yOuR liTtLe BiRdiE

Pink and Blue Girls Room

2012-01-27T09:30:00.000-06:00

My daughter recently turned three and we decided she was ready for a twin bed! We wanted her toddler room to be fun, colorful and full of life. I love the way it turned out- take a tour with me!

Her nursery had blue walls with clouds and flowers. We didn't want to paint, so we left the blue walls and the clouds and just painted over the flowers. That meant that I needed to find bedding with blue in it. Since her nursery was primary colors, I wanted to use more pink this time around. I found her bedding on Pottery Barn Kids on clearance over a year ago. I just stored it away awaiting her being ready for a twin bed.

Her actual bed is from here. We have the queen version in our guest room- it is a great deal. I kept it white, but really debated painting it hot pink. I really wanted the footboard also, but the cost of a twin mattress and box springs shocked me and took up more of my budget that I had wanted!

Since I didn't buy the footboard, I was able to splurge on the pink shag rug and the pink tulle bedskirt from Target. Have you seen the pink tulle bedskirt on Pottery Barn Kids? It is beautiful and expensive!

Her PBK anywhere chair from her first Easter sits nicely in her room now and gives her a place to read. The little birdie on the chair was lovingly made by my Mom and I. It matches the oblong birdie pillow on her bed. I used yellow chenille, pink scraps from her curtains, and a blue small dotted fabric I found online years ago. We had planned to make a bedskirt from the blue fabric, but I fell in love with the tulle.

Her sweet little mirrored nightstand next to her bed is also from Target. It houses a recent family photo and her special Ok to Wake alarm clock. This thing is a life saver! I love the little drawer on the nightstand- it stores all of her silly bands and finger puppets :)

Above her bed are two shelves we installed before she was born. I am still working on what arrangement I like on these. She likes to take things off the bottom shelf!

At the foot of her bed is her books, bird cage, hooks for her hats and baby bed. I tried to bring in a litlte yellow in her room because of the large yellow chenille recliner we own. But, in the end, the yellow chair took up too much room and we took it out of the room.

The birdcage is from Hobby Lobby and I painted it pink and hung a small stuffed birdie inside. I made the subway art in the yellow frame. I saw a couple of etsy I liked and decided I could do it myself. Easiest project- fun fonts, cool colors and a color printer later!

Her art is very personalized- it is all the things we work on with her daily. She hears these things hourly :)

Across the room is her big Hemnes dresser from IKEA, her fish Dorothy, music player, and her collection of hair bows on a dress form. The "Abby Lu" artwork is from Small Words. Her work is amazing and she opens her shop for like 24 hours once a year and then takes about 125 orders before closing it again. I was like #15 because I had stalked her site, Facebook and Twitter!

Her birdie decal is now sprouting from her toys. I wish I had a better way to organize her toys. There are so many small parts and they don't sort well. It drives me a little crazy. I think this with baskets would be a great piece for many years ( toys, then pictures, trophies, yearbooks, etc.). One day!

Thanks for touring Abby Lu's new room!

Carmelitas

2012-01-24T07:17:00.003-06:00

I saw this picture and recipe for Carmelitas and I had to make them. I thought about them for days, looked at them on Pinterest, and even dreamt about them. And, then I made them.

And, they are divine. The gooey caramel in the center is perfection!

A couple of tips- this makes an 8x8 pan which seems small; however, these are rich and you eat a fudge sized bite rather than a brownie sized bite. Also, they take forever to cool. I would put them in the refrigerator and think it would be best to make them overnight. If you cut them too early, the caramel center is still liquid and comes out. Enjoy!

2011 Scrapbook

2012-01-21T15:00:00.000-06:00

I ordered my 2011 scrapbook on January 11th and it is on it's way to me! This is my second year to do a digital scrapbook (here is 2010) and I love it! The colors are bold, pages are shiny, and it all looks so professional!

Here are a few of my favorite pages- I love the vacation pages, but the everyday ones of my daughter make me smile the most. I know I'll look back and be amazed at how small she was!

I use Scrapbook Factory Deluxe to make my pages. It is easier to learn and much less expensive that photo editing software. I use the same software to create blog designs, notepads, stationary, and much more!

The family photos were taken at Picture People. I love red and black together... it may have something to do with my alma mater, Texas Tech University!

I buy most of my digital kits from Sweet Shoppe Designs. They have new releases on sale every Saturday and I look through them and try to plan ahead. I don't end up buying many kits when doing my book since I have them year round. I currently own over 100 kits.

