Welcome Home Gift Basket with Hallmark Signature Cards

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias #HallmarkHolidayMoments


I love the holidays. It's my favorite time of year because it’s the time to spread cheer to those we love and appreciate! I have always loved Hallmark Cards and they have been a part of every holiday since I was born. My grandmother would send Hallmark Cards to me for every single holiday (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Easter, and more!), and I have a box of cards and photos that are a memento to my grandma, Pat.


This year's collection of Hallmark Greeting Cards at Walmart is extremely special to me, and I am so happy to be able to think of her as I look back through the cards she sent me. This gets me thinking about how important of a role greeting cards play in our lives. They help us spread a smile, words of kindness, words of consideration, and sometimes words of sympathy. It seems like there is really a card for every occasion now.

I also love how these greeting cards can be almost a gift in themselves, or accompany an amazing gift and put that final special touch on something like a Welcome Home Gift Basket. Above, I absolutely adore the woodland scene that is set! This gift basket I have created would be the perfect welcome home gift for family and friends who are visiting you during the holidays. I actually used the Hallmark Signature Cards as my color inspiration, which helped me tie a few really beautiful items together into one awesome gift. I found nearly everything at Walmart, including a Hallmark Signature Card, a pair of slippers, a fuzzy blanket, a winter candle, gloves, and more!

Perhaps you could create a set of his and hers gift baskets – Hallmark had TONS of cards for men, too, which I just loved. I would probably use colors like reds and blacks, plaids, and a rustic wooden basket for the container. Oh the possibilities!!!

Perhaps a plate of cookies would be inviting to someone who is visiting! I applied white frosting and some gingerbread decorations to traditional sugar cookies.

Hallmark Greeting Cards are incredibly enchanting and sophisticated, and they have such intricate designs. I could tell the designers and artists paid so much attention to every last detail. When I say little detail, I mean itty bitty, teeny tiny little details!

Speaking of gingerbread, this 3D Pop Up Card actually folds up into a little gingerbread house and is also an ornament! It’s really cute and folds up super easily. No glue was required at all!

DEAL ALERT!!!

I saw in-aisle coupons in the store, for buy 2 Hallmark cards, get one free. The other offer is a cute plush Holiday bear for only $3.97 when you purchase 3 Hallmark Cards priced at $1.97 or higher (offers available through 12/25/18 while supplies last). 

There’s also an Ibotta offer:  Earn $1 off a card purchase of $2.97 or more (offer available through 12/25/18 while supplies last)!
Hallmark has a couple of beautiful display at Walmart right now. It’s enchanting browsing all of their beautiful cards in the Holiday aisle, or the greeting card aisle... In this post, I featured two of the cards from Hallmark Signature Cards, and I also found that I loved a lot of the Hallmark Paper Wonder Cards as well. I was drawn more towards their whimsical greeting cards, the ones that made me want to be a kid again, and that had a lot of dimension to them. And, I thought it was fun to add a candle to the gift basket as well. It went so well with all of my colors.

I just love the enchanted woodland scene on this card, and my mom is going to LOVE it! I was so impressed by all of those little details that the layers of paper and glitter make. I actually used this card for some holiday decor inspiration around my home too! 

Hallmark’s latest designs are incredibly inspiring and will make the holidays and other occasions even more special. They are sure to help you continue to share thoughtful and meaningful moments and memories that will last a very long time.

Win $500 in Prizes in The Purrs & Paws Holiday Giveaway

Hello! I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving and holiday weekend so far! I am so thankful for the wonderful people and pups that are in my life. Our dogs make life complete, in turn making the holidays something I cherish more than so many other things.

 In the spirit of a happy, puppy-filled holiday, I am excited to announce a little giveaway that myself and a few of my blogger friends are helping to spread the word about this year.

One “finalist” will be randomly selected from each of the 12 participating blogs. All of the finalists’ names will go into a drawing, and 3 winners will be randomly selected to receive the prizes listed above. The winners will be announced on our Facebook page, so make sure you’re following over there so you don’t miss out! Good luck!

