Well the forecast is calling for close to 90 today.  I went to Home Goods after work yesterday & bought a new cushion for my chaise lounge that a friend gave me – thanks Pat.  Looking forward to doing a little reading and “chaise lounging” in the back yard when I get home from work.  I was thinking this morning that it’s time to start brewing some ICED COFFEE.  I’ll try to post the “step by step” tomorrow but if you can’t wait . . . click on Ree Drummond’s link below. I posted this last year . . . . .

It’s true . . . this little drink will bring a smile to your face. I was just laughing at myself . . .  I’m going through my day, good or not so good and then I remember . . . I have Iced Coffee in the fridge!! You must try it. Mixed with a little sugar, a little milk, a little 1/2 & 1/2 and you will be grinning from ear to ear.  I found the recipe on Ree Drummond’s website . . www.thepioneerwoman.com.  I made a smaller batch, 1 & 1/4 cup of your favorite coffee grounds to 2 quarts water. You will not regret it!! Enjoy!!

I saw this idea of painting a mason jar on Pinterest.  I have quite a few mason jars and I had some spray paint left over from spraying the blades on my ceiling fan for my bedroom re-do.  I think it turned out pretty cute!  Would also be a great idea to paint several in pastel colors and use them as centerpieces for a baby shower OR paint them red, white & blue for a summer party . . . hmmmmm!

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Yahoooooo, I’m done (well basically – need to tweak a couple things)!!! When I first moved to Colorado I loved everything  about moose, mountains & cabins.  My front room and bedroom have been decorated that way for years.  My bedroom faces south and gets the sunshine allllll day so I painted it a “Black Cherry”, nice and dark, loved it but at last it was time for a change.  The new bedroom color is “Cathedral Gray UL260-7” by Behr.  Behr paint is the best and I try to use it whenever I paint!

So my new theme is County Chic (you need a theme/direction).  My furniture is all pine so it was a perfect segue.  I decided to go a little more feminine, hence the bling.  I mixed mercury glass with rustic metals & burlap. My pink chair is my “Happy Chair” and has a wonderfully happy story behind it but that will be for another day – thanks Robin!!!! I walk into my room now and it doesn’t feel like I’m at my house . . . I just love it, I want to just hang out in there, soooo fun to change it up! Hope you all enjoy it!

Yes, I need more time to finish . . . I hate it when working full time gets in the way of my life – LOL (but oh so happy to have a job!).  After work yesterday I hung all the pictures.  Thought I’d share this one with you.  I bought the frame at Hobby Lobby (1/2 off) and added the mat and my pic.  I wanted to dress it up a bit so I found a burlap medallion used to attach to a headband (craft area of Hobby Lobby) and then found a “bling” button for the center of it.  Just hot glued it together, then hot glued it to the frame – love it!  A little touch of “bling” is always a good thing!  Hoping to finish my room tonight . . .

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Burlap Lamp Shade – Hobby Lobby 1/2 Off = $15

White Satin Spray Paint = $7

Couplings = $1.50

Thread Connector = $0 (I had one)

Updated Fan = less than $25 – PRICELESS 😉

 

I did finish painting my bedroom over the weekend, yahooooooo. Love the new color! Still have some tweaking & curtains to hang so pics coming in a bit.  I didn’t want to go to the cost of replacing my ceiling fan.  This idea was simple AND I found it on Pinterest, so surely it would work – LOL.  Well it did.  I first removed the fan blades and spray painted them white.  I already had a “threaded connector” so I just had to go to Lowe’s to get the coupling. The instructions and pictures on the “how to” were great.  If you decide to try it, let me know if you have any questions . . . here is her website, Thrifty Decor Chick:  http://alturl.com/jimp2

Received my chandelier today from Overstock.com – LOVE it!! Free shipping and a 15% off coupon – the only way to shop! I went to Lowe’s at lunchtime today to get some light bulbs for it and a dimmer – I was so happy to find out that there really is such a thing as a dimmer switch for a plug in lamp $10!! Whooooo knew!!!  The snow has finally stopped – so taking tomorrow off to finish painting my bedroom. Getting closer . . . .

Gotta love “Home Goods!”  I found a few more trinkets for my bedroom re-do.  I have bought the primer but I’ve been a bit busy these days, so maybeeeee this weekend I’ll prime . . . . . . (bunny in pic – not included -LOL)

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For the last 3 years I’ve made “take-away” cookies for the party guests at Owen’s birthday parties.  This year was the “Planet” theme so I had seen rocket ships & astronauts on Pinterest. I loved the idea of using a gingerbread man cookie cutter and since I had one of those and not a rocket ship cutter, it was a no brainer.  I always use the sugar cookie recipe below from Sandra Lee. They are easy to make and are not super sweet. One tip . . . when I roll out the cookies I use a mixture of flour & powdered sugar on the counter – adds just a bit of sweet to them. Once I had all the bodies done I let them set up overnight (uncovered – they won’t get stale). Next I painted on the silver flake and then piped the lines – my icing was a tad bit runny.  I used a #4 tip to do the bodies and a #1 to pipe.

Cookies

17.5 oz. Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teas. vanilla
1 c. all-purpose flour
(variation: may add 1/4 c. cocoa & 3/4 c. flour)

Combine cookie mix w/cream cheese until crumbly. Mix in the eggs & vanilla until well combined. Add flour to make a firm dough. Refrigerate for 15 min.  Lightly flour/powder sugar board and roll out dough to 1/4 in. Bake cookies for 8 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Royal Icing

5 Tablespoons Meringue Powder (purchase at Joanne’s/Michaels/Hobby Lobby)

3 Cups Confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla – add after water

 

Mix meringue and sugar together. Start adding water a little bit at a time. Once the dry ingredients are wet, add the vanilla. The key is getting the icing to the right consistency (still don’t have it quite perfect). There’s a fine line between thin enough to pipe and too thick to pipe. I’m usually a tad bit thin.

Yes, Pinterest has struck again. Seriously I don’t know what I ever did before Pinterest!!  I thought these were so adorable and I had company for dinner last night so I thought I’d whip them up.  I just happened to have some orange “Wilton Candy Melts” (purchase at Michaels or Joanne’s) so I picked up some strawberries at the grocery store.  I like to use the stove-top for the melting process.  I use a glass bowl over a pot of boiling water.

Just add 1 cup of candy melts to glass bowl, bring pot to a boil then turn down to medium.  Once they get fairly melted, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (1 TBLS of oil to every cup of candy melts).  This will keep the candy silky and shiny. When completed melted remove from heat.  I inserted a skewer into the green top, easier to hold.  Then you can dip & roll the strawberries or use a spoon and pour over them.  Let them cool on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.  Once cooled you can drizzle extra over the tops – pretty cute. There suppose to look like carrots – think I will do these again for Easter.

One cup of candy melts w/oil will cover about 12 strawberries.

I found this recipe this weekend (not on Pinterest) and just happened to have all the ingredients. I was thinking “ohhhhh tuna casserole, hmmm”.  Well I was pleasantly surprised. Adding the fresh lemon and capers to the Alfredo sauce was really good and changed the whole flavor of the Alfredo. This isn’t a great picture but I had some fresh mushrooms so I sautéed them and added them at the end. YUM!!!! Maybe next time I’ll add some broccoli or fresh asparagus.  Here’s the recipe & link – I actually halved this recipe.   http://alturl.com/eddxs

Ingredients