Hometown Girl Giveaway!!!

I just saw that there is still a chance to win Hometown Girls giveaway! Go check out her sight! She has some great stuff!

A New Found Favorite!!

This past weekend my husband and I were in Detroit and got to experience soo many new things....It is unbelievable how many restaurants they have there!! I think we ate at like 5 or 6 different places in 3 days!! And shopping?!!! UNREAL!!!!! So many stores, they have everything there and the friends we were visiting only lived 10 min. from it all!

The reason for this post is to tell all you bloggers out there that are constantly saying you got things from HomeGoods and IKEA that....... I finally got to experience those stores!! It was like walking into a little piece of heaven! So much stuff! I definitely took my time walking around and would have come out with one of everything if I could have fit it into our car!

I will have to say that HomeGoods was probably my favorite of the two, I loved all the styles, colors and furniture and their mirrors were just incredible! There were several that I wanted but just couldn't fit them in the car! Annoying!!

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures but I just wanted to tell everyone how excited I was to finally visit one! I only wish we had one here in our town but I guess Hobby Lobby and TJMaxx/Marshall's will suffice!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Mary Elizabeth

Giant Cupcakes are SOOO Cute

Okay here is another giant cupcake that I made Monday night.  I LOVED this one too. The girl I made if for wanted to incorporate a bear and small animals. I made sugar cookies and found some small animal cookie cutters. I love making these. I used one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes. Look here for the recipe.

I am making dinner for a friend from church today. She had her baby last week. I have a couple of ideas that will put a new twist on some old favorite foods. I am also working on my son's room and that is almost finished. Also, working on the stencil above the fireplace. So, I will have a few posts coming in the next couple of days.

Hope you all great weekend.

Christine

Happy Birthday, Mary!

Today is our sister Mary's birthday. Oh, how I wish we lived closer and Rhiannon and I could take you out for lunch. I can't believe how fast time goes by. It seems like yesterday we were at the hospital waiting for you to be born. Then changing your diapers, showing you how to ride a bike. I remember you standing on a stool (so you could reach the table) and mixing a big bowl of bread. You always did like to bake and cook. (We would have so much fun getting together and baking/cooking up a storm.) Then you were in high school and we were going to your basketball games, and now you've been married for five years. I miss my sisters everyday of the year, but birthdays are days that remind me how much I miss you all. 

So, I hope you have a GREAT birthday, Mary! 

We love you and miss you!

Christine

My Recent Pottery Barn Inspiration

So I have been waiting the last few months to go back to this antique store near where I work. They were shut down over the winter due to the cost of heating the old building they are located in and it was killing me to wait until March 1! I had ideas running through my mind and I knew they would have exactly what I wanted!! And they did not disappoint!!

On one of my recent trips to Pottery Barn online I noticed in one of their living rooms there was a ladder in the corner....just leaning and being beautiful! It was used as a blanket rack and I really needed one of those! I have been looking for a ladder and even thought of building one but I really wanted that old antique look that you can only get with an old ladder. But, I didn't want to spend $200 on a ladder! And that wonderful little antique store had just what I wanted! AND it was located in the discount corner! For $10!! It couldn't get any better! After finding a few more treasures ( which I will be showing you soon ) I headed back to work, really wanting to just go straight home and find places for my new finds!

I had the perfect plan for this ladder....it was going to be my blanket rack..here in northern IN we use blankets almost all year round so I needed something that wasn't in the way and didn't require the blankets to be all over the couch's when they weren't in use.

I love the shape..

and I love how the blankets look on it

The best part about this find was that it only required a good scrub down...that's it because I wanted the old wood look to stay..I love how it finishes off ( what was an empty corner ) it looks perfect, I think! What do ya'll think?

Mary Elizabeth

Music for the Whole Family

I have started teaching Luke Bible verses. Mostly they are for his Sunday School class. But we have started working on others as well. And of course I want him listening to Christian music, but finding music that we can all enjoy in the car and around the house has been a little bit of a challenge. Then last week, I was looking at one of my favorite blogs and she had a post about Seeds Family Worship. I checked them out and really liked the couple of the videos that I found on youtube. My favorite thing about them is that the words are just Bible verses. This will help Luke learn more verses and we won't have to listen to Baby Eisten all the time. Another great thing about them is that when you order a cd they send you another one to give away to continue planting the seed.

