Cookie Crumbs & Sawdust

{essential} wallpaper stripping tools

2013-05-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

After moving into a house with a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, two bathrooms, and three bedrooms covered in wallpaper, I've learned a thing or two about getting it down.

The first step to stripping wallpaper is having the right tools.

After trying various methods and tools, I've narrowed it down to four tools.

MY FAVORITE WALLPAPER STRIPPING TOOLS:

steamer
scraper
rag
platform

STEAMER
My Shark mop has a lift away steam unit. This is a life (and a time!) saver when it comes to wallpaper stripping. I would even consider purchasing it just for this feature. If you don't have a steamer, ask around. One of your friends or relatives probably do.

SCRAPER
You will need a metal scraper. Chances are good you already have one around the house. If not, they are readily available at the hardware store. As you can see, mine is well used. Remember to scrape at a 45 degree angle.

RAG
I find it handy to have an old rag nearby to wipe up excess water drops or stubborn glue. I just throw mine in the laundry with all my other dirty work/cleaning rags.

PLATFORM
I'm petite, so a platform is absolutely necessary to just to reach my short ceilings. You could use a step stool, but a work platform gives you about four feet before you need to hop down and scoot your self over. We bought ours on sale at the home improvement store, and it makes all DIY projects much easier.

Do you have experience stripping wallpaper? What have you found that works best?

Stay tuned for next week, when we'll go into detail on how to use these tools to get that pesky, ugly, outdated, or stubborn paper off.

clock {birthday} cake

2013-05-20T00:00:00.000-04:00

My daughter's birthday is coming up at the end of this month. When I asked her what she wanted for her cake, she replied, "a clock cake!" Admittedly, its a bit of an odd choice, but hey, it's her birthday right?

I made one for her 4th birthday a few years back. It came about after I let her browse my cake decorating book. It's suggested event is New Year Eve, setting the hands on midnight, but since she was turning four, we adapted it to four o'clock.

With some frosting, peppermint patties, and mini chips, you've got an easy birthday cake!

You Will Need:

a baked and frosted birthday cake (any flavor)
12 peppermint patties
frosting stiffened with meringue powder (any color)
small decorating tip and pastry bag
mini chocolate chips or mini M&Ms

Prepare and frost you cake according to the recipe. I choose to do a two layer circle cake, making the peppermint patty placement super easy.
Add a small amount of meringue powder to your frosting, according to the amount on the package. Meringue powder can easily be purchased at most craft stores in the baking section.
Pipe the numbers 1-12 individually on a peppermint patty, using the pastry bag and tip. Let stiffen. (This should only take a few minutes)
Place the patties on a circle on your cake. Kids love to help with this step.
Arrange the mini chocolate chips at the desired time. Use a toothpick to gently pre-mark the frosting if you like.

Server's Tip:

This could be fun for a child's first birthday. Just arrange the time at the moment the baby was born.

Other Ideas:

Substitute colorful mini candies for the chocolate chips.

Substitute grasshopper cookies for the peppermint patties.

snickerdoodles

2013-05-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

Can you believe I never ate a snickerdoodle until just a few years ago? We had just moved cross-country, and my pared down pantry was vacant of all liquids. I wanted to make to make cookies, but with three little kids at home, I didn't want to run to the grocery store just to purchase vanilla. So after scouring my family cook book, I came across this recipe from my sweet sister-in-law. No vanilla needed! It was perfect. After years of baking them, I've adapted it to the recipe below.

These make perfect little gifts or a post-lunch sweet. Give 'em a try.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and the salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs. Scrap down the sides of the bowl, and add the whisked dry ingredients. Beat to combine.
In a small bowl, combine the reserved 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Shape the dough into balls and roll in sugar mixture.
Place balls about two inches apart on the baking sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes or until set.
Let cookies sit five minutes on the baking sheet on a wire cooling rack before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Makes approximately 41/2 to 6 dozen cookies.

