Loving Life

Blogger Question????

2012-02-27T11:15:00.001-08:00

I've been having trouble uploading a blog post to Facebook with a thumbnail attached to the link since Saturday. Blogger is only uploading the link to my Facebook page...no title and no thumbnail. I can't figure out why its doing that or how to fix it. Can't seem to get any answers from Blogger, so I'm reaching out to all of you who use Blogger. Any other bloggers facing the same situation?

Decoupage Tray

2012-02-27T03:25:00.000-08:00

I have one last decoupage projectto share with you this month. Idecoupaged this tray awhile back buthaven’t posted about it until now. Asall decoupage projects tend to be, this is a really easy project that can becustomized to someone’s personal taste.

First, I bought a woodentray. Most all craft stores have themfor around $5. I got lucky and found oneat Goodwill for $2. Secondly, I painted my tray. Then, using two pieces of scrap book paper, Ibegan decoupaging the top of the tray. To do this, I applied a layer of Mod Podge to the bottom of the paperand glued it to the tray, then I applied a layer of Mod Podge to the top of thepaper and let it dry.

I liked the simple look of theblack and white polka dots, but the beauty of using scrapbook paper is thevariety that craft stores offer. Keep inmind that any kind of paper works for decoupage projects. You don’t need to limit yourself to onlyusing scrapbook paper.

All in all, this project cost meless than $5. This tray gets used on a daily basis, so we certainly got our $5worth out of it;)

Decoupaged $5 Goodwill Table

2012-02-26T13:25:00.000-08:00

I’ve shown you a lot of decoupageprojects lately, so I thought I’d show you another one that I did yearsago. When got my first apartment, myentire apartment was furnished from thrift stores. Here’s how I turned an ugly side table into ausable piece for that apartment.

First, I bought a random $5 tablefrom Goodwill that met the size requirements I was looking for. Then, I painted the table black. Once the table was dry, I applied a layer ofMod Podge to the top of the table and quickly placed scrapbook paper on top ofthe wet glue. I used four pieces ofscrapbook paper that looked like pages from a dictionary and left a few inches of painted black edge along the top ofthe table. Lastly, I applied a secondlayer of Mod Podge on top of the paper, and then let it dry.

After supplies, this table wasless than $10. I still use this tablein our house now, so I’d say I got my ten bucks worthJ

4 Pasta Canisters from Recylcled Target Containers for $4

2012-02-25T16:19:00.003-08:00

As I’ve mentioned in previous blogpost, I’ve been attempting to reorganize the pantry. In addition to storageitems that I already had, such as a few Ikea canisters and a collection ofwicker baskets, I recently added the following to meet the storage needs in thepantry: glass containers that Ipurchased at Hobby Lobby when glassware was half off in the weekly ad, a few recycledTarget containers that I used for storing pasta and my DIY Canisters From Rcycled Holiday Tins that I posted about a few weeksago.

Today I want to share with you mypasta canisters from recycled Target containers. Target has great plastic canisters in their ArcherFarms grocery line. Snack food such as popcorn,nuts and trail mix can usually be found in these containers. The problem is that the popcorn is usually $5each and the nuts and trail mix are $10 each. Unless I have an actual need fro those items (which I rarely do), I’m notgoing to pay that much money for the plastic container when I can pay $3-4 apiece for glass canisters at Hobby Lobby or Ikea.

Lucky for me Target happens tosell the same popcorn and nuts in their holiday section. The only thing that makes these items “holiday” is the festive label placed on them atChristmas time. Other than that, theyare the same items found in the grocery section. However, that festive little label is also what makes them go half offthe day after Christmas and 80% off three weeks after Christmas, which isexactly when I bought mine.

I bought four containers of holidaypopcorn on clearance for $1 each, and in addition to several evening snacks forthe hubs, I walked out of the store with four perfectly good canisters for mypantry.J

Once the popcorn was finallyconsumed, I soaked the containers in water for several hours and took off thepaper labels. To get the remainingstickiness off of the containers, a little Goo Gone was all I needed.

So next year, when Christmassnacks go on clearance, ask yourself if you have any use for the container thesnack is being stored in. You might justfind it worth your while.J

A Birthday With the Hubs

2012-02-19T17:10:00.000-08:00

So I turned twenty-eight today. That’s just two years away from the big 3-0….yikes, I’m gettin’ old! Actually, twenty-eight doesn’t feel too bad. I think I may think differently when I leave my twenties and enter my thirties.

My darling husband always says that he gets screwed, because my birthday is just five days after Valentine’s Day. I have little sympathy for him. I figure he can just get two big days of the year out of the way in one week, since we can’t change either date. He’s actually pretty good about treating me nice for my birthday. Since my birthday usually falls around President’s Day, we try to get away for the long weekend. Things didn’t go quite as we planned this weekend though, and our getaway is being postponed for the time being.

The hubs did, however, do a really nice job trying to make my day special, even though I was kind of bummed that we didn’t get to go away this weekend. This morning, he woke up and made me breakfast before our church services. Then he surprised me and told me that he was taking me out to lunch, my choice of course, and afterwards he was taking me shopping. Anywhere I wanted to go he would take me without any complaints.

The hubs was a real trooper today. I chose Cheesecake Factory for lunch….no surprise there. Shopping was fun too. He didn’t complain one time, and we had a really great time spending the afternoon together. A quick stop by Starbucks on the way home was icing on top of the cake:) Overall, my husband is….well, he’s just a pretty awesome guy:) He’s so thoughtful, and I feel very blessed to have him. Here’s to growing old with the one I love:)

My Valentine's Day

2012-02-15T15:11:00.000-08:00

Since Valentine’s Day fell on a Tuesday this year, it made it a little difficult for Matt to plan something special for the two of us. Tuesday is my late night at work, and I don’t get off until 6:30. Taking that into consideration, Matt decided to make dinner for the two of us and dine in this Valentine’s Day.

Knowing that the hubs was going to be cooking dinner for us, I decided to pre-make chocolate covered strawberries……

…….and red velvet cupcakes to go along with his thoughtful meal.

When I woke up Valentine’s morning, Matt gave me my gift. He gave a one hour massage that he purposefully scheduled for the hour after I got off of work. My husband isn’t the most romantic guy, but he is the most thoughtful guy. Knowing that I’ve been a little stressed lately, and knowing that I would probably be tired after working a long day, it was very thoughtful of him to give me this as my gift. By the time I got home, I was nice and relaxed, which was probably smart thinking on his part too:)

The extra hour that I was away getting pampered gave him time to get the house ready and dinner on the table. When I got home, he gave me flowers and served me a delightful meal that he made himself.

This is the third time in our marriage that my husband has cooked a nice meal for me. Each time has had its flaws, but the thoughtfulness that he puts into trying to please me makes eating his cooking worth it….lol:)

Overall, it was a good Valentine’s Day….even if it was a weekday. I have to say that I have the best Valentine a girl could ask for ;)

The Vow ~ Book and Movie Review

2012-02-14T16:00:00.000-08:00

Due to today being Valentine’s day, I thought that I would write a post about the popular book and movie, The Vow. After reading the book last week, I went to see the movie this past weekend. So without further ado, here’s my opinion of both the book and the movie……

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The Vow, written by Kim and Krickett Carpenter, tells an emotional story of a husband’s unconditional love for his wife and the faithfulness of a God who loves them both. I couldn’t put this book down when I started reading it, and if it wasn't for the dread of early morning's alarm clock, I would have read it in one sitting. Unlike the movie, the book spends a lot of time discussing the importance of the couple’s faith as they journeyed through the mountains and valleys of their tragic ordeal. In this book, Kim Carpentar writes a vivid story of how he met and married the love of his life, consciously endured a car accident with her, and then in the midst of overwhelming obstacles, fought to keep his marriage alive and rekindle the love that his wife had lost all memory of. Few books bring tears to my eyes, but the obvious love that Kim had for his wife in the midst of despair was enough reason for me to keep a box of tissues near by as I turned the pages of this book. I highly recommend reading this book. It was ten times better than the movie!

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Now that I’ve discussed the book, I’ll move on to giving my opinion of the movie. I’m not gonna lie….I was really disappointed with the movie. After LOVING the book so much, I begged my husband to take me to see the movie opening weekend, but when the movie was over, I left the theatre feeling a little deflated. Perhaps if I watched the movie before reading the book, I would feel differently. I knew the book was just the inspiration for the movie, and while I didn’t expect the movie to be just like the book, I did expect it to be sort of like the book. I had even prepared myself for the realization that the couple’s faith, which had so much to do with the book, would be completely eliminated from the movie. I just wasn’t prepared for the fact that the story of the couple in the movie wasn’t going to be ANYTHING like the Carpenter’s story. The only thing the book had in common with the movie was that a car accident left a wife without any memory of her husband. That’s it! The vague plot was the only thing the book and movie had in common, and I have to tell ya that I thought the actual real-life story was a thousand times better than Hollywood’s version of a watered down story about love and faithfulness! While I love Rachel McAdams, not even she could make me want to watch this movie twice. Next time I want to refresh my memory of The Vow, I’ll bypass the movie and just read the book again.

One Year of Blogging.....

2012-02-13T09:28:00.000-08:00

It’s hard to believe that I started this journey of blogging just one year ago. It seems like only a few weeks ago I was writing my very first blog post. When I decided that I wanted to start this journey, I didn’t even know how to begin, so I did what anyone in this generation would do when looking for a “how to” of something…....I Googled it. By Googling “how to start a blog”, I discovered Blogger. In just a few hours time Loving Life was created.

