Lookie What I Made!

One of my guest rooms that I have been re-doing has been needing some extra pop of color and I wasn't sure how to incorporate it. Then I saw this awesome post about a DIY Ballard Design bench.

I had left over particle board from the mirror we made which I used for the bottom of the bench. I bought 4 table legs, dowel screws, a big roll of foam, quilt batting and fabric.

I had Kevin cut the particle board to the desired size and then I traced the foam to the size of the particle board (3 times). I then drilled 4 holes for the legs in the corners so I could attach them after I made the bench top. Next, I put the quilt batting on top of the foam and stapled it to the particle board. Then I put the fabric on top of the bench top and stapled it as well.

I painted the legs and using the dowel screws I attached them to the bench. I think it looks pretty good! I won't be sitting on the bench any time soon but I think it looks really great in the spare room.

As you can see the bottom isn't "perfect" but you can't tell by just looking at it and I think it came out pretty good.

Neat-O Mosquito

I apologize for not posting for a while. I really don't have an excuse, I have all of these ideas for posts I want to do and I have just been lazy lately. I'm prepping a post for tomorrow about my latest crafty creation but today I wanted to share some items that I'm loving right now.

How cool are these wine bottles? I originally saw them over at Cup of Jo and had to share.

Last weekend I stopped by West Elm to get some goodies and came back with the following:

I got two of the red and two of the gray for some every day cereal/soup bowls. I also picked up this planter and got some baby succulents to go in it for our dining room table.

I somehow missed the sale on Japanese tape that Meghan found. I'm bummed!

The Falcon

Kevin's father generously gave us his 1965 Ford Falcon as a wedding gift. It needed some work to it up and running and Kevin and his father only trusted one guy to do it. The problem-he only takes one car at a time and was completely restoring a 70's camaro.

He finally finshed the camaro and we dropped off the Falcon this past weekend. This was the first time in almost 20 years that the Falcon has seen daylight so I wanted to capture a few of the moments.

Being unloaded from the flatbed into Pat's shop.

 Moving the Falcon into the shop (I was unable to help due to my picture taking duties)

All parked in the garage.

I cant wait to go cruising around in that thing!

Girls Day Out

Kevin and I had quite an eventful weekend. Dropped off the 1965 Ford Falcon at a shop to get her up and running and I met up with some of my dearest friends whom I've never actually met in person before. We met online on a forum when we were all planning our weddings for May 2010. One of them is actually from right where I live now but currently lives in Denver and the other lives in Frisco. Well Jen from Denver was coming to Austin for her friends birthday and asked if Jenny and I wanted to meet up. Umm....of course we do!

We had brunch at one of my all time favorite places: South Congress Cafe. yum!

 After brunch we decided to go across the street and check out all of the food trucks. Seems to be a trend in Austin right now.

 In true Austin fashion, they had a hippie singing Sheryl Crow songs.

 We got some delicious cupcakes from Hey Cupcake! I got red velvet and the Jenny's got strawberry and both were amazing.

Hopefully we will be able to get together more often, we had such a good time! Makes me look forward to the Houston Bloggers get together at the end of April!

Easter Mantle

When I was at Lowes buying materials for my mirror I stopped by the paint section and got some paint chips. I had seen this cute Easter mantle and thought it would look great on my mantle. I don't have that many Easter decorations and since I'm hosting my family Easter brunch this year, I wanted something festive.

I found a easter egg template online and cut it out. Traced it onto the back of the paint chips, cut them out and punched two holes in the top of the egg. I wished I had a mini-hole puncher but I wasn't going to go out and buy one just for this. I used some hemp rope to string them together and I love the way it came out!

So cute!!

Pottery Barn Eagan Mirror Knock-Off

The time has come people!!! The mirror is finished and hanging in our living room! I had seen this tutorial from The Lettered Cottage on how to make a replica of the Pottery Barn Eagan Mirror. Knowing that this would require some work I conveniently told Kevin that this is what I wanted for my birthday.

We went to Lowes and bought all of the material (except the mirrors-I got those at Hobby Lobby) and we got to work. Kevin's cordless circular saw couldnt cut through the particle board so we ran to Sears and got him a new one that cuts anything it seems like. We take measurements and cut the wood, start glueing it on and it turns out we are off by less than 1/16th of an inch. The very last row of mirrors wouldnt go in all the way. My heart sank - we worked so hard on this. Kevin went out and bought some new moulding but we called it quits for the day. I have to admit-this mirror was a lot harder than I thought it would be. It seemed so  easy: just measure, glue and spray paint. Not the case. We measured perfectly but were off by just the slightest amount.

