Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

I'm celebrating a year of blogging this week and looking back at some of my favorite posts. One of my very first recipe posts was Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip. This dip is SUPER easy to make and delicious to boot! I like to have fun with it to give it that little extra WOW factor.

For example, sometimes I cook up individual servings in my adorable cinnabar tidbits bowls and then serve on the appetizer plates. This would work with any small, shallow oven safe dish. Just be sure to reduce the cooking time when using smaller dishes as it won't take as long for the middle to set.

I also love to bake it right in my cinnabar footed server. Folks can't believe this beautiful dish is so functional! Talk about WOW factor!

I'm rehashing this recipe (with pictures this go around) as part of Jen's Tasty Tuesday Party. Be sure to head over there and check out all the other yummy recipes!


And don't forget about the giveaway. I will be announcing on Tuesday, September 1. You can earn an entry now - check out the details here!

It's My Blogoversary!

Thanks for stopping over! Be sure to grab a 3-layer cupcake and help me celebrate my one year blogoversary! (I've been singing that to the Tony Toni Tone It's Our Anniversary song all day long.) Feel free to roam around my place for a bit.

Oh and I am accepting blogoversary gifts - at the top of my wish list is comments! Don't be shy! Please drop me a line. I will be sure to visit you with a big thank you! That's how many wonderful friendships began over the past year!

I can't believe it has been a year already - how time flies! It has been a fun and fruitful year. I'm excited to see how the second chapter unfolds! Hope you will join me - in fact, if you haven't already why not join my Southern Fried Friends group? You can do so by clicking the Follow button over to the right in my sidebar. It's so easy!

I will be hosting a fabulous giveaway this week. I'll announce the official giveaway on Tuesday, September 1. It will be a good one, I promise! You can earn an entry before it is announced. Check out the details here.

Have a blessed week!

Saturdays with Southern Living at HOME Beautiful Entertaining

Welcome to this week's edition of Saturdays with Southern Living at HOME. I can't believe fall is just around the corner, y'all! I'm so excited! September kicks off the best time of year - end of summer parties, tailgating, women's ministry activities and lots of other fun get-togethers!

I don't know about you but I like to take dishes with WOW factor to these types of events. We all seem to be super busy these days. If I'm too busy to prepare something on my own I simply plop chips and store-bought salsa or guacamole in my beautiful Gail Pittman serving set (Siena) like the one pictured above! Everyone oohs and aahs at the presentation and even thinks I made the dip most of the time. I usually don't say otherwise - ha!

You already know that I like to dress up an EASY recipe in my Gail Pittman baking dish. Think about how beautiful those fall casseroles and desserts will look! (Don't those apple dumplings look divine?)

Heck - you can even pamper your pet with these Gail Pittman Pet Bowls and Stand! Don't have a pet, they are food and dishwasher safe so use them to serve peas and carrots on your buffet!

I feature all these beautiful Gail Pittman hand-painted items because we kick off HUGE sale on September 1 with lots of items in our line of pottery. Never before have I seen a sale like this on so many beautiful products! There are over 30 items priced $20 and below that will be perfect for those fall and Christmas entertaining events. Oh and they make GREAT gifts as well!

Be sure to check out the sales flier and leave me a comment with your favorite item and how you would use it. I've got some fun news coming up this week with a giveaway. You can begin earning entries into the drawing TODAY with your comment on this post! How easy is that?!

You can also begin shopping today and place pre-orders. Just shoot me an email with your order and I'll send back an invoice with payment options. You can order as many items as you like! Quantities are limited so order early to have a better chance to get everything on your list!

ATTENTION Siena and Provence Dinnerware Collectors. These items are being retired from our product line and when they sell out they are gone. Place your order today so you can complete your collection before they sell out!

Little Blue Box

How excited was I to get this sweet

little blue box in the mail this week?

I couldn't wait to get inside but

wanted to cherish each moment.

My first official piece from Tiffany & Co.! AND a reminder of the fun and fruitful year with Southern Living at HOME! Many more (of both) to come!

While this is my first official piece from Tiffany and Co, it is not my first little blue box. A couple of years ago DH got me an ipod and he purposefully picked blue. I couldn't figure it out because green is my favorite color and I get most of my electronics in silver and black. I would never choose blue. I was thinking to myself - doesn't he know me better after all these years. So I asked him why blue - and he said it reminded him of Tiffany blue and I had mentioned a little blue box for Christmas. I was teasing (sort of). I also asked for an ipod so this would fit both requests. Isn't that the sweetest thing?

Have you ever gotten a little blue box? I would love to hear your story!

