Happy Halloween (a day late)!  I love going with themes for my kids for Halloween.  Last year, it wasn’t happening with my two year old.  I was ecstatic when they all agreed to be a blind mouse.  Here they are!

I just love Halloween!

In case you’re wondering where I got their costumes, their leotards are from leotard boutique dot come, sunglasses are from Children’s Place, I bought rods at A.C. Moore and spray painted them gray, mouse ears, tail and tights are from Target.

Unfortunately, there is no cheat sheet for decorating a room. However, there are a couple steps that you can take to circumvent the process. Above all else, remember that decorating a room is supposed to be fun, not a chore. Updating is important, as trends usually shift every three to four years. A couple fresh coats of paint and a few new room decorations can refresh and revitalize any room.

Before you start trying to tackle everything at once, make a list. You don’t have to change everything in your room at once. By making a list, you can visualize all of the little things that you are trying to accomplish and then plan accordingly. What exactly is it that you don’t like in your current decor? Can you salvage any of your old furniture or decorations? Online shopping is going to be your best asset, not necessarily to buy your items, but to plan. Make a wish list of all the items you are looking to put in your new room and set a budget for yourself. By planning out your ultimate dream room in advance, you can save accordingly and scour for similar items with cheaper prices. You should also pay attention to any seasonal deals or offers that you can find.

Some of the best websites to find the highest quality products for the cheapest prices are Etsy, JoyBird, Pinterest, Urban Outfitters, Williams-Sonoma, Target, Crate and Barrel and West Elm. The best advice for decorating your new room is to invest in timeless pieces that you love, and then mix and match from there. You will ultimately end up saving in the long run. Think about the needs, not the wants!

One thing I really enjoy about sites like Joybird is that they let you custom design your furniture.  Love a particular couch and need it in a unique color.  Joybird is the best solution.

I always try making my kids some kind of cake. I usually google some things and they pick it out.  Sometimes I steer them into “something that looks cooler and maybe a lot easier” type cake.  My daughter picked this out and surprisingly it was SOOOOOOO easy and so adorable!

I found the image through Pinterest, but it wasn’t linked to anything, therefore I am not able to give credit for this cute cake idea.

What ya need is:
Cake box of your choice and ingredients listed.
Muffin pans.
Cupcake liners.
30ish jelly bellys.
One container chocolate icing.
One container pink icing (or white icing dyed pink)
Stem (green candy)
Tiny bit of icing dyed red

Here are my step by steps:

1. Bake your cupcakes according to package and arrange 20 of them like this:

2. I started icing with just regular old chocolate icing.  I did use a circular tip just because I wanted the outside of the cupcake to be even with icing.  Some people may be good enough to do it with a knife.  Then, I just used a butter knife to smooth it out.

3.  Using the same circular tip, do the lines on the bottom of the cone!

4.  Then you icing the pink the same way and put some jelly belly’s on it!

5.  Lastly, you do the top (the cherry) red.  And bam, you’re done.

I think this cake cost about $6 to make!  I think it is so adorable!

Oh yeah, the ice cream theme is awesome too.  Amazon has two cute things that you can use as favors!  They have ice cream dishes and the fun cone popper thingy!  Happy Party Planning!

My parents had an accidental house fire recently sparked from their fire place that spread through their living room last fall.  Although the fire damage was minimal, the smoke damage was terrible.  They had to get their entire house scrubbed from top to bottom and repainted.

During this cleaning process their kitchen cabinets were damaged.  The wood finish was stripped in several places.

I decided to be brave and offer to repaint them… I couldn’t make them any worse after all! Ha.  After a lot of research I finally got around to the task a few weeks ago.  They turned out GREAT!  They look brand new and way better than they looked even before the fire.

I regret that I forgot to take a picture before the cabinet doors were removed, but here is the before pic with the doors already off.

And now for a few of the After pics….

 

Awesome right!  It changes the entire look of the kitchen!  Did I mention that the entire project cost less than $300.  That included all the paint/primer, glaze, supplies, and hardware.

So here are the basics of what I did:

1.  Remove all the cabinet doors and hardware.  I numbered all the doors using post it notes first.  I put one post it note on the back of the cabinet and one with a matching number where the cabinet door was removed.  This saved me from having to puzzle through figuring out where each door went when I was finished.

2.  The hardware was spray painted with a metallic spray paint after we soaked them in vinegar and water to clean them.   It took three coats of spray paint.

3.  I sanded down any visible blemishes and wiped everything clean.  Part of the island and even some of the long sides of the cabinets is not real wood and more like thin particle board.  I sanded this down as well as possible to really get it scuffed up a bit so that the primer would stick better (actually, I delegated this part to my Dad since I hate sanding!).

4.  Priming time!  I started with priming the inside of the cabinet doors so that I would be doing the outside part that everyone will see last.  I figured that I would rather have the back scraped from being turned over than the front.  I didn’t work on the front of the cabinets until 24hrs after the back was completely done (primed and painted).  I only did one coat of primer.  I recommend Zinsser Oil based primer with stain blocker.  Just a warning… it is strong smelling!

