Right at Home

{Living Room After}

2011-12-07T07:43:00.000-08:00

It has been an insane whirlwind during the last few weeks as I worked on the house with HOURS of painting to the point that I think I might have Carpel Tunnel in my painting wrist (this is no joke. I went downstairs to paint a chalkboard wall in my basement this morning and as I started cutting in I got shooting pains in my wrist and my fingers went numb. Yikes!) But so much progress has been made!

For starters, here are some after pictures of our Living Room now that we've moved in. I wanted to grab a few quick pics before the christmas tree went up. Just out of frame is a half assembled tree I started before I realized I forgot to take pictures!

{after}

{before}

{another after, as a side note, the clock above the couch is now hanging in the center of the bookcase. Our painting affectionally named "George" now resides above the couch.}

{recognize those bookcases?}

{Here they are in the apartment. I swapped the backs out with beadboard and gave them a fresh white coat of paint... or two... or three}

{This is the entry way. Yes the dresser REALLY need a new coat of paint, I'm thinking turquoise. At least I replaced the knobs. And I have finally hung the mirror. }

{before of the entry}

{Loving the chandelier, before it was a dated brass and wood ceiling fan. What a huge difference a light makes! I got this from Laurel a couple years ago but never had just the right place to hang it before. I love it in here!}

{New pillow I made. I'll give details later}

{I never did show the before and after on my $10 coffee table. The chess set was made from a serving tray. My kids play chess all the time!}

{I am loving the new living room. And huge thanks to my dad for helping me install the batten board and window trim!}

Coming soon, kitchen or laundry room, I can't decide...

{ Not on the List }

2011-11-22T16:00:00.000-08:00

Does this ever happen to you?

You have so much to do...lists a mile long...and you end up getting totally sidetracked by something so unnecessary, but fun?

Yeah, that probably doesn't happen to you...but it happens to me a lot!

Here's what I did...

My friend sent me a link to Box o' Princesses from Lilli Boo.

When I saw this cuteness...

I couldn't wait to give a try.

I didn't make the princess from The Princess & the Frog because we haven't seen that one yet.

But, I added Pocahantos...

and Mulan {she's my favorite}...

They fit perfectly in the little paper mache box...

I downloaded the artwork for the top of the box & little town scenery from the amazing artist Stephanie Corfee here.

It is so much fun & Boo is loving it.

The hardest part was trying to glue the teeny tiny jewels on.

Now, back to the lists. :)

{ Autumn Decor }

2011-11-16T11:16:00.000-08:00

Well, Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

Are you ready?

I am so excited to be hosting my family this year!

I made the menu & shopping list yesterday.

Nothing fancy, just good ole' traditional Thanksgiving dinner food.

My Thanksgiving decor is very simple.

I used the leftover Halloween pumpkins & grouped them together on top of the piano.

Have I mentioned how big the surface is on the piano?

It makes it a bit difficult to decorate sometimes.

After grouping the pumpkins I needed to balance out the other side so I used an empty frame for height.

The frame seemed a bit too empty, but I didn't want to get my sewing machine out, so I gathered fabric scraps from my stash, used some fabric bonding, cut out triangles & just used my mini clothspins to hang them on the wire that was already attached to the back of the frame.

Easy & quick!

Here's a broader view.

{ By the way, I've been wanting to change the finish on my piano...paint, restain...what do you think? }

Here's a few pictures of some of my other Autumn decor...

I've had these Pilgrims & Indians for quite a while.

I love them.

Quick & easy arrangement on the dining room table.

Can you see the empty frame peeking out in the background?

I found it at an antique store.

I think there's a few people who come over & wonder why I have empty frames hanging in my home.

That's okay, they make me happy.

The little shelf with my two oldest kids' silhouettes when they were 4 years old.

They are 16 & 13 now.

Where does the time go?

Next week will be crazy.

My kids are out of school all week & our company is coming.

I can't wait!

{ Home Again! }

2011-11-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to say we're officially home owners again!!!

Hurray!!!

Here's one quick photo of the living room to give you an idea of what we're working with.

Imagine light painted walls with 3/4 batten board, a new light, window treatments, my leather couches and bookcases full of books.

Can you see it?

I can, and I can't wait!

I'll post some more before pictures soon...

{ Open Pantry }

2011-11-01T19:25:00.001-07:00

Apartment living, after many years of home ownership, has been a great experience in a lot of ways. In other ways, it's been a little tough. We've certainly had to think outside the box. Our kitchen is TINY! and our pantry is only two and a half feet wide. We're talkin' the door is half the width of a standard door. Ouch! Remember my old kitchen?

{Sigh} at times like this I really miss her.

We needed to improvise big time. The postage stamp size pantry was called into service to hold our dishes, so we used my office bookcases as our pantry in our little dining nook. this isn't really a "decorator worthy" picture, but this is more about practicality over style.

That being said, I tried to keep it as attractive as possible since it takes up a big amount of visual space in our little home. Organization was key.

These containers are my favorite. Granted their plastic, but I'm good with that. There are tons of pantries out there with glass containers holding all sorts of goods, but I have four kids for crying out loud. Glass would be chipped and broken in no time. And at $3 for the big containers, and $2 for the little ones, they were also very budget friendly. I spruced them up a bit by adding vinyl labels and lettering. It has been a huge space saver, and it got rid of most of the random bags and boxes on our shelves. I've been loving them!

A few other organizing containers:

Baskets (on sale for $4 at Hobby Lobby) to hold microwave popcorn and oatmeal packets.

More container to dump bags of cereal in, yes they are almost all empty right now, I guess I better go shopping!

Wire baskets to manage bottles of oils and vinegar, sandwich makings etc.

My Sweet Hubby likes it so much he wants to keep them in our next house. Not gonna happen, but my new pantry should be really organized!

{ Friday Fun }

2011-10-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

Yay for Friday!!!

Today I'm sharing the beautiful home of Ellie {don't you just love her name} from the blog Frog Goes to Market.

The Living Room...

the Dining Room...

the Kitchen...

and the Bedroom...

Amazing, right?!!

She has so many fun collections displayed in her home.

Please go check out Frog Goes to Market & have a happy weekend!

{ List }

2011-10-27T11:54:00.000-07:00

A list of just a few of the projects I would love to do if I could find the time...

Alphabet Block Magnets...

{ source }

Braided Headband...

{ source }

Girl's Emergency Clutch...

{ source }

Embroidery Hoop Button Clock...

{ not sure of the source }

Silver Tray Christmas Advent Calendar...

{ source }

{ A Bit of Halloween }

2011-10-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

I am still here.

I've been having a hard time adjusting to the school schedule this year.

It seems like I am running here, there & everywhere!

I wanted to stop in & give you bits of my Halloween decor this year.

I copied the chalkboard art out of the Pottery Barn catalog.

I added a few more ornaments to the tree this year.

Most of them have come from Pier 1.

I love her.

The little girls' art project with their aunt.

Orange tissue paper, black card stock & Mod Podge.

So fun!

Last week we had beautiful, perfect cooler weather.

But, Mother Nature was just teasing us because this week we have been in the very high 90s!

Yuck!

I hope someone out there is enjoying some fall weather for me.

{ Friday Fun }

2011-09-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

I know I've been slacking on the Friday Fun posts.

So sorry!

But I love sharing blogs that I enjoy so even though I have to leave in about 30 seconds, I wanted to share one with you real quick today.

These photos are from Kimberley's home from the blog Restoration House.

I know you will love them...

Go check out her blog for more beautiful photos.

I love her Christmas touches...which is just around the corner...yikes!

Have a Happy Weekend!

{ Paper Dolls }

2011-09-22T10:55:00.001-07:00

At the end of the summer, I printed out some paperdolls for the girls.

They are Holly Hobbie ones from here.

They also have lots of coloring pages that you can print out.

Anyway, as Boo {my 5 year old daughter} started coloring and cutting, she decided to turn their underwear into swimsuits.

Then she wanted me to draw surfboards for them.

And, she made one of them Bethany Hamilton by cutting off the blonde one's arm...

She loooved the movie & has been a Bethany Hamilton fan ever since seeing it.

In fact, she says she wants to be her for Halloween this year...

so, I couldn't resist buying her a stuffed animal shark yesterday. :)

P.S. We covered the paper dolls in clear contact paper, just like we did when I was a kid.

{ Blog Love }

2011-09-21T17:24:00.000-07:00

Wow! I thought when school started again I would have more time.

Hahahahaha...

There hasn't been much decorating/crafting/sewing going on around here.

We are all trying to get used to the new schedules.

I am in the car a lot!

Of course, I do make time to read blogs and on my niece's she mentioned a fun blog called...

This is such a fun blog.

Sarah turns thrifted finds into stylishly cute & fun outfits.

She is soooo creative!

Check this one out...

And she is a quirky, entertaining, funny girl.

Go check out Wearing It On My Sleeves.

