A Fall Wreath

Hi friends!

School is in full swing around here, so that means I only have my twin girls home with me full time! With so much extra time on my hands, it’s time to ramp up my projects around here, don’t cha think?

No Bon Bons or soaps for this mama.

I took a look at my 2011 House Goals and realized one easy I have left is to paint my son’s room.  I need to get on that.  So I’m in the impossible painful process of choosing just the right color.  Do you recall how hard that is for me?  If not, see here.

At any rate…today I decided to tackle a much easier project than selecting a paint color, I made a fall wreath! I figured the 4th of July was long over and it was time to take down my red/white/blue wreath.  If you missed it, or just want a fun/easy wreath idea, see it here.  You can make a beautiful fall wreath with the same technique…perhaps with corduroy fabric or even burlap.  They’re so easy and cute, heck, you could make one for every month!

But I’ve had this jute rope sitting in my garage for months {thanks dad} and I have been wanting to make something with it.  Also, Cost Plus had the most adorable little felt owls the other day, and I needed an excuse to buy one {or two, hee hee}. So here you go, my fall wreath:

Here’s how I did it….

Potato & Egg Salad: Cooking with kids!

Hi-ya!  As you read this, my family is off camping for one last summer hurrah before school starts {this Thursday!}  We tried to make meals very easy, so we prepared as much ahead of time as we could.  The day before we left, my girls and I made potato salad.  Since many people seemed interested in ways to incorporate kids in cooking, I thought I’d share some more ideas!

We’ll start with the ingredients:

Twin Girls’ Bedroom Tour

Hi Friends! 

Starting this week, I am going to give you a tour of my house, or at least most of it {there are a few spaces you just don’t wanna see.}

Today we’ll begin in my twin girls’ bedroom cause there’s too much pink and sweetness to resist…also it’s next in line for a make-over, so I want to show you before it changes! By Christmas their room will hold 2 twin beds {somehow?? haven’t figured that out yet} a canopy {or two?} new linens and pillows {that are almost all entirely sewn by yours truly} new drapes {also likely created on my sewing machine} and a new wall color {I better start on that now}.

OK let’s begin the tour…shall we?

Quick Curb Appeal Project

Hi Friends!  I sure have missed you!!

What a crazy busy summer we’ve had!!  Super fun, but no time to blog.  I’m not sure how moms with young kids are able to blog all summer.  My hat goes off to all those mom blogs I’ve continued to follow during the dog days of summer.

It’s camp “mom” around here…my 3 kids have been with me 24/7 all summer, as well as our cone-headed doggie.  Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had a ton of fun, but just not much time to keep you updated on all our projects.  But that doesn’t mean there haven’t been any!!

Since we chatted last, my family took a 2 1/2 week road trip all through Oregon. We had never been to Oregon before and found it to be a beautiful state, full of scenic diversity and lots of fun.  If you are interested, I’ll fill you in more on that later. 

The day after we came home from Oregon I was right back at it.  I refinished an oak dresser, tore out all the bamboo weeds from our back yard, and gave my front yard a quick face-lift.  

I just finished the front yard today and am so excited to share it with you.  What a difference a couple afternoon’s of work can make.

Beachy Hostess Gift

Hi Friends!

Wow, here we are full-fledge into summer. I’ve missed you! I almost forgot I had a blog for a while. Does anyone else feel like summer is the most challenging busiest time of the year as a mom? {It’s camp mom around here!}  A good friend of mine recently said,

“Summer vacation was clearly not created by a mother of 3.”

Cheers to that! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve been having TONS of fun with my kids…we’re in between road trips right now…we’ve celebrated the 4th of July:

visited The Happiest Place on Earth:

hit Southern California beaches:

celebrated turning 4:

Look who came to our party!

put the dog in a cone:

Had our obligatory trip to the ER {that’s a must with a 7 year old boy…but no cast this year, only a splint, whew!}
And celebrated 8 blissful years of marriage, topping the evening off with
 Robin Williams doing stand-up live at our local theater! 
What a summer it's been so far!

Next we head up to Oregon and will spend a week sight-seeing and then another week at a friend’s beach house…Ahhhhhhh.

I have been thinking for a while about an appropriate hostess gift to bring along with us to the beach house and it finally came to me:

My latest favorite Trader Joe’s find: Salt Water Taffy, in these gorgeous pastel colors {all colored with natural ingredients, like beet juice…no red dye #574 here}

Cute huh?  Little pink/white swirls, pint dot inside yellow, solid pink {dark and light}, solid white…does it get any sweeter? {pun intended!}   Oh and did I mention, they are NOT sweetened with high fructose corn syrup…2 more points for TJ’s.

Do you wanna make one? Super easy and pretty inexpensive, all things considered.

