Nightmares

It's every adoptive moms worse nightmare. I may be generalizing slightly but I'm certain that it is at the top of the list for most. The nightmare? Someone, likely a relative, from your child's past comes back to take them away. For a foster mama, it is slightly different. At the stage we are at, we do not want our baby going back to his bio family but if it happened, it happens. We do still have the nightmare of him being snatched and taken away though.

A Healthier Seven Layer Dip and Super Bowl

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By a show of hands (figuratively not literally obv), who cares more about the food than the football come Super Bowl Sunday?

It's become the tradition at our house to have a big Super Bowl party with lots of friends and tons of food. The last few years as families have grown, parties have gotten large and the guys can't really watch the game. So this year we're scaling back. Big time.

Problem. The food. The glourious food. What do you cut back on? There are too many favorites. So, I made an executive decision. We aren't cutting back. Just having lots of leftovers.

To make it easier on myself, I decided that I will serve up our food in Rubbermaid food storage containers. Prepare, serve and store all in one dish? Yes, please. Oh, the time and energy I'll save. 

My excitement over this genius idea I had got me thinking about all of the dishes I could prepare ahead of time. So I could still go to church Sunday morning. This in turn got me craving my healthier version of the infamous 7- layer dip. Trial runs are required, right? Plus you NEED the recipe so you can serve it at your Super Bowl party. And every party that follows. Ever.

Your New Favorite Cupcake.

**It's Valentine's Week here at Vessel Handmade. 5 Days of holiday themed posts. We'll have tutorials, recipes, decor and DIY. So follow along and fall in love. All projects and recipes will be linked at the bottom of each blog as they are posted.**

Today is my favorite day of Valentines Week. Dessert. Confession:I have not met a dessert I could pass up. I think meals should start and end with it. Eating healthy doesn't always allow for it but Valentine's Day is such a good excuse to indulge.

When it comes to sweets and Valentine's day, I instantly think chocolate and fruit. Something romantic about the combo of the two. I, however, love to bake. So I wanted to do something by meshing the two. Thus, the Raspberry Bliss cupcake was born. Thank me now.

Heart Throb top

**It's Valentine's Week here at Vessel Handmade. 5 Days of holiday themed posts. We'll have tutorials, recipes, decor and DIY. So follow along and fall in love. All projects and recipes will be linked at the bottom of each blog as they are posted.**

Okay, let me preface this by saying that I love celebrating love and being spoiled with gifts as much as the next girl. Here's my beef with Valentine's Day though. We are fooled into thinking if we don't go out on that day and buy a meal that some restaurant jacked up the price on then clearly we will die alone.

The fear of dying alone sends the masses to all of the places that I want to go. Obvs. This puts a wrench in this impatient girls plans. I mean seriously, I only get a babysitter for so long and then i spend it all waiting for tables and lines. What's up with that Valentine's Day?

Seriously though, the title doesn't lie. This post really is about a shirt. I just needed to say all of that to get to the point that hubby and I often chose a different night of the week to celebrate. But the hype of Valentines Day means that even though I am married and have 4 children, the fact that I wait a day to celebrate will ultimately fast track me to spinsterhood. 

So on Valentine's Day I make it about the kids. We celebrate. At home. All decked out. Hearts everywhere. Mama needs a Valentine outfit but not a little black dress and come get me heels.

For Starters

**It's Valentine's Week here at Vessel Handmade. 5 Days of holiday themed posts. We'll have tutorials, recipes, decor and DIY. So follow along and fall in love. All projects and recipes will be linked at the bottom of each blog as they are posted.**

Earlier this week I asked you on Facebook what kind of food reminded you of Valentine's Day. Italian food was almost unanimous. Lucky for me the dessert I had planned for hubby and I fit the bill. All I needed to figure out was an appetizer and a main course.

I was recently gifted The Sprouted Kitchen cookbook and love love love it. I decided to use this recipe from there, for a Roasted Cauliflower Capellini as our main course. As soon as I told hubby the theme we were going with for Valentine's Day, he instantly put in his opinion, which is... of course always bruschetta.

Playing Card Garland

**It's Valentine's Week here at Vessel Handmade. 5 Days of holiday themed posts. We'll have tutorials, recipes, decor and DIY. So follow along and fall in love. All projects and recipes will be linked at the bottom of each blog as they are posted.**

When it comes to decorating, I am a huge fan of garlands. Rag garlands, pennant banners, doilies, burlap...I love it all.

This valentines day I wanted a fun garland, something different. My love of garlands means that I've already hit most of the styles. I had to think outside the box a little bit. 

I've seen a ton of projects made with paint chips that I'm too chicken to do. As much as I want to, I can't convince myself go in and grab chips. I'd be guilt ridden for days. The concept however, took my brain to playing cards.

This was the end result:

Herbal Essences Get Naked

***This is a sponsored post with Herbal Essences but all opinions are my own. The Walmart gift card and information were provided by Herbal Essences.***

A few weeks ago I told you all about a new Herbal Essence line that I was ordering from Wal-Mart and excited to try out. I recieved it and have been using it for about a week and a half. I am excited to tell you what I think of it.

I thought about starting the video by doing one of those amazing hair whips that you often see in shampoo commercials but I'm pretty sure I'd end up looking like a crazed fan at a headbanger concert. That just wouldn't have got my point across so let me just talk to you. Spare you of my lack of graceful and sexy appeal...