Chocolate Chip Dip Recipe

Yesterday, Ava and I had some friends come over for a play date and I made desserts.  I found this new recipe several weeks ago and thought that yesterday was the perfect time to try it.  This recipe is SUPER easy and was SO yummy!  Everyone raved about it and several asked for the recipe so I thought I would share it here.

Chocolate Chip Dip (yields about 2 cups)

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup confectioners sugar

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup mini chocolate chips

In bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.  Add the sugars and vanilla, beat until smooth.  Stir in chocolate chips.  

That's it!  It tastes very similar to cheesecake which is one of my favorite desserts.  I served it with both chocolate and honey graham crackers.  It can easily be made ahead of time and refrigerated.  Before serving, I do recommend setting it out for a few minutes to let it get closer to room temperature and a creamier texture.  Here is a picture of the remnants of our dip.  Enjoy!  

An Ava Interview--Age 4

I was checking out my friends' Pinterest boards the other day when I found this Mommy & Me interview on my friend Jenny's board.  I immediately thought it would be a cute idea to do one of these interviews each year with Ava to see how her answers change.  So, here is Ava's 4 year old interview:

A Day in the Life...

Today, Ava and I slept in until about 10.   We have been lazy lately sleeping in until anywhere from 9 to 11.  Of course, I also haven't been going to bed until around one or so.  Saturday night, I stayed up until 3 watching some random show (Storage Wars) that Kevin kind of got me hooked on.  Getting up for church the next morning was a little rough!  Anyway, we enjoy our late nights and late mornings around here.  Ava and I met my friend, Cara, who I taught with at Arlington for a lunch date today before she has to start back to work.  We met at Newk's and enjoyed a leisurely lunch and catching up time.  By the way, Cara is Ava's new BFF.  She thought Cara was so silly--and she really is. :)  They posed for pictures together and thought they would look cool if they wore their sunglasses.

So it turned out they do look pretty cute!  After lunch, Ava and I heading to two of my happy places.  The first one--

Oh, how I love this store--let me count thy ways....!  I picked up some stuff for some DIY craft projects for Ava's room.  I have been obsessed lately with scouring crafting blogs to see what I can make.  I have found some great sites and have a list of projects to start working on.  My mom has always been crafty and when I was younger I hated when she dragged me to the "crafty" type stores.  Needless to say, she's getting a big kick out of the crafting obsession I have developed.  I guess that gene just took a while to show itself.  After Hobby Lobby, we ventured over to my other (and Ava's!) happy place--

I can NEVER get out of this store for less than $100.  Today, however, I had a bad experience.  Actually, it's kind of funny because this situation is SO me.  I was trying on some fab shoes and turning all around and checking myself out in the mirror.  Then I bent down to unzip the shoe and take it off when I fell, twisting my foot, and hearing an odd snapping/cracking noise.  It hurt so badly I almost vomited.  I sat there and really debated having Ava find someone to ask for help because I didn't think I was going to be able to stand up and walk on it. Then I realized she was sitting in the cart and couldn't exactly get out.  After a few minutes of me sitting on the floor I was able to get up and limp my way out to the car.  Here are the culprits:

Aren't they cute?  Needless to say, I didn't buy them.  But I may have to go back and get them and just learn to be more careful. :)   I came home and doped myself up on Tylenol.  Now, I'm going sit here for the rest of the night with my foot elevated.  I don't have time for a sprained foot!!!!!

A Wedding Shower for Marcus!

My boss, Marcus, is getting married next month and I will not be able to attend his wedding because we will be at the beach.  I wanted to do something special for him and celebrate with him since I won't be able to be there, so I decided to throw a shower for him at our house.  His fiance, Carmen, has been having lots of bridal showers and teas so I wanted this day to just be about him.  My co-workers loved the idea of doing a shower and were happy to contribute and Marcus was so excited that it would be just for him.  Planning decor and stuff was a little bit of a challenge since the shower was for a guy and I knew I wanted to keep it simple.  We had a great time and of course, I took pictures. :)  

Marcus LOVES to eat so I fixed a variety of food and included some of his favorites.  My co-worker, Sandol, took some pictures of Marcus and Carmen and put one in this beautiful frame that I placed on the table.

I made these labels for all of the food and used different punches to make the edges a little decorative.  I was going to fancy them up a little more but ran out of time.  

These crepe paper flowers are my new favorite craft.  They are super simple to make but are time consuming.  It took me several hours to make both of them.  I just set them on some pillar candle holders I found at Hobby Lobby 50% off and they added a simple touch.  I think I am going to make several more to hang from Ava's ceiling in her bedroom.

Close-up

I made this banner (another favorite craft of mine) to hang behind the food table.  I forgot the flash on my camera so it is kind of dark.

