Exhausted!

We spent a quick weekend in Utah.
We were there less than 48 hours.
We have been home almost as long as we were there,
and I still can't get it together.

I promise I will be back to normal tomorrow,
I hope!

She hit the nail on the head!

Some day's are better than others.
Some day's I have ton's of patience, others not so much.
Some nights I prepare wonderful meals, some times we go to Taco Bell.
Some day's I am very productive, other day's I don't get out of my PJ's until after 2:00PM.

I love Beckie at Infarrantly Creative.
He blog was one of the first that I read.
Yesterday she had an amazing post.
No craft or furniture transformation, but some good honest truth.

She is dead on.
Read it, it will make your day, and change how you feel about yourself.

Infarrantly Creative

Peach Cobbler

I love fresh fruit dessert!
Oh Yum Yum Yum
When we were first married I wanted my Husband to know I really was a good cook,
and that I hadn't just tempted with my skills to get a ring.

That first summer we were married peaches were really cheap.
And what is the best thing you can do with peaches?
Peach Cobbler

I stumbled across this recipe and it was an instant hit.
We had my friend Julie over once so she could see how great it really was.
Her response was,
"I just want to jump in the pan and roll all over in it!"

Now every time I make it we joke about rolling all over in it.

I think my favorite part is that the peaches go on top of the cobbler,
so as it bakes the juices from the peaches coats the cobbler crust,
making it have a nice crisp and sweet crust.

Is anyone drooling yet?

Okay, I wont hold out any longer.
Here is the recipe, now run to the store and buy those peaches.

Peach Cobbler

4 large fresh peaches, peeled and sliced
1 - 1 1/2 cups sugar, for peaches
1 1/2 cup sugar, for batter
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 dashes nutmeg, 1 for batter and 1 for peaches
2 dashes cinnamon, 1 for batter and 1 for peaches
1 1/2 cup milk

Mix peach slices with 1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 dash cinnamon and 1 dash nutmeg, set aside.

Pour melted butter over bottom of 9 X 13 baking dish.

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and sugar; stir in milk, until just combined.

Pour over mixture over butter.

Top with peaches.

Bake at 375* for 45 minutes. (In our new house with the gas oven, we have found that it is more like 60 minutes. You want to crust to me nicely browned and crunch, or the inside will be gooey.

Enjoy the amazing smell to fill your house, and try not to roll all over in it.

I made this last week and forgot and forgot the baking powder,
it was not good!

Don't forget the baking powder!

FAMILY wall hanging

I actually started this project a few months ago, and like many projects I start,
I never quite finished it.

I am determined to be better at completing projects, not just doing projects.
So no better place to start than something I never finished!

It is hard to believe that this cute sign was once this....

A little too country for my taste, but great potential.
I got it at Goodwill for something like $2.00.

Let me tell you those red apples were a chore to cover up, but I am strong believer that spray paint can fix just about anything.

I painted the underside aqua, and then decided I wanted it red, so I painted over it.
Then I decided to try and see if I could gently sand off the red on the border, so the aqua would peek through.

Success!

Then I used my Cricut to cut out "Family" with different coordinating red and aqua papers.
Then I used turquoise vinyl for the saying at the bottom.

I was all done and ready to hang it up when I turned it over and ran into a problem.

Oops!
The hangers are on the bottom!

That is why I never finished this project.
So today I glued a ribbon to the back so I could finally hang it.

Project complete, finally!
A prefect home about the pantry door.
More aqua and red, I am addicted to that color combination

A special thanks to my cute assistant who was "helping" by turning the lights off and on when I was trying to take pictures.

The Red Hutch

Let me take you back to when my Husband and I were first married.
We were young college students, in love and completely broke!

One day I found this AMAZING store called Real Deal's on Home Decor, oh be still my heart!
I would go there and just drool over everything.

Enter the Red Hutch.
One day I was wandering around the store when my gaze came upon something so beautiful that I could not take my eyes off of it.
It was the red hutch.
It was a beautiful corner hutch, with shelves and lights.