I really had no clue what I was doing when I decided to start a blog. To be honest I still don’t always know what I’m doing. It took me weeks to figure out how to edit a post after it was already published and months to figure out that I could respond to comments via my email. And then there was the day I discovered various websites such as thecutestblogontheblock.com, and in the process discovered that I could give my blog a new look for free! Now that I know more about the blogging world, I’m seriously considering paying a professional to create a web design for my blog, but one year ago, that would have never crossed my mind.
Once I started blogging, I discovered how to follow other blogs and how readers could follow my blog as well. I remember thinking that I would be so happy if I had at least twenty followers in a year’s time. Growing my blog has been a learning experience in itself. Originally, I was only linking up my blog posts to my Facebook page until I discovered link parties in April of last year. Today, most of my readers have come from linking up my posts to various link parties in the blogosphere. Link parties have been a great way for me to meet other bloggers with similar interest, and I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing other creative spaces on the internet that put this little ol’ blog of mine to shame. Compared to other blogs, I still don’t have that many readers, but thanks to all of you who follow and read my blog, my little corner of the internet has gone farther than I ever thought it would go in one year's time! As my blog grows and I am able to commit more time to it, a few of my future goals would be to begin hosting my own link parties and get connected via other social media such as Twitter and Pinterest. For now, those are long term goals due to the limited amount of time I am currently able to put into my blog.

While my blog has seen a few changes over the course of the year, one thing that hasn’t changed is the purpose of my blog. My reason for maintaining this blog has been and always will be to allow me to have a creative outlet. For me, my blog has always been a hobby and nothing more. Perhaps some day I can really work on growing it and turning it into more of a part-time job, like so many other wonderful bloggers have successfully done. For now, it’s just a hobby that I really enjoy working on in my spare time……and for now, that’s more than enough for me. So here’s to one year’s journey of blogging. Thanks for taking the journey with me.

My Vintage Dress Form

2012-02-09T16:09:00.000-08:00

I love the look of a vintage dress form! After looking for a reasonably priced one for our master bedroom, I soon realized that it was going to be difficult to find one for under $50. You can imagine my excitement when I stumbled across one for twenty bucks in the 2011 holiday edition of the Lakeside Collection catalog! Unfortunately, Matt had just lost his job when I unexpectedly discovered the dress form, so spending even a meager twenty bucks on something that I wanted rather than something that I needed wasn’t really justifiable at the time.

I do, however, believe that my patience paid off. After being extra frugal during the few months that Matt was job hunting, one of the first things I did for myself when he went back to work was order the Lakeside vintage dress form for our bedroom. The price was great, shipping cost were minimal, ordering was easy, delivery took about two weeks…..BUT when I saw the beat-up box on my doorstep my heart sank a little. L

I’ve ordered enough things online to know that when a box looks like it had a rough journey from the warehouse to my house, it’s probably not a good thing. Sure enough, when I opened the box and began assembling my purchase, I was very disappointed. The three pieces that screw together and make up the actual dress form stand were warped a little, making my dress form lean to the left when completely assembled. To make matters worse, the top of the dress form began to break when trying to straighten the crookedness of the stand.

Sigh….I had to return it for a new one. When I called customer service to make the arrangements for shipping, they said to discard the old one myself instead of shipping it back to them. Two weeks later, the new one arrived. I assembled it and began hanging vintage looking accessories from its wiry form…….THEN, as I was picking and choosing which pieces of jewelry to add, a light bulb went off in my head. What if I took the old dress form that was heading for the trash and tried to make it work with the new dress form? Long story short, after some epoxy glue and eventually discarding the broken one of the three pieces that make up the dress form stand, I ended up with a shorter dress form to go with my new one. So now I have two dress forms, and I only paid 19.99 plus shipping and handling.J

There’s a life lesson to be learned in this unusually long post about a dress form. To put it simply, sometimes the things that disappoint us in life can actually be a blessing. It may seem like a small thing, but two dress forms for $20 was worth it in the end, even if I had to patiently wait to order one, wait some more for it to be delivered, be disappointed when it arrived broken, and then wait again to order a new one. The dress form is a minor example of a disappointment, but I can think of some major disappointments in my life that turned out to be a blessing in the end. The bottom line is that sometimes we just need to be thankful for the disappointments of life. You never know if they will turn out to be a blessing…..

Quiet Strength Book Review

2012-02-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

I read my second book of the year, Quiet Strength, last week. I found it fitting considering all of the Super Bowl hype we've had here in Indy over the past few weeks. I purchased my hardback edition at a garage sale this past summer for a buck. After setting it aside in a pile of books, I figured that Super Bowl week was as good a time as any to begin reading through its pages.

This book was an encouraging read that highlighted Coach Tony Dungy’s faith throughout his career. I found Tony’s story to be relatable and easy to read. It was wonderful to read his testimony as he stressed the importance of doing right even when it's not always popular. I was also encouraged as he wrote about how God’s plan is not always our own plan. Difficulties come to all of us and can cloud our vision and understanding for a short time, but in the end, aren’t we glad that He knows best.

In a world of NFL coaches and players that aren’t always the best example for a younger generation to look up to, Coach Dungy’s integrity and character make me proud to say that he was the coach of the Indianapolis Colts during an era where football meant so much to this city. In fact, if it weren’t for Dungy’s efforts, last week’s championship game may not have been played in Indy.

I'd recommend this book for anyone young and old alike. I think I talked about how much I liked it so much to my husband that even he, who HATES reading but loves sports, may give this book a try;)

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February 1.....

2012-02-01T14:52:00.001-08:00

February 1….how can it be? One month of 2012 is already gone. Seriously, where does the time go? Winter is almost over, and before we know it spring will be here. Although, around here it has surprisingly felt like spring for most of this winter, considering our abnormally mild temperatures. I hope that doesn’t mean that it will feel like winter when spring arrives. Sadly, that wouldn’t surprise me one bit. When it comes to the weather, anything can happen around here.

            We have had an exceptionally mild winter this year in my neck of the woods. That was made clearer to me today as I was struck by an unusual appearance driving home from work. While I was patiently waiting for my light to turn green in a nearby school zone, I noticed a high school boys sport team crossing the street in front of me. That’s not uncommon really, but what was uncommon was the apparel they were wearing, or lack thereof, on this the first day of February. Believe it or not, this group of boys was sporting their jogging shorts and nothing more. No pants….no jackets…not even a shirt….and the crazy thing is that their choice of apparel is completely justifiable, considering the fact that the temps have been in the low to mid sixties this week.
            More ironic to me than the fact that I drove by shirtless runners, in central Indiana in the middle of winter, was what the morning news brought to my attention today. One year ago today, we were under a blizzard warning that turned out to be the huge ice storm of 2011. Looking back on that storm and all of the other snow storms we had last year, and then looking out my opened window on this warm sunshiny day as I am typing this post, I am only reminded that you never know what kind of weather you are going to get in the Midwest ......or when you will get it.
          It was said this week that the Indianapolis Super Bowl committee had to have emergency plans for snow, ice, rain, tornadoes and fog, because we have been known to have all of those things this time of year. We’ve actually had all of those things in the past thirty-one days. However, today we only have warm weather and lots of sunshine:) I’ll take that over snow and ice any day;)
        Here's to warm February days!   May the remaing twenty-eight days of February be as beautiful as today.....I doubt that will actually happen, but I can dream can't I;)

Downtown Indy during the Super Bowl

2012-01-31T13:19:00.000-08:00

It’s finally arrived! After years in the making, Super Bowl week in Indy is finally here. Now as a native to Indy, I may be a little biased when I say that I think Indianapolis is a great city to host the Super Bowl. While some might say Indy is too small of a city, the very fact that everything in Indy is compact makes all of the Super Bowl activities conveniently close together and easy to navigate. The hubs and I live only a twenty-five minute drive away from the heart of the city, so we spent Saturday enjoying all of the Super Bowl festivities. I have to say that I think the city did a great job putting everything together. It was very well organized, and there was lots of stuff to see and do for every age group. The Super Bowl Village is free, so other than food and parking (which you need to plan before arrival), expect to spend $10 and a long wait in line for the zip line (if you think a three hour wait is worth it.....me, not so much) and $25 for an all day pass to the NFL Experience. To fully experience a day in Indy during Super Bowl week, one could easily spend $100 for two people. Most of us locals justify the cost, because how many times does one really get the chance to live in the city that is hosting such a great event? It certainly is a first for us, and hopefully it won’t be the last;)

DIY Canisters from Recycled Holiday Tins

2012-01-26T14:00:00.000-08:00

I mentioned in my last post (Labeling Glass Canisters) that I had a DIY canister project I wanted to share with you. Well, here it is. After several years of using small, glass Ikea canisters for my baking needs, I've moved on to these large, repurposed canisters….and it only cost me $10 to do it:)

I was inspired by these canisters that I saw at Hobby Lobby. In need of the large canisters, I priced them only to discover they were $15 a piece. I needed eight canisters for the following items: flour, sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, stevia, tea, coffee and hot chocolate. I really didn't want to spend one hundred-plus dollars on canisters, so I decided that I was just gonna have to get creative.

Here's what my canisters looked like before their makeover. I recently found these holiday tins at Hobby Lobby, and the best part is that they were clearanced at 90% off. While these tins met my storage needs, the festive decorations on them....well, not so much. To fix that little problem, I got my craft on and spruced them up a bit.

These are the way my canisters turned out after they received their makeover. Obviously my version of these canisters is not dishwasher safe. Since they are only holding flour and sugar, a quick wipe down of the inside of the canisters is sufficient when they need to be cleaned. Supplies needed for this project are as follows: recycled tins, paper, Mod Podge, letters, and spray paint. Here's how I gave eight holiday tins a practical makeover.