Bakers Tip: I like to use a cookie scoop to get uniform size cookies.

it's a love/hate relationship, really

2013-04-12T00:00:00.000-04:00

with my house, that is.

Some days, I'm just frustrated.

only weeks away from having these bloom in my yard again!

But today I remember the reasons why I love it.

the tall, tall trees in my view
the birds singing outside my windows
how from certain angles I can't even see another house
how I can walk out in the summer and dip my toes in the pool
how my sun room floods with pure light every afternoon
how it challenges my whole design thinking
just how cute it is. Really. It will never be fancy, prestigious, or stately. Just cute and charming {hopefully}.
despite how small it is, I have an incredible amount of built-in storage
my shuttered closet doors throughout
my built-in dining room hutch
my frequently used wood burning fireplace
my mature landscaping (sometimes, too mature, overgrown)

So these are some of the things I remember when I tire of looking at the weird wall paper in the powder room or am frustrated when I think of how much green we've spent just to bring up to today's standards.

when the only shower falls apart two days before Christmas and house guests come for a holiday visit
the garbage disposal overflows in the basement and throws up all of my new beautiful washer and dryer
when the heater decides its had enough, rusts through and floods the basement
when the jerry-rigged water heater really decides its had enough and metal pieces start flying off of it and floods the basement again
when the front steps disintegrate our first winter here and become a lawsuit waiting to happen
when the melted snow from the roof starts running down the inside of my living room wall
when the power goes out because, well frankly, that's what it does here anytime there's a storm (rain, wind, snow)
when half the power goes out and we start trading appliances for power while we wait for the power company to replace an exterior breaker

Do you have a love/hate relationship with your house? What is about your house that you absolutely love? and makes you forget all the frustrating stuff?

bbq + ranch deviled eggs

2012-11-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

I made these deviled eggs for Thanksgiving appetizers this year. Considering I was preparing three other dishes, I wanted to make something yummy and easy for my appetizers. And yummy they were. And gone in a flash! They are just as easy to make as the traditional variety.

This fun spin on a classic works for any party or season!

Ingredients:

8 large eggs, hard cooked, cooled, and peeled
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons ranch dressing
3 tablespoons of your favorite bottled BBQ sauce

Directions:

Slice the eggs in half lengthwise. Scoop out the yolk and combine with the mayonnaise, mustard, and ranch dressing.
Spoon or pipe the yolk mixture into the hollow egg whites.
Drizzle with the BBQ sauce.

Makes 16.

Cook's Tip:
Put the BBQ into a small-tipped squirt bottle for easy drizzling.

Server's Tip:
Place a clean towel or cloth napkin on top of your serving platter before arranging the egg halves. This will keep them from sliding.

classic apple pie

2012-11-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is only a few weeks, and one of my favorite things to do is plan our Turkey Day dinner menu.

A few years I made this classic apple pie to finish off our terrific turkey dinner. I borrowed some leaf-shaped cookie cutters from my professional cake baking friend and used them to cut out leaves for the top layer of the pie. I simply scored them with a sharp paring knife to add some additional natural vein details.

Serve al a mode with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon, and you're sure to impress all your guests.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 to 1 1/2 recipes Pate Brisee Deep-Dish Pate Brisee
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
3 pounds assorted apples, such as Macoun, Granny Smith, cortland, Jonagold, or empire, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one pate brisee disc into a 13-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate. With a sharp paring knife, trim dough flush with the rim. Freeze again until firm, at least 30 minutes.
Roll out remaining 2 discs of pate brisee to about 1/8 inch thick. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and freeze until firm, at least 30 minutes. Remove from freezer; using a 2 1/4-inch leaf-shaped cutter, cut out about 65 leaves and place them in a single layer on baking sheet. Place in refrigerator until firm.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and heavy cream; set aside. In a large bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Remove pie shell from freezer, and fill with apple mixture. Dot with butter.
Remove leaves from refrigerator, and score with a paring knife to make veins. Lightly brush the edge of the pie shell with water. Brush the bottom of each leaf with water; beginning with the outside edge, arrange leaves in a slightly overlapping ring. Repeat to form another ring slightly overlapping the first. Continue until only a small circle of filling is left uncovered in the center.
Carefully brush the top of the leaves and pie edge with the reserved egg wash, and sprinkle generously with sanding sugar. Freeze or refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.
Place pie plate on a baking sheet, and bake until crust just begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, 35 to 45 minutes. If the crust begins to get too dark, drape a piece of aluminum foil over the top. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Recipe source: Martha Stewart

