Restorative Living

Coated Marshmallows

2011-12-22T14:55:00.000-08:00

We attended a bring-a-dessert Christmas party recently and I wanted to bring something fun and different for everyone to enjoy. It needed to feed a lot of people, so it had to be economical. After some internet scouring and this inspiring picture, I decided to make uniquely flavored coated marshmallows.

The ingredients were cheap and quick with things I had on hand. Coconut, graham cracker crumbs, crushed peppermint (not shown), marshmallows, toothpicks, semi-sweet chocolate chips and Crisco. To make the coating, I microwaved the chocolate chips with a few spoonfuls of Crisco added in for 30-second intervals at 60% power until melted. Don't over-heat! You'll end up with a mess and not-so-tasty chocolate (if that's possible)!

Then I speared each marshmallow with a toothpick and dipped it halfway into the melted chocolate, then rolled it in the topping to create each flavor. I went with 3 crowd pleasers this time:

S'mores

(chocolate and graham cracker crumbs)

Macaroons

(chocolate and flaked coconut)

Chocolate Peppermint

(chocolate and crushed candy canes)

They were a fun twist on the typical dessert offering and everyone had fun picking out their favorite flavor.

I do have to warn you though, it was way more popular with the gals than the guys. The boys went for the oatmeal cookies. :)

Crafty Christmas: Framed Photo/Message Board

2011-11-28T11:29:00.001-08:00

A few months ago, my aunt passed down some old frames to me and I've been itching to re-purpose them. Plus, my husband has lovingly dubbed a corner of our bedroom the "frame graveyard" so I figured it was time to get working and send them on their way.

My first project was a hit and I loved putting this one together for our Christmas-at-Thanksgiving tradition. It was hard to let this one go!

Here's what I started with: an old wooden frame with lots of knicks and rough edges. After much sanding and then cleaning, I gave it multiple coats of spray paint. The white part of the frame is a cloth insert. I didn't know how well it would hold paint, but it did beautifully.

I cut a few strands of twine and tied a knot at each end around flat pushpins. It's not a super strong hold, but it also won't have much weight to bear.

And the finished product! I found some fabulous teeny tiny wooden clothespins that will look adorable holding photos, paint swatches, quotes and other mementos. And since this one went to my super cute and stylish teenage cousin, I had to make this one in her favorite colors. The paint color is Rustoleum's Lagoon (it's more of a teal than this picture shows) and the lavender flower is actually a Christmas ornament from Michael's that I hot glued directly onto the wood.

The Christmas crafting has begun around here! Have you been crafting lately? What presents are you DIY-ing this year?

We try not to attack dinner guests

2011-11-03T08:32:00.000-07:00

Aren't these resin squares fantastic? I bought these lovelies at a garage sale ages ago, but even though they were beautiful, I hadn't the slightest idea where I should hang them. When I showed them to my friend Laura, she audibly gasped because she knew exactly where they should go the instant she saw them. It's good to have friends like that.

But hanging them on the attached hook wouldn't work because ~~I have to make everything more difficult~~ they looked better on the diagonal. My first attempt was a Command Velcro adhesive. This worked great until we had a house full of people, of course. Some of our dinner guests sat on the couch beneath where they were hanging and immediately two of them fell down, knocking the shelf beneath it off of the wall and onto our guests. It seriously looked like a planned attack. It could have been really embarrassing if a grown man hadn't screamed like a girl when it all came crashing down.

I knew I needed a hook of some sort, but drilling into irreplaceable resin made me a little nervous. So I decided to give the coke tab trick a whirl. I've seen others try this with hot glue, but after our dinner guest attack, I decided to go with the more permanent super glue.

And I'm happy to report that no more dinner guests have been harmed since we made the switch.

A muti-level vignette is something I have wanted for our massive, gigantic, blank living room wall since the day we moved in, but it took some coaching from a talented friend to make it happen. You can read more about my learning curve with vignettes and the tips I learned from a decor-minded friend for creating eye-catching vignettes here.

Quick Fix: Hemming Dilemma

2011-10-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but I have to say, Pinterest has brought me the most incredible ideas. This week it gave me the inspiration necessary to fix a pair of beautiful, comfy pants I've loved but haven't been able to wear.

These pants are super cute on, and the perfect color and fit. Except for one thing: they're made for Amazon women.

You can see in the picture below on my right leg how drastically long they are. A few years ago my husband and I ran across this matching set (it comes with a zip up jacket) at a decor store (of all places!) for $12. Now I know why they were so cheap...no one is tall enough to wear these pants!

But armed with a tutorial from Pinterest (find it here), I took them on. I added an extra seam to my version so they looked more like a cuff. Admittedly, it wasn't on purpose, but I like the end result just the same.

Once I got started on these, I was on a sewing roll and fixed everything in my mending pile. I even performed stuffed animal surgery on a toy my son adores. It's such a relief to add those clothes (minus their tears, rips and too-long hems) back into our daily rotation.

What's holding you back from attacking your to-do pile today?

Vignettes 101

2011-10-04T10:44:00.000-07:00

Remember when I took you on a tour of the home of Laura, my friend and decor mentor? I showed you just a few of the vignettes she has created in her home. Here's a picture of one of my faves...

As we began a complete overhaul of basically every decoration and color scheme in our house, I knew I had to call in my expert. Somehow, miraculously, Laura and I both found a kid-free afternoon and went on a 2 hour speedy shopping spree to find just the right accessories to create a wall vignette for the gigantic blank wall in my living room.

I came back with a minivan full of decor goodness, and a chest-full of fear knowing I would have no idea what to do with it all. The next few days, every time nap time for our little ones rolled around, I would set out different arrangements of all the accessories we accumulated and send Laura pictures through text message of my concoctions. You can see my feeble attempts below:

Take 1: Mirror image look. Too bland.

Take 2: Adding sconces didn't help. Nice try.

Take 3: Symmetry? A little better but still...swing and a miss.

Take 4: When I sent this to Laura she said, "Too lined up. It would be so much easier if I were there."

She tried sending me pictures of sketches she drew through text of what would work better, but it was pretty useless. Either you have an eye for this stuff, or you don't. And, apparently, I don't. But we were convinced we could make this work.

Since we live pretty far from each other, we decided that I would load up any and all decorations that might be useful and we would meet halfway, on the side of the road, and figure this out. Now we're sounding desperate, aren't we?! Between Laura's love of decorating, and my perfectionism, we were ready to solve this problem.

So one afternoon we met in a parking lot just off the interstate, spread out a sheet as our "wall" and began laying out our options. Within minutes the perfect layout became obvious. I took a million pictures from every possible angle, measured distances between shelving, accessories and art, and packed it all back up.

And the results...

So much better! As my husband was hanging it all on the wall for me, he couldn't believe that I needed him to measure everything perfectly before hanging. He said, "You can't just eyeball it?" Hahaha. Days of trying to figure this out have proven to me that, no, I can't.

While I don't have the natural gift of "eyeballing" art placement, Laura did teach me a few essentials for creating beautiful vignettes:

1. Everything needs to be a little "off". Don't line up every shelf. Don't make every candle stick the same height. You can see in my after photo above that no shelf, frame, candle or piece of art lines up perfectly with anything else. Keeping things out of order magically makes the eye travel smoothly across the arrangement, instead of stopping at every obvious line.

2. Spread out your pops of color. My color scheme, if looked at in percentages, would probably read: 60% gray/white/black (neutrals), 30% blue, 10% pink. I didn't want pink on every shelf because it's my "pop" (and a man does have to live here), but I did want to make sure that each shelf carried out the blue scheme in some form.

3. Create a unifying theme. As we shopped for accessories, we realized that everything I picked up had a fleur-de-lis or scroll pattern to it. Before I even realized it, I gravitated towards a clear theme for our living room. You probably already do this without realizing it as well. Do you love chevron, paisley or stripes? Are you always attracted to yellow dresses? Or maybe you stock your kitchen with only red appliances. Your theme is probably already in your house. As you design vignettes, keep this theme in mind and carry it out evenly across your wall.

Creating eye-catching vignettes takes time and (a lot) of patience. One of the keys that my vignette is missing is layering. You can see in the first photo how Laura layered accessories, plants and frames on her shelves to create a much more cohesive and homey look. But the truth is, layering takes time - time to gather decorations and keepsakes to display. So while my vignette isn't quite finished (what project is??), I'm still very glad I took a leap and decorated that big, bad, blank wall that has been staring me down since the day we moved in.

Do you have any vignettes you want to show off? Did these tips help?

Whoopie Pies, Three Yummy Flavors

2011-09-27T05:05:00.000-07:00

Whoopie pies are everywhere! I even saw a box mix for them at the store last week. I wondered how long it would take Betty Crocker to catch on to this phenomenon that's been swirling around the DIY, crafty blog world.

Remember the rainbow of whoopie pies we baked as part of my son's Rainbow Balloon Birthday party?

My cousin, Becca, helped me put these together and after we had them all laid out, she stopped and said, "It looks like a stoplight!" Haha.

Each color represented a different yummy flavor: Red Velvet, Lemon Cream & Key Lime, but all were delicious! Everyone had a different favorite by the end of the day. It was a tough decision!

We tried to keep things as simple as possible on the baking front, so for the Red Velvet pies, we used a basic red velvet cake mix, and for the lemon ones, a lemon boxed cake mix. The Key Lime flavor was a little trickier, but allrecipes.com came to the rescue with this easily adaptable key lime cake recipe.

To make the signature shape, we filled cupcake tins about 1/4 full and baked for 8-10 min each. I highly suggest keeping an eye on your first batch because these can burn quickly and your oven may be a little different. Cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

To create the eye-catching color, we used Wilton and Americana gel dyes. And, in the interest of keeping things simple, we relied on a few tubs of store-bought cream cheese frosting for the filling. Boxed cake mixes, store-bought frosting - and it couldn't have been yummier.

These are a simple treat that add a lot of color and whimsy to your buffet table. I have seen an incredible array of whoopie pie recipes floating around the blogosphere these days. What's your favorite take?

Pinterest Made Me Do It

2011-09-23T13:59:00.000-07:00

You know I love me some Pinterest. I've had way too much fun gathering some great ideas, tips and a whole lot of why-didn't-I-think-of-that's. I've heard a lot of people say that it's just a dumping ground for great ideas they'll never take the time to use, but I can honestly say I am taking full advantage of that beautiful website. I've made probably 1/2 of the recipes I've logged away in my Recipes folder (but somehow my list keeps getting longer!). Here are a few of my favorites...

Roasted Mushrooms, Green Beans & Potatoes.

Find the recipe link here. I added potato wedges and doubled the dressing amount. So. Stinkin'. Good.

And in keeping with the theme of WHY didn't I think of this sooner?! that Pinterest seems to offer me daily, that recipe taught me to trim green beans, instead of snapping off the ends one by one. So much easier. Sometimes habit keeps us from an obvious solution to everyday tasks.

And then there's this amazing Dr. Pepper Cake.

I'm going to write this thing a sonnet. It's full of butter and sugar (full disclosure). Not for the faint of heart, but oh-so-good.

What have you made from Pinterest lately?

Transforming a Monogram Accent Piece (on the cheap)

2011-09-15T14:22:00.000-07:00

We've been doing some major room -- make that entire house -- renovation this month. Wall colors, furniture placement - everything was up for grabs. It looks so much better and I'll share the after photos with you soon.

Until then, here's a quick and easy accent piece you can make for under $5.

I picked up a shiny metallic initial from Hobby Lobby (1/2 off, of course).

I sanded her down so she would take paint well. FYI - those letters, they don't like to be sanded. Gold glitter was everywhere. But a quick wipe down with a damp cloth, a few coats from a Behr sample that may or may not be my new favorite kitchen wall color ever (wait and see!) and...

She turned out so pretty, don't ya think? I didn't use a clear coat because I liked the matte finish of the flat sample paint. You can see a sneak peek of my new living room in this photo. Such a transformation; I'm so happy with the results!

Come back soon to see the after photos, paint names, and some vignette inspiration.

Have a great weekend!

Birthday Train, How To

2011-09-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

Remember the birthday candy train I showed you last month? It was a fun addition to the Rainbow Balloon Birthday party we threw for our sweet baby boy.

I promised you a tutorial, so here she is! This one is simple, very simple. My favorite kind. I wanted a white train for the table but did not want to spend a lot of cash so I dreamed up this little idea one afternoon while roaming Hobby Lobby. I picked up one of their natural wood train engine pieces, and three small cardboard craft boxes.

I got rid of the lids, then painted everything white, except for the wheels, which I painted black. Then I hot glued colorful buttons for the wheels, and to add height.

The most tedious (and expensive) part was separating out the Skittles for the rainbow cargo. :) I cut white coffee filters to fit the boxes so I could pour the Skittles in on top of those instead of the painted (not food-safe) boxes.

There you have it! An easy, eye-catching centerpiece you can make in one afternoon (or less) on the cheap. Happy crafting!

Linking to:
Tater Tots & Jello

Cooking with Artichokes

2011-09-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

I finally gathered up my nerve and cooked with canned artichokes. Does anyone else think they smell a little bit like crab meat?

