Owls!!!!

 

Have you noticed owls everywhere you look? My sister has been an owl fan for a while- but I finally got on board a few months ago. Since then I have seen them more and more- everywhere I turn I see cute little hoot owls begging me to bring them home! I have a few and thought I would give you some non-traditional ideas for decorating with these adorable little creatures.

 

 

I bought a neutral colored owl planter- intended for a house plant- but I put it in our family room to collect all the remotes for our t.v/ dvd/ wii- they are all in one place and the owl is just big enough to hide them. I LOVE it!

 

See the cute green "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" owls on the top shelf- I bought those and arranged them on a bright shelf in the front living room under a picture- they are so cute!

 

I bought a white owl vase to display flowers in too.

 

Other uses for these cuties would be-

book ends

paper weight on your desk

Dining table center piece

Utensil holder in the kitchen

Candy dish

Tooth brush holder in the bathroom

 

You get the idea- so even if it's "supposed" to be a vase/planter- you can re- purpose it for whatever you want.

Add a little fun to a room- go get an OWL!

 

Creamy Chicken Alfredo Casserole

 

It's that time again- casseroles, crock pot meals and comfort food! This was my attempt at an Alfredo based pasta casserole- and it turned out pretty yummy!

Start by cooking your pasta according to packaged directions. This recipe was intended to serve 6-8- so I cooked about 4 cups of pasta. While the pasta is cooking make your Alfredo sauce.
Heavy whipping cream- about 3 cups
Butter (1/4 stick)
1 cup grated Parmesan/Asiago/Romano- you can combine all three or use only one kind- but total should be 1 cup of grated cheese.
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
2 tsp dried parsley/basil or combo of Italian herbs

Melt butter, herbs, garlic powder and onion powder in a sauce pan.  Once butter is completely melted, stir in whipping cream. Heat on medium/high until cream is at a low boil- turn down to low add grated cheese and simmer/stir until completely incorporated and the sauce is thick. (add more cheese if you like)- salt/pepper to taste.

Casserole ingredients-
Cooked pasta (I used rotini)
Two large chicken breast- seasoned, baked and cubed.
Two medium tomatoes- sliced
1 can medium black olives
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Spray large casserole dish with non-stick spray. Pour half of the pasta in, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Cover with half of the Alfredo sauce and top with fresh tomato and olives and half of the baked chicken. Pour remaining pasta on top and repeat toppings- add more mozzarella to the very top layer. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until cheese is bubbly and casserole is heated through.

As always- tweak it to your liking- add different veggies- I LOVE artichokes and thought they might be a good addition. :) If you do make it- let me know how it turns out.

Blackberry Cobbler Baby!

One of my most favorite childhood memories is blackberry picking with my family. We lived in Oklahoma, so it was hot and there were so many mosquito's! It didn't even matter, I was thrilled to grab a big plastic jug and head out into the pasture with my siblings! We would get all scratched up and our legs would be stinging, but we LOVED it!... what in the world was wrong with us???? Anyway, when it was all said and done, my mom would make blackberry cobbler, and it was the best!  Thankfully blackberries are abundant where we live now too. So, we take the kids out to pick blackberries all summer! Last year I got the bright idea to train a blackberry vine over the fence and down a trellis into our backyard, that way the berries would be low to the ground so the kids could pick them without much help. It was great! Of course the biggest, juiciest ones are just out of reach, so there I was strategically balanced on one foot leaning half way off a ladder on tippy toe saying to my 4 year old "baby, hold the ladder so mommy doesn't fall"...... what in the world is STILL wrong with me!!!! Oh the things I do for blackberry cobbler!

So, I'm going to share my not exact- no where near precise "recipe" with you! This recipe will be for roughly 4 cups of berries.

Step 1- acquire blackberries- sure you can buy them store bought- but the thrill of nearly loosing a limb to secure the "perfect" berry would have escaped you!

This my friends is the PERFECT blackberry! See how huge and plump and dark it is! Leave the red ones, leave the puny ones- go for the gold...er... black!

Wash the berries- store bought ones too- just rinse in cool water and get any leaves, twigs, etc. out. Bugs, well, a little extra protein never hurt anyone... except the bug of course!

Step 2- spray your baking dish with non-stick spray, or use good old fashioned butter to grease the bottom of the dish.

