Happy Monday

A few weeks ago I was a lucky winner on Sarah Mae's blog when she was giving away some wall stickers. You got a choice of stickers if you won, either butterflies, pets or dinosaurs! Of course I chose pets because they were full of puppies, which you know Kristen just loves and I thought it would be fun to put them in her room. It took quite a few weeks for the 'prize' to arrive, (the company was mailing them out, not Sarah Mae) and not without Kristen asking every other day if we could check the mail for them (even on Sundays!), she was so excited at the prospect of getting them. Well the stickers finally arrived.... but alas, the company had not sent me the ones I requested, much to Kristen's disappointment, they sent me the butterfly pack.

Hmm, Kristen didn't want butterflies in her room, so what was I going to do with them? I thought of passing them on to someone, perhaps have a giveaway at my blog and send them off to a good home? But then I noticed Kristen had actually opend the package to take a look at them! When I pulled them out they really were very pretty, and an idea struck me. . . . I could put them in my 'dull and dreary' laundry room! SO, that's exactly what I did. Last week I did a mini makeover in there. I would like to eventually paint the room - I'm thinking a soft blue with white clouds faux painted on the ceiling? The butterflies look so nice in there. . . what do you think?

Here's some before shots of the room (hard to get pics in such a small space). . . .

I would eventually like to remove these shelves and install 'kitchen' type cabinets to hide the clutter.


A cabinet above the freezer would be nice too.

And after. . . . .

What do you think? Don't the butterflies really brighten the space up. They put a smile on my face every time I walk in there.

I moved some of the small blue boxes from the top and put my laundry basket there with the plant (I've never really used this basket, I use plastic ones instead, and this was always meant for decoration, but just sat on top of the freezer!).

I moved the boxes to the top of the freezer, which still looks kinda messy, but it's the best I could do for now.

Can't you just picture it in a pretty soft blue. I also added a little lamp in there and it looks all cozy at night, just because it's the laundry room doesn't mean it has to look sad!

So, here we go with the start of another new week. No grocery shopping for me today :-) remember, I did that Friday. Today it's 'clean downstairs' day. After dropping Kristen off at school this morning, I shall come home and clear up the kitchen, get the vacuum and duster out and 'fly' around the living room ;-) I'll also do laundry, wash the kitchen floor and wash all the bathroom towels. And I will enjoy every minute of it. . . . I am so blessed to be a SAHM.

What's on your 'planner' for today?

I'm linking this post to Metamorphosis Monday. For more 'before and after' posts, hop on over to Susan's blog at 'Between Naps on the Porch.

Retail Therapy

There's nothing I like better than to go shopping on a Saturday morning, when I know I can just take my time because Kristen stays home with 'Daddy'. Jason had a couple of guys coming over this morning for a business meeting so I decided to 'pop out' for a couple of hours. I always ask Kristen if she'd like to come with me, but at this age she still doesn't care for shopping and prefers to just stay home watching cartoons for an hour til I get back.

Today I went off to Kirklands (one of my favorite stores) to use the $10 coupon I got online. Have you seen their new website mykirklands.com? You can go on there and see tons of home photos and get decorating advice from other home owners... it's really cool. I love browsing the pictures and taking a peak in to other homes (especially for ideas on how to decorate mine!). So, I thought I'd show you my 'buys' today - wanna see?

First off, my bargain buys... I've never used a 'reed diffuser' (to be honest I've never felt like spending the money on them) but I saw this one in Pier 1 today reduced from $15 to $3.98.

I like the shape of the bottle especially, the other ones you often see are more contemporary to me with the silver rim around the top. This came with a bottle of oil too but the scent was 'darjeeling tea'! Pier1 has a scent called Amber that was really nice but they were out of it. I will go back and get some of that probably next month when the lady said they'd be getting some in for Fall.

In the meantime I've added some of the 'tea' scent to the bottle and I'll see what it smells like in a day or too. It's hard to tell when you smell the bottle because it's so concentrated.

Next I bought these cute square paper plates and napkins from TJMaxx for a dollar each. I thought they'd be fun to use the next time we have our 'wine and cheese' tasting party ;-)

The napkins say "I support the four basic food groups.... champagne, cabarnet, chardonnay, merlot! Then I headed to Kirklands. . . bought these candle sconces to go on either side of my poppy print:

The wall looks almost white in this picture, but it's more of a soft yellow/cream. Here's a close up of the candle holder. . . (I need thin candles to go in them still)


I wanted two of these candles sconces (below, on sale for just $12 each) but there was only one left, so I got it anyway and put it on this corner wall in the dining room:

I think I will add some small things either side of it at a later date (not sure what though), or would you just leave it like this? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I also bought a pretty print to go alone with the other one of poppies (I couldn't resist it at just $11)....

