot recaps on instagram. Early sunrise Mass, a pig roast, and sugar meltdowns were highlights;) My family arrives today from St. Louis so we are anxiously awaiting their arrival.

Stay tuned for an exciting week here on IHOD (you won't want to miss tomorrow's giveaway) and the new site launch!

Easter Dinner: Strawberry Shortcake with Homemade Whip Cream

So thankful to my sister Maria for sharing her beautiful food (beautiful can totally apply to the word food in this case..) recipes with us and also sharing the cuteness of my adorable goddaughter here..;)

This recipe is one that beats all! View Easter Dinner Part 1 Here and Part 2 Here..

This is my all time favorite dessert and it wouldn't be Easter without strawberries making an appearance. This is another great Kraft spinoff, but with my own homemade whipped cream.

Homemade whipped cream is super easy and it will be hard to go back to the store bought stuff again!

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups milk, divided
1/4 cup Sour cream
3 Tbs. Sugar
2 1/4 cups all purpose baking mix
1 pkg. (3.4oz) Vanilla Instant Pudding
8 oz Whipped Cream (recipe as follows)
4 cups Sliced fresh strawberries
1/4 cup sugar

Whipped Cream
1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Tbs. Powdered Sugar
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
Beat all ingredients in a chilled small bowl until stiff.

Preheat Oven to 425 degrees.

Beat 1/2 cup of milk, sour cream, and sugar together until well blended. Stir in baking mix JUST until moistened. You don't want to overstir as it will be too tough.  Spray 9 inch round baking pan with cooking spray. With a spatula, spread mixture into the pan. Bake about 12-15 minutes or until goldne brown. Cool 10 mintues and then cool on a wire rack completely.

Meanwhile...
Beat pudding mix and 1/2 cup of milk with wisk for 2 minutes. Stir in 4 oz of whipped cream. Set aside. Toss strawberries with sugar in a separate bowl.

Cut cake horizontally. I use a really sharp long bread knife to get a good clean cut. Place half the stawberries on bottom of cake and top with pudding mixure. Layer the other cake half on top, like a big sandwhich. With a spoon or spatula, spread remaining whipped cream over top of cake and add strawberries for final touch.

This dessert is best when served immediately or keep chilled if making ahead. I usually do everything but the final assembly when making ahead, as the strawberries tend to drizzle and absorb into cake.

It is truly delish!

This is an easy given for the Little Kids...Easter Jello Shapes!

You can find an Easter Jello Mold for fun shapes (found mine at Target). Our mom would make these Jello Easter Egg's each year so of course now I am making them for my own kids. Christiana loved picking out different kinds of colored jello and she helped to make a different color each day.

My Food Philosophy: Because the effort to make good food is a gift to those around me, it's happy memories, togetherness, the living part of life.

"Her mouth speaks from that which fills her heart."

And just like that we are at the end of March...(?!!)

This quote seemed to reflect our Encourage Beauty Challenge so well. In the small decisions to choose uplifting words to those around us, you can notice the small changes in your own heart. This is something I have learned from all of you who participated. That even if its just a moment we take for someone else, you an change that day for a person. 

Mandy shared with us that one of her readers who read about the challenge wrote the following:

I just have to thank you for mentioning the “encourage beauty” campaign at the beginning of the month. It inspired me to send a brief note/card to all the women in my life (mom’s, sisters, friends) just telling them that they are beautiful and that I love them.

I cannot tell you how I many of them have contacted me to tell me how much it meant, or that it came at “just” the right time, when they needed to hear it! (Of course, don’t we all long to hear that everyday – or rather need to hear it everyday!). It made everyone feel beautiful!!!

This was all I needed to remind me to live more aware of my words, but also to act upon them.
Hilary is sharing another print we made that you will have to check out. We decided this challenge should be something we can partake in anytime. If you are new and missed the original post, feel free too use the updated calendar to make the Encourage Beauty campaign part of your year! 

If you ever want to share a story, just email us or use the hashtag #encouragebeauty. You can download these prints here. Thank you for all of you who took part with us. You were a motivation to us in so many ways!

Love, Anna

Easter Dinner Series: Spring Salad + Twice Baked Potatos

Post by my talented sister Maria, see the rest of her posts here.

Well...it's hard to narrow down which sides to share! Our Easter dinner spread usually includes deviled eggs, rolls, cheeses, dips, etc. There is always a salad dish and potato dish to accompany the meal and these two pair well with the Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin.

