Recipes I’d Like to Try
Happy April Fool’s Day! One thing I don’t joke about is food. Here are a few recipes that are on my list to try soon. Very, very soon. Apple Spinach Bacon Salad via Serena Bakes Simply from Scratch This salad looks DIVINE and it looks like a really tasty excuse to eat bacon. All the bacon. Baked Salmon with Parmesan Herb Crust via Add a Pinch I always keep frozen salmon fillets on-hand for an easy weeknight dinner. I’ve had good luck with the individually vacuum-sealed and frozen salmon you can find at any grocery store these days. Usually I drizzle olive oil and cajun season on the salmon, wrap it…
Trash to Treasure: Art for Boys Room
I big fat love those HGTV shows where some clever person turns utter trash into something beautiful and useable. This story isn’t quite that special and the storyteller isn’t nearly that clever. However, I did climb over rusty gates wearing flip flops and wade through piles of junk in an old barn and even stopped alongside the road to find useable trash for my son’s room. That should be worth some bonus points for completely free art, right? What was my trashy treasure? Hubcaps! The best I can tell from my 16 second search on eBay, these 3 hubcaps are from a Pontiac in the 1950s. I found them in the…
Thelma and Louise Leather Cuffs
A super cool chick and friend of mine recently had a birthday. She likes it when I remind her that she just had a birthday. In fact, nothing gets her more excited than talk about aging. Well, nothing except jewelry! I can’t really blame her. We do share a common love for shiny accessories. Over multiple occasions and margaritas (my husband makes a mean margarita) this friend and I have daydreamed about taking a road trip when we are old and blue-haired. I’d like to see a parade in every state. Why you ask? Why not, I say? Parades are everything that’s right about this country. Talk of these adventures somehow always…
Collecting
Generally speaking, clutter freaks me the heck out. That’s why my kitchen counters look like this – minus the flowers right now. It was just too much. 😉 Since I don’t enjoy clutter, you’d think amassing a large collection of something would be on my “things to never do so you don’t have to dust it” list. By and large, that is true. But just to keep things interesting, I have an exception to the no-clutter rule. It started back in college when I went on a Jan Term trip to England and Scotland. I think it was the first and only time I packed light since everything I needed had to fit in…
Lion and Lamb Children’s Art
With Easter rapidly approaching, I thought it would be the perfect time to share some ideas for lion and lamb artwork. These were both made by my daughter in preschool, which was *sob* way too long ago. I can’t take credit for the artwork, unless you count growing the artist in my belly, birthing the artist and then meticulously selecting a preschool to cultivate the artist’s intellect and artistic talents. So, yeah. When you think about it that way, I can totally take credit for this artwork. I say this with all sincerity, the lion artwork demonstrates the best combined use of a paper plate and a tongue depressor that I’ve…
Barstool Make Under
Maybe you remember 137 years ago when I posted this photo? It was more like 3 weeks ago, but who’s counting? That was a chalk paint fail. I was trying to make over these barstools, which I loved 8 years ago. What do I feel now? Definitely not love, but I don’t detest them. That would require too much energy. The wood base was actually in good shape on all three of the stools. The faux leather tops, however, were looking like they’d been mauled by a pack of animals used by small children for the past 8 years. The barstools had admirably served their purpose, but it was time for them to go.…
Interesting 5-Minute Reads
Let’s get a little random today! I haven’t read any books worth talking about lately, but I have read some awesome essays on a variety of topics. Regardless of whether or not I agree with the opinion or topic, I love it when an author propels me to contemplate the issue at hand. Here are 4 articles I found interesting this week. Having It All Kinda Sucks I have wasted far too much time questioning my life choices related to working and motherhood. It’s ridiculous and I know I’m not alone. The essay Having It All Kinda Sucks by Amy Westervelt sums the issue up much more eloquently than I ever could. That Amy,…
Oh Happy Day
I feel extraordinarily blessed to have a few really close friends. They live in different places and entered my life at completely different times. I say with all sincerity (and minus my usual sarcasm) that I cherish the unique role they each play in my life. Oh, and in case they haven’t figured this out yet, no matter where I go or what I do, they are stuck with me! One of those friends has a birthday today. HURRAY!!! She is smart and capable. Funny and kind. She is beautiful on the inside and out. She gives her love freely. She’s an amazing mom. She’s always prepared – her purse is like a…
Step Stool (from High School Shop Class) Makeover Part 2
We have two step stools that were made during high school shop class. Anyone else have such a treasure? After all these years, the stools are still super sturdy. Education for the win! I made over the first stool last year, but the second stool was still in dire need of a refresh. As you can see, it has been lovingly cared for for many years. I decided to makeover the stool using natural wood and stained wood. That’s how my thought processes start – very vague. While I was mulling the direction the makeover should go, I dived in and sanded the stool down with my Ridgid Sander. With the stool freshly sanded,…
Friday Funny
I recently started reading How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell with my children. Do you remember that book? One boy takes a bet to eat 15 worms in 15 days and if he does his friends will give him $50. A movie was made in 2006 based on the book. From what I can tell from this trailer, the premise is a little different, but something my kids would probably eat right up. Pun definitely intended. My kids are loving this book. It has the kid factor, the gross factor and the “would I really do it” factor going on. On the day we started reading this book, I took the kids…
