the Creative Paige

A delicious store-bought pie?

paige — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 12:00:37 +0000

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Mrs. Smith’s for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

There’s nothing worse than seeing a delicious pie at a party and digging in only to realize that it’s a nasty store-bought pie with a terrible crust. I love pies, but I am rarely ever impressed with non-homemade ones. So, when I received the chance to try out some of Mrs. Smith’s Signature Deep Dish pies, I had my doubts.

Mrs. Smith makes 4 different flavors of deep dish pies:

Signature Deep Dish Dutch Apple Pie with Caramel Sauce
Signature Deep Dish Cherry Pie with Butter Fudge Sauce
Signature Deep Dish Peach Pie with Cream Cheese Icing
Signature Deep Dish Pumpkin Pie with Cream Cheese Icing

The biggest disappointment I had with the pies, was that I had a really hard time finding all of the flavors. I went to various Wal-marts and could only find the Cherry pie with butter fudge sauce. Sadly, I was excited about trying the others, but struck out at each location.

The cherry pie was super easy to bake – I even had my 4-year-old help me get it ready so that he could say he baked his own pie. (Preparation included unwrapping, putting foil on a cookie sheet and cutting slits in the crust.)

The pie came out looking delicious and he was so proud of himself. In addition, it turned out delicious! The crust was golden and flakey. The filling was tart and sweet. Everyone in our family gobbled it down very quickly.

It came with a butter fudge sauce, but we didn’t feel like it was absolutely necessary to the flavor of the pie. We prefered it on it’s own with a little bit of whipped cream. One great thing about the pie is that it is even good leftover. I might have even snuck a piece for breakfast this morning….

Luckily, you don’t have to take my word for it – you can try them yourself! Mrs. Smith’s has given me 4 coupons so that you can try each one! Not only do you get to try out all of the deep dish pies, but they have also given a $50 Williams-Sonoma Gift Card! You can pick up any missing kitchen accessories you might need or you could always get a lovely pie pan and switch your store-bought pie into it after baking…then no one will know you didn’t bake it!

How to Enter:

3 entries possible:

1. Leave a comment letting me know which pie you are the most excited to try and what you would use your Williams Sonoma gift card on.

2. Like Mrs. Smith’s on Facebook and leave a comment letting me know you did it.

3. Follow Mrs. Smith’s on Pinterest and leave a comment letting me know.

The giveaway runs through next weekend – Sun., Jan. 27th, so enter quickly!

Link Party on hold

paige — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 23:41:50 +0000

So sorry about my lack of link party posts over the last few weeks! Morning sickness has been kicking my booty and I haven’t been on the computer very much. I’ll resume the party when I feel like I have the energy to get on here weekly to post it.

For now, check out my page with all of the parties I participate in, if you’re looking for places to link up your great ideas. I’ll be back soon, promise!

We have a winner!

paige — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:00:32 +0000

Congrats, Amy! Can’t wait to see what you do with your new stencil!

Big News!!

paige — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:06:19 +0000

Baby #3 is on the way! We are super excited (more excited in moments where I am not throwing up)…

$50 Cutting Edge Stencil Giveaway!

paige — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 05:01:36 +0000

I have been a big fan of Cutting Edge Stencils for a while – I’ve perused their website so many times, but never got up the nerve to buy one. I couldn’t ever decide which one I liked best.

Amazingly, in June I won a stencil in a giveaway on Delicate Construction and was so excited!

I selected the Rabat Allover Stencil and went about stenciling a large (REALLY LARGE) wall in my living room. It was quite an undertaking. Well, that’s an understatement. It has been A LOT of work.

a little peak at my wall – I’ll be putting up the finished pictures soon!

I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out and would do it all over again!

One of the best things about Cutting Edge Stencils is that they give you so many tips for how to use your stencil. Their website is full of Q & A, they send you an instruction sheet and they have YouTube videos to help walk you through the process:

THE GIVEAWAY!!

Today, I’m so excited to be giving away your choice of stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils (up to $50 value) and they will ship it to you for free!

I hope you are excited about this as I am!

Here’s the details:

Giveaway runs from today (9/17) to Friday (9/21) midnight (EST).