I normally have about half the year done come December and then I get motivated to finish out the year! I have about 80 pages each year- 40 doubles if you will. I print them via Shutterfly and try to get it done in early January when they run 40% off their books. It makes a big difference!

If you are interested in getting started with digital scrapbooking, I can not recommend it enough. I have been doing it for 5 years and just love it. It doesn't make a mess, travels well, and once you buy a kit you can use it repeatedly. It is not like a sticker that can only be used once.

Feel free to leave a comment or email me if you have any questions!

Annual Blessing Ring

2012-01-19T17:09:00.000-06:00

I have always wondered what is the best way to store my Christmas cards and any sweet notes I receive throughout the year. Last year, I placed many of them in an album, but I didn't like the finished product and cards with photos on the inside or back were lost in the book. I think I found the right answer... a blessing ring.

Blessing rings are common for major occasions- 40th birthday, wedding, baby showers, etc. but I decided to make a ring for each year. This would include all of the cards I receive during the year- birth announcements, birthday cards, Mother's Day, etc. and would end with Christmas cards. I would make our Christmas cards the first card on the ring annually.

This is the basic ring you purchase- $1.47 at Hobby Lobby in the jewelry aisle. Super inexpensive.

Here is my 2011 ring with Christmas cards including ours on the front. I didn't do a good job saving cards during the year, but plan to in 2012. I also plan to add some various ribbons between layers of card just tied in simple knots with long tails to make the ring more fun.

I recommend buying a ring and a hole punch this month and keeping them handy. You can add cards as you receive them and stay organized!

Sweet and Salty Salad (and a skinny version)

2012-01-17T16:47:00.000-06:00

I love how blogging and Pinterest have made me a more creative cook. When I am looking for new recipes, I don't ever look in my cookbook cabinets, I go online and start playing around. One of my favorite bloggers, Erin from Blue Eyed Bride, shared this pineapple and pretzel salad on her blog in November, and I have craved it since.

I made it on New Year's Day and it is delicious! It is seriously, so good. The sweet from the cream cheese and the salty crunch of the pretzels- yummo!

I am doing the HCG diet again over the next 3-6 weeks and I will miss this salad. Oh, and bread, pasta, and doughnuts. I obviously have a problem! ha! My husband and I did the HCG diet last Spring and we both lost about 15 pounds in 40 days. It works, but it is hard! We have kept most of it off and are ready to lose 15 more!

Anyway, back to the salad, here is the recipe from Erin. Enjoy!

Pineapple Pretzel Salad

2 cups pretzel sticks, broken into one inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick butter, melted
8 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/2 cup powdered sugar
20 oz pineapple tidbits, drained
8 oz cool whip

Preheat oven to 400. Put pretzel pieces in a large mixing bowl. Pour sugar and melted butter on pretzels. Mix until pretzels are coated well. Pour mixture onto a foil-lined cookie sheet and spread evenly. Bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven, stir and allow to cool. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together powdered sugar and cream cheese. Stir in cool whip.

Layer the following in a trifle bowl (or other dish- layers look pretty in trifle bowl!): drained pineapple, cream cheese mixture, pretzels (add this right before serving so it doesn’t get soggy). Best made and eaten on same day.

Now, for the skinny version. Here is what I made:

1/2 can No Sugar Added Mandarin Oranges
3 T Fat Free cool whip
5 Pepperidge Farms Pretzel thins

Drain oranges and pour into bowl. Scoop cool whip on top of oranges. Crush pretzels in your hand and place on top. It is really skinny and a great sweet and salty "treat".

Dolls and Doughnuts Party Take Home Treats

2012-01-15T15:55:00.000-06:00

Since we already had two activities at the party that included take home items, I made these little treat bags as a simple and inexpensive final take home for the kids. I placed them inside Abby's baby doll bed in keeping with the theme of the party and placed it on the table by my front door.

Inside the little baggies were "bacon and eggs" and donut seeds. I found both ideas via Pinterest! The donut seeds are simply cocoa Cheerios, which look like small donuts to a child. Genius!

Bacon and eggs are easy to make- you need pretzel sticks, vanilla candy melts and yellow M&Ms.

Place three pretzels next to each other on a foil lined cookie sheet. Lay one vanilla melt on top of each threesome. Place the cookie sheet in a heated oven (I did 350) for less than 2 minutes. The vanilla will soften and you can press the M&M into the white melty candy.

It takes about 20 minutes for the vanilla to harden again. Once it is cooled and hard, you can serve them or place them inside your goodie bags. I topped mine with cardstock designed to match the invites using A Dozen Reasons, found at Sweet Shoppe Designs. This is the digital kit I used for the invites and all of the party print outs. For snack size baggies, I have found that 7" wide by 3.25 inches tall is the best size.

