Velata Review + Discount

When my friend Ashley asked me to review Scentsy's newest product, Velata, I was more than happy. 

Who doesn't love fondue? 

Velata is fun fondue. My interpretation? Fondue with out having to keep the candles burning.  Or the messy clean-up that is hardened chocolate. Scentsy has taken the complicated fondue making process and made it easy! 

The Velata line includes 3 different styles of plug-in burners with adjustable light bulbs. I turned mine on and it was instantly ready for chocolate.

 The pre-made, easy to pour, premium Belgium chocolate comes in Milk, Caramel Milk, Dark or White Chocolate flavors. I ordered Milk Chocolate and it was seriously good. 

 Because getting everything ready for dipping is such a fast and easy process, it makes fondue something that can be fun for any day, not just a special occasion.

 And a certain 4 year old loves anything he can dip.  

 As you can see, the warming bowl is plenty big for family dunking. 

I love that the bowl is silicone. I have a few baking pans of that material and nothing sticks. We went off for bedtime after we finished out melty-chocolate good time. When I came down later, the chocolate residue was hardened, but popped right out of the bowl making even clean-up easy. 

I chose the red color to match my other kitchen gadgets, but the Velata line comes in a huge selection of fun colors. Blue Razz, Clementine and Key Lime are my other faves. 

This warmer made for a perfect family dessert. It would also be so much fun at a party, especially since you don't have to worry about monitoring the candles or burning the chocolate!

Ashley is giving all Stilettos and Diapers readers an awesome special deal! Contact her at stealing_baby_kisses@yahoo.com to find out the specials for both Velata and Scentsy products! 

I received a Velata warmer and a bag of chocolate from Ashley-Independent Velata Consultant to review. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

Holiday Reeling

I'm still sleepy from our holiday weekend that included 3 days in a row of neighborhood hanging out,

Playing backyard games,

And staying out late with bonfires and red solo cups. 

The weekend also meant eating way too much junk food,

Indulgent brunch eaten far after technical brunch time,

And mornings spent with babies sleeping 3 hours later than normal. 

Then by the end of our busy weekend, there were not 1, but 2 new sharp and dangerous objects in my baby boy's possession. 

It was a good weekend that left me in serious need of a good nights sleep! 

Gentle Pattern Mix {A Fashion Post}

I can't bring myself to love the intense pattern mixing I see so much these days. Striped skirt and floral top? Ehh, kinda weird, I think. 

Now, I am one to mock something and then find myself wearing it in 2 months, so we'll see. 

That being said, I'm a HUGE fan of wear what makes you happy. 

Anyhoo, as I was getting dressed, I couldn't help noticing that a scarf from last summer matched quite perfectly with my outfit and I did a little bit of gentle mixing. 

And I kinda liked it. 

All I could think about when I put it on, was Jon Acuff at Blissdom saying "Scarfs in the summer are so weird. Its like you're saying my body is hot but my neck is soooo cold." Haha.

Outfit Deets: Top: H&M, Skinnies: Target, Scarf: F21, Bracelets: F21 Shoes: Target

Hubs is off today through Monday for Memorial Day! I am so, so thrilled to have 4 family days in a row! 

Happy Friday, Y'all! 

A room fit for a Queen. Or at least a guest.

We've had lots of company lately. You probably noticed by the minimal post around these parts lately. I love entertaining and there isn't a month that goes by that we don't have someone staying with us. I've been busy menu planning, cleaning and making something I've grown to love... 

The Welcome Basket:

I just started making these baskets when we had friends coming that had never been to our house before. Some of them were co-workers of the hubs that I hadn't been around that much. I figured they may feel weird looking for something to eat or drink at 2 am when the munchies hit, so, I put it all in their room.

The baskets hold:

Water bottles

Granola bars

Magazines

Toothbrush

Toothpaste

Sweet Candy

Chocolate Candy

Gum

This was during a 3 basket prep for the wedding weekend we just had.

Basket ready for company! It doesn't hurt that there were already pictures out of the couple staying in this room. 