Hope you enjoy them,

Christine

Smasher Cakes

I LOVE to bake, and find new ways to present old recipes. For example, homemade poptarts. So many ways to these. You can make them regular size, bit size (so cute) and why not put them on a stick? The same with pies. Regular size pies are so boring. Make mini pies, use different shape pans, and why not put them on a stick as well? Sticks are all the rage right now. If you look at any dessert blogs, they will put anything they can on sticks. Look here for a little girls party that was based on pies. I can't wait for the kids birthdays now. I have so many ideas floating in my head. r a little girls party that was based on pies. I can't wait for the kids birthdays now. I have so many ideas floating in my head.

All that being said, I bought a giant cup cake pan a couple of weeks ago. I have wanted one for a while now, but didn't want to spend the money on one. They are pretty pricey for one pan that is not really a multi purpose pan. But, a girl I work with does photography and asked me if I made the giant cup cakes. She was looking for someone to make them for her cake smash pictures (check her out) I gladly jumped at the chance to make these for her. Not only do I love making things like this, but I would be getting paid and getting my name out. EVEN BETTER.

 


They bake in two parts.

 

Even without icing they so cute.





 

 I made the pink and blue one a couple of weeks ago to give her an idea of what I could do. I made one for her son's cake smash picture Thursday night, but forgot to take a picture. It had light green icing with light blue disk sprinkles, the paper was dark blue with colored dots and the one was a shiny yellow paper. I'm making another one for her Monday night for his actual party. I'll post a picture of that because it was more of a special order. Just a hint sugar cookies will be involved. Now all I need to do is come up with a name and all the legal requirements for a business. If you have any suggestions leave me a comment.

Have a great weekend. I have several projects planned. Started one last night, so hopefully this will be a productive weekend. What are your plans? 

Christine



where do i begin...

So, I have to start by saying it has been way too long since I have posted anything!! Time always seems to get away from me....

I have been yearning for spring time! The cold weather here has given me the blues like none other this winter and I can not wait for warm sunshine and beautiful flowers. I have been looking at so many blogs just this evening ( we have a good internet connection tonight so I feel like I have to look at everything possible while I have the chance ). There are soo many good ideas out there! It really is amazing to see what can be done with little to no money necessary;-) I started to clean out the old winter decor and im looking for bright bold flowers and moss and bright greanery ( like the gorgeous tins and topiary's from PB above ). Tulips and Daffodils, and Daisy's!! I LOVE daisys! I think you know where im going with this.......I am ready for my spring decor! I have a few ideas brewing....tomorrow promises to be a very eventful and fulfilling day for these ideas;-) I cant wait;-))

These one's ( again from PB would be perfect )

More to come soon....

Enjoy the color of the season ;-)

Mary Elizabeth

Sour Cream Rolls

If you want an quick, easy roll recipe, you need to try this recipe. I've been making these for a couple of years now. They always turn out the same, light and fluffy. They are great with a bowl of soup or a great addition to a roast and mashed potatoes. 

Sour Cream Rolls

 They make about a dozen.

2 1/2 to 3 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup water

3 tablespoons butter

1 egg

In your mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups four, sugar, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat the sourcream, water and 2 tablespoon butter to 120-130 degrees (slight simmer); add to the dry ingredients. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add the egg, and 1/2 cup flour, beat for about 2 more minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter, knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 mintues. Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise till double in size. It's about an hour.

Punch the dough down and return to a lightly floured surface. Divide into 12 pieces. Form into balls and place in a lightly greased 13 x 9 pan. Cover and let rise until double in size again, about 30 mintues.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes. Melt remaining butter and brush over the top of the rolls. Remove from pan and let cool.

Enjoy, Christine

The Kids Art

 First, I want to apoligize for the lack of posts the last week.  There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day anymore.  I don't get home from work till about 5:30 and then between dinner, 3 kids, cleaning, church, and just spending some time with the kids it's midnight before I know it.  Needless to say our blog got put on the back burner. I promise to do better. That being said, I wanted to show you all where I put the pictures the boys draw. 

Luke is getting to the age where he really likes to color and of course he wants his pictures put somewhere so he can Brian (he refuses to call him Dad).  But, I prefer my fridge free of anything that has to be attached. So, I came up with a better idea. I had these old window frames in the closet since we moved here. I FINALLY found a way to use them. I painted them a dark brown color (can you tell that's my favorite color?). I then had pictures of Luke and Mac at Christmas enlarged to the 8x10 size. I also had a couple of cream picture mats that fit into the openings. Now I have the perfect place to showcase the kids "art". The kids love it and were so excited to see their pictures on the mantel. I'll show you a picture of the  mantel in the next week or two.  I am "redoing" the mantel. It's going to be a total overhaul, which includes a stencil, these frames and a bigger TV (husbands request).

Also, came up with an idea to use cones and tissue paper. I'll finish that in the next couple of days also.  Hope everyone has a great rest of the week.

Christine