Southern Made Simple

Keeping things simple with a smidge of Southern charm

Laura Tucker

Mandarin Orange Upside Down Cake

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I love a good upside down cake. I’m pretty certain that for the past 5 or 6 years I have requested a pineapple upside down cake for my birthday. Any time you can combine real fruit with the sweetness of a cake, you know you’ve got a winning recipe. Plus, with fruit being a key ingredient, it’s basically like you’re eating something healthy! Am I right?! (I kid, of course.)

I had never really thought about adding other types of fruit to an upside down cake. I mean, pineapple upside down cake is already so perfect in my eyes, why mess with it? It wasn’t until I was thumbing through my great grandmother’s recipe book that I realized you totally could use other fruits in this type of recipe! (I know it seems like a no-brainer that you could substitute the pineapple, but I seriously had never thought to do that!)

I’ve shared one of my favorite recipes from my Grandmama with you before. Remember these incredible lemon cakes? If you haven’t made those yet, then bless your heart because you’re sure missing out! I already knew that anything that came out of her cookbook would be delicious, so when I saw her recipe for a Mandarin Orange Upside Down Cake, I knew I had to get to work so my taste buds wouldn’t be deprived any longer.

Easy + delicious Mandarin Orange Upside Down Cake with brown sugar and pecans. So delicious and only uses a few ingredients!…

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14 Farmhouse Bathroom Finds on Amazon!

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Southern Made Simple is a part of several affiliate advertising programs. Affiliate links are included throughout this post. Although I participate in these programs and have sponsored content, all opinions are my own.

I recently discovered the show Fixer Upper on HGTV. I know it’s been around for a while, but here lately it’s been unusual for me to stray away from my beloved Food Network. But y’all, I’m OBSESSED with this show! The hosts (Chip and Joanna Gaines) are entertaining, brilliantly creative, and incredibly adorable. I’ve had a running joke going on with my husband that if Miss Kay from Duck Dynasty and Joanna Gaines from Fixer Upper were blended into one woman, she would be my spirit animal. I may not be selling you on it, but really. You should watch it.

Anyway, Joanna Gaines is known for her obsession with ship-lap and all things “farmhouse” inspired. Farmhouse decor has a very charming, rustic and earthy character to it. It’s gorgeous. It’s amazing. It’s everything I want my dream home to look like. It’s all over the magazine covers at the store, and it’s flying off the shelves in stores nation wide. It’s the it-thing, and I’m jumping on the train!

I’m slowly working towards a goal of farmhousing my home. (I know that’s not a word, but it is now!) I figured I’d start small and begin with the bathroom. Since it’s not always super convenient for me to get out of the house and go to town, I decided to see what Amazon had to offer to help me complete my look. Hello, 2 day shipping! I was really pleased with what I found, so I thought I’d share it with y’all!

By the way, if you don’t have Amazon prime, I can hook you up with a free trial!

Farmhouse Bathroom Finds…

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Rev Up Your Engines with Pitstop Pepper Poppers! – Recipe

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Ladies and gentlemen, get ready to start those engines! Racing season is upon us, so it’s definitely time to throw your snack-time game into 4-wheel drive. Whether you prefer something a little savory or you like to burn a little rubber and bring the heat, making a pit-stop for this dish will leave all the racing fans in your life cheering for more!

{PIitstop Pepper Poppers} Rev up your engines with Nexium and kick up the heat on race day with these delicious Pitstop Poppers! These jalapenos and sweet peppers are stuffed with a sausage and cream cheese mixture and beautifully wrapped in bacon coated with brown sugar. Mmmm! #RaceDayRelief #AD…

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B.box puts the Fun in Functional at Meal Time!

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I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

Since becoming a parent just 10 months ago, this one common thread has remained steadfast and true in my new world full of surprises and change: Babies don’t keep.

No matter how much I want to savor my baby’s littleness, she seems to grow bigger every time she wakes up from a nap. She learns something new every single day! And while I do celebrate her small accomplishments and newly reached milestones, there’s still a quiet part of me that just wants her to slow down. With every bit of independence she gains, that’s one less thing she needs her Mama for. I’ve never experienced anything so bittersweet.

But, alas, the child must grow! I recently noticed my daughter taking an interest in feeding herself. She doesn’t want to wait around for Mom to feed her anymore, but would rather go at her own pace. As much as I want to keep that job myself (I make SO much less of a mess than she does), I decided to give in and let my baby learn even though I was a little bit skeptical. That’s where the folks at b.box came in to save the day!

b.box puts the fun in functional during meal time! Review + giveaway! Ends 4/14

I was sent a few of B. box’s fabulous products from their feeding and drinking line to try. The first item little miss got to test out is the Toddler Cutlery Set, which comes in four different colors and is designed for babies 9 months and older. The unique design of the fork is made to fit the shape and size of tiny mouths, while the innovative design of the spoon was made to resemble a shovel to help children push food onto their fork. So clever!