DIY Day - Mailbox Project

BBC has been in school for one week now and I have been busy around here. I don't have a whole lot to show for my efforts just yet but wanted to be sure and join Kimba and her DIY project fun. I love it that she is lenient in the rules so I don't have to feel stifled in what I present each week. Remember back during the garden party I mentioned I wanted to do a little project with my mailbox?

So, whadya think?

Hee hee. As you probably guessed, this isn't my REAL mail box but it REALLY is a mailbox. My BFF and I stumbled upon it in rural Oklahoma. We took a wrong turn in route to her cousins home and thought this was a hoot when we passed by. After we realized we were lost we got a huge kick passing back by because it even had a flag on it. Ingenious! Although I would think the mail would get a little soggy on rainy days. I bet the folks that crafted this are country pigs.

Seriously - this is my REAL mailbox. See how it is getting oxidized on the top? I was thinking about painting or cleaning it up and sealing or something to keep it from doing that. I love the color/finish that it is and could have sworn that it was warranted against doing that. Or should I just leave it alone and let it do its thing? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!


Happy DIY Day!

Party Food for One?

I have been craving Ranch Cream Cheese Bar It's an AWESOME quick fix for entertaining but I know better than to prepare a WHOLE block of cream cheese when it's mainly just me here during the day. That would be nothing but TROUBLE! I don't know about you but when I crave something I can get QUITE creative! And that is what I did tonight.

So without further ado, allow me to introduce...

Party of One Ranch and Cheese Triangle
1 Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese triangle

1/4 package dry ranch dressing mix

Crushed black pepper

Cover cheese bar with ranch dressing mix. Roll in crushed black pepper and place on serving plate. Serve with crackers. I think this is even better as a party of one because you don't feel guilty eating all the sides with the yummy flavor!!! Party on by your bad self!!!

I am linking up with Jen and her Tasty Tuesday party over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Be sure to head that way to pick up lots of other tasty recipes!

My Latest Obsession

I'm joining Rhoda's Thrifty Treasures Party this week to share my latest obsession - glass containers. With about $10 and a trip to Goodwill and another local thrift store I scored a few items to fuel this latest obsession.

This is a sweet jar and my biggest splurge by far. I love how round it is and it was the perfect size and shape for this sweet bouquet of flowers that BBC picked for me on an outing with DH. The flowers are starting to get a bit dilapidated in this picture but you get the idea! I love that the jar has a glass lid (pictured below).

I got the big jar for $5 (lid to the far right) and one of the smaller ones with the green tag for $0.50 at the thrift store. The one to the front left was a bit of a splurge for $2 at Goodwill. The third was a freebie - blue tagged items were buy one-get one. I had original plans to do moss terrariums in the smaller jars but may decide to do something fun for Halloween instead. I will be sure to share whatever I decide.

And I got these gals at Goodwill, too. They were $1.00 each with blue tags. I thought they would be sweet in a windowsill with single blooms. I will probably save these for next spring.

Be sure to head over to Rhoda's for more thrifty finds!

Cheri's Knock Off Knock Out

Cheri is hosting another Knock Off Knock Out Party. This is her third week to do so. I'm sad that I haven't been able to join the fun the past few weeks. SO I decided to link up an oldie but goodie to join in this week!

Remember this $68 wreath I fell in love with at a local nursery?

And my less than $20 version?

You can read all about how I crafted this knock off here.

Be sure to head over to Cheri's to check out the other projects AND find out how to enter to win a $100 gift card!

Saturdays with Southern Living at HOME A Closer Look at our Opportunity

Welcome to this week's edition of Saturdays with Southern Living at HOME. I can't believe the month of August is almost over! That means all the wonderful offerings will be ending, too. I wanted to take a closer look at our opportunity today because it is a FABULOUS and basically RISK free time to give us a try.

Here are a few reasons to take a closer look...

1. You love to DECORATE, ENTERTAIN, and/or ORGANIZE

2. You love to BLESS and SERVE others

3. You love to take FREE vacations

4. You need something to call your OWN

5. You need to earn additional INCOME with FLEXIBLE hours

6. You like to have FUN

7. You need a little (or a lot) of EXTRA cash each month

8. You want to be a STAY AT HOME Mommy

9. You are RETIRED and want to have FUN while earning CASH

10.You want to work less and see your FAMILY more

And here are some GREAT incentives...

Our regular starter kit contains over $570 in our gorgeous products and includes the business supplies you need to kick off your business in style! Through August 31st, if you join my team you get THREE bonus products from our popular Galveston Line. They include the Galveston Two-Tiered Stand (value $79.95), the Large Galveston Footed Hurricane, (value $79.95) and the Galveston Serving Stand (value $99.95). That's over $800 in products for just $199 PLUS you have everything you need to get started earning additional income!

