Backyard Pick Me Up

It has been nice and warm and toasty here in South Texas, but its still been quite gray!  Why wait until sun to come back to fix up the back deck?!
I figured I'd get a head start on this back yard project and eliminate those "winter" blues.

Here was my dilemna:

Beat up rattan chair that we got from Pier 1 a couple years back.  Bleh brown color, cushion had been ruined and it just blended in with the rest of the brown/"khakiness" on the deck.  It was an expensive chair and we also had a matching side table that was just couldn't get rid of.  What to do....

Aha~ add FUN color- KeyLime:

and my hubby and father got to work painting the table and the chair!

Also our back door was in an off white flat paint that just looked BLEH, so we found THIS bright color and painted the back door!

Benjamin Moore's Bull's Eye Red

*****And I snagged a Pier One Cushion on a super Deal.  It was a $50 cushion and I got it for $12.00! (to be seen in reveal below)******

Lastly, some much needed and practical storage was added to the back deck now that my little guy has LOADS of new outside boy toys! Still working on coming up with some pillows to add to it for some color:

And here is the end result! Can't wait for the sun and fun times with my boys in the backyard! 

What can you do to brighten up your backyard?

Baking Organization

As I continue in my quest to reach Mommy of the Year, I quickly run out of space in our kitchen for all the gadgets and tools that help me keep my boy's bellies full. It leads to frustration, fits, cooking errors and me declaring the need for a new house with a new kitchen on almost a weekly basis!

THEN....I found some really cute ideas on Pinterest for organizing measuring cups.  While I didn't have the time (YET) to paint the inside of the cabinets all cute or use fancy vinyl labels, I did get them up and functional.  What a great use of unused space and I can already tell the difference in the amount of time I'm saving by not having to dig through drawers/shelves for the right measure. 

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I used the 3M adhesive hooks directly attached to the inside of the cabinet

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While I was at it, I decided to hang up my KitchenAid mixer attachments on the inside wall of my pantry just above my spice rack.  Completely unused space now taken advantage of!  These attachments before were shoved on a shelf and took up WAY too much room and fell out of the cabinet one too many times to count.

Quick, easy organization that makes a LOAD of difference in my crowded kitchen!

Thumbs up to Sugar Cookies!

Yesterday my son, I mean Bat Man, helped me make those yummy classic sugar cookies I talked about HERE.

He is just now at the age to help somewhat in the cookie making, and I think he also enjoyed the decorating and EATING part too.  Thought I'd share one of our traditions in progress here for you all to see!

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Why I'm Excited

21 days until my scheduled C section...

And this is why I'm so excited:

When you have a first child that is as cute as this (I might be biased) it makes you want to have hundreds of babies.  This big boy is ready to be a big brother and I can't wait to give him the chance!

Looking forward to posting some new tutorials and fun ideas in the next few weeks as my nesting is in FULL gear!

Holiday Traditions- Old & New

I was recently a guest blogger over at The Bishop's Wife. Go check out her fun blog and her 12 days of Christmas she currently has going on! Below is what I shared with her readers:

Christmas has always been a time of the year with family and a house filled with love.  Our home is even more full of love with our 2 y/o boy and another boy expected in the next 4 weeks.

I'm itching to create so many wonderful memories with my boys and can't wait to incorporate some old AND new traditions!  I thought I'd share what we do in our home and maybe one of things you'll incorporate into your family's special Christmas time traditions this year or the next.

And YES, these are all food related in some way...I'm 36 weeks pregnant--what do you expect?!!

Photo Ornament Tutorial- Guest Blogger

Hello! My name is Holly, and I blog over at Life as a Thrifter. I am thrilled to be guest posting today! Although I used to teach kindergarten, I now stay at home with a very busy toddler. Along the way, I developed an obsession with thrifting. These days nap time is most often spend sanding or spray painting! Whether it's a beat-up piece of furniture or a worn out pair of jeans, I have the greatest time producing something new out of something old . . . and blogging all about it!

Today, however, I want to share a fun and easy handmade ornament with you guys!

I started with large, glass ornaments (these particular ornaments came from Carolina Pottery, although I know Hobby Lobby has them as well) and all of our old Christmas card photos from years past.  

I then, simply twisted the photo so that it would fit nicely inside the glass ornament.

Just a little note . . . most of my pictures started out 4x6, but I had to cut them all to size. I used a pair of tweezers and something long and narrow, like a paint can opener, to move the picture around or flatten it out how I wanted it. It took a couple practice times . . . so be sure you make copies of your pictures, as they do tend to bend or possibly tear if you have to pull it back out. Twisting it out is the easiest way to get it back out.

I've gotten lots of fabulous comments about neat things to add . . . like tinsel, or yarn, or other cute things. There's just so many possibilities.



Thanks again, Ellie for allowing me to share today! I hope you'll stop by Life as a Thrifter and check out more!


Happy hunting, everyone!