I used this recipe from faithful P Dub and it did not disappoint. In fact, heavenly might be an appropriate adjective.

PS - How precious is Ree on her new Food Network show? I think I've become a groupie.

What I've Been Up To...

2011-09-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

A whole month?! I guess it has been a while since I last posted. We had a computer crash (again!) so I blame that.

While I've been silent, I haven't been still. Here's a peek at what I've been up to...

Picking out new wall colors. Oh, the insanity. It got to the point that I almost asked the internet repairman to pick his favorite. But I finally made a decision! (Pictures to come, but if you want a sneak peek at where this is headed, you can check out my Pinterest)

{FYI...the sad paint colors not labeled are my own mixes}

I organized. A lot. This is a picture of all the orphaned plastic container lids I thew away. Why was I taking up cabinet real estate with these?!

Even my shoes got the organizing treatment. My heels are now in order of ascending height. I can almost breathe better now.
But most of my time, fortunately, was spent entertaining my precious 3 year-old. This week we crafted a bubble foamer. Care to copy? It's 3 easy steps...

1. Cut the bottom off of an empty plastic bottle.

Secure a thin damp terrycloth rag (we used a baby washcloth) to the bottom opening with rubber bands.

Mix up a bubble solution of a few squirts of dish soap (Joy works wonders) and water, dip the bottom of the bottle in it and go to town!

I got this idea from skimming through the wonder that is Pinterest.

So, what have you been up to?

A Rainbow Balloon 3rd Birthday Party

2011-08-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

My precious baby turned the big three years old recently and we threw him a big birthday bash. The theme was balloons but rainbow balloons are even more fun, so we combined the two.

A six layer R.O.Y.G.B.I.V. (minus the indigo) cake with cream cheese frosting. It was a big hit and tasted fantastic! The trick is using gel dyes instead of liquid. They make for very intense colors!
My son loves balloons. He can spot them from a mile away. But truth be told, I didn't think I had it in me to make a cake shaped like any of his favorite characters of the moment. So we went a little more abstract this time around. He still was thrilled with his cake and was absolutely head over heels when he discovered we had filled an entire room full of balloons. He had a blast plowing through them again and again.
Whoopie pies! Key lime, lemon, and red velvet all with cream cheese frosting. My son loved these and even skipped cake, instead saying, "I want a gween one, Mommy!" (I'll post directions for these soon but trust me, they are a piece of cake! Ugh, puns...)
Rainbow tissue poms added fun color and a festive backdrop. I couldn't believe I had never thought of those before! It's just your basic tissue pom, only with a variety of colors.

I'll have a tutorial soon for the candy filled train as well.
All of the food was served on white servings trays I have collected (on clearance, of course) over the years and we ate off of dollar store napkins and plates. Nothing too expensive or fancy, just fun and bright. It was the perfect evening celebrating our incredible blessing!

A lot of my inspiration came from Pinterest. Oh, Pinterest. Where have you been all my life? See the inspiration board for the party here. If you want to follow along with all the goodies I'm discovering on the web, you can follow me on Pinterest here.

Hope you're enjoying your last few weeks of summer!

We need rain.

2011-08-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

That's just all there is to it. We. Need. Rain. Even the ants think so...they've resorted to eating my cantaloupe. My beautiful cantaloupe that I've been babying for months and throughout the drought.

I get that the whole country is sweltering right now, but seriously. Texas is an oven. My son begs all day to go outside but it truly isn't safe (or bearable) to do so until after 8pm. And no rain in sight. The forecast keeps climbing too. It's now in the 108-111 degrees range.

This is my backyard this morning. Cracking under the heat.

And my poor red oak that I have faithfully watered throughout the drought. No amount of watering can make up for this kind of heat.

But we have faith in our Father and believe He will provide. I keep asking him for rain, and I know I'm not the only one. This morning my son and I went out to water the trees. Their leaves are browning now, falling off, and the dirt around the roots is pulling away and cracking from dehydration and heat. The dirt around our house foundation is pulling away as well. Our driveway has started to crack. This is serious stuff, this heat. More than a few lives have been lost this summer in Texas because of it.

We need rain.

So today I've put this plastic cup on my kitchen island as a reminder. My son planted grass seeds in it at VBS last week and decorated it with stickers that say "Trust in the Lord." The grass in this cup is doing great, of course, since it's growing in an air conditioned home, and getting plenty of water. But those green blades are serving as a reminder to me. My God is bigger than this. He gives and takes away. I'll trust Him.

We need rain.

Rainbow Cake

2011-07-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

Summer is still in full swing over here but we've managed to fit in a party or two. I'll post more pictures later, but here's a sneak peek at the birthday bash we threw last weekend. It was an absolute blast!

Mustache and Most Interesting Man in the World Party

2011-07-07T14:22:00.000-07:00

I'm back from a summer sabbatical. Thanks for sticking with me! I'd like to say that I spent the last month on a beach in Hawaii or relaxing at our (imaginary) mountain cabin, but in reality we spent most of it doing what most youth ministry families do in the summertime: hanging out with teenagers. Majority of the time we were blessed to work with teens at camp in Oklahoma. If you thought it was hot in Texas, Oklahoma has us beat. Great state, miserable heat. The only place that has them beat is Arizona. The one summer I spent there I thought I was going to swelter to death.

We did squeeze in some family fun as well. My husband's grandfather turned 95 (ninety-five!) this year so we threw a surprise party for him to celebrate. Our theme was The Most Interesting Man in the World (because 95 years of living earns you that title) and mustaches for extra fun.

Here are a few pictures from the event.

We used these mustache-on-a-stick as decor and then later as props for photos. Our giant family portrait turned out great and it's one of my favorite family treasures of all time. Everyone from age 2 to 95 was proudly holding them up.
Pictures of Grandad from earlier days were everywhere, and this sign greeted guests: Grandad...The Most Interesting Man in the World.

Throughout the house we put "most interesting man in the world" quotes to go with his pictures. There are a ton of hilarious ones all over the web. We chose a few of our favorites, including this one...
And these, to just show a few.
This is Texas party y'all, so you know we had a lot of this...
And if you've been reading this blog for more than 2 seconds you know I love me some pennant banners. Throw it on top of a banana pudding and you can't go wrong.
Grandad's favorite impossible-to-make birthday cake passed down for generations.
We had a great time together and Grandad was caught with a tear in his eye more than a few times. He felt honored and special, and that was the whole goal. We displayed the verse Prov 22:1 ("A good name is more desirable than great riches, to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.") in a frame as well because it describes beautifully what we all feel about our favorite Grandad. What a beautiful legacy of faith he has given us.

An added bonus: We threw this party together for less than $5 by using Silhouette's free download of the week to make the mustaches, skewers (in a pack of 100) for less than $1, blue play sand we had on hand to anchor centerpieces, and displaying quotes and pictures in frames we had throughout the house.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Rocking Horse Before and After

2011-06-09T14:55:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or are there lots of baby showers to attend these days? I think it's just this stage of life. Surely it's not the water.

When I'm out thrifting, I always stay on the lookout for unique baby presents so I'll be ready for the next shower. One morning I ran across this sad little wooden rocking horse for $2. It looked like someone had tried to spray paint it black and then gave up.
I couldn't help but imagine it painted and pretty, and the cheap price tag made it easy to say yes. So I took it home with the idea that, once refinished, it might be a great gift for a baby shower I'm attending this month. I started sanding and discovered this...
No wonder it was $2! But some wood filler, lots of sanding, and even more coats of blue paint led to this...

I used my trusty Silhouette machine to cut out a vinyl monogram in the baby's initials, and then whipped up some rosettes (how-to here) that match the nursery colors picked out by the mommy-to-be.

Unique, thoughtful and TWO DOLLARS. I can't wait to give this to her!

Linking to:
Sew Much Ado ... Beyond the Picket Fence ... Tip Junkie ... Skip to My Lou ...

A Tree for Texans

2011-05-31T03:55:00.000-07:00

Planting trees in Texas isn't always a sure bet. We get so much wind, heat and sometimes snow that the beautiful flowering trees you see in the North (you lucky cherry blossom owners!) just can't cut it in Texas climate.

A friend introduced us to the Texas Lilac (also known as Vitex or Chaste Tree) and we are loving it. We planted it in September and it's already doubled in size and bloomed like crazy. We love it.

And so do the bees, apparently.

Norwegian Waffles

2011-05-28T03:54:00.000-07:00

Starting a morning like this is hard to beat...

We whipped up a batch of my very favorite waffle recipe from All Recipes over the weekend and have been enjoying the leftovers all week. Why these are called Norwegian Waffles is beyond me. But, I've never been to Norway, so what do I know?

If you give it a whirl, I suggest adding about 1/4 C more sugar than the recipe suggests. Happy Breakfast!

Garage Sale Score

2011-05-24T13:34:00.000-07:00

I happened upon a garage sale late in the afternoon on Saturday and the owner was itching to get rid of everything in sight. After asking her three different times if she was sure it was OK, I went home with a box full of vintage sewing items, including unopened rolls of lace and tulle, and these lovely ladies for...

ONE DOLLAR!

I'm already brainstorming sewing ideas just so I can use that bright lemon "magic zipper." Is it garage sale season where you live yet?

My Little (BIG) Backyard Garden

2011-05-21T03:33:00.000-07:00

I am floored by how quickly my garden has grown! Here's a picture of what it looks like today:

And what it looked like the day I planted - just SIX WEEKS ago!

I'm thrilled. To be honest, I kind of figured it was a toss up whether or not anything would take hold. But look at these beauties:

Squash blossoms!

We've only had one hiccup, which was an infestation of spider mites that devoured one whole spinach plant and part of my basil. A home remedy of 2 quarts water mixed with 1 T vegetable oil and a few drops of dish detergent sprayed at dusk seems to have cleared it up though. {fingers crossed} The bugs were annoying, but my 2 year-old has had an absolute blast getting to take a spray bottle to the garden every evening!

Have you planted yet? It's not too late! And don't forget to plant sweet basil so you can try this recipe!

Graduation Party, Dr Seuss Style

2011-05-18T04:08:00.000-07:00

Working in ministry with teenagers brings both blessing and heartache. For us, one of the greatest heartaches we face each year is watching our seniors graduate and move on to the next phase of their journeys. And this year was no exception. We have been incredibly blessed by this particular group of seniors and we know we'll feel the heavy weight of their absence next year as they leave the nest.

BUT...We are thrilled knowing that we are sending out an entire class of talented, confident, God-loving world changers. It was so appropriate to celebrate their accomplishments with a banquet themed "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" recently. We have a tradition at our church that the moms of the junior class students plan and organize the annual senior banquet and every year I'm blown away with their creativity and talent.
The picture above is a {gigantic} painting. It was so incredibly well done that when I walked in I thought it was a print. The artist behind this beauty is also the same one who painted one of my favorite pieces of art in my home.

Hot air balloon centerpieces and place cards.

Can you just imagine how long it took the poor cake decorator to make that many different colors of icing?!

Need more graduation party ideas? Check out the inner-city graduation party we threw last year and all the decorations and treats involved here.

Home Tour: My Decor Mentor

2011-05-14T03:00:00.000-07:00

I have the lovely pleasure of sharing my friend Laura's house with you today. Laura is a graphic designer by trade that I had the pleasure of working alongside for a few years while we launched a paper design business. It was a fun experience and one we're glad is over. It was a lot of work!

Like most graphic design artists, color schemes and furniture placement all come naturally to her. Her home's style is beautifully coordinated while still feeling effortless and comfortable. I love how her house always looks incredible and put together, but relaxed enough that seven kids can come over for a play date (as we did this week) and no one is fainting about throw pillows being tossed or baskets being pushed around the room.

Laura is the one who introduced me to the color mustard a few years ago. I remember thinking she was crazy the first time she walked in with a mustard-colored purse. Now I can't help but gravitate towards that shade. She uses yellow as an accent color in her living room to tie in with the barely-lemon paint color on her kitchen and entry walls.

She is also the queen of vignettes. Even before I had a blog I took pictures of her decor so I could take it home, study it and figure out why it worked. That sounds creepy, doesn't it? But it's more about seeing something I loved and learning how to emulate it on my own.

The walls of her master bedroom are a green-gray that draw in the living room color without overwhelming the graphic impact of the neutral black and white linens. And you gotta love a pop of red.
Again with the great vignettes. This time in her master bath. She used scrapbook paper to fill in the photo blanks in this shelf.
A little snippet of the sweet pink nursery down the hall. I absolutely adore this room. It's filled with all things floral, tutu and pink.
The playroom upstairs is bright and fun with lots of room for imaginative play and train track building. But my favorite spot is the reading nook filled with fluffy bean bags and this vinyl art.
Paper lanterns hang over the art corner.

With four kids, it's easy to run out of room on the refrigerator door for all of the works of art each kids dreams up. To showcase them, she hung sheet metal on the walls and framed it for a finished look.

