Garden Fresh Salsa

Hi friends!  Hope you're all enjoying your weekend.  Our garden is currently in a jungle like state, not that I'm complaining, but we're getting an abundance of tomatoes.  Yesterday, I made the most delicious homemade salsa and wanted to share this quick and super easy recipe.  I'm a wing it type girl so this is a recipe that you can adjust to your liking.

4-5 beefsteak tomatoes, cubed (or other large tomatoes)
Half of a Vidalia onion
1 medium bellpepper (or 2-3 small)
Zest and juice of 1 lime
Tsp salt
Tsp cumin
Handful of parsley or cilantro
1/2 a clove of garlic
1/2 small jalapeno (I'm a baby)

Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and you're done! You can choose a chunkier style or smooth, spicy or not, so many possibilities.  It was so good and fresh!

Enjoy!

The winner is...

Congratulations to entry #66, Kayla W.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You've won one pair of Freshly Picked moccasins and one headband from Jumping and Jellybean!! Please check your email at the address you provided via Rafflecopter and let me know the size and color moccs you'd like!  You have 24 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen! Thank you all so much for your entries and check back soon for another giveaway! Have a great day!

Freshly Picked + Jumping and Jellybean Giveaway!

Hi Mommas!

Today starts the beginning of an amazing giveaway!  Freshly Picked and Jumping and Jellybeans will be giving away one pair of moccasins and one headband to one of you lucky readers!

I was lucky enough to receive a pair of moccasins to review and I'm thrilled with them.  Freshly Picked has the most amazing customer service and their story of how the company came to be is a great one.  The moccasins arrived in a cardboard box that you can turn into a garden, complete with Freshly Picked stickers...seriously, the cutest packaging ever! They also came with a keepsake bag and FP pin.

We received the Platinum moccasins in size 3, which fit her perfectly.  I almost wish I got them in a 4 so she'd be able to wear them even longer.  They are super soft and have elastic around the top to make them easy to put on, but they also stay on her feet so well.   The color is neutral, which is great so she can wear them with so many different outfits.  I also love how they are beginning to show her footprint on the bottom, what a sweet keepsake.  I'd absolutely recommend these for crawlers and walkers.  She is loving her moccs!

I'm also so excited to be collaborating with Molly from Jumping and Jellybeans, a super cute Etsy shop with glittery headbands, coffee cozies, and hair clips.  Olivia will be getting the pale gold glitter bow clip and I can't wait to show pictures!  How cute are the items in her shop?!

Be sure to check out her shop on Etsy for your little ones!  

Now on to the fun part... to enter to win one pair of Freshly Picked moccasins and one Jumping and Jellybeans headband, use the Rafflecopter below.  Winner must not have been the recipient of moccasins in the past 60 days. If you are a new reader, please comment telling me after you've joined The Birds Nest via Google+ or signed up for new blog posts via email. Giveaway ends Sunday, August 3 at midnight.  The chosen winner will be announced Monday morning.  Good luck!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Naptime Game Changers

Good morning!  I decided to try Julep products and got my first box free using the code freebox, here.  My first box came with three nail polishes, an eyeliner pencil, and a nail and cuticle treatment.  Pretty awesome for just $3 shipping, right?!  I ordered a few more products separately after reading some reviews on other blogs.  

The Ramona nail polish, Freedom polymer topcoat, the oxygen smoothing base coat, and the Ta Da quick dry drops.   Also pictured is "Gelous," which is a gel nail coat which creates a gel-like finish on your nails.  I purchased that at Sally's Beauty Supply.  I applied the oxygen base coat first, then one coat of Gelous, one coat of nail polish, one coat of Gelous, one coat of nail polish, then the Polymer topcoat. It's a lot of layers, but gives you a great gel-like manicure for a fraction of the price and lasts just as long!  For extra gel-like protection, I put my nails under a 60 watt lightbulb for two minutes to really seal the top coat.  Also, make sure you let each layer dry for 2-3 minutes in between coats. Ignore the wrinkled cuticle area...seriously where is the cuticle area wrinkle cream?!

Now for the naptime game changer... the Julep Ta Da drops is my new favorite product. Seriously, who has time to paint their nails in the 17 minutes of baby less freedom?!  Ok, my child is an awesome napper but still ain't nobody got time for that.  Normally, after strategically planning when the best time to paint my nails is, they're smudged or chipped by the time I close the nail polish and grab the baby out of her crib.  These drops are amazing...let your nails dry for one (!!) minute and apply one or two drops directly to your nails and you're done.  Set for the day with smudge free, gel-like nails...simply amazing.  It's the little things in life, right?  

I'd definitely recommend these products again...let me know if you try them and your experience!  On to begin the day with the munchkin! Enjoy!

A Colorful First Birthday

My niece, Brynn, turned one in the beginning of July and my sister did a fantastic job hosting a super cute party. The party was rainbow themed and I'm all about a themed occasion!  She did a really great job displaying the food, cake, candy bar and decorations.  One of my favorite decorations was this diy tissue paper garland:

The food also followed the rainbow theme...dying over this purple cauliflower! 

For the main dishes, they had pulled pork, potato salad, baked beans, and mac and cheese...yummy! The candy display turned out so cute for the little (and big) kids to enjoy! She also had an amazing cake created by the same baker we used for Olivia's bunny birthday party.  

This pretty much sums up how Brynn feels about turning one! #YoureKiddingMe!

Life Lately & Ikea DIY

Life around here lately has been so much fun!  Olivia is constantly learning new things everyday and is now obsessed with her belly button.  She loves to show hers and mommy's hiding embarrasment everywhere she goes! The kid loves belly buttons...it's hilarious.  She also has been obsessed with stuffed animals, especially her new dog CoCo from Ikea.  Thank you to my hubby for that $5 find!

She was having tea with CoCo at her new Ikea Latt table that her grandparents gave her for her first birthday.  I wanted to add some personal touches to the table and customize it just for her.
I stained the table and chairs using Minwax in Dark Walnut 2716.  I also added fabric to the seats and love how it came out!

I also made one for my niece's first birthday and love how that came out as well.  For hers, I spray painted the table and chairs in a raspberry pink from Valspar and added fabric to the seats. Perfect little table and chairs for munchkins!

With all this beautiful weather lately, the babies have been enjoying themselves in Olivia's water table...I can't stand the cuteness! They love each other so much! 

For now, I'll leave you with sneak peek of the next post...A Colorful First Birthday!  

Have a wonderful day!

Morning Lifesaver: Aka Iced Coffee

Mornings around here are normally fast paced with a toddler, therefore, I've started some little things to make them smoother and more enjoyable.  I was never a huge coffee drinker until recently and let me tell you, this recipe is a morning lifesaver.

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman:

2 1/2 cups of good coffee

4 quarts of cold water (or more for weaker coffee)
1 Tbls vanilla extract
1 cup of simple syrup

First measure out coffee grinds, then add water.  Give it a good stir and let sit covered for 8 hours or overnight at room temperature.  I used a Brita pitcher to make the coffee mixture, which held the perfect amount.  After the mixture has sat for at least 8 hours, pour the mixture through cheese cloth or a coffee filter over the container you plan to store it in.  I added 1 cup of simple syrup to the finished coffee, which was also a great timesaver.  To make the simple syrup, combine 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water, bring to a light boil while whisking occasionally, then let cool.    I stored it in a large drinking dispenser from Target and it keeps for about a week and a half in the fridge.  Mornings are so much more enjoyable with some iced coffee in a mason jar ready to go! 

Note: Picture taken a week into the huge jar of coffee - it makes a ton!

Enjoy!