40 days of joy: Day 2...

Be true to yourself and you'll never go wrong. 

40 days of joy...

Lent began yesterday. I went over the usual list of things to give up and then started thinking about things that I do that don't necessarily make me feel great. One of the things that I always regret doing is reading sites like People, US Weekly, TMZ and the other gossip sites.

The stories are always horrible and are usually cutting someone down for their outfit or their weight or glorifying bad behavior. I mean really, why should I care that one of the Teen Mom's is in a Twitter feud with her boyfriend?

So I've given up reading those sites for Lent (and hopefully the rest of my life). And I'm going one step further and committing to spreading positive news for the next 40 Days. Each day on the site, in addition to my usual posts, I'll be sharing videos, news stories, anecdotes, basically anything that is uplifting and positive.

I'm starting today with this awesome pep talk from Kid President. It's sure to bring a smile to your face.

If you want a daily dose of positivity, stop on by. And if you have any positive stories you'd like to share, send them my way.

Happy Lent to You! Let's spread 40 Days of Joy!

PS: I'm also giving up chocolate and cheese. Jesus, take the wheel.

Sneak peek...

Much of our house painting is done and I couldn't be more excited. Only the office and bathroom are left so I'll share photos as soon as it's all complete. In the meantime, here's a sneak peek at the light gray that's throughout much of the house...

I was featured on Better After blog...

As I was reading one of my favorite blogs today, Better After, I was so excited to discover that one of my projects was featured. Lindsey showcased my Nate Berkus-inspired tray makeover.

Check it out here and make sure to browse the rest of her blog. It's great! 

slow cooker chicken tortilla soup...

I love a good chicken tortilla soup. If it's on the menu, I order it. So I thought I'd try to make my own at home. Now I'm not the kind of gal who can sit and watch a soup on the stove all day -- I've got things to do. So I pulled out my trusty crockpot and went to work!

I gathered my ingredients, all things I like in my soup and none of the stuff I don't.

In a slow cooker, I added:
3 chicken breasts
1 box of Chicken Broth
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans drained and rinsed
1 bottle of salsa of your choice
1 small can of diced jalapenos

Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6 or more. The longer the better. Shred the chicken in the pot after 4 hours and let cook for the remaining time. Top with tortilla strips, cheese and sour cream. Or any toppings of your choice. Easy peasy.

It turned out better than I could have hoped. This is definitely going to become a staple of the O'Brien household. Enjoy! 

today's the day: house painting is underway...

I'm trying to stay out of their way. Can't wait until it's done! 

party appetizers: reverse dip bowl...

when I dip, you dip, we dip...

No, I'm not talking about the dance craze of the late 90s, I'm talking about party dips! Whenever I'm tasked with bringing an appetizer to a party, I freeze like a deer in the headlights. Not because I can't think of a thing to make, but because I can't narrow down my options. So yesterday, I thought, why should I have to choose, why can't I enjoy them all? And the reverse dip bowl was born!

This is what your typical chip/dip server looks like: 

Dip in the center and various dipping paraphernalia around the outside. 

In my reverse dip, I flipped it. 

 I put three dips around the outside and filled the middle bowl with thin pita chips. 

I found two of the dips on Pinterest (so technically this is also a "I pinned it then did it" post) and the third is my signature cream cheese salsa dip that is a big hit at any gathering. It's so easy and such a crowd pleaser that I filled two of the bowls with it and both were gone by the end of the Super Bowl. You take a softened brick of cream cheese, combine it with 3/4 of a jar of your favorite salsa and stir it together until its fairly smooth. I love it with a sweet salsa like mango, peach or lime. But you can make it with spicy salsa as well. It's two ingredients, delicious and easy. That's why it's my signature.

You can find recipes for the other two dips here:
Cilantro Lime White Bean Hummus
Creamy Avocado Dip

Since you're not making a huge portion for each dip, the reverse dip bowl is a great way to try out smaller versions of recipes and not worry about wasting ingredients if it isn't a hit.

I'm already thinking up other reverse dip combinations:
Mexican Fiesta: Salsa, Guacamole, Signature Salsa Dip and Queso. Served with Lime Tortilla Chips.
Game Day: Beer Cheese Dip, Horseradish Dip, Reuben Dip and Rotel/Velveeta Dip. Served with Pretzel Bread Chunks.
Ladies Day: Dill Dip, Signature Salsa Dip, Hummus, Smoky Sweet Potato Dip. Served with celery and carrot sticks.

Happy dipping!