I know you will love it!

{Sign of the Times}

2011-09-17T10:54:00.000-07:00

I needed a project.

We are moved out of our house and are currently in an apartment while on the search for a new home (Short Sales are not a fast or easy process, and in today's market 9 out of every 10 houses are a short sale!!!).

90% of our worldly goods are in storage while my family of 6 is living cozily in a 1,200 square foot apartment. We only kept the essential out for the apartment since it's temporary. For me that includes all of my craft supplies. (Thank goodness our apartment has a garage!)

Living in such cramped quarters really hampers my ability to craft, and after a month and a half, my brain was screaming that it needed to create.

Heres what I did.

I got a small can of miss tint paint at Lowes ($1.25 score! and I liked the dark grey color) and pulled out my transfer paper.

After measuring the size of my project, I figured out my design and text on Photoshop. I chose to use our last name and the year we were married. Then took the file down to my local Office Max and had them print out a copy on their big printer. This only cost me around $3. Check your local store to see if they have the big machine. Not all of them do.

Next, I painted my board. I got this board at my local Deseret Industries (A local thrift store) for $8. Originally it had a Las Vegas graphic on it compete with scantily clad showgirls. I liked it, because it had grooves in the board to make it look like planks. I don't have a picture of it in it's original form, because I threw a coat of white paint on it while working on another project shortly after I bought it. (I didn't need my girls walking out and seeing it every time they went in the garage :)

I painted the board with two coats of my new grey paint. It wasn't completely covered, there were still streaks of white showing through. But since I was going to sand it afterwards anyways I wasn't concerned.

Next, I carefully measure my image to make sure it was centered and leveled on the board. When it was just right, I taped it down with painters tape, placed the transfer paper in between the paper and the board, and traced away. (Sorry, no picture for this)

Two tips I've learned about using transfer paper:

1. Make sure to place the correct side of the transfer paper down. There is nothing worse than getting everything traced and finding out that you traced it onto the back of the paper instead of the board!

2. Check the board to make sure that you didn't miss transfering anything, and that you can see the trace lines easily before you remove the paper. It is really hard to get the paper realigned once you remove it.

Yes, I've learned both of these lessons the hard way.

Next, I took a few hours to hand paint the image onto the board. This takes a steady hand, but it's pretty much just a matter of painting in the lines.

Finally, I attacked it with 100 grit and 150 grit sandpaper.

Here's the almost finished project. I still need to add a couple of coats of polyurethane, but it's currently buried somewhere in the great abyss of our storage unit.

Who knows where it will eventually find a home. If I can't find a place in our new home, it may end up hanging on a fence in my garden.

I am currently creatively fulfilled. We'll see how long it lasts...

(Hope you like it!)

{ Are You Thinking About Halloween Yet? }

2011-09-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's September 1st!

I ran some errands today & Halloween stuff is everywhere.
We're not even back in school yet.

But, you know how much I looove Halloween so I'm very excited that eighteen25 has
started their Spooktacular September!

They post Halloween ideas every day for the month of September. Yay!

So click on this picture below...

so you can check out today's fun Halloween idea!

{ Friday Fun }

2011-08-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

Is it Friday again, already?!!!

I've had a hard time blogging this summer.

It's been busy, busy & fun, fun!

Anywho...todays, Friday Fun is from the amazing blog a la mode.

Here are a few of my favorite things in her home.

The bold graphics in the artwork & on the fabrics in her living room.

The mixed seating in the dining room, especially the bench...

The eating areas long curtains, light fixture, the eclectic seating...

The serene feeling of her master bedroom...

The funky fun nursery...

And her beautiful office...

There's too many things I love in this office *sigh*

Go check out a la mode. She always has something new & amazing to share.

Have a happy weekend!

{ Off the Hook }

2011-08-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

I found this frame in someones trash in my friend's neighborhood. I had it sitting in my garage for about 2 years before I decided to pull it out and finally do something with it. It was originally black and gold and fancy looking. Much to fancy for my casual new family room. I decided to put a board that I cut to the right size and I painted with 8 coats of chalkboard paint.

I then painted the frame with leftover paint from another project. The old finish started to kind of bleed through as I was doing it, so I wiped some of the paint off with a rag. I really liked how it brought out the details and turned out to be more of a wash. Some of the crackling and black showed through.

My sister Jamie and I hung hooks below so the kids could hang their backpacks and I could hang my purse. We made sure to use really good anchors so they would be able to hold the weight of heavy backpacks. This hallway is right as you come in from the garage so it is a perfect spot to drop everything!

Jamie added the colorful pendant banner out of colored chalk and we put a little bucket on one of the hooks to hold the chalk.

I purchased the hooks at Hobby Lobby. They had a huge assortment to choose from. They also happened to be 50% off so they averaged about $3 each!

I guess we are ready now for school to start. Not really, I can't believe we only have 3 weeks left.

Time flys when your having fun!!!

{ Family Room Makeover }

2011-08-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

I decided to rearrange my house. I had made the family room that is attached to the kitchen into a big dining room. This was great for when we had parties and holiday dinners, but my family was always upstairs in the loft where the TV was and I was always downstairs.

So, I started by bringing down my white couches & tv from my loft, but wasn't crazy about how neutral everything was. My mom and I decided that we wanted to do a couch trade! This was nice because other than having to rent a Uhaul trailer it was free!

Jamie came to visit this last week and we had a great time decorating with the cute slipcovered denim sofas that I got from Mom.

I wanted a more fun and colorful family room area, I started by putting a quilt on the back of the sofa that was made by my great grandma. It is every color of the rainbow and was kind of a kick off point. Next we gathered up pictures from all over the house and added them to the wall around the TV. Some of them my kids painted and some of them I did buy. I still need to add a couple more where the white ones are. The white chair used to be denim at one time, but it's slipcover has been gone for several years now. I need to make a new one for it.

We decided since we had so much color going on the walls and pillows we would do a neutral curtain. I used some leftover white muslin that is 120 inches wide. We had no extra! We even had to barely roll the bottom to have them be the right length. I love them!

We went shopping in my garage and around the house to find some new accessories to add and make it fun. I love when I just move things around and repurpose things that I have had for a long time.

I love this pillow we found at Home Goods. It reminds me of the very expensive ones they sell at Anthropologie. It is down filled and was $29. Such fun color and texture!

I would still like to get a rug and change out the ceiling fan and someday maybe get new floors. And there is still a piano in a nook to the right that needs a little TLC, but that will be in a later post.

It feels so fun and colorful, I love how it turned out! It makes me happy to be in here.

{ A Little Change }

2011-08-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

I added this antique mirror {actually Sheri added it} on top of my Grandpa's hutch last week.

I looove it!

Sheri came into town last week with her kids and while our kids played, we went shopping! I took her to an antique store where we found some great things. I should have taken pictures of our purchases. I found something to add to the blank walls in my dining room that I'm hoping to show you soon.

Anyway, Sheri found this old mirror for only $19. It had a great shape & the mirror was perfectly imperfect.

{Don't you love my crafting tablecloth?} Sheri gave it a few coats of paint & sanded it just right.

After it was finished, she propped it up on our Grandpa's hutch to keep it out of the kids way & lo and behold...it added just the right touch for that spot.

This is what it looked like before...

and after...

Sheri was nice enough to trade it to me for a quilt top that I had made. Thanks Sheri. I reeeaaallly love it!

{ Friday Fun }

2011-07-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

Today's featured home is someone you will probably recognize...

Miss Mustard Seed!

Let's check out Marian's beautiful home.

Here is her living room.

I like that it's mostly neutral with pops of color from the pillows & those fabulous curtains!

In her dining room you will find more fabulous curtains.

She is an extremely talented furniture refinisher and has her own business.

Recently, she painted her kitchen white.

What a difference!

Her master bedroom is so calming & I'm loving the mirrored night stands.

Isn't the throw with the huge pom poms unexpected & fun?

And, since I love red, this little guest room is perfect.

There is much more to see on her wonderful {and very popular} blog.

I hope to post this week's craft sometime today...fingers crossed.

{ I Want... }

2011-07-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

...to make this!

My kids would soooooo love it!

Go here for the how to.

Click below for more awesome free patterns...

And let me know if you make one so I can be jealous.

{ Craft Days }

2011-07-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

Summer is busy, busy, busy!

I wanted to get last week's craft posted before we do this weeks.

This one is so bright & colorful.

And, yes, I got it from Meg.

Our home is filling up with all our fun summer crafts.

Now, I'm off to get the kids to do another one. :)

{ A Little R&R }

2011-07-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

Sheri & I just registered for this... Why don't you come join us?It will be so much fun!

{ Summer Crafts }

2011-07-09T09:32:00.000-07:00

We are still on track with our summer craft a week.

This was our craft for this week.

I copied Meg again who found the idea here.

You can get instructions here.

This one was really easy & the kids liked it.