 

5.  I then did two coats of paint.  I used an off white color and got the Benjamin Moore Active paint in the satin finish.  Satin so it is easy to clean food and spills and the the Benjamin Moore Active brand because my research showed me that this paint hold ups really well on cabinets and has a really nice finish to it making a poly coat unnecessary.  I was wary of doing a poly coat on white cabinets as it often yellows over time.  After waiting 24hrs from the last paint coat on the back of the cabinet doors I turned them over primed and then painted two coats.  Oh, I almost forgot… I added Floetrol to my paint each time I put pain in the roller pan.  This slows down your drying time which will decrease any brush or roller marks on your cabinets.

6.  After waiting another 24hrs, I used Valsar antiquing glaze to antique the drawers, cabinet doors, and trim.  I use the Valspar gel because it is already mixed and ready; no need to add a thing to it.  This is really the fun part.  Use a foam brush and paint a thin coat over the desired area (I really only focused on the crevices as I wanted it to be a very light antique look), then using a lint free rag, wipe it all off.  Some of the glaze will remain giving it an antique look.  You really can’t screw this one up since you just keep wiping it off if you want less and repeat it if you want it more heavy.  I keep a wet rag nearby also so that I can wipe parts even cleaner if they look smudged.

 

7.  I waited another 24hrs before putting the cabinet doors back on and installing the knobs and handles.  The easiest way to install the knobs and handles is to make a template of the corner of the cabinet door and of the shape of your drawers.  Then measure exactly where you want your knobs to go on the template and mark them.  Use this template on each drawer and door so that the knobs and handles are all in the same spot.  I know they sell these templates at home depot, but it was simple enough to make my own out of construction paper.  You will need a power drill and an electric screw driver for this step.

 

All done!  This was a very tedious task and cannot be rushed.  If you decide to do this, make sure that you have enough time to give to the task.  I recommend at least a full week.  The more you have to rush each step, the sloppier your work will be.

Summer time means eating lots of different fruits and vegetables.  I LOVE eating spaghetti squash and have been trying all the different ways to eat it.

This is my all time favorite way to eat spaghetti squash!  Sooooooo  yummy!  Everything tastes better with bacon! Ha!

INGREDIENTS:
Large spaghetti squash
Bacon (cooked and crumbled)
Fresh basil
Tomatoes (diced)
2 TB butter
Salt and Pepper

To cook the spaghetti squash, cut it in half and scrape all the seeds out.  Then put the two halves face up on a cookie sheet.  Add a TB of butter to each half and give it a little salt and pepper.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40 -45 min.  Let it cook for minute or two and shred with fork.

Top with crumbled bacon, diced tomatoes, and fresh basil.

Every mommy will work her hardest to protect her child. That’s a given. But what happens when the scenario is not in your hands?

We’ve all heard the dangers of drunk driving. They’re taught to our kids in school and we stress the lessons of not driving while under the influence automatically nowadays. But why do we still hear stories of terrible things happening in relation to driving drunk?

About one year ago, four boys in my town were involved in a deadly car accident because the driver of the car was under the influence of alcohol and drugs. They were all about to enter their freshman years of college. But unfortunately two of the boys did not make it to college. They didn’t even make it past the crash. They died on impact. Although these boys were also under the influence and were cognizant of their actions entering the car, the seamless action of their poor decision became the end of their lives. Worst of all, the driver of the car is one of the boys that survived and has to live with the guilt of killing his friends and serve time for their deaths.

And God forbid there had been another car on the road in proximity to their car. Think about all the innocent lives that could have been affected or lost due to this poor decision. Unfortunately I’m aware that things like this happen all the time, everywhere -not just to the four teenage boys in my town. There have been so many instances of drunk driving tragedies that the words’ meaning have become so diluted. We forget about the repercussions when it doesn’t involve us personally.

I reflect back on this and am saddened by the fact that everyone has seemed to move past this tragedy. The teens who were friends with the victims went to college, the community affected turned their focus to the next item on the block, summer ended and the devastation became a feeling of the past -we all moved on.

Yet this accident had the largest impact of all and will always loom around the families of these boys. The mothers who will never see their sons again. Drunk driving changed these lives forever. In a way, loved ones can’t really ever move past a day like this. I am troubled on behalf of these people. I know organizations like Mothers Against Drunk Driving are out there doing good things in the world but at some point you have to wonder when or if people will learn on their own. I’m concerned for my children and I’m concerned for the future. How high does the death toll have to rise before people learn?

This was a guest post from Erin at dallasdwilawyer.org

I had been wanting to do a striped room for a while, but was too intimated.  My sister-in-law did her nursery in stripes and it finally motivated me enough to give it a try.  It was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be.

Looks great right!