In a medium mixing bowl combine 1 1/2 cups sugar 2/3 cup corn starch- mix well and add blackberries. Stir to coat and pour mixture into baking dish.

 Now for the cobbler breading. Mix 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 to 2/3 cups milk- you need to add enough milk for the batter to be pretty runny- about the consistency of pancake batter.  Pour batter over the berries in the baking dish.

 Slice one stick of butter into thin slices and distribute evenly over the top of the cobbler batter. Sprinkle top of batter with sugar to cover entire top.

Bake at 375 degrees until the crust is golden brown and the berries are bubbling.

                                                        It should look something like this.

Now, top with some creamy vanilla ice cream or whipped topping- heck, just eat it straight out of the dish- no matter how you serve it, it makes the blackberry picking process SO worth it!!!

Asian pear pop-overs

I made these the other day on a whim, but they turned out so good I thought I would share the "recipe".  I use that term very loosely considering that I am a throw it and and cross your fingers kind of cook! But I will give you the gist of what I did and you can tweak it to your liking.

 

Pop-overs
1 can crescent rolls
4-6 small Asian pears- pealed and cubed (substitute any fresh fruit you like)- or use pie filling for the store for a faster/easier filling.
1/2 stick butter
1cup sugar (divide out 1/4 cup for the cinnamon/sugar sprinkle on top)
3 tsp cinnamon
2-3 Tbsp corn starch
1/2 cup water

Whipped topping
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar (adjust sugar to your preference)
2 tsp vanilla

To make pop-overs begin with 1/2 cup water in a small pan, add fruit and bring to a boil, reduce to simmer. Add in 3/4 cup sugar and 2 tsp sugar. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved and liquid- continue to simmer until fruit is tender. Add in cornstarch 1 Tbsp. at a time until the fruit mixture reaches desired thickness for filling- *you made need to turn the heat up to bring back to a boil and then reduce again to simmer. Remove from heat and set aside.

Open crescent rolls and lay on baking sheet. *you might want to roll them into a more square or wider triangle than how they are shaped straight from the can. Spoon fruit filling into center of each roll and pull corners together to the center overlapping them.

Melt butter in microwave to an almost liquid state (about 20 seconds). Combine 1/4 cup sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon in separate bowl. Brush the tops of each pop-over with butter and sprinkle cinnamon/sugar mixture on top of pop-over.

Bake according to crescent package directions.

While pop-overs bake prepare fresh whipped cream.

Combine 2 cups heavy whipping cream, 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tsp. vanilla in large mixing bowl. Mix on high until the cream becomes fluffy and whipped. Set aside in refrigerator until pop-overs are ready to be served. Serve pop-overs warm with whipped cream on top.

These were a hit with my family! I actually made two batches and we only had one left!

Dry Erase Dinner Plate

So, neccessity is the mother of invention, or so it is said. Well, I had a sick little girl who didn't want to get off the couch, but wanted to draw- a LOT! So, I handed her a dinner plate and a dry erase marker and she was happy for hours!

 

(sorry the picture is sideways )

Super simple and last so much longer than those cheapy dry erase boards from the store! Kids love to draw, write and play games like tic-tac-toe and then they just wipe clean! At the end of the day, just throw them in the dishwasher and they will be germ free!

 

Of course you could always expand on this idea and get a rectangular serving tray, or really pretty serving plate and put it in a plate holder on the counter and use it as a memo board. Write what you need from the store or just little notes to your family- you could even decorate the edges with a permanent marker (then bake at 350 for 20 minutes) to permanently personalize each one- it would be so cute!

Buggs!

Just a sweet pic of all the sweet baby buggs we got to take care of this summer! Gotta love a bucket of puppies!!!

Easy peasy bird feeders

 

I wanted to do a fun and easy project with my littles, so I threw this together and it was a hit! I've seen the bird feeders with pine cones- but our selection of pine cones is pretty pathetic. So, I grabbed a box of graham crackers, peanut butter and bird seed. The littles spread the peanut butter on each side of the cracker and then pressed it into the bird seed. Daddy used a skewer stick to poke a hole right in the middle of the cracker and then we used twine to hang them. Having the hole in the middle lets the birds eat more of the cracker without it falling to the ground. It was a fun, quick project and the birds ate them up- the entire thing- which they can't do with the pine cones!

 

 

Our birds loved them- they ate them so quickly that I never even got a picture of the birds!