It brought back memories of cutting out the models from the JCPenney catalog

& using the clear contact paper to make our own paper dolls.

It was great because we could get whole families...

dad's, sons, daughters, babies & even pets...from one catalog.

Good times. :)

{ Friday Fun }

2011-07-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I've been a slacker.

This has been a fun, busy summer so far.

So I'm cheating a bit & posting Fun Friday on Saturday...oops!

I hope you understand.

Without further ado, here's a sneak peek of Emily A. Clark's beautiful home...

To see more fabulousness, check out her blog here.

{ Independance Day }

2011-07-04T05:59:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th everyone!

I'm lovin' my new patriotic banner.

It was so easy & fun to make that I want to make one for every occasion.

Today we are going to bbq & have s'mores with friends & family.

Then we will be watching our city's fireworks show.

Yay!!!

I feel so blessed to live in America & grateful to those who serve to help keep it safe.

We are so lucky for the freedoms that we enjoy.

Happy 4th of July!

{ Summer Crafts }

2011-07-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

We are in full summer mode!

We made our summer list & the girls wanted to get started on the crafts right away!

I decided we would try to do a different craft each week.

Ms. Sassy & Peanut

Boo is already glueing.

And while we were all working so hard, here is what Big Bro was doing.

Don't ask me why he is wearing a head band.

He gets some crazy big hair.

But, by some miracle, he did, eventually, make one too.

Here are our finished products...

I got this idea from Meg.

She has the best crafts!

{ Friday Fun }

2011-07-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

The blog I want to share with you today is 6th Street Design School.

I love Kristen's beautiful home because it has style & sophistication, yet it's comfortable.

And I love all the color!

I love the curtains in her living room.

If you want to see more of Kristen's home check it out here.

{ Summer List }

2011-06-27T08:46:00.000-07:00

We are finally in summer vacation mode.

Woo hoo!

And we finished our summer list last night!

I got this fun idea from Meg.

She's a genius really.

Me? not so much...I had to look up how to spell genius. :)

So, how about you?

Do you have a summer list?

{ Friday Fun }

2011-06-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

This week's Friday Fun blog is For the Love of a House.

Joan has a beautiful home.

I like how she layered the hide on top of the rug.

I think the urn full of scraggly wood is pretty cool.

Her kitchen is gorgeous!

And the eating area is so cozy & warm.

This vignette in her dining room is so neat especially with that big 'ole tree branch.

Unexpected & fun!

There's much more to see so for more go check out her blog!

{ Country Living }

2011-06-24T09:43:00.000-07:00

School is finally out for us! Yay!

I received my Country Living magazine in the mail yesterday!

I always enjoy it but I especially loved this one!

It includes Heather Bullard's awesome chicken coop!

And my favorite designer, Sarah Richardson's amazingly beautiful summer cottage!

Love it!

{ Gift Wrap Idea }

2011-06-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

Today is Saturday & I am sick!

I can't believe it!

It's a beautiful sunny day & I have an awful head cold.

Bummer!

But, I am up for a few moments to share with you a gift wrapping idea for Father's Day.

I was wrapping some gifts for a friend & I remembered this idea that I've had filed away for a long time.

It was so long ago that I apologize, but I don't know who to give credit to & I feel bad about that because I completely, 100% copied their idea.

Here it is...

I love how they turned out & because it is so simple & not too frilly, I think it's a perfect for men.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend & that you're all ready for Father's Day tomorrow!

**edited to add: In the example I saw, they used brown craft wrapping paper. These were just the brown shirt boxes from Target. No wrapping required. :)

{ Friday Fun }

2011-06-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!

Today's Friday Fun feature is the House of White blog.

I'm in love.

I am in love with her living room.

Love the soft color palette with the earthy elements of the dark wood.

Love the lines & texture of the sofa.

Love the simple, yet beautiful accessorizing.

Love the industrial, rustic coffee table.

Love the fresh looking beadboard ceiling.

Go fall in love...House of White.

{ A Little Makeover }

2011-06-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

I stopped by our thrift store the other day just to see if I would have any luck.

This particular thrift store hasn't been good to me.

I almost never come out with anything & this time was no different, really.

But, I had Boo, my 5 year old little girl, with me & she spotted this little metal box.

I opened it up & it had it's original dividers & 3x5 cards in it.

Boo wanted it & since it was only 99 cents we purchased it.

I, actually, liked it in it's original condition, but since it was for Boo, I thought I should spruce it up for her.

I spray painted it yellow & made new dividers using cardstock that I had on hand.

Since it was a nice warm day for quick paint drying, it took a total of about 15 minutes from start to finish.

Boo loves her little box & shows it to everyone.

I wasn't sure what she wanted to do with it, but I got to thinking that she looooves to color.

So I bought a package of 3x5 cards & she's been coloring like there's no tomorrow.

She's so excited to have so many little papers to use.

Her drawings are divided as follows {so far}:

jungle animals

sea animals

farm animals

pets

family

rainbows

monsters

We have one more week of school.

I am so excited for summer our summer to begin!

{ Friday Fun }

2011-06-10T07:20:00.000-07:00

I recently came across Diana's beautiful blog Our Vintage Home Love.

I love how inviting her home is & I think you will too.

You can find out more about her kitchen here.

She made that island herself & she shows you how.

Find out how she made this fabulous barn door headboard here.

To see more of her home, go check out her blog!

{ Herman }

2011-05-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

Okay...you may think I'm crazy.

And maybe I am, but I want to show you my recent purchase.

And it comes with a story, so hang in there with me.

You see, I got a gift certificate to Home Goods for my birthday & was very excited to go use it!

I decided I would spend it on something that I normally wouldn't purchase...just something fun.

As I perused the aisles searching for the perfect thing, I came across Herman.

I don't know what happened, but it was love at first sight.

We looked into each other's eyes & I knew he needed to come home with me.

I took him off the shelf & gave him to a HomeGoods lady to put up front for me.

I could overhear her & her associate talking about Herman behind his back saying unkind things such as,

"I wonder why she would want him."

and "Maybe it reminds her of someone she knows" and shaking their heads.

Of course, this only made me more determined to get him out of a place that didn't appreciate his beauty & make a home for him at my place.

So, I found a cozy spot between my beloved hydrangea bushes.

Doesn't he look comfortable?

He is bigger than he looks & heavy.

I think Herman adds a bit of whimsy & fun to our yard.

We are happy he is here & I think he's happy too.

The kids like him as much as I do.

They even show him off to all of their friends.

They'll say, "Come out & meet Herman."

It makes me laugh every time.

But, there is one person around here who doesn't approve.

My poor hubby H.A.T.E.S him.

He says Herman's creepy & looks like one of the singing busts from The Haunted Mansion at D-land.

I think he's just a bit jealous. :)

**p.s. I'm really not nuts, am I?

**p.p.s. I'm going to kick my dog's rear if she doesn't stop digging & killing the grass.

{ Another GW Recipe }

2011-05-23T06:36:00.000-07:00

I got my Matthew Mead "Summer" magazine last week.
I have thoroughly enjoyed looking through it.
So many beautiful pictures!

Go here if you'd like to order one for yourself.
I am so looking forward to summer!

So, how about another recipe from GW!

Taco Casserole

1 lb. Ground Beef

1 small onion diced

½ can corn

1 can tomato soup

1 cup salsa

½ pkg. Taco seasoning

1 cup cheese

Corn chips

Lettuce

Sour cream or ranch dressing

In a pan cook meat and onion. Drain. Add corn, soup, salsa, & taco seasoning. Oil casserole dish and put approximately 1 inch of broken chips in the bottom. Pour meat mixture over the top and sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake 350 for 35 min. Serve over shredded lettuce with ranch dressing or sour cream.

This was a huge hit with my family & it was so easy!
I did substitute the corn chips for Fritos, cuz, hey, who doesn't love anything with Fritos!?!
And I wanted my kids to like it, at least the first time I made it. :)

{ Friday Fun }

2011-05-20T06:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!

I have another blog to share with you today.

Make Under My Life

Have a wonderful weekend!

{ Girl's Weekend Recipe #2 }

2011-05-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

I love Heather Bullard's blog.

She has such great style.

And, since I'm going to share another recipe today, I thought I'd show you her pretty kitchen.

Beautiful, right?

I wouldn't mind cooking in here.

Now, for the recipe...

Whole Wheat Waffles

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 T sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk

1/3 cups melted butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat waffle iron. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt & sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk & butter. Mix together the wet & dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. The batter will be a bit lumpy...that's okay.

Makes 3 1/2 round Belgian-style (deep pocket) 7" waffles

My family loved this one too!
They don't get crispy, but they have a good flavor.

{ Bird Watching }

2011-05-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

I have discovered that we can bird watch using straw instead of bird seed.

I have two hanging planters with straw liners that I haven't planted anything in yet & the birds love them!

I can't tell you how many times these two come & collect straw for their nests every day.

