Oatmeal Scotchie Pie

To contact us Click HERE

My poor family.  Seriously.  My second son turned sixteen recently.  He asked if I’d make him a key lime pie.  He ended up with a key lime cheesecake parfait (recipe to come soon).  This time, my husband asked me to make “those butterscotch cookies with oatmeal.”   This time, he got a pie.  If the darned things hadn’t turned out so good, I would almost feel sorry for him.  But the whole gang is on to me and has realized that I have not been making exactly what they asked for.  They have all put their proverbial feet down and are demanding more “staples” and less creativity on my part. 

We will see how long I last.  I think that I might be able to get away with a two for one deal.  Maybe for every two “normal” desserts that I make, I might be able to sneak in another newbie.  It’s not like I am asking them to eat liver!  I could talk myself out of feeling sorry for them if I think about it too long.  I mean who complains about pie?

Show of hands…who wouldn’t want to dive right into a slice of this baby?

Cookies ~ Schmookies.

Print Oatmeal Scotchie Pie Author: adapted from Better Homes and Gardens  

Ingredients

• 1 unbaked pie shell
• ¾ pure maple sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp pure orange extract
• dash cayenne pepper (optional)
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 cup butterscotch morsels
• 1 cup rolled oats

Instructions

1. In a bowl, stir together maple syrup brown sugar, cinnamon, eggs, vanilla, orange extract, cayenne, salt and milk until smooth.
2. Add melted butter, butterscotch chips and oatmeal.
3. Stir well.
4. Pour into pie shell.
5. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until middle no longer shakes when moved.
6. Cool completely before serving and store in refrigerator.

3.1.09

DIY Fall Wreaths Ideas

To contact us Click HERE
I've rounded up a few of my favorite Fall wreaths! There are so many fabulous ones out there in blogland and via pinterest! Check out my Fall/Halloween board for even more inspiration!
Coffee Filter Wreath from Recaptured Charm
Petit Design Co.
Two Twenty One
Pumpkin Spice Fall Wreath from Quiver Full of Blessings
Fall Houndstooth Wreath from TT&J
Elegant Burlap Wreath from Create Craft Love
Fall Wreath from Architecture of a Mom
Fall Floral Wreath at A Pumpkin and a Princess
Corn Husks wreath by All Things Thrifty via The Idea Room
Come back tomorrow to see my Fall Wreath tutorial! 

Burlap Fall Wreath for under $5

To contact us Click HERE

Today I'm going to re-share a tutorial I posted a two years ago for my Burlap Halloween wreath. I used my own tutorial and created a Fall version. I thought I'd include the tutorial for those that may have missed it!
 Burlap is SUPER cheap! I got 1 yard of burlap at Joann's for around $2 using a coupon. I also got the Fall ribbon from Joann's. The "N" and other fall embellishments I had on hand.
Here's how I did it:1. I unwound the hook of a wire hanger so it was one long wire.2. I formed it into a circle shape.3. Cut my burlap into 3" strips. I used exactly 1 yard of burlap. You could use up to two yards for a more tightly folded look.4. I folded the strips back and forth as I threaded it through the wire. Super easy.photo via Halloween post
5. Once I had a full-looking wreath, I spaced out the fabric and secured it in random places, using hot glue, to the wire hanger so it didn't slide around.


6. Finally, I rewound the wire to close the hanger. I ended up keeping the hook part of the hanger so I could hang the wreath from it on my door. 
7. Made a quick bow and used wire to secure it in place.

8. Finally, I added the gold (spray painted) "N" and a few Fall embellishments to dress it up a bit. The "N" and the Fall foliage were originally from Hobby Lobby but I had them on hand.
Start to finish you're looking at about a 30-45 minute project for under $5! Can't beat that! No excuses for a wreath-less door this season! 

Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken

To contact us Click HERE
Okay, so I know I'm not a food blogger but when I made dinner the other night, I knew I had to share this with you. I combined two of my favorite (simple) recipes and made the most delicious chicken on the planet! Seriously. I was shocked at my mad cooking skills! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Marinade:
For the marinade, combine ingredients in a ziplock bag:

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 Tbs of lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

Let marinate for a few hours.