DISCLOSURE: No purchase necessary. Giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents age 18 and older, except where prohibited by law. Giveaway will run from November 23-29, 2018 at 11:59pm ET. Three (3) winners will be randomly selected and notified via email. Winners will have 48 hours to claim their prizes; failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the prize. Twitter and Pinterest do not sponsor, administer, or endorse this promotion.

Each participating blogger paid an entry fee which will be used to fund the grand prize. The 2nd and 3rd place prizes were generously donated by the participating brands.

ENTER TO WIN AMAZING PRIZES

There are 3 really incredible prizes up for grabs this year, which means 3 very lucky winners.

Any of those prizes would make for a very happy holiday, don’t you think? To enter the giveaway, simply follow the steps in the Rafflecopter widget below. There’s one mandatory entry and 3 bonus entries.

But wait, there’s more!

To increase your odds of winning one of these awesome prizes, you’re going to want to visit each of the participating blogs listed below. You’ll be able to enter the giveaway on each of those blogs, and remember, the more you enter, the greater your chances of winning.

Just be sure to get entered on each of the participating blogs by next Thursday night, November 29, 2018 at 11:59pm ET.

Participating Blogs

Visit these blogs to enter to win:

One “finalist” will be randomly selected from each of the 12 participating blogs. All of the finalists’ names will go into a drawing, and 3 winners will be randomly selected to receive the prizes listed above. The winners will be announced on The Everyday Dog Mom Facebook page , so make sure you’re following me there so you don’t miss out! Good luck!

DISCLOSURE: No purchase necessary. Giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents age 18 and older, except where prohibited by law. Giveaway will run from November 23-29, 2018 at 11:59pm ET. Three (3) winners will be randomly selected and notified via email. Winners will have 48 hours to claim their prizes; failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the prize. Twitter and Pinterest do not sponsor, administer, or endorse this promotion. Participants must read and agree to Rafflecopter’s Privacy Policy before entering and participating in this promotion. By entering this contest, participants grant permission for their email address to be added to The Everyday Dog Mom newsletter list.

Each participating blogger paid an entry fee which will be used to fund the grand prize. The 2nd and 3rd place prizes were generously donated by the participating brands. Please be sure to visit their websites to see all the incredible pet products they have to offer.

Spinach and Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe

These delicious stuffed mushrooms are not only delicious, they are very easy to make, and really make an impressive dish. Bring a platter of these stuffed mushrooms to your next party or potluck, or make them for dinner.

I was surprised by how easy these stuffed mushrooms were to make! Sure, I have enjoyed stuffed mushrooms in the past, but I have always been under the impression that they were hard to make because they looked so fancy and upscale. While there are several steps to this recipe, the finished product is well worth the time spent making a deliciously creamy spinach and sausage filling, which tasted incredible baked inside of these organic mushrooms.

INGREDIENTS (MAKES ABOUT 20 mushrooms)

1 lb. ground sausage or chorizo

2 (8-10 oz.) packages of button mushrooms (organic when possible)

1.5 - 2 cups chopped fresh spinach (chopped into very small pieces with scissors or a knife)

6-8 oz. cream cheese

1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup parmesan cheese (to sprinkle on top of mushrooms)

1/3 - 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 - 1 cup red pepper - chopped into small pieces

Salt

Italian Seasoning

1/2 - 1 cup onion - chopped into small pieces

Baking sheet

Parchment paper - optional

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.) In a skillet, sauté onions and 2 tsp Italian seasoning 4-5 minutes. Add entire package of ground sausage, and then cook until brown (10-12 minutes). Use strainer in sink to remove as much grease as possible. Return to skillet, and add red pepper. Cook about 4 minutes, see mine above.

2.) Next, add cream cheese and shredded cheese and heat over medium low heat until everything has melted and is well combined. Add in your spinach and cover to steam for about 2 minutes. Lastly, stir in breadcrumbs and mix until combined. Remove from heat and grab a kitchen teaspoon.