As you can imagine, all of the extras Laura adds to her home make their dwellings hot tickets once they go on the market. After a few moves and leaving behind her hard work (framed bathroom mirrors, built-in shelving, updated lighting) for the new owner to enjoy, she was tired of starting from scratch. So when she decided she wanted shelving and a built-in bench seat she knew she wanted the option to take it with her in the future when they move. Her solution was cube storage shelving and a vinyl storage bench that offers the same effect as built-ins, without the heartache when they move.

I hope you've enjoyed Laura's house! It is such a blessing to have talented friends to walk me through my design hiccups and offer inspiration to get me moving.

Visiting talented friends is a lot cheaper than hiring a decorator! Schedule a decor play date and get inspired!

Tonight's dinner in 10 minutes or less

2011-05-09T03:55:00.000-07:00

I'm not kidding. 10 minutes for this recipe. And it will rock your world.

{My little helper wanted to be in the picture}

Have you tried these cooking cremes yet? And, yes, the way they spell "creme" drives me crazy too. I picked up the Santa Fe blend the other day and whipped up a fun little dinner creation that I think your family will love just as much as mine did.

Quick Santa Fe Chicken in 10 Minutes or Less

Saute 1/2 C chopped onion and a minced garlic clove in a tablespoon or two of olive oil until onion is transparent. Add 2-3 C of shredded seasoned chicken and stir. Spoon in the Santa Fe blend "creme" and 1 C of salsa. Mix well and cook on med-low until heated through. Serve over rice.

Easy-peasy and a great way to use up that leftover chicken. Enjoy!

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Basil Bread

2011-05-02T13:07:00.000-07:00

Go plant basil right now. I mean it. Because the longer you wait to plant, the longer you'll have to wait to eat this bread.

You saw the pictures of my sweet basil harvest. Honestly, other than pasta sauce I really didn't know what to do with it. I left it alone for a day or two out of indecision until I finally put together this Basil Herb Spread. And you've just got to try it!

Basil Herb Spread
4 T butter
1 t parsley, chopped
1 T sweet basil, minced
1 clove garlic
pinch of salt and pepper

Combine the ingredients and spread on 1" slices of thick bread.

Slather it on, ladies. This is butter and bread we're talking about here. Now is not the time for calorie counting.

Broil for 2-3 minutes. No need to set a timer. Before it dings everyone in your house will be huddled around the oven door. It smells absolutely incredible.

My parsley is finally starting to peek through the soil. I can't wait to try this recipe again with parsley straight from the garden!

First Fruits

2011-04-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

My little backyard garden is starting to earn its keep. I harvested my very first crop (can you call it a crop if it barely fills one plate?) this week. Spinach and sweet basil.

The tomatoes look like they'll be next, but I'm pulling for the squash and zucchini.

Giving Good Gifts

2011-04-22T04:18:00.000-07:00

We went to visit two of our dearest friends - a married couple - a few nights ago. When I left, she gave me an armful of roses (pictured above) from her garden. Her favorite part of having such an incredible rose garden, she told me, was not that she could enjoy them every day, or the color they bring to her kitchen table. Instead, it was being able to take fresh flowers to neighbors and friends.

It was such an out-of-the-box moment for me as I thought about how many different and unique ways there are to help others. You may not have a ton of cash, but you do have something you can share.

For our family right now, the gift we're giving is time. We've been pouring time into others through ministry, hosting dinners at our house, and volunteering in capacities that wouldn't normally be our first choice. Sometimes that's rewarding, and sometimes I want to scratch every single event, meeting and scheduled dinner off of my calendar. But I've noticed that giving good gifts to others usually requires sacrifice.

What is the good gift you're giving? Does it feel like sacrifice? Should it?

Smoke-filled Skies

2011-04-20T03:49:00.000-07:00

{A picture of the smoke-filled skies in Texas. This wasn't sunset.}

Have you heard about all the fires in Texas? You can read about some of the devastation here. Thankfully, it hasn't affected us personally, but we have friends who have teetered on the edge of evacuation and more than one family friend whose lake homes were declared a total loss.

Even though we are miles from majority of the flames, the smoke in the sky has served as a reminder to us to continue to pray for families who are living this tragedy. Pray for rain!

A Craft that Helped My Marriage

2011-04-18T14:06:00.000-07:00

Every marriage has a movie-watching rhythm. Maybe you like mystery and he likes comedies. Or, he hates chick flicks and you can't stand thrillers. Or maybe you both love the same kind of movie. If so, you should get down on your praying knees right now and say thank you because you're not normal.

Personally, I love a good chick flick but don't like any movie whose plot involves someone dying. (What? Too much to ask?) That narrows down our movie-watching options to basically nothing my husband wants to see. But I married a very patient man (who can begrudgingly now quote My Big Fat Greek Wedding), and he puts up with a lot.

So in an effort to say thank you to my precious husband for all of the ridiculous and predictable chick flicks he's watched over the years because of his love for me, I made a peace offering.
You may not recognize this sign, but the males in your life probably would. It's an iconic piece from the movie Lonesome Dove. Lonesome Dove is a very manly movie filled with very manly men (Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Duvall, Danny Glover) doing very manly things (cattle drives to Montana, shootouts with outlaws) and rescuing beautiful damsels in distress (Diane Lane, Anjelica Huston). It's my husband's favorite movie and he and his best friend have loved this movie since they were teenagers. It holds a special place in their manly hearts.

The Latin at the bottom (and there's a long explanation of why the actual translation is not what the author meant, but I digress) basically means "we are changed by the lives around us."

When you marry a man, you inherit the traits, habits and history he chose and created throughout his childhood and adolescent journey. I know that the man my husband is today is in part due to the friendships he chose so many years ago. Those Latin words still ring true.

So to commemorate their friendship, and to have one more excuse under my belt as to why I never have to watch this movie again, I made matching signs for my hubs and his best friend. A very girly thing to do for two very manly men. To say they were thrilled, is an understatement. It was a big hit.

Does your husband/boyfriend have a best friend he can confide in? If not, you should encourage him to find one. (Bonus: He'll have someone to watch action flicks with!)

**I made this sign using discarded wooden fence panels. I've come up with other uses for old fence posts and you can see them here:

Raised Bed Vegetable/Herb Garden
(more projects to come)**

Bathroom Bling

2011-04-09T05:23:00.000-07:00

You know I'm a tightwad. Some people take offense at that title; I like to own it. If it's not on sale or there's no coupon for it in my pocket, it's probably not in my shopping cart. But this little soap pump...Oh, this little soap pump. I've had my eye on it at Target for a long time. The sticker price - $12.99 - is not expensive, but spending more than a few bucks on something that held soap seemed ridiculous to me. So I searched for comparable items online, kept watch for Target clearances, and...nothing. Not a single percentage drop in price. So two weeks ago, I gave in and brought her home with me.

I expected buyer's remorse, but instead I've been surprised at how something so insignificant as a sparkly little soap pump could make me smile every morning.

If you'd like to copycat you can find it here. And if you find this on sale next week, don't tell me about it.

How My Backyard Garden Grows

2011-04-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hmm...I may have bitten off more than I can chew (figuratively and literally) with this much seed!
I gave you a teaser here about what my husband and I have been building in our backyard. I'm so happy to say that it's finally finished! Using old weathered fence posts we had on hand, my husband crafted a 1' x4'x10' raised bed garden for us! I'm beyond thrilled.

I'm trying to focus on keeping this garden chemical-free so instead of using weed/grass killer we laid out layers of newspaper before piling on a yard and a half of premium composted soil mix. (From what I understand, gardening is all about the dirt)
I've spent a lot of time sketching and charting and thinking through where every single seed and transplant should go. I thought it may be a little overkill at the time, but once I got to planting, this little map was vital to keeping my sanity. I referenced it with the beginning of each row, and later it helped me remember where I put everything. And I'll keep the map for reference next year so I'll know how to rotate my crops. Don't forget to add a compass to your map!
As a child, I remember watching my dad grow a half acre worth of crops in our backyard. We lived out in the country (not hard to do in Texas) and had acres and acres of land around us. I despised the chores I had as a result of that garden, which was to pick off (by hand!) the tomato worms and okra bugs (I still shiver thinking about it). But as I look back on those years, some of my favorite childhood memories are found working those rows and rows of crops.

I'll be sure to share pictures and tips with you as I discover along the way. For now, I'm loving working alongside my two-year-old to move dirt, create rows, sow seeds and water plants. I think we're going to love this new little family hobby.

I'm participating in:

My House in: Thrifty Finds

2011-03-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love a good deal? Me, too. In fact, I absolutely refuse to buy something - just about anything - unless it's on sale, I have a coupon, or the seller is willing to negotiate the price. It's not an obsession, it's necessity. We are very blessed, but {like a lot of you, I imagine} we have to be very careful with every purchase we make. That's why when I found the following lovelies at thrift stores and in clearance bins, my heart went pitter-patter.

Welcome to a tour of my favorite thrifty home finds.

I had been searching {and searching} for the perfect little bird statue for my house. I'm not big on knick knacks, but for some reason this one is just me.

{bird statue: $2 - Stein Mart clearance}
I blurred that photo on the edges so you wouldn't stare at my gleaming legs. Stop it!

This creamy statue sits above my cabinets. It had previously been used as a prop used for store displays. My only regret is that I didn't snatch up its twin.

{statue: $3 - Stein Mart}

I discovered this metal tin on my first "home decor trip" to a thrift store. I had been many times for other things, but this was the first time I went deciding I could decorate my home with other's cast-off items. It was the beginning of something wonderful.

{Galvanized bucket: $1; flowers: $4 clearance garden store find}

When I first saw this tray on my favorite aisle at Target (you know the one: pillows, color-coordinated wall art and lamps. Isn't that everyone's favorite aisle?), I picked it up thinking it would be out of my price range. When I turned it over and saw the clearance sticker, I might have heard the angels singing. I'm still baffled at how so many other people walked right past it before it came home with me. But I'm not complaining!

{decorative tray: $3, Target}

This tufted, upholstered storage ottoman was the catalyst for bringing a lot of beauty into our newlywed home. I discovered it while visiting my mom soon after my husband and I had purchased our first home. At that time, our master bedroom was all stark white walls, hand-me-down furniture and college leftovers. I had no idea what direction I wanted to take our new home but I knew that whatever colors and furniture I chose would have to stick for many years to come. Then I saw this ottoman, called my husband to get his opinion and bought it. It immediately became the color palette inspiration for our bedroom and resulted in a blue and brown combination that I have not once regretted in our room. I positioned it by our bedroom door for the perfect spot to sit and tie your shoes in the morning. Inside I've stashed extra quilts and blankets, and a baby girl outfit I bought during my pregnancy when I didn't know what we were having. I have a gut feeling this will be an all-baby-boy house, but I'm not giving it away yet!

{Upholstered Storage Ottoman: $50 - Stein Mart}

Apparently I love Stein Mart's home department. I didn't realize just how much until I wrote this post!

What are your favorite thrifty finds?

Oh, my sweet Silhouette machine...

2011-03-28T04:29:00.000-07:00

This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

I finally tackled my first Silhouette SD project. A friend is decorating her nursery shabby chic and I thought this would be the perfect addition for baby Maegan's room.

To create this look, I used a clearance find matted frame (leftover from this project), a coordinating piece of scrapbook paper, white paint and a sanding block. I used Silhouette's frosted vinyl to create the monogram, but you could also use etching cream and a stencil.

I just love shabby chic. What's your take?

Pomander "Kissing Ball"

2011-03-25T07:39:00.000-07:00

Amy at The Idea Room is never short on great ideas (hence the name, I suppose). I recently followed her pomander tutorial as I was preparing gifts for a friend's baby shower and this craft didn't disappoint. I took pictures of the process so you could join in, too.

Pearlized sewing pins, a Styrofoam ball, pink paper and a craft punch are all you need.

An hour and a very sore thumb later, I realized that I could have used my Silhouette for this project and finished about 58 minutes sooner.
But the end result was worth it. I added a ribbon to my project so it could be hung from a door knob.
Or even a shelf hook.
A fun and simple project that will add a little sparkle to a sweet baby girl's room.

Spring themed Baby Shower

2011-03-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

I helped host a baby shower yesterday for a precious friend and my only assigned task was to make a dessert. Since I had 8 extra extended family members spending the weekend with us, I thought it was the perfect time to make the most detailed dessert in my repertoire. {Insert: what was I thinking??}
But these mini-cupcakes are just so stinkin' cute that I couldn't help myself. Thankfully, they turned out to be a big hit, and hopefully made the mommy-to-be feel extra special.
I've made these before and you can see pictures and a link to the recipe here.

Look What I Won!

2011-03-19T05:16:00.000-07:00

I was beginning to wonder if all those Silhouette giveaways on blogs were a figment of my imagination. :) I could hardly believe it when I heard the news, but I won a Silhouette! Thanks to Vintage Revivals for hosting and sending me some very loving, encouraging emails throughout the claiming-my-prize process!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T13:23:00.000-07:00

One whole day when everyone around me shares my adoration for the color green. I love it.