Breading and Baking:
Then, I used this recipe to bread the chicken and bake it.
Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
2. 1 package Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix 
3. 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 
4. 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Mix cheese, dressing mix and garlic powder.
3. Remove chicken from marinade and coat with dry mixture. Place in shallow baking dish.
4. Bake 20 to 25 min. or until chicken is no longer pink in the center. 

Recipe adapted from Mom's Who Think.
Combine it with a salad and your favorite side and voila, the perfect dinner! My husband told me I need to make this more often. He claimed it was the best chicken he's ever had; homemade or even at a restaurant! I was flattered, but agreed! :) It was SO EASY and pretty healthy even! We will definitely be having this a couple times a month.

Make this for dinner, like tonight!!! 

Spotlight Saturday #30

To contact us Click HERE
WHOA! #30!! That's crazy! Can't believe we have had 30 link parties on this ole blog! :) Special thanks to those who link up weekly. I recognize the blogs that come back often and I really love and appreciate it! XOXO If you're new here, WELCOME! We're glad to have you!

In case you missed this weeks posts, check 'em out!
DIY Fall Wreath Ideas
My $5 Fall Wreath
Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken Recipe

Thanksgiving Point's Easter Eggstreme | Giveaway

To contact us Click HERE



Who loves Easter more than I do? You would think it is the mom down the street who spends all night sewing matching Easter attire for their babies the night before. Nope. Maybe the super woman who decorates her entire house with Easter buntings and wreaths? Well, perhaps...but I still say no. Need a little hint? I say, Thanksgiving Point.


Are you looking for something amazingly fun to do this weekend with your kids? Well, Thanksgiving Point has your answer.

The Easter Eggstreme at Thanksgiving Point happens this Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.

There will be so many fun vendors and egg hunting activities for the kids. Word on the street is that this event is packed, so prepare accordingly to have an adult on hand for each little one so no one gets lost.

One of the best parts? The Easter Eggstreme is sponsored by Chick-fil-a...and you know how much I love them don't you? We even had lunch there yesterday, so delish.

I am giving away a family pack of tickets for free admission to this event. (Up to 9 tickets!) All you have to do is be able to pick the tickets up from me by Friday afternoon.

To enter, simply leave me a comment telling me what you love most about Thanksgiving Point and why. Please leave the number of tickets you require as well as your email address so that I can contact you in the event you win!

To earn additional entries:

Check out Thanksgiving Point on Facebook
Check out Kim Orlandini Photography on Facebook
Share this giveaway any way you would like, and let me know you did so.

Please leave an extra comment for each additional entry.

The giveaway ends Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at 6 p.m. MST. Winner will be notified by email tomorrow evening.

***Disclaimer: I am not being compensated in any way for this giveaway. However, I do ADORE Thanksgiving Point and love taking my kids to see their beautiful Tulips and gardens and love that they give me the opportunity to share their beautiful grounds and events with all of you...so, thank you Thanksgiving Point!***

I didn't know that you could choose to be happy, thank you Elizabeth Smart for teaching me otherwise.

To contact us Click HERE

I honestly didn't know.I mean, somewhere deep down inside of me I am sure that I did know. Being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that fact is pretty much nailed into our brains from the time we are infants, isn't it? Or was it lost on me thinking I had to be completely 100% amazing in order to be happy?

The world teaches us that we have to be beautiful and super model thin to be happy. We have to have the seemingly perfect life in order to be happy. Our husbands have to shower us with gifts and they come home from work and clean the house and kiss us and hug us and forgive us for all of our wrong doing. We always have our makeup on and our hair done, and dinner on the table, and our kids are so well behaved and craft masters and reading masters and all other types of masters because that is what is required to be happy. You can't be happy unless your life is without trial and sorrow. If you have not all of these things, happiness cannot be found.

At least, that is kind of what I thought.

Until almost two weeks ago when I finally learned that it is possible to choose for yourself each day to be happy with what you have been dealt in life.