3.) Begin to fill mushrooms with filling. I found that for these smaller button mushrooms, it doesn’t even take much to fill them, but you get a great 2-3 bite treat.

4.) Place mushrooms on a baking sheet, optionally lined with parchment paper and bake 12-18 minutes, until mushrooms are tender and you see some liquid leaking out. That means they’re ready!

My boyfriend said this was one of the best dishes I have ever made, and that really meant a lot to me! I hope you all enjoy these stuffed mushrooms as much as we did. Enjoy!!

New Godiva G Cubes

Make it a GODIVA Holiday! Indulge and savor each bite of these @Godiva G Cubes, which are

available in flavors like Dark Chocolate Mint, Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel Ganache, White

Chocolate Coffee and MORE! These individually wrapped, gourmet chocolates make an

amazing gift or the perfect offering for a holiday party. Get yours today! #GodivaGCubes

Winnie The Pooh + Christopher Robinson Inspired Recipe

Enjoy family movie nights? If you are a lover of all things Winnie The Pooh, then this Pooh Approved Snack Mix and DIY Hunny Pot are exactly what you could to make! Perfect for family movie nights, because sometimes doing nothing leads to the very best of something! Simply mix up teddy bear shaped crackers and other health-conscious snacks to please the entire family!

My heart is overwhelmed by this fun opportunity I had to create this recipe and one more for WINNIE THE POOH and DISNEY and HELLO SOCIETY!!!!!

Hassle-Free Holiday Meal Ideas + Veggie Foil Packets with Del Monte

This post has been sponsored by Del Monte Foods, Inc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Each year, I seem to love the holidays more and more. To me, I love any excuse to

make delicious food and have friends and family over. So I thought it would be

fun to share an easy meal idea and show you just how easy this meal was. I

thought it turned out very elegant, and everything was literally devoured

pretty quickly.

These Veggie Foil Packets are a great vegetarian dinner alternative or side dish. These foil packets are so familiar to most people (think campfire dinners) but by adding more unique and colorful ingredients, these veggie packets can be taken to the next level and even enjoyed at a holiday dinner as a side dish! Simply put, these foil packets contain an array of ingredients like potatoes, carrots, garlic, onions, fresh herbs like parsley and oregano, and of course the Del Monte mixed veggies and green beans. Also, if you are put in the position when you need to offer a few vegetarian side dishes during the holidays, the veggie packets and the cornbread would be amazing.

Del Monte is my number one brand for everything canned during the holidays and during every month of the year. You can find them at your nearest retailer using this store locator. This could be a cute meal for Friendsgiving, for a fall or holiday date night, or something special for a smaller crowd during the holidays.

Visit Del Monte’s website to check out TONS more holiday recipes, here!

Ingredients: (Serves 3-4)

 VEGGIE FOIL PACKETS:

1-2 Cans Del Monte® Vegetable & Bean Blends Country Style

1-2 Cans Del Monte® Blue Lake® Cut Green Beans

4-6 pieces of foil (8”-10” squares) – 2 pieces per packet 

CREAMED CORN CORNBREAD CAKE + MUFFINS:

1 package cornbread muffin or cake mix (I used one 15 oz. box but you can also use two 8 oz boxes as well!)

1 egg

1/3 c. oil

1 Cup Del Monte® Cream Style Golden Sweet Corn

½ - 1 c. milk

Muffin tin

Cupcake liners 

WHOLE YOUNG CHICKEN:

1 whole chicken (organic when possible)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1-2 tsp salt

1-2 Tbsp seasoning (I used Greek seasoning, but use anything you would like)

Brush to apply olive oil (optional)

Parsley for garnish 

Instructions:

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare chicken. Place chicken onto a rimmed baking sheet and begin to brush olive oil over chicken. I basically drizzled the oil onto the chicken and then brushed it over. Next, I simply sprinkled seasoning all over the chicken. Cover with foil and bake for at least 1.5 hours. At a little over an hour, I carefully uncovered the chicken, then placed it back into the oven to finish baking. Make sure the breast is not pink anymore. A note on the chicken: there was a lot of juice in the cake pan from the chicken cooking. Be careful not to spill this juice or it may hurt you. Be very careful when handling this pan.