And speaking of guest room, this is ours. Not sure if I ever posted pictures of the color we painted awhile back. I LOVE the grey. 

And we also just hung this photo wall. There are layers of pictures so that we can change them out according to who's staying in there. That way, you remember the fun times you've had with people while you're creating new memories. 

Now I need to find some cute matching baskets to use in the future instead of ones from Easter! 

I'm off to clean because the next round of guest comes next week!

Stripes to the Max-i {A Fashion Post}

An Instagram pic of me and Cooper ready for date night resulted in lots of questions around this maxi, which I am loving! 

It is actually a full dress, but I think the stripes get a wee bit out of control full length.

Must have some of a heel with a long skirt when you're only 5'2". 

Maxi: Ross, Top: Old Navy, Shoes: Tommy Hilfiger (That is all the hubs would wear when we first met!) from DSW

Happy Friday, Y'all! 

Roasted Red Pepper Tortellini {RECIPE}

Short on time to make dinner? Make this:

So easy and so good. I adapted this recipe from one of BHG's Quick & Easy Pasta Dishes. I've made it 3 times and the 3rd was the charm. Start to finish in about 20 minutes and makes 4 servings.

4 cups Frozen, Cheese Filled Tortellini (can use fresh)

1 12oz jar Roasted Red Peppers, drained and sliced into strips

1/2 cup Fresh Basil, shredded

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast (I use the perfect portion ones that are thin)

1/2 Stick Butter

1 cup Light Cream

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

2 Tbsp. Cream Cheese

1 tsp Garlic Powder

or

About 1/2 of a jar of prepared Alfredo Sauce

Cook sliced chicken breast in 1 Tbsp olive oil until cooked through. Set aside. 

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter. Add cream, parmesan, cream cheese and garlic powder, whisking until mixed well and heated through. Pour over chicken and add red peppers until they're warm. Pour sauce mixture over drained tortellini and stir in basil. 

Serve with a little more basil on top. Enjoy!

Insta-fashion

Since joining the masses and switching from Blackberry to iPhone earlier this year, I've been quickly become an Instagram junkie. I'm such an over sharer. 

One thing I love is #ootd (outfit of the day or out of the door) pictures that people post. Most days, I can't find time to do the laundry, much less do a whole camera timer photo shoot. So, I snap some bathroom mirror shots! Here are some of my latest "fashion post" via Instagram. 

This was a grocery shopping day:

Picking up my friend at the airport:

Mall day:

On the way to a wedding:

My soccer mom-i-form:

If I would just hang my full length mirror instead of having it propped against the wall, I may get a whole body shot. Craziness! 

Should I do an Instagram fashion dump on here every now and then? I'm @stilettodiapers if y'all want to follow! 

DIY: Subway Address Art

We've moved quite a few times in our 6.5 year marriage for the Hubs job. I wanted to have all our addresses in one place before I start forgetting them. 

Enter: Subway art

I started with a 2'x4' piece of plywood and trimmed it down to the size of the poster. (2'x3')

Then, I bought 1" rods and cut them to have pieces the length of all sides. 

The hubs pulled in from work just in time to be my hammer man. 

Now there was a "box" on the back. 

I spray painted the whole thing black, not worrying much about the actual face. It was going to all be covered. 

I made my poster in Photobucket, then had it printed at Staples as an engineering blueprint. It comes out on paper and cost about $3.50. I carefully trimmed off all the white edges and using adhesive spray, attached it to the wood. 

And now its hanging in the stairwell headed down to the basement.

This final pic is awful, yes. I had to blur out the current address so y'all would make your own instead of coming to my house and taking mine. 

I LOVE how it turned out. And for about $9, you just can't go wrong. 

Happy Friday! 

6 Month Fabric Photo!

I almost freaked this month when I got the email saying "Congratulations! Your baby is half way to his first Birthday!" Oh, pretty please don't remind me. This is proof enough that time is moving way too fast. 

I know he has fuzz feet in this picture, but they were that way in every shot. He.won't.hold.still. Besides, how could I not showcase the tongue out grin? 

