Bench Please

Are you ever shopping and see something and think to yourself "Oh man, I could totally make that" or "theres no way it would cost that much if I just make it myself"?

I do. All the time.

So, needless to say my To-Do list is full of craftastic Pin-sational ideas. As a matter of fact, my camera roll is full of "before" and "afters" just waiting to be blogged about. So lets start with one of my most recent "I can totally do that" projects.

My pin boards are over flowing with Master bedroom ideas. As of late, I've developed an obsession with end-of-the-bed benches. Is there a formal name for those? Foot bench? Sitting bench? Anyways, love the look with pillows ever so carelessly tossed upon it. A nice throw draped across it.. (Only for a toddler to rip it down and drag it across the house, but hey I can dream right?). 

Lets start with a few of my inspired looks

link to original pin

link to original pin

Those pins lead me to this bench, $126 at Walmart, plus tax and/or shipping we were looking at a more realistic number of $140. And I must say, it was one of the cheapest options I could find.

So curious me, always looking for a deal, kept on looking. This time for a plain bench (first I checked second hand shops and I'll admit I might've been a little eager to look very long) I ended up finding a brand new black bench on clearance at Walmart. Oddly enough we already own the same exact one in white that goes with our kitchen table. So to see if the size was to my liking, all I had to do was move it in front of our bed and envision it being black and upholstered. Good enough for me. 

Heres what I rounded up for this project
Bench - $44 brand new Walmart
staple gun and staples - already on hand
1 yard of fabric - $6 with a 40% coupon at Hobby Lobby
(you might need more, make sure to measure twice)
a roll of foam - $10 on sale at Hobby Lobby
a marker
scissors
duct tape or hot glue
adorable kids to get in the way helpers

I really only glanced at this pin and pretty much pretended I knew what to do right away, but I figured I'd include it for those of you who don't like to have meltdowns in the middle of projects. To each their own, right?

I'm not great at remembering to take step by step pictures but my included fabulous iphone pictures give you a little idea of the process anyways. 

First things first, I took apart the bench and then measured and cut my foam accordingly. Then hot glued it on top of the bench so there was no sliding once it was time to start stapling.

I opted to use a thin batting -that I already had on hand- underneath my decorative fabric just to add extra work make sure the foam was nice and snug in place. And I could easily hide mistakes etc. if need be. I pulled the fabric taut and placed a few staples, repeating the process as I slowly made my way around the entire thing. I saved the corners for last and used a bunching method before placing those staples.

Repeat the same process again for the decorative fabric, though not needing to pull too tight this time if you used batting. Again, you can see the bunching method for the corners.

Before reassembling, I marked and trimmed the edges of the extra fabric so that they would be hidden under the black wood boarder once everything was screwed back together. And thats it! With just a few steps, it really was that easy.

Voila! A brand new bench for a fraction of the price. You can totally do that!

*Currently a work in progress are pillows to add a little something more to the bench. Make sure to check back next week for another Sew That Saturday, featuring throw pillows!

Just a Swingin'

It's been some time since I've had a chance to do a little crafting. My Pinterest boards are full of projects that will never be. Actually, I try to avoid Pinterest most of the time because I'm always suddenly reminded I never finish anything. But on a recent whim I decided this weekend was the weekend. I was finally gunna drag out my sewing machine and get crafty doing something other than patching a crotch hole in my husbands favorite pair of shorts.

Two tutorials were the center of my creations so I cant take credit for the designs themselves (though I did just use them as guidelines and I veered on both designs) Also, instead of walking you through step by step for each tutorial, I'll just link them and let the original ladies explain the details.