I had to have it!I looked at the price, hoping for some miracle that maybe I could afford it.
It was not.
It was $350!
But it was 50% off, so it was a great deal, I can't turn down a deal.

I went home without the hutch, but determined to find a way to be able to afford it.
We could eat ramen every night for the rest of the semester.
I could sell my plasma twice a week.
I was desperate, I was willing to do anything.

I went back to the store the next day determined to buy my hutch and figure out how to pay for it later. When I went back, my hutch was gone.
It was for the best.My Husband would have killed me and I like ramen, but not that much.

Since that day I have been on a quest to have my own red hutch.
Since we moved into our new house, I now have a garage to work in.
I had been searching Craigslist for one that will do, and finally found it.

Here she is!
$75 dollars, and in need of a bit of a face lift.

First I sanded and primed.

Then I pained it red. This is when I knew something had gone wrong. It wasn't quite right, the red was off.

So I got some antiquing glazed and slathered it on.

It still wasn't right. Then as I went to get more paint. I realized I was using the wrong color paint.
Oh snap!

I decided that my hutch had to be just right, so I painted it again.
It turned out great with the antiquing poking through in spots.

Notice how the picture above is a lot more of an orange red, so glad I painted over.

A new set of knobs and it is prefect!

Still a little more decorating to go, but I am completely in love with my red hutch.
And now i have a home for my place mats and serving dishes.

I am going to be linking this post to-

Angel Food Cake

My friend Natalie loves her Angel Food Cake.
I have heard a lot about it, and she promised once I tried it I would never go back to boxed,
she was right!

Super yummy, and delicious with some strawberries!
Check out Natalie's food blog, she has a ton of great recipes.

Angel Food Cake

Note-assemble all the ingredients before beginning, have all the flour and sugar measured and ready to be added before beginning

1 cup cake flour, sifted
¼ cup sugar

Sift flour and sugar together

1 ¾ cup egg whites, room temperature (about 13 eggs)
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp almond flavoring
¾ tsp salt

Beat egg whites until foamy, add cream of tartar one teaspoon at a time. Add vanilla, almond flavoring and salt, and continue beating.

1 ¼ cup sugar

Beat and add 2 Tbs sugar until 1 ¼ cup sugar has been added. Continue beating until stiff. It must hold a peak when beater is lifted.

Fold in flour and sugar mixture. Add half the flour and sugar, fold in. Then add the rest of the flour/sugar and fold in. (Continue to fold until there are no lumps-almost 100 folds, do by hand-no beaters)

Gently put into ungreased angel food cake pan. Put in half the batter and gently remove air bubbles by running a knife through batter. Put in rest of batter and again remove air bubbles.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes on lowest rack of oven. Remove from oven and immediately turn pan upside down. Don’t remove cake from pan until cake is completely cool. It takes about an hour.

Loosen cake around inner and outer edges with a knife. Give cake one hard knock to remove from pan.

Vinyl Labeled Canisters

Completely unnecessary, but so completely adorable.
My husband joked that he often gets the flour and sugar mixed up,
thank goodness I labeled them for him.

I got these canisters when we were first married, and I L-O-V-E them.
But they were in need of a little face lift.
Our newest move gave me the opportunity to empty and wash them.

Once again I used my Cricut to cut the letters, and in 5 minutes my kitchen is
a whole lot cuter!

Decorating in 3's!

Sorry I didn't get this posted yesterday like I wanted.

Our whole day was thrown out of whack,
and off schedule.

I love the grouping of three.
I am an extremely symmetrical kind of girl.
When I was a teenage I put up glow in the dark stars all over my room.
I was determined to be random and just throw caution to the wind and put them where ever.
I thought I had been successful, until it was time to go to bed and I turned off the lights.
All of my stars were in straight lines on a diagonal.
Symmetry is in my genetics, it is part of who I am.
My Dad was a draftsman, and he was exactly the same way.

This grouping works great for me.
It is an odd number of items, which I love.
And it doesn't look like a triangle, thank goodness.
Originally I was going to put the picture of my sweet boy directly on top of the "S",
but then it did look like a triangle.