For more Dolls and Doughnuts party details, click here.

Dolls and Doughnuts Party Activities

2012-01-13T15:49:00.000-06:00

I am a big believer in having fun crafts for the guests to do at Abby Lu's birthday parties. You'll recall last year, they decorated felt cookies in keeping with the Milk and Cookies theme.

This year with her party being at breakfast and in jammies, I wanted activities that matched that theme. Ultimately, each of these were inspired by Pinterest, but had some adaptations as I thought about the age of our guests.

The two main crafts awaiting all of the guests were pillowcases to decorate and cereal necklaces to make. The necklaces were set up on Abby Lu's kid sized table in the middle of our living room. We had a big bucket of Fruit Loops and a small bucket of pink and blue curly ribbon cut into long enough pieces. The kids could sit and string the fruit loops onto the ribbon and then make a necklace or bracelet. I loved seeing kids walk around eating their creations!

The second activity allowed them to decorate pillowcases. I bought plain white pillowcases for very little on eBay. I then made two cardboard inserts from old boxes and put fabric markers in a bucket. The kids could color and decorate as they wanted with the markers. Not all kids made a pillowcase- the kids ages 5 and up seemed to most enjoy it. I want to pull it back out for Abby Lu to color one. She is always so proud to have her "art" on display!

I included a little take home instruction sheet for the parents to make sure the pillowcase art is sealed. I pulled this off the back of the fabric markers box.

The final activity provided the most fun for the adults and kids! We had the kids bob for doughnuts! We hung a dozen doughnuts via twine onto a string and hung them across the opening to the dining room.

Sweet Laura Mae was too short for this doughnut!

Once we said go, the kids went to town trying to eat their doughnut first without using their hands! It was hilarious and we all had our cameras and phones out to capture it!

Eventually we called it and let them grab the string and finish their doughnut! Hilarious fun!

If you decide to take on this activity, I would pre tie the twine onto your doughnuts the night before and then you can tie them quickly onto the string hanging on the wall. It made it quicker at the actual party!

For more Dolls and Doughnuts party ideas, click here and here.

Dolls and Doughnuts Party Foods and Recipes

2012-01-11T18:19:00.000-06:00

When we decided to do a Dolls and Doughnuts party, I was most excited about breakfast foods. I love breakfast and brunch, so I knew it would be fun and easy!

Of course, a 9:30 am party needs coffee, milk and orange juice. We also had cold water with orange slices floating and this yummy banana punch.

I wanted a variety of sweets and protein for everyone. I also think it is important that kids' parties have foods that kids will eat and love. All this went into the menu for the party.

I found this recipe for Bacon and Egg Muffins on Pinterest. These were wonderful and super easy. Mine ended up being pretty dry, but I think it was because I made them the night before. I would recommend cooking them the morning of.

Every toddler I know loves mini pancakes. So, I made 2 boxes of them on a big cookie sheet in the oven. When done, I put three of them on a toothpick with a blueberry. This made the presentation better and easier for people to grab them. Depending upon your party colors, you could add a mint leaf, a raspberry, green grape, lots of options!

The party's fruit cups were displayed in these little baking cups. The had my blue, red and pink so I couldn't resist them. I had blueberries, mandarin oranges, bananas, apples and raspberries in the little cups.

Finally, we picked up sausage and cheese kolaches and doughnut holes from the neighborhood shop the morning of the party. We had about 40 people and I ordered 10 dozen doughnut holes. They were gone! It may have something to do with them being in reach of the birthday girl!

The final item on our menu was Jan's Gourmet Potatoes. Jan is the mother of a friend of mine and I heard she is famous for these potatoes. They were really good, but they did not end up being as much of a hashbrown casserole as I had expected. They were more like twice baked potatoes and actually tasted just like the baked potato casserole from a local bar-b-que restaurant.

Jan's Gourmet Potatoes

8 medium potatoes, boiled with skins on

2 c grated cheddar cheese

10 T butter

1-2 cups sour cream or half and half

1 onion, diced

1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

Boil potatoes until done. Let cool, peel and grate.

Saute onions in butter then add 1 cup of the sour cream or half and half, salt and pepper. Mix into the potatoes and add grated cheese. Pour into casserole dish. Add more half and half if needed to make the mixture moist. I used 2 full cups of half and half. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes. Indulge yourself and add a little more cheese on top during the last 5 minutes.

