Welcome Home Wednesday

Welcome back to another look at a room make-over in my house.  This week its all about our enclosed porch!  This porch was not inviting, and so ugly before I got busy making it a place we want to hang out at.

Take a long and narrow space and then slap on some 'Kangacarpet' in both print and olive green - YIKES!

First we took down the railing/gate & then we rolling up the carpet.  Thankfully it wasn't glued down any where but on the steps!  It took some scraping but we got the glue up, washed everything down really good.  Then a can of brick porch paint from Menards - rolled on with a paint roller (and trimmed out with a brush)

Above pic you can see our retro front door (that I'm not crazy about) but after painting it the black in the pic its not SOOOOoooo bad.

 It took some shopping but we found this 6 piece Lazy-Boy Patio set for 

$299 on clearance at Sam's Club!!

It was exactly the colors I wanted and its held up beautifully - Lazy-Boy did a great job making this!!  We added a few 'touches' (candles, a fun rug, lots of live plants). Finally its a place where I love to sit and read or nap in the summer. 

Tasty Tuesday

 Time to share a recipe or two on Tuesday!  To keep myself & family from making 'fast' food selections I plan out a menu for the week - check out a couple of this week's selections.  

Happy Tasty Tuesday!!

********** 

Check out the BBQ Chicken Baker (Baked Potato)

1 Baked Potato per person (we did them in the microwave this time) - split open after baking

1 Container 'Curly's BBQ Chicken' - you can also use beef or pork and make your own.

Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Sour Cream

You can also top it up with bacon bits, green onions, more BBQ - the possibilities are endless!  Split the potato open and top to your hearts content.  It's so YUMMY and so simple (especially when you use pre-made BBQ meat)

**********

Chicken Pot Pie

(This one I like to make the  night before and re-heat, its one of those better the next day) 

2 cans cream of potato soup
1 (16 oz.) can Veg-All, drained
2 c. diced cooked chicken(we use boneless skinless tenders cut up)
1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 (9") pie crusts (one for top)1 egg, beaten,

Combine first 6 ingredients. Spoon into crust. Top with the top crust. Crimp edges to seal. Slit top crust and brush with egg if desired. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until crust is done. Cool 10 minutes.

**********

Need some dessert - love choc chip cookies but want to switch it up?  

How about at Southern Chocolate Chip Pie

(this recipe straight from the kitchen of my Alabama Family and seriously the easiest dessert with the best reviews I have ever gotten!) 

Do not use an electric mixer or over mix the batter.

1 stick of butter, melted and cooled to room temp.

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. flour

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. choco. chips

1/2 c. chopped nuts

Mix sugar and flour together. Add butter, eggs and vanila, mix briefly. Add choc. chips and nuts.  Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake 325 for 1 hour. Makes 1 pie.

Eat warm or cold. Add cool whip or not. (I recommend warm with real whipped topping!)

Brainstorming a Birthday Party!

Our baby will be a year old this Sunday!!

That's only SIX days away!!

It's hard to believe that was 365 days ago...feels more like 5!

I have yet to do any major party planning. Can you believe that?

I have the essential details pinned down...like location & time. Fortunately, all the guests know about it...but I failed big time on making invitations. It's true that the youngest often gets the short end of the stick :( I know he'll probably never care, but I do! I love planning parties! But with 3 little guys under me all the time, it's difficult to be productive with something like making invitations.
(hellooo I'm busy sewing pj pants people! hahaha).

So today I've been browsing around online looking for decoration ideas for what I wanted to be a Curious George party. For past birthdays we've had a variety of themes: Zoo Party, Farm Party, Sports Theme Party, Elmo Party, Dinosaur Party & Toy Story Themed Party... This time around our family voted to celebrate the Curious George way & Eli clapped his hands in approval!

BUT I'm sad to report that the nearest stores to where I live don't have one single Curious George party item...and I don't have the time or extra cash to be running around to other cities to shop.

With only SIX days till the party, I'm freaking out a little bit. So I called my mother-in-law. She's the cake queen in our family & will be making Eli's cake. She helped me process my thoughts & settle on a Mickey Mouse theme. I can still use the bright colors that I had picked out for the CG party and I have no doubt that all the little kids will still be diggin Mickey Mouse!

I've got an idea that I can affordably decorate with. I've seen this done many times on other blogs & now I'm going to give it a shot! With some felt, scissors & thread, I have everything I need on hand. Score!

Polka dot garland! Throw in some balloons & we have a party!
(Just don't expect my spread to be as tidy & perfect as the party picture - wow!)


http://www.etsy.com/people/SimplyArt?ref=ls_profile

These are made with card stock & are stitched together.

 

http://www.dondavidstyle.com/
http://www.hostessblog.com/

I'm pretty sure these are made with felt
but doesn't look like the circles were stitched together.



I'm loving these t-shirts & would like to make something similar for Eli. He has a few solid color t-shirts in his summer stash so again, my wallet wins (that is IF I can get it made in time)!! 

Sprinkles of Love Etsy Store

Trucks and Tutus Boutique

Many of you know that we have so much to celebrate on Sunday!  And for those of you that don't know what I'm talking about, I hope to share a post about Eli & walk down memory lane with you later this week.

Until then, I better get to work!!! 

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."
Philippians 1:6

P.S. Feel free to share your party ideas with me in the comments!!

Pajama Pants Project

This weekend was such a productive weekend for me! I am SO excited about all the sewing I got done along with all my other weekend "chores." Friends, this RARELY happens at our house. On top of all of that, my husband let me sleep in till 9:30 on Friday AND Saturday!!

HE deserves a pair of elephant pajama pants, don't you think?!

