Quick Change {Baskets}

After reorganizing my mudroom this week, I've been looking for other ways to use baskets around the house. I thought I could spruce up these toy baskets in the living room.

I dumped out everything, which my girls LOVED!

I then had plenty of time to glamorize my baskets.

I spray painted these address numbers with some red paint that I had used for another project.

I tied the numbers on with string thinking that was all it would take, but then when back with a few drops of hot glue to fully secure them to the baskets. Knowing my girls, string alone would not have cut it.

And here they are!

Freshly organized, newly embellished toy baskets.

{Recipe} Company Chicken

We're back with another tasty recipe. This time it's Company Chicken from a church cookbook! Yum-o! Those ladies at FBCTW know how to cook! :)

Ingredients:
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I only used 4 and it worked out okay too)
6 slices of Provolone cheese
10 3/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1/2 soup can of water
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 cups herb-seasoned stuffing mix or crushed croutons

In 9x13 inch greased baking dish, arrange chicken and top each piece with cheese. Mix soup and water and pour over chicken. For topping, mix melted butter and stuffing mix and sprinkle over chicken. Bake uncovered at 350* for 45 min. or until done.


This one is a man-pleaser (at least my man!). I fed it to my family plus my 22 year old brother and they both gave it good reviews. Hope you have the same results. Enjoy!!




I'm linking here:
We are THAT Family
Me and My Bucket
Blue Cricket Design
The Trendy Treehouse

mudroom fix-up

This is what I had in mind when we built our mudroom.

Straight out of Pottery Barn.

Unfortunately, this is what our mudroom looks like.

A complete eyesore. Bags, toys & stuff piled everywhere!

Seriously. I did not "prep" it to look this bad.

So I went to work. I cleared off everything & added these baskets

to help organize the smaller things.

I made individual label tags to help me remember

where I stashed everything.

I decorated the top with knick knacks that I found around the house, including the moss balls I made a few weeks ago.

And voila! Sooo much better! Now if only I can keep it looking this good.

I added an extra bucket on the bench with high hopes of throwing random things in it, rather than letting it collect on the bench. Wish me luck!

Quick Change {Pillows}

I'd like to think that Fall is coming soon. But let's be honest... we live in Texas and Fall doesn't show up until... well, I'm not sure Fall ever shows up here! I've had the same pillow shams and throw pillow for probably 6 years. Why is that you ask? We'll I am a commitment-phobe. I was tired of our bedding after less than a year of marriage. I found my red quilt at TJ Maxx or the equivalent and the coordinating pillows for probably less than the old comforter cost. I made a commitment to my hubby that this would last a while...and it has lasted 4 moves. But even he said that the shams were getting a little "ratty"....gasp...that's music to my decorating ears! I was browsing our local TJ Maxx and found something that wouldn't clash with the red quilt (which I am not ready to part with quite yet) and sort of feels ready for Fall. Sadly, I'll admit that these shams will probably be used well into the Spring and Summer of next year. I am just not that "with-it" when it comes to home fashion... sue me.

THE BEFORE

THE AFTER

What do you think? And does anyone have any fun ways you get ready for the Fall at your house? Please share!

Finally! The day has come...

A year ago we bought a house that had been occupied by 5 college renters! You've seen the transformation we did in the kitchen. The exterior had seen its day. They grass was a breeding ground for mosquitos, there were no flower beds to speak of, the entire house was painted the same ugly color as the brick. I told my husband when we bought the place that the one thing I HAD to do was fix up the outside. My feeling about a house is nobody cares what the inside looks like if the outside is still ugly. Right?

So here is our beginning point... After a few years of 5 dudes "taking care of it"

The During... primed and ready to go!

Finished and waiting for the final touches...

We finished up the porch with new light, door hardware & house numbers.

Eventually I'd like to have two rockers on the porch but for now this wicker chair serves the same purpose. The little table is a TV tray which I got for FREE from a sweet friend and I've spray painted it black. I have a citranella candle on it to help keep our pesky Texas mosquitos away!

The final result! I'm pretty excited about how it turned out! I feel like our house is no longer the ugliest on the block! Maybe just maybe it's the best looking one?!

The window to the left of the door isn't normally that bright... obviously I could improve on my photography skills! :) And I think I see another project in my future with our leaning tower of a mailbox.

UPDATE: Thanks to Renae for asking you can now know our paint colors... Brick: Benjamin Moore "Crownsville Gray", Shutters: Sherwin Williams "Tricorn Black", Door: Sherwin Williams "Stolen Kiss" as for the trim... I can't remember...but it was some sort of creamy white.

Thrifty Decor Chick
Nesting Place

we all scream for ice cream!

Sydney's ice cream birthday party was this weekend!!

We held it in our backyard and prayed for good weather. There's nothing like cold ice cream to beat the Texas heat!

For simple decorations, I strung ice cream cones in the trees.

An idea I got from TheTomKat studio.

I had fresh, cold watermelon sitting out as the guests arrived. Whether eaten or not, serving a healthy snack cleared my conscience about all of the sugar that was about to be inhaled! I borrowed this shutter from my hallway to add color & interest.

The main attraction was of course, the ice cream table!

Campbell Ryan designed these adorable labels for the cups and toppings.

Inspired by Martha Stewart, I even tried to incorporate the ice cream theme into the cupcakes.

Kids grabbed bubble wands from 1 pail & wet ones from the other.

This pinata, from Hobby Lobby, was a huge hit with the older kids.

For the younger ones, I laid out toys on this rug

(a garage sale find from years past).

As party favors, each family took home their own ice cream shoppe.

A great idea from Polkadots & Pirates.

Just add ice cream!

Everything went over so well, we may be having ice cream parties every summer, whether celebrating birthdays or not~