This whole casserole can be made the night before and then baked. It would be great for Thanksgiving lunch.

Finally, we had birthday cake! I didn't want a traditional cake, so I did a giant rice krispies cake, found on Martha Stewart's website. You essentially make a big batch and then fill 2 8" round cake pans with the treat, saving a handful aside in tupperware. Once cooled, the cakes are removed from the pan and stacked on top of each other. The extra you saved can be used to fill in the holes from merging the two.

In keeping with the birthday theme, we added Trix on top with the number 3 and a border. It was an unexpected twist and fun for kids and grown ups alike.

To see more on the party, click here or here.

Dolls and Doughnuts Party Decor

2012-01-09T18:47:00.003-06:00

We celebrated Abby Lu's 3rd birthday this past weekend with about 20 of her friends from church, daycare, Mother's Day Out and children of my husband and my friends. The party was held at 9:30 in the morning at our home. You can see the invitation I designed and the paper goods selected for the party here.

Party planning is a labor of love. As a professional meeting planner, I don't get to do as much fun, creative, social planning as I would like. Kids birthday parties have quickly become my favorite!

The guests began arriving shortly before 9:30 and all the littles wore their jammies and brought a favorite doll or stuffed toy. I love sweet little kids in their clean jammies! Such fun to see everyone in slippers, too!

The front door was adorned with a burlap doughnut. I got the idea here. I used a hat box lid and a plate to get my shape and then cut out my burlap. I pained the pink icing using simple craft paint from Hobby Lobby. The "sprinkles" are a piece of felt cut into small rectangles. They were then hot glued on. My Mom was in town when I made this, so she sewed it together for me and we stuffed it with tissue paper. If you don't have a sewing machine, a stapler works great, too!

The mantle in our living room was decked out in fun breakfast themed decor. I filled my favorite apothecary jars with cereal and stood vintage paper dolls in front of them. On the right, I placed babies breath flowers inside a cheap red toaster I bought at the local grocery store and included a recent photo of the birthday girl.

The paper doll garland was super easy to make using fun scrapbook papers from Hobby Lobby and a template from here.

I set the table with all the food to look like a bed. This was achieved using 2 white flat queen sheets and 3 pillows from our home. I purchased 3 yards of pink fleece to resemble a blanket and made the "bed". I also sat Abby's baby doll, we call BIG baby, on the bed and dressed her in one of Abby's 9 month dresses. I told you she is a BIG baby! I added some decorative ribbon to the front pillow and just pinned it on the back side.

More details on the food coming soon! I ordered the blue polka dot balloons and 2 giant 3' pink polka dotted balloons from here.

The drink table was set up on the side board in our dining room and it was adorned with 4 kitchen towels I loved all sewn together to make a runner. I bought these at my favorite store in Fredericksburg, Texas called Things in A Room. They have tons of vintage and fresh new fabrics.

The final decor was placed at the entry table for guests to take a treat on their way out the door. I placed the baggies of goodies (details on those coming!) inside Abby's baby doll bed. The chalkboard message board is the most versatile piece- I love it!

There it is- simple and inexpensive decor for a breakfast themed party. You could do Pancakes and Pajamas, Pajam-a-rama, or Dolls and Doughnuts. It is a fun theme to create! To see more ideas for this theme, visit the party board on Pinterest.

I'll share food and activities as well as take home treats DIY this week!

Helpful Housekeeping via Pinterest

2012-01-07T09:40:00.000-06:00

I have learned so many neat things on Pinterest! Here are two recent pins that I tried and am very grateful for:

Did you know that you can shred cooked chicken in your kitchen aid mixer? Just use the paddle on boiled chicken and it shreds in 20 seconds. Super quick and easy!

Our couch is almost 8 years old and it is sagging in all the wrong places. It is now wonderful for lounging, but you can't sit up on it anymore. Well, someone pinned that you can put pillows in the dyer with a tennis ball and it will fluff them. It worked like a charm. Left pillow- fluffed, right pillow- unfluffed.

Thank you Pinterest!

Dolls and Doughnuts Party Preview

2012-01-05T09:19:00.002-06:00

My daughter's 3rd birthday party is this weekend. I truly love planning parties for her and have had her theme for almost a year! We are doing a breakfast party because I think that works well around nap schedules and I love brunch foods.

Abby loves her baby dolls right now and doughnuts are her favorite food- we have them most every Saturday morning. I thought sleepy headed kid pictures in their jammies would be fun!

Here are the paper goods ordered for the party. I love Cath Kidston stuff and Shop Sweet Lulu had everything I needed! I am using pinks, blues and a little red in the decor.

