Saturday, April 28, 2012

Cool orzo salad as things warm up

Spring is in full swing and the presence of summer can be felt coming around the corner.  With things heating up I have the craving for summer type food that easy filling but also can be tasty cold, which makes this tasty orzo salad the perfect dish! 
After spending most of the day working out in the yard, this delicious orzo salad was the perfect side dish with our turkey burgers and steamed asparagus.  This dish also happens to be one of Clint's favorites since you can throw it in the fridge and the next day it tastes just as good as when you made it!  Try it out next time you want a new pasta salad to munch on!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Make it over: dated dresser to contemporary entertainment center

One of the awesome things about having family close by is that when they want to get rid of something you're one of the first in line to snag it.  Such was the case with this great piece we were handed down by my mother-in-law.  This dresser was once in the bedroom of three growing boys (my husband and his two brothers), but now that the boys are all grown up, it needed to find a new purpose.  I figured this piece had great potential to be an entertainment center in our living room.  Here's what the dresser looked like before...
 I started by sanded down the dresser and painted it glossy white.  The old hardware was updated with satin nickel pulls and the interior drawers, shelves and cabinet doors were given a finishing touch with printed contact paper. 
Now that the dresser has been given a makeover, it makes a great entertainment center in our living room!   


Sunday, April 22, 2012

Splendid Saturday at the vintage antique show!

I can help but still be so excited when I think about the antique show I went to yesterday morning.  I met up with my mom bright and early to hit up the Vintage Antique Show in search of fun loot.  I was excited to walk away with a couple of great things for our house, but I especially loved being able to be around so many creative and ambitious women that spend their time making, seeking and selling awesome antiques and vintage wares.  I got some great ideas of creative things to do with all the burlap I have (wedding decoration leftovers) and saw new fun ways of using chalk paint (just when you think you've seen chalk paint used in every way possible!). 
Here's a few of the stimulating items we spotted. 
The friendly and adorable mother/daughter duo from Lipstick Gypsy  and they made these fabulous aprons! 

I didn't think I'd end up being into antiques like my mom has been for as long as I can remember, but I guess I couldn't avoid the inevitable...I am my mother's daughter! 

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Make it over: dark to bright and beachy

It seems like the weekends fly by too quickly!  Lately I find myself not having enough time to get everything done that I planned on the two day breaks from work, but this last weekend I was excited to get one of my many projects done and hung up.  Of course I'm excited to share the finshed project as well.

I've had this great, but plain black oval mirror and for the last couple of years it's been stored away.  It's collected a few scratches while being stored away, so I wanted to give it a makeover.

Before
I saw a round mirror at Crate & Barrel flanked by driftwood a while ago that I loved, but it was a bit pricey so I didn't buy it.  So when I thought of this great plain black mirror I'd been storing, I knew what I wanted to do with it!  I was able to collect the driftwood from Fort Bragg on a camping trip and I used white primer paint and gorilla glue I already had, so the project was pretty much free!
Here's how it turned out!
After
Mirror makeover
It's a fun new addition to our bedroom and ties in the natural, beachy elements that make the room a relaxing escape! 

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Quiche me please!

