Don't you just LOVE Goodwill?

I've gotten some things over the past year and a half Goodwill, some needed a little work others needed A LOT.
Living with my in-laws for the past 1yr has been, well...it's had it's challenges. I think one of the main things I've missed the most about having my own place is having all of things in box's and not being able to decorate. We have two little room's at the end of the hall. No private/separate space for our family. So as a wife, I've REALLY missed being able to add my touches to things. Silly I know, but I think we take it for granted.
Enough of that, on to the good stuff!

The first item, I actually didn't get from Goodwill, I got it about 7yrs ago from a friend and it's just been sitting in our home with no good purpose.

I found this gorgeous home decor fabric at Joann's but it was $20 a yard. I only needed 1 yrd but I wasn't about to go there.
So the other week while looking through their ad's I found that the home decor fabric was %60 off I couldn't believe it! So I ran in and got a yrd for $8 SCORE!!

Here's the before

And the After: The tricky part about this was the entire outside, had to be all sewn by hand, yea it took awhile. But I just LOVE the results


Next: I found this beauty at good will for a whopping $4 it didn't need a whole lot of work, but the cork board had a water stain on it.

Luckily I had some extra fabric left over from the floor pillow and TaDa. Here she is!

Next Is this solid piece of work. I got this up in Bellingham while visiting my parents. The table was solid wood, but needed A LOT of work. I wish I would have gotten a better Before picture. It had thick white paint splattered on top, Names carved into it. But I thought, Heck it's wood, I can strip it and sand it down.

Then we started the stripping processes, or I should say Anthony did, I was planning on this being my project but since I'm now pregnant, He wouldn't let me, what a sweety! After 3 coats of this stuff, it still hadn't all come off. I thought, Crap! I may have bitten more then I could handle. But after an entire day of sanding I got it down to bare gorgeous wood! Success!!

Then Anthony put the stain on it! It looks GREAT!! I'm not done, I still have to paint the legs white. But it's getting there!

Another Amazing find at Goodwill was this little beauty, purchased for me from my parents. My Mom totally surprised me, and the greatest part was that it was %30 off and it matches the table Perfectly. I just hope we have room for it in our new place.

One last one, here is a cute little teapot I found, where? Where else? Goodwill, it's so adorable and it was only $3 I've always wanted a cute little teapot, but never wanted to spend much on one. I think I can spare $3.


Stay tuned for MORE projects, I have more!!!

New Dresser Redo, Before and After Pics!

I finished this project while ago but as you have noticed I have been majorly slacking as of late. I received this dresser, FREE, that's right FREE, from the same lady who gave me the one I did for the boy's room. Man, seriously my Parents have AMAZING neighbors!!!

I found this GORGEOUS dress, over on Design Sponge and I absolutely Fell in LOVE with the gorgeous vibrant color, and I figure, what the heck, it's free.

Alright, here are the before and After pictures, I'm warning you they aren't pretty by any means! Here is what the dresser as a whole looked like
And here are what the knobs looked like,

The knobs where in pretty good shape, so I did some research and found out, Hey, I can just spray pain them, I found a good brand, and they came you looking like this

 

I actually REALLY liked the way they turned out, and it only cost me $3 for new knobs, you can't even buy 1 knob for that much!!! What a STEAL!!
Know for the complete finished project! I LOVE IT!!! With some art work and pieces that I found at good will it will be PERFECT! and for a grand total of.......$17.50. On this one I did splurge on the paint, because I had something very specific in mind.

 

I am having thoughts of roughing up the edges like THIS, let me know what you think?

Oreo and Fudge Ice Cream "Cake"

I have made this ultra easy, ultra Fab dessert numerous times over the past few years, and it is always a huge hit! It is super easy to make and is fail proof, seriously, you don't have to bake anything!

Prep time:
10min

Total:
4hrs 10min (freezing time)

1/2 cup fudge ice cream topping, warmed
1 tub (8oz) Cool Whip, thawed, divided
1 pkg. (4 serving size) Chocolate Flavor instant Pudding
8 Oreo's
12 Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwiches

Directions:
Pour the fudge topping into a medium bowl. Stir in 1 cup of the whipped topping with a wire whisk until it's well blended. Add in the dry pudding mix; stir 2 min. or until well blended. The consistency of fudge topping can vary (mine's usually pretty thick) if it's too thick add some milk, so it spreads easier.

Chop up oreo's (Sometimes I liked to use mint ones to add some kick to it).

Arrange 4 of the ice cream sandwiches side by side on a 24x12-inch piece of foil. Top with half of the pudding mixture, repeat layers.

Top the pudding mixture with the remaining 4 ice cream sandwiches.

Frost the top and sides with the remaining whipped topping. It doesn't have to look perfect.

Bring up the foil sides. Double fold top and ends to loosely seal the packet. Freeze at least 4 hours before serving. Let stand at room temp. to soften slightly before serving.