We looked these guys up in our Local Birds of Orange County Guide & discovered they are Western Scrub-Jay.

And they're right outside of our kitchen/family room windows so we get to see them up close!

And the straw is much less of a mess than bird seed.

My kids love it & so do I.

I think I will just refill these with new straw each year. :)

{ Girl's Weekend Recipe #1 }

2011-05-18T06:33:00.000-07:00

Laurel was our GW hostess this year & she made some yummy meals & treats that I wanted to share.

This first recipe was one of my favorites...soooo good!

I tried it for my family last night & they all loved it!

Mexican Chicken Soup
by Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients:

4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped onions (2 onions)
1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 1/2 quarts chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in puree, crushed
2 to 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, optional
6 (6-inch) fresh white corn tortillas

Directions:

For serving: sliced avocado, sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts skin side up on a sheet pan. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until done. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat. Cover and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, 1 tablespoon salt (depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock), 1 teaspoon pepper, and the cilantro, if using. Cut the tortillas in 1/2, then cut them crosswise into 1/2-inch strips and add to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and season to taste. Serve the soup hot topped with sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and broken tortilla chips.

{ Sweet Savannah's Shop }

2011-05-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

I was reading My Sweet Savannah yesterday & she thought it would be fun to see some of the things she's sold from her shop in our homes & so I'm linking up.

This is the top of my Grandpa's hutch.

The framed print in the back is from My Sweet Savannah's etsy shop.

I love it!

It is such a gloomy day here so the pictures are a little dark.

And, I just noticed there's a book missing from the stack on top...The Hiding Place...one of my favorites.

I think one of the kids grabbed it to read last night.

{ Dining Hutch Update }

2011-05-17T06:09:00.000-07:00

I got my new-to-me hutch stained a few weeks ago & thought I would share it with you.

This is how it looks now...

This was before...

It doesn't look a like a huge difference, but it goes with the other furniture in the room much better.

I'm loving how the dining room is turning out.

I have a few more fun ideas that I'm working on, mostly for the walls.

I'm thinking about curtains, too.

There's so much I want to do, but for now I will enjoy my new hutch. :)

{ Shower Curtain Pillow }

2011-05-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

We had our Girls Weekend this last weekend and we got so many projects done. It was awesome!

The project that I wanted to work on was covering the big pillow on our leather sofa.

It's needed to get done for about a year.

It wasn't that it is difficult to make a pillow cover, it's finding the right fabric that takes time.

Last week, I went to Target with a birthday gift certificate in hand & decided to just look in the shower curtain section to see if there was something that might work.

I was so excited when I saw the Home Bird Shower Curtain!

It was perfect!

I, also, made the little blue & brown striped pillow to go with it.

I love how it turned out!

There were so many projects completed during Girls Weekend that I'm hoping my sister's will post...

Laurel {with help from April} painted & stained a new island that her hubby built for her kitchen

Mamacita & April both made cute little ruffled pillows

Sheri finished her picnic quilt

Bob finished a quilted pillow for her couch & 2 tablecloths

Katie made rice packs for her little boys

I {with help from Traci} finished my pillows & a quilt top

Of course we did a little shopping & ate yummy food!

I will post the recipes soon.

{ Mother's Day & Randomness }

2011-05-09T13:32:00.000-07:00

I love Mother's Day!

I get treated extra special on this day which must be why I love it.

I got to eat my favorite breakfast, wheat pancakes & bacon made by my two oldest...by themselves.

And, the best part was, I didn't have to do the dishes!

And bacon is one of my favorite things to eat...

...that & garlic bread.

I love the way my house smells when bacon is cooked in it.

Anyhoo...

I grabbed my kids to take a picture with them this year...

This is as good as we could get.

They are funny & I love them to pieces!

I hope all of you mothers out there had a wonderful Mother's Day!

{Please excuse the random thoughts in this post even though I have no excuse...just feeling silly.}

{ Friday Fun }

2011-05-06T17:00:00.000-07:00

Feathers in my Nest is a blog that I love to look at for inspiration.

I especially love how Leslie accessorizes.

Check out these beautiful pictures of her home...

Aren't they amazing!?!

Go now & check out her blog to see the rest of her home.

Have a happy weekend!

{Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes}

2011-05-05T04:36:00.000-07:00

Let me just start by saying we have moved a lot over the years. I think we are currently in house #5 (not including any rentals we've lived in). My Sweet Hubby and I have talked about moving a few times over the years, but it never quite seemed like the right time. Then about 6 months ago, Sweet Hubby was diagnosed with severe rheumatoid arthritis. Having two sets of stairs in the house is just not good when you have this condition. Soooo....

We listed our house about two weeks ago. Our thought process went something like this...

I know the market is REALLY soft, but it doesn't hurt to try, right?...

We'll just list it for what we want, and see what happens.... (Even with the price we listed it at, we are taking a major BATH, but 'tis the market...)

Hubby thought:

Hey worst case scenario, the house will be clean...

I thought:

Dang! Now the house has to be clean ALL THE TIME!!!!...

Anywho, we found a fabulous realtor who didn't laugh when we told them what we wanted to get for our house, (Yes, we actually had two other realtors tell us they wouldn't list our house because of the price we wanted. Have you ever heard of that???)

Then a funny thing happened... we got an offer on our house... We are now in escrow... We didn't get quite what we wanted, but we're okay with what we settled on. Knock on wood, everything will go smoothly.

Huh... now we need another house...

On the bright side, our wonderful realtor, Ron Bentley, who is quickly becoming my best friend, paid for a professional photographer/videographer to come take pictures of our house. Talk about having faith! Since most of my photos are taken with my phone, and since I'm really bad about updating the blog with my projects, I figured I would put his finished project here so you can see most of my home in her present state, (there are lots of projects I never got around to, you know how it is).

Unfortunately, she will never be that clean again as long as I live here! (Sorry Hubby!)

Enjoy!

Sorry the quality isn't great when you enlarge it, you can also go the the link here.

P.S. I will try to post about a couple of the projects you can see in the video, including my "new" headboard in the master bedroom, soon...

P.P.S. This isn't the only big change coming in my life, but I'll talk about that later... (No, I'm not pregnant!)

Later!

{ Celebrate }

2011-04-26T17:18:00.000-07:00

found vintage objects

It is my birthday today!

I am 37 years old.

I am happy.

Thanks to everyone who made it a good day!

{ Friday Fun }

2011-04-22T23:43:00.000-07:00

I happened upon a wonderful blog today & had to share it with you.

Teresa from Meadow Brook Farm is talented in so many ways.

Every photo on her blog is beautiful!

And check out her fun & colorful home...

You really need to go check out her blog to see more.

Her photos are amazing & her garden is to die for!

{ A Thought }

2011-04-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

I came in from my walk this morning to see a certain word on my chalkboard highlighted by the morning sun.

It was a good reminder of where my focus should be in this crazy world of distractions.

{ so colorful, I love them! }

2011-04-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

I thought these prints turned out so cute framed and matted that I just had to share.

I painted the frames cottage white and mounted the prints on fabric.

The idea came from the whatever blog.

Check out her blog, it is really fun!

{ New Dining Hutch }

2011-04-11T16:30:00.000-07:00

I have been searching on Craiglist for dining hutch for quite a while.

I just couldn't find one that I liked for the right price, but I wasn't in a hurry.

Well, on Saturday I went garage saleing with a friend.

I didn't really need anything & in an effort not to buy anything, I didn't bring any money.

Yep, you heard me right...no money.

And it was a good thing I didn't have any cash because that is when you find the perfect thing, right?

Luckily, I have a wonderful friend who loaned me the $75 so I could bring this baby home with me.

Yep...$75...Score!

I love the detail on the doors & the top of the cabinet.

She's going to get stained {I guess she's a girl} a little bit darker cuz the color is a bit too orangey-yellow for me.

I filled it with all of the white dishes I had stashed in my kitchen.

Did you know I have a thing for white dishes?

My every day dishes are white, too.

Bonus...I have more room in my kitchen cupboards now!

So, what do you think?

{ Finished Quilt Top }

2011-03-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

I've been M.I.A. here for a while.

I've been busy with the daily life of a s.a.h.m. & haven't had the energy/desire to do any projects.

I know...so boring!

But, then I talked to Sheri the other day & she was quilting.

And, I got jealous. :)

It was enough to get me over the funk I was in & start the quilt that has been sitting in my closet.

Here is the finished top...

Please forgive the horrible picture...the weather is pretty gloomy here lately.

I have wanted to try a pinwheel quilt for a long time.

It is far from perfect, but I love it!

To make the pinwheels I followed these instructions.

I used Amy Butler's Soul Blossoms.

This fabric is so much fun that I think it makes the pinwheels even more whimsical.

When it's all finished I will post more pictures so you can see the fabrics better.