Here's a close-up (couldn't get it without the glare I'm afraid)...

I'm thinking a dark wood shelf under this would be nice so I can add some accessories. I also am still working on what to put up as window treatments in this room.

So, that was my fun morning out. Now I'm just pottering around the house (and doing a little knitting) while Jason works this afternoon (from home). What are you up to?

Busy Morning!

First of all, thank you to all who left a comment letting me know my flower was a 'morning glory' :-) I knew I knew the name of it, I just couldn't bring it to mind. It's such a pretty flower but I'm told it can overtake very easily. Not that I planted it mind you, and it's in one of the garden beds so it will be getting pulled out shortly when I clean out the veggie patch it's in. But to be honest I wouldn't mind having it somewhere around in the garden.

So yay, it's Friday! Is it just me, or did this week seem to go over super fast? It's been great getting back in to a routine and I'm still trying to tweek my lists and decide what I'll do on each day. I've decided that Friday will be my grocery day. I used to go grocery shopping on Monday mornings (I love how quiet the store is now that kids are back in school!), but I undoubtedly would find myself going back to the store on Friday to get extra stuff for the weekends! Not any more, my plan is to make a list of things I need on Thursday night, plan my menu for the following week and go to the grocery store on Friday mornings after dropping Kristen off at school. This way I can buy stuff for the weekend and all the things I need to make dinners the coming week and (if I'm lucky) only have to make one trip a week to the store.

My other chore for Friday is washing the bathrooms. The shower stall always needs a good scrub so doing this on a weekly basis will cut down on the 'grime'! We have 3 bathrooms so I'll do them all on the same day, then after that, the day is my own to do as I please ;-) I'm getting back in to knitting so that will be my reward for doing my housework. . . an hour with my feet up and my needles in hand.

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday and enjoy the weekend too. Oh, and hooray, it's gonna be cooler here today, only 98 degrees!!!!!!!! :-p

Two 'Scapes' for the price of one!

I've created a little tradition for our 'first day back at school' day (which I mentioned earlier this week). I usually decorate the kitchen or set the table and have a special 'treat' for Kristen. The first year I actually baked a cake, but since then I've taken the easy way out and bought something that I think Kristen will love. This year I found the perfect little cake at the grocery store and I set the table ready for when Kristen got home. . . .

I found this cute little guy in Walmart's bakery. It was actually just two cupcakes underneath all that frosting! Kristen loves dogs as most of you know, so she was thrilled when she saw this.

From supplies I bought at the dollar store a few weeks ago, I set the table. . . .

The supplies I got from the $ store were, this chalk board, a blue plastic table cloth, yellow napkins, red paper plates, green school border (which I cut up to make napkin rings also), and silk flowers.


The Crayola thermos and food tub were given to Kristen from my neighbor just a few weeks ago.

I used my red chargers underneath our white dinner plates.

Kristen and I enjoyed sitting at the table sharing cake and talking about her first day back. I hope she remembers these times with fondness. For dinner I set a third place setting for 'Daddy' and we all ate our favorite family meal, spaghetti with meatballs, and garlic bread.

I have another little tablescape to show you this week. I've been trying to encourage Kristen to try new foods. Over the summer I allowed her to eat what she wanted (you know the usual kid stuff like canned spaghetti, or mac and cheese) then I cooked a separate dinner for me and Jason. I told Kristen that had to stop once we got back to school. I was only going to cook one meal and we would all eat as a family during the week. We are lucky that Jason gets home from work usually at the same time each day, and we can have dinner around 5.30-6pm.

To make dinner easy Kristen and I thought up a system...
Monday = Italian (so I will cook spaghetti or carbonara, or some other pasta type dish)
Tuesday = Mexican (she will actually eat Tacos!)
Wednesday = Chinese
Thursday = 'a storage meal' (where I use cans and other stuff I have in the freezer)
Friday = 'Wild Card' (as Kristen named it, it will probably be pizza or some other 'quick fix' meal)
Saturday= bbq on the grill (hot dogs, burgers or ribs perhaps - while the weather permits)
Sunday = crock pot meal (so I have something ready to eat when we get home from church).
Now, I don't know how well I'll stick to this plan, but this week I've done pretty good. So here's the other tablescape I set on Tuesday when we ate Mexican food.