~1 gallon container {I got mine at Cost Plus…and like it ‘cause it has a rubber gasket under the lid so it doesn’t slam shut…a plus when you have little fingers reaching in all the time!} $10 with my coupon

~6 packages of Trader Joe’s Taffy, $1.99/package…$12 total

~homemade tag and ribbon {I had on hand}

I thought about adding some chalkboard paint on the side…would be super cute…but just ran out of time. Click here to see my chalkboard painted jars.

So off to the beach we head…with enough taffy to share!

Are you peeking at those hydrangeas in the background? Aren’t they amazing? The previous owners of our house planted them years ago and we enjoy them so much!

And if you are curious about my blue mason jars…be sure to check out my tutorial here! They are simply spaghetti sauce jars that I’ve painted!

I also used the hydrangeas to decorate for my little girls’ birthday party! {Notice the bowl of TJ’s taffy, too!}

You’re also getting a sneak peek of my {unfinished} gallery wall in the background.  All my frames are painted white and now just awaiting the perfect picture!

Well my friends, that’s all for today…the kids are screaming calling for me. Time to get back to summer!  Smile!!

"Whole Package" Protein Packed Lentil Couscous Salad

Hi-ya friends!Ok, I guess I spoke too soon in my last post about summer officially being here because all the rains were gone....

it POURED today... a full-on winter storm in N. Cali...what's up?  I have 3 new cans of spray paint sitting on my porch feeling neglected!

I don't know if this happens to you, but a lot of times when we get working on a project, we get so involved that we sometimes neglect everything else work through meals, ask the kids to entertain themselves for 12 hours straight, and let the house go to, well, some other place that I don't like that much.  But in the midst of the chaos last week during my huge master bedroom remodel {which by the way I owe you a TON of pictures of, I know- sorry!} I was able to make a super healthy, tasty, home-cooked meal in under 15 minutes!

Whole Package Lentil Couscous Salad

I'm into this "whole package" idea lately...like my "Whole Package Mediterranean Orzo Salad".  I like not having tiny left over containers in the fridge with a half cup of this or quarter cup of that...which, 9 times out of 10 {shhh, please don't tell my husband} sit in there until they are moldy and then I feel less guilty about throwing them out.  Ok, now on to the recipe:

Ingredients:

~1 package already cooked lentils from TJs refrigerator section {approx. 2 1/2 cups, cooked}

~1 package already cooked tempeh from TJs refrigerator section {8 oz block}

~1 box of TJs Israeli Couscous near the pasta section {8 oz. dry}

~a bag of TJs arugula {5 ounces}
~a pint of cherry tomatoes, halved

~1 container of prepared pesto from TJs refrigerator section {7 oz.}

~1/4 cup (maybe a tad more?) red wine or raspberry vinegar

~2-3 TBS olive oil {or more!}

~salt and pepper

Directions:

Cook the couscous according to package.  Drain and add olive oil to it immediately.

Mix pesto with the red wine vinegar and some salt and pepper {and a tad more olive oil if you aren't totally calorie counting}.

Mix all of the other things together and then drizzle with the pesto/vinegar sauce.

Turned out pretty yummy! And honestly, to my surprise, all 3 of my kids requested seconds!  

 

Side notes: this would taste yummy with crumbled feta cheese...I just didn't have any on hand.  Also, I served mine and my husband's over a bed of more arugula and greens from our garden...and drizzled with a little more vinegar and olive oil. 

Sorry, I only have one picture for you today!  I literally cranked this out in 13 minutes {the couscous takes 12 min. to cook} and since I was feeding my children at 8pm, I didn't want to waste any time taking blog pictures... they had already put up with enough for one day!

Now, pray for no rain tomorrow!  Smile!!

Fourth of July Rag Wreath

Hi and Happy Summer! 

It’s officially summer and has finally stopped raining in N. Cal, Yay!!

I have been sooo wrapped up in my master bedroom remodel, I have been neglecting the {kids, cooking, laundry, bathrooms} rest of the house/decorating for summer.  Then I saw this rag wreath the other day on Twin Dragonfly Designs and haven’t stopped thinking about it since.

I loved coming home every day to my Valentine’s Day Wreath; it made the front door so welcoming.  I figured I could adapt the rag wreath to make one for the 4th of July! 

I felt guilty about starting {yet} another project before finishing all of the other ones I have begun…so before I made this wreath today, I did a primer coat on all my picture frames and mirror. I am trying to finish my photo gallery wall which will sit on the picture ledge atop the board and batten in our family room.

 

And then I allowed myself to take a detour to the fabric store for my 4th of July Wreath!

Materials Needed:

~1 yard of red fabric

~1 yard of white fabric

~3/4 yard of blue fabric

~a foam (or any kind would work) wreath

Easy Peasy Directions:

I ripped the fabric into strips that were 2” wide by 14” long (I could get 3 strips per length of fabric…42” wide fabric)  I ended up using 50 strips of red, 50 strips of white and 39 strips of blue. 

