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Friday, July 25, 2014

Bling Out Your Locker with LLZ by LockerLookz #LLZgirlz

Hope In Every Season has been compensated, both monetarily and with a gimongously generous load of products, as part of a campaign with Blueprint Social an LLZ by LockerLookz. All opinions are honest and are my own.

In high school, I always wanted to make my locker look super cute. I'd imagine painting it, putting up wallpaper, adding photos of my friends---maybe a mini fridge. Unfortunately, our school had rules about all that. No paint. No mini fridge. In fact, we weren't supposed to even use tape---but we did. I remember the last day of school, when we really just wanted to get out of there, but our last period teacher would be required to do locker checks and we'd have to scrape all that forbidden tape off the walls of our lockers. Not fun.

How I wish we'd had access to awesome locker bling like this line of products from LLZ by LockerLookz! Check out this massive haul of stuff they sent me to try out and decorate with! I think I'm goona buy me a locker for my bedroom---just so I can decorate and redecorate!

LLZ has such a great assortment of styles and colors that really give girls the chance to mix and match products that reflect their own personal style. They're fun to shop for and easy to put up. I know I'd have a blast decorating a locker with Lynzie if she went to school. Maybe I should get one for her room too!

 To get started, you want to line the inside and door of the locker with LLZ wallpaper. Each roll comes with 10 super strong magnets to hold it in place without getting adhesive gunk all over. They're super school-friendly---they would have gone over super well at Baker High!

There are two pre-cut panels in each package. They're designed with perforated pieces that fit perfectly around hooks, (like the green piece above) as well as the locking mechanism on the inside of the locker door (like this purple piece).

After you've got the wallpaper up, it's time to add carpeting and furniture! Check out this fun, shaggy pink rug! It's the perfect size for most standard size lockers. The Magnetic Locker Shelf has slide out sides that are magnetized so it will stay strongly in place. 

Don't forget lighting! The next step is to install one of these adorable chandeliers or lamps. They have a very strong magnet at the top and they're battery-powered, as well as motion-detecting! 

Finally, add your accessories. In addition to dry erase boards, mirrors, flowers, magnetized hooks, and more, they've got these super cute magnetic bins that work great for holding pens, sunglasses, cereal bars, you name it! I stuck one on my fridge so I'll always have pens in the kitchen. Perfect!

The original brand of high fashion locker decorations with the highest quality products, LLZ by LockerLookz can be found at Michaels, Staples, A.C. Moore, and Meijer.

So...are you super excited now? What do you think about a chance to win your own locker makeover---or even a $250 Visa gift card for school shopping? Between now and August 29th, you can enter the Design Your Dream Locker Instagram Contest. Just follow the three easy steps above and you could be a lucky winner! The grand prize is a $250 Visa gift card for a back to school shopping spree. In addition, eight second prize winners will receive their full locker design from LLZ! Official contest rules can be found here

Follow LLZ on Social Media here:

Check out more locker makeovers here:

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

VeggieTales Celery Night Fever Premiere at Family Christian Bookstores

VeggieTales has been a family favorite for years---even before we had kids! That's why we're super excited about the newest movie, Celery Night Fever, and it's premiere on August 2nd and 3rd at Family Christian Bookstore. We'll be attending at Family Christian in Fayetteville, but you can check the list of locations for your closest store.

We're going to enter the Celery Night Fever contest to try to win an awesome VeggieTales themed birthday party or a Kobo Arc tablet full of VeggieTales videos!

You can preorder your copy now and receive it at a special price---along with a free gift! Check it out on FamilyChristian.com and let me know if you'll be attending this fun event in your area!

Hope In Every Season was compensated for providing this promotional post. All opinions are honest and are my own.


Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Fruity Rainbow Cereal Treats with Kellogg's Rice Krispies #goodnightsnack #shop #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

Is anyone sick of hearing me rave about what a great new life we have here in Arkansas? I hope not, 'cause here I go again! It seems there's always something fun to do and a new experience to be had. Last Saturday, Lynzie and I attended the Kellogg's Nighttime Cereal Cinema at Walmart in Rogers and had an awesome time! Eating cereal as a movie snack was one of those things I did in high school but totally forgot about. I was inspired to make these Fruity Rainbow Cereal Treats after seeing all the great options Kellogg's had for us to sample.