I've been following Celebrate The Boy Month with MADE & Made by Rae

 

Really, you HAVE to check out the amazingness they've featured this month. 

I'm sad that it's ended! 

It's been incredible to see what people are making for their boys!

One of the things MADE featured is a tutorial/free download-able PDF pattern for these "basic pants."

I had some flannel fabric that I bought about a year & a half ago. My intentions were to make a baby blanket out of it, but that never happened :( 

SO, this weekend I decided to make some pajama pants for my big boys out of it. 

These pants are awesome & don't look "homemade" at all...except that I didn't think to pay attention to the layout of the elephant pattern as I was cutting the pieces out. Oh well...lesson learned!

The pants are lower in the front & roomier in the booty & fit great!
For Caleb, I added 1 1/2" to the top of all 4 pieces & 1" to the outside edges of all 4 pieces. As for the hem, I just measured a pair of his regular wind-pants & based the measurement on that.
For Keston, I followed the measurments from the pattern and measured the hem based on how they fit him. I had to take them up quite a bit...but as long as these pants hold up, I can let the hem out as he grows (that is, if I'm that ambitous).

I should also add that each pair took me approx 3 hours to make. Now, I don't know if that's normal...but that's how long it took me. I was happy with that.

Seeing Caleb & Keston wearing something I made for them makes me smile!

Looks like they love them too - doesn't stop them from acting normal at all!

I'm linking up to Made By You Monday with Skip to my Lou

& to Sundae Scoop with I Heart Naptime

Repurpose!

The first time I spotted these at a consignment shop I passed them by...  That night I thought about them and had a brilliant idea to re-purpose some old candle sconces.  So back to the store I went and there they were, waiting on me... 
They were white and ugly 3 of them for $1.

 I also discovered this spray paint cap for $2.47 at Walmart - it is my new favorite invention!  Pops right on top of the spray paint can - no more paint on my finger - sprays evenly with no drips - its WONDERFUL!

 The new candle sconces re-purposed (like the painting - my brother did it for me - I love it!)

 Scones are my new necklace holders!!

 Serve a perfect purpose and are helped decorate my wall!

 

You can also check out our painted wall-paper.  There were only 2 rooms we didn't de-paper and both had this white paintable wallpaper that the previous owner had left white.  

Weekend Bargains

On the weekends I like to checkout the local consignment shops or some days take a road trip to find some place fresh & new.  This weekend I went car shopping with my Mom and we found an indoor Garage Sale after a couple test drives.  We got there late in the day so most of it was picked over but I did find these gems.

 $2 Towel holder for a bathroom - I think it will be really cute after I re-purpose and make it over.

 $1 Zebra Statue!  My original plan was to paint it pink ;-)  My kids aren't so sure about that idea - we'll see...

 

$1 top & $1 American Rag Jacket

2 Mirrors - $.25 each!  I unscrewed the mirrors and a coat of spray paint later - Waaa Laaa!

If you are ever in the Delphos Ohio area - the Inter Faith Thrift Store is totally worth checking out!  So much so that people literally line up at the door and around the block waiting for it to open!  They are only open 8 hours total a week - Thur 5-7, Fri 1-4, Sat 9-12.  
The prices are fantastic & everything is clean and neat.  

You may have to wait in line to check out, it is crowded, people can be rude and territorial if you try to eyeball something they are standing by... (not kidding!)  All that said the prices and constantly changing inventory out weigh the cons for me!  Books for .25, Clothing $1, Shoes $1, lots of nice clean toys - cheap & clean.

Welcome Home Wednesday

We bought our 1.5 story ranch in September 2008 with the intention of making it our own.  The entire house was covered in paneling, wallpaper, shag carpet, full out 70's orange & green decor.  YIKES!  

I really really really hoped I would pull back the carpet and find hardwood underneath - alas nothing but boring ol' subflooring.  Our entire budget for our home make-over was $1,200 (1900 sq ft home) - this was for paint & lighting & window treatments.  I'm a die hard bargain hunter so this was great fun for me!

Today we'll visit what would become our Formal Living Room

 This is after I tore down some wallpaper.  Check out little Red Riding Hood stenciled on the door (every door had some strange cartoon stencil on the back of the door).

We primed and painted 3 walls 'Sand Fossil' and the 4th wall 'Icelandic' then I traced Hula Hoops for circles and painted the outline with a dark brown and lime green.

 I'm crazy about circles in decor - check out the BIG ROUND Shaggy rug!  From JCP!

 I love this room - everything in it was a bargain!  I did the wall art myself with some canvas and left over paint.

My favorite part of this room is the hardwood floor.  We laid it ourselves (with the help of 2 awesome friends!  They had both recently laid the exact same flooring in their homes).  Its Red Oak Solid hardwood - no fake stuff for us!  It was hard work but so rewarding ;-)  Plus we got it on the cheap - entire room plus hall including stain cost us $480 - compared to the $2000 we had been quoted.

 We tore up the carpet & padding (which for me was the worst part - picking out staples).  Under the carpet we found that our floor had hills and peaks - it wasn't flat...  But that hasn't caused any problems and you can't even tell!

 We laid down tar paper (left-over from our DIY roof)

 Hardwood boards!

 Next was laying the boards correctly, cutting the ends, and stapling them to the door

Almost done!

Pretty dark stain - I was nervous about the dark stain since the room doesn't have a ton of light, but I wouldn't have it any other way!  The poor guys at Sherwin Williams saw me daily for about 2 weeks - each time bringing in wood scraps for them to stain so I could get an idea of what color I really wanted.  

This is by far my favorite room in the house.  No TV in there - a perfect 'sitting room' or 'parlor' just the right space to read my Bible with a cup of coffee, play cards with the friends, board games with the kids, perfect for entertaining!