Next I tied the strips onto the wreath in a simple knot.

I did 5 strips of red, then 5 white, then 5 red and so on. 

I alternated the knot placement to make it as full as I could.

And then I scrunched them all together.  And in just an hour I had a festive wreath to welcome guests {and myself}!

 

It makes me smile every time I come home!

Now I’m off to do a 2nd coat of spray paint on those frames.  Smile!

Been to Costco lately?

Hi Friends!  Long time, no see posts…I know, I KNOW! So sorry.

I have a million excuses for why you haven’t heard from me and could dedicate an entire post to all each of them {the last week of school, graduations, end of year parties, my new smart phone, a 2nd dog to take care of, daily swimming lessons, oh and did I forget to mention, a TON of work spent on my master bedroom!}  But I won’t bore you with all the details…or maybe I will, another day.

But my question for you today is…

Have you been to Costco lately?

Costco used to be my home away from home.  In fact, at one time, I lived within a mile of Costco!  I used to go 3 times a week, just to browse the aisles, taste the samples, and pick up one or two things {this was before I had kids!!} Now that I live 20 minutes from Costco, have 3 kids in tow, and waaaaay less storage space than my last house, I don’t find myself at Costco nearly as much {well that and I live a mile from Trader Joe’s now!  Guess I can’t complain much!}

Anyways, I found myself near Costco the other day {after one of the graduations I mentioned before} and popped in just to see what’s new.  WOW!  Was I a happy girl!!

Oh yeah, that reminds me of why this post came to mind….did you see the newest list of the dirty dozen?  That’s the list of the 12 fruits/veggies that you really should try to buy organic cause they have been found to contain the most pesticide residue.  You can try to memorize the list, print it out, or {my latest addiction} download the app on your smart phone {I did mention I got one of those nifty little phones for my birthday, didn’t I?  It’s a big reason I’ve not been on the computer and blogging this last week or so…}  At any rate, here is the dirty dozen if you don’t feel like clicking on the link:

Buy these organic:

Apples, Celery,  Strawberries, Peaches, Spinach, Nectarines {imported}, Grapes {imported},  Sweet Bell Peppers, Potatoes, Blueberries {domestic}, Lettuce, Kale/Collard Greens.

So back to my shopping trip!  Look at all the organics you can buy at Costco:

Organic Grapes {they had red too}, Organic Blueberries, but unfortunately the strawberries are not organic.  So I use Trader Joe’s Fruit and Veggie wash on those.  Just let –em soak for a minute, agitate and rinse.  I do see organic strawberries at Costco from time to time, so check back often!

Certified Pesticide free tomatoes {not quite organic but good enough for me}.  They also carry other varieties of tomatoes that are pesticide free.

So the pineapple and bananas are not organic, but lucky for me they are on the “Clean 15” list…those are the ones that you really don’t need to worry about containing pesticide residue. {Pineapple is the #3 cleanest and bananas are actually #20, not quite making it on the clean 15 list, but good enough for me.  Not much is getting through that skin!}

Frozen peaches and blueberries, both organic!  Love our smoothies!

I love having these frozen veggies on hand: Organic Corn, Beans, Carrots and Edamame {I only buy corn and soy organic…JUST SAY NO to Monsanto’s GMO “Round-Up” products on your dinner table.}  They are great any night of the week…just steam –em or splurge on the crowd pleaser: cook them for 15 min. on the stovetop over med/low heat with about 2-3 TBS olive oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt before serving.  YUM!

Organic Milk!!  Say yes to milk without hormones, puss, blood, ok, sorry.  But seriously, milk is a good one to buy organic, or at least hormone free.  At $4.99/gallon, you can’t beat Costco’s price. 

Also in the dairy case, the next best thing to having your own chickens…organic eggs at just $3.25/dozen.  I’ve been buying these eggs for quite a while now.  I think I’ll hold off a little longer on my chicken coop.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?  Who cares when you can get them both organic at Costco!  Organic chicken thighs {and breasts} are a Costco staple for us.  At $3.99 a pound, you can’t go wrong!

Still at the meat counter, they also have organic ground beef.  Again, their price can’t be beat…just under $4.50/pound.  A couple months ago they had AMAZING organic rib-eyes, but I haven’t seen them in a while…BOO!

No trip to Costco is complete without a paper product stock up.  We also use their paper towels under the same label.  Come on ladies, it’s not too bad on the tush…and saves the Earth, too.  Just think, you aren’t wiping those sensitive areas with chlorine bleach 6 times a day.