Mmmm...I'm still dreaming of the delightful breakfast we had today.  I was inspired to make quiche for breakfast after getting my Food Network Magazine this week and looking the the mix & match quiche article.  As I looked over the article I found myself reminiscing over the many Christmas mornings growing up where we got the homemade breakfast treat of my dad's quiche.  So, I decided I needed to give this classic breakfast dish a try.   I have to admit Clint and I plowed off a bit of it since it was scrumptious, but we saved just enough to have my dad try out, and I'm happy to say he approved!  
Here's my mix and match quiche that you may just want to try yourself! 
QUICHE-
Flaky Butter Crust:
  • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
  • 2 tablespoons ice water  
    To make the dough by hand, combine the flour, salt, and butter in a medium bowl, and mix with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time and mix until the dough comes together and is no longer dry, being careful not to overmix. Form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface according to the recipe, fit it into the pan, and allow to rest
again in the refrigerator before baking. 
Yield: one 9-inch tart or pie crust
Quiche filling: 
  • 8 pieces of bacon
  • 1 cup fresh spinach chopped
  • 1/3 yellow onion diced
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 cup shredded Colby & Monterrey jack cheese
  • ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 ¼ cup milk
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
Cook bacon and set aside, when cooled, crumble to small pieces
Sauté spinach, onion and garlic in a medium pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray
Take uncooked pie crust and fill with bacon and sautéed spinach, onion and garlic.
In a medium bowl whisk together eggs, egg yolks, milk, salt, pepper, and oregano.  Then mix in cheese
Poor egg/cheese mixture into the pie dish over the bacon and veggie mixture
Bake in the oven at 375° for 40 to 50 minutes, until the filling is set


Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Oh my! Lemonade Pie!

We had a Relief Society (womens group) activity tonight that was all about lemons!  Yellow, lip puckering, lemons!  We were invited to bring a lemon treat to share so I made this nearly no bake, lemonade pie.  Pardon the less than perfect pictures, but here's a peak at how the lemonade pie was made and how it turned out. 
crushing the graham crackers for the pie crust   
lemonade/cool whip filling

graham cracker pie crust
fill 'er up
the final product
Try this recipe out if you're in the mood for a treat full of lip puckering goodness!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Happy Easter and a little bit of this and that

Happy Easter to all!  I hope everyone has enjoyed this beautiful Spring day especially reflected upon the real meaning of Easter, our Savior Jesus Christ.  I'm very grateful for that died for me and was resurrected, and I was reminded of all He's done for me as I sat in a lesson during the third hour of church where we watched some videos that showed His birth, life, death and resurrection. I hope to be better each day at being a follower of Jesus Christ.  Thankfully I have His help since I'm not always very strong on my own.  

On this Easter Sunday I also had to give a little Easter good basket (er...rather bucket) to my husband who is so good to me.  I improvised by using sticky-notes to write a little Easter message. 

Since today is Easter, I guess tomorrow I will take down paper Easter bunny garland that I made a few weeks ago at our Relief Society (church women's group) activity.  It's been so cute hanging in the entry way, I'll be a little bit sad to take it down until next year. 
 And last but not least...I have a great church assignment in our new ward (church congregation) where I get to work in the young women organization.  As one of my duties I was asked to have birthday cards for each of the girls when it's their birthday.  I could have just bought cards, but I wanted to make cards that incorporated the values for the young women organization especially since I have all sorts of scrapbook paper.  Here's what I came up with
That's all for now on this beautiful Easter Sunday!  I hope you all enjoy your day!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Word art: Lather, Rinse, Repeat


It's been a busy week of many home projects, but I am excited to share an easy little "word art" project I did last week.  I had the idea to frame the words Lather, Rinse and Repeat (you know, like the instructions on the back of a shampoo bottle!) in the hallway bathroom to add more interest to the walls and go with the retro-style black and white tile.  
I was able to find these black gloss frames at Goodwill for only 99 cents each!  Once I cleaned them up a little bit I printed out each word in a bold retro-style font on bright yellow cardstock, and cut each word to fit into the frame.  With the words lined up right above the towel rack, I think the hallway bathroom has some great personality now! 

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Mom's birthday celebration


It's April 1st, which means it's my mom's birthday.  Happy Birthday mom!!  I'm so glad you were born!  In celebration of my mom's birthday the whole family gathered at mine and Clint's place for dinner, playing in the park and an early Easter egg hunt for the kids.  Spring colored plates, napkins and accessories looked great on the table against a clean white table cloth.  Delicious food filled the table; barbecue chicken, spicy shrimp, garden salad, fruit and cheesey rolls; and was quickly gobbled up.  One of the best parts was walking to the park around the corner after we ate and enjoying all being big kids!
Happy birthday mom!  We love you!