{ Finished Cross Stitch }

2011-03-02T14:42:00.000-08:00

Quite a while back I posted my progress on a cross stitch and a couple of people have asked about how it looks now. Of coarse, I forgot to post the finished project and have completed two more cross stitches since then. So here is the finished piece. I framed it and put it on one of the shelves in my living room. I love it!

{Kid's Bathroom}

2011-02-23T18:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry no finished picture yet, you can just look at the before in all her boring, blah, oak glory!

Her she is, the after! I love the difference! The walls were painted a soft beige. The towel hook was from Home Goods.

Here's a little towel rack I made from stuff laying around the house in the hopes that the kids will stop leaving their towels On. The. Floor! {Sheesh!} It works about half the time...

Here's a close up of the cabinets in their final state. What? You say. these cabinets look totally different! (Isn't it great!) I used my saw to cut out the centers of the cabinets, I really should have used a router, but I don't have one. Then I cut out sheets of beadboard and adhered them to the back of the door with Elmer's Glue (I couldn't find my wood glue!) and brad nails. After priming, the whole thing got a coat of light blue/grey paint. A lot of sanding, a bit of stain, and a truck load of polyurethane, and she's done.

The knobs came from Ikea. I like the more modern look of the knobs with the distressed look of the cabinets. I also love the shower curtain in the background. It originally came from Target, but I got it from my mom :)

Hope you like it!

{ Just Thinking }

2011-02-22T15:58:00.000-08:00

Today I read some very interesting posts here & here.

source: unknown

And I'm really liking this idea.

Am I crazy?

{ Inspiration: Entries }

2011-02-17T06:29:00.000-08:00

I've been helping my niece decorate her condo & was looking for some entry inspiration.

There's so many wonderful ideas out there, but here are a few that I liked...

Little Green Notebook

House Beautiful

Amy Butler

House Beautiful

{ Is it Spring Yet? }

2011-02-16T17:00:00.000-08:00

I love Spring!!! Every season I put different plants in this cute beverage container I found at Target. I finally, after a few years, got up the courage to drill holes in the bottom. Now it lasts a lot longer and doesn't get kind of funky from having it be to wet.

Here are some flowers that I planted on my porch. I love the yellow ones, they are some kind of succulent.

We don't get a very long winter here in Nevada, but I still look forward to beautiful warm spring days!

{ Loft Facelift }

2011-02-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

We started out with some ugly walls in this loft. The blue stripes are left over from some corner shelves. The previous owners had a pool table in here & there were 3 televisions mounted on the walls so I had lots of wires and outlets to contend with.

My daughter is always willing to help with projects, especially painting. My husband always calls her a mini-me! The paint I used on the walls was from Home Depot it is a light grey called Smooth Stone by Glidden. I was very happy that it covered the blue stripes really easily. It barely needed a 2nd coat. I painted over all the switch plates and plugs up toward the ceiling to help them disappear.

I, also, needed something to put our television on. Some of you may remember my kitchen redo a couple of months ago where I used the top of this hutch as a shelf painted to match the kitchen cabinets. Well, I still had the bottom half of the hutch and figured it would work nicely. It was left out in the rain for so long, I was worried that it wasn't going to recover. I do love all the original hardware and for the top and the bottom it was only $20 so we gave it a try.

My son was willing to help with a little of the sanding. It needed a lot of sanding!!! I was hoping that I could keep the chipped paint look, but it was a little to far gone on the doors.

Here is the hutch painted and re-aged. I used Behr Swiss Coffee to paint both the hutch and the bead board on the wall.

It's so nice to have all of the tv components put away.

I used some leftover wallpaper on the inside to make the shelves look a little more finished. The baskets are of course from Home Goods (my favorite store).

I've always loved this old oil painting (below). It was hanging over the fireplace at Grandma's house. For the past 15 years I have had it sitting in my garage. I've put it out in the garbage twice, but always pull it back out at the last minute. I decided I either needed to use it or put it back in the trash.

I took it out of it's old broken frame and hid the hole in it behind a plant. After taking off the frame and cleaning it a bit I love it even more and it didn't cost me anything. I love to shop in my garage!!!

So, once again, here is the before...

and the after...

I would love to make new pillows with more color and put up something on the wall above the other couch. Also, I think I need something on the window. If anyone has a good idea let me know.

This room is sooooo much better. I love to sit in here now.

{ Pictures on my Camera }

2011-02-08T15:29:00.000-08:00

oh, how I love these daffodils

SpongeBob macaroni & cheese

best friends

pizookies {no chocolate sauce on Boo's in the back}

first time using sculpy

love my santa ornament...thanks to my niece for the inspiration

a surprise message from my friend

why are most of my pictures of food?

{ Oops, Here's the Kitchen Before... And a Close up of the Island }

2011-02-06T11:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I realized that in my haste, I forgot to give you the back story and before picture of my kitchen. Here's the post before with the before picture of the kitchen in it's former not so much glory...

----------------

UGH! I couldn't sleep the other night, so I turned on HGTV to zone out. Candice Olsen's Top Ten Kitchens was on. (See where I'm going with this) Such pretty kitchens! As most of you know, I hate my kitchen cabinets, and I only agreed to get them because I figured I'd paint them. Then, it seemed like such an undertaking, I've been putting it off ever since. Well, Candice inspired me, so I decided to paint and glaze my cabinets this week. Now I'm up to my eyeballs in paint splatter and I'm nowhere near being done...I have 40 some odd doors and drawers to do!!! (I always seem to blog when I have something I don't want to do) I guess I better get back to it. Wish me luck, and I'll post pictures when I'm finished. Here's a before...

PS Did I mention we're having a dinner party for six couples on Friday night!!!! Nothing like a little pressure...

---------------

....Here is a close up of the kitchen island. I added beadboard and some boards to give it some character.

Finally here are a couple of more current pictures so you can see how things have evolved...

{ My Kitchen }

2011-02-05T09:55:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I've been telling Jamie for a while that I would post a previous post from my private blog here on Right at Home. This is my kitchen redo from a couple of years ago. Thing have changed a bit since then, like my dining room table and chairs, but the overall difference between the before and after is AMAZING! I still love it, and the cabinets have held up great under the assault of four kids and a hubby. (And I still love the island color!)

Here she is....

I finally finished my kitchen! (And not a day to soon, I'm so fed up with painting... even though I do have another project in the works). I decided to wait to post pictures until I finished the island. (I added bead board and molding to it before I painted it.)

My Sweet Hubby is a bit sceptical about the blue color on the island. He said he'll wait and see what comments people make about it. Personally, I like it. What do you think???

{ A Bit of Life }

2011-01-29T13:33:00.000-08:00

I've added a little bit of life to the house.

It's amazing how a few live plants & especially flowers can freshen up a room.

It's been a beautiful, sunny week here & I guess it has inspired me to grow something.

I just hope I can keep them alive. :)

{ Pictures on my Camera }

2011-01-20T12:55:00.000-08:00

one of my favorite Christmas gifts

making bread

paperoni

my lunch smiling at me

fun, new cane

pioneer woman's caramelized onion & prosciutto pizza

yum!

i love new crayons & markers

wooden spoon found on clearance

i love wooden spoons

and clearances :)

my sink gave me a little "love"

new pillow for the couch from here

{ Self-Portraits...EEK! }

2011-01-18T07:01:00.000-08:00

Remember in my last post I told you about Little Miss Momma? Well, she gave some tips on taking self-portraits a few days ago so, I thought I'd give it a try for fun. I am very uncomfortable taking pictures of myself or having them taken, but lately I've been trying to change my attitude about that. I decided I want my kids to see the person behind the camera, so to speak, and get into those pictures with them.

Today Little Miss Momma is hosting a Self-Portrait Link Party & I decided to join.

This is very uncomfortable for me, but I'm hoping this will help me get over this insecurity already. Who knows, maybe I'll even join The Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday parties soon. :)

I would love to see some of your self-portraits. Go HERE for those tips on taking pictures of yourself & join the party!

{ Craft Days }

2011-01-12T17:03:00.000-08:00

This week, the hubster went skiing. Yay, for him & yay, for me. I find it's much easier to haul out my crafting supplies & leave them all over the dining table when he is away. And, that's just what I did!

I've been wanting to try some ideas I've seen for hair accessories. It was really fun and Ms. Sassypants {who happens to be my model} thinks it's awesome because she gets to wear them.

1. Rolled Felt Flower

I completely copied this idea from eighteen 25. What a fabulous blog!

2. Felt Flower Headband

From this fun blog!

3. Button Collage Headband

Okay, I made this one up. I had all of these buttons & thought they were so fun together. Sassy says it's her favorite. It's so nice when an idea in your head actually works.

4. Pom Pom Bib Necklace (and Headband)

I recently found the Little Miss Momma blog & have really enjoyed it. She is such a cute little gal & very creative! As I was looking through her tutorials, I saw this necklace & knew I wanted to make one. Sassy says she's going to keep it for herself.