Don't mind the empty apothecary jar,
I haven't figure out what to put in it for summer

The shelf is still in need of a little love, but I think it is a great start.

Framed Monogram

I am quickly making our little townhouse a home.
I love the extra space, hardwood floors and extra bedroom.

I am starting a new series called
From House to Home

I will show you every step that I am taking to make this house our home.

I have started several things, but the first thing I have actually finished is this
framed monogram.
It was inspired by a post at Whats Allie's Making Now
She was talking about decorating in 3's, and I spotted this cute little number.
I decided to give it my own little spin, and this is what I ended up with.


First I painted the edges of the paper mache' letter I got at JoAnn's.
Traced my "S" onto the paper, cut it out them Mod Podged it to the "S".
Looped the ribbon around the frame and the "S" and hot glued it.
I was lucky enough to already have a frame that didn't have glass,
thanks to a husband or toddler who broke it.

I think it is so cute, and it totally reminds me of my friend Kristin,
who is moving to Iowa, today-tear tear!
She loves herself a good monogram!

Come back on Monday and see how I decorate in 3's, just like Allie suggested.

Memphis-Style Coleslaw

Summer has finally arrived here in Seattle, Hallelujah!
I am ready to slather on sunscreen and sit by our little pool.
Some foods just scream summer, and coleslaw is one of them.
This recipe from Our Best Bites for coleslaw is spot on.
It has just the right taste, I think it is the celery seed, perfect.


It even looks so pretty before you mix it together!

Memphis-Style Coleslaw
recipe from Ourbestbites.com

1 c. mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. Dijon or whole-grain mustard
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 heaping tsp. Kosher salt (or an even 1/2 tsp. of table salt)
1 Tbsp. grated onion
2-2 1/2 tsp. celery seed (absolutely essential for classic coleslaw flavor)
1 16-oz. bag shredded cabbage with carrots (stay away from the very fine shreds because they'll get too soggy)
1/2 minced green bell pepper
1 carrot, peeled and grated

Okay, peeps, this is rocket science. Combine mayo, mustard, vinegar, sugar, salt, onion, and celery seed. In a large bowl, combine shredded cabbage, carrots, and green pepper.

Toss with dressing and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours and up to about 3 days (or when it's unjustifiably soggy).

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Did everyone have a wonderful 4th?
We had a great time with good friends and amazing food.

Our menu came from one of my favorite food blogs ever, Our Best Bites
We had BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches, holy yummy and super easy.

I went out on a limb and made coleslaw. We are not a coleslaw loving family, but Our Best Bites promised that it was the right thing to do, and they were right.

By the time we were eating the leftovers, my Coleslaw hating husband was piling it on top of his sandwich, just like they suggested.

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

3 lb. boneless pork shoulder

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Kosher salt

Black pepper

Smoked paprika or liquid smoke

1-1 1/2 bottles BBQ Sauce

About 12 high-quality rolls
Memphis-style Coleslaw
Thick-cut dill pickle slices

Rinse pork roast well in cold water and trim of excess fat. This is important because sometimes, boneless pork shoulder (and bone-in pork shoulder, for that matter) can take on kind of an icky fishy odor and a lot of that smell is in the juices and the fat. Pat dry. Sprinkle roast with seasonings and place in your slow cooker. Add about 1/2 inch of water and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

When the roast has cooked, drain liquid and then return to the slow cooker and shred. Pour enough sauce over the meat so it's well-incorporated but not soupy. Return the lid to the crockpot and heat through.

When ready to serve, slice rolls and add meat. Top with coleslaw and a few slices of dill pickle.

Don't worry, I wont leave you hanging about that amazing Coleslaw, it's coming tomorrow!

4th of July T-Shirt

Of course I had to make my little guy a T-shirt to sport for our Independence Day festivities.

I was inspired by the votives I made earlier.
I was planning on doing the aplique in blue, but my Husband thought red would look best, he was right.

I had a hard time getting my model to stand still, he wanted to play in the rain.

Here is a close up..

What else can I put that silhouette on???