Use Rafflecopter to enter (it’s super easy, I promise!). I’ll announce the winner sometime over the weekend! Good luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

that’s genius #43

paige — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 03:26:56 +0000

Thanks for stopping by to see who is this weeks’ Creative Genius! Be sure to stop by and check out these awesome ideas!

the Top 3 links:

You guys can hop over and grab a featured button to display on your site!

And the title of Creative Genius goes to:

A Glimpse of Halloween from Alderberry Hill

Congratulations, Sarah!

I’ll be placing your button on the top of my sidebar for the next week!

Make sure to come back next Friday and link up your creative ideas – maybe next week you’ll be the Creative Genius!

Creative Genius Link Party #43

paige — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 15:31:22 +0000

It’s Week 43 of the Creative Genius Link Party!

I’m back! I finally replaced my stolen computer (I’ll write a blog about that whole experience later)…Thanks for stopping by this week to link up!

Remember, the link that gets the most clicks, will get their blog button displayed near the top of my homepage sidebar for the next week!

The top three most clicked links will be featured Monday after the link party ends!

Creative Genius Party

{every weekend here on The Creative Paige}

Stick to sharing free creative ideas/tutorials/crafts – no giveaways and nothing for sale, please.
Link back to my site or grab a button
Follow me if you don’t mind – it’s part of being a big, happy blog family
Click on at least 2 other links – leave a comment – make somebody’s day!

Blog on hold until futher notice…

paige — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 21:00:36 +0000

So sorry, friends! I have yet to hear back about replacing my computer, so until I have it, I am posting from my iPhone. Hope to be back soon with link parties and more creative ideas. Thanks for your patience!

No link party this week…

paige — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 04:57:46 +0000

Sorry, friends. There will be no link party this weekend. Our house was broken into this week and I now have no laptop! Hopefully it will be returned soon or insurance will help me out with a new one. Thanks for your patience!

My Favs – Pre-School Books

paige — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:00:29 +0000

My lil’ guys LOVE reading – which makes me a very happy book-loving Mommy.

We take weekly trips to the library and I always hit up the book section at Savers & Goodwill for cheap books.

I thought I’d share some of my favorite recent finds:

We love Oliver Jeffers…especially these two:

How to Catch a Star

Stuck

My 3-year-old can quote every word of this book…

I Love You, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt

We’ve read this one so many times, even I can quote every word…

How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague
(we love all of the ‘How do Dinosaurs’ books)

This one is especially great with the Tickle Monster mitts…

Tickle Monster by Josie Bissett

What books do your pre-schoolers love? I am always looking to add more to our library!

This post contains affiliate links to Amazon.com – if you choose to purchase books using these links – I will receive a small portion of the purchase price.

that’s genius #42

paige — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 22:42:10 +0000

Thanks for stopping by to see who is this weeks’ Creative Genius! Be sure to stop by and check out these awesome ideas!

the Top 3 links:

You guys can hop over and grab a featured button to display on your site!

And the title of Creative Genius goes to:

Monster Bibs from Stubbornly Crafty

Congratulations, Lisa! These bibs are sooooo super cute!

I’ll be placing your button on the top of my sidebar for the next week!

Make sure to come back next Friday and link up your creative ideas – maybe next week you’ll be the Creative Genius!

what’s for dinner? aug 6-10

paige — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 12:00:48 +0000

What’s For Dinner is a weekly post that highlights the best & worst recipes I made for dinner over the last week.

Best things I made:

Sautéed Chicken Breasts with Balsamic Vinegar Pan Sauce

I was desperate for some sort of sauce to serve over chicken breasts last night and was trying to avoid my standby of creamy lemon sauce. I found this one online and it was super simple and very good. I will definitely make it again.

World’s Best Grilled Steak-

I’ve made this twice and it is definitely the best steak I have ever made. We are far from steak connoisseurs, but we love this. It makes a cheap sirloin taste like a much more expensive steak. I highly recommend trying it. Don’t be weirded out by the ketchup in it…seems odd to me, but trust me, it’s good.