banana bread muffins

2012-09-24T00:00:00.000-04:00

This was my grandmother's award-winning banana bread recipe. I've modified it to fit into a busy afternoon of homework and soccer practice. Or you can bake them on the weekend, keep them in the freezer, and just pull them out as you want throughout the week.

put those over ripen bananas to good use-

the riper the better in these perfect after school snack muffins

Ingredients

1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
1 c sugar
2 eggs
3-4 over ripe bananas
1t vanilla
2 c flour
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 c walnuts (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla.
In a separate, mash the bananas with a fork. (If bananas are soft or you using an electric mixer, skip this step. The bananas will incorporate just fine without being mashed.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and sift with a whisk. Add to the wet ingredients in 2 or 3 batches. Mix just until combined.
Bake in greased muffin tins for 18 minutes. Muffins are done when a tooth pick stuck in the center comes out clean.
Let cool on a wire rack.

Makes 2 dozen muffins

raspberry shortcake

2012-08-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

these sweet cakes incorporate some of the raspberries right into the shortcake

I made these little sweet treats for a last minute get together with my girlfriends the other week. They were easy to throw together, used mostly pantry items, and were fresh and summery. Definitely girl food that any guy would sneak a bit of!

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup cold heavy cream
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup raspberries
Sanding sugar (optional)
Whipped cream and berries, for serving

Directions

In a food processor, combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Transfer to a bowl and stir in cream, buttermilk, and raspberries until just combined. Do not over mix.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Divide dough into 8 portions and shape into rounds. Place, 1 1/2 inches apart, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired, and freeze 15 minutes. Bake until golden brown and set, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack. To serve, halve and fill with whipped cream and berries.

how to disguise a tree stump

2012-08-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

If you have a tree stump in your yard, you know how unsightly they can be. And tree stump removal can be costly, and is always messy- imagine wood chips scattered all over your lawn.

We have a older property with a number of tree stumps. Eventually we like to remove them (by grinding or burning) but for now they are here to stay. So to make the best of the situation, I thought it make the perfect little container garden spot.

Just acquire a wine barrel (sometimes you can come across free ones. You can also purchase them inexpensively at the home improvement and hardware stores.)

Place directly over low tree stump and plant with your favorite flowers.

I planted strawberries in mine.

Now my kids have a built-in outdoor snack bar.

For some more inspiration, I found this wine barrel container garden from Centsational Girl. She made good use of the barrel's depth.

source

I also found this image, to satisfy those with the current succulent rage. So cute.

source

The options are endless. What would you do?

spicy pesto fusilli

2012-08-06T00:00:00.000-04:00

An Easy One-Dish Meal
Great back to school dinner + Simple way to sneak some
veggies into pasta

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a good weekend! Ours we filled with lots of swimming, dinner and a movie, and Handyman's camping preparations. (He's taking a group of varsity scouts up to Maine for a week long canoe trip. So, I be solo this week.)

I mentioned before my favorite source for recipes.I do love playing with pesto. Basil and pine nut pesto is certainly classic, but it's also fun to make other flavors, like this pepita filling for cheese flautas, but I decided to branch out a little bit this weekend and make Giada's fusilli with spicy pesto for Sunday dinner.

Its a really simple dish. The recipe says it to takes 54 minutes to prepare, but they must have done the math wrong on that, because I whipped it up and had it on the table in about 15 minutes.

I halved the recipe, because I wasn't sure how spicy it would be, and how much my kids would like it. Turns out, its not really spicy at all . . . but I also didn't add a single jalapeno seed in the pesto either. And my kids did eat it. I had this little visitor digging in before I could even finish snapping a few photos.