It went down like this. I was up late. As in...extremely late that it becomes early. You know those nights. Life had become all consuming to me. I was being bombarded with trial upon trial upon trial. I was miserable in my marriage and after the seemingly thousandth time of forgiving, I was so done with it. Done with my marriage, done with a huge trial in my extended family, I was ready to run away.
This particular evening, after being up for so many hours I was feeling the weight of everything on my shoulders, and I was feeling it hard. I went to shut down my computer before bed when I saw people talking about the wonderful speech they had heard that evening by Elizabeth Smart. I read the comments from Facebook friends, and went to bed thinking about what she had said in reference to the trials and terrible things that had happened to her during the nine months she was taken from her family. I went to bed that night and I prayed. I prayed hard. I prayed that I could find happiness and that I could learn to truly forgive and let go.

I texted my husband at 4 a.m. that morning. A simple text, where his only response was, "Wow."The next morning I awoke to somehow come across this news article from KSL. It was as if I was being slapped in the face. I took her words literally to heart, they sang to me, rang deeply into my ears and resonated into my heart and a light finally went on inside of me, a light that had either faded after so much sorrow, or one that had possibly never even been lit before.  

My favorite portion of the article reads:

It was not until later, though, that Smart and her mother would have a conversation that would prove to be life- changing."She said, ‘Elizabeth, what this man has done to you is terrible, and there aren't words to describe how wicked and evil he is,'" Smart said. "'He has taken nine months of your life that you will never get back, but don't give him another moment. The best punishment you could ever give him is to be happy.'""And that's exactly what I'm trying to do for the rest of my life, is be happy."Smart focused on keeping trials in perspective and realizing that what may be difficult for one person may not be difficult for someone else."Nobody is trial-free, but we have a choice," she said. "We can choose to allow our experiences to hold us back, and to not allow us to become great or achieve greatness in this life. Or we can allow our experiences to push us forward, to make us grateful for every day we have and to be all the more thankful for those who are around us."

That night I was able to forgive my husband for everything terrible that had been plaguing our marriage for the last 4 years. I was able to finally see that while I thought I had forgiven him, I had not. I was harboring anger and resentment and misery instead of truly choosing to be happy, and move forward with our life together. I chose, finally, to choose happiness in my life.
It has been 10 days of choosing happiness, and I have a lifetime of more happy days ahead of me. It is truly up to me to find joy in the every single day, even when the days are hard.
Does this mean our marriage is fixed and I am super happy and we are just the perfect amazing couple and family? H no. We both still act like three year old's throwing tantrums and each wanting our own way, but we are both willing to look within ourselves to see what needs to be fixed in order for us to find happiness.
There has been more laughter. SO much more laughter. There has been so much more baby squishing and big kid cuddles. I know my kids feel the change in our home. I know it is because of the changes in me.
I want to thank Elizabeth Smart for sharing what her mother shared with her so many years ago. It has truly changed my life and my heart for the better.I hope you each choose happiness today and every day.

THE BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

To contact us Click HERE
There is a running joke in my family, "Kim! You are the Jill of all Trades."

 I blush and kick my foot in the dirt, because really I just like to try to master the things that I love, whether it be painting in watercolors, making some darn good pizza, photography, blogging, or just making the best bread, cookies, or quilts imaginable...I am there, doing it, for no one else but me.

There is something about challenging yourself to make something close to perfection. Something about losing yourself in whatever it is you are doing, somehow it is the best way to find yourself, at least it is true for me anyway.

So, today I will share one of my little bits of perfection with you. I make these cookies every single time my nephew Viktor comes to visit. He tells his other aunts, "You don't love me as much as Aunt Kimmie because she makes me chocolate chip cookies!" He loved them up until his last visit anyway, when he decided to dip them into chocolate milk. Instead of saying they were gross because of that, he yelled, "These are GROSS!" When his dad came to pick him up, he and his friends declared that they were in fact, quite delicious.

Recipes are hard because what tastes amazing to one family and may be their VERY favorite, may taste too strong or not good to another family. I based this recipe off of ones that use an equal brown sugar to white sugar ratio and they turn out to have the best color, flavor, and consistency. This recipe took me a good year to figure out. I hope you enjoy. Make some and come back and let me know how they taste will you?