My eyes, my birthstone and, as you can see above, my kitchen - all green. I can't help myself. To see a {small} sampling of the green around my house, you can read this post.

The wall art in the picture is one of my favorite pieces in my kitchen. It looks like wrought iron, but is actually a rubber doormat I found on clearance. It is the perfect shape to hang above my cabinets, and offsets the wow-that's-green paint color I chose (and still love) for the walls.

And, in case you noticed...Why, yes, that is our wireless router peeking out from above the cabinets. You can't see it when you're standing in the kitchen and for some reason that location works best for internet connection. Whatever works!

Ikat? I'd rather not.

2011-03-15T13:41:00.000-07:00

Ikat is everywhere. Everywhere. Haven't heard? Then read this, this and this. You've probably seen it in stores. You may even have some in your home right now...

via

It's all the rage right now. And I get it. It is pretty. But for some reason, it's just not my thing.

via

But I've been thinking about my ikat aversion and I've decided it's because it reminds me of southwestern inspired styles (again, beautiful in their own right, just not my thing):

via

Obviously, there's nothing wrong with southwestern inspired art or design. It has its place. Just not in my house.

via

I blame it on growing up so close to New Mexico. Maybe I was overexposed to (again, beautiful) southwestern design and that's why I'm so over it?

What do you think? Ikat - do you love it or hate it?

A Work in Progress

2011-03-14T05:24:00.000-07:00

It's beautiful weather in Texas these days. Now that daylight savings has passed (love it, or hate it - it rocks to have daylight in the evenings), we're getting a jump on some fun outdoor projects that have been waiting for warmth and sunshine. Right now we're tackling re-purposing a pile of weathered fence posts. Any idea what we're (and by we're, I mean my husband) building?

Spring is Coming!

2011-03-08T14:26:00.000-08:00

Can you feel it? Have you noticed?

Spring is making an entrance. I had somehow totally missed it until this week.

The beauties we planted long before the snow arrived, reminded me that the sun is on its way; winter is almost gone.

Barely two and half weeks ago my grandmother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Our own personal winter.

This morning she went home. Her spring has arrived.

If she hadn't known to expect the sun, she would have been terrified. If seeds of faith hadn't been planted in her life, and subsequently in ours, we wouldn't have been able to face this winter.

But her legacy of determined faith helped us spring forth and rejoice with her today in the midst of so much pain.

In the midst of heartache, we cling to the One who calls us by name.

We miss you, Gigi. Thank you for planting seeds of faith in our hearts.

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" Isaiah 43:18-19

Magazine Home Tour

2011-03-03T12:32:00.000-08:00

Do you have one of those friends who lives in a magazine home? As in, their home looks so incredible that Better Homes & Gardens could walk in today for a photo shoot and they wouldn't have to change a thing?

{Pillow available here.}

My precious friend, Micah, is that friend for me. You walk in, and you can't stop yourself from asking those questions like, Where did you find that? Did you make that? I love that! Was it expensive?

{Rug is from Pottery Barn. If I picked out a rug today, it would be this one. Love.}

And because Micah is Micah, she allowed me to drop in one afternoon and take pictures to share with all of you. Where available, I've included links to the items so you can copy-cat if you'd like.

{Sofa from Pier 1}

Micah and her family are a part of the weekly potlucks we have with friends. There are six or so families in our group - almost all of whom were born in Texas. And you know how much Texans love their football. (Friday Night Lights, anyone?)

Now, notice a certain burnt orange theme in this room?

There's quite the divide between Longhorn fans and Aggie fans in our group. It makes for some good entertainment during football season.

While I was taking pictures, Micah was ironing dinner napkins. I didn't even know people did that. But that's Micah. And I love it.

{Candle Holders from Pottery Barn. Similar style here.}

This is what I love about being in community, about sharing food and stories and hardships with fellow friends and followers of Christ. We each have strengths; we each shine differently. Eating at Micah's table is so relaxing and special. She is such a wonderful hostess, making everyone feel so at home. And the food absolutely rocks. I look forward to it every single time. And when she comes over to our home, there's probably something about my quirky meals and loud kitchen that she loves too. It's not just our similarities, but our differences that help make our journeys and friendships that much more fun.

So, do you have any magazine home friends? Don't think you do? Then maybe it's you!

**I'm serving Twisted Black Beans & Rice at our potluck tonight. Sound good? Here's my recipe.

Twisted Black Beans & Rice

2011-02-25T06:24:00.000-08:00

Let me introduce you to my new favorite twist on Jambalaya. I've had a hard time finding a recipe my husband and I could both enjoy because he prefers his food to have a lot of heat and I'm a spicy food wimp. I needed a compromise. Instead, I got a win-win! He loves it, and it won't burn off my tongue. Ding, ding!

I compiled a few of my favorite rice and beans recipes, tweaked them, made some additions and came up with this Black Beans & Rice (with a twist) recipe. I had no idea how it would turn out, but it was a huge hit, and has found its way onto our favorite meals list.

Twisted Black Beans & Rice
1/2 C chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 T olive oil
1 C uncooked brown rice
1 can chicken broth
1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can stewed tomatoes
2 T lime juice
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 t paprika
1 t chili powder
1 1/2 t garlic powder
salt & pepper
1 (14 oz) package smoked sausage, cut into quarters

Saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. {I use a nonstick wok.} Add rice and saute for 3 minutes. Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook covered for 25 minutes until rice is fluffy and there is no liquid remaining.

Pour in beans and tomatoes. Add lime juice and spices and stir well. Add sausage and combine.

Cover and cook on medium-low heat until all ingredients are heated through.

I can't imagine taking the incredible flavor of the smoked sausage out of the mix, but if you have the willpower to do so, this is a show-stopping low-fat, high fiber meal option. I hope your family enjoys it, too!

____________

A big thank you to Sumo's Sweet Stuff for featuring me today! What a treat!

Have you ever seen this before?

2011-02-23T05:21:00.000-08:00

I cracked open an egg the other morning to make breakfast for my son and saw this staring back at me...Twins!

Creamy, Dreamy Banana Pudding

2011-02-21T05:55:00.000-08:00

Before all of you banana pudding-haters go clicking away, let me assure you that I've got the same feelings. Not. A. Fan. But there's something about this recipe...

Maybe it's the creaminess of the pudding, but it's more like eating ice cream with wafers and a hint of banana mixed in. Either way, I'm absolutely hooked.

This recipe is a bit nostalgic for me. It came from an elderly woman at the small country church I attended growing up who was the epitome of the Proverbs 31 woman. She and her daughter made the Bible come alive for me as a little girl in Sunday School. I still remember their flannel graph lessons, and the tent she set up in the corner of our Bible class so we could better imagine what it was like for Moses to wander in the wilderness. She was a notoriously fantastic cook and our small town preacher practically begged her to make this whenever we had Sunday potluck dinners.

It's a treasure I'm glad to share with all of you.

Daisy's Banana Pudding
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 C cold water
1 (3 3/4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix (I use French Vanilla flavor)
1 (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
36 vanilla wafers
3 bananas, sliced, dipped in lemon juice to prevent browning

Combine the condensed milk and water in large bowl. Add pudding mix and beat well. Chill for five minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon 1 C pudding mixture into a glass serving bowl. Top with 1/3 each of the wafers and bananas. Repeat layering (pudding, wafers, bananas) twice, ending with pudding and topping with wafers. Cover and chill. Keep refrigerated.

If you're trying to eat light, this can be a good option to satisfy a sweet tooth craving. I use fat free versions of the sweetened condensed milk and whipped topping and I can't taste any sacrifice in taste or texture. This is one rich dessert! Enjoy!

He is mine and I am his

2011-02-16T07:39:00.000-08:00

{Holding hands in Virginia on an anniversary trip}

Valentine's Day sure has changed for me over the years. Has it for you? As a little girl I remember getting a heart-shaped pastel pink box of chocolates from my dad every year.

Then I grew into a teenager and stood along side every other pimply-faced girl in the school hoping I'd have roses sent to the office with my name attached to the card.

Valentine's Day as a married person though is 180 degrees different from either of those experiences.

It's better.

I've listened to so many of my friends ache over how their husbands will forget February 14. How no roses will arrive in their cubicle, no remembrance at all.

For me, I don't expect candy and roses, although he often brings them home. Because my husband doesn't just show me love one day in February. He shows me love year-round. Every day of the year.

He changes dirty diapers. Goes to work every single day without complaint. Mows the grass in 110 degree Texas heat. Gets on the floor to play with our son. Prays for me. Eats whatever meal concoction I come up with. Supports my dreams. Surprises me with presents when I least expect them (like an early Valentine's dinner out and tickets to a show last week!!).

Monday, he came home from work late, after an extra-exhausting long day at work, kissed both me and our son as he walked in the door and then hit his head with the palm of his hand and said, Oh, honey! I meant to bring flowers home! (Extra super sweet since we already celebrated Valentine's Day!)

Then he rolled up his sleeves to tackle a sink-full of dirty dishes for me, barely having set his briefcase down.

Who needs flowers, baby? I've got you.

My beloved is mine, and I am his. Forever. For always.

2011-02-14T03:00:00.000-08:00

Homemade Valentine

2011-02-10T07:43:00.000-08:00

Every Valentine's gift needs a homemade valentine, right?
I made my precious grandmother, Gigi, a Valentine's wreath this week, but I just knew she needed a homemade valentine to go with it. Something my 2-year-old could scribble his signature on so she could see his "beautiful" penmanship.

I started with heavy white card stock, cut a heart shape out of it and taped a decorative square of scrapbook paper behind it. This may sound easy, but it almost cost me a finger. Me and scissors - apparently not a good combination.

And if I were an avid scrapbooker, I would have just the right sized hole punch I needed. But I'm not, and I don't. So my handyman hubby came up with the idea to punch holes by driving a nail partially into the paper. Genius! Oh, I love that man.
And if I were a knitter or crocheter (is that even a word?) I would have a needle large enough to thread yarn through. But I'm not, and I don't. So I tied thread tightly around one end of the yarn and threaded that through an embroidery needle. You can see my contraption above.
Finished threading? Tie off a double knot and tape over it. Almost done...
But all that taping, threading, knotting nonsense isn't all that pretty. So I cut a coordinating piece of lighter weight card stock and used it to cover my mess, leaving a tiny little bit to peek through to the other side.
Now Gigi will have a homemade valentine from three of her biggest fans.
And, look! It matches the wreath!

Found any favorite homemade valentine ideas lately?

Valentine Wreath

2011-02-08T07:03:00.000-08:00

Has anyone else been snowed in recently? These major storms are wreaking havoc across the nation, I know, but we are oh-so-not ready for it here. They forecast an inch of snow, and school is canceled, work is called off and there is a run on staples at the grocery stores. Thankfully it is all quick to melt away. But along with the recent snow days came an excuse to get crafty!

Read on to meet this year's Valentine's Wreath, and a step-by-step in case you want to join in the fun.

I started with a Styrofoam wreath form wrapped with red yarn. I didn't use hot glue, but a liquid fabric glue instead. Mainly because I wanted to work on the project in front of the TV. In bed. It was a snow day, people!

The wreath needed a little rosette love (you already know how much I love 'em) so I used some yellow flannel I had on hand.
1. Cut out a circle of fabric. No perfection here.
2. Starting on the outside edge, cut the entire circle into one long spiral strip, ending with a small circle at the end.
3. Start at the end where you started cutting and roll up the strip, leaving a little slack.
4. Glue the small circle end to the bottom of the rosette.

I tried different arrangements for the rosettes and took pictures of each one before I glued them on. It allowed me to easily compare all of the options.
A little raffia to tie her back and she's ready for her big debut. Almost...
This little beauty is headed for my precious grandmother, whom we affectionately call Gigi, so it needed a little extra something-something.
A name pennant made with satin ribbon and scrapbook paper taped together. I secured the ribbon with small pins and more fabric glue.
I guess rosettes aren't the only crafty thing I seem to love these days. Looks like I'll have to add pennant banners to my list also. Remember?

What Valentine's crafty goodness have you been up to lately? I'd love to see!

Linking to:
Today's Creative Blog ... Skip to My Lou ... Beyond the Picket Fence ... Making the World Cuter ...

Magic Peanut Butter Cookies

2011-01-31T05:49:00.000-08:00

3 ingredients. Gluten-free. Easy to remember recipe. Everyday ingredients.

Now that's my kind of cookie.

I call these Magic Peanut Butter Cookies because frankly, I have no idea how they work. They call for three ingredients:

1 Cup of Peanut Butter
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Egg

This basic recipe yields about 2 dozen, but doubling and tripling is easy. Making a double batch? Use 2 Cups of each, and 2 eggs. Tripling? Use 3 cups of each, and 3 eggs. It's a no-brainer.

What isn't a no-brainer is how these sweet things taste exactly like the recipe that requires flour, baking soda, baking powder, etc. I can't tell a difference in taste or texture.

8 minutes, 350 degrees.

Magic.

Texas Saturday Night

2011-01-27T13:01:00.000-08:00

I'm guest posting over at Thrifty Decor Chick today! If you're new here, welcome!

