Jacque Made: a place to share my creative side.

I have to admit that I've been in a total cooking slump lately... cooking the same ol' stuff over and over. Thankfully Jaime introduced me to this recipe. And I have to say, I am in love. It's so tasty and so worth any extra time put in to making it. Try it soon! You'll fall in love, too. Rachael Ray's Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders with Tangy Maple Syrup Dressing Ingredients: Vegetable oil, for frying 1 1/3 to 2 pounds chicken tenders Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 eggs, beaten with a splash of milk or water 1 cup plain bread crumbs 1 cup pecans, processed in food processor to finely chop 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated or ground 1 orange, zested Dressing: 1/4 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup tangy barbecue sauce 1 navel orange, juiced 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper 3 hearts romaine lettuce, chopped 6 radishes, thinly sliced 6 scallions, trimmed and ch...

My son's school did a theme each day of the week for Teacher Appreciation... (flower day, note day, treat day, etc.) I spaced it and remembered last night that we hadn't done anything yet! ACK! So, to Pinterest I went and found this cute pin . Lucky me it came with a printable tag that says "ORANGE you glad it's almost summer?" I thought it was perfect. (And being OCD about gifts matching, this made me very happy.) Here's what's inside : Peach Nectarine Sparkling Ice drink - these are so yummy Lindt Intense Orange dark chocolate bar - one of my faves Dreamsicle candle from Walmart Country Chic lotion from Bath & Body Works Sweet Tangerines hand sanitizer from Bath & Body Works Orange Tic Tacs and Tropical Trident gum Lots of orange-y goodness. Makes my mouth water. The silver bin I found at Walmart in the aisle with the vases and silk flowers. And the cute chevron orange ribbon is from Hobby Lobby. Cohen's te...

My friend is having a baby boy. She told me some of the colors she was planning to use for his nursery were navy, orange, gray and turquoise. I had previously bought this adorable gray and orange fox ribbon from Hobby Lobby and thought it'd be a great ribbon to build a blanket off of.   I added in a few stripes and chevrons and was ready to sew!  Here's the finished product. I love minky. And navy minky in particular is so gorgeous. Here's the burp cloth set I made to match. It's not exactly the same theme but is at least in the same color wheel. The nautical map fabric is one of my current faves. I made a simple card to match with Martha Stewart stickers and tied 'em up with ribbon. Hope my friend likes them!

Cohen's gallery wall is up! It's taken me a while to gather everything and get it up the way I envisioned.  I love these photos from Cohen's baptism day so much; I had to include them.  And here's his brother print my sis designed. Love it so much.   The Captain America piggy bank is from the same American Nostalgia store I mentioned in my previous post. That store was so fun! I had a hard time limiting my purchases when I was there. The photo here of the boys at Mission Beach looking for sand crabs is one of my all time favorites of them.   This geometric canvas I found just recently at Target. I also bought a green version for Ren's room, of course. I will post more pics of Cohen's rooms soon. It is almost complete! Wahoo!

Ren's Hulk room is a work in progress. It is just about where I want it to be, thanks to this gallery finally being up. Ren and I chose the photos together for his wall. I wanted some of him with his brother and sister, and he wanted one with Cate, his cousin. My sister Jaime designed the prints. I love them. The Hulk piggy bank is from a store in Seaport Village (San Diego) called American Nostalgia. I think you can buy it online, too.   The sand timer I found randomly at TJ Maxx. I love it in this gallery. (When I first brought it home I teased Ren that it would be his time out timer.)  One of my favorite photos of Ren. Completely captures his sweetness.   I love this print. The font is awesome. I will post the rest of Ren's room soon. I just have a few more items to hang for it to be complete.

When my son, Cohen, was turning 6, he had to have a Captain America birthday party. It was really fun to plan it and see it come to fruition. My sister, Jaime, took this photo below and turned it into the awesome birthday invitation.  We played a lot of games outside and had different stations the kids rotated to also.   Pass the Kryptonite, like Hot Potato:  Spider Web game -- this one was a tad tricky to get everyone undone afterwards.   One of the stations was "mighty  minds" where the kids had to guess how many gumballs were in the jar. At the end of the party, we told the kids how many were in it and the kid with the closest guess got to take them all home.  Vanquish the Villain -- the kids shot pictures of villains with silly string.  I made capes for all the kids.  Pinata time.  The food table. I love the Captain America photos on the table. I bought the star straws off etsy online. ...