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January 31, 2013

january around our home

Hey there friends!  I can't believe today is the last day of January 2013!  Crazy!?! 

Here's a quick look back at what's been happening over here this past month.  You can click the link below the picture to see the full post if you're interested :)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
That concludes my month in review.  After putting this together, I was surprised to see how many recipes I shared. 
 
What about you ~ has January been about organizing, cleaning and eating healthier?

Enjoy your day!
 
 

January 30, 2013

warm mushroom spread

 


 
Ingredients

3 tablespoons of butter
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 pinch salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Method

  1. Preheat over to 375 degrees.
  2. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Stir in the mushrooms and onions, and cook until tender.
  3. Sprinkle with the flour.  Reduce heat to low, and continue cooking 5 minutes.
  4. Mix in sour cream and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Transfer to small casserole dish, and top with Parmesan cheese.
  6. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly.
  7. Serve warm on crackers or bread (I served with Pita chips.)
{recipe credited to allrecipes.com}


I first experienced this recipe at a ladies' night that a friend of mine hosted a few months ago.  I finally had the chance to make it myself and it is fabulous!  It's easy and delicious and everyone devoured it!!



{sharing here: clarks condensed}

January 28, 2013

sweetheart cake



 
 
My daughter is definitely my little helper.  She loves to help me cook, clean, craft, etc.  She attends preschool 3 days a week and is home with me on Tuesday and Thursday.  Last week she wanted to bake "a pink cake because it's almost Valentine's Day!"  
 
We used a 6 inch pan and made three layers. I had these tiny, silver, edible hearts that we sprinkled on top to finish it off.  She was super excited about her "sweetheart cake!"
 
 
I had pinned this cake below for inspiration and I'm so happy I was able to finally "make it." 
 
  
 
 

January 23, 2013

diy valentine cards

 
I was feeling crafty yesterday and decided to work on a super easy diy ~ homemade Valentine cards! I loved Jen's gold polka dot Christmas cards, so I went with a similar approach to create these cards. I have a million left over envelopes from Christmas cards, birthday invitations, etc, so instead of going to buy blank cards and envelopes, I used a standard 8.5 X 11 piece of brown cardstock and folded it in half. This size card fit perfect in my larger left over envelopes. I played with the font on pic monkey using Courtney's tutorial until I was happy with the layout, then printed, folded and started glittering.
 
 
I found this gel adhesive by Martha Stewart Crafts with just the right size dot sponge applicator at Michael's. It worked perfect for this project. I dabbed a few dots and then sprinkled with cotton candy iridescent glitter, also by Martha Stewart, and my pretty pink polka dot glittery card was done.
 
 
I love how they turned out. The brown paper, with the soft pink glitter, and black ink is just the beautiful combination I was going for.

How about you - do you make your own cards?
 

January 22, 2013

kitchen lighting

Good Morning!  Hope you had a nice long, relaxing weekend!  I really enjoyed the extra day!

Today I wanted to focus some attention back on our mini kitchen makeover.  Now that we've painted the cabinets and installed the hardware, I'm ready to get the lights changed out.  I've been looking around for two larger lantern lights to replace the three small lights above our kitchen island and I've narrowed it down to three.  Here is a picture of our kitchen with the small lights:


 
And here are my top three choices for lighting:

 
  
So, what do you think?  Lantern number 1, 2, or 3??  I would love to hear your thoughts.
 
And again here's a breakdown of our mini kitchen makeover agenda:

paint cabinets white
install hardware
new lighting (replace 3 small pendants with 2 larger pendant lights)
replace backsplash (really excited about some ideas I have for the backsplash)
 

 
Enjoy your day!
 
