{monster} brownies- these are RIDICULOUS

Soooo everyone knows that the best part of football game days are the delicious treats at the party! I found myself needing something sweet to cut through all the delicious spicy, salty snacks we had around on Sunday. I had found a couple of "brookie" recipes that sounded good and decided to make a frankenstein version that combined a few of them together and I came up with what I call {Monster Brownies}

They. Are. So. Good. 

Here's what you need:

1 recipe of monster cookie dough

 {I used Paula Deen's monster cookie recipe because they are the best I've ever found!}

1 box of fudge brownies (prepared as directed)

1 bag of soft wrapped caramels {unwrapped}

1/4 c. heavy cream {I used milk to lighten it up a little}

{step 1}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare your cookie dough and brownie mix and set aside.

{step 2}

Place unwrapped caramels in a small saucepan. Add cream and melt together over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth.

{step 3}

 Pour brownie mix into a greased 9x9 cake pan. {I used a glass pan so I could make sure the brownie mix baked through}

 {step 4}
Pour melted caramel mixture over the brownie batter- as shown below.

 {step 5}
Drop balls of monster cookie dough in a random pattern on top of caramel and brownie. Make sure your cookie dough sinks slightly into the brownie batter.

{step 6}
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until the cookie has turned golden brown on top and the brownie batter sets. The inside of these bars are still gooey where the caramel mixes with the brownie batter, creating an addictive rich molten center.

{step 7}
Try not to eat the whole pan. {I failed :)}

ENJOY!

every girl {needs a tutu}

Every girl needs a tutu {and these are tutu easy and tutu cute!- see what I did there?!}

To DIY your own tutu all you need is the following:

• a spool of ribbon 1/2"-1" wide
• spools of tulle, as many colors as desired {I used 3 colors}
• fabric scissors

{step 1} 

Cut the ribbon long enough to go around the waist of who will be wearing the tutu, plus extra for a bow.

{step 2}

Cut strips of tulle in lengths twice as long as you'd like the tutu fluff to be. {as shown above}

 {step 3}
Take a piece of tulle and fold completely in half.
With the ribbon laying flat, layer the ribbon over the tulle's loop {as shown below} thread the ends of the tule up and through the loop, attaching the tulle to the ribbon.

 {step 4}
Repeat step 3 until you have filled the ribbon with tulle, all in one direction. Remember to leave enough room on the ends to tie in a bow.
*Note: if you want your tutu to have a layered effect, use only one color of tulle for each step. I wanted this tutu to have a random pattern with equal amounts of my 3 colors mixed together.

 {step 5}
Repeat the process of step 3 but this time pulling the ends of the tulle loops to go the opposite direction. Add tulle until you have the same amount of tulle in each direction.

 {step 6}
This is honestly the most difficult step {but you'll be fine, trust me :)}
Grab ahold of a tulle loop on each side of the center ribbon, directly across from each other. Split each in half and repeat step 3 to bring the ends of the tulle straight out and drawing both sides of tulle together to the middle.

Tie each set of loops together using step 6 until all of your tulle fluff is now sticking straight out from the center ribbon.

{step 7}
Fluff your tutu as needed to complete the tutu! Tie around the waist of the child {or adult} completing with a bow in the back.

*Note if you finish your tutu and you feel that the length is too long, never fear! You can always go through and give the tutu a "haircut" with you fabric scissors until you've reached the desired look. Don't worry about it being too perfect, you'll never notice if the cuts are not exactly perfect, everyone will just be in awe of it's adorableness!

{coming soon}

Busy making a birthday tutu for my {almost} one year old! (Wahhhh) 

Stay tuned to the blog for the step by step tutorial...

{i need a better name for this recipe}

Simply speaking they are turkey meatloaf.
But, the term meatloaf seems to cause people to groan {including my husband, who refuses to try them} and I have no idea why. They are delicious, perfectly portioned, savory, little cups that make a perfect, healthy entree to a weeknight dinner. The plus side to these is that they are also kid-friendly. Packed with vegetables even my 10-month-old gobbles up!