Marcus's favorite drink is Mountain Dew so I experimented by making a Mountain Dew punch.  It was actually really good and was gone quickly.  You just mix Mountain Dew, Hawaiian Punch, frozen pineapple juice, and lime sherbet.  I put it in my beverage stand and put a little monogram on it.  I forgot the flash on this picture too.  :(

This is another experiment that I tried.  I wanted to serve fruit but wanted to do something  more interesting than just a fruit tray.  So I concocted what I called "Fruity Waffle Bowl Sundaes".  I just got boxes of lemon jell-o pudding and white chocolate jell-o pudding.  Mixed it up and once it was ready I spooned it (separately--not a mix of the two flavors) into waffle bowls.  Then I topped it with strawberries, blueberries, and grapes and a little whipped cream.  It actually turned out pretty yummy too.  Maybe I should experiment more often...

Then it was time for presents.  Ava was really excited about this part.

 The boss man acting goofy with his gifts...

 This gift came with a lecture from our co-worker, Stewart, about chainsaw safety.

 Gotta love gift cards

We all had a nice time chatting and relaxing away from the office

We went outside before everyone left to get a group shot.  

Acting silly because we are really good at that

I love my co-workers!  I have been blessed to have worked with some great people over the years and this group is no exception.  We have so much fun together and work is definitely never boring.  I was happy to do something for Marcus because he has been so good to me.  Congratulations, Marcus and Carmen!  Wishing you many, many years of wedded bliss!

Fourth of July Festivities

We had a fun, relaxing Independence Day weekend with friends and family.  Saturday night we went over to our friends, Doug and Stephanie's, house to have dinner and watch the Bartlett fireworks.  Kevin went to Cotton Cabin and bought a variety of different sparklers and poppers for Ava to play with and some fireworks for us. After dinner, we took her outside to play with them.  "Uncle" Doug helped Ava get started with her sparklers.

Ava loves using sparklers to write her name.

Kevin and Ava having a good time.

The caption for this next picture should just be "TROUBLE"

Kevin showed Ava how to shoot a bottle rocket.

I took my camera to take some pictures of the fireworks.  I have really got to learn how to use this thing so that next year they will look better.

Sunday, after church, we went over to my aunt and uncle's house for a barbeque.  We spent the afternoon in the pool while the food was cooking.

Ava showed off the swimming skills she has been learning to her Neena.

Then it was time to eat.  Kevin, Ava, and my mom took a break from swimming to chow down on some ribs that my uncle smoked.

My grandparents hung out on the porch all afternoon and watched us.  They also enjoyed some of the many desserts.

After we ate, Ava and Lawson played ladderball and tee ball while they let their food digest.

Then, it was time to hop back in the pool for a volleyball game.

Once it got dark, it was time for fireworks out on the driveway.  I love how Brittany has this "I'm so excited because we are about to blow stuff up" look.

TJ and Brittany bought enough fireworks to last us a looooong time.  Everyone gathered outside to watch, then would go inside for awhile, then wander back out.

We always have such a great time when my family gets together and this was no exception.  Lots of good food, laughter, and fun.  I am so blessed to have been born into this family.  Monday morning, Kevin got up early to play golf with his buddies.  Ava and I woke up and took the dogs out and happened upon a little family of three caterpillars.  Ava said it was a family just like us. :)  We stayed out there for quite awhile just watching them.

Later that afternoon, we had planned to go with Doug and Stephanie to Doug's parents house to eat, fish, and relax.  However, Ava ended up coming down with a virus and has been sick most of this week.  So much for our other plans for this week.  Kevin was out of town so Ava and I just stayed home for four days.  It was nice spending time together but after a couple of days I was getting major cabin fever.  Ava's furry brother and sister were so worried about her.  They are not used to her just lying around.  You can tell how concerned they were in this picture.

They are the sweetest pups.  We are also blessed to have found two wonderful dogs.  Fortunately, Ava seems back to her old self which is good because we have a busy week coming up!  Ava has both dance camp and art camp this next week and I am going to spend the week getting ready for a wedding shower I am hosting here next weekend.  Blogs about those things later! 

Flower Child

Here in the last few months, I had developed a fascination with flowers.  I have always liked them and thought they were pretty but now I have this obsession with wanting to try my hand at planting and growing them.  I took pictures of some different projects I have been working on involving flowers.

We have several of these in our backyard and I think they are so pretty when they are in bloom.

My favorite flowers are hydrangeas.  I planted several of these along the side of our house a couple of months ago.  I got very small plants so it will take them a couple of years to really get big but they will be gorgeous when they do.  I can't wait until I can cut some and keep them in vases all over the house.  

This is my first hydrangea bloom.

The leaves are looking a little rough on this plant but you see where it is about to bloom all over!

I wanted some flowerpots for the front porch and decided to make my own.  I just got the regular orangey clay pots and then got to work painting.  I am pretty pleased with how they turned out.

Ava is really into zebras so I did this one for her.

I wanted to do a fun one with our monogram.  Just added some ribbon around the top and some flower clips and voila!

This one has Celtic crosses all around it as a tribute to my Irish roots.

They were really fun to do and I added some cheery, bright yellow marigolds to complete the look.

On a side note, I ordered a headband for Ava a few months ago from The Gap.  Sometimes she wants to wear a headband and other times she refuses.  I paid $18 for this headband and then thought when it came in the mail, I think I could make this.  So I went to my home away from home, Hobby Lobby, and found the materials to make them myself.  I made three headbands for $8.  Can you tell which one cost $18 and which ones I made?