Then using the same method, made some larger ones for a headband.

It was so much fun getting to check some items off of my "project to try" list.

**updated** P.to.the.S. I've linked up to Little Miss Momma

click on picture above to go to her blog

{ Goals for my Home }

2011-01-06T07:12:00.000-08:00

First of all, thank you for your comments regarding my dinner dilemma. Every comment had some really good ideas! I appreciate you taking the time to give me some suggestions. I feel even more confident now that I will be able to figure out a way to overcome my dinner dilemmas.

I thought I'd finished writing my goals for 2011 until I read this post on Nesting Place. In a nutshell, she talked about having goals for your home. I'd never thought of this before, but thought it was a great idea and sat down with my husband and we made some goals for our home.

The Garden:

We would like to {a} build up the garden boxes so they're taller & can hold more good soil and {b} install a drip system.

{these pictures were taken two years ago}

And {c} plant a glorious garden that will be completely successful. :)

The Dining Room:

I really want to add a dining hutch this big empty wall. See it up there? I've been collecting things to put in it for quite a while. I have it all envisioned in my brain, I just need to make the purchase. Oh, yeah, and save my pennies. :)

On the other side of the room, we just need a little bit of accessorizing on these two walls. But, it takes me a long time to decide what I like. I'm determined to get it done by the end of this year.

The Entry:

The other big area that I would like to get decorated this year is in our "entry".

This is the only place we have to put the piano & it's a big, player piano. For the life of me, I can't figure out how to decorate around this big sucker. The top is so large that little accessories get lost. I think I might have found some inspiration yesterday in this month's issue of Better Homes & Gardens, though, so my fingers are crossed that we can get this done this year too.

After all of that, I love what the Nester said..."Continue to be content living with imperfection".

So, now that you know a few of my home goals for 2011, do you have any? Go check out Nester's 2011 home goals and find others who are talking about theirs { including me :) }.

{ Happy New Year }

2011-01-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

Whew! The kids are back in school & I, finally, have a moment to write on the blog!

I am busy making resolutions for this year like most of the world. Why does it seem like I'm writing down the same goals every year? I'm sure that doesn't happen for anyone else. One of my big goals this year {as in past years} is to cook more dinners for my family. Ugh!

Yes, ugh! This is the same goal I've had since we got married. That's 18 years! And after contemplating that very fact this morning, I sat down & recognized some facts.

Fact #1- I don't like cooking so much. Baking, yes...cooking, not so much. I will spend all day in the kitchen baking bread, cookies, muffins, you name it, but please don't ask me to brown some meat & chop veggies. I can't for the life of me figure out why I'm like that.

Fact #2- I don't think about what we should have for dinner until it's dinner time. This means I have to rifle through the cupboards to see what we have, that won't take too long to cook & then try to throw something edible together. Yah, that doesn't work so well.

Fact #3- My kids are picky eaters. Isn't it the worst when you spend all that time in the kitchen making what you think is a wonderful meal & nobody will eat it but you & your husband? Argh!

Fact #4- I feel like we are having the same meals over & over again. Now, I realize this happens because of problem #2 & 3 but, what to do?

So, with all of these facts/obstacles, I really do have a strong conviction that sitting down and eating dinner together as a family is essential & I am determined to do a better job at it this year. Tonight we're having potato cheese soup. After this post, I will be living it up in the kitchen cutting up potatoes, chopping veggies & whatever else to get a good meal on the table tonight.

And, I would love to hear your ideas that might help me in my resolve. You're the best!

**By the way, the photos above were taken by the one & only Meg. I love, love, love her & have talked about her on our blog quite a few times. She was out here last year {haha...that sounds so long ago} & offered to do some photo sessions. She wrote about it on her blog here. Of course, I jumped at the chance not only to meet her, cuz, duh!...she's amazing...but to benefit from her talent as a photographer. {Another by the way, I acted like such a dork during our session. I didn't want to come off as a crazy "fan", but didn't want to try too hard to be funny, but didn't want to be nerdy so I ended up coming off as odd & weird instead...nice. On the other hand, she was so warm & friendly.}

She really is amazing & I've found inspiration in her love for God, her desire to help, her decorating {especially for Sassypant's room }, her photography, her craftiness & yes, I've even tried some of her recipes. My kids love her chicken & biscuits dish & it's super easy. An essential for me. :) Thanks, Meg, for everything!

{ Baking Day }

2010-12-23T07:36:00.000-08:00

It was baking day around here yesterday

{Thanks, Traci, for all of your help.}

This is the Cinnamon Bun Popcorn that we made.

The recipe is from Best Bites.

I tripled the it.

It was so easy & so yummy!

Cinnamon Bun Popcorn

12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)

1 C pecan halves, roughly chopped

1 C brown sugar

3/4 t cinnamon

1/4 C karo syrup (or honey makes a good substitution)

1 stick real butter (1/2 C)

1t vanilla

1/2 t baking soda

3 squares almond bark (about 4 oz)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a 2 liter capacity microwave safe bowl. Mix well. Chop butter into chunks and place on top of sugar mixture. Pour corn syrup over the top of everything. Microwave on high for 30 seconds and then stir to combine. Return to microwave and heat for 2 minutes. Remove and stir and then microwave for 2 minutes more.

Remove from microwave and add in vanilla and baking soda. Stir to combine. Mixture will foam and rise. Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and pecans and stir very well so everything is well coated.

Spread popcorn mixture onto a foil-lined jelly roll pan. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and spread out on a large piece of parchment, waxed paper, or foil.

Melt almond bark according to package instructions. Drizzle over popcorn mixture. When almond bark is hardened and popcorn is cool, break into chunks and enjoy!

Neighbor goodies are done & delivered.

The plan for today is to get all of the wrapping done. {fingers crossed}

I am signing off for the rest of the week to enjoy this time with my family.

But, before I go I want to say thank you to all of you wonderful ladies who left kind comments for me, my sisters & mom about our homes.

It was so much fun to read them all.

Have a Merry Christmas!

{ Thank You }

2010-12-21T16:59:00.000-08:00

Wow! It was so much fun for me to see everyone's homes decorated for Christmas

Laurel- I love that Christmas scrapbook paper collage. Did you make it?
Mom- Your little tree is so cute. It's good to see your temporary home away from home.

April- That advent must have taken a long time to make. It's so cute.

Katie- Those goodies look sooooo yummy! Did you make them all?

Sheri- Your gingerbread house is way cute, especially with the matching tree.

Bobbi- I love the popsicle stick star your kids made & added to your nativity.

Traci- I so want that cloche with the glittery house.

Thank you all for taking the time to share you places.

They are all so different from each other & that's what makes it so fun.

{ Laurel's Christmas Decor }

2010-12-21T16:55:00.000-08:00

Laurel emailed me a few pictures from around her home.

They are so fun!

Laurel's favorite decoration this year is the life-size cutout of her son who is serving a mission for our church in California. We are looking forward to him coming home this February after being gone for two years.

{ Mom's Christmas }

2010-12-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

Mom took a few pictures of her Christmas decor & asked me to put them on here for her.

My parents are serving a 2 year mission for our church over in Hawaii.

They are busy working & serving every day.

We miss them so much, but we are also very proud of the work that they are doing.

They are renting a place while they are there.

They left most of their belongings at their home in Utah, including their Christmas decor.

This is the cute little Christmas display that Mom set up.

We miss you Mom & Dad!

{ Sorry I'm Running Late, but Merry Christmas! }

2010-12-20T15:51:00.000-08:00

Yikes! What a day! I was wondering if I was going to make it. We really didn't do a whole lot by way of decorations this year, but I'll show you what we got...

This is our living room tree. It is more coordinated and formal, and there are elements I really like about this tree. I don't know if you can see in the picture, but this tree has grape vine wrapped around it, as well as an ivy garland that has snowy glitter on the ivy leaves. I think it gives it a "woodsy" feel. it also has some berry picks stiking out to give it some depth.

Here's a close-up of some of the details on the tree. I got inexpensive bird nest, eggs, and moss to make some nests for the tree. The galvanized star thingys came from some strands of lights Target sells in the summer for patios. I picked them up years ago, and while the light strands are long gone, I stick them over the lights on the tree and I love the effect!

This is our family room tree. If it looks familiar, thats because it has a lot of the same ornaments as the rest of the family thanks to years of ornament exchanges. I love this tree, it hold so many memories.

I think this tree topper is adorable. I think I picked it up at Big Lots years ago. You can see the random chaos of the tree, and I love it. The kids play "I Spy" with the Christmas Tree every year.

Here is our dining room table. I got the wreaths on the back of the chairs from Laurel and I love them. I used Command Hooks to hang them up. Command Hooks and I are very good friends. I love those things!

The centerpiece is a big lantern (with a battery powered candle with timer from Costco of course, another favorite) and a cute wreath at the base. Pretty simple.