Lilly's Baby Swing

Laila's Hammock Swing

First stop was Hobby Lobby on Friday afternoon, with my coupon app in hand. I picked up two duck canvas patterns, 1 yard a piece. Next was a trip to a Army surplus store because my husband insisted on me using 550 cord. With two very unusually whiny babies this weekend, I actually didn't make my first cut until probably 7pm Saturday night. But with two sleeping babes I was able to work uninterrupted and by midnight I had two completed swings. Sunday we made a trip to Home Depot for the wooden dowels and some hardware for the swing set and back home again to assemble and hang them!

two yards of fabric $15

100 feet of 550 cord $7

three 3ft long 1" wooden dowels $10

hardware $5

 total cost $37

roughly each swing cost $18.50

Not bad considering Fisher Price sells a very generic baby swing for like $35.

Andddd here are the fabulous finished products!

I included a matching pillow for Lilly's swing, thought it blends slightly in this picture

I actually opted not to make the cushions from the tutorial because i figured they would 1) end up on the  ground anyways 2)prevent the swing from holding her in place

Just a Swingin'

Until next time xo

Are you staying for dinner?

After a few requests, here are some of my favorite recipes. Apparently these are my current favorites because they are the only 6 meals on my iphone camera roll right now (if you don't include baby food and take out) also, while we are at it excuse the iphone quality.

One of my favorites but I don't seem make it very often. I've probably actually made it three times for my husband in three and a half years. But after seeing a different recipe a girlfriend blogged (here), I decided to give it a try and loved it! Actually, I froze some peppers from this batch for a quick meal next time. I did also end up using rice instead of quinoa because I'm not familiar with cooking with it.

Found this on Pinterest and it is absolutely perfect as is so I have'nt made any changes to it. No need for a list of ingredients since the picture above is self explanatory, and you just throw it all in your crockpot on high for about 6 hours or low for 8. The first time I made it i wasn't so sure about not adding any water but I promise you. Do. Not. Add. Water. As it slowly cooks, it will create its own glorious juices. I kid you not, the first time I made it my husband said it was better than his moms (don't tell her he said that though ha)

Found this recipe in my favorite cook book '2011 Taste of Home Everyday Slow Cooker & One Dish Recipes', but the recipe is also online (here). Whats neat is the recipe is rather large and calls for two casserole dishes but references to cover and freeze one for up to 3 months, and even includes directions how to prepare the frozen pan. Though, we love this dish so much we usually end up eating both pans within days of each other. Side note: yes, I am that person who uses foil baking pans, regularly actually. Recipes like this are easier to freeze and store in a foil pan. Plus, cleanup is a piece of cake!

One of my Husbands favorites. He usually takes all of our dinner left overs to work for lunch the next day so his friends always ask about the different things he brings in. I'm sure this one isn't regularly seen (but becoming popular) I found the original recipe (here) on Pinterest. I also never seem make it the same way twice, as I add and remove and change things every time to make it better. Sometimes I use spaghetti noodles, but more often I use penne pasta since its less of a mess for my little one and it holds together better when you cut the loaf. I also use a can of Pilsbury whole wheat pizza crust instead of rolling out a ball of dough. Aint nobody got time for that with two kids.

Actually got this one from a commercial (I'm sure you've seen it) so theres a lot left to the imagination. I've made it a few times and have just about perfected the recipe by this point with trial and error. According to the commercial you can flatten an unbaked Grands biscuit, fill with sloppy joe meat and sauce, top with cheese and fold over the edges to make a "hot pocket" type sandwich. Fail. The biscuit was not big enough to fold over and seal with anything more than a tablespoon of filling. Instead I suggest using smaller biscuits and flatten one for the bottom and one for the top. The results were more satisfying, in my opinion. I also suggest brushing with egg whites for that "finished look" and sealing the edges with a fork. Bake on 350 for about 15 minutes.

My favorite the night before very desperately needing to make grocery trip. At any time, you will almost always find these ingredients in our pantry and fridge so its an easy go-to meal. I'm sure its pretty self explanatory.. mashed potatoes, corn, shredded cheese and fried chicken. But for this recipe I like to use my favorite homemade loaded mashed potato recipe, found (here also from my Taste of Home cookbook), and Lefty's mix for battering and frying the chicken. Though I usually skip the second step of the potato recipe unless the mashed potatoes are a dish in themselves, I think they give a little personalization to an otherwise very simple meal. I've even been quoted as better than KFC but what does my husband know ;)

What are your favorite meals to prepare? Any suggestions on recipe tweaks? Happy eating!