Then to really see if this is a good fit for you, try us on for 60 days. Book 4-6 parties in your first 60 days with friends and family. You can book your own party, too, to help spread the word about your new business. Turn in at least 2 parties totaling $1000 in your first 30 days and you not only pay back your initial investment (you earn 25% or $250 of that $1000!), you will also receive our Entertaining Bucket and Stand as a reward for successfully launching your business!

Even better, turn in at least 4 parties totaling $2,500 in your first 60 days and you will not only earn the level one reward (bucket and stand) and pay yourself back, but you will be earning income (25% of $2500 is $625!) AND our best selling Astoria Flatware Caddy plus EIGHT, 5-piece place settings of our Gallery Collection Silverware.

And you won't be doing this all alone! In addition to corporate training and support, I am here to coach you every step of the way to make sure you are equipped for success!

So with your $199 plus tax investment, following our 60 day success start plan and meeting each level you will have paid yourself back ($199 plus tax), earned additional income ($400+), have me as your personal coach (PRICELESS ;)) and have over $1300 worth of our GORGEOUS products! If you LOVE working the business in your first 60 days simply continue on the path of success and earning! If you haven't loved it you can stop there, pat yourself on the back for giving it a try, and enjoy the fruits of your labor with no further obligation! How awesome is that?

I am hosting 20 minute exploration sessions by phone on Tuesday and Thursday of this week. Shoot me an email (j.fryar @ comcast.net) to grab one of these time slots and learn more! First come, first served. I know I have included a LOT of information in this post because I am so EXCITED about my business. It is a blessing to share with others!

One Day Down...

We survived the first day of kindergarten! One day down and 13 more years to go! Thank you for all your well wishes and prayers! And I didn't cry so I guess BBC's imaginary invention worked after all! He made it easy because he was SO excited and when we got there he was all "Well, bye" and "See you this afternoon"... There were a few other moms that didn't fare as well at the Sip n' Sob.

I have been putting off a few necessities (you know, like cleaning house, grocery shopping, laundry, etc.) and using the "last week before school" excuse. Am I the only one that milked it as much as possible? Well the gig is up and I must get busy earning my keep! Can't wait to get the work done so I can get to playing and posting again!

Can't Believe It

I can't believe that this little munchkin is starting kindergarten. It seems like just yesterday he was climbing in this planter. I'm excited because he is excited. I'm excited to have a little guilt-free time for me in my day each day (can I get a witness?)! I'm a little sad and nervous because I'm a mom.

I'm trying to be a tough girl but I had to fight back the tears at open house tonight. I told him I would probably cry and he let me know if I cried that he wouldn't come home - ha. Then he told me not to worry because he invented a machine (imaginary, or course) that would keep me from crying while he is gone. Isn't that precious?

I guess I will not be alone because our school is offering a Sip n' Sob in the cafeteria tomorrow for kindergarten parents - isn't that a hoot? It will depend on the degree of my sobbing as to whether I will join or not. Don't want to totally embarrass myself the first day!

I know there are more serious and urgent prayer requests out there but if you think about it please whisper a little prayer for our family. Probably wouldn't hurt to lift up all the parents, students and especially teachers (thank you for what you do)!

Life and Times of a Cheap Mirror

I bought this mirror last December at an antique mall for just $20! I knew I needed the scale and that it would work for my nutcracker obsession. In January I had the itch to update my den but didn't have the time or energy. So I did a quick fix using the mirror...

These Iron Pieces...

And A Bit O'Ribbon to scratch the itch.

You can check out the interim look here.

A little later in the spring we finally took on the den. We painted everything but the ceiling and beams, brick fireplace, and carpet. I LOVE the results and regret not doing that when we moved in (over 7 years ago). I kept the mirror the same tired stain color because I was having trouble deciding what color to paint it. I thought my only options were white or brown (I can be boring like that sometimes). But then...

I spotted this paint in the clearance section. I didn't know what I was going to use it for but figured for $2.00 I could have fun with something. It didn't dawn on me immediately but then I got to thinking about that paint and my mirror. Even though I change out the colors in this room often the sofa is green. Could I tie the two together with this? YES! So I taped off and painted away.

And after a little distressing...

And a little more. This is my favorite distressed section. . It reminds me of my granny's window panes. Brings back warm and wonderful memories from childhood!

And here's how she looks for summer (wish I had better camera skillz but you get the picture (as bad as it may be - hee hee)). I got the vases at convention as a gift. Tipton and Hurst has a BOGO sale on all their stems each Wednesday so I can keep the cheer FRESH in here for the cost of a latte each week!

I hope this mirror realizes how much fun she has been the past few months. I can't wait to dress her up for fall (it is too early for that, right?). And what fun we will have at Christmas - especially with all my bright green and red decor!!!

Oh and I'm rehashing and updating this mirror story as part of Kimba's DIY Day. Can't wait to get inspired with this week's posts!