First, I took off all of the lids off and painted the tops of them only. I did not paint the bottom of the lids for obvious reasons.

While the lids were drying, I began to transform the outside of the tins with paper and Mod Podge. I measured my paper to fit each container. It took two pieces of scrapbook paper to fit around one container.

Once the paper was ready to be assembled, I brushed a layer of Mod Podge onto one half of the container.

Then, I placed one of my pieces of paper onto the glued surface. Once the first piece was secure, I Mod Podged the other side and applied the second piece of paper.

Here's a helpful tip when working with Mod Podge. To avoid those pesky bumps, air bubbles and wrinkles that tend to form as the Mod Podge dries, use some sort of flat tool to even them out before they dry. I use my pizza scraper, and it does wonders. And since the pizza scraper is only being used on the paper, not the glue, there isn't any crafting damage done to my kitchen tool. Multi-purpose, now that's what I'm talkin' about;)

Once the paper has been applied around the perimeter of the container, a second layer of Mod Podge needs to be applied to the paper to give a sealed, finished look to the containers.

After my containers were dry, I decided that I wanted to make labels for each container. To do this, I simply used Word. I printed out my labels and cut out each individual letter for the canisters. I then applied the letters to the paper using the same Mod Podge technique that I used to apply the paper to the canisters. Stickers would have saved me a lot of time, but it would have also cost me more money. My money was worth more than my time, so I chose the tedious way of making labels for this project;) The font that I used was Cooper Black. I used 120 font size for the larger containers and 100 font size for the smaller ones.

After I made the five large canisters, I made these three smaller ones for coffee, hot chocolate and tea. I used the same Mod Podge methods to make these as I did the other five. If Mod Podge isn't your thing, recycled tins can receive a simple makeover with a coat of paint and some stickers for labels. If you can find a pattern that suites your taste, contact paper could even be an alternative for this project.

So that's it! Recycled and repurposed, these newly revamped canisters represent my style in a practical and inexpensive way. Does it really get better than that:)

Labeling Glass Canisters

2012-01-24T16:48:00.000-08:00

I’ve been working on organizing my pantry this week, and I’m in the process of making new canisters. Before I post the new ones, I decided to write a post on the labels I put on the old ones. This was a really simple idea that helped the canisters pop a little.

I got these glass canisters at Ikea when I got my first apartment years ago. I didn’t do a lot of baking when I was single. No need to make a pan of brownies for myself, right? These canisters were a great size for a single gal. They were inexpensive, so that was a plus. They also looked nice on my counters without cluttering up the space. To spruce them up a little, I simply applied some scrapbook stickers to label the canisters.

Now these canisters have been around for six years and have been through three different house moves. They’ve held up pretty good considering, but the stickers have started peeling off a little. I could easily fix the sticker issue, but I do a lot more baking now that I’m married. I find myself having a lot more flour and sugar to store….especially around the holidays. It’s just time to face the facts and get larger canisters for my baking needs. In doing so, I’m repurposing the Ikea canisters for some different baking ingredients. I used to never have these ingredients on hand, but they somehow keeping popping up in my pantry;) The Ikea canisters have become their new home.

Stay tuned to my blog this week, because I should be posting my new canisters in the next day or so. They are all most finished....and have to tell ya that I really, really like them!

Mod Podge Laundry Room Sign

2012-01-20T10:39:00.000-08:00

Like my floor lamp project that I posted about on Tuesday, I completed this project a few months ago but am just now getting around to posting it. I love the way this laundry room sign turned out! I can't take the credit for this creative idea. I was inspired by another blog that I follow called Dittle Dattle. She made a "family" sign that inspired me to make the above sign. You can find her tutorial here.

This project can be used in a variety of ways. It could be a welcome sign, a holiday sign or a child's name sign. In my case, I wanted to make something to go on the laundry room wall, and this project looked easy and inexpensive. Using supplies that I already had, this project cost me less than $7. Here's how I did it.

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

1. a piece of craft wood for each letter - I got mine at Hobby Lobby for 50 cents each.
2. a variety of scrapbook paper

3. paint, if desired
4. Mod Podge
5. letters - I made mine on the computer.

6. ribbon
7. curtain rod - If you don't have an extra one that isn't being use, yard sales and thrift stores are great places to find curtain rods. I found mine half off at Goodwill for $1.

DIRECTIONS:

Step One: Cut the paper to the desired size. I made mine a little smaller than the wood.

Step Two: Paint the wood if desired. I used spray paint that I had on hand, and I only painted the outside of the wood to save time and supplies.

Step Three: Cut out letters and arrange paper onto wood and letters onto paper.

Step Four: Mod Podge the paper to the wood and let dry. Once dry, Mod Podge the letters to the paper and let dry.

Step Five: Cut even strips of ribbon and hot glue them to the back of the wood.

Step Six: Hang Letters on curtain rod and hang curtain rod to wall:)

Home: A Place to Unwind

2012-01-19T14:18:00.000-08:00

After two months of job hunting, my husband has gone back to the work place. Obviously, we are very grateful to have lifted from us the financial stress of a job loss, but I have to tell ya….. I am also relieved to simply have my old routine back! You see, I am a girl who really enjoys a small amount of alone time throughout the week. I don’t really need it every day, but a couple hours a week is kind of nice. I can’t explain it really….I just occasionally need that time to myself to unwind and de-stress. Now don’t get me wrong…..I love my husband, and I do love spending time with him. But the thing is……when he was home, by no fault of his own of course, I wasn’t able to have any real alone time in the house to unwind from my day. Yes, we do have enough space in our house to separate ourselves and do our own things, but there is just something about having the house completely to myself that brings a sense of reflection, relaxation and retreat.

As the two of us have found ourselves getting back into a somewhat normal routine this week, I have found one of the perks to this normal routine is simply being able to come home for my lunch break and not walk into a manned-up space. What’s a manned-up space you ask? Well, that’s a term that Matt and I jokingly use to define the way he keeps the house when he is home. You see, the hubs and I don’t see eye to eye on comfortable living. I happen to love relaxing in a space with lots of natural light, scented candles, a cup of coffee, relaxing music and pretty throws and throw pillows. Overall, my ideal space needs to look and feel beautiful for me to fully enjoy it. My husband, on the other hand, finds comfort being in dark spaces, curled up in messy looking blankets, watching ESPN loudly, and having all things of necessity nearby (ie: remote, food and drink) even if it doesn’t look very pretty!!! He doesn’t necessarily dislike the way I keep the home. He just doesn’t need it to look beautiful in order to be comfortable. Seeing as how I love my husband and clearly felt bad that the misfortune of a job loss fell upon him, I have gladly let him have his manned-up space for the past two months. All the while, I was silently looking forward to the day when I could once again walk into a house that wasn’t manned-up;)

Today was the first day in a long time that I was able to come home for lunch, open the blinds, let the sunshine in (or lack there of today due to a snow storm), light my scented candles, watch an episode of my beloved Gilmore Girls while eating my lunch, curl up on the couch with the computer, then quietly write a blog post with a cup of coffee nearby while listening to the quiet sounds of relaxing music in the background. I have to tell ya, it felt pretty good!

To me, that’s what a home should be. It should be a place to relax. It should be a retreat. It should be a place that blocks all unwanted stress from the outside world the moment you walk through its doors. I believe the home should be a place to unwind…..and that’s exactly what I’ve done during today’s lunch break;)

The view from my bedroom window today as the snow was falling....beautiful! Although, you can't really tell it's beautiful, because my camera isn't that good. But trust me...it was beautiful:)

Ribbon Lampshade and Spray Painted Goodwill Lamp

2012-01-17T16:00:00.000-08:00

I feel like I have been slacking off on my blog posts lately. It's the seventeenth of January, and I only have three blog posts up. Not ONE of those post has been a house-related project. To be honest, we had to cut home projects out of our budget when Matt lost his job this past Novemeber. However, he starts his new job this week, so hopefully we can get back into the the full swing of things in the next month or two. In the meantime, I have a quick and easy project to share today. I completed it months ago but never got around to posting it.

Do you recall this $6 floor lamp that I got at Goodwill? I mentioned it in the following November post: The First Saturday of the Month at Goodwill

Well, $6 was a score for the floor lamp, but it needed a little dressing up to work in the space I planned to put it in. With two easy steps, this floor lamp was beautifully revamped! First, I painted the lamp with some leftover chrome spray paint that I had from a previous project.....

.....then I dressed it up by hot gluing some coordinating ribbon to the shade.

Tip: You don't want to glue the strips of ribbon directly onto the front of the shade. The glue could be visible through the ribbon once the light is turned on. To avoid messy glue streaks, only use a drop of hot glue on the underside of the lamp shade where the ribbon meets the shade.

I hope I'm not making this really easy step sound complicated. Note to self....next time take pictures of progressing project.

And that's it folks! Now I have a nice floor lamp for our sitting area, and it only cost me a few bucks and a little creativity!

Worth It All.....

