Muah!...DIY Kissing Flower Ball Pew Decor

The church me and Mr. Domesticated Diva got married in was already breathtaking, so little was needed to jazz the church up.  I decided I did not want pew bows, and wanted to do something different and a little modern.  I decided to make kissing pew flower balls. 

Here's what you need:
-6 Round Styrofoam balls (medium sized)
-4 Bunches of Fake Mum Flowers
-2" Thick Colored Ribbon of your Choice
-18 Decorative Picks (found in the wedding aisle)- I used 3 picks for each flower ball
-Low Heat Glue Gun

1.) Start by making the "handle" part of the kissing ball.  I used about 16" of ribbon for the handle.  The length of ribbon used will depend on the church pews.

2.) Make a hole with scissors, about 3/4"-1" down the Styrofoam ball. Put a good amount of hot glue in the hole and stick the two ends of ribbon in the hole.  Use the scissors or a pen/pencil to help you get the ribbon down into the hole.

3.) Now, pull apart the flowers from the stalk.  You should be able to easily pull them off with your hands. I started at the top of the pew ball (where the handle is) and started gluing flowers from there.  When you pull off the flowers, there should be a green plastic nub pieces that sticks out.  This is the part that goes into the Styrofoam ball.  Put a dab of hot glue on the nub and with a bit of force push it into the Styrofoam ball.

4.) Repeat this step until you fill up all of the Styrofoam ball.  If you see areas where the Styrofoam is exposed, glue pieces of the leaves from the bunch in between or stick the decorative picks where needed.

5.) Cut off about another 12" pieces of ribbon, and tie a bow where the flower ball and the handle meet. 

Ta-da you have a kissing pew ball =)

Here's the final product...

Price Breakdown:

Styrofoam Balls: $4.77 (but with 50% coupon it came down to $2.38)
4 Bunches of Mums $9.99 (but with 50% off sale, it came down to $5)- $20
18 Decorative Picks 99 cents each (but with 50% off sale, it came down to 50 cents each)- $9
Ribbon- FREE (had some already)

TOTAL: $31.38 for six kissing flower balls or just over $5 each!

Beef, It's What's For Dinner...Hubby's Standing Rib Roast Recipe

So even though me and Mr. Domesticated Diva are on a health kick (where all we eat and make are salads, chicken, and fish), we like to splurge every now and then and have something fattening and delicious.  Hence, why we love this rib roast recipe so much.

The ingredients are simple:

Serves: 4-5
-Ribeye Roast aka Rib Roast aka Standing Rib Roast (4-5 lbs)
-2 1/2 tsp. Salt
-1 1/2 tsp. Pepper
-1 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
-1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
-Disposable Roasting Pan (easy clean up!)
-Roasting Rack

Let the rib roast stand at room temp for about 30 min.

1.) While the rib roast is standing at room temp, mix all the dry ingredients together in a small bowl. 

2.) Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Place the roasting rack in the roasting pan.

3.) When the roast has sat for 30 min, massage the season mixture throughout the meat.  Make sure you rub the meat nice and good!

4.) Roast for one hour in the preheated oven.  After one hour of cooking, turn the oven off and leave the roast inside.  DO NOT...I REPEAT...DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN TO LOOK AT THE RIB ROAST, SMELL THE RIB ROAST, ADMIRE THE RIB ROAST, ETC!!! 

5.) Leave the rib roast in the oven for 3 hours (for a 4 lb roast) and 3 hrs. 45 min. (for a 5 lb roast). 

6.) After the roast has sat in the oven for several hours, turn the oven back on to 375 F for 30-40 min.  This will make for a prefectly medium rare cooked rib roast.

7.) Remove from the oven and let the roast sit for 5-10 min before carving.

Here's the final product...

Easy, peasy right!

Price Breakdown:

This roast ended up being almost $12/lbs. Yikes!  But, you can get rib roast from Randalls at $5.99/lb when it's on sale, and it is on sale pretty often (check the sale ads!)

So really this meal would end up costing $24-$30 for 4 servings!

Seeing Double...Review of our Snapily Hologram Thank You Photo Cards

We wanted to do something extra special for our wedding entourage, those that participated in the ceremony, and our family who attended our special day.  I've been dying to use Snapily, after discovering them accidentally when searching for ideas for our Save the Dates.  I would have loved to use these as our save the date cards, but they would have cost more than we would have wanted to spend.  The website is pretty user friendly and straight forward.  There are limited layout options, and their preset design options were a bit on the cheesy side.  I would suggest designing your own.

Here's my Youtube review...

Here are pictures of the photo cards...

Card One:

Image 1

Image 2

Card Two:

Image 1

Image 2

The cards were $2.99 each, and they came with envelopes.  I was able to find a discount code, which made them about $2 each.  When the cards arrived, I noticed I got MORE cards than I ordered...yay me!

I would definitely recommend Snapily if you want something special and different!

Bottom (Waist)line... Guilt-Free Fried Cauliflower

So me and Mr. Domesticated Diva have been on the lookout for healthy recipes.  We just love going to Mediterranean/Greek restaurants, and one of the staple side dishes is fried cauliflower. 

Here is our version:

Ingredients (Serves 2-3 people):
-Head of Cauliflower
-Garlic Powder, Salt, and Pepper to taste
-1 1/2 c. Vegetable Oil
-Optional Ingredients: lemon and fresh grated parm/romano cheese

1.) Start by washing and patting dry the cauliflower.  Cut the cauliflower into bite size pieces.

2.) Heat up the vegetable oil over medium high heat in a 1.5 qt. sauce pan.  Let the oil heat up for about 5-7 minutes. 

3.) Work in small batches when frying the cauliflower.  You probably will need two to three batches to fry the entire head of cauliflower.  You should fry the cauliflower about 1-2 minutes per side, for a total of 2-4 minutes per batch.  They will be done once the cauliflower turns to a golden brown.

4.) Season each batch with a little bit of salt, garlic powder, and pepper.  I like using my Tabasco Spicy Salt, because it is the most delicious thing ever created.

Here's the finished product...

You can certainly finish off the fried cauliflower with a little lemon juice and grated parm/romano cheese for added flavor.

Calorie wise this is about 100 cal per serving.  We make this recipe healthier by not battering the cauliflower (no egg, milk, flour, or bread crumbs needed!).  I don't think breading or battering the cauliflower adds anything to the dish, so why add the calories!





Getting My Hair Did... DIY Peacock Hair Fascinator

I knew I wanted a peacock flower hair pin for our wedding reception.  I really did not find anything I liked on Etsy or other websites, so I decided to make my own. 

Materials:
-Synthetic Satin Fabric
-Decorative Button
-Black Felt Sheet (the thicker kind, not the flimsy kind)
-Glue Gun
-Peacock Feathers
-Metal Hair Comb with Teeth

Start by making a flower.  See my satin flower tutorial.

Cut the felt sheet into a circle with about a 2"-2 1/2" circumference.

Sew the hair comb with teeth to the felt circle.

Cut two peacock feather to the size you want.  Use the glue gun to stick the two peacock feathers to the other side of the felt circle that does not have the hair comb piece.  Then glue the satin flower on top of the peacock feathers.  Here is the final result...

Here's my hair fascinator in my hair on our big day...



Price Breakdown:

Satin Flower: $1.50

Felt Sheet: $1

Hair Comb: $2

Peacock Feathers: Free (used the ones for the invitations)

TOTAL: $4.50