______________________________

Every few months all of my husband's brothers and their families gather at our house for dinner. I love how all of our traditions melt into one unique meal as we gather around an often chaotic table. It's one of my favorite things.

Since it's been deer season around here, our freezer is stocked with venison. And nothing goes better with venison than stuffed bacon-wrapped jalapenos. {or so I'm told...I can't take the heat!}

4 simple steps:
1. Chop off the stems; get rid of the seeds.
2. Stuff with cream cheese.
3. Wrap with bacon.
4. Grill over medium heat, lid closed, 10 minutes or so. Watch them carefully. They can char easily!

Now, for the superstar recipe of the evening. We used venison backstrap and it just can't be beat. But stick with me, because even if you don't have any game meat on hand, this is a show-stopper for just about any type of steak.

Soak the steaks in apple cider. NOT apple cider vinegar. Apple Cider. It doesn't sound right, does it?! Let it sit covered in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

Then pour off the cider, pat the steaks dry (extra step, but important), and soak the steaks in barbecue sauce for 2-3 more hours.

Heat your grill and wrap the steaks in thick-cut bacon (we discovered that it did make a difference in the flavor if we went cheap and used thin bacon).
Grill the steaks on medium heat with the lid closed for 15 minutes, turning steaks occasionally.

Absolute perfection. If you love filet mignon, you'll love this venison recipe. And I don't have a final picture because I couldn't convince myself to stop eating long enough to photograph.

But to make it up to you, and to probably reinforce the redneck stereotype that so many people have about Texas, here's a picture of one of my brother-in-laws and our entertainment for the evening.

We're not rednecks, but we do say y'all a whole lot. Just sayin'.

Have any wild game recipes you want to share?

Thrifting Jack Pot

2011-01-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

For years I have had my eye on beautiful accent chairs. You know, the kind with fancy upholstery and carved wood frames. But every time I found one, the price tag would be different...$165...$135...$225...even $300+...but always out of my price range.

Then one beautiful day on Craigslist, I spotted this treasure and immediately made an offer ($20 lower than the asking price, 'cause I bargain like that).

After some negotiating, I picked her up and brought her home for the much more affordable $40!! It had lived in a formal living room in a gigantic house and I don't think anyone had ever sat on it.

Raised velvet, glazed legs, double welt cording...so, so beautiful.

I don't know where she'll live permanently, but for now she sits in our constantly used living room. Poor fancy chair. From a life of leisure to a ramp for my son's train set. She probably never saw it coming.

I did some digging on the internet and found this exact chair for sale at JCPenney's for $399!!! Pretty decent day of thrifting, I'd say!

What thrifty finds have you scored lately?

My favorite meal this week

2011-01-21T07:45:00.000-08:00

**UPDATE: I fixed the link, so hopefully you'll be directed to the FREE version of this recipe, although you'll probably have to create a free account**

Looking for dinner ideas? I stumbled upon a home run this week for the best chicken tacos ever in under 30 minutes. And there's orange juice involved! Go figure!

Find the recipe here. (You'll probably have to create an account to see their recipe but membership is free.)

You had me at cilantro.

Not my best pictures...but definitely one of my best meals.
And a double layer cake to wrap it all up. It tasted even better this time because a certain very special 2 year old helped me bake it!
Any fave recipe links you want to share this week?

Breakfast Room Before & After

2011-01-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

This breakfast room wall has been my nemesis. Sometimes when you have a large blank canvas, it can be more challenging to work with than a limiting space. That's the way my brain works, anyway. But I've overcome!
See? Gigantic, blank canvas. Some of you have minds that can visualize within 2.6 seconds exactly what you would do with this space. I am not among you. We added the chair rail months and months ago, as a first step in the direction we wanted to take this wall. I won't even pretend to give you the tutorial on that project. It was all hubby and his handyman brain. I think I held the tape measure once though.

We had dreams of installing picture frame molding underneath but we knew that project would take forever to finish because of my husband's work schedule. So we nixed it until we found these little beauties...
Ready-to-go molding! We priced out this molding style and the ready-made was a much more cost-effective option. This kind came from Lowe's. Here's a close-up so you can copy-cat if you'd like.

A laser level on a tripod made keeping everything in line a much easier task.
I'm sure there are very specific tools that should probably be used with these, but we're ~~cheap~~ frugal. So we used nails that were actually meant for a nail gun that we had on hand. You have to use very thin nails with this project or you'll damage the molding.
Can you just imagine the patience my husband has to let me stop him mid-project to take pictures of him doing this?
We (and by we I mean my husband) used a regular hammer to secure them into the molding and wall, but then used a punch to countersink the nails into the frames. It makes a big difference in the finished product.
Five frames later, it was getting much better. I would imagine the frames can be cut, but we purposely spaced ours out to account for outlets. And, no, we didn't paint the molding beforehand. They match! Who cares?!
A few botanical prints and clearanced-out matted frames and...

SO much better. I almost breathe better when I walk through this room (which is all day, every day). Marking a gigantic project like this off of our lists is a big relief!
What's on your to-do list?

Linking to:
Sew Much Ado...Sumo's Sweet Stuff...Today's Creative Blog...Skip to My Lou...Tip Junkie...Someday Crafts...Beyond the Picket Fence...Creations by Kara...Tatertots & Jello...Remodelaholic...Thrifty Decor Chick...

An "Apple" Issue

2011-01-17T05:16:00.000-08:00

My sweet friend Cassie recently wrote about what they call apple issues in their house. It made perfect sense to me and I love it so I'm going to start using that phrase for our family.

Simply put, an apple issue is when a kid acts like their parent...as in the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Remember my personal fight with perfectionism? Turns out, I'm not the only one in this house...I think we might have an apple issue on our hands.
Noticing a pattern here?

What's your family's apple issue?

Breakfast in 4...

2011-01-12T07:49:00.000-08:00

Why did it take me so long to discover corn grits?!

Graceful Living

2011-01-10T07:34:00.000-08:00

I need more of this...

For myself and for others. My very patient husband will tell you I can be a perfectionist. When I do mess up (often), I usually allow it haunt me again and again.

Conscious living, intentional living is what we're called to, not a breathless, people-pleasing way of life. We're imperfect beings who need grace.

I crave grace. After a mess-up, I find myself internally cowering, curled up in the corner of my mind, waiting for the brow beating that never comes. The wonderful, God-loving community I'm immersed in has taught me so much about grace.

I spent the week working on this project in our church's youth room. You can imagine how much perfectionism was coursing through my veins during this little gem.

Every word required 3-6 coats with the tiniest of paintbrushes. Stroke after stroke for each word.

Pray...Pray...Pray...
Faithfulness...Faithfulness...Faithfulness...
Jesus...Jesus...Jesus...Jesus...Jesus...Jesus...

The words are meant to be an encouragement to our teens. As the adult leaders, we hope and pray that the words will speak into their lives and draw them closer to their Creator. But writing each of those words on the wall, over and over (and over) again, was a blessing to me. I need grace, Jesus, faithfulness, worship, righteousness written on the wall of my heart over and over (and over) again.

Perfection is my enemy. Graceful living is my goal. I want to live today intentionally, offering heaping handfuls of grace to everyone around me.

Will you join me?

Your 2010 Faves...

2011-01-04T13:14:00.000-08:00

What a fun year it has been learning, growing and meeting many of you! When I started this blog less than a year ago, I didn't know what to expect. You have by far exceeded my expectations for this little hobby of mine. I love sharing ideas and learning from each of you through your comments, links and by reading your blogs.

THANK YOU!

Thank you for sticking around, for sharing this site with others and for encouraging me along the way. You all are wonderful!

2010 brought some fun projects! According to my content analysis, here are your top five favorite posts of the year:

1. Serving Tray to Magazine Rack
2. Rosette Lamp Redo

3. Butterfly Wall Collage

4. TV console

5. Spray Painting Pottery

I also want to say THANK YOU to these ladies, who were my top five referrers for the year. It was such a blessing to get to know and learn from you! Thank you for being so welcoming!

Tatertots & Jello
Thrifty Decor Chick
In the Fun Lane
CSI Project
Skip to My Lou

I'm looking forward to a fun 2011! I hope you'll join me!

My House in Christmas Aftermath...

2011-01-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

We've officially escorted Christmas back to the attic. We had a {mini} New Year's Eve party last night and I just couldn't bring myself to not be surrounded by twinkle lights and glitter for one more evening. Now that's it all tucked away, I've realized there are a lot of blank walls and table tops in this house. We've lived here for a while, but when you're decorating one garage sale at a time, it can take some time. Time to get back to thrifting, I guess!

Our Christmas was absolutely wonderful and filled with lots and lots of family, laughter and games. We were spoiled rotten as usual by our generous family and friends. What a blessing community is.

As I walk around my house today, the sweet aftermath of Christmas has kept me smiling...

New toys

New reads from my hubby
New living room lovelies
New equipment for my son's sports obsession

New Year's Eve baklava leftovers
2011 has me smiling.

What does your Christmas aftermath look like?

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T04:14:00.000-08:00

Today we celebrate the birth of the Savior. A Savior who chose.

Chose to be born into a family of little means, in a stable full of manure and bellowing animals, to live a life often filled with pain and insult, and endure an unthinkable death.

He chose because he loves me. He chose because he loves you. What an incredible gift.

Rejoice! Merry Christmas!

How do you juice this fruit??

2010-12-21T07:29:00.000-08:00

My child adores pomegranates but I have yet to find an easy way to juice this fruit! Any suggestions?

The Perfect Party Appetizer

2010-12-18T06:27:00.000-08:00

If you peeked into my recipes binder, you'd see that this one is well-worn. It's my go-to dish for parties and makes a great appetizer. There aren't any holiday-specific seasonings or flavors, but I almost always make this on Christmas Eve. It's hearty enough that the many boys in our family love it, but light and flaky enough to draw in the gals as well.
Sausage Crescent Loaves
2 cans crescent rolls
1 lb. reduced fat sausage
1- 8oz brick of low-fat cream cheese, softened
1 egg white

You'll see in all of my pictures that I doubled the recipe. It feeds a crowd, but always goes fast so I make a lot!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown the sausage and drain. Add warm sausage to medium-large bowl and stir in cream cheese until melted and combined. Of course, if you're like me, you never remember to soften the cream cheese. In that case, leave the sausage in the pan and add the (very cold) cream cheese. This way you can bump the heat on (but keep it on low!) if you need to to give the cream cheese a boost in the melting process.

Eventually, you'll have this. Let it cool completely before you start the next step. I usually put some plastic wrap over top and stick it in the fridge to speed things along.

Spray a cookie sheet and unroll both cans of crescent rolls out flat. Push any seams together that separate. Spread half of the sausage cream cheese mixture the length of each crescent roll sheet. Now fold the crescent rolls sides over on top of itself and the sausage mixture. Press down to seal the edges.

Now, when I say use half of the mixture, I can tell you from experience that it's important. But when you're doubling the recipe, it's harder to eyeball equal amounts.

So you end up with half of your loaves overstuffed...

And half of them pitifully thin...

Even if this happens to you, don't fret. All four of these loaves were gone in a flash - skinny and overstuffed alike. To prevent a mishap like mine though, I highly recommend not closing up your crescent loaves until you've equally separated out the sausage mixture for each loaf.

To add a yummy crispness, brush on some egg whites.

Pop them in the oven for 20 minutes and you'll have these lovelies...

Slice them into 1 1/2" slices. You've got a hearty appetizer, finger food, or party dish that feeds and pleases a crowd.

Enjoy! What's your go-to party recipe?

Linking to:

Remodelaholic ...

Christmas at our place

2010-12-14T13:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas decorating is very low-key at our place this year. I'm not a santa-decoration-on-every-shelf kind of girl, but I still like home to feel festive. Even still, I've noticed there's less decoration around here than normal. Most decorations just felt like clutter this year, for some reason. I've noticed a lot of other bloggers saying the same thing. Can you relate?

Here's a peek at what we are enjoying this year at our place...

My son and I made this Elmo ornament together using Kojo Design's great tutorial. Thanks for the idea, Kojo! He loves seeing Elmo on the tree!

Easy peasy centerpiece I used for a Christmas dinner we hosted, using ornaments from last year's after-Christmas sales.

I know most of the commercialized use of Believe around Christmas is talking about Santa and all the fun that surrounds that part of Christmas, but for me, I love having this hanging in the center of our living room from our tv console, because it reminds me of my belief in Jesus Christ. He's the central focus of Christmas for us, for always.

So what about you? Did you go all out this year, or did you simplify your decorating traditions?