2012-01-12T13:57:00.001-08:00

It’s hard to believe that one year ago today we moved into our new home. What a stressful day that was! I hope we never have to move again! It was January 12, 2011. I packed our belongings from the previous house on the 10^th and 11^th while Matt was at work, and on the 12^th the two of us rented a truck and moved all of our belongings into a house that I fell in love with from the moment I walked through its doors. It was a large home that we could grow in, and with a little TLC could be the home of our dreams. It needed some work, but I saw its potential….and with the right price tag on it, the hubs saw its potential too;)

We had twenty-four hours to move out of the old home and into the new one. My brother came to help us in between his classes that day, but for the most part it was just the two of us….well, the two of us and a lot of snow. Yes, we moved in a snow storm! What are the odds of that?!? It wasn’t fun, that’s for sure. We were slipping and sliding all over the place as the snow from our boots began to ice over on the hard, cold metal floors of the moving truck. And then there was the obstacle of moving furniture in knee-deep snow….NOT FUN! But as I’m sitting here in our bedroom drinking a cup of coffee a year later, on yet another snowy January day, I can’t help but think that the entire moving process was worth it….yes, it was worth every bit of the hassle! It was worth moving in a snow storm. It was worth only having two days to pack. It was worth the headaches that the bank we purchased the home put us through. It was worth all of the unknowns that came along with house hunting. It was worth the last minute house showings that we thought were going nowhere. It was worth every penny that we saved for the down payment and every penny that we continue to spend to make it our own. It was worth it all! It was even worth saying goodbye to our starter home…..a house that we both put precious time, hard work and abundant love into making our own…..a house where Matt proposed and wonderful memories were made as we began our journey of marriage….a house that while I couldn’t wait to get out of, brought tears to my eyes as I alone gave its empty space one final late night cleaning before giving the key to the new home owner. Yes, it was even worth that bitter-sweet moment of saying goodbye to something so special, because saying goodbye meant moving forward to something new and exciting for our family.

Most days I look around our home and am reminded of the many projects that still need to be completed within these walls before Matt and I enter the next step of our married journey….creating a family. And most days that thought saddens me, because I so very badly want to move onto that next step. However, I'm overwhelmed with the awareness of the many unexpected financial setbacks that have occurred since we bought this house one year ago. While those thoughts have the tendancy to weigh me down, today I can’t help but look around and thank the Lord for this home….unfinished projects and all! Today I am reminded of the progress that we have made in one year's time. The progress on this home may not be moving as fast as this impatient girl would like it to, but we have seen progress. In the right time this house will be finished! It will be the house that I envisioned it to be when I first walked through its doors! In the right time, not my time, we will have the new floors, the white picket fence and the finished basement. In the mean time, we have what we have…...so today I'm reminded to be thankful for all that we do have. So while most days my “glass-half-empty” spirit walks through this house and only sees the projects that we can’t afford to do at the this time, today I can only see a house that we are slowly but surely turning into our home.....and today, I am reminded that it was and still is worth it all!

A Quick Update....

2012-01-11T19:08:00.001-08:00

I feel as though I haven’t blogged in forever, even though it’s only been a week. I’ve been very busy this week, and I thought I’d post a quick update tonight before heading to bed.

I have a bit of good news to report tonight. Last week we found out that Matt will be starting a new job on Tuesday, and for that we are very thankful. It’s a similar job with similar pay to what he was doing, so we have no complaints about that. After being out of work for two months, the idea of a steady income seems like we’ve just won the lottery. We still don’t understand why the Lord allowed the whole job loss situation to happen, but we don’t have to know why. We just have to trust and rely on the promise that all things will work together for good in His time.

On a lighter note, we’ve had a crazy warm spell the past five days with beautiful sunshine, blue skies and temps in the mid fifties! It seems unheard of for January. It’s been kind of nice as it’s felt and looked like early April. The weather has certainly put me in a spring cleaning mood. I put the Christmas away over the weekend, cleaned my house from top to bottom and washed the windows inside and out. It’s felt great to get so much accomplished, but alas cold, dreary January weather awaits us in the weekend forecast. That means that my burst of spring-like energy will return to the normal sluggish sit-on-couch-and-eat-too-many-carbs “January blahs” in the coming days. But I don't think the "January blahs" will stay too long this year with Matt going back to work and house projects getting back to a steady pace. Yep, things are starting to feel a little bit more like normal around here….and that is definitely a good thing;)

I Can Only Wish.....

2012-01-03T14:20:00.000-08:00

The cold has found us…..I drove to work in what felt like single digit temps this morning, and I found myself wishing that I was where I was one year ago, basking in the Caribbean sun. A year ago, I would have been sailing away from

Jamaica

and preparing myself to wake up to the white, sandy beaches of the Cayman Islands. Oh how glorious it would be to wake up to that again! I can only wish! While I wish I was soaking up the tropical sunshine, I am only able soak up the memories;) And I have to tell ya, that's not necessarily a bad thing:)

Reflecting On My Year

2011-12-31T18:07:00.000-08:00

It’s hard to believe that this year has already come to an end. Where did the time go? As I'm sitting here watching New Yorks Rockin' Eve with the hubs, I can't help but reflect on this past year.........

It seems like we were celebrating the arrival of 2011 just weeks ago. The year started out in sunny Miami for me. That's where I set sail with Matt and both of our moms on a five day Caribbean cruise.

We had a wonderful time, but we were anxious to get home and find out news about the closing date for our house. We unexpectedly closed on our home the day we got back from our trip. We had one week to be out of our old house, and we hadn’t even started packing nor did we have a closing date arranged for our new home.

The timing for everything worked out, and we were able to close on the new house within the one week time frame. Due to our work schedules, we only had one day to rent a truck and move into the new house…..in a snow storm no less. I feel very blessed to have had this home shelter us from the ever changing weather of 2011. It's sheltered us from winter snow and ice storms, spring tornadoes and thunderstorms, extreme heat of long summer days and steady cold raindrops of late fall and early winter. I am thankful for the home the Lord has given us.

After moving into the new home, I decided that I wanted to journal my life's journey of being married and owning a new home, so in February, I entered the world of blogging. Although keeping up with my blog has been time consuming, it has been something that I have truly LOVED doing in my spare time. I’ve learned a lot since I wrote my very first post, and I look forward to learning so much more as I endeavor to grow my blog in the future.

Blogging gave me the push that I needed to use my creative side more and complete several DIY projects in 2011, all of which I’ve shared with you here my in my little corner of the internet. It has been a true joy for me to create on a budget. I look forward to sharing many more projects on my blog in the year to come.

While I love to DIY, traveling is something that both Matt and I really enjoy. We had to postpone some of the bigger trips we had planned for 2011, due to some budget adjustments after buying the house in January, but we were still able to fit in several small road trips here and there, all of which I've shared with you on my blog. Before we bought the house, we already had the January cruise, February weekend getaway to Gatlinburg and March weekend getaway to Cincinnati paid for. That left us with enough in our budget to go to St. Louis for Fourth of July and New Buffalo, Michigan/Chicago for Matt's August birthday. Getting away from our ordinary routine is so important to us that we even stayed in a nice hotel right here in Indy for our anniversary weekend. We had a great time exploring our own city without spending too much money. Looking back, we were able to do a lot of small getaways this past year on a tight budget, and for that I am thankful. I will always cherish the memories we share when we can getaway from the hustle and bustle of our every day life and spend quality time together.

Another thing I got to do in 2011 is catch up on some reading. Reading for pleasure is something that I really enjoy, and as I shared with you in a post earlier this week, I spent many nights curled up in bed with a good book during 2011. I've already started my 2012 book list and can't wait to get started.

When I wasn’t spending time with my husband, working on projects for the house, writing post for my blog or reading a good book, my time was spent at work with the girls that I nanny for or at the library working on classes for my masters. I only have a few more classes to complete for my masters and would like to finish up in 2012. As far as my job goes, I feel very blessed to have a good job in this economy and even more blessed that, unlike so many, I actually like my job. I've been able to watch the girls grow up, and like each previous year that I've been a part of their lives, I've been able to make a lot memories with them. Even when they no longer need a nanny, I will always have those memories and will forever cherish them.

While my job has gone well this past year, I can’t say the same for Matt’s job. He started work with a new company at the beginning of 2011 and was really excited about what seemed to be a promising future for our family and his career…..but sometimes things don’t go as we think they should. In November, Matt unexpectedly lost his job, and while he is aggressively looking for a new job, he hasn’t found one yet. I haven’t really talked about this on my blog. Sometimes I think if I don’t talk about it, it will go away….but the reality is that it isn’t going away, not tonight anyway. We will wake up tomorrow morning to a new year, and it will still be a new year where we are forced to live on one income. There’s no doubt that these past two months have been trying for us, seeing as how we base our monthly budget off of his income, not mine, but we trust that the Lord will provide our needs. We don’t have to understand why bad things happen, although I really wish I did understand this. All we have to understand is that God has a plan for us, and it will unfold in his time, not ours. So while Matt and I didn’t buy each other Christmas gifts this year or go out to dinner for New Year’s Eve, we still have each other and that’s what’s really important to us as we say goodbye to 2011 and awake to a new year.

My Top Ten DIY Projects of 2011

2011-12-29T19:00:00.000-08:00

Since I started my blog in February, I’ve shared thirty-eight DIY projects with you. According to my blog’s page views, here are the top ten projects of 2011. You can find the other twenty-eight projects on my Project Gallery page. Here’s to sharing many more thrifty projects in 2012! Happy DIYing everyone!

NUMBER ONE

Craigslist Dining Room Table and Chairs Makeover

NUMBER TWO

DIY WALL DECOR

NUMBER THREE

Oil Rubbed Bronze Door Knobs

NUMBER FOUR

Upcycled Wall Decor With Dollar Tree Decal

NUMBER FIVE

$4 Picture Frame Turned Into Dry Erase Board

NUMBER SIX

Napkins Turned Into No-Sew Pillow Cases

NUMBER SEVEN

No-Sew Felt Flower Pillow

NUMBER EIGHT

Refinished Craigslist Armoire

NUMBER NINE

Neighbor's Trash Turned Into My Treasure

NUMBER TEN

Coffee Filter Lamp Shade

Excellent Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-12-29T09:51:00.001-08:00

My sister made chocolate chip cookies over Thanksgiving Break that were sooo yummy. Everyone in our family loved them! Apparently, she got the recipe from a friend. When I asked her for the recipe, she said that the recipe is the same as the back of the Nestle's chocolate chip bag, but with a few minor adjustments. Believe it or not, a Crisco butter flavor baking stick is what makes these cookies taste so good. Here's the recipe.