I can't wait to show you the fun activities I have planned along with the yummy food! More details coming next week!

Duggar's Homemade Laundry Detergent

2012-01-03T09:57:00.000-06:00

I made my own batch of laundry detergent earlier this month. I have never felt so domestic! It smells great, I know exactly what is in it, and it is so much more economical. I posted on Facebook my new detergent and heard great reviews from friends that have used it.

I will admit I have never noticed, much less purchased, the ingredients used in making soap; however, they must be popular as all three are on the laundry aisle at Wal-mart. It doesn't get much easier than that.

The only real step is grating the Fels-Naptha bar of soap. It totally looks like cheddar cheese and smells like lemons.

Here is the full recipe on Jessica's blog. It looks like warm yellow soapy water when all mixed up.

Of course I had to make cute labels for my oh so boring bucket. You can get a free copy here.

The label on the lid tells you how much to mix with water and how much to use with each load. The label on the side of the bucket is the initial mixing directions for future batches of detergent.

It cost me about $10 to make this batch which includes the bucket, a big boxes of washing soda and Borax. Next time (which will be in 6-12 months), I will only have to buy a new bar of soap which is less than $3!

That is a real savings and makes this worth a try!

January Desktop

2012-01-01T08:05:00.000-06:00

Happy 2012!

Enjoy this month's desktop and good luck keeping your resolutions!

2011 Recap

2011-12-31T07:49:00.000-06:00

I am learning to love the new blogger interface- I dreaded making the change for so long! But, it is more user friendly, more customization, and it gave me an opportunity to look back at some blog stats. I thought it would be fun to do a 2011 recap- my most read blog posts may surprise you- it did for me!

The post popular post of 2011 is.... drumroll please.... my favorite beauty products! I find this funny! My blog is really about crafts, cooking and party planning more than beauty. My guess is that lots of people are googling Shellac which I covered in the post.

The next most popular post in 2011- my daughter's 2nd birthday party themed with cookies and milk. I love party planning and kids parties are the most fun! I'm glad I could share this labor of love with lots of readers. Her 3rd birthday was 2 days ago and her party is next weekend. Get ready for "Dolls and Doughnuts"!

Along those lines, my most popular post ever is her first birthday, Abby Cadabby party. Abby Cadabby is so popular that I can imagine lots of people theme a party around her.

I had lots of fun doing the 12 days of handmade Christmas this year! So many of the ideas came from Pinterest- I am still not sure if Pinterest saves me money or costs me! The most popular 12 days item was the photo coasters. Along with it getting blog hits and repins on Pinterest, many of my friends made these as gifts for parents and grandparents.

Pinterest has been my 2011 addiction for sure! I could spend hours on the site making myself fun to do lists. I have made numerous crafts and recipes from the site! Of all the things I have pinned, these potatoes have the most repins. How funny is that! I love these potatoes, but I had no idea they were so loved!

Happy New Year's Eve- I hope 2011 has been a fantastic year for you. I have loved blogging about my life and love looking back and then looking forward. I hope 2012 is our best year yet! Cheers!

More Sugar Scrubs

2011-12-28T09:02:00.000-06:00

I am addicted to making sugar scrubs now! After making the Peppermint Sugar Scrub and loving it, I went onto Pinterest in search of more options.

I ended up purchasing 24 different sugar scrub recipes from here and have made two new yummy options- Pumpkin Pie (above) and Milk and Honey (below). She has 2 scrub options per month that match the season or holiday that month. I can't wait to make more!

Happy Scrubbing!

Eat Drink and Be Merry!

2011-12-26T09:30:00.001-06:00

My refrigerator is overflowing with so many yummy leftovers I may not have to cook for a week!

When you host family for any extended period of time, you spend a lot of time in the kitchen. You make a long grocery list after detailed meal planning of your very favorite recipes and then you over prepare, make lots of food, eat too much, and start the next meal as soon as the dishes are down. Don't get me wrong, I show love through food, so I am happy to cook and bake all through the holidays.

Here is a glimpse of our holiday weekend....

For Christmas Eve lunch, my Dad and step-Mom brought pizza! It was unexpected and perfectly simple for our casual lunch and gift exchange. I made a big salad and Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings.

For dinner on Christmas eve, we needed something simple since we were attending church services just before dinner. I made my favorite roast in the crockpot, green beans with brown sugar, and a pasta made from spinach and garlic. We were eating within 30 minutes of arriving home!

