Sunday night can be a bit stressful, looking at the week's calendar filled with a long to-do list, a fun weekend behind you and 5 days of business til the next break. I suffer from Sunday Night depression. Always have. The one thing that cheers me up? Treats! It's been a childhood tradition of smelling fresh baked cinnamon rolls or carmel corn or fresh berry pies on Sunday evenings. I miss home. Sniff, sniff. I miss having a personal chef & housekeeper aka: newly appreciated mom. My kids got a rotten draw for homemade goodness when they got me as a mom. But who says they can't have fun treats? Enter the white trash cook......
Here is my Sunday Night treat. Sorry kids, the homemade cinnamon rolls won't happen unless dad's feeling generous. The home made pies won't be baked unless you go to Grammy's house. My culinary skills are shameful, especially with all my training! Atleast I recognize my failures right?
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Sunday Night Pick Me UP
Are directions really necessary on this? Not sure, but in case you're kitchen skills are pathetic like mine here's how you make these babies.
Chocolate covered Cinnamon Bears:
Ingredients:
-1 Dolci Frutta container- microwave chocolate (I've melted my own chocolate but it never dries as good as this stuff, so I gave up)
-45 cinnamon bears (difficult to find in Texas- only found at Sportsmen Stores)
-tooth picks
-wax paper
Prepare the wax paper. Push the toothpicks into the bears slightly to make dipping easier. Prepare the Dolci Frutta as directed & dip the gummy bears. Wait til they dry completely to remove toothpicks. If you have any left overs (which you won't!) wrap them up and give to your white trash lovin' friends. They won't think less of you after trying these cinnamon bombs!
The world is a better place with cinnamon & chocolate as BFF's, don't ya think?
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Photo wall is done!
Wow. I did it. I finally hung the photos I purchased from etsy.com and it only took 8 months. Just call me speedy. The problem was that I couldn't decide on frames. With 9 photos, I felt like I was seeing a whole lot of frame and not really noticing the photos. I love the colors and feeling of the photos and really wanted them to pop out more than the wood frames. I chose glass edgeless frames from Hobby Lobby and they were a steal at 3.99 a pop. Only $36 for all 9. The photos were purchased from my favorite artist on etsy found here for $30. So my whole project cost under $70, which isn't my cheapest project. But it's also unique. And can you really put a price on unique? (um, yes. $66) Anyway, here's a before shot of my entry way:
Here's another shot with a DIY project that didn't last long. I got tired of it. It seemed too dark for me.
And here is my bright new entry way. I love the fun colors in these photos. Now I just need accessories for the console top. That's where I get stuck. Every. Time. Accessories can look junky to me. It's my nemesis. My love/hate relationship. Any suggestions?
I'm thinking of buying 3 more prints to add to my set. I have such high ceilings and I might need to go bigger. I love groups of 9 but a group of 12 could work here too. I think.
Here's another shot with a DIY project that didn't last long. I got tired of it. It seemed too dark for me.
And here is my bright new entry way. I love the fun colors in these photos. Now I just need accessories for the console top. That's where I get stuck. Every. Time. Accessories can look junky to me. It's my nemesis. My love/hate relationship. Any suggestions?
I'm thinking of buying 3 more prints to add to my set. I have such high ceilings and I might need to go bigger. I love groups of 9 but a group of 12 could work here too. I think.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Porch swings and Pinterest
I lay awake at night with a thousand ideas in my head, unable to sleep with so many creations floating in my mind. But then in the morning, I have no energy to make them. Oh! The ridiculous cycle! Last night I woke up with porch swings on my mind. I had no idea I wanted one. I have a rickety one that was given as a gift, that I'm a little leary of sitting on. I have a huge covered porch in the front of my house. I live at the end of a culdesac and a comfy porch swing would be perfect to watch the kids ride bikes while sitting out there. Well, it would be perfect if an A/C unit was attached to it. Maybe more like a winter porch swing. I much prefer winters in Texas than summers. With my ideas in my head, I searched on http://www.pinterest.com/ (beware: this site is like crack! Wish I was kidding) and found some easily made twin beds turned swings. Here's my favorites:
Very rustic- possibly an old door turned swing? Looks do-able though, right?
Love the rope and fun red color of the swing. Fabric, not so much....
How cool would this be in your kid's bedrooms? Might have to google drywall repair though....
I think I may be looking for some twin beds at the good will very soon.....
Seriously, why do I start dreaming of new projects when I have all the supplies for 3 unfinished projects cluttering up the house? I'm a big picture kind of girl, the details get me bored. Planning is the fun for me!