2.) Mid way through cooking chicken, prep for the veggie packets. Strain both cans of Del Monte veggies and divide them equally between 2 or 3 foil packets, To make the packets, simply place two sheets of foil on a baking tray, place veggies in the middle, then season with 1-2 tsp of your favorite seasoning mix and salt if needed. Fold two side of the foil inward, then twist the ends to keep everything inside. Place onto sheet pan and bake for 12-15 minutes or until steaming. Carefully open the packets as the steam can hurt you.

3.) Mix up cornbread ingredients and prepare pan. For my spring form pan, I sprayed it with cooking spray then lightly coated the pan in flour. Fill the springform pan about halfway full then pour the rest of the batter, cover with foil, and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes with foil covering until the last 10-15 mins. Pour the batter into the cupcake cups and bake muffins at 375F for about 15-18 minutes. The springform pan is not necessary, it just made for a wonderful presentation! Feel free to use any size or shape of square or round dish you have.

4.) To serve, place chicken into shallow serving bowl or platter and garnish with parsley. Also, feel free to place cornbread cake onto a cake stand or on a cute dish with a spatula for serving. Lastly, either have guests grab veggies from a serving bowl or straight from the packets!

Cleanup was super easy with this whole process. If you do not want to cook a whole chicken, you can use chicken drumsticks, thighs, or even chicken breasts. I say this because it can take up to 2 hours for the chicken to be fully cooked if the bird is 4 pounds like mine was.

I absolutely LOVED the green beans and the other vegetables in the new Mixed Veggies collection. I actually liked the vegetables more than any other part of this meal, and my friends also raved about each and every part. I had so much fun treating a few of my favorite people to an exceptionally thoughtful dinner during the holidays, which can be a super hectic time when people may forget to eat a “real meal”.

What are your favorite vegetarian side dishes to serve during the holidays?

Look out for these mixed veggies from the brand:

Del Monte® Vegetable & Bean Blends California Style

Del Monte® Vegetable & Bean Blends Classic Style

Del Monte® Vegetable & Bean Blends Country Style

Del Monte® Vegetable & Bean Blends Mexican Style

Connect with Del Monte on social and show off your recipes, too!

LEARN ABOUT MORE BLOGGERS’ RECIPES HERE!

Handmade Thanksgiving Finds on Etsy

I have been a huge fan of Etsy since their early days. I used to sell my hand sewn baby items through the site until I became a social media influencer, and this season, I wanted to share some of my favorite finds on Etsy in the Thanksgiving category, found here! A lot of these cute decor pieces would be perfect for Friendsgiving Decor as well.

I am loving these items, they are all so gorgeous! How will you decorate this year?

OLIVE CREATIVE COMPANY

Hey There Pumpkin Doormat / Rug (find it here)

LESS CANDLES

Eco Friendly, All Natural Acorn Floating Candles (find them here)

CANDY FLEECE BRAND

Gorgeous, Handmade Velvet Pumpkins for Thanksgiving and Beyond (find them here)

Happy Halloween! Check out this Bloody Glass Cupcake recipe!

Halloween was pretty fun this year! We made all sorts of deliciously spooky food and drinks! Here is one of the recipes which turned out even better than expected! This homemade honey blood made a big impact while the broken pieces of sugar glass looks incredibly realistic is was just incredible!

I used a bow of red velvet cake mix to make the cupcakes then had SO much fun decorating these cupcakes. The black cupcake liners were also so perfect for that dark and mysterious / murderous look I was going for, LOL!

In this post, I will teach you some very exciting techniques!

HOW TO MAKE SUGAR GLASS:

HOW TO MAKE FAKE EDIBLE BLOOD WITH HONEY:

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:

Stay tuned! Tips will be published tomorrow. Enjoy!