Ironing tip

Just a quick tip that I like to use- I spray my curtains with febreeze (or the dollar tree knock off) when I iron them so they smell fresh and the wrinkles pop right out too!

Keep your iron on the steam setting and it will steam the febreeze and dry the curtain/table cloth or whatever you want to iron! :) Happy ironing!

Head board and foot board bench!

This is one of those great projects inspired by Pinterest! I saw a picture, read her tutorial and then tweeked it a little bit. So, I invite you to do the same! This project turned out so cute, and it cost me a total of about $12 bucks!

Start off by finding a headboard and foot board at a local Goodwill or other thrift store.

 I scored with this one at $4.99 for both pieces!!!!

 Next, measure the foot board to the very middle and make a mark- you will cut this in half on this line- so make it straight! (I want to add that once the foot board was cut in half, it was a deeper seat than I wanted, so I measured and cut the foot board on each side so I ended up with a 20 inch side and I made my seat 18 inches deep- I was much happier with this size- so make your foot board sides any size you like and then measure your seat accordingly).

 There it is- I cut it in half by myself- with one eye scrunched in terror the entire time! I would have closed them both- but that would have been more scary!!! I'm not a power tools kind of girl- so this was a challenge for me.

 Now, line up your foot board pieces to the large post on the sides of the headboard- mark a few spots to drill holes and insert 2 inch lengths of dowel rods. (you only need to buy one dowel rod and cut it into sections)- I used a total of five sections on each side. These are NOT for supporting weight- but just add a little more support to the structure of the bench.

 Once the sides are glued with the dowel rods inserted- let it dry for a few hours. (disregard the boards that look like a seat- we were experimenting in this picture)

 While the glue is drying for your sides- go ahead and build your seat. We chose to make a box structure and put short slats. Measure the width of the bench and the depth- size your seat accordingly.

 We (my hubby was great help at this point!)- screwed the outer box together with wood screws and then placed our slats on top using wood screws, then flipped it over and used small L brackets under each slat.

 With the bench still laying on it's back we put the seat in place and used large L brackets to secure it.

 See the large L bracket?.... we also used wood screws to add extra support.

 Ta-da!!! Isn't it pretty!!!! So, we sanded it a little and then coated it with a primer/paint combo. If you only want to paint the bench a solid color with no distressing- skip down a few pictures- and don't grab the Vaseline!

 Then I grabbed some Vaseline because I wanted it to look chippy painted and funky- and this my friends is the BEST trick ever to get that look!

 Just smear a little Vaseline in the spots that you want to remain the color of the base coat- in this case white. - Now I should caution you that this really works- so if you want small little streaks it would be better to apply the Vaseline with a paint brush so you can get it exactly where you want it.

 I wanted it to be big chunks and streaks so I just used my finger to smear it on. Can you see the Vaseline one the edges?... the picture is tricky- but it's there.

 Now, paint the bench whatever color you like- I chose bright pink! Isn't it so happy!!!!

 Let your top coat of paint sit for at least 20 minutes to make sure it is dry. Then grab a dry rag and just start rubbing the bench everywhere you put the Vaseline. That top color will wipe right off and the underneath color will pop out. See!

 Again- if you want smaller spots or more like lines- use a brush. See how large my white spots are- that's what it will look like if you smear it on with your finger.

 Oh so fun!!! I LOVE this so much!

 There you have it- my distressed bench. I wasn't sure where I was going to put the bench, so I went ahead and used a clear coat sealer over the top just in case it's new home is outside.

 One more pic of the white popping out of the pink..... did I mention I love it??? Well, I do!

 Here it is, sitting in our entry with a few little pillows- I plan to make a seat cushion for it with oilcloth, and I've decided it will live on the back deck for the summer!

Exercise trick...

For all the mamas out there who are at a loss as to what to do with those left over baby legs.... well here is a good solution! I've been exercising a lot lately, and praise the LORD my running shorts and pants are getting too big! So, while I was thrilled about that, it presented a new problem- my waist band would no longer hold my phone in place!... yeah, I don't have a clip, I know! So, I grabbed one of my little bug's baby legs, folded it in half to form a pocket and slipped it on my arm- problem solved! The elastic holds it on and it works great! There you go!!!!

Ice cream sundae cake!

My biggest little said "I want a cake that looks like an ice cream sundae for my birthday, ok Mom?".... uh, sure.... I can do that!

