Friday, October 18, 2013

Inspiration

Since I am out of town, I thought I would give you a little inspiration.
Here are a few things I've pinned on Pinterest lately.


I have been ALL about the antlers lately.  I told my Sister-in-law that when we come to Mesa my only goal is to find a cow skull or something.  We'll see how my luck turns out.


I love this bathroom.  You can never go wrong with gold fixtures.  And those penny tiles add such a great detail. So good.


How beautiful is that coffee table?? I can't wait to have a home with some space to add the things I really love.


I am officially on the hunt for stools like these. I love geometric shapes.


That painting is just so moody and I like it.  Besides, how easy would that be to re-create? And I'm sure it would be for pennies.


Open shelving has my heart.  Especially open shelving with an equestrian vibe.


This is my dream bathroom right here.  I think you all know how much I love black and gold.  Add some white subway tiles, marble, beautiful lanterns, and glam mirrors and I will live in here.


Once again, space.  This is such a great side table.  I love how simply it is styled.  I need that black and white vase--- or to recreate it.  Yeah? Yeah??


I have been obsessed with maps and globes lately.  I'm thinking I need to frame some maps for our house... next house that is. I'm out of walls here. 


Blue!! I LOVE these tiles, and with those blue laquered vanities... mmmm good.


Simplicity is golden.  This black and white kitchen is perfect.

I hope you enjoy these!  To see more, follow my Pinterest

Have a great weekend!



Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Tonight I made a big mistake.

As I got on the computer to finish up some homework tonight I saw that Tom had a youtube video open.  For some stupid reason I watched it to prolong my homework and ended up really sad.  It was about a pitbull that had been used as a bait dog and was found wandering the streets.  It showed its rescue and how it learned to trust humans and even other dogs.  When they found her, she was all bloody and swollen from being attacked by fight dogs.  By the time the video was over, I was a mess.  I don't understand how people can treat an innocent little animal so horribly.  I know the topic of pitbulls can be really touchy for both sides and I'm not trying to start a debate here.  But since owning Stella I have learned that while she has the potential to be powerful and even kill she would never hurt a fly- at least on purpose. (She just has this knack for stepping on Tom's tenders almost every time she jumps on his lap- I think it's a silent protest against losing any possible attention from us)  I'm sure I would have to defend her from an invader in our house... even though that's her job... if she hears a noise she starts shaking. Really.  She is my little sweetie and I couldn't imagine ever hurting her.
A bad dog is raised, not born.

Those are my thoughts of the day.  And here's a pic of Stella and her new trick :)


I posted this on my Instagram today.
Feel free to follow along!
This literally takes ALL of her self control.  She loves food more than any dog I have ever met.
I'm hoping with time she can get to this level:


If you would like to watch the video, here it is.
But be warned.  If you love animals even a tiny bit, you will cry.

Tomorrow we are heading down to AZ to visit my brother, sis in law and their cute little boy!! So... I'll try to get a post scheduled tonight but just expect some silence.  Or you can stay up to speed through my Insta.
Thanks for reading!




Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Fall Wreath

Today I have a quick and really easy tutorial for the fall wreath I showed you in my Halloween decorations post.  I started with a foam wreath form.  I spray painted it gold in case my tacs didn't cover completely.  I would highly recommend this part.  It saved me a ton of time later on. 


Next I used gold tacks (or push pins, whatever they are) that I found at the dollar store and pushed them in all over the wreath in a random way.  I've seen these done where they are perfectly lined up and spaced but. Ain't nobody got time for that! This is the part where the gold spray paint came in really handy.  If you look closely,  there are spaces all between the tacks and if the wreath was still green it would show up really bad.  (I also feel like the spray paint sort of holds the tacks in... but that just might be my wishful thinking.)


The best part about this wreath is that it is totally customizable to fit every season.  


My fall ribbon is held on with more tacks (along with the skeleton that I will take off after halloween.


I also added these fall leaves held on with more tacks.  These can be taken off after fall and I can add something Christmasy :)

So go out and get yourself a foam wreath and some dollar store tacks!!! 
Super cheap and easy.  Not to mention cute.

Don't love gold? Duh! Thumbtacks come in silver.  
This wreath could be for gold or silver lovers alike.  Plus, I think the silver would look so pretty for Christmastime!!