I didn't spend a penny on this one! All the plates are decorative (I used them as chargers and served dinner on our usual white plates) and I simply added my margarita glasses. Notice the blue table cloth from Monday's table ;-)

I know what you're thinking.... "I have too much time on my hands"! Well, not really, I just like making the effort to make meal times fun :-)

And just for the record, Kristen is still hesitant to try some of the meals. The rule is, she should try it and if she doesn't like it, then there will be wholewheat bread on the table and she can butter herself as many slices as she wants to fill her up!! There is usually at least something on the plate she likes, like rice tonight when we had chinese, and fresh fruit like grapes or pears, so she's only had to have one slice of bread so far this week ;-)

Hope you enjoyed all the pictures, and I apologize that this post got so long!

Baby Steps

Now that school is back in I find myself thinking of all the things I want to get done around the house. During the summer I tend to let a lot of things slide, I enjoy lazy days just hanging out with Kristen, spending hours in my pj's having coffee and checking email. The only regular thing that continues to get done is laundry and grocery shopping!

That all changes this week. I love this time of year when the season starts to change, the mornings start to get cooler (actually they may have always been cooler but I was never up and out the door at 7am during the summer). It sure is nice to feel the temps in the 70's as we head out the door to school. Shame it doesn't last though. . . it will be another 100 degree day today!

But that doesn't put me off planning for Fall and getting back in to a routine while I'm at it, I just have to do it one step at a time. This week I bought a new 3-ring binder and have been printing out lists, lists and more lists of things I'd like to accomplish each day :-) The key to accomplishing these things is - 'staying home'! Honestly, if I could just stay home each day I'd get so much done, but I find myself itching to get out and browse shops, go grocery shopping, check out the craft stores and ooh and ahh over the Fall and Christmas decor! Yesterday I went to the gym and couldn't help going to Hobby Lobby afterward. I only spent $12 (on some sale items, which you'll see below) but it's $12 that would have still been in my purse had I not gone out of the house at all! So, I shall be making a concerted effort to stay home each day. Perhaps if I post on here whether I did so or not, it will help keep me accountable?

For outdoor Wednesday this week, I thought I'd show you the 'bargains' I got at Hobby Lobby yesterday. Their Garden stuff was on final sale at 90% off! There wasn't much left to be honest but I did find a couple of things that I thought would be nice in the garden. First these two wall plaques. . . .

Wanna take a guess at how much they were? OK, I'll tell you - originally $7.99 each, I got them for 79c each! Here's a close up of them. . . sweet aren't they?

Another bargain, I couldn't resist this little guy (even though his crown is broken, I figure a gold pen will cover that up just fine). . . .

OK, this guy was originally $27.99! Seriously, who pays that kind of money for a frog sitting on a ball? He went down to $13 then about $5, but I got him on clearance for - $2.79! :-) I like the idea of collecting frogs in the garden (I have two of them out in the front beds). I like to think of the acronym F.R.O. G when I see them, 'Fully Relying On God'

Still out in the garden, does anyone know what this flower is? I didn't plant it so I'm assuming it's a weed (although I've had wild flowers pop up before that I didn't plant either, one being the Texas Bluebonnet, which I would say is most definitely not a weed here).

It's growing up the netting where we planted the scarlet runner beans (which didn't produce any beans, I might add) and along the ground.

The name is on the tip of my tongue, I just can't think what it is right now! Anyone?
And of course, this little guy is always outside when I am. . . .

For more 'Outdoor' posts visit Susan at A Southern Daydreamer. Have a great 'Hump' Day!