Sheeesh, who knew Costco had so many organic products these days?  And by no means is that all!!  It’s just all I happened to buy the other day.  {I’ve seen organic apples, fresh peaches, lots in the dry foods aisles, hormone free cheese, etc.} But I am so excited they are stocking up with more and more organics and also “green” products. As always with Costco, you gotta buy buy buy to make sure they keep the products you love!  So get out there and shop peeps!

By the way, in case you were wondering, my master bedroom is FINALLY done!! Yay!!  My husband and I worked tirelessly day and night and finally got to spend the night in there a couple of days ago.  Ahhhhhhhh.  Nothing like moving back into your own room after sleeping the playroom with the streetlight in your face for a few weeks.  I actually just about reached my breaking point during this project, so you’ll have to forgive the lack of blog updates.  The break from blogging was a much needed one!  But I’ll be here soon to give you all the pics of our new master bedroom! 

 

Alright, I had to give you a little teaser for my loyal readers who have been so patient with my hiatus.  Smile!!

What foods do you try to buy organic? 

If You Give a Room New Floors…

Ok, those of you with kids…have you heard of the series of books by Laura Numeroff: If You Give a Pig a Pancake or If You Give a Mouse a Cookie?  Well, that’s what happened around here this weekend!  {If you haven’t heard of the books, basically it’s a comical sequence of events that follow “naturally” from one simple action.} 

So do you remember how we started refinishing the hardwood floors in our master bedroom last week?  The hardwood floors were finished in a matter of 2 days and technically we could have moved our bed and clothes back in last Friday.  However…you might recall, with all the furniture out of the room, I realized it was the perfect time to paint the ceiling if we were ever going to. 

Once I had the paint out, and the closet doors were down for the floor refinishing, it seemed only natural to paint the closet doors.  They were a dingy shade of off-white like everything else in that room and would look so much fresher with a coat of super white paint {Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace, to match the rest of the trim work in the room/house} 

This project turned into kind of a nightmare and had me wishing I’d never started.  {I knew this about 5 minutes in to this 5+ hour project} Turns out they were originally sprayed with oil based paint and the light sanding I gave them didn’t come close to prepping them for a fresh coat of latex semi-gloss.  Three coats and three hundred cuss words sighs of frustration later, they were “finished”.  Not my best work.

I would describe them as looking like 100+ year old doors from a beach house, that have been repainted about 10 times.  Well, at least that’s not the worst look I could have achieved!

Moving right along.  So naturally when you refinish any floor, you must first remove baseboards.  Which of course means you need to put them back…OR replace them if you are ready for a new look…which of course we are! 

My husband installed the same super tall {7 1/2 inch} baseboards that we put in around the rest of the house.  But why stop there?  If you are replacing baseboards, you might as well add some board and batten while you’re at it…easier to do it with the furniture out of the room, you know.

The first time we did board and batten was earlier this year in the family room.  We did traditional board and batten and actually installed the BOARDS behind the battens. {see it here}  However, for the bedroom, we decided to do the faux board and batten we’ve seen all over blog land. To do the faux board and batten, one must first paint the wall white to imitate the white wood panels. {I had to leave the places bare where DH marked off for the strips of wood to go.}

 

Now when you have a wet white roller, you naturally look around for other things that need to be rolled white…just so you don’t waste a perfectly good new roller.  Of course, that was easy….the insides of both of our closets were overdue for a fresh coat of paint:

So I finally got the white paint put away {after priming a few more boards outside} and started in with the caulk and wood putty.  DH had to snap a pic: {just ignore those shutters in the background…I have no idea what to do with them…see how they were ruined here}

Oh oh OH, I almost forgot to mention….because all of the wood needed to acclimate for 72 hours in the master bedroom, we were in *need* of something to do for a day…so we came out into the family room and finished the picture ledge on the board and batten!

I’ll show you more after pictures of it when I come up to breathe.

After that slight detour, we were back in the master bedroom. 

And here’s what it looks like when we decided to call it a night:

I’m realizing I haven’t even given you an after shot of the new floor, but you get a glimpse from this pic above.  We love it! 

So let me just summarize for those of you following my book analogy:

If you refinish the hardwood floors, you might as well paint the ceiling while the furniture is out of the way.  And speaking of painting, you should also paint the closet doors before putting them back up.  If you paint the closet doors, it’s only natural to paint the inside of the closet too.  With the wet roller from the closet, you can do your primer coat of paint for the faux board and batten.  Since you had to remove all of the baseboards to do the hardwood floor, makes sense to replace them with new ones to bring the house into the 21st century.  When you install new TALL baseboards, they are just shouting out for board and batten to go on top.  And of course, board and batten feels a little lonely without some crown to finish it off {Oh, I haven’t told you about that yet!}

Well, folks, that’s all for today. We’re BEAT! I’d say this hardwood floor project has accidentally officially turned into a

full-blown master bedroom remodel. 

On tap tomorrow: oh just a little a butt-load of painting! 

Smile!