I Love this recipe because it looks so gorgeous when you cut into it. It doesn't hurt that it tastes amazing either!
Let me know when you try these recipe's tell me what you added, changed, liked didn't like. Enjoy!

"Julie and Julia"

Awhile back I watched the movie "Julie and Julia" and it inspired me to get out of my current rut of making the same mediocre food, and start coming up with something, amazing, something that made your mouth water just thinking about it. I wanted to start making something that excited me.
Watching the scene were Julie makes the Bruschetta, made my mouth water. I was bound and determined to find that recipe. Good Ol' Google helped me do it and I found a lady who had attended the filming of that scene with a friend who worked on the set and she wrote down the recipe. So here is my glorious find. It is mouth watering, and quick and easy and absolutely delish!

Bruschetta With Tomatoes and Basil

Ingrediants:
-1 Loaf French Baguette
-1 Clove Garlic, cut in half
-1 1/4 pound (8) ripe tomatoes seeded and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
-2 Tablespoons fresh Basil leaves thinly sliced
-2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:
-In a small bowl, gently toss, Tomato, Basil, Oil, Salt, and Pepper, until combined.

-Heat up pan on oven with 2tablespoons of Oil. Let it heat up slice bread diagonally into scant 1/2 inch thick slices.

-Place bread in oil until grilled on both sides, take them out of the pan until the bread is cooled enough to handle, rub 1 side of each toast slice with garlic.

To Serve:
Spoon 1 TBS of Tomato mixture on Garlic rubbed side of each toast slice, and Bon Appetite.

I Love to hear if you have tried this recipe, let me know if you tried it and if you want to take pictures of your finished product, let me know, and I will feature you on my blog.

The BEST Apple Pie EVER!!!

Tired of your ordinary Apple Pie? Well this delicious Apple Pie adds a twist to the apple classic. Topped with a beautiful lattice topping, this will surely be a huge hit at your next get together. At the bottom I have also included a fail proof pie crust recipe. It is so simple, yet Soooo tasty!

Ingredients:

1 pie crust; See below for recipe
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tsp Vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoon Salt
8 apples, (I like to use all different kinds in my pie), cored and sliced.

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add white sugar, brown sugar and water, along with Vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce temperature, and simmer for 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with lattice work of crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.

3. Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees F. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F, and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.


Pie Crust:

2 cups Flour
1 cup Shortening
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp. Baking Powder
1/3 cup Milk
1 Egg
Directions:

Mix first 4 ingredients with wire whips. Beat Egg and Milk together in a separate bowl. Mix together just until flour is mixed in. Remember, to make this recipe work Don't mix it too much, it makes the pie crust tough. Split dough into two pieces. Flour counter and roll out into a circle.

Ask if you have any questions! Good Luck!

South West Egg Rolls

This recipe is to Die for!!! it's the same one from Chili's and almost identical to the ones from The Cheese Cake Factory. They are absolutely fabulous! for a really tasty change wrap it up in a egg roll wrap found in most grocery stores near the produce section and fry it!
2 tablespoons oil
1 chicken breast
2 tablespoons green onion--minced
2 tablespoons red bell pepper--minced
1/3 cup frozen corn kernels
1/4 cup black beans--rinsed
2 tablespoons spinach--chopped
2 tablespoons diced green chiles
1/2 tablespoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
5 (6 inch) uncooked flour tortillas (the kind you get in the refrigerated section of the store)

Rub 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over chicken breast. In a pan over medium heat, cook chicken around 5 minutes per side, until meat is cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside.
Heat remaining tablespoon vegetable oil in pan over medium heat. Stir in green onion and red pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until tender.
Dice chicken and mix into the pan with onion and red pepper. Mix in corn, black beans, spinach, green chiles, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until well blended and tender. Remove from heat and stir in Monterey Jack cheese so that it melts.
Wrap tortillas with a clean, moist cloth. Microwave on high about 1 minute, or until hot and pliable.
Spoon even amounts of the mixture into each tortilla. Fold ends of tortillas, then roll tightly around mixture-it looks like an eggroll.
In a large, deep skillet, heat oil for deep frying to 375 degrees. Deep fry tortillas 10 minutes each, or until dark golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving. Or you can bake them at 350 for 15-20 minutes (but this isn't near as tasty).

Diaper Wipe Case

I wanted a super cute Diaper Wipe case to display but, again, didn't want to spend the money and knew I could make it even cuter and choose the way I wanted it to look. I recently found an article in the April 2009 Family Circle, that talked about the fabulous things you can do with Mod Podge. It showed examples of Mod Podge plates, chairs, vases, art work...etc. I figure why not a diaper wipe case.

So I went to a paper place, and picked out some paper I liked.
Then I measured out the length of the case cut it to it's perfect size.
First I Mod Podged the case, then I placed the paper over it and made sure all the air bubbles were out. I proceeded to cover the top of the paper with a 2 coats of Mod Podge, each time waiting for it to dry before replaying the next layer.
The final product!