2 1/4 cups of flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 Crisco Baking Stick Butter Flavor

1/2 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 lage eggs

2 c. (12 oz bag) chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat Crisco, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs and beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Roll into small balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 9-12 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 5 dozen.

My 2011 Book List

2011-12-28T19:18:00.000-08:00

I pretty much always have a book in my bag or in my purse, if not two or three books. I have yet to get a Kindle or Nook ~ there's just something about the actual book that I love! My book list is filled with books that I read for pleasure, so I would describe most of them as easy reads. While I try to average a book a month, I was able to read seventeen books for pleasure this year, aside from any required reading that I had to do for school. You can see a list of the books I’ve read in 2011, along with a brief description of each book, on my Book List page.

Now.....where will the pages of a book take me in 2012? It's time to start thinking about what books I want to read throughout the next twelve months;) Happy reading everyone!

Santa's Late Delivery

2011-12-27T16:59:00.000-08:00

Christmas just doesn’t seem like Christmas without snow, and this year we haven’t seen a whole lot of the white stuff. It’s actually been unseasonably warm this year, and the only thing we’ve seen is a whole lot of rain! Six weeks of what seemed to be non-stop, weary-dreary rain made it look more like the most “depressing” time of the year rather than the most “wonderful” time of the year! It seriously seems like the majority of November and December have been full of soggy, dreary, grey days with not even a hint of holiday frost in the air.

Now, don’t get me wrong, by the time January comes around I’m usually sick of the white stuff, but from Thanksgiving to New Years I really can’t get enough of it! This year Santa disappointment me with spring-like weather on Christmas day. I mean, I didn’t even wear a coat on Christmas day….can you believe that … there was no need for a coat! And the neighbor kids were playing outside in there pajamas while riding their bikes! And people were taking their morning run without a jacket….and wait for it…….they were in shorts….IN DECEMBER!!! It was craziness I tell you!

Needless to say the early spring-like weather put me in a sort of “bah humbug” mood this Christmas. Yep, I confess I’ve been a little bit of Scrooge. I didn’t want to listen to Christmas music, I didn’t even plug in Christmas lights most nights, and I was ready to take down the Christmas tree the night of Christmas. Now I’m not gonna lie, there have been other contributors to my less than Christmas spirit, but the NO SNOW for Christmas just kind of pushed me over into the Christmas blues.

BUT…yes, there is a but...sometimes Santa can be late with our Christmas wishes. Here we are, two days after Christmas, and what do you think I beheld outside my bedroom window when I woke up this morning……SNOW! Now….it was a wet snow, because it really isn’t that cold here….and it will probably melt by tomorrow afternoon…..but it was SNOW nonetheless! Unfortunately, it came on the day that I had to go back to work. On the plus side, I am a nanny afterall:) You better believe we made time to play in the white, wet mess before it makes its disappearing act over the next few days:)

So while Santa must have been late this year, at least he delivered:) Better late than never right:)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T12:11:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from Our Family to Yours!

May we never forget the real reason for the season.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonder, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

We hope you have a blessed day celebrating the birth of our Savior.

The Asher Family

Pineapple Cheese Ball

2011-12-24T11:57:00.000-08:00

I tried a new cheese ball recipe for a Christmas Eve family get-together tonight. I got this pineapple cheese ball recipe from an awesome blog that I follow called Chef in Training. You can get the recipe here. And while your there, check out some of the other recipes on her blog.

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

Handmade Personalized Lockets

2011-12-23T17:37:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have a hard time trying to think of a thoughtful Christmas gift for the special gals in your life? I know that I struggle with that from time to time. As most of you know, I am a nanny for a family with two girls. Finding the right gift for the girls and the parents can be challenging for me whenever gift giving time comes around. The girls have a ton of toys, so I try to avoid the toy stores when I'm contemplating what gifts to get them. For Christmas, I always try to give the girls something small that incorporates the true meaning of Christmas, Christ birth, and then I usually get them something that we can do together like craft kits or games. Sometimes I’ll even make them something sentimental.

Recently I made jewelry and posted about it here. Both Mom and Daughters really liked the jewelry that I made, so I decided to personalize a few pieces for them and add it to their Christmas gifts this year. For the mom, I made a necklace with a locket of the girl’s pictures and an appropriate quote inside. For the girls I made necklaces with lockets as well, but I tried to incorporate a small piece of my faith inside their locket. On the inside of their locket I glued a mustard seed, and then I made a tiny scroll with the verse Matthew 17:20 written on it and put it inside the locket. When the necklaces were finished I put them in festive sachets that I had leftover from previous gift giving ideas, and attached them to the top of their wrapped presents.

Since I already had most of the jewelry making supplies, this was a relatively inexpensive gift idea. While inexpensive, the fact that it was handmade makes it thoughtful and specific to the person’s taste. And by adding a locket, I was able to take it step further and personalize the gifts. So next time you’re trying to think of a thoughtful gift for the special ladies of your life, try being creative with jewelry making;)

Mom's Bagel Dip

2011-12-22T21:50:00.000-08:00

This is a great appetizer for any upcoming holiday parties. My mom always makes this recipe for Christmas gatherings, and it’s a bit hit. I recently made it for my husband, and he devoured the entire dish in one day….well, I guess I sort of helped him devour it. What can I say, this stuff is just that good;)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/3 c. Mayonnaise

1 1/3 c. Sour cream

4 oz. of thinly sliced deli beef or corn beef

(Mom always uses 2 packages of original Budding Beef)

2 tsp. dried dillweed
2 tbs. dried parsley

1 tsp dried minced onion

one bag of bagels

DIRECTIONS:

Cut up beef into small pieces. Mix all ingredients together and set in fridge over night. It is VERY important that you let it sit for several hours in order for flavors to merry, or it won't taste right. Tear bagels into small pieces and serve with dip.

DIY Dollar Tree Christmas Decor

2011-12-20T13:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I posted pictures of my Christmas decorations here. Today I wanted to quickly show you how $2 and some extra Christmas bulbs became part of my Christmas Décor. I’m sure many of you have seen similar decorations with bulbs all over the internet. Using epoxy glue, I simply glued together a candle holder and a hurricane vase that I purchased from the Dollar Tree, then I filled them with some extra bulbs that I had stored away. That’s it ~ that’s how beautifully simple $2 can be;)

I recently posted a similar project for autumn here.

Our Home for the Holidays

2011-12-19T18:14:00.000-08:00

It’s the first Christmas in our new home, and I have to tell ya that it hasn’t felt too festive around here this year. I’ve been meaning to write this post for weeks, but just haven’t gotten around to it even though we decorated our home the day after Thanksgiving. Maybe it’s that there isn’t going to be any snow for Christmas, or maybe it’s that our home still has so many unfinished projects. Regardless of the warm weather and the never ending home projects, I did manage to get a few Christmas decorations up this year. So without further ado, here is our home for the holidays.

Christmas On The Farm ~ Trader's Point Creamery

2011-12-18T18:11:00.000-08:00

Trader’s Point Creamery in Zionsville, Indiana, is one of the few places that I know of in our area that has a Winter Market from November to April. During these cold winter months when most farmer’s markets are closed for the season, Trader’s Point Creamery converts their big red barn into a heated pavilion filled with all sorts of venders promoting fresh, local ingredients. The creamery is also home of The Loft Restaurant where only the freshest organic ingredients are used for the preparation of food. If dining in isn’t something you have time for, they sell all of their organic dairy products on sight as well as off sight in some of our local grocery stores.

Since the location of the creamery is located on the opposite side of town from where I live, I don’t make a weekly trip to visit their farmer’s market. I do, however, make one special trip to the creamery during the month of December. On the second and third Saturday of December, Trader’s Point Creamery has Christmas on the Farm. On these two days of the year, the creamery hosts a free event that incorporates their usual winter market with all sorts of other family-friendly activities such as: winter hayrides, reindeer, a visit with Santa Claus and Christmas crafts. Matt and I have taken the girls that I nanny for to Christmas on the farm for a couple of years now, and the girls really enjoy seeing the animals and purchasing a cup of fresh organic hot chocolate from the farm's Loft Restaraunt. Yesterday was the last day for this free event, but it is an annual event. So, if you’re looking for something fun and unique to do next December, make a trip to Trader’s Point Creamery for Christmas on the Farm.

Jolly Days at The Children's Museum

2011-12-15T14:16:00.000-08:00

Indianapolis is home to the world’s largest children’s museum. Since I’ve been a nanny, I feel like I been there a hundred times, yet somehow I still enjoy the annual events like Jolly Days. Matt and I have taken the girls to Jolly Days for several years now, and it is always something they look forward to doing.

During the holidays, the museum is transformed into a winter wonderland with a special exhibit filled with all sorts of winter fun for kids to enjoy. The thing the girls look forward to them most is going down the huge slide that has been transformed from an ordinary staircase. They'll wait in line forever just to go down it!

So if you have kids and you're visiting Indy around the holidays, be sure visit to The Indianapolis Children's Museum and make special memories that will last a lifetime.