I found this cute printable Believe banner on a blog somewhere, I wish I could remember where. I thought it was so much fun. I love the word believe at Christmas, because it has so many connotations.

I filled the little greenhouse with pinecones we have collected over the years, and hung mini red ornaments on the rosemary topiary.

My mantel is pretty straight forward this year. One thing about my mantel, I LOVE that there is an outlet behind the picture. That way I don't have to worry about cords hanging down we just used a bunch of extra decorations and stuck them on the mantle.

This was a fun craft we did a couple of years back each side is decorated with christmas craft paper and a number so we can count down to Christmas. My son does this first thing every morning and announces how many days are left.

I adore this ceramic snowman one of my daughters made in Ceramics last year. He makes me smile.

I made this advent with a bunch of friends a few years back. It was a LOT of work. My friends and I got together once a week for a couple of months as we "assembly lined" it. I like that it is Christ centered. (The last ornament you hang up on Christmas Eve is baby Jesus")Here is the table behind my family room couch. I Printed off the pictures, put a nativity in the cloche. Stacked a few Christmas books. The box on top of the books hold the ornaments for the advent calendar.

I think this picture is adorable. Every time I look at it I smile.

I found this great card holder at Tai Pan here in Utah. It was only $17. (Score!) It hold all of the Christmas cards we get. The kids love looking through them.

I think this berry wreath is great. I hung it on the old window I found in a dumpster. Eventually I want a sofa table or shelf under the window for more decorating space.

Love this nativity. I put it on our entry table so it's the first thing you see when you come in. I got it at Costco a few years back.

Here's our banister. It's pretty pathetic. Earlier this month it was fully decorated, but I had to decorate a table for a Christmas dinner at church and I stole all of the decorations off the garland and was too lazy to put them back up. The stockings are a little out of character for my overall decorating. They are loud, and sequined. I love them!

I got them on clearance at Target after Christmas a few years back. I just couldn't resist. Also, they are nice and wide and easy to fill.

The whole neighbor gift thing is getting out of control. It seems like you deliver two million neighbor gifts, then it never fails that you end up getting goodies from twenty other people you didn't plan on. This year, I just put my goodies in a basket by the door. When someone drops off a goodie at our door, we just hand them one of ours. A bit "Ba Humbug" but it sure is easier. This year we went for easy with chocolate dipped pretzels and Oreos. Yum!

Here is our front door. I found the wreath a few years back at Lowes. The "We Believe" banner was found at a little store in St George, Utah. That all we really did for outdoor decorations this year. It snowed early this year, and I wasn't ready to risk my Sweet Hubby's neck just to have lights on the house.

Although, what yard would be complete without an inflatable Santa and Reindeer. These thing are not really my thing, but nothing beats seeing my son get sooo excited about Santa and giving him hugs and high fives. He love this thing, so he comes out every year.

Phew! Merry Christmas!

{ Christmas is coming!!! }

2010-12-20T15:38:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas! The boys are getting old enough to really have a good time and understand the stories and origin of Christmas. They have really gotten into the spirit this year and have helped with Christmas candy, wrapping gifts, picking out gifts to give to other children who need them, and even help me clean around the house! Our decorations are minimal this year but we love them!

The first and best attraction in my opinion, the tree! (of course mom Teel's moose head on the wall helps) :) Every year we get a new ornament to put on the tree along with most the others that we've collected through the years from the Teel ornament exchange! I love Christmas, did I mention that?!

The boys stockings...I'm still working on Troy's and mine. Next year there will be another one to fill...probably full of formula and diapers but it will be fun!

Favorite Christmas pillow, goes on the couch every December!

I don't have much kitchen counter space but what I do have is decorated with Christmas candy until the holidays are over! Love it, shouldn't but I do!

Of course you can't forget the Rudolph decorations! These are the boys favorites!

These are to help the boys count down until Christmas day until I get into gear and sew an advent calender! They enjoyed making them and tearing one off every day so far though!

Well, there is much more but having been a little under the weather this year I didn't get everything out. Either way we are having a blast this holiday and the boys can't wait to open presents! Happy Holidays everyone!!!

{ Sheri's Cozy Christmas Decor }

2010-12-20T09:15:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas! Decorations, Music, Goodies, Friends, and Family.

Here are a few of my decorations.

This hutch didn't change too much. I just added a couple of things to make it more festive. I hung a boxwood wreath on the door and put all our Christmas card on the door with magnets.

I love the sign I found at Home Goods years ago. I use the greenery above to hide the wire hanger. I take out my red dutch oven to give a little more color.

I need to write something on my little chalkboard. I made this out of an old frame that I just had in my garage. I painted it white and sanded it. I cut a board to the right size and painted it with about 5 coats of chalkboard paint. I got these cute glass jars at Farmhouse Wares. I got the deer at Target and used a few bottle brush trees and fake snow. They remind me of snow globes. I really like how they turned out.

A close up of my cute sign.

Two of my girlfriends gave me this gingerbread house for my birthday. You would never know that it isn't real. I love that I can use it every year.

This is an advent that Jamie and I made one year. I happen to have it open to my birthday! ( You can find a more detailed description in this post.)

I love the old fashioned bottle brush wreath. I usually don't like pink and blue for Christmas, but I love the vintage feel this gives to my kitchen window. I especially love the little fence in my window sill. I found this after Christmas for 70% off at a little boutique.

My paperwhites are planted every year. I am happy that they stayed upright to bloom. Usually I need to tie them up tight because they get huge. In fact now they are so big they are up inside the light.

I decided to consolidate all my Santas this year in this niche above my piano. I'm not sure what to do with it the rest of the year yet.

I love our Christmas tree. The ornaments are ones the kids have made over the years along with lots from my sisters. We used to do an ornament exchange, so we got about 8 new ornaments a year. I love that most of them bring back good memories.

Here is our main nativity. This belonged to my hubby's grandparents. I think of them whenever I put it up. I had to glue on a wise man head this year, but I will have it forever.

Cute Christmas pillows.

All the stockings are hung waiting for Santa to appear. My youngest daughter added a tiny one for our dogs.

I really like anything that reminds me of a cabin or the woods. Here is my Christmas cabin that someday I really want to own!

I like to decorate all the rooms just a little bit for the holidays. My room I do a little bit more. I got the duvet at IKEA. I think it was around $29. The pillow in the middle I made out of a table runner from Roberts Crafts in Utah. I just opened one end and stuck some pillow forms in. I love it!!!!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

{ Jamie's Christmas Home Tour }

2010-12-20T07:11:00.000-08:00

Well, here we go.

This is my home for the holidays this year.

Some things have changed a lot, some things have stayed the same.

I was excited to be able to decorate the "new" living room.

No pool table to decorate around this year!

I went for a more natural feel in here with branches, berries, pinecones, etc.

The hubster laughed at my stick leaning in the corner.

I quite like it though, so it stayed.

Boo & I found it on our stick & pinecone hunting walk.

She was good little helper.

I love my Christmas quilt.

Sheri made the top when we did our quilt top exchange way back when & I quilted it.

Such a cute little stitched pillow.

Christmas books!

Love them!

I add a new one every year.

I bought a few branches of greenery & stuck them in my buckets.

I like how it looks like I brought them in from outside.

And the little pinecones in the lantern are fun.

I, finally, found a spot for my favorite garage sale find of the summer.

The large picnic basket on the bottom of the stack was a steal for $5.

Very old, very cool.

I just rolled up a garland I had & stuck in the top basket.

I lovah, lovah, looove this vignette.

Very simple, very natural with a little bit of sparkle.

Kind of like me, yes? haha!

I've had the NOEL letters in my Christmas bin for a few years.

They had all the letters in the dollar bins that they put next to the checkstands at Joanns.

They were sparkly, so I thought "Christmas" and took out the N,O,E, & L letters.

So glad I finally put them up.

I found the inspiration for this bucket embellishment here.

She has wonderful blog & her Christmas decorating is gorgeous!

And the best part was, I already had everything to put it together.

Again, the pinecones & sticks were from a walk around our neighborhood.

I knew my kids would flip out over this mistletoe.

The 3 girls did!

How could you not with it's glittery, jeweled goodness?

We've been kissing a lot underneath it. :)

We're moving into the family room now.

It has a more of a vintagey, homey traditional feeling in here.

This is my very cool vintage ornament wreath given to me from a dear friend.

I'm crazy about the kids' Christmas decor that gets added in.

Little Boo's preschool calendar.

Stockings

The Santa that we grew up with.

So old, so dirty, so loved.

My Grandpa's hutch.

I thought this would be a good place to gather all of the little nativities that I've collected.

This is a new tree this year.

I've had a few of Grandma's ornaments & wasn't sure what to do with them.

I wanted them out so I can see them & I think this is perfect!

Things that belonged to my loved ones & bring back fond memories are very special to me.

This is a new activity advent calendar that I made this year.

I bought the kit for it here.