The following weekend I was at the Woodlands Art Festival (here) and Kevin surprised me when I got home by finishing the mirror. Isn't he just the best? Here are some pictures he took of the process:

Pretty close, right? There were still some minor gaps between the wood so we used wood filler for those and you can't even tell. I am still undecided if I want to keep the candelabra in front of the mirror. Maybe pillar candles to the left? I think this was a very good project for us. If at first you don't succeed....try, try again. Even with having to rebuy the moulding we spent $70. I waited weeks and the mirrors didnt go on sale so I just bought them at full price (something I NEVER do at Hobby Lobby). Next undertaking....bench for the white room!

Crate & Barrel Giftcard

I recieved a Crate & Barrel giftcard for Christmas and it has been burning a hole in my pocket ever since. I cant decide what I want to get with it. Do I go for one bigger/more expensive item or stock up on fun little things? I am a kitchen tool junkie so I have been eyeing the All Clad measuring cups, collapsable funnel, and some decorating spatualas but I also love their home decor items. In fact, I love C&B so much it was the ONLY place I registered at for my wedding.

So much to choose from....



 Cute Easter dish towels??



Additional storage containers for the pantry?

Beautiful pillow for the master bedroom?

Adding to my cookie cutter selection? I can't make up my mind! I will try to go to C&B this weekend and decide once and for all. What are some of your favorite C&B items?

Bathroom Art

I had quite a busy weekend - sorry it has been so long since i've posted. My camera has been giving me "issues" and I think I finally talked some sense into it. Saturday my mom and I went to the Woodlands Waterway Art Festival. It was so much fun. We saw a ton of really great artists and wanted to buy so much even though I had no place to put most of it.

I have been needing some art or "something" for the spare bathroom for a while. When we came across Mary DiStefano Jarowitz's booth. I loved the warm and happy feeling I got from looking at her artwork. She had some gorgeous canvas paintings but spending $2k for bathroom art would get me in some serious trouble. My mom and I each picked up a print. And the best part - I didnt need to buy a frame. I already had one the perfect size. It is called family tree. I love the little red birds that remind me of robins (my mother's name is Robyn) and it makes the space feel more "homey".

 I tried to get a more wide shot but that was hard considering the space is only 3.5 feet wide. Just imaging your everyday white thrown below the photo.

In case anyone is interested my other favorite artist from the festival was David Bjurstrom. He only did graphite drawings which were beautiful.

Fat Tire Beer Bread

Beer? Delicious! Bread? Delicious? Combining the two....AMAZING!

I really like to bake but sometimes when I want home made bread to go with dinner; I dont have the 3+ hours it takes for most loaves. Fat Tire beer bread is perfect. From start to finish it takes about an hour.

Ingredients:
3c flour (You can use All Purpose but I use bread flour)
Salt
Sugar
1 T Baking Powder
1/2c butter melted
1 beer

After mixing all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, start pouring in the beer. I pour the beer in 3 turns. It helps to get everything mixed together more evenly. 

Once you are done mixing in the beer, you can transfer the dough to a greased loaf pan. The original recipe calls for butter but to be more healthy I just spray mine with Pam and pour a few tablespoons of butter on top. 

Bake at 350 for 1 hour and you have a beautiful loaf of bread. Ok, so it might not be so pretty but it is delicious and easy to make. 

I have made this bread with Fat Tire and Shiner Bock. You can probably use most beers to suit your taste. Enjoy!

Yummy Yummy in my Tummy

I hope everyone's Friday is off to a fabulous start! I am really looking forward to this weekend. Kevin and I are tackling a big DIY project for my birthday that I cant wait to show off and then I am having a nice get together on Sunday with my family.

Kevin and I rarely eat out. Out of a 30 day month I make lunch and dinner 28 to 29 of those days. So when we do go out, it's a treat (as I think it should be). I thought I would start showing you guys some of the fun and yummy stuff we make. I am always trying out new recipes to keep our meals intersting since we eat at home so much. Last night we had: Honey grilled shrimp, grilled corn on the cob, and sweet potato fries. It was so good and very easy to make.

For the corn, we just took the husks off, seasoned them with some Slap yo Momma and butter and wrapped them in foil.

The shrimp recipe can be found here. Its so easy and really tasty. We have been making it for a while.

The sweet potato fries recipe can be found here. They have some curry and tumeric in the seasoning spread which makes them sooooooo good. I am kind of a curry fanatic. I also highly recommend making the diping sauce, it really adds a nice cool touch to the spicy fries.

I also really liked this meal because Kevin was responsible for 2/3 of it :) He is the grill master in our household. Some tips to go along with this meal:

1. The corn takes a little bit longer than the shrimp so put it on the grill first.
2. The fries also take 40 minutes to bake, so plan appropriately.
3. Enjoy!

Please excuse Maverick's nose (our chocolate lab). He likes to hover for the scraps he knows he won't get.