recipe: chicken, spinach and rice casserole

There was a week were Casey and I were obsessed with making chicken and rice things. Okay maybe it wasn't that many things- this casserole and a chicken and rice soup. But we ate both of those for almost a whole week. If I had to choose, this recipe would win over the soup every time. Although, the soup is a little friendlier to the waistline and very tasty. Anyways, you've gotta make this! It's so easy and D-E-LICIOUS. And the texture is the nicest. And if you think you don't like spinach, I especially need you to try this. Because you WILL like spinach... even if just for this casserole.

Chicken, Spinach and Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

1/2 Rotisserie Chicken, Shredded

4 Cups Cooked White Rice

1 Small Onion

1 10 oz. Package Fresh Spinach

2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese + 1/4 Cup for topping

1 Cup Milk

2 eggs

2 Tbs. Butter

1 tsp. Thyme, chopped

1 tsp. fresh Parsley, chopped

1 tsp. Basil, chopped

1/4 tsp. Ground Red Pepper

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Saute the onions in the butter and red pepper on medium-high heat.

3. Add the spinach and cook for about three minutes.

4. Whisk the milk and eggs together in a bowl.

5. Then add the chicken, cheese, herbs, rice, spinach mixture, salt and pepper. Mix it well.

6. Pour the mixture into a greased casserole dish. Top with the rest of the shredded cheese.

7. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes then serve!

Serves: 6

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the ultimate diy candle guide

Well, it's officially holiday season, I suppose. I've been hearing Christmas music in stores and such for a while now and Thanksgiving hasn't even happened yet. It's crazy! But, if you're thinking about making some homemade gifts this season, you should consider making candles. It's easy and it's pretty fun to create your own fragrance. And you can name the candles after your friends, or whoever you are gifting them to. There are a variety of ways to create your own candles and while doing this tutorial, I tried a few different ways. So I put together this DIY candle guide.

Making candles is pretty easy, all you need is a container, a wick, some wax and something to scent the candle with. If you are using an old scented candle for your wax, you don't even have to add another scent element. If you are using old candles or tea lights, make sure to remove the wicks and any metal pieces.

Here are the instructions:

1. Glue the wick down to the bottom center of your container. Use hot glue.

2. Melt your wax in a microwave safe container. I eventually figured out that it's easiest to melt it in a measuring glass for easy pouring. Just leave it in the microwave until it's completely melted. The amount of wax you use will change depending on your container.

3. Let the wax cool for a couple minutes and then add your scent. You can use Scentsy wax, liquid scent, or a combination of both. Read the instructions on your liquid scent to know how much you should use. Mix it in.

4. Let it cool for a few more minutes and then pour the wax mixture into your container.

5. Let it cool completely. Sometimes air bubbles rise to the top and there are holes in your candle. If that happens, just re-melt your left over wax mixture and pour a little over the candle to fill in the holes.

6. Trim the wick.

Then all you need to do is come up with some creative names! What gifts are you going to be DIYing this year?

xo, Savannah

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diy: wire ear cuffs

I saw these awesome clip-on earrings on High on DIY and I immediately wanted to make them. The wire that I have is a little too thick to make hearts like Rinchen did but I did want to try to make an ear cuff. So I made an ear cuff and some triangle ones too. I have my ears pierced so I was worried they may look a little strange with my holes showing but the triangles covered them up pretty nicely. You just need some wire and some jewelry tools. Or if your wire is thin enough, your fingers will do! Anyways, here is what you do for both.

1. Bend your wire in two places to create a squared edge.

2. Repeat about a half inch down the wire to create a rectangle.

3. Twist the end pieces together.

4. Wrap the rectangle around a small round object, I used a paint brush.

You may need to clamp the cuff a little on your ear when you first wear it but then you should be able to slide it on and off very easily.

And here is what you do for the triangle ones!

1. Make a triangle with the wire.

2. Twist the wires together at the bottom of the triangle.

3. Create another triangle on the other side of the twist.

4. Twist the end pieces together and trim the ends.

5. Fold the end into the triangle.

6. Fold the whole piece in half where the twist is.

7. Then make another for your other ear!

I'm ready to buy some thinner wire and make some more in different shapes now!
xo, Savannah

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tutorial: straightened braid waves

Some of you may have seen the original version of this tutorial that I did last year and although it has over 1 million pins on Pinterest, I wanted to redo it with a little better instruction.

You may also like:
- How To Create The Most Popular Waves on Pinterest
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- The Cutest Faux Boho Braid Tutorial

When I had originally tried this on my hair, it didn't work very well. I tried it in a variety of ways and shared what worked best. The other day I had the urge to try this again in a way I hadn't tried before. The results? It was easy aaaand my hair went from super straight to wavy in no time! Here is what you do...

1. Braid your hair into several braids. I have pretty thick hair and only needed 6 braids. If you have thin hair, maybe try 4 braids. I just used clear elastics to secure the braids at the end.

2. Loosen the braids A LOT. I made mine as flat as possible. It was like a thin sheet of braid.

3. Starting from the top of the braid, clamp your straightener down. Hold it in place for a second and then open it up, move it down and clamp again. Repeat until you reach the end of the braid and then repeat on all braids.

4. Once the braids have cooled, spray with hairspray if you have some that you like. Then unbraid all of your braids.

5. Run your fingers through the braids to loosen the waves and do a quick tease with your fingers at the root of your hair to create some more body.

And that's it! I really like the soft wave that this creates. They are like hippy-esque waves. Like I need to put a headband around my forehead. And it's simple. Enough. Said.

xo, Savannah

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the diy: glitter bow pine cone garland

Well since it is now November, it's time to start decorating for the holidays. Today we are using  Martha Stewart Crafts Decoupage to make this cute garland. You can actually use the decoupage on anything, it's even dishwasher safe! You can pick some up at your local Michael's or in Plaid's online store. Anyway, I wanted this garland to be able to stay up all the way through Christmas but I wanted to use it now, so I needed it to be not-so-Christmasy yet still festive. You know what I mean? I've been dying to do something with these pine cones for about a month. Casey and I found them on the side of the road in our neighborhood! So to make this garland, you will need:

Fabric

Pinking Shears

Martha Stewart Decoupage

Fine Glitter

Paint Brush

Yarn

Pine Cones

Hot Glue Gun

First, cut strips of your fabric with the pinking shears. You could actually just use scissors, I just like the edge created by pinking shears. And it's not going to fray as much although, fraying wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing here!

Mix some fine glitter with the decoupage.

Brush the glittered decoupage onto the fabric. I only did it on one side but you could do both if you'd like.

Let your strips dry. I used clothespins to clip mine to a plant so they'd dry quickly.

And now you have a shimmery fabric!

Tie each strip into a knot onto the yarn.

Hot glue each bow onto a pine cone.

Then hang that baby up!

This project is super super simple but it's so precious! Now, we need to work on the top of our fireplace. It's not really giving a holiday vibe.

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xo, Savannah

Find my post disclosure here.

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