He is happily rolling and scooting all over the place. Eating bananas, sweet potatoes, peas, pears, and apples, he has caught up to his brother's 6 month weight. 19 big ones. 

He is wearing 9-12 month clothes. His new favorite thing is saying something that sounds just like "Hi Dad" over and over. Totally adorable. He is drooling like a banshee and chomps Sophie like its his job. 

And nothing at all makes him happier than this guy:

Who insisted on being in the picture, too. How could I say no? 

Cookies that make you say YUM and HOLY BEAUTIFUL.

I almost cried (the full on ugly cry) when I opened the box and saw these:

I yelled for Cooper who gasped loudly and concerned me that he just stopped breathing. 

These are cookies. COOKIES look like this. I could work for 3 weeks and never create something this incredible. 

The sweet Elizabeth at Decorated Desserts made these for Cooper's 4th Birthday and I couldn't have been more pleased. They were just perfect. And the shortbread cookie under McQueen and Mater was to die for. They are 1/2" instead of the standard 1/4" and as cookie fan, I can say that makes all the difference in the world. I may have hidden an extra one in the back of the pantry for myself. 

Elizabeth makes cookies in all sorts of designs. Birthdays, showers, graduations, you name it. She's got you covered. Check out her Facebook page to see all the cute cookies she makes! 

Thanks, Elizabeth! We are forever fans of Decorated Desserts! 

Party Planning: Plain Jane to Ka-Chow!

Cooper's Cars party wouldn't have been complete without the help from the gals at Sugar Tot Designs. I'm a lover of details and their adorable party kit added just the perfect amount. 

The party kits the sell on Etsy are custom made for your party. Sent to you in a PDF, all you have to do is print on card stock and go to town decorating. 

The kit included custom food label cards, some I folded as tents and some I tied onto dishes.

Then there was one of my favorite things, the Happy Birthday pennant banner with Car's characters.

"Thank you for racing to my party" tags could be used for thank you cards, goodie bags, or tied to favors like this. I love that they said his name. That's the standout difference between party store decorations and these!

Sorry for the darkness of this picture, but these "Cooper's 4th Birthday" tags were so cute. Hanging on doors and a few other random places in the house, these character circle tags added the Car's theme just enough through the whole house. 

The kit also included cupcake toppers that I didn't use for the party since we didn't have cupcakes. I will be using them, though, for thank you cards! 

If you're planning a party, bridal or baby shower, you need to check out Sugar Tot Designs! There are tons of party themes to choose from or contact them for custom designs. They also have a blog that showcases parties, gives DIY tutorials and has free printables! 

Follow them on Facebook to stay up to date on new products and to receive 15% off anything in their store! 

Thank you, Telisa, for making Cooper's party so very perfect for him! 

Car's Birthday Party!

The hours of work decorating, cleaning and cooking for this party was all worth it for this guy!

He's been talking about a Car's party for months so I had time to prep for an all-things-Cars extravaganza.

The food was served at Flo's V-8 Cafe.

Each food had a Car's name, right down to the grown-ups "Motor oil".

Can we talk about how cute all the tags are? They are from Sugar Tot Designs and they totally completed the party! I'll show you more in another post!

Quite possibly my favorite, was Luigi's tower of tires, aka, chocolate donuts.

It was easy to stick with the theme when there are so many Car's things out there!

The cake was over the top amazing. My sweet sister is a cake decorating genius. All I can take credit for is whats inside and the eyeballs. 

Cooper seriously loved it, too.

Oh, those cookies. I wish I had 1 (or 5) right now. See, they weren't only completely adorable, but delicious, shortbread goodness. I'll tell you more about them in a couple days, but they're from Decorated Desserts.

Goodie bag table had Car's bags from the Dollar Tree, candy coated popcorn and Car's Cheez-its and fruit snacks. 

I made the popcorn like the Bunny Bait I made at Easter, but with only popcorn and red candy melts.

I made Coop's shirt out of checkered fabric and a Lightening McQueen iron on. Although the "I'm exhausted from smiling in pictures" face would make you think otherwise, little man loved his party!