Very rustic- possibly an old door turned swing? Looks do-able though, right?
Love the rope and fun red color of the swing. Fabric, not so much....
How cool would this be in your kid's bedrooms? Might have to google drywall repair though....
I think I may be looking for some twin beds at the good will very soon..... 
Seriously, why do I start dreaming of new projects when I have all the supplies for 3 unfinished projects cluttering up the house? I'm a big picture kind of girl, the details get me bored. Planning is the fun for me!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Office Progression
Remember my hideous office? How could you forget, right? It's probably caused you nightmares but let me refresh your memory of our hideous problem.....
My mom cut some trees in white vinyl. I love how bold they look on the black wall. Gorg!
The french doors are always open now. It just makes me happy to look up and see this wall. Isn't it fun with a side of crazy? That's how I like my rooms to feel....
Here's my office lit up with the light. It's pretty big. But you know me. Go big and go home!!
Next up, finding fabric for the drapes. So far I've struck out, twice. And then I've got 3 more walls with big DIY projects to complete as well. Looks like this weekend won't be quite as relaxing as I hoped. One day this office will be finished. I just hope my kids aren't in college before that happens.....
I linked to these fabulous sites:
Embarrassing right? So we stripped the wall paper. Major pain. Lots of windex and scraping. But that's what husband's love doing on their weekends right? I like to think so. After the wallpaper was removed then we went on to texturizing the walls with lightweight joint compound and some trowels. If wallpaper removal is a nightmare then texturizing is H. E. Double Hockey Sticks!! Again, I shouldn't complain. I didn't do any of this. But I was doing the complaining for my husband's sake...... since he doesn't complain, I have to complain for the both of us. Complaining is my talent. Next step, which I did help with, is striping the ceiling. Here's a tip: To avoid bleeding, we painted the ceiling white. Taped it with scotch painters tape. And painted over the tape with the same white paint. That sealed the tape to the ceiling and it probably bled, but it bled the same color. After it was dry, we painted on the yellow stripe.
And Voila! My finished ceiling. The white is called Moon Rise by Behr. The yellow is called Sunflower by Behr. My gorgeous off black wall is Behr (Primer +Paint) in Cracked Pepper. My fun light fixture from Ikea. (some assembly required is the biggest UNderstatement!)
My mom cut some trees in white vinyl. I love how bold they look on the black wall. Gorg!The french doors are always open now. It just makes me happy to look up and see this wall. Isn't it fun with a side of crazy? That's how I like my rooms to feel....
Here's my office lit up with the light. It's pretty big. But you know me. Go big and go home!!Next up, finding fabric for the drapes. So far I've struck out, twice. And then I've got 3 more walls with big DIY projects to complete as well. Looks like this weekend won't be quite as relaxing as I hoped. One day this office will be finished. I just hope my kids aren't in college before that happens.....
I linked to these fabulous sites:
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Happy Un-Birthday!
My lil sister, her two boys & our parents are all visiting Renee & me in Texas! Hooray! What do we do to entertain 7 little children, 2 teenagers & 7 adults? We have a faux birthday party! Since we see each other rarely, we decided that we should celebrate all the holidays we miss together. Today's schedule: Everyone's birthday. We drew names and shopped at the dollar store and a resale shop, the budget was $2 per person. We made cinnamon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. (they were decadent!) We put up Mandy's fabulous birthday banner, (she made me for my birthday this year!) our front yard party sign, a little dancing music and celebrated! The kids loved it, the adults loved it, and the teenagers even smiled a few times. Winner, winner, cupcakes for dinner! (literally. cupcakes for dinner. that's how we roll.) If it was socially acceptable, we'd walk around with sugar I.V. drips. But since it's not, we fill our purses with m&m's. Wish I was kidding....
Here is some of the fun we had:
Some might call what my child is doing in the picture below, pushing. But I like to think he is multi-tasking. He's quite talented how he can play and shove at the same time. That's my boy!
Zeke didn't seem to mind too much and was thrilled to get a ball wrapped in a happy meal container. Martha Stewart ain't got nothin' on our wrapping skillz!
See what I mean about everyone loving this? The adults got into it as much as the kids!
Stay tuned for more of our mock holidays. I think Christmas, New years and even General Conference might be in the future line-up....
Here is some of the fun we had:
My dad had a unique ability to guess everyone's gift BEFORE they opened it. Rich acted surprised by the screw driver anyway. I'm a little scared by his acting abilities, hmmmm....
Some might call what my child is doing in the picture below, pushing. But I like to think he is multi-tasking. He's quite talented how he can play and shove at the same time. That's my boy!
