Tips for Naked Cakes

Hey guys! I wanted to share some tips for beginners to making those super popular "naked cakes".  My sister in law & I made the one for my mom's wedding, which turned out awesome, so let's shrink it down & make a cake for your next special event!

The first step is greasing your cake pans. You need your cakes to come out perfectly and the best way to to that is rub with Crisco then coat with flour. Fill your pans up half-way so they're nice and thick.

If you don't have cake-pan wrappy things to make them level, just use a serrated knife to even them out, in flatness & thickness as well...you want the layers to look even.

You want a thick and sturdy frosting to hold up those layers.  Sidenote: For the big wedding cake, we used dowels to help hold everything up.

Start by spreading a little frosting on your cake stand before your first layer to hold the cake on.

Using a big round frosting tip, pipe a generous layer of frosting on, extending aaaalmost to the edge.

Check up on how even your layers are stacking up, and if necessary, add more frosting in.

Even out any frosting that may have been squished out of the sides.

For the top we did like on the wedding cake, pipe some round mounds on, and using a wide knife or off-set spatula, place in the middle of your mound and gently pull the frosting into the center.

Top with flowers, cake topper, sprinkles, or anything fun and you're set to party!

honeycombs are my favorite

Hi friends! I just wanted to pop in and share a few pictures from 2 events I helped decorate.  The first was a bridal shower with a beach theme, and the second was a baptism.  I am currently obsessed with honeycomb, super easy & cheap decorations and they come in tons of colors!

Keep Your Home Clean & Kid-Friendly with Clorox

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

Keeping your home clean with a toddler is like chasing around a tornado. I feel like I clean up the same blocks 3 times a day!  But today I've got 3 easy tips to help you keep on top of the mess and avoid giant Saturdays full of cleaning.

I went to my favorite store (of course), Target, and grabbed some cleaning supplies by Clorox to make it even easier to keep up on the messes.

Here's what I grabbed using a coupon from the Target Cartwheel App, (June 7-July 4, receive 10% selected Clorox products): Clorox ScrubSingles Bathroom Pads (for bathroom cleaning), Clorox Pump 'N Clean Kitchen & Dish Cleaner (for kitchen cleaning), and Clorox Triple Action Dust Wipes (for rest-of-house cleaning)

 Tip #1: Clean as you go.  Leaving a mess for later means more time cleaning & scrubbing.  When we finish breakfast, I use the Clorox kitchen pump cleaner to quickly wipe up the mess on the table.

Pump, wipe, clean & you're done! On to the next activity!

Tip #2: Get kids in on the cleaning.  My son loves to help, but I'm not about to hand him a bottle full of cleaner...yikes! The Clorox Dust Wipes are an awesome way to not only clean, but teach your children the importance of it.  These wipes seriously grab and hang on to every single piece of dust or hair or crumb.  No dust spray or dirty rags to wash afterwards! 

They even work on the floor (think bathroom cleaning!), and make cleaning go by even faster with a helper by your side.

 Tip #3: Combine activities & cleaning at once. One of my favorite tricks to keeping the bathroom clean during the week is doing some quick "wipe downs" during bath time. I'm in the bathroom supervising, so why not make it productive?

Using the Clorox Bathroom Scrub Singles, it makes it easy to clean without once again, pulling out a spray bottle and dirty sponge or rag. Just wet, scrub and done! 

(Be sure you're still checking in on your little one, and if you're stashing cleaning supplies under your sink, be sure to take the proper safety precautions like baby locks.)

These new Clorox cleaning products make staying on top of messes super easy to maintain a clean home, and using my tips you'll wonder why you ever hated cleaning in the first place! Okay...maybe not totally but it'll definitely keep you from a whole day of cleaning when you're quickly cleaning as you go.

Home of the Brave Printable

I love the Fourth of July.  What's not to love, amazing food, friends & family and celebrating the amazing country we live in and those who fight for our freedoms. 

Here's a fun printable to commemorate just that! pair it with a fun bright frame and add it with your festive red, white & blue decor! 

...a month is an appropriate amount of time to decorate for a holiday, yes?

Bus Driver & Aide Gifts (with printable!)

My son started his first year of pre-school this year (super late, but that's a different story.) And almost everyone in his class takes his bus and for the first 2 days I did his pick-up/drop-offs he was SO sad he couldn't get on the bus! So he started taking the bus & his thrill and excitement did NOT dwindle, friends! He could not get on that bus fast enough.

I cried his first day of school, and so of course I was anxious about sending him on a bus all. by. himself. But thankfully he had 2 amazingly sweet & kind drivers and equally wonderful aides that kept me as ease.  So on the last day of school I gave them each a special treat!

This free printable is available below, and has 2 "driver" and 2 "aide"s on each paper.  Before I cut them out,  I had my son write his name on each and then took a little water color to splatter them. I cut them, attached with glitter tape and tied with baker's twine. 

They were so appreciative for them and it made me so happy to give them just something little to show my appreciation for making the process so easy on my momma-heart!

PSST! If you want to see the end-of-the-year treats I did for 2016, go HERE.