Worst thing I made:

Vanilla Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

Let me say, these were not gross. They were good, but were pretty gooey for no bake cookies and sooooooo sweet. Like eating pure sugar with a few oats sprinkled in. I would cut back on the sugar next time and cook them on the stove for at least double the time.

Roasted Frozen Veggies

We love roasted veggies, but we tried roasting carrots straight from the freezer and they just got soggy and blah. Stick to raw, defrosted carrots – they are much better.

Creative Genius Link Party #42

paige — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 02:00:57 +0000

It’s Week 42 of the Creative Genius Link Party!

Thanks for stopping by this week to link up!

Remember, the link that gets the most clicks, will get their blog button displayed near the top of my homepage sidebar for the next week!

The top three most clicked links will be featured Monday after the link party ends!

Creative Genius Party

{every weekend here on The Creative Paige}

Stick to sharing free creative ideas/tutorials/crafts – no giveaways and nothing for sale, please.
Link back to my site or grab a button
Follow me if you don’t mind – it’s part of being a big, happy blog family
Click on at least 2 other links – leave a comment – make somebody’s day!

that’s genius #41

paige — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 03:37:33 +0000

Thanks for stopping by to see who is this weeks’ Creative Genius! Be sure to stop by and check out these awesome ideas!

the Top 3 links:

You guys can hop over and grab a featured button to display on your site!

And the title of Creative Genius goes to:

Kitchen Makeover Reveal from The Ironstone Nest..

Congratulations, Laura! This kitchen is gorgeous – I can’t believe it started out as all of the horrible wood paneling!

I’ll be placing your button on the top of my sidebar for the next week!

Make sure to come back next Friday and link up your creative ideas – maybe next week you’ll be the Creative Genius!

creative genius link party #41

paige — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 01:09:02 +0000

It’s Week 41 of the Creative Genius Link Party!

Thanks for stopping by this week to link up!

Remember, the link that gets the most clicks, will get their blog button displayed near the top of my homepage sidebar for the next week!

The top three most clicked links will be featured Monday after the link party ends!

Creative Genius Party

{every weekend here on The Creative Paige}

Stick to sharing free creative ideas/tutorials/crafts – no giveaways and nothing for sale, please.
Link back to my site or grab a button
Follow me if you don’t mind – it’s part of being a big, happy blog family
Click on at least 2 other links – leave a comment – make somebody’s day!

that’s genius #40

paige — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 02:55:44 +0000

Thanks for stopping by to see who is this weeks’ Creative Genius! Be sure to stop by and check out these awesome ideas!

the Top 3 links:

You guys can hop over and grab a featured button to display on your site!

And the title of Creative Genius goes to:

Smash Cupcakes from SaltTree…

Congratulations, Amber! These are so adorable!

I’ll be placing your button on the top of my sidebar for the next week!

Make sure to come back next Friday and link up your creative ideas – maybe next week you’ll be the Creative Genius!

creative genius link party #40

paige — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 02:01:31 +0000

It’s Week 40 of the Creative Genius Link Party!

It’s hard to believe I’ve been hosting this party for 40 weeks…time flies when life is crazy, right?

In case you missed it, I’m guest posting today over at Truly Lovely – check out my most recent thrift store makeovers. Don’t forget this Saturday (July 28th) is 50% off day at Goodwill!

Now, on to the party…

Remember, the link that gets the most clicks, will get their blog button displayed near the top of my homepage sidebar for the next week!

The top three most clicked links will be featured Monday after the link party ends!

Creative Genius Party

{every weekend here on The Creative Paige}

Stick to sharing free creative ideas/tutorials/crafts – no giveaways and nothing for sale, please.
Link back to my site or grab a button
Follow me if you don’t mind – it’s part of being a big, happy blog family
Click on at least 2 other links – leave a comment – make somebody’s day!

Chocolate Mint Bars w/ Truly Lovely

paige — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 12:00:12 +0000

I’m blogging over at Truly Lovely today with some thrift store makeovers, but I can’t wait for you guys to hear from Kassi of Truly Lovely – she’s got a great recipe to share with you today…

Hello there lovelies!!!

My name is Kassi and I blog over at Truly Lovely, along with my sister Kayli. That’s Kayli on the left, me on the right… and this picture pretty much sums us up… Enjoying a delicious cupcake that we just whipped up all with paint on our hands from the current room makeover!!!