Tasty 'TMT' Tuesday

Our first day back at school went really well yesterday. The day pasted quickly for me as I caught up with laundry and a quick clear up in the kitchen, and then set about planning how the rest of my days/weeks will pan out. I created a new 'Weekly' Folder for myself too. The day was very enjoyable for Kristen too, which she told me about when I went to pick her up. We have a little tradition each year for 'first day back at school', when Kristen gets home I've usually decorated the kitchen with streamers and banners or I set the table so we can have 'cake' and talk about our first day. Yesterday was no different..... but I'll show you the table I set on Thursday (when I join in with Tablescape Thursday) :-)

Today I want to share with you one of my favorite home made pancake recipes. I've shown these before but it was back in 2008, so I thought I'd tell you about them again as I link to Tasty Tuesday and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Banana Blueberry Pancakes. This recipe is from the Taste of Home 'Healthy Cooking' magazine. I'm always trying to be more healthful, especially in what I give Kristen to eat. I'm not always successful (she's a very picky eater!) and over the summer we have gotten off track BIG time, but I plan on making these today and no more buying the 'Pilsbury frozen stuff' (for a while anyway!)

Banana Blueberry Pancakes.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tblsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk (I use 2%)
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries

Combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the eggs, milk, bananas and vanilla; stir in to the dry ingredients just until moistened. It's that simple! You'll notice you haven't added the blueberries yet, they get sprinkled on to the batter as you cook the pancakes. I've tried them both ways. If you add the blueberries to the mixture I've noticed the batter turns a little 'purplish', so sprinkling them on top seems the way to go, unless you don't mind purple batter!

Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls on to a hot griddle coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with blueberries. Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until second side is golden brown. Serve with maple syrup if desired.

Today I'm off to the gym! I put going back yesterday making the excuse that I needed to catch up on a lot of stuff. But I can't keep making excuses. . . . so I'm headed there now. Have a great day.

Designer Tote

As promised, here are some pictures of the bag I made last weekend. The class was for a 'Designer Tote', I'm not sure who the designer actually is because the pattern that we needed was on back order. We got the instructions on what pieces to cut etc. from the class teacher and we'll be sent the pattern when it comes in to the store.

I bought the material at the store where I took the class. They didn't have much to chose from in the quilted fabric. There were only 3 choices to be exact, the other two had pink in them, but I went for these colors with the upcoming Fall season in mind :-) I'm really pleased with my handywork, and despite the overall cost being a little pricey (class cost, plus material, plus a new 'walking foot' for my machine) it was totally worth it. I learned a lot and had a great time too.

Below is the back of the bag with just one pocket (the front has two pockets, one in contrasting colors). What I loved about the quilted fabric is that it is reversible , with a different pattern on the other side.

You can see the reverse of the material on the inside of the bag. The flowery top part is just plain material.


A close up of my handywork


You can click on the photos to enlarge and see in more detail.

Back to School

It's here. . . first day back at school. I just got home from dropping Kristen off. Today she starts 3rd grade! Yesterday I noticed on my 'timeline' (the older posts that show up on the bottom of each post) that one of them was from Aug 08. I clicked on it and it was the first day of school last year! Gosh, looking back Kristen sure has grown up since then. You can CLICK HERE to see that post and compare the photos with the ones I took this morning.

Last year Kristen was all in to Pokemon (backpack, lunchbox etc). This year it's ICarly!

ICarly T-shirt (the long arm thingy gloves came with it!)

ICarly backpack!
And yes, those are ICarly shoes she's wearing!


I'll be back later with another post about my 'sewing class'. Off to get more coffee now and make a 'plan of action' for the day!

Galveston 09

I thought I'd share some more pics of our trip to Galveston before a new week gets started in 'Blog Land'. Tomorrow I will share photos of the bag I made in my sewing class yesterday, so that's why I'm posting the vacation pics tonight. I've never been to Galveston before so I didn't really know what the area was like prior to 'Ike'. Despite the fact that we had a fun time with our friends, the after effects of that terrible storm were still visible and it was rather sad to see. This building for instance. . .

totally boarded up and abandoned on the beach. I'm not sure what it used to be, a restaurant perhaps? And this hotel across the street .....

all closed up with a 'For Sale' banner hanging on it. But not to dwell on the 'down' side of things, here's a few more fun pictures.

The kids loved every minute we spent on the beach (and so did we). . . .



I was thrilled to see there was a Rainforest Cafe there. The nearest one to us is in San Antonio (2 hours away) and we didn't get to go in it when I took my sister there back in June because the wait was over 1 1/2 hours to be seated! I also wanted to take Kristen and of course she wasn't with us in San Antonio! So going out to dinner here was a must :-)

So, that's our Summer 09 over with and school starts back tomorrow. It's been another great year but I'll be glad when the heat dies down. 100 degrees here today, yet again! I've said it before and I'll say it again. . . . I can't wait for Fall!