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October 31, 2012

october highlights

Here's a look back at what's been happening over here for October:

Did lots of Halloween Decor, Crafts & Costumes (if you're interested in seeing more, click the topics below)
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Looking forward to moving on to November and starting the holiday season.
 
But also excited to finish out October strong with a fun day of Halloween festivities today - including costumes, halloween parties, running around the neighborhood, parades, and lots of SUGAR!!
 
Wishing you all a very safe
 
and
 Happy Halloween

October 30, 2012

i'm dreaming of a...white kitchen

and it's finally coming true


We finally did it!!  I have been talking about a white kitchen for years.  I wanted to paint the cabinets white in our previous home and talked myself out of it.  But this weekend we finally pulled the trigger and I am so excited about the way they turned out! 

 

Above is a picture of our kitchen with the dark cabinets.  I like the style of the cabinet, but they are just way too dark for my taste.



We started out thinking we would tackle this project ourselves.  We did so many projects at our previous home and my husband is very handy with diy, but we were struggling with finding enough time to get it done.  Finally, we decided to let the pros spray the cabinets.  We used Kwal acrylic paint and the color was pure snow.

It was still a ton of work taking stuff out, taking the doors and drawers off, etc.  So having someone else do the actual painting was a huge help. 

So in the above pictures you can see how they looked the next morning after they were painted.  I couldn't believe how much paper, plastic and tape was used to complete this.  It took twice as much time for them to tape everything off, as it did to actually paint.


And here is the current state of our kitchen as of yesterday (Monday) afternoon.  I finally got everything back in the cabinets and snapped this picture.  I am so smitten with the look of the white cabinets ~ it's bright, clean and crisp.  I've lost count of how many times I've stopped and propped myself in the doorway just admiring the new look.  My only disappointment is that we didn't do it sooner!!

So here's what we still need to do to make this kitchen makeover complete:

  1. backsplash - looking to changed the diamond patterned squares to a white subway title
  2. hardware - we ordered some pulls & knobs and I can't wait to get those installed
  3. lighting -  we want to change the 3 pendant lights to 2 larger pendant fixtures
  4. runner -  i'm looking for a natural fiber runner for behind the sink area

Ideally, I would love a white countertop, but it's not in the budget, so the granite will stay for now.  But I think if we can change/add these 4 items above it will make a huge difference.

Hope you'll stay tuned to see how it all turns out.

October 29, 2012

school days


 
 
 Both Preston and Lyla had school pictures recently.  I quickly snapped a picture of each of them before we rushed off.
 
 
 
 
And here is what we woke up to on Sunday morning.  A cold house and lots of plastic and paper decor ;)  More on this project hopefully tomorrow. 
 
 
Have a great Monday!
 
 

October 25, 2012

the costumes of halloween past



Halloween 2006
 
{my baby dragon} 
 
 
 
Halloween 2007
{tearful little Indian}



Halloween 2008
{Thomas}
 
{tiny ballerina} 
 
 
 
Halloween 2009 
{the brave knight}
 
{little ladybug} 
 
 

Halloween 2010 
{arrh matey}
 
{sweet butterfly fairy}
 
 

Halloween 2011 
{captain rex}
 
{strawberry shortcake}


I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the kids' past Halloween costumes.  So fun to look back at their old pictures and see how much they've grown and changed - as well as my photos ~ had to go back and scan a couple of the old ones ;)

When Preston was 2 yrs (the little Indian) the front door was as far as we made it.  He didn't want to have anything to do his costume or anything related to Halloween.  So, we stayed home that year and passed out candy instead.  I think back and remember being a little bummed.  We were so excited because that was his first year to actually be able to go door-to-door, but looking back, I realize that it wasn't worth the battle ~ we've had so many years filled with Halloween activities and still have many more to come.

Next week I'll share some pictures of our Halloween costumes for 2012.


Have a Happy Day

October 23, 2012

chicken pasta


 
 
Chicken Pasta
 
 
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breast
italian salad dressing
16oz bowtie pasta
1/2 c. olive oil
2 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. minced garlic
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (drain)
1 box frozen spinach (thaw, drain)
1 c. shredded parmesan
1 tsp. fine sea salt
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (omit for less spice)
1 tsp. oregano
pepper to taste
 
 
 
Marinate chicken breast in dressing for at least 30 min.
Bake for 35 min at 375.
Dice cooked chicken & place back into baking dish to soak in juices.
Cook pasta according to directions.  Drain.
Heat oil, butter, & garlic in large sauce pan on medium-low for about 3 minutes.
Stir in pasta, drained chicken, tomatoes (drained), spinach (don't forget to drain), parmensan, salt, crushed red pepper, oregano & pepper.
Stir well.  Heat on low for 3 to 5 minutes.
 
 
It's pretty scrumptious!  Hope you enjoy!
 



October 22, 2012

thinking about thanksgiving




Last week, while Preston was in school, Lyla and I enjoyed the beautiful weather and went for a walk around our neighborhood.  As we strolled, Lyla was picking up all her outdoor treasures, including the pine cones above, and I started thinking about our Thanksgiving table.  We always head out of town for Thanksgiving to spend time with both our families, but I still like to have a little formal Thanksgiving dinner at our house with my little family of four before we go.  

I played with things a bit this weekend and I'm thinking it will involved a few of these items in the two pictures above.  I like where it's heading and excited to share with you next week.  I know we still need to get through Halloween, but the days fly by so fast and since I had some time I thought I would work on it a little.

How about you and your family...do you travel for Thanksgiving?  Or do you host?

