Here and there

I'm so behind. Always.

I'd love to have some new and exciting thing to share with you guys today, but instead of actually finishing any of my projects, I just keep starting  new ones. I'm way too easily distracted. 

I hope we can still be friends. 

So let's talk about other things ...

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Am I the only one who spends gads of money on unique and different hooks and hangers?

I sure hope not. 

But Pick Your Plum has a cool item today.

It's a cast iron key set. They're stuck {welded} into the locks to make a great vintage hook. The site's  selling a set of three. I'm totally dreaming up ways to use these...

Love this site. A new craft/decor deal every day.

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The new edition of House of Fifty is out. Actually its been out for a few weeks, but I guess I'm selfish and having been hoarding the ezine all to myself. 

I can never say enough good things about ezines. The links, the sources, the inspiration. All from my comfy computer desk. And this one is definitely a favorite.

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After this post about my oh-so-drab stairwell, the hubs and I have been working on giving the area a face lift.

We've added wainscoting along the walls of the stairwell and foyer at the top, and I'm working on a new piece of "art" to hang along that huge wall. 

But I'm most excited about the lighting. Remember these Pottery Barn lights that I was drooling over?

Well the other day I was in Lowe's and decided to wander over to the lighting department. Typically, I'm not a huge fan of what Home Depot/Lowe's carry as far as lighting, but oh my goodness!

allen + roth just came out with a new line and I was dying. Knowing the store probably didn't even carry a lot of it, I came home and got on the Lowe's website.

Here are some of my favorites!

I love this rustic industrial look! The bulbs in all of the these are Edison style filament bulbs and they look so fantastic!
And all totally affordable! Instead of dropping $200 on two Pottery Barn pendant lights for the stairwell, I got three lights from Lowe's. Two pendants for the stairwell and a bonus light for the landing at the top of the stairs.

allen + roth one light Edison pendant (x2) & allen + roth oil rubbed bronze flush mount


Needless to say, I'm now much more excited about my stairwell. If I can only get this art piece done and the lights hung {any volunteers?} I'll be so happy!!

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I suppose that's all the updates I have for now. I'm off to craft and hopefully finish up something for tomorrow! Happy hump day!

Yummy Cheddar Biscuits

So ok, I admit it. 90% of the reason I ever eat at Red Lobster is for those delicious cheddar biscuits they serve. Hello!? They're so goooooood!

The other day I got to thinking how great it would be if I could just whip up some at home.

And ta-da, this post is born!

These are super easy, and pretty quick too. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

 - 2 1/2 cups of Bisquick baking mix

 - 3/4 cup of cold milk

 - 4 tablespoons of cold butter

  - 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder

  - 1 heaping cup of grated cheddar cheese

 To Brush on Top:

 - 2 tablespoons of butter, melted

 - 1/4 teaspoon of dried parsley flakes

   - 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

  - pinch of salt 

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 

Then combine the Bisquick with cold butter.

  You don't want to mix it too well. There should be small chunks of butter in the mix {pea size}.

Add cheddar cheese, milk, and  1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder. 

Mix by hand but don't over mix. You don't want it to be too thorough.

 

Drop portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. These should be around a 1/4 of a cup in size {though there's no real rule}. You could also use an ice cream scoop to do this. 

 

Bake for 15 minutes or until you see the tops of the biscuits start to brown.

While they're cooking, put together the ingredients to brush on top. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in your microwave. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder and the dried parsley flakes.

 

Grab your biscuits out of the oven and brush this on top of them liberally.

And enjoy!!

This recipe should make somewhere between 12-15 biscuits, depending on how large you make them.

Catching Up.

My life has been somewhat nuts lately. I feel like we should catch up.

Let's see... we went to Disney World for our anniversary.

It was really hot and pretty crowded, but we had a great time regardless. The Huntsville airport also just started a new direct {and cheap!} flight to Orlando, so instead of the 10 hour drive, we just hopped on a plane for an hour and a half. Amazing how much more wonderful that makes the trip!!

I think we're probably tapped out on Disney for awhile though. Maybe when our kids {you know, the ones that we don't even have yet} get old enough to go, we'll head back.

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Also, my older brother, sister-in-law, and niece came in town!!

David got back from his second deployment at the end of July and they made a trip to Alabama to see us! Most of the family hadn't met sweet Olivia yet so it was beyond exciting {I've told you guys my family has no kids in it right? Well, except Olivia now. We're all enamored!}

Isn't she the cutest thing ever?? She grabbed this spatula off my counter one evening and you'd have thought it was the best toy ever. I love it!

