DIY Lace Party Decoration

When you combine the Event Planner side of me and the thrifty mom that I have come to be, add a dash of chic elegance and simplicity, you come out with items like this!

To add this element to your next party, visit your local hobby or craft store and search the baking area for paper doilies. The white ones will have to be painted with watercolors, sprayed with paint or colored with markers if you desire a color scheme. 

If you fold them down the middle you can cut the center out to create a lace ring. 

Lay 3 doilies on top of eachother and tie them together with thin string or thread at top and bottom. 

Pull the top and bottom doilies one out to fold and separate from eachother. 

Connect until you meet your desired length or attach together to make a garland variation. 

These could work in so many different themes and situations, and look more costly than they are! What would you use them for?

Featured Product: Janod Toys

Janod makes some if my favorite toys, I love how beautiful, functional and imaginative they are. Most of Gs Christmas presents were Janod, and I think that most of her birthday gifts will be from them too, I can't help myself I just love them that much! This calendar is one of my favorite new things from them, it's adorable and well designed as well as fun and engaging for your little one. It is the perfect way to learn the months, the days and even the weather.  Stop in today and check it out as well as the other beautiful things that Janod makes!

#BlogsAtBerries

We are elated that our blog is becoming a favorite for so many! It is important to greenberries that we are in touch with the modern family and cater to the needs of expectant, new and veteran moms. The team at greenberries is always looking to be in on the newest and greatest items for families, so to take the first step in our blogging adventure, we had to host the local bloggers who have succeeded so well in what they do.

It was a night of wine, cheese and cupcakes! Everything is more fun with cupcakes and we were lucky enough to have cupcakes donated by Rosebud Gourmet Cupcakes, another small business looking to network with moms in the area. Greenberries thrives on showcasing the talents of others and welcomes the opportunity to display the talents of our greenberries’ families.

The invitees were found online by our berries bloggers who searched for local family blogs that we were looking to learn more about. We met so many new faces that we are hoping to see again and learned more about the blogging community then we could have ever imagined from our first event. It is our hope that this event is the first of many and perhaps this can become a bi-monthly networking event for local moms blogging for our community. 

If you are a mom who loves blogging and are located in the greater D.C. or Baltimore area, please email us at greenberriesVST@gmail.com and tell us that you are interested in coming to find out more about greenberries and our network of bloggers. What is your blog site and what makes your blog stand out from others?

Recipe: Tasty Mac and Cheese bake (GF and DF options included)

Pasta is a favorite of ours, it's pretty cheap, it's comfort food, it's filling, leftovers are easy and plentiful, and it holds veggies in a way that our tot will try them. When we went gluten free I felt like my pasta options were limited, but not anymore! Here is my "best yet" Baked Mac and Cheese recipe. Fun fact to tuck away for later, you can make the sauce ahead of time and freeze or refrigerate it, saving time and energy. I made 5 recipes of this with different variations when I was pregnant and froze. When baby came, I thawed the bag of sauce all day and at night just had to cook noodles. You can make it with wheat ingredients, GF ingredients, or DF ingredients. I've included the options in italics when they apply!

Ingredients:

• One pound (give or take) of your favorite pasta, uncooked. (GF: I LOVE RP'S Pasta. The texture is unparalleled. DF: Just use your favorite pasta that you know fits your diet. Needn't be macaroni. RP's Fusili is in the photo above)
•  One pound of the cheese of your choice! You can get fancy like me and get a half pound each of complimentary flavors or go all in with one. Just get a pound in total. In the recipe photo above, I used a nice raw milk white mild cheddar for the sauce and a smoked sharp cheddar for the top. (DF: get one bag of Daiya shreds. They're the best for melting into a sauce. get more if you like a topper, but I think when making it DF the shreds' flavor is so strong I don't like more on top. Up to you!)
• 3 cups of milk, whole milk is preferred, but the milk of your choice will do. If you're using a smaller casserole dish, take the milk down to 2 cups, or save the rest of the sauce for putting on other things. It's good on just about ANYTHING. :) (DF: unsweetened coconut, rice, almond, or hemp milk)
• Salt to taste
• 3 Tablespoons Butter (or oil of your choice will do!) 
• 3 Tablespoons Flour (GF: Any all purpose GF flour blend will do. I used Pamela's in the photo above and have used King Arthur successfully as well)
•  Optional add-ins: Mix and match to customize, or enjoy it plain, it's just as good. We've loved each of these, the recipe photographed above has fresh parsley, black pepper, and garlic powder. Diced cooked bacon, chopped steamed broccoli florets, frozen veggies, peas, chopped fresh or dried herbs (parsley, thyme, sage, basil), garlic powder, sauteed onions, squash, cooked spinach, puree'd spinach mixed with your milk, cracked pepper, green chiles, tuna fish, hot dogs, sausage, pepperoni, capers. I could go on and on but you get it. Anything goes! Keeps this dish fresh week after week. :)

 Cook your pasta according to the package directions, but take it out before it's totally ready, a little too undercooked, about 2 minutes short. It'll continue cooking in the oven. While the pasta cooks, preheat your oven to 350° F. 

