Last Call {Round Top}

There's only 3 days left of the Round Top Antique Tradeshow! Lindsay & I made it out there last weekend & found some great deals!! If you're a gal who loves finding hidden treasures, and live in Texas, this is the place to do it!

Here are a few things that we picked up on Saturday...

I bought a few of these boxes for a project that I have in mind...

And I bought these beauties for the new (shared) girl's room

that I'm working on.

Lindsay got a GREAT deal on this dresser.

She's quite the negotiator!!

I should mention that we found almost all of these treasures in Warrenton, not Round Top. Warrenton is just a mile past Round Top & (in my opinion) has better deals and more to choose from. Check out AntiqueWeekend.com for dates, maps, etc. Happy hunting!!

Autumn Chandeliers

I was inspired by these chandeliers this week...

So here's my easy & lazy version. I literally wound my Fall swag up in there. No fuss. Now that's my kind of decorating!

{Recipe} Creamy One-Pot Pasta

This recipe comes from Pampered Chef and is a really fresh and fairly light pasta dish.

Gather your ingredients:

4 large garlic cloves, peeled

1 jar (7 oz) sun-dried tomatoes in oil, undrained

3 cans chicken broth (5 1/4 cups)

1 lb. uncooked penne pasta

1 head broccoli (2 cups small florets)

2 medium carrots, peeled

4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese (Neufchatel)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Grated fresh Parmesan cheese and snipped fresh basil (optional)

Thinly slice garlic (or I use my garlic press). Place garlic and 1 tbsp oil from sun-dried tomatoes into stockpot. Cook garlic over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until garlic is golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; add broth. Return to burner; increase heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Stir in pasta; cover and simmer vigourously 8-10 minutes or until pasta is almost cooked but still firm.

Meanwhile, cut broccoli into small florets; place into mixing bowl. Cut carrots in half lengthwise; thinly slice crosswise on bias. Drain sun-dried tomatoes; pat dry with a paper towel. Slice tomatoes into thin strips. Add carrots & tomatoes to bowl.

Cut cream cheese into cubes. Add vegetables, cream cheese, salt & black pepper to stockpot. Stir until cream cheese is melted and fully incorporated. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook 2-4 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Serve immediately and if desired top with Parmesan and basil.

**This last time I made this dish I added chicken to it just for a little extra somethin' somethin'.

I just bought the bag of pre-cut chicken strips that you either cook on the skillet or microwave and stirred into the mixture once they were cooked.

Hope you enjoy!

Decorating with Pumpkins

I try to limit myself to 1 seasonal decorating purchase per year. This year, I found these paper pumpkins at Hobby Lobby, half off. Love em! But as I continue to pull out Fall decor from year's past, I've noticed a trend...

I still love them ALL, but I'll have to remind myself next year to look for something other than pumpkins!

Is there anything you just can't get enough of??

I'm linking up to

Home is Where My Story Begins

Decor Mamma

The Hills are Livin

Make your own Nap Mat

School is back in session! And if you haven't run out & spent $60 on a nap mat for your toddler, read this first! Lindsay recently inspired me to save the cash & make my own nap mat for my oldest daughter, Addi. I figured that if she could crank out 3 mats in 3 days, surely I could muster the talent for 1.

Here are Lindsay's. Super cute, right?!!

So here we go...all per Lindsay's instructions...
First, buy your materials. Lindsay, being the genius that she is, figured out that if you buy your materials in these measurements, you won't have to make any cuts. That's GREAT news for me!

I bought:

3/4 yard of material for the front
3/4 yard of a different material for the back
1/3 yard of material for the pillow (my pillow is the same material as the back)
3/4 yard of filling (the cotton batting on the roll)
1 small bag of batting for the pillow
1 yard of strap for the handle and ties
velcro
total cost: $24
Before sewing, I had the back (or outside) material monogrammed so that once the mat was rolled up, the name would be visible. It took some extra time & measurements to figure out exactly where the name should be. My monogram is about 15 inches from the seam.
Start with the pillow. Fold your material in half (inside out). That will create your first seam. Easy enough, right? Then sew the top seam & half of the other side seam (leaving room to later stuff the pillow). Flip your material right-side out. The 4th (bottom) seam will be sewn together in the next step.
Next, line up ALL of your 3/4 yd materials + your newly sewn (& flipped) pillow in this order, from bottom to top:
filling material
back material
pillow (with the 4th seam towards the edge)
front material
*remember to face the print side of your materials towards each other.
*if you had your back material monogrammed, the name should be at the other end.
Sew your seam, leaving enough room unsown that you can later flip it right-side out. Sew both sides seams as well.
Before sewing the bottom seam, make 2 tabs (using velcro & strap). Place them velcro-side up on the back material. Sew your bottom (and final) seam.
Flip everything right-side out. Your tabs and pillow should now be on the outside. Stuff your pillow & then whipstitch both of your openings.

Make 2 more velcro tabs, roll up your mat (to see where to place 'em) & sew them to the outside of your mat.
And your LAST step...create a handle with your remaining strap. It should be right above your monogram. From the front side, my stitches look like this. Far from perfect but it works.
Here are pictures of my mat when rolled out.
The front...
and back...
And here it is rolled up...

A HUGE thanks to Lindsay for sharing her nap mat wisdom with me!! I can now spend that extra cash on something else.. maybe something for me!

I'm linked up to..

Sew Much Ado

It's so Very Cheri

Night Owl Crafting

Using white plates

I recently asked for your help with my living room and boy, did you come through!! Thank you SO much for your feedback! A few of you suggested using white plates on my big empty wall. Great idea!~ I don't know why I never thought of that, especially sense I already have a TON of white plates stacked up in my cabinets. I laid them all out on the floor to get an idea of spacing.

And then up they went! It took 20 minutes and cost $4.99 for plates. The little square plate on the left was my ONLY purchase. I had a few plate hangers on hand and spent about $15 on a few more. No more big empty wall!

You'll notice too, that my curtains are now turned upside down.

Another great idea from fabulous you!

thank you, thank you!

I'm linked up here

Between Naps on the Porch

Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Guest Blogger {Organization}

I'm really glad to have Jill from Wise Changes guest blogging for us today. She owns a professional organizing business and she has some great tips for us now that Fall is (almost) upon us! Join us next Thursday for more great tips from Jill.

Now that school is back in session, this means back packs, school books, extra shoes, clothes and other items left on the dining room table, kitchen table, stairs and living areas. Let your family help you stay organized and de-cluttered this Fall. Have an area in your home, either at the bottom of the stairs, family room corner, mud room or whatever works for you and put a basket or bucket for each member to put their stuff in at the end of each day as they walk in the door. Then at the end of the week, they can each take their basket or bucket to their room and put their items away for the weekend! This will help you keep your sanity during the week and everyone can enjoy the weekend!

Better Homes & Gardens


Better Homes & Gardens


Ballard Designs

If you haven’t already, now is a good time to get your day planner in order. Activities for the Fall have begun and you are going to need to keep track of them all! So update your planner and get a new one for 2011 to have available when Winter/Spring Event come up. Do an inventory of your home office supplies; replenish items that are needed, as many of these items are on sale for back to school.


Check back next week for more tips from Jill!!