30 November 2011

Laundry Room Art

Remember my $3.00 laundry room wall art? 
Made from frames I scored for free and three prints from Goodeals that cost $1.00 each.
(You can read more about how I got them here.)


Well last weekend I hung the frames up in the laundry room.

Here is how the laundry had been looking since installing the shelf back in March.


Pretty boring, right?

And here's the laundry room after I hung the photos.


It wasn't until after hanging the pictures that I realized one of the frames is slightly smaller than the other. Talk about a womp womp moment. I don't think it's too terribly noticeable, and even less so in person. 

Regardless, I'm loving how the art looks on the wall. Notice I only hung two of the three framed pieces. I haven't decided if I want to hang the third in the laundry room or somewhere else. (I'll keep you posted on that.)

I do have more that I hope to do in this room as part of my Fall to-do list. I thought about repainting the room, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to move the washer and dryer, and I don't want to just paint around them. 

I've looked around for a fun rug for this room, but because of the awkward shape and size of space, I haven't had much luck. The long runner rug that is there now (you can see a little bit of it in the first photo) is a perfect fit for the piece of floor in front if the appliances. I honestly can't even remember where I bought it, so I am thinking of keeping that rug and repurposing it somehow. 

Whether I paint some sort of pattern like this chevron DIY rug,


or maybe pick a quote or 'laundry' related words and paint them on the rug like this one:



(Both photo sources can be found on my Pinterest DIY page.
Click the link on the right hand side to follow me on Pinterest!)

In addition to the rug upgrade need to mount the ironing board on the wall and possibly find a new cover for it. I would also like to add some better organization to the room, and paint the wooden accordion hooks on the right wall.

But for now, every time I toss some laundry in the laundry room I'm pretty happy with the mini upgrade so far. Best part is the $3.00 price tag! 

Wednesday Night


For me this is heaven

29 November 2011

Subway Wall Art Part II

Remember my DIY subway sign I made a few months ago for our living room?
(You can read how I made it here.)


Well I made another one. 
One of Jordan's friends saw ours in our house one day and asked me if I would make him one.
Of course I said yes.

This past weekend I finished the project.


He chose New York stops for his sign.


The difference is that for this one I left a white border around the edge of the canvas.


I love how his sign turned out, especially with the clean edge of the border.


Now I want to make more!

Prosciutto Cups with Goat Cheese and Pears

I want to share with you all the appetizer I made for Thanksgiving:
prosciutto cups with goat cheese and pears. Holy delicious. 



This was a recipe that I found on Martha Stewart's website and tweaked a little by adding goat cheese. And honestly after tasting them, I can't imagine this app without it. 



Ingredients I used:
  • One 3oz. pack of proscuitto
  • 1 Bartlett pear
  • lemon juice 
  • goat cheese 
You will also need a mini muffin tin to make the prosciutto cups. 
I didn't have one before and purchased mine for about $8 at my local grocery store.

Preheat your oven to 350. To start, cut each slice of prosciutto onto four squares. One three ounce pack will make exactly 24 cups. Take each square and place in the muffin mold to form the cup shape. Overlap any pieces that may have torn.



Pop your prosciutto in the oven for 15 minutes (or until the cups turn dark and crispy like bacon).

While the cups cook, prep the pear mixture. Simply chop up one pear into tiny diced pieces. I doubled my recipe so the portions look larger in my in my pictures. For one pear, add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. 


Once the prosciutto has cooked, you want to transfer them to paper towels to cool and harden. 
The towels also will soak up the little bit of grease that forms in the cups.


Once cooled, flip the cups over and put a dab of goat cheese in each. 



Top the cups with a small spoonful of the pear mixture. 


Last step: eat and enjoy!
These were definitely a hit. My first batch was gone before most of my family showed up so I needed to make a second. 

These were so easy to make and took about 30 minutes to prep.
This is my new go-to appetizer for dinner parties and family holidays. 

27 November 2011

Midas Touch

I've really been digging gold lately and have been wanting more and more to incorporate gold accents into our home. This is pretty surprising considering how much I hated gold years ago and moved into a house fully furnished with stainless steel appliances, pewter doorknobs, light fixtures and switch plates. 