A few modifications I would make next time:

Add a few jalapeno seeds for just a little bit of heat
Saute the garlic for just a few minutes before adding to process, just to take the edge off.

I served this with some fresh cantaloupe on the side and declared dinner done. I'll definitely be filing it among my back-to-school-I-need-an-easy-to-make-in- a-hurry dinner option.

Have you made any of Giada's recipes before?

Ingredients

Pesto:

1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 (2-inch long) red or green jalapeno pepper, stemmed and coarsely chopped* see Cook's Note
2 cups grated (4 ounces) Asiago cheese
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 ounces baby spinach
3 ounces arugula
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound fusilli pasta
4 ounces Asiago cheese, shaved

Directions

For the pesto: In a food processor, combine the walnuts, garlic, jalapeno, cheese, salt and pepper. Process until the mixture is smooth. Add the spinach and arugula and process until blended. With the machine running, gradually add the olive oil.

summer reads

2012-08-02T00:00:00.000-04:00

Reading has to be one of my ultimate favorite summer pastimes. As a little girl, summer provided an opportunity to re-read all my favorites such as The Secret Garden, Charlotte's Web, Little House on the Prairie series, and of course new titles from our local library.

To this day, summer is still my favorite time to snuggle up with a good book. Some of my favorite past summer selections include (in no particular order):

Playing for Pizza
John Grisham
This is a quintessential summer read -no thinking required. If nothing else, this book will leave you wanting to skip town and head straight to Italy, or your nearest favorite Italian restaurant.

There is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Africa's Children
Melissa Fay Greene
If you feel the need to revive your hope in the human race, reading about this woman's single handed efforts of rescuing and supporting oprhaned African children, this will do it.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Mary Ann Shaffer
This whimsical story will leave you wanting to find a pen pal, or at least revisit your own personal journal.

These Is My Words: The Diary of Agnes Prine 1881-1901
Nancy E Turner
The strong spirit of this main character girl always leaves me feeling strengthen and grateful for the early American settlers.

A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up in Mooreland Indiana
Haven Kimmel
Having lived in Indiana for a number of years, I could easily imagine the hometown setting of this main character as she recounts memories of her childhood with a mature wit and a laugh out loud perspective.

Animal Vegetable Miracle
Barbara Kingsolver
If there was ever a book to inspire one to garden and eat local -this is it. This book, complete with recipes, will leave you questioning that salad you ate last winter and wanting to make friends with all the farmers at your local market.

More Sex is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics
Steven Landsberg
Just because, I tend to like a good nonfiction read. Don't worry -its actually an economics book. If you like Malcolm Gladwell books, this is right up your alley.

Harry Potter -the entire series
JK Rowling
If you have a chunk of time, this series is always fun to read. A constant page-turner, this jv fiction has universal appeal -even for those who tend to shy away from fantasy -I was happily surprised! Just be prepared with the next book in hand, because you will want it the moment you close it's predecessor.

And if your dishes and laundry happen to pile this summer due to reading any of these books, you can blame me. And if they pile up due to another book pass on the title and share!

What have you been reading?

Linked to Centsational Girl

facebook

2012-08-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

Hi all!

It's a new month, and I've decided it's time I provided a new way for you to get all the same goods.

Here's the link to Cookiecrumbs and Sawdust facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/Cookiecrumbsandsawdust

You can simply like it over on FB and still get all the updates from over here on the blog.

Check it out!

top five {july}

2012-07-31T00:00:00.000-04:00

Just in case you missed one, here are my top five posts from July:

1) my pinterest inspired family room
evidence that a picture is worth a thousand words!

2) pool party favors
simple party favors for all the young fishy guests at your next pool party!

3) how to make ice cream and cake parfaits
my favorite way to serve cake and ice cream at a kids' party!