-Holly

Teacher Gifts on a Budget

Jackson has two very loving and caring teachers at his Children's Day Out program that he attends twice a week. I just can't say it enough about these ladies and how sweet they are to my boy!

I wanted to make them something special but of course stay on budget.  Here's what I came up with:

1. Sugar Scrub (includ. spice jar & felt bag, cost me $2.75)
I prepared a Candy Cane Hand and Foot Sugar scrub for each teacher. The smell of peppermint is oozing out of my kitchen right now! It is all natural, made with ingredients I already have in the pantry and smells DELICIOUS!  I have a couple different scrubs on hand in my fridge now at all times.

You can get your Year of Sugar Scrubs Recipe Ebook HERE.  Currently on sale too!!  I found some cute spice jars at good ol' Target to put them in. Then $1 felt gift bags :)

If you get the Ebook (which you SHOULD!), warning, you'll want to make every single one!  I particularly love the Fresh Squeezed Lemonade one for after I cut up onion and garlic! It leaves my hands smooth and silky!


2. "Snow" Candles ($3 each)
Got this idea from a friend and Pinterest! You spread mod podge on each candle and then roll the candle in epsom salt in a old pan/tray. I didn't plan ahead so well, so I used school glue and rock salt.  The epsom salt would work MUCH better because it isn't as heavy as rock salt, so next time...

If I knew homemade mod podge was so easy and quick/simple to make I would've whipped it up. All you do is use school white glue AND water. Costs about $2 instead of more like $8 for the pint size in the store!

Mod Podge in a Pint Jar (Matte)

Fill jar 1/2 way with white glue

Then fill remainder of jar with water

Shake Well (apparently it takes quite a bit of patience and time)

It will have a Matte finish.

3. Wine Charms ($9.25-$14.00)

One teacher LOVES Texas A&M and the other loves her Bunko group so I got these cute and unique wine charms from my mother's Etsy shop.  (Shh..don't tell her, I don't think I ever paid her!)  

Become a fan on FACEBOOK too! Her shop will close Dec 14th until after the holidays and she only has ready to ship items listed right now (sorry, she's coming to visit ME!) but you should definitely favorite her shop.  

She is SUPER speedy and has some really cute and unique charms for sports fans/teams, wedding parties, &  holiday themed, etc.

Houston Photographer

Hi all! If you are in the Houston area, here is some info I wanted to share with you.  My dear friend Jen owns Jennifer Battjer Photography.  You can become a fan on facebook HERE.  

Many reasons I love her:

1. She is GREAT with kids and adults.  My son adores her!  She has the patience of a saint and keeps upbeat and positive even with your 2 year old is behaving like a monkey! :)


2. She is still new in her craft and loves trying new things and open to any ideas you have! NOT stuck in her ways!


3.  She is affordable AND you get all your images to own and print yourself as much as you want! I have seen other photographers charging as much as $1000 just to own 20 images! 


4.  She is speedy! She has a quick turn around time, which I have been known to wait 1.5 months for pictures before from other photographers only to get a handful!




Below are some pictures she captured this weekend, enjoy!

Grinch Muffins

My 2 y/o has a Christmas Party/Book Exchange tomorrow with our playgroup friends.  I had to bring a Christmas treat to share with friends and decided to adapt an apple cinnamon muffin recipe.  They have whole wheat flour subbed in as well as soy milk---so eat 2 or 3!

Instead I prepared these GRINCH MUFFINS a.k.a. Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup granular no-calorie sucralose sweetener, e.g., Splenda ®
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup soy milk
• 2 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
•  
• 1/2 cup granular no-calorie sucralose sweetener, e.g., Splenda ® (in this GRINCH recipe I subbed out about 1/4 cup of this portion with green sugar sprinkles)
• 2 2/3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 2/3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray one 12 cup muffin pan OR two 12 mini muffin pans with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup sweetener, salt, baking powder, and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. In a separate bowl, mix 1/3 cup applesauce, egg, and milk. Stir the applesauce mixture into the flour mixture until just blended. Fold in the apples. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full.
3. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup sweetener (for the GREEN Grinch muffin topping I did 1/4cup sweetener and 1/4cup green sugar sprinkles), 2 2/3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 2/3 tablespoons whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup applesauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, and oats. Spread evenly over the muffin batter.
4. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Just had to share!

Maternity Leave

My Etsy store is currently in "Maternity Leave" Mode

Photo by Jennifer Battjer Photography

Please note my tutorial and supplies are still available for purchase. My made to order ties or suspenders are currently unavailable unless you need to place a larger custom order for a later date (i.e. a Spring Wedding).  All orders previously received are being fulfilled at this time.

Feel free to email me if you have an inquiry about a future purchase, etc at roseisarosedesigns@gmail.com.

As always you can follow me here at www.roseisarosedesigns4you.blogspot.com and www.facebook.com/RoseIsARose for updates and new fun ideas and posts coming soon!