For breakfast on Christmas morning, we had monkey bread and migas. I don't know if migas are a regional food, but they are yummy! Eggs mixed with onions, jalapenos, tomatoes, corn tortilla strips, and cheese!

I forgot to snap my plate at lunch on Saturday (bad blogger!), but we made Bunco Buns, veggies with Ranch dip, chips and guacamole and ate lots of leftover desserts!

For dinner, we had the easiest and best pulled pork with homemade potato salad. The BBQ sauce we used this time for the pork was a sweet sauce and I think I like it even better!

For dessert, in celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, we made Pioneer Woman's Tres Leches cake. It is a wonderful moist cake with whipped cream on top. We covered it in sugar sprinkles and used the baby Jesus from my daughter's Little People nativity. She LOVED singing to her little baby Jesus!

We have had a wonderful holiday with lots of time at home playing and watching TV in our jammies! We are celebrating with more friends and family 3 nights this week, so our Christmas is still in full swing!

Any favorite foods from the holidays in your kitchen? I'd love to try something new!

My Christmas Survey

2011-12-24T14:23:00.000-06:00

I love these fun Q&A's, like this one I found on my friend Erica's blog. In case you are blog surfing on Christmas Eve, here is my Christmas survey!

Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper- I use less than 5 bags per year for those odd shaped gifts. I love the presentation of a box with a bow.

Real tree or artificial?
Artificial- I can't imagine spending money to buy a tree every year. I also really like my tree pre-lit and Mother Nature doesn't do that!

When do you put up the decoration and tree?
It is normally done Thanksgiving weekend and I take it down before New Year's Eve. After Christmas, I just want my house back in order. This year we are doing our second family Christmas on 12/29, so I'll likely take it down the next day.

Do you have a nativity scene?
We have an inexpensive wooden one and the Little People one for Abby.

Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot Chocolate, salted caramel made with whole milk if I have my choice.

Colored lights on tree or white?
All white.

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
We have had crabbies the past few years and I love them!

What is your favorite Holiday Dessert or snack?
Monkey bread, Little Debbie Christmas tree cakes and Peppermint Snowballs

Favorite Holiday memory (or gift) as a child?
Having to come down the stairs and act surprised by our gifts after my Mom/Dad forgot to get the camera out the first time!

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I don't know?

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Yes, we open gifts from each other on Christmas Eve including new Christmas jammies. I read elsewhere about someone opening Christmas jammies on Thanksgiving night and I really like that idea better. We save Santa and stockings for Christmas morning.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
With lots of soft wool and warm decor- mittens, sweaters, etc. See here for more details.

What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Making sure my family and most importantly my daughter knows it is about so much more than the presents.

What is your favorite tradition?
My Christmas charm bracelet filled with one charm each year from my husband.

Which do you prefer, Giving or Receiving?
I love finding the perfect gift for someone, but I also love receiving!

What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Baby It's Cold Outside

Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
I like them, especially spearmint ones!

Hardest person to buy for?
My Dad and my Mother-in-Law

Easiest person to buy for?
Marcus and Abby Lu

Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail photo cards

Favorite Christmas Movie/Show?
I don't watch any holiday shows?

When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I shop year round, but really focus on it in late October

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
I have shared something with someone who would love it/use it more :)

Travel at Christmas or stay home?
We are normally home, or don't travel far or overnight.

Can you name all of Santa's reindeers?
Only if I sing the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

Angel on the tree top or a star?
I have a big Santa on top of my tree.

Most annoying thing about this time of year?
All of the people, the traffic and the lines! Where are they the other 11 months?

Does Santa leave the gifts wrapped or unwrapped?
Unwrapped

Do you leave goodies for Santa on Christmas Eve?
Yes, cookies and milk of course.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T05:27:00.000-06:00

Nacho Cheese Soup

2011-12-22T09:05:00.000-06:00

I was emptying the dishwasher recently and it only had bowls and spoons. No plates. No forks. We eat a lot of soup this time of year! I love the ease of crock pot cooking and with soup, we freeze half for another night. Soup freezes well and I like that!

Here is the easy recipe- this is more like a taco/Mexican soup than cheese. Not anything like your broccoli cheese variety.

Just add cornbread and you are set! My favorite green chili cornbread would be ideal!

Happy Soup Season!

DIY- Large Framed Chalkboard

2011-12-20T17:09:00.002-06:00

I saw pictures online and on Pinterest of oversized chalkboards and knew I had the perfect space for a really big one! We have had 2 black barstools in this space since we moved in; however, nobody ever sits on them- they just hold stuff and they made our walkway into the kitchen narrower than I would like. Plus, we spend a lot of time in the living room and kitchen and this gave our 3 year old a place to be active in the space. I wanted my board 5 feet x 3 feet so I knew to be economical, I needed to do it myself!

