Going Green

Maybe it's the Spring Fever talking

or the fact that Kerri told me about

 this pretty pillow she bought.....

Either way I am really into the

color green right now....

and not just any green...

but BRIGHT green

Looking at these pictures i'm realizing what a

horrible job the maid did of tucking the sheets in

at the foot of the bed...someone really should fire her!

Please oh please fire me...I have so many better things to do



This is the pillow that started it all

Can you believe it came from Walmart!



Since I just couldn't ignore the bathroom

I found this soap dispenser at Target...Love it!

Now I just need to find a shower curtain

The green really makes the room feel fresh

so glad Kerri told me about that pillow!

Now I must go find that maid and tell

her to take the rest of the week off...

she deserves it!

Linking up to

Beach Bathroom Picture Walls

This project was totally out of my comfort zone!

I have always loved the picture collages

that I see in blogs and magazines....

but I could never bring myself to do one in the house.

It's just so much random-ness in one spot..

 it goes completely against my personality disorder

of having to have everything lined up and symetrical

But I wanted to do one...so I thought perhaps

if I stuck to one color frame, black and white

pictures and a theme for the photos

I might be okay

(some of these pictures aren't the best..

it's hard to take pictures in a small space

I had to stand in the bathtub)

First thing we did was go through mountains of

pictures that we have taken over the years

while at the beach and picked out our favorites

Then we took a quick trip to Ikea and

bought 28 picture frames in two different styles

and two different sizes

Ikea

Ikea

After copying the pictures in black and white

and placing them in the frames we mapped

out the wall with pieces of paper cut

to the size of the picture frame

To be honest I was totally going to skip this part..

SOOOO glad I didn't! It made everything

so much easier.

What's that saying?

Go big or go home

So I fiqured if I'm going to do it..

I might as well go big!

So we continued the frames around the bathroom

And we have more room over on this wall

So when I buy more frames we can continue around



It's taken a little getting use to

But now I love the picture walls

I'm so glad that I went out

of my comfort zone and did it!

p.s Daffodils are out...go get some!

Goodwill Bookcase

The kids, sweet husband and I

were out running errands on

Saturday and we passed a Goodwill.

So I ran in really quick to

see what they had....

Now anyone who shops at

Goodwill and has purchased furniture

is familiar with the yellow receipt

they give you once you pay

for the item....it's what

you need to pick up the piece

once you drive around back..right

Well....sweet husband is

very familiar with this slip of paper

So imagine his face when I walked

back to the truck with it proudly in hand

Let's just say his reaction wasn't

in keeping with his sweet husband status...

But can you blame the man I seem to have

a slight addiction to orphaned furniture

Anyways...I thought it was a nice bookcase

And it was only

$24.99

That's a bargain I thought!

It's very sturdy and well made

it just needed to be cleaned up

my plan is to paint it..but

in the meantime I wanted to

try using the Old English scratch

cover for dark woods

Before I use it on another

 piece I just found

(yes i've been holding out on you)

i'm just not ready to share it yet

it's beautiful...and probably

my favorite thing i've ever found

i'll share soon...I promise

Look at the pretty artichoke/pineapple/acorn

(whatever you choose to call them)

finials on top

I love it in the kitchen/dining area...now all my

serving pieces are close at hand



Next project up...the kitchen!

The new cabinets are in....

it's going to be a race to the finish!

Everything will need to be

done by Easter....YIKES

Can super husband do it??

Stay tuned

Happy St. Patrick's Day

May the Irish hills caress you.

May her lakes and rivers bless you.

May the luck of the Irish enfold you.

May the blessing of St. Patrick behold you.

photobucket

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Thyme to Thrift

Sorry I couldn't resist the title...

Friday was a wonderful day!

First stop the produce market

I love the produce market....

and one of my favorite things

to buy is fresh herbs

Mainly because they look pretty

in little white creamers

And it forces me to be creative and use them when I cook.

Because I don't want them to go to waste..

Take a look at all the beautiful fruit and vegetables I found

(yes I do hear french music in my head when i'm at the farmer's

market...doesn't every one???)





The eggplants turned into this....

Eggplant Parmesan made by the kids!

Recipe HERE

After the produce market I went thrifting

and found all of this good stuff

Now if you've been watching our boy Nate

and I know you have....than you know what

 i'm going to do with that ladder!



I never can pass up a cute clock...or a piece

of milk glass...or a shabby frame...or....

Nope i'm not ready to admit that I have a problem!

Happy Thrifting to you all....

and visit the produce/farmers

market this weekend

it's so much fun!

Speak Kindly

Lately the children in this household

have been having a difficult time

speaking kindly to one another.

The punishment was that every time

they said something ugly to the other

they had to deposit .50 cents in

the ugly jar.  However, I realized

that this was very in affective when

my oldest said to me...can I just

deposit $2.00 in there so i'm good

for a few days.

Time to come up with something new!

so while out thrifting I came across

this sweet little mailbox...

Which gave me a great idea....

so I took two of these corn crates

Completely took them apart....

kept the planks that where

in okay shape.....

then I white washed them

After that I went online and found this

lovely quote by Ronald Reagan...

