Monday, May 28, 2012

Terrific Tuesdays #17

WOW! You guys are great. We went from 64 links last week to 119 this week! That's almost double!

Also, as a side note for all of my faithful followers: Things will probably be a bit slower around here for the summer. School got out last Friday and with all four kids home all day, I won't have as much time for blogging. I will definitely keep up the weekly link party, and I'll try to have at least one other post each week.

Now on to the features....

The most viewed link:
Lofthouse Sugar Cookies by Stella B's Kitchen
Don't they look so yummy? I've pinned it so I can make them sometime.



 Some of my other favorites were:
Ice Cream Cake by Chocolate, Chocolate and more
This looks to die for! and easy too!

I love the colors of this Crochet Chevron Afghan by Little Becky Homecky

Check out this Target Dress Makeover by Ode to Inspiration.
I love that big bow!




This is what I've been blogging about the last week:

and 

Now let's see all the terrific things you've been up to.

Here are my guidelines:
1. Link up any projects, crafts, or recipes you have blogged about recently. You can definitely link up several projects. No shops or link parties please.


2. Comment, comment, comment.  My vision for this link party is not to link and go. Please comment on two other links.

3. I'd love for you to follow my blog. Also if you're so inclined, you can follow me on facebook and pinterest as well.

4. Display my button somewhere on your blog - in the post, the sidebar, or on a party page.












Friday, May 25, 2012

Orange Surprise!

During the summer, I often make a smoothie {or shake, as we like to call them} to have with dinner.

One of our favorites is Orange Julius.  My oldest daughter was helping me make it. We had some strawberries so we threw some in and it was so tasty and refreshing.  In fact, after one sip, my daughter said "You need to put this on your blog." So we quickly dumped it into a clear glass for a picture.





Have you made smoothies before? What are your favorite fruit combinations?


Orange Surprise Smoothie

Orange Surprise Smoothie

Yield: 6
Author:
prep time: 5 Mcook time: total time: 5 M
A strawberry twist on the classic Orange Julius

ingredients:

  • 6 oz. orange juice concentrate 
  • 5-6 strawberries
  • 1 c. water
  • 1 c. milk
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • ice

instructions:

How to cook Orange Surprise Smoothie

  1. Put all ingredients in a blender and blend.
  2. I don't measure the ice, but keep adding it until it becomes the consistency I like.
Calories
141.72
Fat (grams)
0.92
Sat. Fat (grams)
0.51
Carbs (grams)
31.73
Fiber (grams)
0.66
Net carbs
31.07
Sugar (grams)
27.39
Protein (grams)
2.32
Sodium (milligrams)
25.57
Cholesterol (grams)
3.27
Nutritional information is automatically generated and is not guaranteed to be correct.
orange julius with strawberry, orange drink with strawberry
Dessert
American
Created using The Recipes Generator

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Decorating with an old shirt

Do you all remember my Pretty in Pink...Dresser Makeover post?


Did any of you notice my black and pink frames? That was one of my great ideas that didn't turn out the way I wanted it too. 

It all started when I repainted this mirror white and my sister gave me the idea to lightly brush over the raised portions with pink. It turned out so cute!   

So then I got the idea to paint over part of the black frames with pink too. Well it didn't end up looking that great. The sad thing is that they've been hanging on the wall for a year, because I couldn't think of what else to do. You might notice that one of the frames didn't even have a picture in it. The other frame has a picture of my two little ones hugging. It was such a cute moment that I snapped a picture. However the quality of the picture didn't turn out that great. 

Do any of you leave things up even though you don't like them? Just because you can't think of something else to do? Hope I'm not the only one. 

Well, when I was recently sorting through my littlest ones clothes, I came across this shirt
This is the front...


and this is the back.


 All three of my girls wore this shirt. I just love it. I couldn't bear to throw it out, and the sleeves were getting a little stained. So I decided to frame them.

First I spray painted the frames white.