October 18, 2012

out of candy



I really love getting trick or treaters and seeing all the kids in their favorite costumes.  But with two little ones and Halloween usually falling on a school night, we turn in pretty early.  We head out trick or treating around 6:30 and then return home to pass out candy for a little while. 

I made this little sign to hang out front when we are ready to head in, to let our later crowd know we are closed for business :)





Have A Great Day!
 

October 17, 2012

blog design

Over the past week or so, I have been trying to clean up my blog design a bit.  After spending time stalking visiting other blogs I admire, I have changed things up a little.  I tried to clean up the right side of my blog and make it easier to navigate.  I added topic categories, titles, social media icons and finally created an "about me" page.  Here is my "about me" page:
 



About Me

…i am
a texas girl.
a wife.
a mommy.
a daughter.
a registered nurse.
a dreamer.
 
…i love
to decorate.
to organize.
to entertain.
to travel.
to style.
to create.
to photograph.
to exercise.
to imagine.

…i adore
sharing time with friends and family,
the ocean, 
making memories, 
college football.
 
  
Thank YOU for stopping by and WELCOME to THIS IS HAPPINESS 

 
 
I would love to hear from you.  Email me @ beckykubecka@yahoo.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
I hope this makes things easier.
Do you manage your own blog design or do you work with a desginer?

 

October 16, 2012

catalina bedroom

 
 
 
 
 love it
live it 
 

 
 
I just adore Serena and Lily's style.  I get so excited to receive their new magazine in the mail.  I love their quote "buy what you love and the rest will follow."  I tend to do this when I'm decorating a room.  If there is something that I just absolutely love, I'm usually willing to spend a little extra for it, because it's my starting point for my room design and then everything else seems to fall in place.
 
I love this Catalina bedroom for it's fresh, breezy appeal.  Here it's getting warmed up for the Fall season, with some cozy layers and lots of textures.
 
Are you ready to climb in and cozy up? 
Enjoy your day!
 

They are having their friends and family event sale now, until Oct 23, so you can save 20 %
  

October 15, 2012

a little more halloween decor






Good morning everyone!  Hope your weekend was enjoyable.  I spent some time pulling out a few more Halloween decorations this weekend and this little pumpkin light strand is now lighting up my front entry table.  And we have finally decided on and purchased the kids costumes.  So I think we are now ready for Halloween, minus the candy -- which I'll get the day of, otherwise I have no control and will eat it ALL. 

How about you...are you ready?


{sharing here:  create.craft.love.}

October 11, 2012

cream cheese crockpot burritos




Cream Cheese Crockpot Burritos

3 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 block of cream cheese
1 can of black beans (drained & rinsed)
1 can of fiesta corn (drained)
1 can of rotel with lime & cilantro
1/2 pack of taco seasoning

Place frozen chicken in crock pot
Sprinkle taco seasoning
Place cream cheese on top of the chicken
Add black beans (make sure they are drained & rinsed), corn (drained) and rotel
Cover and cook on low for 6 - 8 hours, stirring every 2 hours
Shred chicken when done
It will be soupy, but once you shred the chicken it will thicken

I served it on tortillas - adding lettuce, shredded cheese, picante sauce & sour cream.  You could also make a rice bowl or serve it over tortilla chips.  Lots of options ~ so whatever blows your hair back ;)

Hope you enjoy!

 
For more recipes you can check out my "FOOD" tab.
Have a great day!
 
{sharing at:  Sunflower State of Mind } 

October 9, 2012

halloween candy wrappers

 
Here's what we did yesterday on our Columbus Day Holiday...


we made these cute little Halloween candy wrappers.

 
 
We made these last year for the kids' teachers, and I loved how cute and easy they were, so I decided to make them again this year.  Since the kids didn't have school yesterday, we knocked these out early this year.
 
 
 
 
Enjoy your day. 
 
 
{sharing here:  funky junk interiors,   snap} 

October 8, 2012

bright, cheerful, organized playroom



Today I thought I would share how we organize toys at our house.  Fortunately, we have a nice size playroom upstairs where we store all the toys.  I like to keep most of the toys out of the kids rooms and stored in here.  We have a couple of different storage areas in this playroom, but I thought I would start with showing this wall storage system first.  Because I have boy and girl toys, I decide to go with bright primary colors.



The main wall system is from JCPenny's (no longer available.)  We've had it for about 4 years now and moved it to our new house and it has really held up well. 




I found these framed pictures at Homegoods.  Love the animals and the positive messages on them.



And in these two pictures above, you can see all the toys that the baskets, buckets and drawers are holding.  The blue containers and green buckets are from the land of nod and the red baskets are from Garden Ridge.  The drawers are really nice to store all the kids' movies and games.


I needed something in the space above the tv and so I added these spice rack shelves and colorful frames from Target.  The rug and pillow are from Ikea.

 
It's really nice to have a space that helps us keep some of the toys contained and keep them from taking over.  And I really love that it's bright and cheerful as well. 
 

October 4, 2012

just a touch of halloween






 

 

Because I used a lot of orange and brown with my Fall decor, I decided to go with purple and white for my Halloween mantel. And I'm enjoying the change of color. It will break things up a bit, since Thanksgiving is right around the corner and the traditional Fall colors will return. I kept my white pumpkin from my Fall mantel and added the long-legged Frankenstein and ghost banner. It's simple and kid friendly.

The countdown chalkboard has been fun -- Preston and Lyla can't stop talking about their costumes and asking how many days until they get to go trick or treating -- so now they know. I wrote a nice, pretty number for the picture in this post, but I've let them change and rewrite the new number each day, which they think is so fun!

Do you decorate for Halloween or do you just keep with the Fall theme?

{sharing at these amazing sites  funky junk interiors,  fine craft guild,  made in a day,   i heart nap time}