Angels Among Us

I have a thing for angels... well, cherubs if I'm being accurate. I'm sure I inherited the trait from my mother as she loves all things angels as well, and there were always angels placed about our home growing up. And like many women, despite my best efforts, I am becoming my mother. (Love you Mom!)

It all started with this sweet guy. I bought him on a mass accessory shopping trip when we first bought our home. He was just too cute to pass up and he found his home on top of our entertainment center.



This one was soon to follow. He lives on the plant shelf in our kitchen and I love how it seem like he is just laying back, enjoying the chaos below.



When I was decorating my daughters nursery I stole this sweet guy from my Mom's house. I like to think he's a nod to the guardian angels that I'm sure watch over her.




And my latest addition was this adorable one that you saw on top of my new china hutch. I actually saw it several weeks before and couldn't get it out of my head. So when it came time to decorate the top of my hutch, I knew just what I wanted. I love how it looks all snuggled in.



I like using angels through my home for the whimsical yet formal feel they add, but most of all I like the gentle reminder that God and his angels are among us. They share in our troubles and joy, our sorrows and our triumphs.

What are your thoughts on angels in home decor? Love it or loath it? I 'd love to hear your thoughts but will continue to love mine. ;)

P.S. Seeing all these in one post seems like a lot. But I assure you, spread through out my home is not that crazy. Like any decorating theme, to many would be, well, to many!

Christmas in July

I have been on the hunt for the perfect china hutch for SO long. It has been #1 on my wish list for couple years now but I had a hard time finding what I wanted, at a price I could afford. (Dang money!) I thought about going the refurbish route but couldn't convince my hubby to add another project to "the list." Everything store bought was either too expensive, too big, or just not right for our house. Finally I found this little baby online. It was affordable, the perfect size, and had the right lines to go with the rest of the furniture in our home. Since it also happened to be my birthday, I was able to get my Mom to contribute as a birthday gift and it became mine!



It was a ready to assemble piece and came to my door damaged. I was so bummed and worried, but the company I ordered from (Stacks and Stacks) was great about getting me a replacement. The replacement came and my hubby put it together for me while I was out of town. What a surprise to come home to! I was thrilled how well the top matched our table without the hutch being to matchy-matchy. (Although now the golden oak cabinetry, which has been bugging me forever, bugs me even more... so much for not adding to "the list"!)



And I just LOVE how all my pretty dishes look on display!









It's still a work in progress, I have to figure out what to do with the buffet top, which is in reach of my children so requires something durable. I also want to make a door to cover the open shelves on the bottom, which because of being in reach of my kids, is just not practical. (I'm seeing some etched glass in my future.) But so far I am thrilled!



What do you think? Do you enjoy having your dishes on display?

Fire Roasted Cilantro Lime Salsa

How can anything with a name like that NOT be good?!?! This is my version of fresh homemade salsa. It has been altered many time over the years but I can finally say that it is mastered... at least for now. ;)

Ingredients



10 Roma tomatoes
1 sm. yellow onion
1-2 jalapenos (depending on how large they are and how spicy you like it)
1 med. green pepper
2-3 tbs chopped cilantro (or 1/2 bundle)
juice of 2 limes
2 cloves garlic
Salt to taste



In a large skillet with a drizzle of olive oil, char up the onion, tomatoes, and peppers. They don't have to be cooked but you want a good amount of color on the skins. Then transfer everything into a food processor or blender and let it do all the work. Chill before serving.



This is the first time I've ever actually written the recipe down. A few things to note: You can help control the heat by removing the seeds and ribs from the jalapeno. Jalapenos can vary in heat throughout the year, so start small and add till its right for you. This particular batch had one, whole, large jalapeno and I would say it came out on the hot side of medium. I almost always use two limes, but if your lime is particularly large and juicy, you might get away with one. Add one first, taste it, and add the second if needed. Salt to taste but be prepared to add a lot of salt. Even though it tastes great right away, its even better after a day or two.

Enjoy!

Father's Day Coupon Book

Now I realize that Father's Day was yesterday, so this doesn't do anyone any good, but there is always next year right? Unfortunately I am a terrible procrastinator so I didn't actually make this till the afternoon of the big event, but our Daddy had to work all day (poor guy) so he didn't know any difference.

Father's Day Coupon Book




I made this little print out using my scrap booking software. (Thanks to Summertime Designs for the awesome FREE graphics!)



Then I printed it on yellow card stock, cut them out, wrote out what the coupons were for, and stapled the whole thing together.



Easy peasy, and with coupons for "dinner of your choice" "free back massage" "help washing the car" and "hugs and kisses" he was pleased as punch!

Hope everyone had a great Father's Day!

Dry Erase/ Magnetic Memo Center

I've seen alot of memo boards lately and have been wanting to make one. I really liked the idea of having a glass front so you could use a dry erase marker on it, but I also really liked the idea of a metal memo board that you could stick notes on with magnets. So I combined the idea and made mine do both.