Linking to:

Kelly's Korner

Christmas Tour of Homes - The Nester

Tiered Tote Bag with Rosette Embellishment

2010-12-08T14:14:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite Christmas gifts I've made this year is the Tiered Tote Bag. It turned out so stinkin' cute that I had a moment of weakness when I almost considered keeping it for myself. Alas, I love the aunt I created it for, so off it went. At least I'll get to visit it every year. :) To make one for yourself (and I highly recommend you do!), you'll need:

1 canvas tote bag - I got mine at Hobby Lobby for $1.99
fabric for ruffles - 5 strips, cut to 5 1/2" wide, and bolt length (no trimming needed)
contrasting fabric for rosette
clasp/pin to attach rosette to bag
hot glue

First, you'll need to serge all the edges of the 5 strips. If you don't have a serger, don't despair. Simply fold under all the edges 1/4", twice, and sew a straight stitch, locking your threads by backstitching when you start and stop. If you've used a serger, now take one strip and fold under both long sides 1/4" once and sew a straight stich, backstitching at beginning and end to lock threads (If you didn't use a serger, you've already done this! woo hoo!). Now take the remaining four strips and repeat, but only on one long side of each strip.

Now you've got 5 strips, all with serged (or folded under seams) edges. Four of the strips have one long side folded under and one long serged edge. One of the strips has two long sides folded under. Got it? K. Now we ruffle.

There are a lot of ways to do this. Some prefer gathering the fabric by sewing two wide running stitches and pulling one of the threads. It's a lot better way to create ruffles because you can control and adjust the length of your fabric and density of the ruffles...but I personally despise that method. It takes up too much of my time and the thread inevitably breaks. I dream of owning a ruffle foot attachment for my sewing machine, but until then, I just ruffle the wrong way. It drives my mother crazy because she's a real seamstress. The kind that does it all correctly and measures it all out. She's also the one that gets me out of the sewing jams I inevitably get into because of my aforementioned lack of measuring and doing things the wrong way. (Love you, Mom!)

If you're ~~lazy~~ like me, gather your fabric underneath your presser foot and sew on top of the gathers, very slowly. You'll do this along the serged edge of four of the strips of fabric, and one of the folded under edges of the remaining strip.

The strip with both long edges folded under will be your top tier. Line this strip up with the opening of the bag and pin in place. Sew a seam 1/4" from the opening of the bag, backstitching at beginning and end to lock threads. Be sure to line up the ends of your fabric at one of the bag's side seams. It will help create a more professional look.

Where your fabric ends meet, tuck under the edge of one end. You'll sew these two ends together and it will help hide the seam.

You can do this step now, or wait to do all five layers at one time. See where my finger is separating the fabric? That's the two ends that make up the side seam in the picture above. Pull the fabric away from the tote bag and sew the ends together to make one continuous ruffle. Backstitch!

Now you move on to the next tier. Pin it in place so that its top serged edge will be covered by the first tier. You should measure. I did not. You'll see how that worked out for me in a minute.

Be careful not to catch other parts of the tote bag in this seam. This gets a little trickier with each subsequent tier.

Repeat until all five tiers are sewn in place and your side seams are sewn together so that you've got five separate continuous ruffles.

This is my bag, flipped inside out. See how my seams look so pretty when I'm close up?

But here's the ugly truth... Like I said, measure! The beauty of this bag though, is that even sloppy imperfections (as illustrated below) aren't visible. My kind of project!

The bag is super cute by this point, but it could really use a little pop! I've made rosettes before, but I wanted something a little different, something a little fuller than the typical rosette. Emily has a template on her blog for this rosette that you can print out and use as a pattern for your "petals." Trace the template onto your fabric (I used cotton) and cut out a zillion of them. Fold each one in half once, then again so that each petal is in fourths. Hot glue each petal onto a circle of coordinating fabric. The back of your flower will look like this:

Now hot glue a clasp or pin to that circle backing.

And now you've got one of my favorite rosette styles ever!

Since it's pinned to the tote bag, it can be removed for washing, or stolen to accesorize an outfit when you just need a little something extra.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Please let me know if you make one for yourself! I'd love to see!

Linking to:

CSI Project ... Tatertots & Jello - Holly Bloggy Christmas Party ... Skip to My Lou ... Creative Itch ... Vintage Pollyanna ... Sumo's Sweet Stuff ... Sew Chatty ... The Girl Creative ... Sugar Bee ... Today's Creative Blog ... Hope Studios ... New Nostalgia ... Tip Junkie ... Beyond the Picket Fence ...

Rosettes Galore...I'm Back!

2010-12-06T14:08:00.000-08:00

My wonderful husband fixed my trusty old desktop computer today since the old hard drive went kaput. Thankfully, we didn't lose much information, but my beloved Adobe Suite is gone, as are my fonts and (gasp!!) my 100+ bookmarks to sites with projects on my to-do list. I'm still adjusting to editing photos without Photoshop. Can you recommend a great (free) photo editing software? What do you use?

Even though my blog has been a little vacant over the last few days, my project list has been full! I've sewn tiered tote bags, made personalized photo necklaces, thrown a surprise baby shower for a friend and made a million of the wonderful little rosettes pictured above. They've been my go-to for decorating gift wrap (see first picture), as a whimsy addition to presents and as general decor for parties.

They are simple to make, albeit a little time consuming, and very versatile. Today I'll share a tutorial for my version of a basic rosette, and end with a rosette garland how-to. Enjoy!

Choose your fabric. Knits work great, because they seem to give the flowers some bounce. I used plain, cheap cotton for these rosettes. Find a template for your circle. I wanted small, dainty rosettes so I used a thread spool as a guide. I've also made very large ones for other projects so any size will work.

Trace and cut out. I used fabric pencil here so it would easily rub off if I missed a spot. Pen works great as well, just be sure to cut off all the markings. They'll be readily visible with this project.

Now you've got circles. Cut out a ton. I'm serious. You'll be surprised how many you'll go through.

Take one circle and fold it in half once.

One more time. Now it's in fourths.

This is the part that's a personal opinion. I use needle and thread. I like it better. I think it offers a more secure hold. However, I know some crafters are all about the hot glue. If that's easier for you, it should work just fine, you'll just need to add another step.

If you're using needle and thread, knot one end and do a simple stitch, pushing the needle through all four layers (at the base of the fold, or the point of the folded circle) and back a few times. I found it easiest to not cut my threads after one layer. Instead, I would stitch one circle, then push my needle through all four layers of the next folded circle, slide that circle into position next to the first folded circle, and repeat the stitching process. After the last circle is secured, I knotted off my thread and cut the excess.

To create this layered look, I used four circles each, sewing the first two folded circles side by side, so that the long folds were butting up to each other. (Not making sense? OK, put your hands out in front of you, palms up. Imagine each hand is a folded circle. Your fingertips are the ruffly part, your wrist is the point of the fold. Place your hands together so that only your pinkies and wrists are touching, but your hands aren't overlapping. K. Did that make better sense?) For the last two circles, I sandwiched the first two, and aligned all four points of the fabric. So now you've got two "petals" side by side, a third centered in the front, and a fourth centered in the back. Now click on my contact button at the top to send me hate mail about how confusing those directions were.

If you're hot gluing, you'll need to cut out circles so that you can glue all of your "petals" in place. Keep in mind that more than four petals makes for a fluffier, fuller rosette. Add as many as you want until it looks like what you had envisioned.

Since I was hosting a red, yellow and brown themed baby shower last week, I took these rosettes and turned them into a garland.

To create a rosette garland, cut out squares from any fabric. I chose flannel because it was sturdier than cotton, and I had some on hand.

Hot glue the flannel square to the back of each rosette.

Then hot glue the rosettes to a coordinating ribbon at measured intervals. I chose 5" spacing and 3/8" ribbon.

And a rosette garland you'll have...

The mommy-to-be can use it as nursery decor, and we used this as a table rubber around the cake and buffet plates at the shower.

I'm so glad to be back! Thanks for sticking around. Watch for more tutorials coming up!

So, any *free* photo editing software you recommend?

Linking to:

Skip to My Lou ... The Girl Creative ... Sumo's Sweet Stuff ... Sew Chatty ... Sew Can Do ... Sugar Bee ... DIY Show Off ... Miss Crafty Pants ... Heather Lynn ... Hope Studios ... Today's Creative Blog ... Vintage Pollyanna ... New Nostalgia ... The Creative Itch ... My Delicious Ambiguity ... Blue Cricket Design ... Sew Much Ado ... From the Heart ... The Thrifty Home ... My Backyard Eden ... Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom ... Momnivore's Dilemma ... Fireflies and Jelly Beans ... Shabby Chic Cottage ... Somewhat Simple ...

5 Reasons & a PSA

2010-11-28T13:14:00.000-08:00

In order of their relation to why I haven't blogged in 10 stinkin' days.

1. A computer crash.
2. A computer crash that took my beloved Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator down with it.
3. A house full of family.
4. An inbox full of deadlines.
5. A list of hand-made presents to finish.

I'm still here. I've been giving my computer hard drive dirty looks every time I walk past it. It still won't work. Apparently I am no match for technology. Another hard drive ($50) is on order, but another round of Adobe ($300+) isn't. That is so painful!! I love my Photoshop and Illustrator!!! (may it rest in peace)

Until then, I'm making do with my husband's old work laptop. (Hence no pictures)

I'll be back. And soon! I can't wait to show you the tiered tote bag, rosettes, handmade warming pillow, and personalized necklaces I've made recently!! Until then, here's a public service announcement for you:

BACK UP YOUR HARD DRIVE!!

Upcycling Halloween Candy

2010-11-18T13:22:00.000-08:00

I've already admitted I'm not a Halloween fan. But remember how candy was one of its redeeming factors? It most certainly is. And I stand by my claim. But I'm also noticing there's a little too much of it hanging out in my pantry. Maybe you can relate?

I also noticed that my name was next to "dessert" in the email sign-up for our weekly potluck dinner with friends. Perfect timing, perfect combination.

Halloween candy galore

+ not wanting to go to the grocery store again

= this heavenly concoction

But it's not all saturated fats and hydrogenated oils around here. You already know about my sneaky recipes, so this one should come as no surprise. Have you been hearing the buzz about Black Bean Brownies? I have. And I just did not believe it. It seemed a little too good to be true, in my opinion. But this Halloween Leftovers Trifle calls for brownies, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to test it out.

The basic idea is that you drain and rinse a can of black beans, then fill the can (with beans in it) with water, then puree it all. Then you add the puree to the brownie mix instead of the traditional ingredients that go along with it. No oil. No eggs. No nothing. Just brownie mix and beans. Sounds absolutely disgusting, doesn't it?

I wish I had a picture of my facial expression as I poured pureed black beans into my beautiful, chocolatey brownie mix.

The results?
Not too bad, actually. They are super dense, and not quite as chocolately as the real thing. But all in all, I'd make them again. Hey, a brownie packed with fiber and protein that doesn't tempt me every time I pass by? Sounds like a winner to me.

Which leads me to the reason the brownies are here...and a recipe that will tempt you every time you open the fridge.

Halloween Leftovers Trifle

1 brownie recipe, prepared

1 pkg instant chocolate pudding (6 serving size)

16 oz frozen whipped topping

1 1/2 C milk

Candy bars, crushed

Chocolate syrup, for garnish

Prepare brownie mix and bake according to package directions in a 13x9 pan. Cool and crumble.

Prepare chocolate pudding mix according to package directions, omitting half of the milk. Let cool, then fold in 8 oz of the whipped topping.

Layer brownies, chocolate pudding, crushed candy bars, whipped topping.

Repeat, finishing with whipped topping. Garnish with crushed candy bars, and chocolate syrup.

Chill 8 hours.

If you can keep your hands off of it for 8 hours, you'll have this:

Not a bad way to use up leftover Halloween candy, huh? I can't wait to see the reactions from our friends after they realize they just devoured a dessert filled with black beans. Have you tried these sneaky brownies yet?

Christmas Cookies...It's Time

2010-11-13T11:05:00.000-08:00

One of my recent assignments in my day job as a writer was to compile a list of cookie recipes, take pictures of the results and try not to gain 15 pounds. Easier said than done, I might add. It seemed like a no-brainer until I realized I had missed a word in the article description...Christmas. Christmas cookies?? In November?!

Thankfully, there are a lot of gals out there with their brains already in December who were willing to share their tucked away family treasures with me. It made me try some recipes I never would have otherwise. And a few that I will never try again...see Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies above. They are evil. I think I made 4 dozen of those things and the above pictured cookie is the only one that was photo-worthy.

As I was popping baking sheet, after baking sheet of cookie dough into the oven, I started realizing that in a month and a half, I would be doing the exact same thing all over again. All of that work. All of that time. All of that money spent on ingredients.

If only there were a way to make them last until December...

My initial thought was vacuum bagging. But (1) I don't have a vacuum sealer and (2) I didn't want to crush the delicate cookies I had just ~~invested hours of my life in~~ made. So I improvised.

To vacuum seal without vacuuming (make sense?), all you need is a zip-top baggie and a regular ol' straw. I put the cookies in gallon-sized bags and then sealed them all the way except for just enough room to insert a drinking straw.

Then I sucked as much air as I could out of the bags, quickly removed the straw and sealed the zip-top. The result is "vacuum-sealed" cookies that aren't crushed.Now I've got 3 gigantic batches of cookies pre-made and ready to go for the holidays. No stressing over holiday baking for me this year. Do you plan to join the November Christmas cookie bandwagon, too?