 


January 21, 2013

spinach and feta pasta

Happy Monday friends!  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  I'm posting a little later than my normal morning time, because it has been a busy weekend all about my kids!  My husband was out of town for the weekend, so it was just me and my little ones.  We started Saturday with basketball pictures at one gym and then rushed over to another gym for a game with my son's team.  Later that day we celebrated a birthday with our sweet neighbors, and then from there the kids and I headed to Shiner to spend the rest of the weekend with my family.  We drove back last night and today we invited two of their friends over this morning to play and have lunch with us.  It's been lots of fun just spending time with them!
 
Here is a really easy, yummy recipe that I made last week!  It is very similar the chicken and spinach recipe that I shared here, but a lot quicker to put together.  Hope you enjoy as much as we did!
 
  
 
 
Spinach and Feta Pasta
 
Ingredients
 
8 ounces Penne pasta (I use whatever pasta I have on hand)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
3 cups fresh baby spinach
1 onion, finely chopped
5 cloves minced garlic
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper, to taste
 
Method
 
  • Cook pasta according to package directions
  • While cooking pasta, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat
  • Add onion, garlic and mushrooms and cook until tender
  • Add spinach and cook until wilted
  • Add tomatoes until heated through
  • Add drained pasta and feta
  • Add salt and pepper to taste
  • Warm all the way through and serve

{recipe credited to six sisters' stuff}
 
  
 
 

Make your day amazing!
 
{sharing here:  i heart naptime,} 

January 17, 2013

be mine

 
Good morning friends!  We finally had sunshine yesterday after several days of drizzly cold weather, and it was enough to get me excited to put up some of my Valentine decor.  It's really amazing how much the weather affects my mood and energy level.  I definitely thrive on sunshine!! 
 
 
I bought this red heart garland last year at Michael's and I love the simplicity of it!  I do like wreaths, but I love, love, love little dainty garlands and banners :)
 
What about you ~ do you decorate much for Valentine's Day?
 

Have an Incredible Day!

{sharing here:  dog days of winter link party} 

January 16, 2013

mini oreo cheesecakes


Mini Oreo Cheesecakes
 
Ingredients
 
42 cream filled oreos (30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped)
2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
A pinch of salt
 
Method
 
  • Preheat oven to 275
  • Arrange standard muffin tins with paper liners and place one whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup
  • With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the cream cheese until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed
  • Gradually add sugar and beat until combined
  • Beat in the vanilla
  • Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating until combined
  • Beat in sour cream and salt
  • Stir in chopped cookies by hand
  • Divide batter evenly among the cookie-filled cups, filling each almost to the top
  • Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes
  • Cool completely, then refrigerate in tins at least 4 hours (or up to overnight)
  •  
{recipe credited to Martha Stewart's Cupcakes:  175 inspired ideas for everyone's favorite treat}
 
 
I made these over the holidays and they were wonderful.  They are just the right amount of creamy and crunchy!  Enjoy!
 
 

January 15, 2013

chalkboard love

 
With February soon approaching, I decided it was time to change up my chalkboard to display something to celebrate the month of love.  Adding this little four letter word and a sparkly heart garland has been a nice change to my desk space.
I love chalkboards.  This one by my desk is part of the Pottery Barn daily system.  I was browsing yesterday for a chalkboard for my mudroom and came across a couple that I thought were really cute.  Love the calendar, cubbies and hooks on the ones below!

 



 
I think either of these would be perfect for a mudroom!

Have a great day!! 
 


January 14, 2013

first project of 2013

 
 
Good morning!  Today I wanted to share a little project I tackled last weekend.  I had large wall mirror that I got years ago at Kirkland's for my bedroom and then when we moved, it's new home became my closet.  It was really getting tarnished, so I pulled it out and decided to give it a fresh coat of metallic paint.  
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
I love the new look and when I finished I thought I would also give it a try in a new spot...and a very large, blank wall in my dining won (for now.)  Right now I have it leaning against the wall, but I'm thinking that if it stays here I will probably hang it.
 
Have you started any new project this year? 
 
 

Enjoy your day! 
 
 
 
 

January 11, 2013