Fun Times

I can't believe my little BBC will begin kindergarten one week from today. For now we are having as much fun as we possibly can! Hope you are having fun, too!

Today's Thrifty Treasures

I am participating in Today's Thrifty Treasures hosted by Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality! I am not that great when it comes to yard sales because quite frankly they are usually picked over before I roll myself out of the bed and I am a bit of a recovering germ-a-phobe. Can I get a witness? BUT these gals make it look so fun and rewarding. I really need to give it a try - maybe in the fall.

For now I will resort to my thrifty ways and that is getting a great deal at the stores. My favorite local shop is Park Hill Home. It is in a quaint historic home in the Park Hill neighborhood and I could easily move in there. Imagine how excited I was when I drove by on {late} Saturday morning and saw they were having a sidewalk sale!!! I had to restrain myself for sure. I spent only $28 including taxes and here's my loot...

This little girl statue for $16.25.

Isn't she precious???

And I picked up this pillow for $5.

The lighting doesn't do it justice in this pic.

There, that's better!
Love the details!

And I'm a sucker for just about ANY urn.
This one was $5 as well!
Click to check out the details.

Be sure to head over to Rhoda's to check out all the other steals. Have a blessed week!

'SUP with SFG and WINNER!

Well, it's happened. I hear you gals talking about it all the time. My life has gotten out of balance. I know you can probably see the signs - a LOT of excitement about Southern Living at HOME convention and not a lot of posts since!

"Let me 'splain. [pause] No, there is too much. Let me sum up!" July was a totally unexpected FABULOUS month for my Southern Living at HOME business. I was expecting a bit of a slow down for summer in both sales and hours invested. So I was completely surprised when my personal team TRIPLED our best month ever in sales AND invited FOUR new girls to the team! Woo Hoo! How fantastic is that? Thank you, Lord!

I am excited about all the growth we are experiencing as a team. I am also excited about the personal growth I am experiencing in learning how to balance business success with other areas of my life. When I began this blog almost a year ago, my plan was to share my life. I didn't and still don't intend for this to be a SLAH only blog. I pray this blog will be a reflection of balance in my life.

My precious BBC is about to enter Kindergarten in two short weeks. I still can't believe it! My goal is to create as many memories as possible with him before school starts. I will never get this time back.

So all this comes at a price. For now that price will be time to blog. I will be slow on comments and posts for the next couple of weeks. I have been keeping up with all of you but haven't been commenting much. I have a jillion (ok maybe not quite that many) projects AND recipes AND stories to share once school begins.

Finally, I appreciate everyone that reads this blog and I want to find new ways to honor you! I am going to start a regular feature where you can share how you are using your Southern Living at HOME products. So please get your pictures ready - fair warning! I am always on the lookout for fresh ideas! I also am going to start hosting guest posts. Leave me a comment or shoot me an email if you have an idea for a guest post.

And speaking of fabulous ideas, did you check out how Shelley and Tara are using their Southern Living at home products in their homes? Fabulous! If you see something you like, Tara is hosting a SLAH blog party in August!

OK - I did mention something about a winner, didn't I? This precious boy did all the work and as you can see the winner is Shelley! Shelley - I know how to get in touch with you! You are the proud new owner of a Gail Pittman Brio Bowl. You probably already have one but you can use it as a gift or to have a set for chargers on one of your fabulous tablescapes!!! Thank you to everyone that entered!

We are going to have a lot of fun when school begins. Excited!!! ~Southern Fried Gal

Southern Fried Wedding

A couple of you asked for pictures of my Southern Fried Wedding. So I came home and dusted off a few snapshots. It has been fun to reminisce. If you missed the story you can check it out here.

This is the picture I have framed in my living room.

I smile every time I see it!

This is the one the was posted in DH's hometown paper. The water hose adds so much, don't you think? I'm also glad we got married out back where it is rock and not that dated brick! One other fun tidbit - our mother's seemed to think of everything even though they only had a couple hours lead time. They brought bird seed, garter, new, old, blue, yada yada yada. They also had recently remarried and brought their bouquets. I held both without realizing they formed a heart in the pictures. Sappy but sweet, eh?

DH's grandfather officiated.

We were under an old tree.

Could I be cheesin' any bigger?

My new family

His new family #1

His new family #2 (my dad)

Our lovely reception at the Fish Nest. And yes, we had Southern Fried everything! Didn't realize until I downloaded these that my dad changed clothes between wedding and reception. Could HE be cheesin' any bigger in this picture? He's probably thinking how much he saved - ha!

UPDATE: I am linking up with Kelly's Korner again this week. After our lovely reception we honeymooned for one night at The Arlington in Hot Springs. Then we were back to work on Monday! Thanks for sharing in the memory!