weekend things.

 ^relaxing in bed ... definitely wish there was more of this!

 ^ oh you know, always baking...

^some friends hosted a 'girls night in' clothes swap party. there's nothing like cleaning out your closet and then replenishing it with new goodies! and on the right...my husband took me to genghis grill to eat a stir fry dinner, and oh.my.gosh. so good. like explosion in your mouth, "i want to eat here for every meal every day" kind of good. found my new favorite hot spot.

^cauliflower fried rice [apparently i was in a stir fry mood this weekend?] yum!

 ^ and i've been working on some homemade granola. i shared this recipe on craft box girls, and i'll be sure to share another version here, soon!

hope your weekend was full of yummy moments!

vegetarian sloppy joes

i have this fond memory of eating sloppy joe's as a child. of course, this was before my vow to vegetarianism. but nevertheless, i loved them. we would always eat them at the beach for some reason. playing in the sand and water all day with my cousins, and then sloppy joe's for dinner. what more could a kid ask for? i'd always ask for seconds, which was super unusual for me [my parents couldn't get me to eat anything]. so now, here i am, 20 years later, taking another spin at these sloppy joe's...vegetarian style.

vegetarian sloppy joe's

serves 2 [double the recipe for larger families]

ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 block extra firm tofu, chopped
• 1/2 yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 2 cups mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 14 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes (from a can)
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• salt and pepper, to taste
• hamburger buns (i used udi's gluten free)

heat the olive oil on medium heat on the stove top. add the onion and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent and the garlic has a slight brown tint. add the mushrooms, tofu, kidney beans, and pepper and continue to cook. next, add the wet ingredients - ketchup, crushed tomatoes, vinegar, and soy sauce. stir to mix evenly, and continue to cook. finally, add the spices and the sugar. cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every couple minutes with a wooden spoon. spoon directly on a hamburger bun and top with oregano [dried or fresh], if desired. 

serve with sweet potato fries or your favorite vegetable [broccoli for me!] for a full, balanced meal. and trust me, the meat eaters in your house won't even know the difference.

enjoy!

snow day

...but really it was more like snow days. last week, we had the biggest snow i've ever seen. tuesday through thursday it snowed and it was the most glorious thing. waking up and looking outside at all white was magical. we sat by the fire for three days straight, drank coffee, and worked from home. i couldn't have been happier! seriously...snow down here in the south is a huge treat. 

^all of our firewood, covered in snow!

^look at all that white - my favorite!

between the polar vortex earlier this winter, this snow storm, and the earthquake in sc that followed, this has been the craziest winter! i've loved every bit of it, but spring, i'm ready for ya!

happy valentine's day

happy valentine's day! my man and i are off to dinner to celebrate tonight. we've been cooped up in the house for three days with all this snow, so we are super excited. and i don't think i can think of a better thing to celebrate than love. it sure is a gift!

what are you valentine's day plans!?
xoxo

valentine's day gift guide

i love any reason to buy things for my husband, so you better believe i take full advantage of all 'holidays.' but as much as i love shopping for my man, it's always a bit of a challenge for me. i still don't understand why anyone would need five pocket knives or the whole james bond series. but hey...i'm learning. so i've put together a little practical valentine's gift guide 'for him' if you are stumped like i so often am. i know my husband can always use some extra shirts in his closet, and how about those "balls of steel" whiskey chillers - they chill your drinks without diluting them and a percentage of proceeds goes toward testicular cancer research. pretty awesome, right? and of course i can't leave out gifts 'for her.' i am absolutely loving the 'i love you' print and the gold chevron necklace. i also firmly believe you can never own too much pink lipstick...

for her: 1 - etsy print | 2 - gold chevron necklace | 3 - polaroid love notes | 4 - little black dress | 5 - lovin' spoonfuls set | 6 - mac 'candy yum yum' lipstick | 7 - minimalist teardrop earrings | 8 - hand painted greeting card

for him: 1 - antique map | 2 - leather pocket journal | 3 - vintage leather messenger bag | 4 - cherry gingham bow tie | 5 - beard oil | 6 - balls of steel whiskey chillers | 7 - ray-ban aviator sunglasses | 8 - heart boxers | 9 - leather fossil watch | 10 - vintage flannel shirts

diy oversized gold 'no sew' bow

for my recent valentine's dessert party, i made and wore an oversized gold bow, which you can see here. it went perfect with my color scheme - gold and pink. i've always had a thing for extra large hair pieces. just look at my wedding pictures and you can see this is true - all my bridesmaids had them in. and right now, i'm going through a serious gold phase. we recently bought a gold standing lamp and i'm trying to practice self control when it comes to gold spray paint [i want to paint everything]. so put those two together, and you've got yourself a giant gold bow.