Then using the cardboard inside the frame as a guide I cut out the shirt. I cut it an inch or so bigger on all sides. Then I wrapped the shirt around the cardboard and taped the back and stuck it in the frame.


That's much cuter! Don't you think?



 Here's a few pictures of the rest of her wall decor.


 I need to get something on this shelf - my 4 year olds things used to be there, but now her room is in the basement.



One of the best parts about this project is that I used things that I already had, so I didn't spend a penny. It was also a super quick project.

So do you like it?


Monday, May 21, 2012

Terrific Tuesdays #16


As always we had some terrific links this week! Thank you so much for coming back each week!

The most viewed link:
What I know about being a doctor's spouse by Renewed Upon a Dream

 Some of my other favorites were:
Sarah from Life on Walnut Street built this little table for these antique drawers. She did a great job! I LOVE it!

This strawberry peach sorbet looks so refreshing for all the hot days we've been having here lately.  Go find the recipe at Dessert Now, Dinner Later!


These granola bars look so yummy! I really want to try them. They are packed with healthy ingredients.  Go check it out at Don't Waste the Crumbs!

Here's what I've been blogging about the last week:
and 
Now let's see all the terrific things you've been up to.

Here are my guidelines:
1. Link up any projects, crafts, or recipes you have blogged about recently. You can definitely link up several projects. No shops or link parties please.


2. Comment, comment, comment.  My vision for this link party is not to link and go. Please comment on two other links.

3. I'd love for you to follow my blog. Also if you're so inclined, you can follow me on facebook and pinterest as well.

4. Display my button somewhere on your blog - in the post, the sidebar, or on a party page.










Thursday, May 17, 2012

Gardening! and Weed Pulling Tips

Overrun with weeds in the garden or flowerbeds? Keep reading for some practical weed pulling tips to keeping your garden spaces free of weeds.

I have spent the last week doing yard work. 
Spring Flowers
 I got flowers for mother's day. The kind that last all summer long. I filled this pot and my walkway with flowers. 

For the most part, I've been pulling weeds. I filled an entire truck bed with weeds.  Here's the main spot that I've been working on. 

On the left is what it looked like a few weeks ago. 



To the right is what it looks like now.  {Don't look too close. I pulled some of them last week and they're already starting to grow back}  Keep reading for my weeding tips!

practical weeding tips collage



The bare section in the back is where we're going to plant our pumpkins, watermelon and cucumbers. 

You can actually see the strawberry plants now. Along the fence we planted concord grapes {for juicing} We planted this whole section last year and it's thriving.

These are the first two to ripen.


And there are a whole bunch of blossoms. 



A few weeks from now we'll be busy picking and eating lots of strawberries.

Here's a look at one of our garden boxes. There are tomatoes and cantaloupe.

My husband planted them this year. 
We have two other boxes. One has peas, carrots and lettuce. The other we just planted with beans {seeds} yesterday.


Here are my raspberries:

 It's hard to believe I started with 6 small raspberry plants. Now the whole back corner of the house is covered with them. 

For what it's worth, here are my tips for weeding:

Weed Pulling Tips in the Garden



1. Probably the best thing you can do is to wet down the soil. This is especially important if you've become overrun with weeds like I had. I went out each night and dumped water all over all the weeds. Then the next morning the weeds pulled right out. The spots that I had not gotten very wet were much harder to pull.

2. Be prepared to get down and dirty. By this I mean wear old clothes and get down on your hands and knees. Nothing is harder on your back than bending at the waist and trying to pull weeds. To help protect your knees you can wear knee pads. I don't have any, so when I'm working in a rocky area or a spot filled with "pokey's", I grab a piece of cardboard to kneel on. Then the pokey's don't get me.

3. Pull weeds regularly. After the first spring weed pulling session, go out regularly{at least once a week} and pull any weeds that have popped up.  If they don't get to big, they are much easier to pull.

I feel a little like the pot calling the kettle black with that last tip. I always have good intentions, but by the end of the summer, I usually have neglected the garden. 