Before the movie started, attendees got their bowls ready at these snack tables that were set up. Kellogg's cereal is a good night snack for family movie or game time. Many varieties are healthier than popcorn or candy, so you can feel better about letting your family munch on it in between meals. I thought these limited edition "nighttime" boxes and bowls were pretty fun for the occasion. 

Other pre-movie activities included hanging out with some of our favorite spokesmen. Lynzie got this shot of Tony the Tiger and Spiderman chatting near these gigantic cereal boxes. 

There were a couple of gigantic cereal bowls filled with ice and water bottles. The kids had fun digging out their bottles with a massive spoon. How fun!


I was impressed with the organization and attention to detail. The screen and chairs were set up long before the movie started to gauge shoppers' interest, and there were even blankets set out in case it got chilly!

 There were lots of different cereal varieties to choose from---from Froot Loops to Frosted Flakes to Raisin Bran---there was something for everyone in these fun dispensers.

Lynzie's favorite part, of course, was her selfie with Spidey! He asked her how old she was. When she said, "Fourteen", he said, "I was fourteen once. That was back in the days of Mary Jane." Ha! Once the sun went down, the movie started and the good people of Northwest Arkansas enjoyed a movie under the stars. Have I moved to Heaven? Yeah, pretty close!

The next afternoon, I decided to try out my newest cereal treat idea. If you've been following the last month or so, you know I'm on a cereal treat kick. There's just so much you can do with a box of Rice Krispies! This one came from a friend of my mom's---though I've added my own special touch to the recipe---chocolate chips!

Fruity Rainbow Cereal Treats
3 c. fruit-flavored puffed corn cereal
2 c. Rice Krispies cereal
2 c. chocolate chips
1 c. peanuts
10 oz. mini marshmallows
16 oz. white almond bark

Grease a 13x9 in. pan and set aside. Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips and almond bark in a large bowl. Melt white almond bark until smooth. Pour melted almond bark over the cereal mixture and stir well. Stir in chocolate chips just until mixed. Press into pan and let cool until formed into bars.

Need some more cereal snack inspiration? Try my Nutella Crispy Cupcakes...


Or make some Candy Bar Granola Bars for your next movie night snack---they've got Rice Krispies too!

I'd love to know how you use cereal for snacking. Let me know if you try any of these recipe ideas, as well!

#CollectiveBias

Linking with:
Make Bake Create @ Hope In Every Season
Cottage Style Party @ Lavender Garden Cottage
Winsome Wednesday @ My Daily Walk in His Grace
Whole-Hearted Home Wednesdays 
Wake Up Wednesday
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Homemaking Link Up @ Raising Homemakers
Inspire Me Wednesday @ MamaBuzz
What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants 
Wednesday Link up at Adorned from Above
Homemaking Party @ Hope In Every Season
Thursday Favorite Things @ Katherine's Corner
Thriving Thursday @ Serving Joyfully
Homeacre Hop   
Think Tank Thursday @ Saving4Six 
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home 
Create It Thursday
Open House @ Bernideen's Tea Time Blog 
Share Your Cup Thursday @ Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Make Bake Create Party



Welcome to the Make Bake Create Party! 5 blogs-1 party-lots of fun!

Friday, July 18, 2014

England Memories for the Homemaking Party

Welcome to the Homemaking Party! I've been thinking, recently, that I've never shown you all my photos from my September England trip. I had really good intentions of doing a series of all the different places we went and things we saw, but by the time I got settled back at home, Jamie got news about the Arkansas job and everything has been a whirlwind since!

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Nutella Crispy Cupcake Treats



Have you ever had your friends rave about something so much that you avoided trying it just out of rebellion and the desire to buck the trends? I've never wanted to be that "trendy girl" (and it's a good thing, too, because I'm so so not). Maybe it's immature, but I find myself doing that a lot. In the case of my Nutella avoidance, however, that whole fear-of-trendiness thing was just total ignorance. Pure and simple.

Monday, July 14, 2014

Candy Bar Granola Bars: Refuel and Save on SNICKERS and Dr Pepper #Refuel2Go #shop #cbias

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser. All opinions are honest and are my own.

Yard Sale season is in full swing! I love to take a Saturday and hop yard sales and thrift shops---hunting for treasures and adding things to my never-ending wish list! It's a snack day for me, so I love to grab a SNICKERS® and a soda for when I'm losing energy and need to refuel. SNICKERS bars are also great additions in these candy bar granola bars---another great on-the-go treat!