Sassypants & I got out the paper goodies & worked on it together.

We had so much fun.

Each tag has a slip of paper attached to the back or in a pocket.

My kids love to look each day to see what activity we will be doing.

I can share my list of our activities in another post if anyone is interested.

Sassypant's 4th grade snowman.

This makes me happy...and also sad because I can't find my boy's 4th grade snowman anywhere! :(

He's 15 now & she's 12 so these things are pretty important to me.

They are a reminder of their younger days.

This music box plays "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" & was painted by Sheri.

Santa & his reindeer rotate around while the song is played.

It is so cute!

Our skinny little tree with my collection of Wizard of Oz ornaments.

Happy carolers.

A fun vintage looking star.

Pay no attention to the beads that are stuck in the cupboard door.

A Lori Mitchell snowman is tucked into the corner of my kitchen.

And, of course, my nativity.

I am grateful for my Savior & for this special time that we have to celebrate His birth.

Well, that's it.

Phew! That was a lot of pictures!

I'm going to link up my home Cottage and Vine.

She has such a fun blog & she hosting a Christmas Tour of Homes today.

Merry Christmas!

{ Red & White Christmas }

2010-12-20T06:53:00.000-08:00

I like Jamie's idea of everyone sharing pictures of their Christmas decorations....
so here's a few from my house!

I really love how my Christmas tree looks this year in my living room.

It matches all the red and white decorating I just added

in the shutters, furniture, and pillow fabrics.

And I love all the handmade ornaments on the tree.

Like this wood doll painted by my grandma.

I think of her every time I see it.

This is one of our nativities.
I love how my daughter added a star--which is actually an ornament she made at school.

This is another nativity. It is very pretty and each of the pieces are hand painted, but you can't see much of it right now.
We are trying a new tradition this year to help us remember better the true meaning of Christmas.
We started last night by putting out the stable, donkey and manger.
We listened to Christmas music and read a story about a little boy who met Mary and Joseph at the stable that night.
Each night we will be adding a new piece until we add the last one, the baby Jesus, on Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

{ Traci's Decorations }

2010-12-19T23:40:00.000-08:00

So I'm taking Jamie up on her challenge, but I don't have that much to share. I didn't put up all of my decorations this year and kept it pretty simple. And there are a few things I would like to get to add to them. But that will come with time. So here it goes.

I love this simple nativity.

I found this cute vintage looking wreath at Rogers Gardens in Newport Beach last year while shopping with Jamie and Sheri (actually we all bought one)

This is the living room. I invested in a taller, slimmer tree this year to fit my space better. I have such limited space in my condo. I really love it. And it's prelit! Awesome!

Someone gave this little nativity to us the year we got married I think. It's really cool. Hard to capture in a picture. It's etched in a crystal block.

I really love this Nativity that Jamie gave me a few years back. I had a hard time finding a "safe" place for it this year, so it's kind of tucked on a shelf by the tree. I have to keep things that are breakable away from my 4 year old and my husband.

This Santa makes me smile. My family had one exactly like this when I was growing up and I loved it as a child. My mom gave it to Jamie and I was so jealous. But I found one on ebay for only about 20 dollars! Wahoo!

I loved this picture of my daughter with the snowman we built last year. I had to add it to my decorations this year. I'm still looking for a cute frame to put it in though.

Gotta love the nativity that everyone can play with! It's a hit with just about everyone who comes over.

The newest addition to my decorations. My sister Sheri found this at Shinodas. Thanks to her she decided not to buy it and let me take it. I needed something for my table and I think this is really cute and was a good deal too!

This is in my house every day, but it's good to remember the reason for the season!

Well I hope you enjoyed my tour. Merry Christmas!

{ A Little Challenge for my Sisters }

2010-12-14T12:25:00.000-08:00

I was so tired of seeing that last horrible post sitting here at the top.

Here is something much more pleasing to the eye & a bit more cheery...

I loooove this room over at Three Pixie Lane!

And it's even more charming dressed up for Christmas.

Go check out the rest of the room.

I know you will love it too.

Well, my computer is slowy making it's recovery as I had to completely wipe it out & start over.

I took pictures today of my Christmas decor & it got me thinking.

It got me thinking that I really wish I could see how my sisters decorated for Christmas.

I mean, isn't that why we have this blog?

So we can share those types of things with each other?

And that got me thinking some more...

I think we, sisters, should all meet up here this coming Monday & post our Christmas decor.

What do you say?

I know some of you are a little bit blog challenged so I am available all week for tech help.

Just call. :)

I love you girls & hope to see you here Monday!

{ Oh, Great }

2010-12-07T16:01:00.000-08:00

My stupid, stupid computer is broken again!!!

They've had to repair several parts including replacing the hard drive twice!

It looks like a hard drive problem again!

I really hope to be back soon.

{ Sorry for all of the bold words and exclamation points. It has been a bit frustrating. }

{ Are You Ready? }

2010-11-27T16:57:00.000-08:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Are you ready?

I'm off to a good start this year.

My Christmas shopping is done & our Christmas cards are in the mail!

source: unknown

I know...hate me.

I'm not trying to brag, I am just reeeeally happy that I did it.

Every year I say I am going to do it, but this is the first year it has actually happened.

It will probably never happen again.

source: HGTV

I haven't done any decorating, though.

I've been dragging my feet there.

source: Pretties and Posies

These are pictures I found in my Christmas decorating file.

I love them.

source: White Flower Farmhouse

I use a lot more color in my Christmas decorating.

But I love the all white with natural elements theme.

Don't you sometimes wish you could have another house

just so you could decorate it in a different style than you're used to?

I do.

Is that weird?

source: Pretties and Posies

I am looking forward to getting out my decorations next week.

I hope my sisters will share their Christmas decor here on our blog. {hint, hint}

Merry Christmas!

{that was my first "Merry Christmas" of the year...yay!}

{ Living Room Improvements }

2010-11-04T22:02:00.000-07:00

My husband and I bought our first condo a little over two years ago. We were so excited, but it needed a little work. Slowly we've been trying to do little things to help it to feel more like home. This is what our living room looked like the day we got the keys. It was ok, but nothing great. I really disliked the Ikea bookcases that were on this wall. I thought they were really ugly, but they also didn't fit into the space well. The openings are different widths, so on one side the bookcase was too small and there were gaps. On the other side the bookcase was so tight I had to use a hammer to smash it into pieces to get it out. They were one of the first things I got rid of after we moved in. Also, as you can see the fireplace looks a little bare. There is no cover for it at all and it felt like it was unfinished.

We put a fresh coat of paint on the walls before we moved in which helped the room a lot. I also found a decorative iron wall hanging at a garage sale for 15 dollars that I thought would be perfect for the front of the fireplace. I forgot to take a close up picture of it before, but you can kind of see it here.

I spray painted it black and hung it onto the fireplace surround with a couple of screws. I really think it added a lot to the fireplace. It just looks finished, you know. And when I want to use it, I can just lift the front piece off of the screws and light it up. So easy!

Back to the shelving. After I took the bookcases out of the living room there was no place to put any cute accessories or too add anything with personality into the room. There was just this big blank wall of Blah! I was frusterated after looking for shelves that would fit into the space (remember the two sides of the fireplace are different widths) and everything was too expensive for the amount of them I would need. My sister Jamie had a great idea to just build some ourselves. I would never attempt this on my own because I'm just not handy that way, but she convinced me we could do it together. We went to Home Depot and got the supplies. Long pieces of wood that we could cut down to fit the uneven spaces, corbels, and decorative molding to put on the front of each shelf. First, I used Elmers Wood Filler to fill in all the grooves and make the pieces of wood smooth.

Then I painted everything white.

After I was finished with the prep work, my wonderful, amazing, talented, creative, beautiful sister Jamie came over and she pretty much built the shelves on her own. I just gave her tools when she asked for them and ran to get supplies we had forgotten. So here is the before picture...

And here is the after. Doesn't it look soooo much better! I think it's amazing and adds so much to the room. Now I just need money so I can accessorize them. Oh, and we also tucked all those cords in the wall so they would be out of the way. Thank you Jamie for your help. I could never have done it without you!

{ Our New Master Bedroom }

2010-10-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

I guess I kind of have a black and white theme going on. I love the branches in the vase on the dresser.

This is a huge master bedroom compared to what we used to have. We put our huge entertainment center on this wall. I'm kind of blind so now I can see the TV from my bed. It is kind of nice.

I really like the middle pillow on my bed. I just got it at Home Goods. I think it ties all of the bedding together.

These bookcases used to be in my living room. I love that they fill up this whole wall and feels kind of like a library. I love to read.

Here's a close up on my bookcase accessories.

The bedroom is done. I am going to hang a chandelier in the closet that Jamie got at garage sale and couldn't use. I already put a large ottoman in the center. My closet is HUGE! If I ever get it looking cute and done I will post some pictures.

Have a spooky holiday weekend!