Here's what you need:

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 a yellow onion, diced small
1 medium carrot, grated
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp worchestershire sauce, divided
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 whole egg plus one egg white
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp chopped sundried tomato (optional, but delicious)
Sauce:
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp A-1 steak sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
a dash of worchestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a small pan cook carrot, onion, and garlic until soft, add 1 tbsp of worchestershire sauce and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine turkey, bread crumbs, 1 tbsp worchestershire sauce, eggs, cheese, tomato. Once it's cooled a little, stir in cooked veggie mixture. {To ensure it is well mixed I suggest mixing my hand. Its a little gross feeling, but gets the job done!}
Once you have it all mixed, transfer to a greased muffin pan, dividing into 9 equal cups, and bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
While they bake, combine ketchup, A-1, brown sugar, and worchestershire sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
When the mini loaves come out of the oven top with the sauce and enjoy!


Each of these delicious servings are only 181 calories and baking them in a muffin pan keeps them from drying out and helps control portion size.

Hope you enjoy them as much as 3/4 of my household does!

with the perfect accessories, {she can change the world}

This may be the most popular post I'll ever put on this blog.

Many people have asked me where I find the headwrap hair bows that I put on my baby most every day. I've got to tell you they are RIDICULOUSLY simple, RIDICULOUSLY inexpensive, and UNBELIEVABLY adorable! Here's the story of where they came from and how you can make them yourself:

When we found out we were having a baby girl I couldn't have been more excited, dreaming up all the adorable little outfits and hair bows to dress her in. I started looking for the perfect accessories for all the sweet little outfits we were getting, but couldn't find what I had in mind.

Shortly before she was born, I was told that I was being put on bedrest. {For those of you who know me know that this was probably the worst thing that could have happened because I'm TERRIBLE at sitting still!} Anyway, I needed something to occupy my time, so I sent my loving and patient husband to Hobby Lobby with specific instructions to buy me some fabric so I could spend my time on the couch attempting to make the hair bows that I had envisioned but had been unable to find.

Equipped with my sewing kit, a stuffed elephant model, a cup of decaf coffee, and Netflix, I began my days of bedrest. Luckily, I discovered these were very simple because my bedrest didn't last long and my healthy and happy baby girl was here to wear them!

Here's the how to for the 2 that I've had the most comments/questions about:

All you need for each of these styles are:

• 1/8 yd of a knit fabric in whatever color/pattern you like
• fabric scissors
• needle & thread

The first one is the head wrap bow as shown below:

First, cut a strip of the fabric 2" wide, and twice the length needed to wrap around the baby's head, plus a couple extra inches for the bow. {the bigger, the better :)}

Next, cut a slit in the fabric. {if you want the bow tied in the middle, the slit should be halfway through, if you want the bow on the side, as shown above, the slit should be about 1/3 way from the end}

Next, loop the fabric around, feeding the end through the slit, and back around to the front.

Lastly, tie the ends into whichever size bow you'd like and trim any extra fabric from the ends. 

SUPER EASY and NO SEWING NEEDED!

The 2nd one is the turban knot headband:

WARNING: this one requires sewing, but it's MINIMAL and it's basically sewing for dummies- you'll be fine! :)

First, cut a strip of fabric about 2 inches (3 inches for an older child) wide and twice the length needed to go around the baby's head twice.

Next, sew the ends together. {I hand stitched mine. As long as your sewing is on the inside it doesn't have to be perfect- no one will ever know!}

Last, once it's sewn, lay flat in the circle, twist the middle twice {as shown above} and loop it back on itself to make the turban knot.

These are basic steps to make simple headbands and there are literally THOUSANDS of variations you can do on these. I told you all they were simple! I hope you have as much fun making them as I did! I am still making them for Hattie so if you decide to make a variation, please send me a picture! I'd love to see your own style of them!

*note: I'd recommend pre-washing your fabrics, and find the softest knit fabrics you can find, so they will be the most comfortable they can be for your little princess!

a {simple} introduction

Hello. I'm Denae. 
I am a wife, mother, sister, friend, professional, diy-er, and lover of all that glitters. 

I'm starting Love & Glitter as a place to store all of my favorite things and share them with whoever wants my how-to's, or maybe just some inspiration for their own.

I don't claim to be the best artist, designer, cook, or anything else and more often than not, my creations take a couple of tries! I often get asked where I find things, or how I make things, especially for my 10 month old daughter.

 So Love & Glitter will contain how-tos for my favorite projects, my favorite recipes, and ideas for future projects. 

Maybe I can help inspire creativity in others, or maybe no one will read or follow- and that would be ok too. I just want to help cover the world in a little more glitter :)