4) creative clay
making homemade play-doh/clay for kids using only 2 pantry items!
5) cinnamon rolls
the best cinnamon rolls recipe passed on down from Handyman's mom!

A special thank you to my readers! Thank you for stopping and reading my blog. I appreciate all your comments and for joining me on this journey as we take baby steps towards updating, renovating, and decorating our little yellow cape.

lights

2012-07-26T00:00:00.000-04:00

While at Lowes recently, I spotted some fun string lights. Visions of parties and gatherings bounced around my mind as I thought of cute ways to string them up around my own outdoor space.

When I asked Handyman what he thought, (as if I didn't already know the answer) I first got the silent, but really look which quickly transformed into the eternal and ever present what is your obsession with lights question, which without response, relinquishes into the quick and detached whatever look.

We know each other so well. . .

I just love that I can pick up party supplies at the home improvement store. The boring hardware store has certainly evolved since I was a kid. and with so many different choices, it would be easy to find something for any style or occasion.

Take a look.

Alas, i did come home empty hand -this time. Do you have any fun lights adorning your space?

summer sample

2012-07-25T00:00:00.000-04:00

our sample of our summer so far in pictures. . .

How's your summer going so far?

pick your own

2012-07-18T00:00:00.000-04:00

Summer is all about vacations, lazy days, lounging by the pool, sleeping in, bike riding, baseball games, and eating fresh fruit.

All of these activities make an appearance on our annual summer list. Since{for a time period} we used to move every summer, it was handy to know where to pick fresh fruit no matter where we lived. (It's also great if you will be visiting family or friends in a different area and get a hankering for nature's local goodies!)

Luckily, you can find local fruit stands and Pick Your Own (PYO) farms around the country at a single website:
http://pickyourown.org/

Just select your state, and then your county, and a list of local farms come up.

There are even searchable farms outside the US starting to make the list, such as Australia, Italy, and even South Africa.

And better yet, if you know of a local farm that is not listed, just submit it.

PYO really is one of my favorite online resources!

Plus, then you can make yummy strawberry mini muffins, with the day's spoils.

installing a ceiling fan light kit

2012-07-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

Like many of the rooms in our house, our sun room did not have any overhead lighting. It does have a ceiling fan.

Our sun room gets lots of use in the summer and I didn't want to be so dependent on our floor and table lamps all season long. In a rare moment of productivity one day, I picked up a ceiling fan light kit from Lowes.

I also picked up ceiling medallion to make it extra fancy.

Over the weekend, Handyman got to work wiring the light kit into the fan. Pretty simple stuff.

He started by removing the cap and wired the new light to the existing wiring. He just followed the included set of instructions.

(Don't be jealous of my fancy brassy fixture, I have plans for that.)

Ta da, lights works, fan works.

Now, onto the ceiling medallion.

I was always curious to know why the fan was mounted to this square wooden board. Now I know why . . .

There was a small detail I didn't account for when deciding which size medallion to purchase. Turns out, the mounting board really was a big as the ceiling hole. I expected the hole in the drywall only to be a slightly bigger - just big enough to accommodate the fan- not overly big and boxy.

My puny little medallion was suddenly severely underscale, and not nearly large enough to cover the hole. Hmm. . .

You can see it here.

We've since looked into purchasing a completely different ceiling fan for this room, since this project turned out to be a DIY dud. And neither one of is happy with the result -Handyman doesn't care for the light fixture I selected, and I don't like the fan, and neither one of us likes the under scaled medallion.

Oh well. A new fan will be in our future.

cinnamon rolls

2012-07-16T00:00:00.000-04:00

I got pretty lucky in the mother-in-law department. Not only did I get a great mother-in-law, but she also make yummy cinnamon rolls. Here's the recipe she's been making her family for years.