Grate your cheese, and separate out half a pound to go on top of the pasta, half a pound to go in the sauce. Get your milk ready and next to the stove. In a large saucepan or medium size pot, melt the butter over medium to medium high heat. When the butter is totally melted, add your flour and wisk constantly and let it cook. Just as the mixture is starting to brown, add approximately half a cup of milk. Wisk til smooth, add another half cup, repeat. It may seem lumpy every time you add milk, but I guarantee you can get it smooth again, just don't add more milk until you do. It's a lot of wisking. so worth it.   (DF note: you may need more or less milk or a bit of added water, depending on the starchiness of your milk substitute. just be sure your final product is the texture you want, roughly. the daiya shreds won't change it much)

Now you have a thickened hot milk! Look at you!  Almost there. Now is a good time to wisk in salt and any mix ins you've decided on. Once the mixture (still on medium high ish  heat) starts to bubble, you can add in your cheese one little bit at a time, and wisk to smooth it into your sauce.When the whole thing is incorporated fully and smooth in texture, you're ready for phase two! Turn it off and let it set while you...

Pour your strained and undercooked noodles into a casserole, I use a pyrex 9 by 15. Any casserole will do. Pour your cheesey deliciously good sauce over them. Top evenly with your fantastic remaining cheese. You could also add breadcrumbs here if you wanted. I don't. Pop that whole thing in the oven you already preheated and let it bake for about 20 minutes or until it's bubbling and starting to brown. That's important. Bubbles are important. Leave it alone and do something else so it can get bubbly. Like write a blog post.

Once you see bubbles, take it out and let it cool for 10 or 15 minutes. Pat  yourself on the back, you're so cool and made epic mac and cheese! Serve it up warm and with salad or veggies unless you added some in it. Sometimes we make it with pureed spinach, broccoli, and peas. Then we don't serve a side. Enjoy it! Store your leftovers in glass or anything that is oven ready. It re-heats much better in an oven or toaster oven, the texture is kinda killed in a microwave. :) 

Did you try this recipe? How did it turn out for you?

Save the Date!

♫ They say it's your birthday! ♪

Spring is here, which means it's birthday season in my family. My husband's birthday was last weekend, and at the end of May, my mother, father, and I are all sharing birthdays in a week's span. Birthdays are celebrated in so many ways in different families, and I love hearing about birthday traditions. In my house, I continue my childhood favorite tradition: choosing the menu for dinner. I always pick Chicken Joseph Florentine, oh my gosh, just typing that I realize it's been forever since I ate that. Now I'm thinking that I need to make some and blog it? I digress! Back to birthdays. So here we do you pick the menu. :) On my son's most recent birthday, he chose pancakes with fruit, sushi out for lunch, and mac and cheese for dinner. Last weekend for hubby, it was omelets and pancakes, leftover baked fusili in bolognese (it was sooo good), and a balsamic and coconut cream sauce on meatballs with sauteed bok choy and quinoa, my homemade cheesecake was desert. (The picture is my son admiring the cheesecake while it cools, it's the first time I've EVER made it without it cracking! I had to get photographic proof) We love to cook in our family! We also try to go out for some family fun, son chose the aquarium, one of his favorite spots, husband picks outdoorsy things, hiking and kayaking. 

There's another important birthday coming up soon: greenberries'! We'll be having a party, and you're definitely invited, so keep an eye out for your invitation very soon! In the meantime, share with us how you celebrate your birthday, and your family's birthdays! We want to hear from you. You can use our poll and the comments section and tell us what makes a birthday complete in your house.

How do you celebrate birthdays?
	A favorite meal cooked at home
	A favorite meal out
	Cake!
	Not Cake!
	A date night
	Family Fun (share what in the comments!)
	Vacation
	Something else (please tell us about it, leave a comment!)
pollcode.com free polls

Frugal Fashions: On the Go!

This post comes to you from somewhere in the middle of Nebraska, thankfully we are working our way back to Maryland. My sweet girl would not smile for the camera it might have something to do with the fact that it wasn't yet 5am and we have been in the road for 3 solid weeks despite her scowl she is adorable as always. Only half of her outfit today is frugal unfortunately I have a hard time finding our beloved See Kai Run shoes on consignment, I do buy her a pair every year at Lilliput a local shop in Moscow Idaho when we are there, we love shopping local even when we are away. Her shirt I discovered while scouring ebay, however it was selling for retail or more even used so when it turned up on the racks of greenberries I was elated! Her doll is from a line we discovered at toy fair and will be in stock soon at the store, G has been attached to her since February and she goes EVERYWHERE with us, we love her!

 Gap shirt retail $19.95, greenberries $5.95 
Gap shorts retail $24.95, greenberries $5.95 
See Kai Run sandals retail $47 on sale at Lilliput $37 

Retail $91.90 My cost $48.90