So, I did. I think it turned out ok. It's a little messy, but hey, so are sundaes! So let me tell you what I did.

Two cake mixes-

one cupcake pan (I only baked 9 cupcakes not 12)

one bunt cake pan

one  small circle pan (about 4 inches around) (make two of these total)

One large batch of home made marshmallow fondant

Sprinkles

One large batch of home made butter cream icing

icing bag (or ziploc bags)- icing tips

one cherry

tooth picks/ wooden skewer sticks

Bake all the cakes and let cool completely.

Begin by stacking the two small circular cakes on top of each other - you will want to ice in between them with your choice of flavor. Once stacked, ice the entire outside of these cakes and cover with fondant. This will be your base. Position four wooden skewers about 1/3 of the way in around the center- this will support the bunt cake later.  

Turn bunt cake right side up and ice completely. Cover with fondant completely. Now turn it upside down and stack on the base- if you feel like it isn't sturdy enough, you can cut a heavy duty paper plate to size and use as support underneath the bunt cake- if you do this, you will want to cover the plate in fondant as well- just for looks.

Ice cupcakes in different colors of butter cream and stack them on top of the bunt cake. I actually iced my cupcakes upside down because they looked more like ice cream scoops that way. Use tooth picks or wooden skewers to position them on the cake.

Once all of the cupcakes are in place- decorate! I decorated with chocolate, vanilla and strawberry icing- added sprinkles, a whirl of white icing on top for whipped cream and then a real cherry to top it off.

I rolled out extra fondant to make a trim around the bottom of the bowl, and around the top edge of the bowl (the top edge I did before I place the cupcakes on)- get creative and make it however you like!


I will post my home made fondant recipe asap!

Puppy love!

Meet Houston and Stella... our four legged babies. They are spoiled rotten and loved so much! They are both two. Houston is a "bugg"- Boston Terrier/Pug mix and Stella is a Boxer. They pretty much rule the house, sleep on our stuff and entertain us.... pretty sure Cesar would die if he came over to see how we do things with dogs around here!

Stella was napping and one of my littles thought she needed a few blankies- she didn't seem to mind.

Smack dab in the big middle of redecorating and making crafts, I found the dogs in the "new to me" vintage chairs I am planning to recover... good thing I am planning to recover them! Rotten dogs!

Notice the "how can I help you?" look on Stella's face... yeah, she wasn't about to get out of that chair! It cracks me up that she's all wadded up in there with her head gently resting on the pillow. Silly dog!

Well, now you know Houston and Stella... and you have seen how they spend their days... until Mama gets the leash and then they go ape crazy!

Lamp shade make over!

I bought this little lamp the other day, and decided to add a few little cute tid bits to make it even sweeter!

Here's what you need- fabric (several different patterns)

                           heat bond

                  iron

                       buttons

                                                          stencil, or hand drawn design

                               hot glue gun

                                         permanent marker.

Sorry that I don't have pictures of the first few steps- being the genius I am, I took pictures not realizing I had no memory card in the camera... so no pictures.

Anyway- the steps are simple. Just cut squares of your fabric and iron the fabric  on to the heat bond. (heat bond is the stuff that will melt when ironed, and then you peel the backer paper off and re-iron to whatever surface you want your fabric to stick to.... does that make sense?)

When all of your fabric is ironed on it should look similar to a patch work quilt.

Next, grab your design and trace it on to the paper side of the heat bond. Once you have the design on the heat bond, cut it out, peel the paper backing away and place it on the lamp shade or pillow- whatever you are decorating.

Since I wanted to re-do this lamp shade I just took it off the base and slipped it on to the ironing board to iron the fabric birds on.

I placed the birds where I wanted them and ironed them on. (there are directions on the heat bond to follow as well)

 These are the tiny black buttons I used for eyes.

 Oh, notice that the fabric of the wing is different than the body- I ironed the wings to the body before I ironed the body to the lamp shade. Then I hot glued the eye on.

The next thing was to make little feet and beaks- I used a sharpie black marker and it did bleed a little bit- probably a fine tip one would have been better.

 More little finished birdies.

 So sweet! I made each side of the lamp shade a little different.

 The last thing I did was add a felt flower to the front of the shade- I thought it looked really sweet.

 So there you have it- simple, easy but really cute.... in my opinion of course!