DIY Decoupaged Porcelain Ornament for Less Than $1

2011-12-08T06:48:00.000-08:00

These ornaments could be adjusted for your specific needs and could be personalized with fun sayings or individual names. For less $1, they make really great, inexpensive, personalized, quick and easy, homemade giftsJ

For those of you who don’t know, I have a large family. I have seven siblings, and most of them have families of their own. In fact, my parents have seventeen grandchildren. One of the things my mom gives the grandchildren every Christmas is an ornament. This year she wanted to give ornaments that specifically said, “You’re My Favorite” to each grandchild, because thy all seem to think that they are Grandma’s favorite, even though Grandma is constantly reminding them that they are all her favorite. It has kind of become a joke between all them, so my mom asked me to make the ornaments. She instructed me to make them on a tight budget, since she needed me to make seventeen of them. Oh, and I shoud also mention that I needed to make all of them before Thanksgiving, because my family gets together to celebrate Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. I was able to make all of the ornaments for about $13. That’s less than $1 for each ornament. Not too bad, if I day say so myself;)

SUPPLIES :

Porcelain Ornament – $1 at Hobby Lobby, but I wait for them to go half off. I was able to get all 17 ornaments for $.50 each

Scrapbook Paper – .$.59 per sheet at most craft stores, but I always wait for them to go on sale for 5 for $1. I used 4 pieces of Christmas scrapbook paper for this project. Christmas wrapping paper would also work for this project.

Mod Podge – Usually about $6 for a standard bottle, but most stores have coupons for one item in their weekly ads. I always have this on hand, so I didn’t need to buy any for this project.

Small Foam Paint Brush - $.44 at most stores. I like using these for small decoupage projects, because they are inexpensive and they cover well.

Paint – I used spray paint, only because I had plenty of silver on hand and wanted an even coverage. C raft paint would also work

Computer – I used the computer to print my phrase, because I had so many ornaments to make. Stickers would work too, but it could get costly if you have multiple ornaments to make.

Ribbon - $1.99 at most craft stores. I got mine half off for $1.

DIRECTIONS:

Trace ornament over the back side of paper twice (two circles per ornament). Cut out all circles. Lay all ornaments flat on an area prepped for paint. Paint one side and let dry. Once dry, paint the other side and let dry. Decoupage circle to one side and let dry. Once dry, decoupage other circle to the other side and let dry. Print out words, cut using a cutting board and decoupage to front side ornament. Once ornament is completely dry, put the ribbon on the ornament and hang on tree or wrap as a gift. J

Mom's Hot Chocolate Mix

2011-12-06T13:24:00.001-08:00

I have fond memories of my mom’s hot chocolate when I was a kid. I always knew that cold winter days were approaching when the giant red container made its way out of hiding and found its home on the kitchen counter. And there it would remain until the days grew longer and the temperature warmer. Filled with a creamy, chocolaty, powdery mixture, the red container meant all sorts of warm and fuzzy things to me as a child. A warm cup of Mom’s hot chocolate meant chilly nights, snowy days and above all else…..Christmas! Now that I’m older, I whip up a batch of this every year, and one batch lasts me an entire winter season. Some day, I hope my kids will be able to look back and have fond memories of their childhood every time they drink a warm, delicious cup of Mom’s Hot ChocolateJ.

INGREDIENTS

One Box of Powdered Milk (25.6 oz)

One Container of Powdered Coffee Creamer (15 oz)

Half of a Bag of Powdered Sugar

One Container of NesQuick Chocolate Powdered Drink Mix (10.9 oz)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix ingredients together in large bowl and put in storage bag or container for future use. For each serving use a 2 to 1 ratio of hot water to hot chocolate mix. This mixture is meant to be more creamy than chocolaty, so you can use whatever ratio taste best for you. For my morning coffee cup, I usually use one cup of water to one half a cup of the mix, but you can mix it to taste the way you like it.

No-Bake Fudge Cookies

2011-12-04T13:55:00.000-08:00

When I posted about putting our Christmas tree up here, I mentioned that I make no-bake fudge cookies to enjoy during that particular holiday tradition. Growing up, these were always one of my favorite cookies that my mom made for us. Here is her recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick of Butter

2 c. Sugar

½ c. Evaporated Milk

2 tbs. Cocoa

½ c Peanut Butter

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 c. Quick Oats

DIRECTIONS:

Bring butter, sugar, evaporated milk and cocoa to a boil. Boil for four minutes. DO NOT overcook or undercook, or the cookies could be too wet or too dry. Quickly stir in peanut butter, vanilla and oats. Quickly drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the wax paper. Let cookies cool and solidify before indulging in the peanut-buttery, oh-so-chocolatey, ooey- gooey no-bake goodness:)

Downtown Indy All Lit Up

2011-12-03T17:28:00.001-08:00

Like most cities across the

U.S.

, Indianapolis has an annual tree lighting celebration the day after Thanksgiving to usher in the Christmas festivities downtown.  Indianapolis Circle of Lights is a huge event every year where the streets are jammed packed with locals and visitors alike, enjoying the free concerts and performances.
         Due to an annual family gathering the day after Thanksgiving, I never attend the well-known city celebration. Not wanting to miss out on the beauty of downtown Indy during the holidays, I always visit the circle city one weekend before Christmas to enhance my holiday experience.
        After I do some Christmas shopping at the Circle Center Mall, I usually walk to the Starbucks on the circle where I indulge in the holiday taste of a caramel brule latte before walking across the street to the massive Christmas tree that is our city monument. Just a few minutes in the glow of the lights is all I need, before the cold December air sends me walking back to my car with another Christmas memory stored away, and the anticiapation of many more memories to come in the years ahead.

Upcycled Wall Decor With Dollar Tree Decal

2011-12-02T07:45:00.000-08:00

The Christmas season is upon us, and I have a project for all of you crafty readers out there looking for ideas to make Christmas gifts on a budget. This upcylced project cost me all of $3 and could be a thoughtful yet inexpensive Christmas gift for those on a tight budget this year!

Using a $2 sign from Goodwill, a $1 decal from the Dollar Tree, some white sample chalk paint that I got for free when I ordered my graphite chalk paint., and some spare ribbon from my craft closet, I was able to make the outdated "angels" sign into a fresh, modern "welcome" sign for our home.

TIPS:

1. this could work with any piece of wood...new or old

2. if using an old sign, paint over sign with chalk paint and let dry

3. if you don't have chalk paint, sand and prime before painting over the old sign

4. once dry, place decal over painted wood

5. if wood already has holes, pull ribbon through holes and hang on wall

6. if wood doesn't have holes, drill holes or use brackets to hang on wall

The First Snow of the Season

2011-11-30T13:49:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was the first snow of year. It started snowing late in the afternoon when I picked the girls up from school. By the time we got home, changed for gymnastics and walked out the door to head to practice, the snow was really coming down:) I managed to get a few pictures of the girls as we were walking to the car:)

The snow didn’t last very long and it didn’t even stick around. By the time I left for work this morning, the snow was gone and the grass was green once again. I’m not too worried though. I’m sure I will have many snowy days ahead in the near future…..afterall, it’s not even December yet;)

Adding Crystal Bling to a Broken Candleabra

2011-11-29T13:00:00.000-08:00

I bought a candelabra on clearance at Kirkland’s years ago for less than $10. It had a nice old-world look to it, and I used in both of my apartments and our last home. The glass candle holders broke during our last move, and I have been trying to think of a way to utilize it in our new home.

I thought that if I added a little bling to it, I could use it in our master bedroom,so I bought some jewelry crystals at Hobby Lobby and added them to the candelabra.

Since the glass candle part was broken, the crystals just made it pretty, not practical.....but then I found these uniquely sized candle holders at Old Time Potter for $1.99 each, and I thought they would actually work for this project. When I got them home, I realized they weren't the perfect fit, but they would still work for what I needed.

I really like this updated look, and I think it really works in our bedroom. So next time you're thinking you need to get rid of something, maybe you just need to update it with a little bit of bling;)

My Husband's First Black Friday

2011-11-26T12:00:00.001-08:00

If you read my blog, you know that we have plenty of room to grow into our new home and have been trying to furnish our home in a budget-friendly way. Since we both know that Black Friday is one of the best times of year to invest in electronics, we kept a close eye on the ads this year. The $199 42 inch door buster TV that Best Buy was offering would have been great for the loft, but when we discovered a long line of tents as we drove by our Best Buy at 11:00 AM on Thanksgiving morning, we quickly ruled out getting a TV for our loft.

We did, however, end up with a TV to put in the refinished armoire for our bedroom. Our armoire will only hold a 32 inch TV, and we ended up getting a really good deal on one from Wal-Mart.

Matt and I kept debating about going shopping this year, but before it was all said and done, I dragged my husband out for his first Black Friday experience. I had mixed reactions about the stores opening so early this year. At first, I thought it was just ridiculous that stores were opening at midnight and cutting into family time on Thanksgiving, but I have to tell ya that I have been converted to midnight madness. It just makes more sense to go shopping at midnight when a lot of people are already awake and energetic instead of waking up at the ungodly hour of 3:00 a.m. to wait for stores to open their doors at 5:00 in the morning. Midnight hours certainly made for a more enjoyable and less cranky shopping experience in my opinion.

Best Buy, hhgregg and Wal-Mart all had the same TV that we wanted for the same sale price, and believe it or not, Wal-Mart ended up looking like the most promising place to experience a somewhat calm Black Friday. Our Wal-Mart was packed but completely organized. Because Wal-Mart’s doors were open before midnight, they had lines set up for each door buster item. When the clock struck midnight, they handed out the must-have items, making it easier to get to the registers. Matt and I were able to get the one item that we went in the store for before midnight (only because we didn’t have to wait in one of the many organized lines they had in the store to get our item), wait by the cash registers until midnight, check out by 12:30 and arrive home by 1:00.......