SNICKERS is always my go-to candy bar when I need a quick energy boost. The combination of protein and sweet is a great pick-me-up. Dr Pepper has always said "fun" to me, as well, so it's a good choice for my thrift shopping day.


I always buy our Dr Pepper at Walmart in the cooler case right by the self-checkout. I like that it's conveniently located there so I won't forget. It's my husband's favorite pop so I'm usually buying him one a couple times a week. 


I buy my SNICKERS 2-to-Go bars near the checkout aisle, as well. When I went to shop for my granola bar ingredients at Walmart, I needed two of these largest sized bars.

Right now, there are a couple of great promotions going on with SNICKERS and Dr Pepper. Print this coupon to take $1.00 off when you purchase (2) SNICKERS® 2-to-go bars and (2) 20 oz Dr Pepper bottles.

You can also enter the SNICKERS® Dr Pepper Refuel Sweepstakes. Just purchase (2) SNICKERS® 2-to-go and (2) 20 oz Dr Pepper bottles, then text or email your receipt to refuel@drvusa.com and be entered for a chance to win 1 of 250 available Walmart gas/gift cards. You can find full instructions here: http://drvsusa.com/refuel/.


Candy Bar Granola Bars
2 ½ cups crispy rice cereal
2 cups oats
½ cup honey or corn syrup
½ cup brown sugar 
¼ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla 
(2) 2-to-Go size chocolate candy bars, chopped

Combine cereal and oats in a bowl. Chop candy bars and set aside. In a saucepan, mix the honey, brown sugar and salt. Stir over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil for 30-60 seconds. Don't over-boil! Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over the oat mixture and mix well. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then fold in candy bar pieces just until mixed. Press into a greased 9×13 pan and let cool before cutting.

Since we're on the topic of baking with candy bars, make sure you check out my Candy Bar Apple Crisp, as well.


These granola bars are simple to make and they freeze well. Just wrap them in parchment paper and stack them in a gallon-size freezer bag. You can take them out one at a time and enjoy whenever you need to refuel!

#Refuel2Go 

#CollectiveBias

Linking with:
Make Bake Create @ Hope In Every Season
Cottage Style Party @ Lavender Garden Cottage
Winsome Wednesday @ My Daily Walk in His Grace
Whole-Hearted Home Wednesdays 
Wake Up Wednesday
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Homemaking Link Up @ Raising Homemakers
Inspire Me Wednesday @ MamaBuzz
What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants 
Wednesday Link up at Adorned from Above

Friday, July 11, 2014

Lady Baltimore Cake Recipe & A Mad Hatter Tea Party


In my sweetest of dreams…
Oh! How I wish it could be…
That Miss Betty, Miss Christy, and I 
Could sit down to take tea.

I'm very excited to be participating in the 7th Annual Mad Hatter Tea Party Hop hosted by Vanessa at A Fanciful Twist. There are so many creative bloggers participating in this fun party starting Saturday morning, so make sure to visit her blog and check out the list. So much inspiration!

My tea party started out with a sweet invitation to join the Mad Hatter Tea, hosted by Lady Baltimore and the Prince of Orange. 

A sweet birdie advertised the party on her wreath to let all the neighborhood know about the upcoming festivities.

The chairs were covered in pretty embroidered vintage linens.

Each guest had her own glittery name card set in an antique flower frog.

A sweet orange spice tea was served in pretty rose cups.

This tea set was a special gift from my husband on our first Christmas. I love the pretty rose pattern and would love to find a cream and sugar set to match.

I made a Lady Baltimore cake for the occasion. It was filled with dates, raisins, and pecans, and the cake and frosting had a hint of lemon. I found the recipe in a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook from 1947.

Lady Baltimore Cake
3/4 c. shortening
2 c. sugar
3 c. cake flour
3/4 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. water
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
6 stiff-beaten egg whites
white frosting for 2 layer cake
1 c. chopped dates
1 c. raisins
1/2-1 c. chopped pecans

Thoroughly cream shortening and sugar. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with milk and water. Beat smooth after each addition. Add extracts. Fold in egg whites. Pour into two greased 9" square pans and bake at 350º for 20-30 minutes. Mix about 3/4 c. frosting with dates, raisins, and pecans. Spread on first layer and then top with second layer. Frost cake with remaining frosting and decorate as desired.