What's that?... You saw FOUR different types of cookies pictured and only THREE types remain in my freezer? You do the math...

Texas, Our Texas

2010-11-09T14:26:00.000-08:00

It seems that all we've been doing lately is traveling. It has been a beautiful gift for us since all of the traveling we typically do is for work or holiday trips to see family. We've been cross-country traveling, thanks to the generosity of some close friends and their extra time share points, and have had the privilege to see parts of the country we had never seen before. It has been absolutely breathtaking. But every plane ride home, when we glide over those wide open spaces that are Texas, I can't help but feel at home.
This is a "pump jack" for you non-Texans. Oil and cotton...if there were a cow in this picture, it would be a portrait of what pays for 99% of our state economy. You know in movies when they talk about riding off into the sunset? They're talking about Texas...

The greatest part about this picture to me is that when I look at it, even though it is stunning, I realize it is one of the least vivid sunsets we have around here. God really shows off around here come dusk.

I remember as a little girl, riding my horse to the local country store to get candy, or to visit a neighbor. I remember playing hide and seek with the new foals in the barn, and having a goat actually eat my homework. It wasn't always like that, and many of my friends never owned livestock. But for me, the childhood memories this state has allowed me are ones I revisit when the rush hour traffic, parking lots and busy schedules begin to suffocate me.

It's not the only great state. It's not a perfect state. But it's my state. And I'm thankful to call it home.

Candy Corn Ruffle Bottoms

2010-11-01T06:09:00.000-07:00

Halloween is over! I mean, ahem, Awww, man! Halloween is over already? Bummer.

I didn't hide my excitement very well, did I? I've already admitted that I'm not a Halloween fan. There is one giant redeeming factor about the holiday, however. Candy corn. Candy corn. Candy corn! I may have eaten a bag of it by myself in the last week or two. But my favorite kind of candy corn is this little number...

Candy Corn Ruffle Bottoms...

I took the fastest, sloppiest pictures ever for these. I had a lunch date with a precious little one month old Haper Jane who was receiving these little candy corn ruffle bottoms as a gift. And I was late! Imagine that...

To make the bloomers, I used Dana's diaper cover pattern found here and added ruffles to the backside. Her pattern was easy to follow and her sizing was spot-on. I used the 0-3 month pattern and it fit perfectly. The top cream ruffle was leftover from this project. The orange and yellow ruffles I made by pleating the fabric underneath my presser foot as I sewed. I hemmed the edges by folding under 1/4", twice.

Not wanting to sew your own? Ivy&Mae sells a similar version here.

OK, I'm not a 100% Halloween hater. I love the community that develops because of all the trick-or-treating. Texas is so wonderful. Even on Halloween the weather was warm enough that we could all sit out in our driveways, wear shorts and t-shirts, and enjoy chatting with each other while we greeted the costumed kiddos.

I was glad I had read this post before the doorbell started ringing, though. It was a good reminder of what an opportunity Halloween is to be a blessing, instead of my first thought which was to turn the porch light off and watch the Rangers! (Texas in the World Series??! Yes, please!)

And just for kicks (and to further prove I'm not a Halloween hater). Here's some fun spooky decor we've enjoyed recently.

I hope everyone's November is off to a great start!

Halloween is coming...

2010-10-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

I'm not a huge Halloween fan. If it weren't for my child looking absolutely ADORABLE in his costume every year, and if a pound of free chocolate didn't end up at my house as a result, I probably could forgo the event all together.

I don't do scary movies. I won't even listen to ghost stories around a camp fire. But my sweet friend Jessica decided to host a Halloween murder mystery dinner at her house, and I had to say yes. Because that girl knows how to throw a party!

Her entire house was decorated for the event, including swapping out the lights in her kitchen for purple and orange bulbs to give the room an eery glow. Candles were everywhere (some real, and some LED...which led to a few fire mishaps. ouch!), fake skulls and spider webs were on every table, and spooky old movies were playing in the background. She even created a fake crime scene in her sun room to go along with the story.

My favorite part though was the food. You'll have to excuse some really poor quality pictures because it was so dark that I had to use my flash. She is so creative!

Mummy Dogs dipped in Blood...
Punch that glowed...

I will not own up to how many of these chocolate spiders I ate...(Oreos dipped in chocolate, with pretzels as legs and peanut butter M&Ms as eyes)

Bat Wings and Bloody Witch Fingers (chicken wings)

Vampire Eyeballs (mozarella balls...but they were so slimy it was creepy!!)

I didn't open with this picture because, well, you wouldn't have kept reading.

Creepy mantle. Purple twinkle lights were on every surface and made the place very eery!

And, of course, candied apples. I love the raffia!

And I'm happy to say that my character was not the "murderer" in the story! Whew!

We had so much fun together, dressing up and laughing almost nonstop that we plan to take turns hosting one at every holiday. I think I'm up next for Christmas. I don't think it will be possible to top Jessica's ideas!

Have you every hosted a murder mystery dinner? Any ideas for my Christmas-themed one coming up?

You stay classy, 1986...

2010-10-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

We had a garage sale earlier this month and while setting up for it, I ran across my childhood stash of jewelry. The 80s and 90s...what were we thinking, folks?!

I took a picture so you could mock my penchant for hearts, stars, and bright metallics. Feel free to enlarge the picture. I even created a little map so you'd know where outside of my house I wore these "lovely" pieces...

The snow slopes of New Mexico, baby. And I got MULTIPLE compliments on them.

Wow. My mother let me out of the house wearing these???!!

And what's a conversation about 1980s fashion without gigantic magenta studs?

Make fun all you want...these were the hot ticket item at the sale. And I can't wait to see them on folks around town!! Any old jewelry in your drawers?

Why it was worth it...

2010-10-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

I received a precious gift today...

Remember when I made this banner for my friend Chris and the preschool that he's running in Nicaragua? He sent me this picture today. I can't believe he took the time to do that...but I really can't believe he got all of those beautiful smiling faces to look at the camera and be still!

I keep searching these precious faces through tears. Smiles where there were none. Bellies that don't ache. Minds that are learning.

Great is His faithfulness.

Table Decorating (x 50!)

2010-10-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

We recently celebrated our annual Ladies Brunch at our church. It is a wonderful afternoon, filled with great food prepared and served by our well-dressed husbands, uncles, sons and guy-friends. We eat, gab, and hear an inspired word from a woman of God. But the highlight (at least for me!) is all of the incredibly unique table decorations that fill the room. Each table is purchased by separate women or groups of women and decorated any way they like. Each year is different and fun!

In between all of my mingling and gabbing I managed to get a few pictures. Sorry if they're a little blurry or not as close up as you'd like. I was too busy having fun!

Our table's theme was vintage treasures. Remember when I showed you this picture here? One of my decorating partners in crime had incredibly beautiful goldware and china that absolutely made the table. I made the place cards in Illustrator and printed them off on regular ol' copy paper. At the end of the afternoon, our guests got to take home the flower brooches as favors.

The treasure chests are pieces my husband and I have picked up on our honeymoon and other trips we've taken together.

I designed (in Illustrator) little placards that read "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" from Matthew 6:21 to place around the table. We filled each chest and sprinkled the table with items that represented the treasures we have in our lives (like the baby rattle my friend Micah chose below).

My treasure chest was filled with a sonogram of my son.

Vintage love letters, wooden toys, black and white family photos and lots and lots of jewelry filled the rest of the table. We had fun decorating our table - especially in a way that meant so much to all of us who were seated there!

Want some more ideas? Here are just a few of my favorites from the afternoon. Hope they inspire you!

My friend Jessica came up with this apple harvest table idea. I L.O.V.E. it!

Everything animal print!

Christmas is coming! Ornaments and greenery on each plate. So cute.

Remember this is Texas, y'all! A bluebonnet table with seeds as favors for guests.

Cupcake table! Such a great idea. A garden pot painted pink and filled with fabric. The best part of being seated at this table was that the hostess brought cupcakes for everyone! See the adorable cherries on each glass?!

Do you see what makes this fish-themed table so special?

REAL fish swimming in trifle dishes!

My friend Jan even tinted the water blue! Such a great idea.

Black and lime green always looks great.

Military sisters!

An easy-to-replicate centerpiece with feathers, votives and scrapbook paper-filled frames.

Harvest time!

This was an absolutely stunning table. We were seated behind it though, so once the speaker took the stage we had to sheepishly ask them to disassemble it. It was tall!

I hope you found some inspiration along the way!

What do you think? Did you see any ideas you want to copycat? I'd love to see if you tackle any of these ideas! Happy table decorating!

Linking to these lovely ladies:

Making the World Cuter...Skip to My Lou...Today's Creative Blog...

Chocolate Makes Me Healthy

2010-10-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

That's the only logical conclusion to draw from this picture.

{Excuse the sloppy picture. There was chocolate involved. I couldn't dilly dally.}

When I eat frosted chocolate brownies, I have to have strawberries on top.

See?

chocolate + strawberries = healthy

Makes perfect sense to me.

Singed Flower Tutorial

2010-10-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

I'm in love with my golden flower brooch. The possibilities are endless. I've worn them on my shoes (see above), my jacket... My belt... (this skirt was one of my very first sewing projects a few years ago...*sweet memories*)

Made them into hair accessories...

What is my obsession with red shoes??

I even made a precious little girl's headband using leftover fabric from this project.

I've made them in varying sizes.

I just can't get enough of them.

To make your own you'll need:

polysatin fabric

tulle

coordinating thread

needle

scissors

votive candle

coordinating beads

clasp for securing (jewelry pin, bobby pin, elastic)
sewing pin(s)

foil

big ol' cup of water

Create your work space by lining the area with foil. This safeguards against any mishaps. Also keep a large container of water within arm's reach. I used this several times (not to put out any fires, but to toss my burning matches in). Can I just say pretty, pretty, pretty please be careful. Don't do this when kids are around. Don't do this if you can't chew gum and walk at the same time. Don't do this if you at all think you might burn your fingers off. For goodness sake, please be careful! {And don't say I didn't warn ya, if you do burn your fingers off! (But please, don't burn your fingers off...)}

To start with, cut imperfect circles in varying sizes. I started with my pin holder as a guide. For reference, the largest petal on my largest flower brooch is bigger than this:

Using a votive candle, oh-so-carefully singe the edges. You'll see the tiny loose threads disappear and melt, and the edges will curl.

You'll need to turn your fabric over to get the desired curl. After my edges were singed, I turned my fabric over and put the flame about 1/4 inch in. This helped make a more petal-like curl.

Don't try this at home...

Do this with varying sizes of fabric and layer about 10-15 pieces on top of each other. Then cut out 3-4 pieces of tulle to match the varying sizes of your petals. I like to put one in front of the largest petal, one in the middle, and one on the very top. It softens up the look and adds more texture. {Don't singe tulle!}

Then, to secure it all together, use a sewing pin and catch all layers, including your tulle. It will look like this:

Thread your needle, knot one end, and start from the bottom. Go all the way through the layers, pulling taught, then back through near where your needle's entry point was. Do this 3 or 4 times before you take out the pin.

Secure underneath the bottom layer with a knot for extra stability. Without cutting your thread, make one more pass, through all the layers, to the top again. This time, thread your needle through a bead or decorative item of your choice, and pass the needle back through all layers until the needle and thread are taught under bottom layer. Knot. Repeat if desired with additional beads.

For my large and medium sized flowers, I like the look of three beads best. For my smallest ones, I use only one.

To add a clasp or elastic or bobby pin, pass your needle through only the bottom layer of fabric. Secure the clasp.

See how I didn't take the needle and thread to the top while adding the clasp? Only the last layer is necessary, and it allows all of those wide stitches to remain hidden.

Follow the same pattern for almost all clasps. The key to stability is lots of stitches.

You made it to the end of this tutorial?! Wow, you deserve an extra reward. Here's a sneak peek at one of my very favorite uses of the singed flower, that I'll be highlighting later this week...

I helped decorate at a Ladies' Brunch and I've got table decorating ideas (with pictures!) like you wouldn't believe! Come back soon!

Linking to these lovely ladies:
Today's Creative Blog .. It's a Blog Party .. Topsy Turvy .. The Creative Itch .. Skip to My Lou...Kojo Designs...Tatertots & Jello...

Thank You & A Giveaway

2010-09-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog in March, I could not have imagined what a blessing it would be in my life. It has introduced me to wonderful, talented people (you!) and spurred me on to create... Create new living room furnishings from garage sale finds, create new recipes...just create. I've learned new ways to integrate my faith into my hobbies, discovered how spray paint can cover just about anything, and dreamt about new projects (last night it was painting over tile). If you weren't here, reading this, I'm not sure I would have discovered just how much I love to sew, the powers of spray paint or the realization that I really need to have a baby girl so I can have a place to put all of those ruffles I keep making.

So to keep my promise, and to thank you wonderful "followers" for surpassing my expectations...a giveaway.
The first prize/present/lovely is a set of Thank You cards (appropriate, don't ya think?) from my shop For Keeps Design. They are beautiful by themselves, but they're extra special because they were originally paired with invites that were designed at the requests of Melissa Rycroft and Tye Strickland for their rehearsal dinner. My business partner and I about fell out of our chairs when we found out that we had the opportunity to design for a celebrity wedding. It was a fun experience.