Hippity Hoppity

a few girlfriends got me hooked, so here I am tagging along in the basket hop

This year we tossed the candy and opted for a sugar free Easter egg hunt at the house for Laila. I took a stroll over to Party City and found some fabulous tiny little (cheap cheap cheap)trinkets she's sure to love. Here are just a couple of my favorites. (an itty bitty composition notebook, a cheetah, a slinky, finger googly eyes, a little pink picture story camera, a whistle (already regretting that one), a ring, a finger monster)

Lilly's Easter Basket consisted of Bible stories, bunny ears, a ball, a ducky, new binkys, her first sippy, headbands, and a bath book. Not bad for a 4 month old but better luck next year kid. Side note: I was so hyped about putting the baskets together that I forgot to take pictures before I put them in bags, so stay tuned for more pictures Easter morning.

Laila's Easter basket included a Little People Easter flap book (she has the christmas one and loves it!), egg chalk, PEZ, googly eye pen, a ducky, bunny ears, m&m's, foam air plane(she's obsessed), hair elastics, and a bouncing chick. 

If you follow me on instagram, you may have already seen the baskets in progress. I mentioned there how each basket came with their own 'kit': raffia, a gift tag, string and a clear cello basket bag. I thought it was a sweet touch considering I found the baskets so cheap in the first place at World Market online (and now they're on sale!)

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

Check back for additional pictures from Easter morning!

Pinspiration

My Pinterest inspired house life. Consider this entry number one to a book full of Pinterest finds.

Lets start with my most recent project. My front porch. Now, first let me explain the empty flower pots (filled with lovely stand-in graphic flowers for the foreseeable future) that I made last summer. I still haven't made the leap to purchase sweet little flowers to fill them with. My husband and I both know they will die in no time in the Mississippi heat so I'm tempted to buy fake flowers. Again, have yet to make that leap either. So empty, still, they remain. But hey! They have our address on them incase the pizza guy needs some extra help.

If you know anything about us, you know that is indeed a stolen pallet. A rather large one at that. We live on the edge. My original plan was to make my husband reshape it and paint it like a flag. But that didn't happen so it was bare or nothing. I'm liking how it turned out (by turn out I mean how nothing was changed at all) The hay bail is from my fall display and is only still standing because I've literally been too lazy to get rid of it. Also, I think a family of lizards moved in, so it stays. The burlap pendants were hand painted in like 10 minutes tops (skills, I know) and the galvanized lantern was originally found at The Home Depot.

Found dimensions and a step by step guide for the shelves somewhere on Pinterest - dont ask me where. They were pretty easy and self explanatory. Well it looked that way as I actually delegated the task to my husband. A few friends have also added them to their homes as well. They're pretty handy and we enjoy being able to move/replace/rearrange as we please with no added holes. Highly recommend some for your home too, especially if you have a large wall to cover. Don't mind the power cord hanging there by the way. Our house was built before electrical outlets above the mantle were "a thing".

Ikea LATT table and chairs set. If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen this before. A birthday gift for my daughter last summer. Many of you know Ikea sells most of their items bare and lifeless, but oh boy is most of it cheap cheap cheap. Picked this set up for $19.99 with the intentions of sprucing them up. Found dimensions for the seat cushions somewhere on Pinterest, along with a nifty idea to add Plexiglass (and those dimensions too) to the table top to make the surface easy to wipe down after snack time.

I'm not a fan of those cheap looking traditional metal shelves in laundry rooms. Plus I cant reach them so anything that goes up does not come back down. I also wanted something more personalized. Everything is now easily accessible at my boarder line midget height. The added fact that the pictures are all "dirty" themed is a nice touch too. Side note: yes we are that family with miss matched appliances. We recently had to replace our washer but the dryer is still kickin'. Why fix something that ain't broke?

