The Inspiration Exchange {No. 4}

Hey everyone! Welcome back to another night of The Inspiration Exchange!  There were so many wonderful ideas linked up last week - I can't wait to see what you have to show us tonight!

{In case you missed it, you can find the features post from last week HERE}.

Before we get started with the party, here is a quick peek at what we have been doing...

First off, make sure you don't miss out on this fabulous giveaway for a $550 prize package including a 5 speed  hand held KitchenAid mixer, a $200 gift card for World Market, and a Margaritaville Margarita Maker courtesy of Woot Froot!

There are also lots of amazing recipes to help inspire you to create your own summertime soirees!!

Blueberry Quinoa Salad
Our Under the Sea Party
How to Organize Your Car {this is what I will be doing today to get ready for camping season!}

Last week Kristin was busy with her son's preschool graduation *sniff*, so instead of a project, on Monday she shared a few photos of him, plus some giveaway, linkys and blog hops you'll want to be sure to be a part of!

  Giveaways, Blog Hops, and Linkys Oh My

Gorgeous Piano Bench Makeover

Strawberry Shortcake Cookie and Ice Cream "Cupcakes"

You can find Yellow Bliss Road here: 
 BLOG / FACEBOOK / PINTEREST / INSTAGRAM / TWITTER

Spring Chalkboard Art, Free Template and Tutorial Link

How to Make the Perfect Italian Cream Soda and GIVEAWAY

You can find Ella Claire here:

BLOG  / PINTEREST / FACEBOOK / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM

My Summer Story and  Bringing Meaning To Your HomeCelebrating With Watermelon SpritzersBeach Bike Art

You can find City Farmhouse here: 

BLOG / FACEBOOK / PINTEREST / INSTAGRAM  / TWITTER

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 So who's ready to party?

• Please link directly to your specific post {not the homepage}. 
• Please do NOT link up giveaways or items that you are selling.
• Please add a text link back to your host at the end of your post. We would love for you to help spread the word!
• If you would like, follow along with Facebook or on our group Pinterest board to see if you have been featured throughout the week and don't forget to pop back on Sunday for our features post!
• Please be sure to check out some of the other fabulous links. This is the time to exchange ideas and a few nice comments always inspire us to create more!  

Like this post?  I'd love to have you follow along!  You can connect with me here...

 

Blueberry Quinoa Salad and Giveaway!!! {Summer Progressive Dinner}

Happy Monday!  I'm kicking off the week with a fun summertime dinner party and an awesome {$550!} giveaway from Cost Plus World Market, KitchenAid, and Woot Froot!!  

I am so excited to team up with some of my very favorite bloggers to bring you our best summertime recipes!   From the appys to the desserts - we have you covered and hope to inspire YOU to create your own summertime celebrations!  I will be starting off with one of my favorite summer salads...

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup Quinoa 
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 4 cups baby spinach leaves
• 3/4 cup crumbled light feta
• 1/4 cup sliced red onion
• 1 cup blueberries
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tsp honey
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• pepper to taste

PREPARATION

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Prepare the quinoa as per package directions.
• Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until they are lightly browned {approximately 5-6 minutes}
• Divide the spinach into 4 large or 6 small servings.  Sprinkle the feta, quinoa, onion, and blueberries evenly.  
• Whisk the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and season with pepper.  Just before serving, drizzle the dressing over the salads.

I absolutely love this salad and it tastes great with strawberries or pomegranate seeds as well.  It makes the perfect light summertime meal or healthy starter salad and is so quick and easy to prepare.  

And now for the rest of the meal!!

To find all of the above recipes (from left to right) just click on the links below and enjoy!

Appetizers

Best Guacamole Ever from White House Black Shutters

Melty Caprese Appetizer from Cook the Story

Skinny Southwest Chicken Dip from Yellow Bliss Road

Salads
Blueberry Quinoa Salad from Clean and Scentsible

Quinoa and Grape Salad from A Place for Us

Spicy Marinated Tomatoes from KokoCooks

Main Course

Grilled Greek Pork Tenderloin from Katie's Cucina

Mama's Sweet Marinated Chicken from Craft Quickies

Mexican Grilled Corn from Nest of Posies

Desserts

Triple Berry Cheesecake from The Lilypad Cottage

Mini Berry Pies from A Pumpkin and a Princess

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake from Crazy Little Projects

Beverages

Perfect Italian Cream Soda from Ella Claire

Mango and Mint Lemonade Chiller from Sweet C's Designs

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And to make this party even better we have also put together an amazing giveaway for you thanks to our wonderful sponsors...

KitchenAid:  Did you know that KitchenAid has a new blog - The Kitchenthusiast?  Be sure to check it out for amazing recipes, tips and entertaining ideas!

Cost Plus World Market: Now who couldn't use $200 to spend on a shopping spree at World Market?  From the yummy food and drink selections to the amazing decor and entertaining items, World Market has everything you need to create the perfect summertime soiree!

Woot Froot : Woot Froot is excited to bring you the ease and convenience of fresh cut peaches and nectarines just in time for summer!  They would be perfect for summer snacking, dishes, and drinks {like peach margaritas!} Fill out the Rafflecopter form below for a chance to win a fabulous Margaritaville Margarita Maker and get your party started! {valued at $200}

The lucky winner will receive:

• a five speed hand blender courtesy of KitchenAid
• a $200 gift card to spend at Cost Plus World Market
• a Margaritaville Margarita Maker from Woot Froot

Woo!Hoo!  All you need to create a rockin' summertime party! Good luck with the giveaway and we hope you enjoyed our dinner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I linked up with Savvy Southern Style and Lil Luna.