Spring Salad
A little more fancy than a normal every day sald this recipe includes:

1 Bag of Spinach, rinsed and dried
1 handful of Dried Cranberries (or more to taste)
2-3 Tbs. Toasted Slivered Almonds
1 Orange cut into sections
4 slices Cook Crumbled Bacon
Cheese of Choice (Motzerella, or Crumbled Feta)
Balsamic Vinegarette Dressing

Twice Baked Potatoes
These will be gone in minutes!

4 Large Baking Potatoes
 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Milk (I usually use whole)
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 cup of Butter
3 Slices of Bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 Cup of Sharp Cheddar Cheese, plus more for garnish
1 Tbs. Green Onions

Preheat Oven to 375.
Wash Potatoes, puncture each potatoe with fork a few times to release steam.

Bake potatoes at 375 degrees for about 1 hour or when tender when poked through with a fork.  Carefully slice potatoes in half lengthwise and let cool. Turn oven up to 400 degrees.

When cool enough, spoon out center and place in a large bowl. Leave a little potatoe around the rim so that the skins don't sink and fall inwarrd.

Add softened butter, milk, and salt. Beat with electric mixer until whipped and potatoes are creamy and smooth. I love my Kitchen Aid mixure for this! Stir in green onions, cheese, and bacon.  With a large spoon, fill potatoe skins really full.

Place potatoes on a shallow baking tray and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Place in oven and heat for another 15-20 mintues until heated through and cheese has melted.

Stay tuned for Part three of this Easter Dinner Spread - Dessert!

My Food Philosophy: Because the effort to make good food is a gift to those around me, it's happy memories, togetherness, the living part of life.

P.S. Mosie Posies giveaway winner announced in the rafflecopter widget here!

Bump Styled: Uptown/Downtown

White Coat: c/o Sheinside, Tunic top: ON, Denim: Gap, Boots: (similar), Tote: ASOS (similar), Leather Jacket: c/o Windsor Store, Necklace: c/o Chicpeek, F21

I had a glorious forced break from work these past 4 days. 

My computer died on me and despite deadlines and big goals for the weekend, God decided I needed to rest and be still. I can't believe the wonders it did for me. I tackled logo design with pen and paper, my house got cleaned,  some DIY projects were completed, I started this book (fascinating so far), and the kids and I built lots of forts and block towers. Gabe and I also watched an unhealthy amount of NCAA basketball and our new addiction "Once Upon a Time" on netflix. 

I think I will hide my computer more often;) These small things made me so happy. Its not easy to unplug when your job depends on your computer, but I realize how necessary it is for my own well being.

Hope you all had a good weekend despite the fact that spring seems to be on strike nationwide!

$1000 #Glamgrand Visa Gift card Giveaway!

Well friends, my computer died on me but don't worry, I managed to get this sucker up because you all deserve to be apart of this chance to win a grand! I've teamed up with a group of fabulous ladies to bring you something special today. One very lucky reader will have the chance to live glam with a grand - you'll win a $1,000 Visa Gift Card!

To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter below. Points will be earned for each item completed - the more you do, the closer you'll be to winning the prize! The $1,000 Glam Grand Giveaway will run until midnight Friday 29th March 2013 and is open to participants worldwide. After this, the winner will be announced and contacted via email. 

So, now all you have to do is enter, go meet these other fun gals and start thinking about how you'd spend a grand. (I'd love to know your ideas, share them in the comments below.)

Kelsey Bang  |  Style Elixir  |  Moiology  |  Casey Leigh  |  Elle Apparel 

Ivory Lane  |  Pink Peonies  |  CaraLoren | Shannon Hearts | The Chiffon Diary

Twist Me Pretty  |  Dont Quote the Raven  |  Barefoot Blonde  |  Crazy Style Love  |  The Daily Tay

Jessica Who? |  MessyDirtyHair  | Glossy Blonde  | Glam Hungry Mom |  A Little Dash of Darling

Merrick's Art  |  In Honor of Design |  Coast With Me  |  Plane Pretty |  Mix and Match Fashion

Get Your Pretty On |  The Shine Project  |  Fashion and Tea  |  Crowley Party |  Along Abbey Road

Style With Shannon  |  Love Chugs  |  Dreaming In Cashmere  | Sincerely Arizona  |  Kacie's Kloset

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Terms & Conditions:
The Glam Grand Giveaway is for one USD $1,000 Visa Gift Card. This giveaway is open worldwide to people aged 18 years and over. It will run from Friday 22nd March 2013 to Friday 29th March 2013. Entries will be verified, so please be honest in completing items. Once the giveaway closes, the winner will be announced on this Rafflecopter and also contacted via email. To claim your prize, please respond to the email within 72 hours, failure to do so will result in a re-draw. Once the winner has been selected, this decision is final and no further correspondence will be entered into regarding this matter. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with Visa or any other social media platform. Good luck!