INGREDIENTS
Dough
1 package dry yeast (2 1/4teaspoon)
1/4 c water
1 c milk
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c butter
1 t salt
3 1/2 c flour
1 egg
1/2 c butter, soften for spreading after dough is made

Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
1/4 c ground cinnamon
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/8 t salt

Icing
1 cup powered sugar
3 T milk
8 oz softened cream cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Combine all the ingredients in a bread machine and process to dough, using the dough setting.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide dough in half. Roll each piece to a large rectangle. Spread soften butter over each rectangle. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Roll dough up lengthwise. Cut rolled dough about every 1-2 inches, depending on how tall you want your cinnamon rolls to be.
Place rolls cut side down on the baking sheet, about 1-2 inches apart.
Cover and let rise for 45 minutes, or about doubled in size.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
Prepare your icing by combining sugar, cream cheese, and milk and mixing until smooth.
Spread icing on hot rolls and enjoy!

creative clay

2012-07-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

My kids love arts and crafts and they have this ~~annoying~~ imaginative ability to make crafts out of anything! (Imagine little hands riffling through the recyling bin. Repurpsing recycled items to into crafts has it's place, but my kids seem to take it to whole new level.)

Therefore, I'm happy to provide craft materials for them. When we came across this Creative Clay recipe using only two ingredients, it looked too fun and easy to pass up.

This recipe makes a soft clay that can be cut with cookie cutters or shaped, and then air dried until hard.

MATERIALS

1 cup cornstarch
1 cup baking soda
1 1/4 cups cold water
Saucepan and spoon

DIRECTIONS

Mix the cornstarch, baking soda, and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly for five minutes until very thick, resembling mashed potatoes.
Rest on a plate until cool enough to handle.
Roll, cut, or shape as desired.
Let dry for 2 days.
Paint or finish as desired.

my pinterest inspired family room

2012-07-11T00:00:00.000-04:00

My Pinterest inspired family room renovation is finally done! And to think it all started with a few photos. But first, it helps to understand a little bit about my husband and I. Here's an example of a typical improvement conversation:

Me: "Handyman, we should do this (whatever project x is)."
Handyman: "I can't visualize it. Show me a picture."

~Surfing the Internet-moments or days later~

Me: "Here, I found a picture."
Handyman: "I can do that."

I knew I needed a photograph of a bead board ceiling to to sell him on the idea. These photos from BHG did the trick. Thank goodness for Pinterest, where I have a place to save and organize my ideas.

source

Handyman finished the last of the touch up paint just other day.

And just in case you can't remember what it looked like before, here's a reminder:

I think it turned out pretty good. The addition of the bead board works well with the cottagey-style of our little yellow cape.

We choose use individual tongue and groove wood boards, because installing the beadboard panels would have left us with a giant seam running across the length of the ceiling.

(In full disclosure, I'm sure Handyman wouldn't have been keen on the whole bead board ceiling suggestion, except that we had to do something with it after we took the acoustic tiles down, leaving these large open-faced sandwich cookie like glue spots. You can see them best in the BEGINNING OF BEADBOARD CEILING photograph above.)

Now to just furnish it, decorate it, and style it. No biggie, right?

You can see all the projects we did here.

Sunday: I Heart Naptime, Nifty Thrifty Things, It's Overflowing, MopItUp , Twigg Studios Monday: Made by You, C.R.A.F.T. DIY Showoff, Between Naps on the Porch, Debbie Doo's, Home Stories A to Z, diy home sweet home, DedicatedHouse Tuesday: Coastal Charm, Nest for Less, Tip Junkie, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Get Your Craft On, ClaimingOurSpace Wednesday: Uncommon, Savvy Southern Style, Organize and Decorate, Power of Paint, Newlyweds Recipe Linky, Southern Lovely , Home Happy Home, Gingersnap Crafts Thursday: The Shabby Creek Cottage, Made in a Day, House of Hepworths, the 36th Avenue, Crafty, Scrappy, Happy, 52 Mantels Friday: Making Lemonade, Blissful and Domestic, One Artsy Mama, Serenity Now, Tatertots and Jello, The Shabby Nest, Thirty Handmade Days, Addicted 2 Decorating, Funky Junk Interiors, Financial Friday, At the Picket Fence, Classy Clutter

Linked up to YHL, CentsationalGirl, BowerPower, TenJune

pool party favors

2012-07-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

When my little girl asked me to plan her summer birthday party, I knew I had to come up with something good! She has a crazy big imagination, and I knew I needed to match it!