I found a frame with glass that I liked, used scrapbook paper for the backing, drew the grid for the calender right on the paper, and lined the back with a sheet of metal. I glued magnets on some marbles I had at home. I used a fairly large magnet so that it would be strong enough to go through the glass.

Now I have the perfect spot to leave messages, place reminders, and try to keep my life somewhat organized.

The best part is that since the back is made with paper, it'll only cost a couple dollars to change it out as my mood shifts, which it seems to do surprisingly often. I'm liking it for now but think I'll make the calender larger next time around.

What do ya think?

Linking up at:
Under The Table and Dreaming
Women Who Do It All
Someday Crafts
Creations by Kara

Scrumptious Sunday- Easy Chocolate Frosting

As I mentioned, this past week was my son's birthday. I really like to make birthday cakes. Even though they are far from perfect, I think they are extra special, super fun, and taste Divine. My son is big into motor sports so this year he requested a dirt-bike cake. This is what I can up with.



Pretty cute don't ya think?

I used two devil's food cake mixes and made one sheet cake and an extra one in a 8 x 8 pan. I used the small cake to make the two hills. I frosted everything in my Mom's yummy chocolate frosting. The grass is shredded coconut died with green food coloring and I made the track more dirt like by sprinkling it with crushed cookies. My son loved the cake but especially loved the new dirt bike toy he got from the top!

Mom's Super Yummy (and easy) Chocolate Frosting

1 stick butter
1/3 cup milk
3 heaping tbs Cocoa Powder
1 tsp vanilla
Powder Sugar

In a sauce pan melt the butter, milk, and cocoa till bubbly. Remove from heat. Beat in powder sugar till desired consistency is reached. (about 1/2 bag) When almost done, beat in vanilla.

EDIT: Mom caught a typo! I had listed 1/2 cup milk but the recipe actually calls for 1/3 cup. So sorry!

Bead-utiful Stemware

Sometimes when I make something that I'm really proud of I just love myself. But actually I love Kate over at Centsational Girl. Seriously, this girl is amazing! Her blog was the first "design" blog I started following and was the inspiration for starting this little blog. I hope to one day be half as cool as her!

Anyway, the other day Kate made the most amazing jeweled stemware. She found the inspiration at a local winery. They were $75 a glass and she recreated them for about $40 for a set of four. Amazing! So I decided to try my hand and make a few myself. Wanna see them?



Didn't they turn out great! I just love them! I got the glasses at TJ Maxx for 5.99 for the set and spent about $15 on beads (with a ton left over) and $5 for the silicone. So I made my set of four for only $26. I'm going to make four more since I have plenty of beads and silicone left and I might even try my hand on some hurricane glass.

You can see Kate's full tutorial HERE.

EDIT: The question has been asked, "How do you wash them?" Because they are glued on with silicone (same stuff used for aquariums) they are completely waterproof. Still, I would recommend hand washing and be gentle around the beads. Since I only use fancy glasses like this on special occasions anyway, hand washing is just fine with me.

Linking up at:
Under The Table and Dreaming
A Soft Place to Land
Creations by Kara
Someday Crafts
Women Who Do It All

Birthday T-Shirt

Every year I make my kids a special t-shirt for their birthday. Since my son's birthday was yesterday (Happy Birthday Ezra!) I thought I'd show you what I came up with this year.

Remember the shirts I made for my kids HERE? Well I used that same technique. I cut out a stencil with freezer paper and used bleach to change the color. Unfortunately the words were kinda small and the shirt took FOREVER to change. So by the time I got the stencil off, the bleach had spread and the words were hard to read. So I decided to outline it with embroidery floss. I also accented it with a few extra squirts of bleach. Overall I think the combined look is pretty cute!



And the best part, the little man loved it!

I won, I won!

I cannot tell you how many blog giveaways I have entered but never win. But still I enter, thinking "you really won't win if you don't enter." So when Tatertots and Jello announced the winner of a giveaway and I saw MY name, I almost fell over! (Good thing I was already sitting.) Wanna see what I won?



Isn't it SO cute! I want to give a big THANK YOU to Aimee with Palm Trees and Chocolate. I LOVE it!

If anyone wants some wrist candy like mine, be sure to check out her website. She has some seriously cute things!

Scrumptious Sunday- Cowboy Caviar

For today's scrumptious Sunday I'm going to share one of my absolute favorite recipes. If we are ever going to a BBQ or potluck, this is what I bring. It is SO good!

Cowboy Caviar

5T red wine vinegar
up to 4T hot sauce (depends on how spicy you like things.)
1T olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 (large) avocados, chopped
1 (15oz) can black eyed peas
1 (11oz) can corn
2/3 cup green onion, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 lb Roma tomatoes, chopped

Mix all ingredients together and salt to taste. Serve with tortilla chips and try not to eat the entire bowl!