b.box puts the fun in functional during meal time! Review + giveaway! Ends 4/14

Taralynn wasted no time in digging right in. Once I placed her food in front of her, she immediately grabbed the handle of the spoon and took matters into her own hands! Things got a little messy, but I was so impressed to see how quickly she caught on to feeding herself. She did not want me to take away the spoon when she was finished, either!

b.box puts the fun in functional during meal time! Review + giveaway! Ends 4/14

We were also sent a bowl and straw set to review. This is probably my favorite piece because it can be used 3 different ways. Hooray for functionality! The bowl comes with two attachments. The first is a straw that clips on to the side of the bowl to allow for older kids to easily eat/drink foods such as cereal or soup. This is a feature that we probably won’t be using for a long time, or at least until Taralynn understands not to lift the bowl and dump out the contents into her lap. 🙂

b.box puts the fun in functional during meal time! Review + giveaway! Ends 4/14

The second attachment makes this bowl the star of the show for us! The snack insert turns this bowl into a no-spill snack cup, which is perfect for tossing into your diaper bag or eating snacks on the go.

The final product we were sent from b.box is the award winning limited edition sippy cup. It comes in nine beautiful colors and has a weighted straw that allows for juice to pass through no matter which direction the bottle is pointing. This is perfect for babies who are transitioning from bottle to sippy cup who still like to lay down when drinking like my daughter does.

b.box puts the fun in functional during meal time! B.box Review

This was the first exposure my daughter had to drinking out of a straw. I was a little concerned that she would be confused by how to drink out of it, but within just a few tries she was drinking out of it like a pro! It didn’t take her long to realize that she doesn’t have to tilt the cup back to get juice out of it thanks to the weighted straw.

I really appreciate that all b.box products are BPA, Phthalates and PVC free. All three items I reviewed are dishwasher safe, which makes for an easy and stress free cleanup for parents. I love these products because they’re very intuitive for my daughter to use as she’s learning how to gain independence. They’re fun, functional, and responsibly made. and they’ve made meal time so much more enjoyable for both my daughter and I!

Buy it!:

B.box products are available to purchase here. They have numerous products ranging from feeding and cutlery products, to diaper changing and bottle drying stations. B.box has won numerous awards for their fabulous products, which you can learn more about here.

Win it!:

One very lucky Southern Made Simple reader is going to take home a toddler cutlery set + a bowl and straw set like the one I reviewed. Woot woot! Just enter using the form below. Open to US residents 18+. Giveaway ends 4/14.

Open to residents of the United States 18 and older. Limit one entrant per household. Giveaway will end at 11:59pm CST on 4/14/2016. Winner will be drawn using Giveaway Tools. Entries will be verified. Winner will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Southern Made Simple is not responsible for prize fulfillment.

Pesto Chicken Sandwich with Creamy Goat Cheese and Sauteed Peppers – Recipe

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I don’t really consider myself a sandwich person. I mean, it’s not that I don’t like sandwiches. Oh no, I like them just fine! What I guess I mean is that I just don’t ever really make sandwiches. I much prefer a Subway artist to do that for me if you know what I’m sayin’.

However, just a few months ago I was eating with a group of friends at a small sorta-local chain restaurant that serves soup and sandwiches. It was a nice little place, but I had never been before and had no idea what to order off of the menu. As I stood in line reading over the menu board, the word “pesto” caught my eye. I barely even read what else was on the sandwich, I just knew it had pesto on it and would therefore be in my belly. Stat.

Chicken Pesto Sandwich with creamy goat cheese and sauteed peppers. This sandwich is to die for!…

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Tired of Cleaning Bottles? I Found a Solution!

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Tired of Cleaning Bottles? I Found a Solution!

Cleaning baby bottles has got to be one of the most monotonous and dreadful cleaning tasks as a new parent in my opinion. I don’t know about you, but by the end of the day I’m usually staring at a sink full of dirty bottles begging to be cleaned, and I feel like just don’t have the time or the want-to to get it all done.

Making sure your bottles are clean is incredibly important. Your little one spends a lot of time with their bottles, so you want to make sure they’re thoroughly washed and sanitized. Going through the washing process always leave my hands wrinkly and dried out, and I feel a little wasteful with the amount of water I wind up using when it’s all said and done.

Tied of cleaning all of those baby bottles? Clean them faster and easier with this!

[the_ad_group id=”278″]

Luckily for me, I stumbled across a video tutorial of this AWESOME product called the Boon Suds Bottle Washer, and let me tell you, it has been a game changer!

Just fill the sink with a small amount of soapy water (enough to get your bottles wet) and place the Boon Suds Bottle Washer into the sink with a little soap and water in the basin. Next, just insert the bottle onto the tall piece of plastic with bristles and press down. A stream of water shoots up into the bottle and the bristles rotate to give an all-around clean to each bottle. Voila!

(Be sure to watch the short little video linked below. It shows you how quick and easy this product is to use!)Solution cleaning baby bottles quickly

And just like that, I don’t dread washing bottles anymore! I can get them washed in no time, and I don’t worry about running an excessive amount of water or having my hands turn wrinkly. Woohoo!