The problem? She wanted a fishy-themed pool party. Since, we just did a fishy theme for my baby, posted about here, I knew she would wanted something different.

That's were Pinterest came to the rescue.

I remembered the worms from Clara's 2nd birthday party, and thought I could do a play on some of YHL's inspiration.

After a trip to the nearby dollar store, the party store, and the grocery store, I knew I had enough supplies to pull it off.

Take a look!

These lure-coated fishing rods were easy to create with pretzels rods, melted chocolate, and some colorful sprinkles. Attach a computer printed tag with some twine, and your in business.

The fish breath bubbles were leftover from my other fishy party. I just attached a different tag. I used the same handwritten style font on each favor tag.

These cute little pals were a find at the party store for only .79 each. Filled with some gummy worms and Swedish fish, they were much better smelling than real bait!

And of course, what's a fish party with out the catch of the day? I spied these at the Dollar Store. Who would have thought a cheap piece of plastic would be so fun? These colorful fish had a drawstring worm attached at the mouth that when pulled moved the fish's tail. My kids had lots of fun testing it out in the pool prior to the party.

These flower-shaped orange noodles provide the perfect pool party floaty for all the fishy guests. (Because, some little fish don't swim so well yet.)

After the worm sandwich lunch, these worm topped ice cream and cake parfaits were served. Perfect for little fish taking a swim break. You can check out how I made them here.

My little fish said this was the best birthday party ever -even better than last year. Whew! I'm not sure I'm looking forward to planning her next party with that kind of expectation though.

And as a result of this party, I had a new table making project on my hands. {Lesson learned, don't leave unprotected furniture outside on the patio in the rain. But, that's later. . .}

Sunday: I Heart Naptime, Nifty Thrifty Things, It's Overflowing, MopItUp , Twigg Studios Monday: Made by You, C.R.A.F.T. DIY Showoff, Between Naps on the Porch, Debbie Doo's, Home Stories A to Z, diy home sweet home Tuesday: Coastal Charm, Nest for Less, Tip Junkie, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Get Your Craft On, ClaimingOurSpace Wednesday: Uncommon, Savvy Southern Style, Organize and Decorate, Power of Paint, Newlyweds Recipe Linky, Southern Lovely , Home Happy Home, Gingersnap Crafts Thursday: The Shabby Creek Cottage, Made in a Day, House of Hepworths, the 36th Avenue, Crafty, Scrappy, Happy, 52 Mantels Friday: Making Lemonade, Blissful and Domestic, One Artsy Mama, Serenity Now, Tatertots and Jello, The Shabby Nest, Thirty Handmade Days, Addicted 2 Decorating, Funky Junk Interiors, Financial Friday, At the Picket Fence, Classy Clutter

Linked up to YHL, CentsationalGirl, BowerPower, TenJune

ice cream & cake parfait

2012-07-09T00:00:00.000-04:00

The easiest way to serve cake and ice cream at a children's party -parfait style!

I made these ice cream and cake parfaits recently for my daughter's summer birthday party. I was running the party solo, so I knew I need to have everything done in advance.

These were the perfect solution to serving cake and ice cream to a young crowd. Everything can be done ahead of time, just pull them out of the freezer and enjoy the party along with your guests.

MATERIALS

Clear glasses
Ice cream
Cake
Crushed Oreos
Gummy worms

DIRECTIONS

Prepare a cake of your choosing. Bake in a half sheet pan.
After baking remove the cake from the pan and cool on a wire rack.
Freeze the cake, until firm enough to cut. I baked mine in the morning and it was chilled enough by evening to cut out.
Using a round cookie cutter the same diameter as your glass, carefully cut out cake. (See photo below.)
Place a scoop of soften ice cream into cup. Top with a layer of fudge, cake, and whipped cream.
Garnish according to your event. I sprinkled crumbed Oreos and placed a gummy worm on top to accompany our fishy theme.