Zeke didn't seem to mind too much and was thrilled to get a ball wrapped in a happy meal container. Martha Stewart ain't got nothin' on our wrapping skillz!
We sang happy birthday and each blew out our own cupcake. Less germy that way! And if you knew Mandy and me, you know we're thinking about the germs almost as much as our next sugar high.....
See what I mean about everyone loving this? The adults got into it as much as the kids!
Stay tuned for more of our mock holidays. I think Christmas, New years and even General Conference might be in the future line-up....Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Bubbles- my new obsession
I'm searching the web, wondering what I'm going to do to entertain 3 children for the next 3 months and I've found my next boredom buster. BUBBLES! It's also a fun photoshoot idea, which makes it an UBER idea! Gotta love candid photoshoot moments, it's so much better than the many crying/tantrum formal photoshoots we've had in the past. Doesn't this look like fun?
Recipe for amazing bubbles:
image by Nicole Hill found here
Wanna know how to make the perfect bubbles? I found this tutorial on Under the Sycamore found here:
Recipe for amazing bubbles:1 & 1/2 Quarts water
1/2 Cup corn syrup
1 Cup liquid dish soap
Stir water and corn syrup together. Slowly add soap while stirring. Store in airtight container.
Get your camera ready for some fun- Here's a shot from last summer I took. Now I'm anxious to get more!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
under construction
Wow, we've been kind of lame lately. Haven't posted for awhile. But it's because this office redo is taking up all my spare time. ALL. OF. IT. I thought I'd give you a peek into my crazy life for the last month.....
My office has been a constant embarrassment for the last 5 years. 5 years peeps! It's french doors are immediately to your left when you walk into my home. You would've thought that I would've at least made curtains or put film on the glass doors by now. Nope, too lazy I guess. I'd rather profusely apologize anytime someone sets foot in this room than buy some contact paper for the doors. But soon, I will be really happy I didn't cover up the doors into this office......
Here are my tips for wall paper removal. 1) Get free child labor. That's why you have children right? 2) Hire someone, it's a total pain. 3) When the first 2 aren't an option, use really cheap windex and spray the heck out of it. Use a putty knife to scrape off the excess. I read online that the people at Sherwin Williams remove wall paper this way. My husband agreed that this was easier. I watched HGTV during this process, because it was my birthday and this is what I wanted for my birthday. Wall paper removal for birthday- I'm officially an adult!
Here is my completely embarrassing office. We were just starting to take down the wall paper before I snapped this photo. The lights in the office have not been turned on.... in 5 years! The window blinds have never been opened in this room.... in 5 years! We sat in darkness when we came in here, so we didn't have to look at the mess. Pathetic. I know this. I've been in denial for 5 years!!!
Ok. Now get ready to jump out of your seats and scream like Oprah just bought you a car..... Here is a little sneak peek of the office of my dreams..... I'm so happy right now, I can't stop smiling!
The finishing touches are still taking place. My family is coming into town later this week and I'm so anxious to have their help! The worst part is over. The fun part begins!
My office has been a constant embarrassment for the last 5 years. 5 years peeps! It's french doors are immediately to your left when you walk into my home. You would've thought that I would've at least made curtains or put film on the glass doors by now. Nope, too lazy I guess. I'd rather profusely apologize anytime someone sets foot in this room than buy some contact paper for the doors. But soon, I will be really happy I didn't cover up the doors into this office......
Here are my tips for wall paper removal. 1) Get free child labor. That's why you have children right? 2) Hire someone, it's a total pain. 3) When the first 2 aren't an option, use really cheap windex and spray the heck out of it. Use a putty knife to scrape off the excess. I read online that the people at Sherwin Williams remove wall paper this way. My husband agreed that this was easier. I watched HGTV during this process, because it was my birthday and this is what I wanted for my birthday. Wall paper removal for birthday- I'm officially an adult!Here is my completely embarrassing office. We were just starting to take down the wall paper before I snapped this photo. The lights in the office have not been turned on.... in 5 years! The window blinds have never been opened in this room.... in 5 years! We sat in darkness when we came in here, so we didn't have to look at the mess. Pathetic. I know this. I've been in denial for 5 years!!!
Ok. Now get ready to jump out of your seats and scream like Oprah just bought you a car..... Here is a little sneak peek of the office of my dreams..... I'm so happy right now, I can't stop smiling!
The finishing touches are still taking place. My family is coming into town later this week and I'm so anxious to have their help! The worst part is over. The fun part begins!
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