Thursday, April 30, 2015

Strawberry-Orange-Thyme Pops


We've had a blissful stretch of warm weather over the past few weeks, so we decided to celebrate with homemade popsicles.  My kids are teenagers, but they both love popsicles and each have their favorite flavor.  Caleb likes berry flavored, while Jade prefers orange creamsicles.  Of course store bought pops are fast and convenient.  However these are much healthier and we enjoyed making our own.  One bite and we were magically transported to someplace tropical!

Ingredients
1 pint fresh strawberries; cleaned and stemmed
2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice
juice from 2 lemons
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves; finely chopped
1/4 cup sugar (more or less depending on the sweetness of your strawberries)

Directions
In a food processor (or blender), combine strawberries, orange and lemon juice.  Add sugar.  Blend until smooth.  Mix in thyme.

Pour mixture into molds and freeze overnight.  To easily release popsicle from mold, run under warm water.  Enjoy! 




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Monday, April 6, 2015

Budget Laundry Room Makeover and Reveal

The last couple of months I spent my free time working in the laundry room.  Lots of painting, cleaning and organizing.  I spend a lot of time doing laundry, so I wanted to create a more cheerful space.

Before picture and link to old post

When we first moved into our home I painted the walls blue and added a bench for storage.  Since then we added 2 more dogs to our family and while they were puppies they chewed everything in sight; including our chair, storage bench, baskets, floor and walls.  It was that bad!!  With so much to do in the house, over the years our laundry room took a backseat to other projects.

Eventually my dogs out grew puppyhood and stopped chewing.  So it was time to give our laundry room a proper makeover.

The walls are painted Revere Pewter, by Benjamin Moore matched to Glidden Paint.

The Roman shade remained, but I switched out the pillow case curtains.  I added simple clip rings so I could open and close the curtains with ease.

Pillow cases are from Target, in case you're interested!

Plants are a great addition to any room.
 
Art and frames are from Ikea.

We choose vinyl flooring with a wood grain pattern from Home Depot.
Having 3 dogs with muddy paws I needed something that was easy to keep clean.  We've had it in place for a few years and I love it.

A metal hanging rack from Home Goods keeps our cleaning supplies organized.

The water heater is stored in the closet.


I couldn't wait to give this door a makeover.  It took me a time long to settle on a color.  In the end I chose Sherwin Williams, Outer Space matched to Glidden Paint.  It feels so much fresher.  The perfect accent to the neutral walls.


I've fallen hard for natural fiber rugs.  They're simple with lots of texture.  And they're easy to care for with the dogs.  

 
This door opens to our back yard.

I shared our DIY pipe shelves on Home Depot's, The Apron Blog.

It was also time for a new light.  I wanted something clean and simple.  This fixture fit my style perfectly.

It's also from Home Depot.  The brand is Home Decorators Collection.  The style is, Bowl Pendant.  We purchased it in the store.


I love the idea of open shelving.  The double shelves add so much extra storage space.



I had a lot fun shopping for accessories.

Canisters purchased on clearance at Target are used to store dog supplies.


I found the dipped stool online, at Serena & Lily.  Dustpan is from The Magnolia Market.  Brooms are from Home Goods and the carpet beater is from World Market.

Paint really livened our laundry room up.  I enjoy having such a bright space to do chores.  



Thank you all so much for stopping by!  


I am linking this post to:
Thrifty Decor Chick
Best of the Nest
Share Your Style
Thoughts from Alice