Don't forget use a cutter the same diameter as your serving glasses.

Anyone else have an all-in-one dessert favorite?

visit boston

2012-07-06T11:34:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite things about moving to New England has been getting to know the charming city of Boston. And since Wednesday was the 4th, it reminded me of all the fun things to do in the city.

NEWBURY STREET
Just a few blocks from the Marriott hotel, a Newbury St is a thriving vibrant downtown shopping and dining district.

COPLEY PLACE MALL AND SHOPS AT THE PRUDENTIAL
If you don't want to go outside to shop or dine, you'll love the 200 shops and restaurants connected via the Copley Place Mall and Shops at the Prudential Center.

BOSTON DUCK TOURS
Climb aboard a Boston duck Tour, a WWiii style amphibious landing vehicle shows you Boston by land and river. The comedic drivers really make this relaxing tour worth the ticket price.

COPLEY SQUARE
Copley Square s surrounded by magnificent buildings including the Trinity Church, Boston Public Library and John Hancock buildings.

FENWAY PARK
Celebrating its 100 Anniversary in 2012, this historic ballpark should not be missed. Take a tour to see where the Babe pitched, the Kid hit, Yaz dazzled and the Red Sox Nation roars.

FREEDOM TRAIL
Walk the 2.5 mile Freedom Trail and follow the American Revolution through 16 nationally significant historic sites.

SYMPHONY HALL
Go behind the scenes and see America's premier concert hall and where distinguished musicians come from all over the world to play.

MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS
The MFA is one of the most comprehensive art museums in the world, with a collection of over 450,000 works of art.

BOSTON PUBLIC GARDEN
Established in 1837 as the first public botanical garden, this beautiful park still features rich and unusual plants and a lagoon where the famous Swan Boats have been operating for more than 130 years. Plus, on any given day you can stop at any number of vendors for hot roasted nuts and hear live music.

happy fourth!

2012-07-04T16:13:00.000-04:00

With today being the Fourth of July, I can't think of a better place to celebrate than Boston!

With the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra conducted by Keith Lockhart at the Hatch Shell, a performance by Jennifer Hudson, and the finale fireworks display over the Charles River, it really is a spectacular event. Well worth hanging out with half a million other people and taking an overcrowed train home.

We went a few years back when Neil Diamond performed. Here's some photos. . .

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The Hatch Shell is all decked out for the event.

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Get ready to cover your ears when the fighter jets do a fly by. It was seriously the LOUDEST noise I have ever heard!

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And of course, Neil Diamond HAD to sing Sweet Caroline, a bottom of the 8th inning Fenway tradition.

What's your favorite 4th of July location?

inspiration {fouth of july}

2012-07-03T00:00:00.000-04:00

We'll be spending the day at our town parade, swimming, hanging out with friends, and then later on roasting s'mores and popping corn, like here, while trying to avoid the pesky mosquitos.

Just in case you need some {really} last minute Independent Day inspiration, here ya go . . .

Print out and frame this patrotic subway art from eighteen25

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These star medallions from Martha Stewart would set the mood for any Fourth of July party backdrop. The instructions call for fabric, but I would try making them out of festive heavy weight scrapbook paper.

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These cute watermelon stars from Hip Hip Hooray! call attention to any fruit platter. Chill thinly sliced the melon and before cutting it with a sharp-edged cookie cutter. Garnish with a handful of freshly washed blueberries and your set!

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If you're really talented and have super {fast} sewing skills, you could whip out a festive romper for your favorite little toddler, like my mother-in-law did a few years back. (Yes, she cooks, posted here, and sews!) I love the rick rack trim she added to the star small-print fabric and the peek-a-boo diaper cover. Simplicity has lots of easy to sew patterns, like this.

Or you could leave all the planning and work to someone else, and just go get your nails do like this. So much fun and worth showing off at any Independendence Day party!

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What's your Fourth of July style?