Friday, October 11, 2013

Fall and stuff

I'm going to be cliche and say that fall is my very favorite season.  Everyone says that, I know.  But it really is the best.  Growing up I was a summer girl.  I never appreciated fall and even dreaded it most of my life, since I knew Utah's harsh winter would quickly follow.  But in the most recent years I have looked forward to fall.  By August I am wearing pants and at times attempting to pull off layers even. 
That being said, on Sunday, we took a little drive while our dinner finished up in the croc pot.


It is so amazing to me that this is only a 20 minute drive from our home in the middle of a busy city.  If you look in the distance you can see what looks like clouds. That is actually the smog of the city.  Gross!



My two babes playing with a stick.  Stella loves to jump up and grab the stick out of your hand.  She kills me.


I can't get over this picture.  I love the fall colors beneath the bright blue sky.




I hope you all have a great weekend.  Do something fall-ish :)
I'll be drinking hot chocolate with my feet by the heater all weekend.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Nightstand

I have been on the hunt for a nightstand for Tom's side of the bed for months now.  I swear, I had seen so many night stands every time I went thrifting and then I started looking for one and suddenly there weren't any. (Not to mention I needed a specific size.)
Finally a week ago I found this at the D.I.  I measured it and I knew it would fit perfectly beside our bed.


I wanna say it was $15.  I really liked the details on the drawer and knew I could think of something fun to do with it.


I thought and thought about what color I could paint it.  The nightstand on my side of the bed is navy and white and I decided to keep that going on the other side. Especially since they are such different styles, it ties them together.


I painted the detail a few coats of navy blue and then taped all around it.



Next I painted a coat of blue over the tape to seal it.  If you haven't done this before, I highly suggest you do. It seals off the tape so that you get perfectly even lines when you peel the tape off.
I painted the rest of the dresser white and the top navy.


And it fits perfectly in this spot!



In the beginning I spray painted it with white paint... don't ask me why. and halfway through, I realized I hadn't removed the pretty brass hardware.  So I had to spray paint the hardware gold to cover up the white splotches... So, that was frustrating.


I left one little strip the natural wood for a little extra detail.



I found this light at the D.I. for $6.  I had been looking for an industrial light for a while and I love how it makes his side a little more masculine.


I used this wood crate as a "vanity tray" to round up his cologne and watches.  I like that it gets the job done while remaining manly.  Because that is important here. 

And that's it! Here it is before and after once again.


From granny


To glammy ;)

I'm really happy with how it turned out and Tom's really happy that he doesn't have to set his phone on the floor anymore! (did I just admit that?)

Thanks for reading!


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Fresh Peach Pie

This is a few months too late but in August my mom brought me this giant bowl of peaches from their tree.  I had already made 12 jars of jam so I decided to use these for something really yummy.
Now I'll have you know I am NOT a pie person.  
Like for Thanksgiving I make a chocolate pudding pie and only eat the pudding part... does that even count as pie??  But I thought I would give fresh peach pie a go.


I decided to make a sugar cookie pie crust since the part I dislike most about pie is the crust. (second is a hot baked pie... especially baked fruit. bleh.)
Okay. Moving on.


I used this recipe for the crust.  
I may have added extra flour.  Just check your consistency and make sure it isn't sticky.  You want to be able to pick it up without having it cake to your hands.  But too much flour would make it rock hard and dry. Don't do that.


Press in pie pan and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely.


Next you are going to make the thick peach part.
1 cup smashed peaches
2/3 cup water
Simmer peaches and 2/3 c water for 3 min.
1 cup sugar
3 T. cornstarch
1/3 cup water
In a separate bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, and 1/3 c water. Add to peaches, cook and stir until thick and bubbly.  (I also add a few drops of almond extract.  It compliments the flavor SO well)


Let cool.


Peel and slice your peaches.  I sliced them into a bowl of cool water to keep them from going brown and to also wash off any peach fuzz I missed when washing them.


Pour half of your peach sauce into pie crust and spread evenly.



Place fresh peaches into crust.  
**If you put your peaches in water make sure to drain them really well or you will have peach soup when you cut your first piece of pie.



Pour remainder of peach sauce on top and make sure all fresh peaches are covered.  This will keep them from going brown. 


Chill. (or if you're me, take a few pictures and devour it all that night... cuz we did)


Oh great. Now I'm craving peach pie and there are no peaches in sight.


Serve with ice cream. Enjoy!!

Come back tomorrow and see a pretty nightstand make over I did last week!

And make sure to follow me!