The Boon Suds Bottle Washer is available to purchase on Amazon for just $12.99, and let me tell you, this little gadget is worth it’s weight in gold!

Do you dread washing bottles as much as I do? In what ways do you think the Boon Suds Bottle Washer would help you get this chore done faster?

I have not been compensated for this post in any way. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own. Affiliate links are included throughout this post, meaning I may make a small commission off of any purchases made at no cost to you.

Celebrating the Sweetest Spring Fashions for Kids from The Lucky Lily

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I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

Spring has definitely sprung in my neck of the woods! The weather here in south Alabama has been gorgeous the past 2 or so weeks, and I’ve finally broken out all of my warmer-weather attire. Hello, flip-flops!

I’ve been itching SO badly to start dressing my baby in floral prints and rompers. My sweet little love hates wearing pants (she gets that honestly), so I have been downright giddy packing those away and pulling out her spring and summer wardrobe.

I only have room in her closet for the cutest of the cute (naturally), so I made sure I saved a very special spot in her wardrobe for two brand new releases from the fabulous children’s boutique – The Lucky Lily!

The Lucky Lily has some of the CUTEST little outfits for both girls and boys! + Enter to WIN a $20 shopping spree on Southern Made Simple! US Ends 4/4

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Sharing #PreggoLessons with MAM!

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I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

I don’t know what it is about a pregnant woman, but it seems like once people see her beautiful baby bump, they flock to her with a sack full of unsolicited advice like they’re moths to a flame. Seriously, people will come out of the woodwork trying to share their two-cents on something baby-related. It’s nuts! My two-cents it that it’s so important to try and  remember that every pregnancy and every baby are different, so comparing them isn’t particularly fair or helpful. 🙂

Even though it may or may not be wanted, sometimes the advice is actually pretty helpful. From my experience, though, a lot of the random acts of parenting advice are either off-putting, irrelevant, comical (in a bad way) or sometimes just plain weird.

Honestly, I’ve forgotten a lot of the terrible advice that I received during my pregnancy. This mom-brain doesn’t have room for that kind of unnecessary baggage, ya know! But I do recall always wanting to majorly roll my eyes when people would tell me to “sleep while the baby sleeps”. Instead of working up the energy to tell those people how impractical and unrealistic that is, I would just nod my head and smile. But seriously, y’all. Let’s just stop offering that “advice” to new parents. It’s pretty tired (no pun intended), and unless you’re offering to come clean my house and do all of the other chores while baby and I both nap, I’m not listening.

On a more positive note, one piece of advice that was actually really helpful to me was to consider adding multiple brands of pacifiers to my baby registry instead of sticking to just one brand. I was a MAM baby myself, and I assumed that my child would probably be no different, but I had no idea what she’d prefer, and it’s best to not assume! But sure enough, she rejected every brand of pacifier except MAM’s. She’s one smart little cookie! I’m glad I listened to that advice and gave her the option of other pacifiers, though. The child can’t help that she has impeccable taste! 😉

MAM - It's more than just pacifiers! Review + Giveaway Ends 4/1/16…

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Sharing a Blissful Moment with Others – DIY Bliss Bouquet

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

Just ten short months ago, my beautiful baby girl made her debut into this world. I dove right into the deep end of motherhood for the very first time, and my eyes were opened to things that only becoming a mother could prepare me for. It’s been an incredible journey, but it did not come without several major adjustments to my life.

One of those major adjustments was the loss of quality “me” time. All of a sudden, I had this tiny little human that depends on me for everything. I am there for her every moment she is awake, and in those very precious moments that she closes her eyes to take a nap, I tend to everything else around me that needs to get done. Very little of that time is spent on myself.

If fact, in 10 months I have only had 3 successful naps! While having a baby is amazing, it can definitely be mentally challenging sometimes. I know every parent out there can certainly relate to this in some way. “Me” time usually doesn’t happen, and when it does, it’s probably not about me anyway!

DIY Bliss Bouquet Tutorial - It can be easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of life, but it's important to make sure you take a moment to treat yourself {and others} to something special. Creating a bliss bouquet is a fantastic way to share #blissfulmoments with others who could use a reward!…

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Pediped Review

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I received these products at no cost to facilitate my review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own.

At 10 months old, my daughter is starting to stand and balance herself for short stretches of time. I know it won’t be long before she’s ready to take that very first step! I’m emotionally not ready for her to be walking yet, but I knew I needed to make sure she has proper shoes ready for when that day comes. I decided to do a little research on proper shoes for early walkers that aided in healthy foot development. When babies start walking, it’s so important that their feet are lined up properly to ultimately help promote proper stride.

That’s where Pediped shoes come in to play. In my opinion, Pediped is at the front of the pack when it comes to creating quality, foot healthy and on-trend shoes for children. In fact, Pediped has been awarded the American Podiatric Medical Association Seal of Acceptance for promoting healthy foot development, not to mention numerous other awards such as a Cribsie award for “cutest little kicks,” and features in several magazines such as Parents and Babytalk.

Pediped Shoes Review - 2016 Spring/Summer Collection

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