Supplies Needed:
Latex paint
Roller/paint brush
Painter’s tape
Chalk line tool
Ruler or measuring tape

I did 12 inch stripes just to make the measuring simple.  The most obnoxious part is the taping.

First I used a 12 inch ruler and marked every 12 inches on both sides of each wall. Then I used a chalk line tool to mark the stripes.

Basically, you put this dry chalk in the tool and shake it up.  Then you use a thumb tac to tac the end of the chalk line to your first 12 inch mark on one side of the wall.  Pull the chalk string out until it is the length of the wall and hold the other end tight at the other 12 inch mark you made on the other side of the wall.  Make sure the chalk line is wound tight.  Then just use your free hand and snap the line up.  It will snap back down and leave an easy to see line across your wall.  Repeat this for all your lines.

Once I had my chalk lines I put painters tape along the lines, making sure that the stripes I would be painting had the painters tape on the outside of the lines and not the inside.  I also put x marks with painters tape on the stripes that I would not be painting just to make it easier not to make any mistakes.

Painting time!  I was very careful to make sure I used the roller very lightly near the tape so that paint wouldn’t seep under the tape.  You can also push a credit card end along the painters tape to seal it to the wall better before you start painting.  Make sure you peel your painters tape off the wall before your paint is dry.   If you wait until it is too dry be very carefully peeling it off as it can start to tear the dried paint off with it.

 

 

 

I cannot believe it, my youngest princess turned the big 1.  We decided to do a Pinkalicious family party.  Here she is!

I always take 1st birthday pictures of my kids.  I quickly did this one two days before her birthday so I could display it at her party.  In case you’re wondering, I got the romper and headband here.  It fit her perfect and ran true to size (she’s 17 lbs and I ordered 6-12 months).

I’m so mad at myself for not taking pictures of the food, but it included:
– chicken salad  and egg salad croissants
– butterfly pb & j sandwiches for the kids
– lumpia
– spinach dip
– buffalo cheese ball
– veggie tray
– fruit salad
– sausage cheese dip

I also took pictures of the drinks kind of late so they didn’t look the prettiest at this point:

The best was the pink punch!  I thought it tasted so delicious!  I scooped the sherbet into the punch with an ice cream scoop.  The pink chevron straws are from Target.

My favorite was her “1” cake because it looked so cute, but was SOOOOOOO easy to make!

I used a strawberry cake mix and funfetti icing.  I dyed the icing pink with icing dye.  It was so easy!  I did have to put the icing in the fridge for like 30 minutes after I mixed it because it was a little too loose.  I used a wilton 1M tip and started in the center and worked my way around.    I filled in the holes with the same tip in between the cupcakes.  It took me probably 10 minutes to ice!  I also put these edible pearls on there for a little extra touch.

Her smash cake looked very similar!

This probably took me 5 minutes to ice.  I used this cupcake cake mold.  First, I put icing in between the two layers of cake and then did a very thin layer of icing on the top with a butter knife so the roses would stick well.  I used the same icing tip as above and just did little roses all over and added the pearls.  Remember, the rose starts in the center!  I bought the ribbon at A.C. Moore.

I also made chocolate covered pretzels and sugar cookies.  My mother in-law also made a delicious cheesecake.

I used my cookie cutters from my kit that I wrote about before.  I actually just bought pillsbury cold dough.  The letters looked rough until I iced them!  I thought they turned out pretty cute!

Here is the display of her “pink sweets” table.

I’d say she enjoyed her cake!  I love how her handprint is on her face.

Okay, so one more…..

I also made cute pom poms for above her!

I used 8 pieces of tissue paper for the center one, 7 for the dark pink ones and 6 for the small ones!

I’d say she had a pretty good 1st birthday!

Be still my heart!

I hope you have as much fun planning your little ones’ birthdays as I do!

I have this favorite brisket recipe I love making.  The problem is, it always leaves us with a ton of left overs!  I often like to make it when I am cooking dinner for a new neighbor or a friend who just had a baby.  It easily feeds two families.

This time I tried something different.  I made chili out of it!  I was inspired by this recipe from epicurious.com, but ended doing my own things since I didn’t have all of the other items needed for their recipe.  Plus, it just doesn’t feel like chili to me without some beans in it!

I feel like the butternut squash really made the chili!  It was delicious! I will be making this again probably every time we have left over brisket!

 

Husband and I went on our honeymoon to Hawaii.  It was pure bliss.  Three kids and almost eight years later, I feel like I can only dream about going back to the Grand Wailea in Maui.  Well, let’s just say this body wash takes me back every single day because it smells just like the shampoo, conditioner, and body wash that I used there.  It smells so good, unbelievably good.

I buy this Alba Botanica Honey Mango shower gel on Amazon.  It is a little pricey, but it is the perfect Mother’s Day gift or the special “I deserve a treat for myself”.  Try it, you won’t be disappointed.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, three kids under five make me feel like I’m playing catch up like all the time.