.....all before waking up and doing some more Christmas shopping Friday morning after the crowds died down;) Overall, this year was a really easy Black Friday shopping experience for us. That's probably a good thing, because it shouldn't be too hard to convince my husband to go back out with me again next year:)

In Everything Give Thanks....

2011-11-24T18:25:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving…...the great American holiday. It’s a time to be thankful for our faith, family, friends, freedom, finances, food, and football;) While I am certainly thankful for all of those things, tonight I find myself being thankful for the unexpected things that come into our lives that we may initially wish never occurred; yet when we look back, it’s those unexpected things that force us to look beyond ourselves and look to the only place we can look…..up.

A few weeks ago, Matt and I were given some very unexpected news that left us and still leaves us with many unknowns about certain parts of our future. While I can’t go into detail about our situation, I can tell you that my initial reaction to the news was worry and fear of the unknown. The situation has pretty much caused us to put our lives on hold and wait for something that is completely out of our control. The past two weeks has forced us to slow down our oh-so-busy life and has brought with it a sweetness to our marriage that I think the Lord knew we needed. It hasn’t been easy, but we have learned to let go of the things that we can’t control and trust that God has a plan for our lives. Even now, as we are still patiently waiting for answers, we can say that our faith and marriage has been strengthened due to a circumstance that neither one of us would have ever chosen ourselves.

So tonight I am not only thankful for the wonderful easy things of life….I am thankful for these difficult times that allow us to be a better person. For it is during these teachable moments in our lives that our faith is strengthened. This Thanksgiving the short and simple verse found in the New Testament has truly become my reality……..

In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. ~1Thessalonians 5:18,

Pumpkin Cheesecake

2011-11-22T15:34:00.001-08:00

I love the pumpkin cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory, but I have to tell ya that Paula Deen’s pumpkin cheesecake recipe is nearly as good as Cheesecake Factory’s. You can get the recipe here. After making one over the weekend, I made one more today for another get-together. The best part is that the entire cake cost me just as much to make as buying one slice of cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory, since I had most of the ingredients on hand. Once you’ve tried this recipe, you’ll never want pumpkin pie again. You’ll find pumpkin cheesecake to be a must-have for all your Thanksgiving festivities.

A Holiday Tradition....a few days early...

2011-11-21T12:16:00.001-08:00

Traditions….we all have them, especially this time of year. Typically, we put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving, but this year we put it up a few days early as we decked the halls this past Saturday night.

When we decorate our home for Christmas, Matt puts the tree together and puts the lights on the tree, while I decorate the rest of the house.

Once he’s finished, I give him a plate of cookies while I take over the Christmas tree duty and strategically place every ornament on the tree.

Matt thinks I’m kind of freakishly controlling about every detail of the tree, and for once, I actually agree with him;) I don't think he really cares though, becasue he is too busy indulging in a fresh batch of no-bake-fudge cookies, while I am carefully placing each ornament in it's perfect little place.

Lastly, Matt puts the star on top of our tree, and we step back, turn the lights out, and plug in the Christmas tree....

.....and then we wait for Chloe to nearly knock over the tree before eating the pine needles, which she will inevitably throw up all over the carpet later on in the evening. What is it with cats and Christmas trees? This is certainly a part of the tradition that I wish we could get rid of.

Once the house is all decked out for the holidays, we pop up a bowl of fresh kettle corn, make a batch of my mom’s hot cocoa and watch Miracle on

34^th Street.

And that’s it….that’s our tradition. There’s just something about the simple traditions of the holiday season that bring such warmth and comfort. I hope you all enjoy your holiday traditions over the upcoming weeks as much as we enjoy ours.

Buttery Crab Pot Pie

2011-11-17T14:00:00.000-08:00

I got this recipe from a Paula Deen cookbook, and I really like it this time of year. What could be better than a butter crab pot pie on a cool November night. Give it try and see if you like it too:)

INGREDIENTS

8 tbsp. butter

1 small yellow onion (chopped)

1 c. mushrooms (sliced)

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp. flour ( and more for dusting)

1 1/2 c. milk

1/4 c. clam juice

1/4 cup medium-dry sherry

1/2 lb. crabmeat (drained and picked clean of shells)

1 c. frozen peas

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water, to brush pastry

DIRECTIONS

Melt the butter over medium heat. Add onions and mushrooms and cook until softened. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in the flour, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add milk, clam juice, and sherry. Bring to a boil and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add the crabmeat and peas. Remove from the heat and transfer to the refrigerator to cool. Unfold the pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface. Place 4 (8-oz) ovenproof bowls rim down on the pastry and cut out 4 circles a bit larger than the bowls. Brush the circles with the egg wash. Divide it among the 4 bowls. Brush the rims of the bowls with the egg wash, lay a pastry circle over each, and seal the edges. Cut steam vents in the pastry and brush with the egg mixture. Place the bowls on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until the pastry is puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot.

DIY Dollar Store Autumn Candle Holders

2011-11-13T10:16:00.000-08:00

One the great things about having a blog, is keeping up with all of the other blogs that I follow. I love being inspired by other bloggers and feeding off of their creativity. Once in awhile, I see something that another blogger has created and I say to myself, “I love that, and I have to try to make that!” This is one of those times, folks.

The other day I came across a post entitled, “Dollar Store Version of the WS Glass Hurricane” over at 320 Sycamore where two look-alike $80 WS Hurricanes were created for only $3 a piece by shopping at the local Dollar Store. You can go here for her tutorial. I loved her version so much that I went to my local Dollar Store and got the supplies to make one for my entry table. The only thing that I did different was my adhesive choice. Epoxy glue is usually my choice of adhesive when working with glass, so I used that instead of hot glue. Here are the results of my $3 project.

The First Saturday of the Month at Goodwill

2011-11-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

It’s the first Saturday of the month, and do you know what that means? Well, if you ever shop at Goodwill,you know that means that today everything in the store is 50% off. Now that the cold weather is here, much of the time and energy that I spent on garage sales in the warmer months is spent thrifting in other ways during the colder months. This weekend is a perfect example of that. You see, there are six Goodwill stores 10-15 minutes from our house. Yesterday, I scouted all of them out, and today I woke up early and hit up the ones that looked promising from yesterday’s searching. Unfortunately, I didn’t see anything big at the stores that we are need of….at least not this month. I did see a few smaller things, such as lamps, that I went back for today. I didn’t really intend on shopping for clothes today, but at the last Goodwill I stopped at, I allowed myself to look at the clothing rack and ended up getting a few nice things for winter. Overall, it was a good Goodwill day. J

A 20 dollar bill paid for all of the these clothes, and I even got some change back:)

$2 Gap jean skirt, $2 Kohl’s skirt, $2 red Charlotte Russe shirt, $2 Kohl’s zip-up sweater/hoodie

$2 Target short sleeve black sweater, $2 Kohl’s grey sweater/cardigan

$3 Target sundress that would be adorable in the summer with a pair of sandals......or in the spring with a light pink cardigan and black ballerina flats........ or in the fall and winter with a pair of black boots, a black cardigan or my new $2 red Target cardigan:)

For the guest room, I purchased a coffee table for $2 that I am going to transform into a bench for the end of the bed with a little bit of foam, batting and fabric. I also got the purple basket for $2.50 and the lamps, which are really nice looking lamps, for $7 each. $7 is kind of high for a Goodwill lamp, but they are really nice and I sort of fell in love with them:)

This floor lamp was $6.....

.....and the lampshade was $2. I have plans for both the lamp and the lampshade. Can't wait to get started on it:)

A Little Bit of Clearance Bling

2011-11-04T14:02:00.000-07:00

I’m not exactly sure what these little pendant things are called, but I got a two-pack on clearance at Hobby Lobby for only $2. They go with our bedroom perfectly, and I used them to add a little bling to some accent pieces in our room. While I don’t know what they are called, the package did say that the purpose of them is to decorate candles, candle holders ect. Using my trusty hot glue gun, I attached one to my garage sale lamp that previously added trim to and told you about here, and I put the other one on a votive holder on our fireplace. In this case, $2 bling is a good thing. J

Craigslist Armoire Refinished - FINALLY!

2011-11-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

The $75 Craigslist solid wood armoire is FINALLY finished!!!

If you recall, we furnished much of our master bedroom from Craigslist back in March. You can read more about those purchases here.

For several months, the armoire sat in the garage, because Matt and I couldn't move it on our own:(

It was finally moved upstairs Labor Day weekend when we had some extra man-power:)

But upstairs it sat for several weeks until I got around to sanding, priming and painting the beast!

I refinished the armoire just like I did this piece of furniture (the free trash from my neighbor). Luckily, I didn't have to spend any money on supplies for this project, since I had plenty leftover from the last one.

You can find the tutorial here. Refer to it to see the list of supplies I used for this project.

This past weekend, I added hardware for $1.50 a knob from Hobby Lobby (half off of course).

I realy like the way this piece turned out. Not bad for $75:) It sure beats my $400 inspiration piece from Ikea and the $800 pieces I've seen elsewhere.

Now we just need a T.V to put in the armoire......I think Santa may be taking care of that for us this Christmas;)

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T18:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from my family to yours!

While I took the girls that I nanny for trick-or-treating….

……Matt stayed home with our girls (Molly and Chloe) and passed out candy.

Once trick-or-treating hours were over, Matt and I hit the couch with the bowl of left over candy:)

It was a good Halloween. J

Fish and Corn Chowder and Cod and Shrimp Stoup

2011-10-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

Rachel Ray has some really easy and exceptional recipes to offer. Here are two of my favorite one-pot-dishes she's created that I love to make this time of year.

Matt loves this fish and corn chowder. It is creamy and full of flavor with lots of fresh ingredients. You can get the recipe here.