If you have kids, consider a nifty way of displaying their artwork in your home. Our fridge isn't magnetic so this was a perfect idea. Couple broken down pallets, some homemade coffee stain (our hallway smelled like fresh brewed coffee for weeks, score!), hot glue, stencils, spray paint, clothes pins and hooks (all items we had laying around already, yes even the pallet wood. We're kleptos) is all you need and about 20 minutes and you've got an interesting place for the kids to proudly show off their masterpieces. Again, another easy fix for a large empty wall.

A little hard to read, but one of my very first pinspired ideas from a few years back. Google aerial images of where "we met" "we married" and "we live". We've since moved so a little editing is needed for the "we live" heart. I'll probably leave the aerial view and add "our first home" in there somewhere. Or it'll stay just as is cause ain't nobody got time fo that. Also, can anyone guess where we were married?

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"one more. sit still. smile."

Over the weekend I managed to break away from my never ending chores list, and get my kids to stop screaming long enough to snap a few pictures. They are both growing like weeds and at the moment the only framed picture we have of Lilly is from visiting Santa when she was *6 days old* (for shame). My parents bought these matching outfits while visiting our home for thanksgiving, and I originally planned to use them for Easter pictures but Lilly quickly out grew hers so it couldn't wait any longer. So, instead of continuing to feel sorry for myself that my trusted go-to photog friend is geographically challenged for the foreseeable future, I took matters into my own momtographer hands.

Now, before you get all judgy, keep in mind I am not now, nor will I ever be as good as the pros. These are absolutely unedited, straight out of the camera images -but they fulfilled my desire for updated pictures of my kids with clothes on (minus dirt, vomit, or boogers) So what more can I really ask for. I'm still learning how to operate my camera, but after picking up a few tips and tricks from my (previously mentioned) photog buddy Christina Z, I am becoming more comfortable breaking out my real camera these days. Take a look for yourself! 

For the life of me could not get them to look at me. 27 pictures of them watching our dog chase (and be chased by) a bumble bee. whatever.

making a wish on that cute little weed she thought was a flower

seriously. this kid.

this was actually a test shot to see how the lighting would turn out. you can tell because shes not wearing pants. she was also singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

Laila actually really does love her sissy, though at this point she was entirely over holding her cause "mommy sissy poopin"

And with that, a full diaper ended our photo shoot. Happy Thursday everyone!

photo dump

As of recent we've been having an extremely difficult time convincing our two and a half year old to eat, well, anything. A few nights ago we found ourselves in a scene from "A Christmas Story' 

Replace "Mommy's little piggy" with "Mommy's little puppy" and ignore the fact that shes in the buff (potty training is a B) and we've got a pretty close reenactment. Apparently all we had to do was offer her food to the dog to convince her it wasn't poison. I patted her head and said "good dog" and with that, she wanted seconds. Also, the second picture is her barking.

Who says parenting is tough? Hah. 

Speaking of how freakin adorable my children are, here is Laila fixing her jeep the other day.

Sometimes, you just need to try and push start it, then shine up the engine battery box. Is it obvious her dad is a mechanic? Whilst this was going on, Lilly decided to give me something to do clean up. And my husband sent me this lovely text of his fourwheeler engulfed in what I could only hope is mud. I couldn't make this crap up if I tried (no pun intended)

okay just one more, promise

Lilly just had her 2 month check up. Dr. Kermit (Yes he's a Pediatrician named Kermit. Yes I laugh every time. No he's not green) says she's 12.5lbs. Aca-scuse me? Did he really say 12.5lbs? Yep 85th percentile. My little overachiever. Here, you see the stank eye I received all the way home after three, yes three shots! Notice the adorbs leg rolls. That's because she's 45th percentile for height (or is it length since she cant stand?) we don't like to talk about her underachievement's though, she has a lifetime of short jokes  ahead of her already.

Phew. Mommy needs a nap.