August 31, 2009

Aloha!

I have a surfer girl in my family, a surfer dudette that dreams of Hawaii. After living in a baby pink room for 9 years, she decided she would like to have a big-girl room. It sounded like a gnarly-cool idea until she said she wanted orange walls. Rather than shouting a big fat NO, we headed to the paint store.
Oh the possibilities! Her first choice ~I kid you not~ was construction zone cone orange.
Uh. Big fat NO.
So we found a good compromise: Desert Sunset (Olympic) with hot pink accents.
You know I'm all about CHEAP, so here is the breakdown:
Reversible hot pink/orange bed matelasse' and 2 shams: $29.99 Ross
Surfer Girl picture: $24.99 HomeGoods
Beach mat (rug): $1.99 Old Time Pottery
Big flower throw pillows: Issac Mizrahi Target napkins on clearance $.98 each
Bed roll pillow: Target clearance $11.98
Headboard: mine as a child ~ free
I found the desk at a thrift store a couple of years ago. We added the chunky Pier1 Kids knobs (clearance, of course). She talked her daddy into the hot pink desk chair while mommy was in Germany (so worth it!) Daddy also purchased the big flower for her birthday. It's 3-D made out of heavy duty tissue paper and wire. Good job, honey!


The curtains tie the colors all together. Hot pink and orange flip flops! It is actually a Sunbrella (indoor/outdoor) fabric. It was very easy to sew because it is so sturdy. The wooden surfboard was a Christmas gift from us: hubby cut it out and I attached the "wally" flip flops. Speaking of walls, I am IN LOVE with vinyl wall clings (see the hibiscus in the corner).
We also added the vinyl surfboard to the wall. Her name is above it in big chunky white letters.
All of the vinyl came from Uppercase Living.



Now for the el-cheapo art project that I promised. Lucky for you it's a 2-for-1 deal today:
The memo board is the freebie, since it is part of the grouping. I simply took an old memo board (formerly baby blue gingham) and recovered it with some leftover curtain fabric. I didn't have enough of the dot ribbon, so I found some striped. Which worked to my advantage because it tied these in:
About a year ago I was staying at a friend's (very nice) beach house. Above the bed hung some original art: painted flip flops in a shadow box. The more I admired them, the more I became convinced that I could do the same thing without the "ar-teest" price. So I purchased some plain hot pink flip flops in the dollar section, gave them a little artsy-fartsy flair with acrylic paint, and added a bow. Using my coupon, I purchased 2 raw-wood shadow boxes, spray painted them orange and added a little flower power. I hot-glued the flip flops to white heavy-duty paper and viola!
I did spray the entire thing with high gloss clear spray paint to give it a finished look.
Just to be real: the original beach-house artwork was behind glass. I had intended to do that, but I shattered the glass on one of the frames before I even painted it. So now it is true 3-D art.


That's it! All that is left to say is:

For more DYI ideas, check out the party at Kimba's

August 30, 2009

Sunday Rest

Peace I leave with you;
my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your heart be troubled
and do not be afraid.
John 14:27

August 27, 2009

Sorrow and Faith

Please keep this family in your prayers. Their journey of faith is amazing.

August 26, 2009

Study Hall

As I perused the latest edition of the PB Teen catalog, I was drawn to the locker series. So many colors ... so different from the boring beige/dirty grey lockers of my high school days. However, the price tag made me pass right by and finish my perusing. $329 for one upright locker. Seriously?!

And then one day, the ugly grey/beige locker from my high school memories showed up in my driveway. Three of them, to be exact.
They were on their way to the dump, when my hubby rescued them. Because he knows me and loves me, he hosed them down and anti-bacterialized them. He knew I wouldn't be able to get past the whole germ thing.

I have trained him well, for he knows my secret weapon:
Oh yeah! You know where this is headed............




Moss green for little man's room


He decorated the inside by himself. Not bad for a 5 year old!



Nutmeg brown for my horse lovin' gal.


She has big plans for the inside of this one...



Soft pink for my surfer dudette.

Each of my children now have their own locker (how cool is that for homeschoolers?!) for storage. The price of spray paint and a little elbow grease sure is better than $987!

~Next time I'll show you some pictures of the Hawaiian inspired room and an el-cheapo art idea.

August 23, 2009

Sunday Rest

Be strong and courageous.
Do not be terrified;
do not be discouraged,
for the Lord your God will
be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9

August 21, 2009

Variety Bread

~~I'm joining Jen today for her Tasty Tuesday with this recipe. Come on over and see some delicious recipes!

I thought I'd share my favorite bread recipe today. You know I love versatility, and this one does not disappoint! It freezes beautifully, too!

Basic Bread Recipe

4 ½ cups very warm water

1 1/3 cups white sugar

1/3 cup yeast

1 ¼ cup vegetable oil

2 Tbs. salt

12 cups white flour (or wheat, or a mixture of white/wheat)

In large mixing bowl blend first five ingredients. Add flour slowly. Continue to knead (in mixer) in flour until dough becomes no longer sticky. (Although, you don’t want it too dense)

Cover counter and hands with flour. Form breads as desired. (The fun part)

Let rise in a very warm place, until tripled in size. Gently place in 350 oven for 15-30 minutes (depending on size of loaf). Tap on top of bread. If it sounds hollow, it is done. It should be golden brown in color.

This will create 5-6 nice size loaves.

Gourmet Bread Varieties:

Sweet Cinnamon Swirl

Flatten an 8th of the dough into a ½ inch thick rectangle. Sprinkle ¼ cup cinnamon and ¼ cup sugar over the dough, one inch from edges. Roll up starting from the long end. Pinch together and tuck ends under. Let rise until tripled in size. Butter top, add cinnamon/sugar. Bake for 20 min. @ 350 and enjoy.

Cinnamon Rolls: Make as directed above, slicing log into rolls before allowing to rise. Place in a round cake pan and bake for 15 min.

Pesto Swirl

Follow directions for cinnamon swirl above, substituting your favorite pesto. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil in the bottom of the bread pan before allowing it to rise. Brush top with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.

Herb Loaf

Add favorite herbs, such as rosemary, basil, oregano to an 8th of the dough. Shape into a loaf. Let rise until tripled in size. Drizzle with ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil. Bake @ 350 for 20 min.

Gourmet Bread Additives:

~Diced apples

~Cranberries

~Calzone: pizza sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni roll


This is a great recipe for the kids to get involved in. Since it makes so much dough, they can each make their own loaf and there is still plenty for mom to be creative with!

Kitchen Makeover


When we built our house seven and a half years ago, we did it on a very tight budget.  One way we were able to build our dream house was to not do all of the aesthetic, big ticket extras right then.  Namely, the kitchen.  I did get the cabinets that I really wanted, knowing they would be a good foundation.


We started off with white textured laminate countertops, as a temporary, affordable fix.  A couple of years ago, we added unhoned granite countertops.  Unhoned simply means that they are not shiny.  We chose this style because black shiny granite tends to show every fingerprint.  I've been very please with our choice.
Our final step was to add the tile backsplash. After pouring over many idea magazines, I knew that I wanted subway tile, in a brick pattern.
I also liked the look of wide grout.  I didn't want the tiles to look like they were attached or stacked on top of each other.  Our friend Joe did an amazing job.  I had no idea how much of a giant puzzle tilework is!
After I took the picture above, I decided that the red tray needed a little something...
yeah, that's better!

This is my desk area.  Otherwise known as the dumping ground.  I've tried to control the clutter with the basket (a yard sale find!)

I know it's blurry, but it is the only digital photo I could find of our original kitchen:
I know!!! WHAT were we thinking with that blue???