Support our Troops!

I am in a huge campaign to support our troops with Mary Kay! We're sending out care packages including Mary Kay sunscreen and lip protection to help protect those who are fighting for us! My personal goal by June 30th is to sponsor 50 soldiers! It's only $20! Who thinks they can help me Only $20!!! This is also a TAX WRITE OFF!! So if you know of a company that would like to sponsor multiple soldiers please in box me!!!

Picture Wall

Browsing through Pinterest a while back, I came across this Pin.  And I LOVED it!!  It dresses up the wall so much and is such an awesome way to display pictures.  We love having pictures of family, but eventually, we ran out of space to put them.  There are only so many tables, and shelves to put frames on.  So I loved that this idea consolidated all of the memories into one location.  Here's a picture of the idea on pinterest:

I chose to make mine a little more "eclectic" and not  have matching frames for now.  But the lovely thing about this, is that at any time, I could go get or create some matching frames for the existing pictures and layout, and it would totally change the look!  Very versatile.  Our wall is not quite done  yet as I ran out of frames.  But I also plan to put up a similar vinyl decal in the center with some sort of quote about family and friends and memories.

But here is the beginnings of our picture wall.

I didn't really lay anything out before I started.  I just started putting holes in the wall.  I would hold up a frame and move it around a little before I set the nail, but I did not have a grand scheme design before I started.  I went with random :)  I didn't want it to look too planned. Let me know what you think!  And quote suggestions are always welcome :)

Backyard Update

As many of you know, we are in the middle of our never ending backyard/back patio project.  You can see the progression of it all here and here.  We finally go the sand spread out over the gravel.  And now, as you can see, our patio looked strikingly similar to a sand volleyball court minus the net.

  The dogs loved it!  So much softer than the gravel.  I however, was not a huge fan.  With the doggie door, there was no possible way the sand was going to stay outside.  But, I digress...the sand was only their a couple of weeks before we finally got the pavers delivered (approximately 1100 regular pavers, and 100 edge piece pavers).  We won't mention the fact that Home Depot messed up the delivery date and we actually got the pavers the day before we left on vacation...But, I digress again.

Once we got back, we leveled out the sand as best we could, and got to work laying the pavers.

They have an interlocking design which makes them fairly easy to line up.

  But, those suckers were heavy, and it was a long 3 day weekend.  I am definitely pleased with the progress.  The hubs is slightly more of a perfectionist when it comes to this kind of thing, so he's less pleased, but still happy that things are moving.  I'm just happy that the dogs are no longer tracking sand into the house!

There is still quite a bit of work left to be done as far as the edging goes (it didn't exactly end up straight), and filling in the joints with the special sand.  And then of course we have the shade structure to put up.  But, all in due time.

Here's a look at the whole thing with the pavers.  Dog tested, Mother approved.

Hopefully I'll be back soon with some shade structure updates!

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

A couple of weeks ago, I came across this recipe on Pinterest.  Since Chicken is one of our staples when it comes to dinner, and we are always looking for ways to incorporate veggies, I thought I'd give it a try.  It looked so yummy in the picture! And it really is super yummy :-)  So here is what you will need to make it:

 1 – lb. fresh broccoli Break in pieces, and steam for 2 minutes.

3 cups cooked chicken breasts  – Break up in small pieces (we used 2 chicken breasts)

3 cups Grated Cheddar Cheese divided
2 tubes Ritz Crackers
1  stick melted butter
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

  SAUCE: 
1/3 cup Butter- melted
1/4 cups Cornstarch, dissolved in 1/2 cup COLD Water
1/3 cup Chicken Broth
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
2 Cups Milk
1 1/2 cups of the above Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

In greased 13×9 pan, layer the broccoli and chicken, then set aside. 

In saucepan over medium heat, combine the melted butter, cornstarch dissolved in water, chicken broth, seasonings, and milk. Stir well, and continue stirring until sauce has thickened. Turn heat down to low, and add 1- 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese. Stir until melted. Pour over the chicken and broccoli. Top with 1- 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese.

Melt the butter, and add the poppy seeds, and stir well. Crush Ritz crackers in large zip-lock bag with a rolling pin. 