After some research and a few trips to Lowes, we bought a solid board made from pressed cardboard, like they use to make pegboard. They cut it down to size for us in the store and it cost less than $9. We also purchased basic molding in the lumber section to make our frame with. It was about $35 for three large pieces.

I painted our board with magnetic paint and then chalkboard paint. Using a large roller helped it to go on faster and more evenly. I did 3 coats of the magnetic paint and 2 coats of chalkboard paint. In hindsight, the magnetic paint may not work well under chalkboard paint. It can hold up a piece of paper, but not much more. I wonder if the chalk is thicker paint and covers the magnetic paint too much?

My husband cut the frame down to size using a simple miter box. I wish we owned a big saw to do it! I then began the painting process. I used leftover red paint from our dining room/living room wall. It was the color I wanted and I didn't want to introduce another shade of red in the same rooms. Although blurry, don't let red primer scare you! It always starts out pink!

Because I wanted this to look like an old chalkboard from a red school house, I then went back and sanded the trim. It had 1 coat of primer and 2 coats of red. I used Crushed Seed from Dutch Boy.

The final step was two coats of Valspar Antiquing Glaze from Lowes. You paint it on with a foam brush and then wipe it off. I wanted it aged and dark in the grooves of the molding.

Once our chalkboard was dry, we attached a drawer pull upside down to hold chalk and/or the eraser. This one was at Home Depot and is by Martha Stewart. The others I had found were rounded and didn't hold much chalk. Thank you Martha!

We wanted the chalkboard to be secure since little hands would be touching it, but also didn't want you to see a bunch of screws! So, we screwed the board into the wall before attaching the molding. We did 3 screws across the top, 2 on each side, and 3 across the bottom. We used brackets along the top only.

Our molding was then attached with thick mounting tape and covered up the screws that put the board into the wall. It looks seamless and is totally secure!

The real downside to our plan is that to move it or remove it we will likely destroy it! I am okay with that to have it look great on the wall everyday.

It fits in great with our house and gives personality to the plain wall.

Most importantly, Abby Lu loves it and has written all over it since it was hung! I love something that looks good and gives Abby and I a place to learn and play. Her ABCs will be taught on this board!

Let me know if you have any questions on making this board! I love it and am sure your family will too!

Totally Turquoise

2011-12-18T08:09:00.000-06:00

I have successfully convinced my husband to let me paint a room in our house one of these colors. It isn't a room he visits very often. It is small, but has a window to help lighten this dark color. And, the other components in the room are white.

Any guesses? Before and after photos coming in the next few weeks!

Last Minute Cookies and a Story About Butter

2011-12-17T09:45:00.000-06:00

I had the brilliant idea to make some cookies last minute. And while they tasted wonderful, I learned a valuable lesson about softened butter versus melted butter. Follow along with me...

Here are the simple ingredients- sugar cookie mix, crushed peppermint (now sold in some grocery stores), and dipping chocolate.

The sugar cookie mix called for a stick of softened butter and 1 egg. I had forgotten to lay out butter, so I just microwaved it about 20 seconds. It was softened in places and liquid in others. No big deal. I made my dough balls and rolled them in peppermints.

I knew there was a problem about 5 minutes into baking them. They were flat and the outer edges were liquid and cooking very quickly. I immediately tweeted Paula Deen and posted my picture on Facebook asking what went wrong? Butter seemed to be the answer that made the most sense, according to my Facebook friends. I am still awaiting an answer from Paula!

We melted the chocolate and dipped half the cookie in it. Cooled them on wax paper and have munched on them every night.

These cookies were super easy and if you follow the directions and only soften your butter, they'll look great and much more sophisticated than a simple mix!

Boxes of Goodies with Recipes

2011-12-16T07:31:00.003-06:00

This Christmas season my husband wanted to take goodies to his clients that he doesn't get to see every often. Since I love to bake and am home now, we decided it would be fun for me to make them baskets of yummy treats! I think people love getting homemade goodies these days when everything else is quicker and easier.

I made 6 of my favorite holiday treats. You can click on the links below for the recipes for each. All of them are simple- they are low ingredients, mix and bake types of recipes. They are all tested year after year by our family and we love each of them.

We placed the goodies in boxes from Garnish and wrapped them up with twine. I love Garnish! If you think the package and presentation is just as important as the gift, check them out!