We went out on the boat {even Olivia}, went to the Botanical Gardens and had lots of family get togethers. I so wish that they lived closer!!

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Somewhere in all this I did some pretty lame and normal things too. Like went to the movies to see The Help. Oh my goodness! It's so wonderful!!

Go see it!! My husband really enjoyed it too, so take a date!

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Unfortunately the rest of my free time has been spent feel icky. I had a three day migraine that has been followed by a week long cold.

I suppose the silver lining is that I've finally caught up with all the recordings on my DVR and begun reading a few new books. I'm into this one now, kind of wondering where its going. 

Yes, there is movie coming out, which I'm afraid might be terrible...

I'll let you know.

Stick around for some new tutorials and recipes this week! Have a happy Monday!!

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Yummy yum yum. This is officially my husband's new favorite dessert!!

This recipe comes in three stages: the cake, the cinnamon topping, and the glaze. 

Let's start with the cake:

Ingredients:
3 cups of flour
1/4 tsp of salt
1 cup of sugar
4 tsp of baking powder
1 1/2 cup of milk
2 eggs
2 tsp of vanilla
1/2 cup of butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix everything together.

Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.

Next, the cinnamon topping:

Ingredients:

1 cup of butter, softened
1 cup of brown sugar
2 tbsp of flour
1 tbsp of cinnamon

Mix everything together.

Now, spoon the cinnamon topping over the cake mix. 

And use a kitchen knife to swirl the topping.

Bake for 30ish minutes.

Meanwhile, make your glaze:

Ingredients:

2 cups of powdered sugar
5 tbsp of milk
1 tsp of vanilla

When you take the cake out of the oven, pour the glaze over it before it cools.

Now grab yourself a piece while its still warm!! The cake is best served hot!

button thank you notes {tutorial}

I don't know about you, but I collect buttons. Not necessarily on purpose either. Whether they come with a new coat or shirt or if I just pick up a cute set for next to nothing in some dollar bin at the craft store, I've somehow ended up with ton of buttons. I've been brainstorming ways I can use some of these little guys to try to clean out my collection. 

Well ... the rest is history I guess.

Materials:

 - assortment of buttons

 - a blank notecard

 - hot glue/gun or superglue

First, I ran my note card through the printer to get the stems/leaves and "thank you" printed on it. Don't over-agonize about this! Mine are just straight lines and little octagons. If you're not big on the computer idea, feel free to draw it yourself!
It is DIY after all!

If you do a lot of these handmade thank you cards, you might want to think about saving your settings. I actually created a specific design size and print setting in Microsoft Word {so easy!} so each time I want to print out a card, I just open that card document, design, and then print with my pre-selected settings.

Lay out your buttons then break out the glue!

Then write out your card and mail! So creative and simple!

This idea would also work well with party invitations, every day stationary, and even birthday and holiday cards! Here's a few more button designs that I love:

{create:}

{KWernerDesign}

{folksy}

Kid Fun

I've happened upon some super creative and adorable "kid crafts" lately.

I don't have any little crumb-snatchers running around the house yet, so you guys with kiddos will have to try these out and let me know how much fun they are!

Shaving Cream Bathtub Paint

A muffin paint with shaving cream in each spot, add a dab of food coloring to each ...

 {Having Fun At Home}

Oh my goodness! This little one is having so much fun!

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Chocolate Pudding Cups

Genius!! These dessert cups were made using pudding mix and small balloons. Yum!!

{bakerella}

Go to Bakerella for the full tutorial and call me when you've got the ice cream ready!!


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Faux Makeup

 What a stinkin' creative idea?! Great for dress up areas and girly girls! 

Use nail polish to fill empty containers. It dries hard and makes for perfect fake make-up!

 {Not So Idle Hands}

Why didn't I think of this?!



Enjoy these with your little ones today!!

Simple Melon Berry Salad

Oh how I love seasonal recipes! And here's an easy one ...

This fruit salad is quick and easy to throw together. And it has that great fruity summer taste!

The fruit:  2 cups each of cantelope, blueberries and strawberries.

The dressing:

1 individual serving of strawberry lemonade yogurt

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp of sugar

1/4 tsp of cinnamon 

Pour over and toss.

Then cover and put in the fridge for a little while to chill.

I've made this a couple of times this summer already and always enjoy it!

Happy Wednesday!