Special thanks to my husband, Jamie, who spent hours on these pretty gum paste flowers to decorate the cake. They look beautiful and I love them!

More special thanks to my daughter, Lynzie, who did all the Alice In Wonderland artwork. Beautiful job!

My imaginary guests, Christy and Betty, are my mother and grandmother. Since they couldn’t be here to attend the lovely tea I prepared, I invited the next generation, my daughters, Lynzie, Selah, and Avalon, to enjoy it instead!

Don't forget to visit A Fanciful Twist on Saturday for a complete list of all the Mad Hatter Tea party hosts!



Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Bella Vista's Patriot Parade 2014

Welcome to the Homemaking Party! Our family had such a great 4th of July weekend. It was our first Independence Day in Bella Vista and we just loved all the fun festivities that went on all around NW Arkansas. The morning of the 4th, we attended the Bella Vista Patriot Parade.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Make Bake Create Party



Welcome to the Make Bake Create Party! 5 blogs-1 party-lots of fun!

Monday, July 7, 2014

Peanut Butter S'mores Bars

Good morning! Hoping everyone had a Happy 4th! We had two fun barbecues with friends over the weekend and got to meet some great people---and get to know other great people even better! I brought these Peanut Butter S'mores Bars to one get together and they were a hit! So, what do I do when someone asks for a recipe? I say, "check out my blog on Monday and it will be there!" 

Peanut Butter S'mores Bars
1 1/2 c. flour
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 egg yolks
3 c. mini marshmallows
3 c. graham cracker cereal
1 c. sugar
1 c. corn syrup
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º. In a mixing bowl, combine first 8 ingredients until crumbly. Press firmly into a greased 13x9 pan. Bake about 12 minutes until light golden brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle with marshmallows, arranging them so they cover the entire surface of the crust in one layer. Return to oven for about 2 minutes until they just start to puff up. Remove and cool on counter 10 minutes. 

Measure cereal into a large bowl and set aside. In a large saucepan, combine sugar and corn syrup and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute---do not let it boil longer or your mixture will be too thick and will harden as it cools. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter. Pour over cereal and mix well, but quickly. Quickly add chocolate chips, give it a quick stir, and pour over marshmallow mixture. 

This works best if you put small scoops of it in different places all over until you've covered most of the marshmallows. Spread carefully and then let the whole thing cool until the bottom the pan is completely cooled. 

Linking with:
Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Through Life
A Return to Loveliness @ A Delightsome Life 
Teach Me Tuesday @ Growing Home
Tutorial Tuesdays with Hope Studios
Women Helping Women @ Teaching What Is Good 
(Titus 2)s Days @ Time Warp Wife
The Scoop @Stone Gable
Make Bake Create @ Hope In Every Season
Cottage Style Party @ Lavender Garden Cottage
Winsome Wednesday @ My Daily Walk in His Grace
Whole-Hearted Home Wednesdays 
Wake Up Wednesday
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Homemaking Link Up @ Raising Homemakers
Inspire Me Wednesday @ MamaBuzz
What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants 
Wednesday Link up at Adorned from Above
Homemaking Party @ Hope In Every Season
Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Thursday Favorite Things @ Katherine's Corner
Thriving Thursday @ Serving Joyfully
Homeacre Hop   
Think Tank Thursday @ Saving4Six 
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home 
Create It Thursday
Open House @ Bernideen's Tea Time Blog 
Share Your Cup Thursday @ Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
Inspiration Friday @ Dear Creatives
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm 
Pintastic Party
The Art of Homemaking
Inspiration Monday @ Your Homebased Mom
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Motivate Me Monday 
Modest Monday @ The Modest Mom 
Living Proverbs 31
Inspire Me Monday @ Create With Joy 
Masterpiece Monday @ BoogieBoard Cottage 
A Round Tuit @ Creating My Way to Success 
Monday Funday @ C.R.A.F.T. 
Making Your Home Sing Monday
Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Through Life
A Return to Loveliness @ A Delightsome Life 
Teach Me Tuesday @ Growing Home
Tutorial Tuesdays with Hope Studios
Women Helping Women @ Teaching What Is Good 
(Titus 2)s Days @ Time Warp Wife
The Scoop @Stone Gable
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