I made simple labels for the boxes and included a list of all foods on a matching label inside the lid. What fun it was to bake all day and support my lovely husband in the process!

UPDATE: My Cheese Crisp dough was really crumbly this time around. Add a little milk to the mix until you have a dough and they'll taste great!

Merry Merry- My Merry Trees

2011-12-14T07:44:00.002-06:00

I love having my Christmas tree up- doesn't it just make your living room feel special? I want to spend time playing with Abby and watching TV with Marcus by tree light. Plus, we've been having cooler weather than normal this month and anything below 60 warrants a fireplace in my opinion!

We moved a chair and ottoman out of the living room to be able to place the tree next to the fireplace this year. It was a wise move :) Our tree is 9 feet tall and is a "skinny" tree. Based upon our space, it is the right fit for us. We had an 8 foot "fat" tree in our old house. It is artificial, from Hobby Lobby ( my favorite!) and is pre-lit. Thank goodness. Although, that just means my least favorite job is fluffing it. Does anything else HATE that job? It takes forever and I get all scratchy!

Here are some of my favorite ornaments.... I guess my theme is flannel? or winter clothes? cozy? Any idea what my theme is? I like soft ornaments, big fuzzy Santas, vintage looking toys, and have plaid scraps of fabric tied into rings of garland.

I have two handmade tree skirts I use- this one was handmade by my husband's Aunt and has lots of red and green with a little gold. It is beautiful and I love having something made in the family. My other skirt was made by my Mom and is a variety of plaids.

I didn't take any good pictures of our other tree, but you can see it here. My daughter Abby Lu is three and she has a tree in her room. It is white and covered in sweets- gingerbread men, candy canes, peppermint swirls, etc. She also has garland running around the tree- I made it from green, white, red, and pink pom poms.

Thanks for visiting my tree!

Our Halls Are Decked!

2011-12-11T14:29:00.006-06:00

Oh how I love my home at Christmas time! I love the excitement of Santa, wrapped presents under the tree, peppermint candles and cookies, and the evenings with a fireplace and lit tree. It all makes me happy! So welcome, look around, and leave me a comment with a link to your home. I love getting ideas and peeking in other's homes!

Our home has a really wide, like 6' wide, entryway. In the floorplan, they called it a gallery. We aren't gallery type people, but we do like the open space it gives us. The large wall that leads into the living room is covered in a collage of art, clocks, shelves, and more. I added in a few Christmas trees on the shelves, and put out a bucket of old Christmas cards on the red and white runner on the vintage dresser. Having warm blankets in the basket makes me happy. I think of cozy nights watching football on the couch with my husband.

When you first open the door, I have the red table with holiday pictures, garland, and my favorite shutter pained green a few years ago for holding Christmas cards. My frames above the table are from the awesome Delta Girl on etsy.

We use our dining room more in December than any other time, so I like to keep it simple saving room for our family and friends! The "house" on the tables says, "Love Came Down at Christmastime". I love that little reminder. I also have my nativity and a few nativity snow globes on the buffet. I own 20 or so snow globes and decided this year to only put a couple of them out. Since my daughter is three, it'll help me stress less!

We recently cleared out some furniture (thank you Craigslist!) and made room for our tree to be in the living room. We have a skinny tree that is 9' tall. Our ceilings are 10' so with Santa on top, it is the perfect height! My tree and decor style at Christmas is lots of plaid, flannel, mittens, and soft sweaters. I'll share more pictures of my tree later this week!

The kitchen doesn't have a ton of decor because I spend so much time in there over the holidays! I love to bake and share love through calories. It is just the way I am :) The Delta Girl frames bulletin board is my new addition this year and I love it. It is right by our dining room table and Abby Lu is so proud to tell me about her artwork while we eat dinner.

I have my staging area all set up (bottom left in collage above!). This week I am making 10 gift baskets of baked goods for some of my husband's clients. I have cookbooks pulled, boxes and tags ready, and am excited to bake all week. I promise to share recipes soon!

Our bedroom is just off the living room and is normally khaki, black and red. I added in a celery green this fall and love seeing the green with red for the holidays. My new addition is the sweater pillow- it was made from an old sweater and just $15 at a local craft fair. I was so excited when she told me the price. I would have totally paid more!

The headboard is decorated with my Christmas ragamuffin garland made last year. It is always fun to pull out handmade items each year. I treasure them!

Thanks for visiting my home this holiday season! Don't forget to leave a comment with a link to your Christmas decor!

If you'd like to see home photos without the Christmas decor, click here or to see my home decorated in past year, click here.

You can also see my tree in more detail here.