Thursday, March 31, 2011

Fun Rub-On Transfer Ideas


 Rub-on transfers are most commonly used for scrap-booking,  They are easy  to apply and can adhere to most surfaces.

I was looking for a few inexpensive ways to brighten up my home for Spring so I decided to transfer my images onto a couple of white planters I had on hand.


Plant flowers from Home Depot and use them indoors as houseplants.  They are an inexpensive way to add flowers to a room.

Once I get started no untouched surface is safe!  I added a little "love" to our glass, hot chocolate container, just because!

Happy Spring!


Tuesday, March 29, 2011

My First Giveaway Win!

  I am so thrilled to have won my first Giveaway!  Tine from Uruguay Life hosted a wonderful giveaway and I was lucky enough to win!  Tine is sweet and kind and has an amazing blog with beautiful pictures and inspiring home decor.

 After going through customs,

my gifts arrived packaged in such a beautiful box.


Each item was individually wrapped within the box of goodies!

It wasn't even my birthday, but I felt so spoiled!  Thank-you so much Tine for the very generous gifts! 


***not pictured are the delicious caramels my son devoured and I found under his pillow before I could take a picture!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

What's on Your Playlist?

Source
 
  What kind of music do you like?  I like a little bit of everything!  I enjoy the one hit wonders from the 80's.  I'm a huge fan of Fleetwood Mac and Cat Stevens, but I also love Nina Simone and Sade...the list goes on and on.

  This weekend I'm headed out of town for a few days to attend my cousin's wedding.  The wedding will take place in Alabama, which is about a four hour ride traveling by car.  I do not enjoy long car rides!  But, to make the ride a bit more enjoyable I've downloaded music to my Itouch.    

  I'd like to know what's on your playlist. What songs or artist do you enjoy?  I love discovering new music!


 

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Yogurt Blueberry Pancakes


 
I make pancakes all the time for my family and these surpassed anything I have ever made.  We loved each and every bite!  Wonderful way to start the day!


Ingredients

2 cups Bisquick Original baking mix
2 eggs
1/2 cups milk
1 cup plain Greek yogurt( I used Stonyfield)
1/3 cup melted butter 
1 cup fresh blueberries


1. Stir first five ingredients together with a whisk until well blended.  Fold in blueberries.  The batter will be thick.
2. Pour spoonfuls of batter onto hot, greased griddle, spread lightly.
3. Cook until edges are dry.  Turn, cook until golden brown.  Serve with your favorite syrup.  Enjoy!


Recipe adapted from:  http://www.bettycrocker.com/



Saturday, March 19, 2011

Paper Weaving

  
  As a kid I always enjoyed paper weaving.  Weaving patterns can be simple or more elaborate.

 
  I like to weave quilling strips.  I purchased a pack of quilling strips at Hobby Lobby for $3.29.

   Weave each paper strip over and under each thread. If the previous strip went under the thread, the following row will begin by going over the thread.  The pattern will resemble a checker board design.  Alternate colors of strips as you weaveContinue weaving until the paper is full.  Trim the strips.



 
Once finished, I chose to display my project in a frame I purchased at the Dollar Store for my daughters room.

 
The pastel colors are perfect for Spring!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Pillow with Felt Clusters

 Tuesday my friend celebrated her birthday!  My gift to her was a handmade pillow similar to one we saw while browsing around at Z Gallerie.

To construct her pillow I followed instructions as seen here

The tutorial suggests hand-stitching the rosettes together, but to save time I used my glue gun!

 Isn't she lovely?!


 
I hope my friend likes her gift!


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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

California Club Pita Pizza

 This past weekend my friend introduced me to California Pizza Kitchen's, California Club Pizza and I fell in love.  This is my version!  Tastes just like CPK or even better because you made it yourself!


Ingredients
2 pocket-less pita rounds
1 cup cubed cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 1/2 cups of baby spinach
1 cup of chopped tomatoes
1 avocado, sliced
Ranch Dressing
cooking spray

Directions
Heat oven to 450F degrees.  Place pitas on large greased cookie sheet.  Spread pita with cheese and chicken. Bake at 450F degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Remove from oven and top with spinach, tomato, bacon, avocado and ranch dressing.  Slice and enjoy!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Kicking Myself...The One That Got Away!

  Have you ever been out shopping and saw something that caught your eye, but passed on it because you didn't necessarily need it? 
  A few days ago, I was out and about running errands and I decided to stop by a Goodwill store in the area.  I immediately went to the back of the store where the household items were kept.  I browsed the aisles, but nothing really caught my eye.  Before leaving, I decided to head over to the furniture section, not expecting to see anything worth taking home.  Then bam, right before my eyes was this neat looking bar stool!  It was in great condition and for $10, I thought why not!  Then, this voice went off in my head that said, "Brandi, you do not need it, besides where would you put it?".  I thought about all the other neglected pieces of furniture in my garage, waiting for me to make them pretty, so I left the stool sitting there.  The minute I walked out the store, I knew I made a mistake.  What was I thinking?  I could have used it as a plant stand somewhere in the house! By then it was too late; I was almost home.  As soon as I walked in the door, my husband asked if I had bought anything, and once I told him about the bar stool I left behind, he couldn't believe it.
   "That's so unlike you, why didn't you buy it and for only 10 bucks?  Really Brandi?" From that point on, I was miserable.  I moped around the house and felt sorry for myself.  I even became really short with my husband whenever he asked me a question. He quickly responded "Don't get upset with me because you didn't buy the bar stool".  Ugh...Get over it Brandi, was what I kept repeating to myself.  The next morning, I called the store to see if by fat chance it was still there.  And of course it was gone!  I searched online just to torment myself to see if I could find something similar.   

Image from Pottery Barn

I found a similar stool on potterybarn.com but for $149, I declined.  Not giving up hope, I decided to search Craigslist just for kicks!  Then I spotted it...an ad for a pair of wicker top bar stools for $30 each or $50 for the pair.  It was getting late so I decided to contact the seller the following morning.  She wasn't available when I called so I left a message hoping she'd return my call.  Later in the day she called me back and we agreed to meet the next day at a shopping center.  I was a little nervous because this was my first Craigslist purchase and I've heard about all the things that could go wrong.  Luckily, everything went fine and I had the pleasure of meeting a really nice woman that day!  The bar stool came home with me and I feel much better about letting the Goodwill stool get away! 



  PS.  Between you me, my husband thinks I paid $20 bucks for the stool!!!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Easy Bananas Foster

If I had to choose the best dessert I have ever eaten, what would it be?  Bananas foster - The warm, sweet bananas and the cold, creamy ice cream make a great combination.

This recipe was simple to make and it came out great!  For safety reasons you can still enjoy this dish without the flambé.

Ingredients:
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 3 bananas, sliced
* 1 cup light brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 pinch salt

Directions:
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add sliced bananas and stir for 2 minutes.  Add brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.  Lower heat and continue cooking, stirring constantly for 2 more minutes.  Serve over  ice cream.

Recipe adapted from Food.com


Tuesday, March 1, 2011

And the winner is...


Thank you to everyone who entered my first giveaway!  I hope you had fun!  I truly appreciate the kind comments about my blog.  A special Thank you to Michelle and Marcia for mentioning my giveaway on their sidebar!  Thank-you all for your support.


And so, the winner is... Comment #24 Nike

True Random Number Generator
24 Powered by RANDOM.ORG3


Thank you everyone again for playing along!