I am thrilled to be swapping blogs with the lovely Paige today! If you’re seriously missing Miss Paige, and come on, why wouldn’t you be… she rocks! She’s over at our place sharing a post as this week’s Bloggie Bestie on Truly Lovely!

While you’re here I’m excited to share my newest recipe with you!!! Awhile back I shared a recipe for Reese’s Pieces Bars on our blog… When I did, I mentioned you could use other types of cake mix and candies to vary the recipe…
Well today, let’s whip up some super easy, super yummy….

Chocolate Mint Bars!!!

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake Mix (I used Devil’s Food)
1/3 Cup of Oil
2 Eggs
1 cup of York Peppermint Pieces!

Mix all your ingredients together in a bowl.
The mixture will be fairly dry and hard to mix, but that’s what makes them bars, so don’t stress over that, just take your time. Once the ingredients are all mixed together, I fold in the candy pieces carefully so as not to smash them.

Press your mixture into a greased baking pan.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.

Cut and serve! I like mine with a tall glass of milk!

Thanks SO much to Paige for having me over today! Again, don’t forget to visit her at my place!

Happy baking lovelies!!!!

Looks delish, right? Can’t wait to try it! Make sure you jump over to Truly Lovely and check out all of Kassi’s other terrific ideas!

that’s genius #39

paige — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:25:48 +0000

Thanks for stopping by to see who is this weeks’ Creative Genius! Be sure to stop by and check out these awesome ideas!

the Top 3 links:

You guys can hop over and grab a featured button to display on your site!

And the title of Creative Genius goes to:

Creative Sayings Signs from A Fish Who Likes Flowers…

Congratulations, Bethany! Love these signs! Reminds me of the coffee art project I did last year – but I love how you used the sayings!

I’ll be placing your button on the top of my sidebar for the next week!

Make sure to come back next Friday and link up your creative ideas – maybe next week you’ll be the Creative Genius!

creative genius link party #39

paige — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 00:22:47 +0000

It’s Week 39 of the Creative Genius Link Party!

Another week without any posts…but I have made progress on my stencil wall…

last week

this week!

I will finish this beast. Someday.

Now, on to the party…

Remember, the link that gets the most clicks, will get their blog button displayed near the top of my homepage sidebar for the next week!

The top three most clicked links will be featured Monday after the link party ends!

Creative Genius Party

{every weekend here on The Creative Paige}

Stick to sharing free creative ideas/tutorials/crafts – no giveaways and nothing for sale, please.
Link back to my site or grab a button
Follow me if you don’t mind – it’s part of being a big, happy blog family
Click on at least 2 other links – leave a comment – make somebody’s day!

the Creative Paige

A delicious store-bought pie?

How to Enter:

Link Party on hold

We have a winner!

Big News!!

$50 Cutting Edge Stencil Giveaway!

THE GIVEAWAY!!

that’s genius #43

Creative Genius Link Party #43

It’s Week 43 of the Creative Genius Link Party!

Creative Genius Party

Blog on hold until futher notice…

No link party this week…

My Favs – Pre-School Books

How to Catch a Star

Stuck

I Love You, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt

How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague (we love all of the ‘How do Dinosaurs’ books)

Tickle Monster by Josie Bissett

that’s genius #42

what’s for dinner? aug 6-10

Best things I made:

Sautéed Chicken Breasts with Balsamic Vinegar Pan Sauce

World’s Best Grilled Steak-

Worst thing I made:

Vanilla Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

Roasted Frozen Veggies

Creative Genius Link Party #42

It’s Week 42 of the Creative Genius Link Party!

Creative Genius Party

that’s genius #41

creative genius link party #41

It’s Week 41 of the Creative Genius Link Party!

Creative Genius Party

that’s genius #40

creative genius link party #40

It’s Week 40 of the Creative Genius Link Party!

Creative Genius Party

Chocolate Mint Bars w/ Truly Lovely

that’s genius #39

creative genius link party #39

It’s Week 39 of the Creative Genius Link Party!

Creative Genius Party

How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague
(we love all of the ‘How do Dinosaurs’ books)