Don’t crush too small. Add crumbs to the melted butter. Sprinkle crumbs over the top of the grated cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until hot & bubbly and ENJOY!!

Lexi Turns 2

Our dog Lexi turned 2 this weekend and I got some decent pictures of her while trying to eat her treats.  We took both of the dogs on a hike on Saturday, and on the way home we stopped at a local place that sells doggie cookies.  We got a couple and gave them to Lexi the next day for her birthday.  I just wanted to share some of the pictures because I think they are super cute!  We also got her and Paddington each a new bone.  But since Lexi thinks all toys are hers, she proceeded to bury hers somewhere in the yard, and then steal Paddy’s and bury his somewhere in the yard as well.  Hopefully she’ll dig them up soon!

Cookies!

Lickin' her lips already

Savoring each bite

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I have seen this craze all over Pinterest lately.  And in my attempt to save us a little moolah, I figured it was worth a shot.  The “recipes” looked pretty safe and simple and I love the sense of accomplishment I have when I make something on my own. 

So, I found this pin on Pinterest and decided to use it as my guide.  I will say that I bought most of my ingredients on Amazon since we have Amazon Prime and the shipping is free…why not?  But I did buy the Oxiclean, the Borax, and the large 2 gallon jar at the store.  Here are what the ingredients look like (since I had never heard of washing soda or Fels-Naptha till now) and how much you will need of each:

4lb box of Baking Soda

4lb box of Borax

55 oz of Washing Soda (made by Arm n Hammer found in the laundry isle)

3 – 3.5 lbs of Oxiclean powder (I couldn’t find 3.5 pound containers, so I used 3 pounds)

3 bars of Fels-Naptha

So, the first thing we did was line a 5 gallon Home Depot bucket with a plastic trashbag. Then I dumped about 1/3 of each of the powder ingredients into the bucket. 

Then I used a cheese grater, and grated up the bars of Fels-Naptha one at a time.  It actually looks a lot like cheese, but it is much easier to grate. 

Then I threw that into the bucket with the powders.  And mixed that all up.  Repeat that until you have used all 3 bars, and all of the powder ingredients.  (I used my hand to mix it, just make sure you wash your hands before and after).  So then you should have a powder mixture that looks like it has bits of cheese in it! 

The technique we used to get it in to the container was to lift the bag out of the bucket, and cut off one of the corners of the bag and let it empty into the container.  And voila!  There you have homemade detergent! 

It works great in our HE front loader washer, I just place the detergent directly into the drum instead of in the compartment.  You only need 1-2 tablespoons per load.  And it really has no scent at all.  I’ve read where you can add essential oils or fabric softener crystals to the mix to make it smell better, but we prefer the no-scent route.  And all these basic ingredients are great for sensitive skin.  It was a win-win for us and I know it’ll save us money over the year because of how long it lasts!

DIY Jewelry Shelf

So this project has been sitting on the kitchen counter for about 3 weeks.  And now it has been hanging on my wall for about 2 weeks and I love it.  It’s so simple and clean and gets rid of clutter!  I love how great it matches with my earring holder and I love that the colors were totally customizable.  I opted to stick to mostly white just because I like that light airy feeling it has.  But I added a little sum’n sum’n with the gray knobs.  Looking back, I probably should have gone with a longer shelf, but I suppose I can always change it out later, or just move things around and add a second one!

Ok, so the process was super simple. I went to Home Depot and bought a plain white shelf that came with the supports.  I got the all in one package instead of choosing the shelf separate from the supports. 

Then, I used a piece of scrap wood that I had left over from our closet makeover a while back.  The hubs cut it down to size for me so that it fit in between the two supports at a 90 degree angle from the shelf.  This is where we screwed the knobs in.  After I spray painted the knobs, and we screwed them in, it was ready for installation! 

I had the hubby hang it just below my earring holder with enough space for my large chunky bracelets to sit on the shelf.  I love the way it looks and how little space it takes up.  And now all of my jewelry is so accessible, so I have no excuse not accessorize!  I’m excited to make another one so that I have a spot to put all of my “stud” earrings and more delicate necklaces.