And now I'm yearning for gold?

I've already begun, little by little, to add gold into our home decor.

Like in the wedding date numbers I painted for our living room shelves,





with my beloved vintage bar cart,


and my gold mirrored tray in the guest bath,


and other miscellaneous home accents.


I've had this chalkboard in our kitchen for some time now.
It was one of the many things Jordan brought from his apartment that I snagged for the house. It was originally a natural wood that I spray painted white. I've been a slacker at actually using the chalkboard and usually leave it up to guests who leave us notes or doodle while they are visiting.


The slim wall between our kitchen and living room houses a mess of eyesores: thermostat, outlet, light switch, and landline outlet. The chalkboard is a good distraction that covers at least a few of these.


Feeling a little inspired for a quickie craft this past weekend, I grabbed some leftover gold craft paint from the wedding numbers project and got to work. 


In no time I had a quick little upgrade:


Sometimes the simplest, quickest upgrades are my favorite. 
They really make a world of difference in how something looks, and this project is no different. 
I love the fresh look of the gold frame, especially paired with the pink bowl. Pink and gold are quickly becoming a favorite pairing of mine. Along with black and gold.



The gold nicely compliments the gold accent on my Anthropologie bowl. 
 



Now I'm itching for more gold!


How do you feel about gold in your home? 
Are you like me and have been craving gold in your decor? 
Or do you stand by your pewter or bronzed accents?

26 November 2011

Bug's First Thanksgiving

Hope you all had a great holiday. We sure did.
Here are a few shots from Lucy's first Thanksgiving.
Enjoy!











Have a great weekend!

22 November 2011

Four Month Milestones


Lucy turned 4 months old on Saturday! 
We had our 4 month check-up (shots included) this morning. 




























The Stats:
Weight: 12 pounds, 12.8 ounces (30th percentile)
Length: 25.5 inches (90th percentile)

  • Rolls from back to belly
  • Sleeps 8-10 uninterrupted hours a night. Generally goes to sleep between 8pm and 10pm and wakes around 6. Will eat and go back to bed until 9 or 10. 
  • Has discovered feet - plays with them and tries to take socks off
  • Reaches for and grabs/holds objects
  • Can hold bottle while feeding
  • 'Pets' Lyla
  • Laughs a lot. Jordan discovered her ticklish spot - underside of bicep
  • Has discovered her voice and likes to shriek and squeal loudly. 
  • Talks during car rides.
  • Loves being sung to. 
  • Will hold onto your collar or shirt when being nursed or held
  • Is trying to sit up on her own

We were given the green light to begin experimenting with solids. First with rice milk, then moving onto fruits and veggies. I'm super excited because I plan to make my own baby food. We want to get Lucy to try a wide variety of food so she grows up with a good palate. 

Happy 4 months to our baby girl!

21 November 2011

Behind the Scenes

Since most of the pictures I've posted of our house are obviously styled, I thought it would be fun to show you a little bit of how our house normally looks on a daily basis. Jordan and I are usually pretty good at keeping things straightened up, but between full time jobs and a 4 month old, it doesn't always get done. 

Our bed is rarely made.
And half the time we share it with a dog and 4 month old.


Where I throw my clothes,


and where Jordan throws his.



Always laundry to be put away.

Let's face it, Lucy runs this house.


Two things you never see in living rooms pictures: Lyla's dog bed, and Lucy's Pack 'N Play. 



I now share 'my' bathroom with Lucy.


Our guest room (which I have big plans for!)


My messy counterspace. And Jordan's iPod player.


I'm in the midst of reorganizing my closet.
I'm really tempted to paint over the blue with leftovers of my favorite "Sharkey Grey."


Now in our defense, this was in the midst of the great flea incident.
But sometimes our laundry room is a bit messy.
(Stay tuned to see how I've implemented my $3 art!)


Leftovers from late night TV on the couch.

Our dining room AKA my craft space AKA where we store cases of water and pet food.



Oh, and more Lucy stuff. :)


Stay tuned for some goodies this week including a yummy pork taco recipe that we had for dinner last night (and I'm eating for lunch today)!