Like this post?  I'd love to have you follow along!  You can connect with me here...

 

Fabulous Features from The Inspiration Exchange {No. 3}

Happy Saturday! I hope you have lots of fun plans for this Father's Day weekend! The sun is out here and I am off to explore a local vintage market before a little power washing time this afternoon.  My little dude came down with the flu last night {and conveniently got sick in the middle of the movie theater} so it might be a short trip but I'm sure the hubby can man the fort for a couple of hours. :)

Last week was another amazing week of link ups at The Inspiration Exchange.  You should head on over if you haven't had a chance to check them out - there were so many fabulous ideas!  It's always hard to choose features but here are some of our favorite summer inspired projects...

Summer Themed Coastal Photo Display by Hymns and Verses



A Barnwood Flower Box by The Moon and Me

Daphne side table by Cottage Instincts

Blueberry Jam from A Pretty Life

 Gorgeous Kitchen Reveal from Shabby Love

 

Beverage Drink Stand from an old changing table by Twelve O Eight



DIY Patriotic Spoons by Pleasure in Simple Things

Healthy Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars by The Chronicles of Home

And my favorite pick of the week is this wood beach sign from Upcycled Treasures.  I can't wait for some beach time!!!

Head on over to City Farmhouse, Yellow Bliss Road, and Ella Claire to see their favorite pick of the week!  If you missed the party last week, you can find all of the projects HERE and don't forget to check out our group Pinterest board for even more features!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Under the Sea Party

My little guy turned six last month and chose an Under the Sea party.  I was so happy to get at least one more year of doing a "cute" birthday before Transformers or Ninjago takes over! 

I usually start thinking of party ideas at least a couple of months before the actual party - there is something about party planning that I just love!  This year, however, was much busier and Connor kept changing his mind every two seconds in regards to what theme he wanted, so this party came together with just a couple of weeks of planning and one really LONG day of pulling it all together!  

One of the many amazing people that I got to meet at SNAP was Carli - the creative mind behind Dimple Prints.  She makes the most adorable party printables and has an amazing selection of themes to choose from. Her party package came with a HUGE selection of printables - invites, cute food packaging, decorations, favor tags ... pretty much everything I could think of and more!

So here is a peek at how our party came together...

Decorations

The decorations were kept fairly simple.  I punched out various shaped circles in 3 shades of blue and hung them on fishing line in front of the window.  On the walls we twisted some blue and green streamers for sea weed and hung balloons with more fishing line.  We also hung some lighted lanterns from the light fixture to hang over the center of the table. 

At the table, I used some of the Dimple Prints printables to dress up the table with the napkin holders, cups, and cute flags added to some matching paper straws.

 {Here's a night shot of the window covering to give you a better idea of what it looked like}

Food  Ideas

Despite the fact that I usually hate to cook, planning the party food is always my favorite thing to do. There are always so many fun ideas!  {Maybe I wouldn't actually mind making dinner so much if we could always eat like this}

I made some more of the crab cupcakes that Connor took to school for his birthday and also used a shark fin printable from the party pack to create the shark fin cupcakes.  We had some "sub" sandwiches and I placed some rock candy in a couple of wine glasses filled with graham cracker crumbs for sand to add to the table {these were taken home as part of the goodie bags}.

The Ocean Blue Punch was a mix of blue Kool-Aid and lemonade. 

These little jello bowls were a BIG hit with the kiddos and the first of the food that was gone!
Blue Jello + a mandarin orange + some white cardstock on a toothpick = sailboat fun!

Pretzel Goldfish + Ruffled Chips

I love these little water bottles for kids' parties - they are small enough that the water does not usually get wasted and the sports top lids are great for avoiding spills.  I bought the water bottles from Target, removed the labels and replaced them with some green cardstock and these cute printables from Dimple Prints.

For the "sushi" I used a cookie cutter to cut out an oval shape from Rice Krispie squares, placed a gummy fish on top, and wrapped it with fruit roll-ups that I sliced into strips.  Let me tell you, green fruit roll-ups were really hard to find around here so we had to improvise with a little blue too!  My boys are both color blind so they didn't even notice.

Cake decorating has never been one of my strong points, but I do always make a point of making the kids' birthday cakes each year.  I found this cake pattern over at Martha Stewart and I think he turned out pretty cute.  I didn't have a tray that was big enough so I took a large picture frame off the wall and wrapped it up!
 
Favors 
We had striped bags filled with candies, sand buckets with a large bouncy ball and a package of goldfish as well as a goldfish food bar {with different varieties of goldfish crackers} for the party favors. 

  The kids also each picked some "sea coral" on their way out.

Thanks so much for dropping by the party!  It was lots of fun to put together and I LOVED the printables!  Dimple Prints was awesome to work with and the printables definitely made things quicker, easier, and SO much cuter!! :)  You can connect with Dimple Prints here:
BLOG / SHOP / FACEBOOK

You can also find our party invites HERE.

This post is part of Dimple Prints' Summer Party Series and I did receive a free set of printables from Dimple Prints.  As always, all opinions are 100% mine.

I linked up at Savvy Southern Style, Lil Luna, Lolly Jane, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Flamingo Toes, I Heart Naptime, House of Rose, Tidy Mom and Craftberry Bush.

Like this post?  I'd love to have you follow along!  You can connect with me here...