DIY- Pretzel Bites

 I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day. We hosted a barbecue at our home over the weekend and we enjoyed great food, friends and conversation. I found this pretzel bite recipe here and decided to tweak it a little to make it my own, and they were a HUGE hit at our party with not one being left at the end of the night. This is super easy snack that is perfect for any party.

 What you need:

Square Window Pretzels

Hershey's Cookies'n'Cream Kisses

Hershey's Milk Chocolate Kisses

Wax Paper

 Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and place pretzel on sheet.

 Place one Hershey's kiss on each pretzel.

 Put in oven heated at 300 degrees for about 2 minutes. The cookies'n'cream kisses only need about 1 minute in the oven since they melt much faster than the milk chocolate kisses. I would recommend doing them in separate batches since the milk chocolate ones need to be in the oven for 2 minutes to really melt.

 Let kisses sit for about 1 minute after you take them out of the oven to finish softening. Then begin placing pretzels on top to create a mini sandwich.

 After you have finished creating your sandwiches, place in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to harden them back up. I left them in the refrigerator until the party so that they wouldn't melt prior to the party.....it was 90 here on Saturday!

I have to say my favorite mix was the cookies'n'cream....which seemed to be every ones favorite too since they were the first to disappear. These little guys have the perfect mixture of salty and sweet! Let me know if you try these out.

♥ Jen

Linking up over at Happy Hour Projects here and Thrifty Decor Chick here.

Memorial Day 2012

Remembering all those who died while serving our great country.

♥ Jen

Weekend in Pictures

 It was such a beautiful weekend here in the Northeast. Estate sales and antiquing were the highlights of our weekend....so many vintage treasures came home with us, and I can't wait to show all of you.

I absolutely love Spring....the weather is warm during the day and cool and night. And my favorite part of spring is the flowers! Flowers are coming up everywhere, and many of the trees are blossoming as well. Here are a few photos from the lovely display of nature that we have going on around our home.

What did you do this weekend? Did you get out and enjoy the wonderful weather?

♥ Jen

DIY- Lanvin Wood and Pearl Inspired Necklace

To kick off my designer DIY of the month is a Lanvin wood and pearl inspired necklace. All of the items needed for this project can be found inexpensively at your local hobby and craft store. The inspiration necklace costs $1,560!

Lanvin Wood and Pearl Mixed Necklace. Image via

 Supplies:

6- Large Wooden Beads

5- Small Wooden Beads 

3- Pearls (same size as small wooden beads)

1- unique wooden bead (mine was 4 sided)

10- Rhinestone Rondelle Spacer Beads

Chain

Clasp

3/8" Black Satin Ribbon

Beading Needle

Pliers

*** Make sure all beads, pearls and rondelles have large enough holes to string ribbon***

 Using a beading needle, slide ribbon through.

 Start adding beads to the ribbon, use inspiration photo for correct order and placement.

 This is what you should have after all beads have been strung.

 Tie one end of the ribbon to the chain. I also tied a small knot at the end of the ribbon and frayed it out a little with my fingers to get the look of the inspiration photo.

 Slide clasp onto the other end of the beads and tie a knot.

 I again added a knot at the end of the ribbon and frayed with my fingers.

And this is the completed necklace! I am very pleased with the end result and I think it came very close to the inspiration photo. Let me know if you try this, I would love to know how yours turned out!

♥ Jen

Linking up over at DIY Showoff and Thrifty Decor Chick

Designer of the Month- Lanvin

Lanvin Grecian Dress, Lanvin Drop Strass Earrings, Lanvin Sunnies, Lanvin Cordes & Diamants Necklace, Lavin Clutch, Lanvin Chain Bracelet, Lanvin Leather Flower Pump. 

This month I am kicking off a series called Designer of the Month. Each month I will choose a designer and create DIY inspired by that particular designer. DIY's will be either jewelry, fashion or home. 

For the month of May the designer is Lanvin. Keep an eye out for Friday's post for this month's designer inspired DIY.

Have a favorite designer that you would like to see a DIY inspired by? Let me know...I am always open to suggestions.

♥ Jen

DIY- Morse Code MOM necklace

 While watching the Today show earlier this week, I was inspired by The Omerta Collection by Anthony Dreyer. He has a collection of Morse code jewelry made of black diamonds and pearls. Sound expensive? Well, it is....the inspiration necklace retails for $495!   

 So in honor of Mother's Day, I re-created his Morse code MOM necklace. This is super simple (and cheap) and most everyone probably has some of these items around the house. Keep reading to see how I did it.

 Image via 

 Supplies:

7- round black beads

2- pearl round beads

2- small jump rings

2- medium sized jump rings

chain in desired length

clasp

craft wire

pliers

round pliers

side cutter

crimper

 First take a segment of craft wire and wrap around round nose pliers. This is what it should look like before you trim excess with side cutters.

 Be sure to crimp trimmed ends to prevent scratching of the skin.

 Feed beads onto the wire and repeat wrapping around round pliers.

 Using a small jump ring attach chain to the end of finished beads. Repeat on the other side.

 Using the large jump rings, attach clasp and end ring.

 This is your final product. Morse code for MOM!

I was able to create this necklace in about 15 minutes...so if you are in need of a last minute gift for your Mom this would be perfect.

Feeling inspired? Here are a few other sites where you can find some inspiration for other Morse code necklaces at Thanks, I made it here, or at Freckles in April here.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day!

♥ Jen

Linking up over at Happy Hour Projects

Celebrating Mother

Mother of Pearl Drop Earrings, Kate Spade Pearl Necklace, Pink Enamel Love Ring, Bvlgari Rose Essentielle Perfume, Nordstrom Gift Card, Miu Miu Pearl Bracelet, Lanvin Silk Clutch, Talbot Runhof Holy Rose Dress, Sugar Pink Bow Heel.   

Mothers are super special, and I can not tell you how much I enjoy being one myself. Every gift I receive from one of my children holds a very special place in my heart. Here are a few items that I wouldn't mind receiving this Mother's Day.

♥ Jen