This cod and shrimp stoup with salt and vinegar mashed potatoes is also a huge hit with the hubs. You can get the recipe here.

Conner Prairie's Headless Horseman

2011-10-30T05:45:00.000-07:00

Indianapolis has so many fun things for kids to do all year long, but especially this time of year. This fall, I’ve taken the girls that I nanny for to the apple orchard, the pumpkin patch, The Children Museum’s Haunted House, Indianapolis Zoo Boo and last night Matt and I took the girls to Conner Prairie’s Headless Horseman. The girls had a lot of fun doing all sorts of evening fall activities at Conner Prairie such as fall crafts, s’mores, pumpkin’ chunkin’ and of course the headless horseman hayride. This was the last weekend for this particular event, but if you live in the Indianapolis area, I recommend heading to Conner Prairie for some family-friendly Halloween fun next year. Admission is $15 per person, but if you are a member it’s free:)

Pumkin Carving and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

2011-10-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

Source

Matt and I carved our pumpkins from the pumpkin patch last night. We're not very artistic. It always looks like five year olds carved our pumpkins, but I think that's what makes it so fun! There’s something about carving pumpkins that makes me feel like a kid again. I’m not exactly sure why it makes feel that way, since I don’t actually remember carving pumpkins when I was little. I’m pretty sure that we never experienced pumpkin carving, because my mom was a clean freak and that kind of project would have been way too messy for her. Not carving pumpkins as a child must have left some sort of subconscious void in my life, because I have felt the need to carve pumpkins every year since I’ve been adult….both a single adult and a married adult.

As an adult, I’ve sort of started this tradition where I make grilled cheese and tomato soup, carve pumpkins and then watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown while eating freshly popped kettle corn. I think it’s a fabulous tradition, and that’s why I was so bummed out when Matt and I had our first Halloween together and I discovered his hatred for pumpkins! Can you believe it? The guy hates all things pumpkin: pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin roll, pumpkin coffee and especially pumpkin carving! I’m a girl who loves all things fall, but I especially love ALL things pumpkin in the fall! It was such a sad thing when I discovered that my husband couldn’t share with me my love for pumpkins. And do you want to know the reason for this pumpkin hatred of his….wait for it….they’re too messy! Yep, apparently, I married my mother!

Even though my husband hates pumpkins, he loves me.J He’s learned that I have a weird sentimental thing with festive traditions….including pumpkin carving. After he unknowingly hurt my feeling the first year we were married by refusing to partake in my pumpkin carving and taking a nap while I carved both of our pumpkin, he now reluctantly carves them with me as long as I take out all of the pumpkin goop, clean up the mess for him and reward him with grilled cheese, tomato soup and kettle corn. One thing is for sure. No matter how much my husband dislikes pumpkin carving, I’ll always enjoy our little tradition, and he’ll always enjoy watching me enjoy it. J

Sausage and Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls

2011-10-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

I am a big cream cheese fan and tend to be drawn to recipes that have cream cheese as one of the main ingredients. These sausage and cream cheese crescent rolls are one of my favorite cream cheese recipes. My husband loves to eat them during a football game, but I’ve made them for all sorts of casual gatherings. They always go over well, and they are a super-easy three-ingredient recipe. They'd also be a really good breakfast or brunch dish. I first had these bite-size snacks at a gathering my grandma had a few years ago. I’m pretty sure I ate most of the ones on the plate that day. I asked for the recipe, and I’ve been making them ever since. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. J

INGREDIENTS

2 cans of 8 crescent rolls

1 8oz. package of cream cheese

1 lb. of ground sausage

* I use two packs of cream cheese and three cans of crescent rolls to make the mixture, because I like mine creamier on the inside.

DIRECTIONS

Cook sausage and drain excess grease. While sausage is warm, mix in cream cheese (mixing with hands works best). Spoon the mixture onto the individual crescents. Roll each crescent roll trying to completely cover the mixture while rolling. Bake according to crescent roll directions on package.

Zoo Boo!

2011-10-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

I love Indianapolis in the fall! There are so many kid-friendly things to take the girls to this time of year. Matt and I took the girls to The Indianapolis Zoo for the annual Zoo Boo over the weekend. The zoo is decorated in Halloween fun for this yearly event, and there are all sorts of fun activities for the kidos to do. The girls had a blast trick-or-treating throughout the zoo! Here are a few pics from our weekend.

Pumpkin Pancakes

2011-10-23T06:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday everyone! Nothin’ like pumpkin pancakes, topped with whip cream and sprinkled with pumpkin pie spice on a beautiful fall Sunday morning! I got this recipe from a blog that I follow called Chef in Training. You can get the recipe here. Give these a try, and I Hope you enjoy them......I know I did. J

Pumpkin Roll

2011-10-22T16:23:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Roll is my absolute favorite fall dessert. I’ve been using this recipe since I was fourteen. I got it out of a recipe book that my childhood church put together, and I’ve been using it ever since. Last week I shared with you in this post, that I made this recipe using fat-free cream cheese in the icing, because that’s what I had on hand. That was a BAD idea, and I do NOT recommend it!!! The icing was runny and didn't taste very good. I ended up throwing the whole thing out. Bottom line, if you’re gonna make a dessert, you might as well go all out and use the fattening stuff. After last weekend’s failed attempt, I bought regular cream cheese this weekend and indulged in my pumpkin roll cravings. One word....YUMMO! It's even better when served with a cup of my pumpkin spice coffee I told you about in this post. I certainly didn't disappoint myself this time ;) I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.

CAKE

Beat 3 eggs on high for 3-5 minutes. Mix in 1 c. sugar and 2/3 c. pumpkin. Blend in ¾ c. flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. ginger, 1 tsp. nutmeg, ½ tsp. salt. Mix ingredients well and pour into a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 14 minutes.

ICING

Mix 1 c. powdered sugar, 8 oz. package of cream cheese,4 tbsp. butter and 1 tsp. vanilla. Spread icing on the pumpkin sheet-cake once cooled. Roll up, slice, serve and enjoy. J

Haunted House - The Children's Museum

2011-10-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

Indianapolis is home to the world’s largest children’s museum. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve been to this museum since I’ve been a nanny. Let’s just say we really get our money’s worth with our yearly pass;) The girls always have a lot of fun at the museum, but last Saturday Matt and I took the girls to the museum’s annual kid-friendly haunted house. The girls always look forward to visiting the haunted house every October. I will warn you that the haunted house is separate admission from regular museum admission, and you probably won’t spend more than twenty minutes going through the haunted house. Having said that, dressing up in fun costumes and visiting the haunted house has become an annual tradition for us. So if you’re ever in my area in October and are looking for some kid-friendly Halloween fun, then try visiting The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.

Vintage Charm

2011-10-19T05:41:00.000-07:00

I told you that I would keep you posted on any crafty creations that were inspired from a recent craft fair that I attended and wrote about in this post. Well, here it is. Here is my first attempt at jewelry making.

I don’t know that I would really call it jewelry making, because all that I did was attach some charms to a chain. And considering that fact that I made it in the car…at night….while I was waiting on Matt to pick up his Chinese take-out from Happy Cuisine.... well, I’m just sayin’ that I’m not sure most people would call that jewelry making, but you got to start somewhere I guess.

Anyway, the following supplies cost me around $12 with the weekly sales at my local craft store, and I was able to make two necklaces with enough chain left over for another long necklace: chain, clasp, one large charm, package of three small charms. I had the ribbon at home, so I didn’t need to buy that.

I saw similar necklaces at the craft fair selling for $20-$25. I fell in love with the vintage charm when I saw them. My necklaces averaged $6 to make myself. I’m happy with that price, and I really like the results:)

A Little Bit of Pumpkin Spice

2011-10-18T04:34:00.000-07:00

A tall non-fat, with whip, pumpkin spice latte is my Starbucks drink of choice this time of year. However, I've recently tried to cut sugar out of my diet. I've only allowed myself to have one of these oh-so-delicious drinks this year, because there isn't a sugar-free version of this yummy fall treat. Even if there was a sugar-free version of the pumpkin spice latte, I choose not to indulge in Starbucks on a daily basis for sake of my wallet and my waistline. In search of a simpler way to get a little pumpkin spice in my morning coffee cup, I've discovered a few ways to add a taste of fall to each day.

My typical morning coffee includes one light roast breakfast blend Keurig cup, a few drops of fat-free half and half and one teaspoon of stevia.

But here's where the pumpkin spice comes in. During the fall season, I add a couple teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice to give me a nice warm pumpkin-spice-like flavor.

When I discovered pumpkin spice Keurig cups for my Keurig coffee maker, I was even more excited. This is a light roast that leaves a warm pumpkin flavor at the back of the pallet. However, I still add the pumpkin pie spice for additional fall flavor.

My homemade morning coffee may not be as tasty as the fall treat that a barista makes at the coffee house, but my coffee is a lot less than $4 a cup. Not to mention it's fat-free and sugar-free. Now I'm not saying that my pumpkin spice coffee taste just like a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, but it definitely has the pumpkin spice flavor that I'm looking for in my morning cup of joe.

If you're not trying to avoid sugar, International Delight has a pumpkin pie spice coffee creamer. I personally don't care for this product. I think it has a distinct aftertaste that completely takes away from the taste of coffee. But several people that I know like this product, so I thought I'd put it in this post. I guess you'll just have to decide for yourself.

There are also all sorts of recipes on the internet for pumpkin spice lattes, but most of them require an espresso machine.

As for me, well I'll just stick to my pumpkin spice coffee with a little bit of half and half, stevia and pumpkin pie spice. Yep, that's my morning coffee this time of year.