But this year I'm really going to try and keep the weeds pulled.

What are your tips for keeping your weeds down?

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The Basement is DONE!!! and a shelf makeover

How many of you have finished your basement? 
If you have, then you know that when the carpet is installed it is the most exciting thing ever! 


 We went about things a little bit backwards though, we didn't have the countertops done for the bathroom or kitchenette before we got the carpet. So we've actually been using the basement for about a month. But we've only just lately finished the countertops. 

Here's what my amazing dad and husband did.




Lately, I have been spending most of my time doing yard work, but I have managed to do a few things in my new craft room/storage room/guest room.

We had these old shelves....

Add a little paint and now I have craft storage



I'm going to add some kind of saying to the white plaque at the top. I'm not sure what yet.


Now I just need to go through all my things and fill up all the empty jars.




Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Terrific Tuesday #15


We had some terrific links this week! Thank you again for linking up each week!

The most viewed link:
Wood Pallet Projects by Crafty Blog Stalker

 Some of my other favorites were:
Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes by Bear Rabbit Bear Crafts
These look sooo yummy!


Beach Bags by Crafty Scrappy Happy
Go check out the other bag she made too!

Kids T-shirt by Moose Mouse Creations
I love this shirt, and especially the pocket!





Here's what I've been blogging about the last week:
and 
Now let's see all the terrific things you've been up to.

Here are my guidelines:
1. Link up any projects, crafts, or recipes you have blogged about recently. You can definitely link up several projects. No shops or link parties please.


2. Comment, comment, comment.  My vision for this link party is not to link and go. Please comment on two other links.

3. I'd love for you to follow my blog. Also if you're so inclined, you can follow me on facebook and pinterest as well.

4. Display my button somewhere on your blog - in the post, the sidebar, or on a party page.








Friday, May 11, 2012

Fruit Salad

Here's a quick and easy side dish to help round out a summer meal.

 This is super easy and will have everyone coming back for seconds. 

This is super yummy! It even had my oldest eating her fruit and that almost never happens.

Fruit Salad

Fruit Salad

Servings: 6
Author: Rachel Nielsen
Prep time: 10 MinTotal time: 10 Min
A quick and easy fruit salad to round out any summer meal.

Ingredients

  • Fruit, chopped into bite sized pieces
  • marshmallows
  • 1 can mandarin oranges
  • 1/2 box instant vanilla pudding

Instructions

  1. Chop fruit and place in a large bowl. Add marshmallows.
  2. Place 1/2 of a box of vanilla pudding in a small bowl. Add the juice from the can of mandarin oranges. Mix.
  3. Pour over fruit and marshmallows and stir.

Notes:

The fruits we like best are strawberries, apples, bananas and grapes.

Nutrition information is generated automatically and is not guaranteed to be correct.

fruit salad
Side Dishes
American

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Pretty In Pink...Dresser Makeover

I am loving yard sales. I usually go to all the yard sales in our area, my husband happened to drive by this in the neighboring town. 

They had already done a lot of the sanding. 

After a coat of primer and a few coats of paint, here's what it looks like now. 
  My husband suggested adding the pink to the drawers, I wasn't too sure at first, but I love how it turned out. 


I used paint we had left over from other projects, except the spray paint. 


I just spray painted the handles white. Anyone have any experience with that? I'm worried they might chip easily. But I'm willing to try it, since I don't want to spend more on hardware than I paid for the whole dresser. 


I also lined the drawers with a pink fabric. I started out using fabric mod podge, but I ran out so I ended up just using regular school glue. I squirted a line of glue around the edges, spread it around a little with a foam brush and added the fabric.

Side note: This fabric was also purchased at a yard sale by my mother-in-law. I made a skirt for each of my girls and still had tons left. I think she paid $1 for it and there had to be at least 3 yards.

This dresser now belongs in my 2 year olds room. I love her room, it's so girly.

So what do you think? Do you like it?