there is no sewing involved with this bow, which is an added bonus for me. i would have no idea what to do with a sewing machine [although i would love to learn!]. the supplies are simple...all you need is: gold tulle fabric [you can get it from any craft store like michaels], scissors, glue sticks, a glue gun, and a hair clip, which can also be found at a craft store.

directions: 1. cut the tulle into a 20 x 15 inch square. 2. fold it into thirds by first folding the top side down to the middle, and 3. folding the bottom up over the top. you should now have a long rectangle. 4. fold each end of the rectangle into the middle so that the edges touch each other.

4. keeping everything carefully in place, flip the bow over and pinch it in the middle to make a bow shape. then, 5. pull out that glue gun and glue glue glue. you'll want to glue it where pinched so that it holds its shape when you let go. you might have to do a couple of rounds of glue, letting it dry in between.

6. next, cut a strand of tulle, about 6 x 2 inches, and wrap it around the center of the bow. wrap it tight to ensure the bow stays in place. the tulle stretches so you may be able to cut some off before glueing in place in the back. 7. once the strand is in place, grab the hair clip and hot glue it to the back of the bow.

there you have it! a huge statement bow for your valentine's day fun. enjoy!

'date night is' feature

date night is is an awesome website full of dating ideas for couples. it's a great asset if you are looking for fresh, creative, or local dates. they recently did an interview with scofield and i about our relationship and favorite dates, which you can find here. and if you don't have any plans for valentine's day yet, i'm sure you'll find tons of inspiration on the site. my favorite feature is that you can type in your city, and a list of date ideas in your area pops up!

thanks for the feature, date night is..!

a valentine's day dessert party

in celebration of valentine's day, i threw a little dessert party with a few of our close friends. my goal was to keep it simple, but to add diy touches. the "theme" of the party was gold, glitter, pink, and confetti. and what a happy combination it was! [i'm in a major pink and gold phase right now...] so if you're looking for a little inspiration for a valentine's get-together, whether its just you and your guy or you and your friends, look no further.

i made this five-layer chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream, and while i think tall cakes are certainly eye-candy, it was so hard to cut! cake was falling all over the place...

 ^it might be blurry, but i don't care...still love this picture!

happy [almost] valentine's day friends!!

diy ombre heart banner

over christmas i made a pine cone garland. i loved the way it decorated the mantle and what it added to the room...so i was sad to take it down come january. to replace it, i decided to make a pink ombre heart banner for valentine's day. it is just the perfect touch. not to mention, super easy. i'm in love.

supplies: 7 sheets of craft paper (each in a different shade from red to light pink, roll of twine, hot glue gun and glue sticks, scissors, and a pencil.

directions: 1. using a pencil, sketch a heart about 2 inches high and 3 inches wide 2. cut out the heart - this is your "stencil" 3. use the stencil heart to cut out 4 hearts from each piece of craft paper 4. lay the hearts out flat and side by side, about 1.5 inches apart - two of each color 5. roll out the twine and hot glue it to each heart. leave at least two inches at the beginning and end of the banner, then cut the twine off the spool. 6. using the other two hearts left of each color, hot glue them on top of their corresponding heart. let dry. 7. and you're done. voila! seriously...that easy. 8. using a nail, position how you would like across your mantle, across a table, or on your wall.

if you want your banner longer or shorter, measure the twine the length you would like before you cut it and you might have to add more or less hearts, accordingly.

hope you enjoy this little fun valentine's craft!  

weekend things.

over the weekend, we threw a fun little valentine's party with a few of our close friends. i always love any excuse to get dressed up and throw some color on my lips. more on the party coming soon!

we had a church dodgeball tournament to help raise money for student mission trips this summer. this handsome man of mine was last year's reigning champ. i loved watching him dress goofy with his high school guys and get out there and play again. i played one game with my middle school small group girls, but mostly watched from the side lines :)

and one things for sure....boys will be boys. i'm pretty sure this is their victory huddle.

and then of course, there was the super bowl. i'm not gonna lie...my favorite part of the whole game was the food and bruno mars half time show.

how was your weekend!?