Live Simply

Love Generously

Care Deeply

Speak Kindly

Leave the rest to God

I took the boards

and painted the words onto them

And this is what I did with it all....

This is in the hallway between their bedrooms...

Now when one speaks unkindly to the other

they have to write a note to them.  It must include not only

an apology for what was said...but they also

must write something kind about that person.

And then place it in the mailbox once it's been read...

Let's see at the end of the month just how many

letters have to be "sent"!

It's tough being the mommy sometimes!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend...

and for some of you a wonderful Spring Break!!

Healthy Eating and a Great Recipe

I'm writing this post because i'm so proud

 of my friend Judy at Gracious Southern Living
she is eating healthier and losing weight!

And to motivate everyone else she is hosting
a link party every week called
Weigh Less Wednesday where
you can post one of your favorite healthy
recipes.

This is an issue that I think we all struggle with.
I for one have fought my own battles...and still am.
I was always skinny...until two sweet little babies came
within 21 months of each other. Then I looked in
the mirror one day and realized that I had somehow gone 
from a size 2 to a size 12! 

Thanks to the help of the South Beach Diet and a trainer I
was able to get back to where I was....but that
was 6 years and no trainer ago.  And to be honest...
I haven't been eating the way I should lately.

I'm not back to a 12...half way there though...
so it's time to get back on track!

So thanks to Judy I wanted to
share with you one of my favorite
weight loss recipes

Smashed Cauliflower

(photo courtesy of All Recipes.com)

Pair it with a small grilled sirloin steak
a great salad with low calorie dressing
and some roasted tomatoes (one of my other favorites)
and I promise you will be stuffed!

Smashed Cauliflower

4 cups cauliflower florets
1 ounce "I can't believe it's not butter" spray
1 fluid ounce fat free half and half
pinch salt
pinch of pepper

Steam or microwave cauliflower until soft. 

Combine cooked cauliflower, butter spray, half and half, salt and pepper
in bowl and using fork or potato masher, mash until combined.
(some recipes call for you to puree it all together...
but I like it a little chunky...
plus then I don't have to clean the whole food processor)

While I realize it's not mashed potatoes...it really is good and at
only 30 calories per serving...how can you beat that?


All of this being said....there is one thing I firmly
believe in...no matter where you are on
the scale...it does not determine your worth as
a person!  Skinny does not equal an important person
any more than over weight equals a person of lesser value.

What really matters is the way you live your life...

be kind
be happy
be considerate of others
be comfortable in who you are
be loving towards your children and family
be thoughtful in everything you do

You never know the life you are touching at this very moment....
how do you want to be remembered?



Can you believe tomorrow is my one year
anniversary of starting this blog?
Wow time really does fly!

Linking to

Weigh Less Wednesday
at
Gracious Southern Living

White, Soft and Ruffle-ey...a little girl's bedroom

Those 3 words are how

my 7 year old used to describe

the way she would like her

new room decorated...

White

Soft

& 

Ruffle-ey

so here it is.....

 I apologize for the long post

This is a picture of before in case you missed it

And this is the new room..... 

Two very different styles don't you think

We started with this beautiful bed that I found

at a thrift store.  My thought was to paint it

white, but my little client was insistent that

we leave it the wood color...REALLY??

But I did what she asked

The duvet and shams are from

Simply Shabby Chic at Target

The rug, window curtains and

 throw on the bed are all from Ikea

And our big splurge...the one that got me into

a little trouble with sweet husband is the

bed skirt from Pottery Barn Kids...curse them

for having such cute stuff that I sometimes just can't resist.

This is the other side of her room...the reading area.

All her books are in the hutch from Bella Cottage

(remember I had bought this from a

 friend and it was in my living room)

The chair we slip covered and I just found a great

ottoman that I still need to make a slipcover for.

The butterfly mobile is also from Pottery Barn Kids...

and yes I was going to make it myself, but I

became very frustrated when I couldn't find the right

size butterfly punch...so I caved and just bought the thing

We hung an old window gate on the wall and hung

the picture I painted for her on it. 

The trunk/baskets hold the

 two million stuffed animals she has.

One of her other request was that she would

like a large round window hung on her wall...

for two reasons she told me...

#1.  so that she could see her reflection in it when she dances

(oh lord help me survive the teenage years)

and

#2. so she could pretend it was a

secret passage into a pretend world

(someone has been watching The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe way to often)



We've had the windows forever and never could

think of a place to put them.  After we hung

them sweet husband and I wished we had

thought of this ourselves and hung them in
our bedroom and added clock parts to it. 
She better watch out...when/if we move
those windows are gonna be up for grabs.

And last but not least she asked for pink flowers

on her nightstand.

I'm very pleased with the way her room turned out

and I feel certain that all her requirements were met!

White.....check

Soft.....check

Ruffle-ey....check check

Now I just need to distress the sign above her bed....

OH!!! A room is never really finished is it?

I'm linking up to
The Spring Fling
 at This Blessed Nest