Chocolate Chip Cookies Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1 large egg1 stick of softened butter (yes butter, accept NO substitutes)1/2 cup white sugar1/2 cup brown sugar Beat egg until light and fluffy, add softened butter and sugars. Continue mixing until ingredients are well incorporated. They almost turn into a very light cream color. You can see it happen. Add:
1 tsp real vanilla extract Mix.Add:3/8 teaspoon salt 3/8 teaspoon baking soda1 1/2 cups flourMix ingredients well. You may need to add up to 1/4 cup extra flour. You kind of just need to feel it. You don't want the dough sticky, this will make your cookies flat. You want to add enough flour so when you touch it, it doesn't stick to your fingers, but not so much that it doesn't stick to itself. If you measure your flour correctly you will be anywhere from exactly 1 1/2 cups to 1 3/4 cups of flour. Finish off by adding:1/2 cup milk chocolate chips1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chipsDrop by tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. (I have found with the butter you don't need to grease the sheet.) I also like to use a 1 Tbsp scoop to do the job, it makes the cookies come out the same size and very presentation worthy.Bake for 12-13 minutes until turning slightly golden brown around the edges.Cool on cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes and place on cooling rack to cool, or eat them warm, who can wait that long?

Preschool, Nursery, or Daycare Snake Walking Rope | Tutorial

To contact us Click HERE
Earlier this year, for approximately 30 seconds there was talk of me serving in my ward as a Nursery (teaching the 18 month old to 3 year old children in church) leader. We moved into a new ward and a new building and everyone was being shuffled around. The Nursery had nothing, and my dear friend Angelica was in charge to put it all together and get it running smoothly. I like to call it "The Two Hour Daycare". I won't get into why I call it that, but the ladies that serve in the Nursery calling are ANGELS.

In our previous ward, we were in a bigger building that had a hallway that ran around the entire perimeter of the building. This was nice for taking the busy bodies on walks and also killed about 15 minutes of Nursery. The old building also had this magnificent preschool walking rope. Except, get this, it was not a rope! It was a snake! It was so so so adorable that when we moved buildings we begged to take it with us. Alas, no dice, so I spoke with Angelica and it is no secret that I love to sew, so I set out to recreate one for our Nursery. 
It cost me $20 and literally 2 hours of my time. That was it. 

I bought six fat quarters which were on sale for cheap, a spool of coordinating thread, four spools of coordinating ribbon, two buttons for eyes, and a bag of fiberfill that I bought for 50% off by watching for sales. In reality, I probably needed one and a half bags, but we had an old pillow that was so hard no one would sleep on it, so we cut it up and finished stuffing the snake with that.


I then cut each fat quarter into two equal long rectangles, as you can see below:


I then arranged my fabrics in the order I wanted them in, and decided which would be the head and tail of the snake. You can see I have two of each color rectangle, one for the top of the snake and one for the bottom of the snake.
Then I grabbed one of my photography plates (see the fancy price tag still in tact? AWESOME) and used it as a template for the head of the snake. I wanted it to be rounded. I traced the pattern and then cut around it. I did the same for the tail portion as well.


Next I took those two buttons and hand sewed them into place near the front of the head.

Mad skillz I tell you. I also should have taken the time to iron my fabric sheesh.


I then sewed my fabric pieces together, creating a pattern and then recreating the same pattern for the bottom piece of the snake.


I then flipped the right sides of the snake pieces together top to bottom and pinned, pinned, pinned. Stopping to pin a piece of ribbon (handle) in place of a snake like tongue and then along every seam of the changing fabric colors. This snake can hold a lot of little hands. You can see below how the ribbon has to be sandwiched in between the right sides of the fabric. I made sure to back stitch these ribbons in place so that they would hold tight and avoid ripping later on.



I left a 12" opening on one side in order to fill the snake with fiberfill. Turn the fabric right side out and start stuffing.


I hand sewed the opening closed when I was all finished and voila.


The snake was a huge hit at home. Even Lindsey's little guy helped us try him out. Unfortunately our new ward building is a lot smaller than our old one, and it is always so congested during meetings that it is hard to take the littles on as many walks. At least he is there to be snuggled on if needed.




Besides, he makes and excellent jump rope.Until next time.xoxo