{Our shop, For Keeps Design, has closed due to the [surprise!] arrival of twins for my business partner...but our website, our beautiful website, is for sale for a ridiculously cheap price. If you're interested in owning a customizable retail site with X-Cart back office software, send me an email: restorativeliving (at) gmail (dot) com}

The lucky follower (chosen by random.org) who will receive this lovely set of Thank You's is:

The Homesteading Apartment

And another little lovely, just because you've all blown me away with your sweet comments.

I've promised a tutorial, and a tutorial you shall have. Watch for that this week.
The winner of the golden flower brooch is:

Christy B.

I can't thank you all enough for sticking around, encouraging me, and leaving such sweet words. What a gift each of you are!

It obviously pays to be a follower! If you haven't clicked "follow" in the left sidebar, now would be a good time to join! You never know when another giveaway might happen!

{I've sent the winners a message. If I don't hear back within 72 hours, I'll choose another precious follower}

Mystery Tutorial

2010-09-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what I've been up to the last few days?...

Tutorial to follow. Stay tuned!

And there might be a giveaway in your future...now would be a good time to become a "follower" in the left-hand sidebar...wink*wink*

Homemade Oreos

2010-09-18T07:44:00.000-07:00

Did you just do what I did the first time I saw the title "Homemade Oreos"??! Because the first time I saw it, I about leaped out of my chair to start baking them. Bake at 350 posted the step-by-step for these and I had to make them. She had me at Oreo.

They really were pretty simple to make, just time consuming because of all the cookie cutting. And of course, the day I chose to make them was also the day I had a ridiculous work deadline and 16 people coming over to my house for dinner. Wouldn't Oreos have been your top priority, too?

The first bite I took, I thought to myself...these kind of remind of Oreos. Which is a good thing because, well, they're called Homemade Oreos.

I'm not saying I'm giving up on the store-bought kind yet...let's not get too crazy here.

But these were pretty stinkin' good.

Thanks to Jen & all of you TT& J readers!

2010-09-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited to be guest posting over at Tatertots & Jello today! Jen's blog was one of the very first I started following and I've loved learning from her. She has been welcoming and inspiring and I'm thankful to have her as a blog-buddy.

If this is your first time here, I'm glad you've stopped by! You can browse through topics using the sidebar to the right, but here are some highlights to get you started...

$5 Sewing Room Redo

No-diapers-allowed Bag

Butterfly Wall Collage

Cilantro Lime Rice

Infant Tie Tutorial

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Healthy Eating Tips for Kiddos

Spray Painting Pottery

Thanks for coming by! I hope you'll stay awhile and look around. I'm glad you're here!

Placemat Pillows in 15 Minutes

2010-09-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

I'm loving my new placemats...er...pillows...my new placemat pillows? I'm not sure what to call them, but I'm diggin' my new easy-peasy (and cheap!) placemat-pillows in our front room.

I ran across the idea while skimming through my blogroll a few days ago. A blog feature on this great and quick tutorial explained how to turn placemats into pillows. The yellow placemats used in the tutorial caught my eye and I made a mental note to keep that option in the back of my mind.

Then as I was strolling through Target this week, I saw (squeal!) the exact same yellow placemat. It was $3.99 so I just had to give her tutorial a test run.

From start to finish, this took me maybe 15 minutes per placemat...or is it pillow... And that's while playing ball and building block towers with a toddler at the same time.

There are only three steps.

1. Rip out a few stitches from one side of the placemat. I only ripped out just enough to get my hand through the opening
2. Fill the placemat with poly-fil. Be sure to push it all the way into the corners.
3. Close the opening. I used my sewing machine and did a basic stitch (back stitching at the beginning and end), but the original tutorial's author used hot glue.

And that's it!

I've ruined you haven't I? No placemat is safe now!

Alphabet Pennant Banner

2010-09-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

Until a few weeks ago I hadn't thought about Nicaragua. I knew there was pain there, poverty, malnourishment, and a lack of education, but I wasn't doing anything about it. Our friend, Chris, however, is doing something. He started championing an organization that provides meals to families and runs a preschool within an impoverished Nicaraguan community. He traveled there, got involved and has now moved there to dedicate 9 months of his life to this cause.

The organization's preschool, with limited resources, is changing the community. Students who attend receive a meal (likely the only meal they'll eat that day), start their education, and learn about God. As I listened to his story, I thought about my Texas friends who had just prepared their classrooms. I remembered their cute bulletin boards and curriculum ideas, and the joy that a well-organized and decorated classroom brought them. I couldn't help but think that the teachers of this Nicaraguan preschool would feel the same joy in adding functional decoration to their classroom as well.

Whether or not God needs me to make an alphabet pennant banner for this preschool in Nicaragua, who knows? But I do know that he wants us to love his children in Nicaragua. This banner is my attempt to show them God's love.

I started with fun, bright colors.

Found a triangle pennant pattern here through a Google search and traced it onto a folder to make a template. Then I traced it onto my fabric.

I used pinking shears to keep them from raveling and to save time. In the end, I like the way the cut edges look. Then I laid out the cut pieces and decided my pattern.

I used Adobe Illustrator (but you could use paint.net or even Word) to make the alphabet stencils. Each letter is approximately 2"x2" to fit appropriately on the flags. Hmm...time to buy a new ink cartridge.

I cut out each letter, then used them as templates and traced them onto heat-n-bond (sometimes called WonderUnder). It's cheap and you can find it at fabric stores.

Following the instructions on the heat-n-bond, I adhered the traced letters to a scrap piece of brown fabric I had on hand. I highly advise ironing the letters on in blocks. If you cut each one out BEFORE you iron it on to the fabric, you'll have a difficult time cutting the fabric around it and waste a lot of time.

After cutting out each letter, and ironing them on to the flags, it was time to sew them all together. I sewed them left to right onto 7/8" grosgrain ribbon, leaving about a foot of extra ribbon on each end for tying. The flag placement is easy to eyeball, so I recommend not using pins. After sewing the length of each flag, it's important to put your needle down and lift your presser foot to add the next flag.

You can see here that the flags are right-side down and lined up with the edge of the ribbon. Don't forget to back stitch at the start and finish to lock your threads.

And that's it!

You'll notice a few extra letters since this is the Spanish alphabet. I was so relieved when my husband reminded me about that. And I minored in Spanish! How embarrassing would that have been?!

This truly was an easy project to whip out over the weekend. And solid cotton fabrics and grosgrain ribbon made it a cheap one as well. My total for the entire project was around $5.

As I sewed, I prayed for the Nicaraguan children who would be looking at this alphabet almost every day. It's just a few strips of fabric, a few hours of work, a measly few bucks invested. But I hope that this one small contribution will impact their lives. That it will speak to the teachers who receive it, that they will feel appreciated, loved and prayed for.

From one child of God to another.

Linking to:

We Are That Family

A Full Brain

2010-08-31T09:01:00.000-07:00

My brain is stacked with sewing ideas and I can't wait to get them out of my head! Mainly because I'm running out of room in there. Having a toddler will do that to you, apparently.

For now, I'm cleaning like crazy and trying to resume order in a post-summer household. One of the things on my agenda did not include baking a ridiculously complicated recipe for banana nut bread, but, of course, I did anyway.

You can read here (one of my first ever posts...be nice:) about the taste test I made my husband and his friend "suffer" through the first time I ever made this recipe.

Can you tell from the picture which one was a cake mix, nothing-to-it recipe printed off of the internet, and which one was from my beloved cookbook and took an hour of my life?
Did you guess right??

Hoping next time to bring you a fabric-filled post. Guess what I'll be doing Labor Day weekend?

The Most Important Food Group

2010-08-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I get it. Vegetables, fruit, leafy greens - they're all important. But whoever designed the food pyramid had not tasted these homemade southern biscuits.

Now that I've tasted these, no canned biscuit will ever be good enough. And it's all this wonderful cookbook's fault.

Hello, Spray Paint, My Old Friend

2010-08-17T08:43:00.000-07:00

I {love} watching someone's expression when you tell them you are planning to spray paint. Mainly because it's the same face I would have made about a year or two ago. The first blog post I ever read about spray painting furniture left me in complete disbelief - jaw dropped, arms crossed. It just couldn't be that simple...could it?

But project after project, I'm amazed at how ridiculously easy (and quick!) it is to transform just about anything with spray paint.

Above is the lovely I purchased for $2 at a thrift store. I walked in looking for a fluted or scalloped dish of some kind for my kitchen and this fit the bill perfectly. Except for one thing...it had to be white.

See, these are the colors I used to decorate with...all autumn colors. Had I had this little yellow dish a few years ago, it would have been perfect. But since we moved and I painted my kitchen a ~~super bright~~ fun green, I've been sticking with white accesories and a few earthy neutrals.

But for $2, I knew it was a great spray paint candidate. Until this project, I had never spray painted ceramics or pottery. I started early this morning before the heat and humidity could take over and laughed out loud when I read the back of the can that said to only use it when temps are below 95 and humidity is less than 85%. That would mean pretty much never in Texas.

But one thing is for sure when spray painting. Bugs will always find the wet paint...

Despite the bug glitch, the project turned out exactly as I'd hoped. The spray paint went on smoothly, dried quickly and didn't leave streaks (imagine how many brush strokes there would have been had I used regular paint?!).

I used a semi-gloss because it is what I had on hand, but in the future I'll remember to use high-gloss for ceramic pieces to keep the original sheen look.

Perfect.

**It goes without saying, but dishes that are spray painted probably aren't food-safe. Check your labels!**

What have you spray painted lately?

Linking to:

Fresh Coat Fridays >

Baby Shower Day

2010-08-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

See my tutorial for the butterfly collage centerpiece here.

I'm not sure words can describe how incredibly delicious that cream cheese frosting was...

Oh, the potential

2010-08-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

My mom looked at me like I was crazy when I told her this little loveseat could be so beautiful. We were walking through a local thrift store, she was only $40. Look at those legs! Can't you just see it reupholstered in a black and white damask, or even with a white linen slipcover??!

But it's just another project... So I passed. She'll probably end up in a college dorm room somewhere, covered in empty pizza boxes and unappreciated. *Sigh*

Healthy "Hawaiian" Chicken

2010-08-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

I put Hawaiian in quotes for a reason. This is not gourmet. If you're looking for authentic, keep on clicking. If you're looking for 2 cans, a seasoning packet and 10 minutes, you're in the right place.

I had a friend in college who was actually from Hawaii. We were talking one day about his favorite foods and I got all excited and said, "Oh, I make Hawaiian chicken!" He cut me off, shot me a look and flatly said, "Do you call it Hawaiian chicken just because it has pineapple in it?" Touche.

Nevertheless, we enjoy it. And it's another of my favorite no-recipe-recipes. In other words, you'll remember how to make this forever, and it's likely you'll always have the ingredients on hand.

Start off by browning chicken in a little oil. I use EVOO. I've made this with chicken strip cuts and it served fewer. I've found if I'll start by cutting the chicken into bite-sized pieces, it goes further and there's less waste.

Pour a 15oz (-ish...this isn't an exact science) can of pineapple chunks and a small can of mandarin orange slices into a bowl. Don't drain off the juices! Mix in an envelope of dry onion soup mix. Stir.

Once the chicken is mostly browned, pour the mixture on top of the chicken. Cover and cook on medium low heat for about 10 minutes, or until warmed through. I highly recommend using a wok for this recipe to prevent a clean kitchen massacre...

And that's it, friends. We serve ours over brown rice with green beans and crescent rolls. I know, it was so healthy until I got to that bread part, wasn't it?

My House in Faves

2010-08-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

It can be easy to grumble at yourself as you walk through your home. There are always to-do's, no matter how perfectly decorated or built your dwelling may be. In our house, right now, we've got moulding sitting propped up in our breakfast room that has been waiting for a spare moment to make it on to the wall, kitchen paint touch-ups that are oh-so-glaring (as you'll probably spy in pictures below), and a birthday explosion of toddler toys scattered about. But we are blessed. And content with what the Lord has so lovingly and graciously poured into our lives. We overflow.

So I encourage you today to walk through your home, as undecorated, or piled with to-do's as it may be, and find your fave spots that shine through all the things that make you grumble.

Here are a few of my favorite bright spots this morning. Thank you, Father.

Leftover flowers from a baby shower I hostessed over the weekend.

Trying to make those fresh flowers go as far as they can by separating the one bouquet into two arrangements.
A repurposed addition to my mantle. It was living in my kitchen. I like it much better here.

My favorite little corner to curl up with our baby boy and read. I almost passed by this $24 pillow at Ikea, but it has been the inspiration for this room. I love it.

And a new (old) addition to my kitchen. My hubby bought this painting for me our first Christmas together. I adore it and it has just been gathering dust in our new house out of indecision. My mom suggested I hang it over the pantry and it was the perfect spot! I love seeing it every day.

What are your faves this morning?

Linking to: