Car-inspired Room - Wall Art

I mentioned earlier how we accidentally "grounded" ourselves and missed out on our much anticipated dinner and a movie pre-valentine's date.  Very bummed since I was really looking forward to seeing "The King's Speech" and a nice, calm dinner would've been just what our frazzled minds needed.  But since it wasn't to be, I decided to be productive.  After months of planning, here's Smarty Pant's new Car Wall Art--

to give some perspective, it measures just over 5 feet wide and is 3 feet tall

and i spent less than $20



Since Smarty Pants is just 4 years old (going on 14), I decided to keep it young by keeping the colorful car lamp and the car frame that I made last year.  The Backyardigans add a nice punch of color too! If you're interested in making your own pixelated art, stop by later this week when I share the full tutorial.

linked to:

coastal charm

Favorite Grammy Moment

and definitely the most colorful

source

cee lo blended right in with the other muppets. love him!

source

gwyneth made me nervous when she stood on the piano in her stilettos.  the mister and i actually had a conversation about her heels and if they were making divots in the piano... yes, we are geeks :)

Did you watch the show?  I'll be honest, I was listening more than watching.  And the hubby was fast forwarding through a bunch of stuff... but when he started chuckling when Cee Lo started performing, I actually got up from my computer and made my way over to boob tube.  Fun stuff!



Oh Martha Monday - Happy Valentine's Day

This one is for The Mister, my sweetheart!

recipe & full details here

To celebrate Valentine's Day, we were supposed to have a movie date night this weekend, but those plans were dashed by our almost 5 year old who was "grounded" for bad behaviour... which means that we were "grounded" too.   Bummer.  Someday we'll figure out how to discipline the kids without disciplining ourselves too!

Now I'm trying to figure out something special that I can do for The Mister... He loves hot chocolate, so I'm going to make him a hot mug of chocolately goodness this evening.  And I may break out my new donut pan for some homemade donuts... Hmmm.... I probably should serve something for dinner too, but hey, it's a start!

Do you have any special plans for today?  Honestly, we usually avoid "forced merry making" holidays-- so much more enjoyable to go out when couples aren't packed into a restaurant like sardines (captured so well in the movie "Valentine's Day" in the restaurant scene with Topher Grace & Anne Hathaway). In fact, my favorite Valentine's memory happened when I was single and a bunch of girlfriends went out for an "anti" Valentine's Day dinner-- hey, I think that was a scene in "Valentine's Day" too!   So cliche... but true!

Have a great day!

Valentine's Day - Sweet Hearts

I remember my mom making layered finger jello for me when I was a kid.  Layered rainbow jello was popular when I was growing up, but I don't think I've had it since the 70's-- oops, did I just date myself?  Anyhow, I thought it'd be fun to do a red heart version for Smarty Pant's school Valentine's party.

3-layer Jello Hearts
(I'm know, I'm lazy... I was so done after 3 layers!  I don't know how my mom did 7 layers... ugh!)

I was inspired by this version from family fun

glamorized jello :)

Several of the layered jello recipes have mediocre reviews, so I did a variation of the Jello Jigglers recipe (I used one 6 oz box and 1 1/4 cup boiling water for each jello layer), and used this recipe for the Condensed Milk layer. 

quick tip:  

use a ladle to scoop in the hot gelatin over another layer... prevents uneven layers and is much easier to control.

quick tip 2: 

i made sure each layer was completely set before adding another.  i refrigerated each layer for at least 1 hour-- probably overkill but, after reading all those failed reviews, i wanted to make sure it worked!

So that's it folks.  I'm Valentined-out and am pretty much burned-out on hearts.  Unless, that is, The Mister wants to buy me this Lalique heart pendant...



wink, wink ;)

Have a fantastic weekend!

linked to:
under the table and dreaming
tatertots and jello
somewhat simple - valentine's linky party

favorite heart garland

This has got to be the prettiest Valentine's garland that I've seen so far this year.

via mara may

she has many other whimsical garlands in her etsy shop.

Happy "hump" day.  Hope you're having a good one!

"Wheely" Colorful and "Tire"-ific Valentine's Day Cards

sorry about the horrible title... i couldn't resist!

Last week I was tossing around Valentine's Day card ideas with Smarty Pants-- Do you want a photo card similar to last year?  Mustache/lip lollipops like we did for Happy Vee's birthday?  Crayon race cars?

Well, wouldn't you know... He picked the race cars.  I know, I know, the choice was obvious given his absolute love of all things that go Vroom.  I shouldn't have even bothered to ask!  Luckily, I had some foresight and purchased this race car candy mold several months ago.

With a bag full of old crayons that were good and ready for recycle, a make-shift "boiler" and the candy mold, it was a pretty easy project.  Due to the hot wax factor, I made the crayon race cars when the kids were sound asleep and out of harms way. When the mold was filled, I popped it into the freezer for a few minutes and they easily slid out in a perfect little car shape.  There wasn't any wax residue and the mold was immediately ready for the next batch.

here's my make-shift "boiler" (aka tin cans in a sauce pan with an inch of water).  they melted quickly over low heat.

And here's how the cards turned out

the cards were inspired by this idea from Family Fun

Ready to be delivered!

the 4.75 x 6.75 in cellophane bags are from Michaels.  i used washi tape to seal them up.

I'm so glad that's done!  Now I just need to figure out what kind of goodies we're going to bring for their Valentine's Day school parties.

Hope you're having a nice week!

linked to:

coastal charm
somewhat simple
paisley passions
the shabby nest
somewhat simple - valentine linky party

Oh Martha Monday - Flower Mobile

This pretty mobile caught my eye...

a unique way to dress up a dessert or buffet table, or perhaps to add a little romance to a Valentine's dinner.

details here



How was your weekend?  Ours was too short!  I didn't get to half of the things that I wanted to... however, I did put together the boys school Valentines.  I'll share them later this week.  Have a fab Monday!

Good Food - Pasta with Basil Cream Sauce

I love basil, my kids love white sauce... how to marry the two?  I found the perfect recipe that creates an excellent pesto sauce as well as a yummy, low fat  (well, sorta low fat, it's creamy but doesn't use cream) alfredo sauce.  Mix them together and it's the perfect dish that pleases everyone.  And if you have someone who objects to "ew, green sauce", the white sauce is excellent on its own.

Pasta with Basil Cream Sauce

original recipe here 

since part of the recipe is in metrics, I converted the recipe to cups & ounces**

{Ingredients}

1 pound pasta

For the Basil Pesto:

2 cups fresh Basil

1 cup fresh Parsley (I didn't have fresh and used 1/2 cup dried parsley)

3 cloves Garlic

1/4 cup Roasted Walnuts

2 Tbsps. Grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. fine Salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground Pepper

3/4 cup Olive Oil

For the White Sauce:

1/4 cup Butter

1 tsp. minced Garlic

1/4 cup Flour

4 cups lowfat Milk

7 oz. (@ 1 cup) Grated quick melt cheese (I used the quattro formaggio mix from Trader Joe's)

1/4 tsp. pepper

{directions}

I. For the Basil Pesto:

Wash basil and parsley well and dry.
Place all ingredients, except olive oil, in a food processor or blender. Blend together, then slowly add the olive oil until the pesto is smooth. Set aside in a sealed container and keep in the refrigerator.

II. For the White Sauce:

In a medium size saucepan, melt butter and saute garlic on low heat until light brown.  Then add the flour. While stirring this mixture together, you'll cook the flour until the color is somewhat blonde, around 2 minutes at low heat. Change your kitchen tool to a wire whisk and slowly add the milk while stirring the sauce. Once you've finished adding the milk, turn to medium heat, add the grated cheese & pepper and stir sauce until thick. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the Basil Pesto prepared earlier.

III. For the Pasta

Cook in boiling water for 10-12 minutes or until al dente.
To infuse flavor into the pasta:  When pasta is cooked, drain to a bowl and toss in a little olive oil and basil pesto, around 2 Tbsps. each.


Add the Basil Pesto Cream sauce as desired and top with grated parmesan cheese.  BTW, if you have extra Pesto sauce, it can be frozen for another time.  I froze mine in an ice cube tray.

Enjoy!

**this is for us folks in the u.s. who never *got* the whole metrics thing-- weren't we supposed to convert back in the 70's??

Happy Chinese New Year!

photo via steamy kitchen

My inlaws spent a good portion of their lives in Hong Kong, so to celebrate the Eve of Chinese New Years, we got together for a traditional family feast. And last night... boy did we feast!  Our meal included noodles for longevity, dumplings for wealth, fish & chicken for abundance, shrimp for happiness, and sticky rice cake for a rich, sweet life & family reunion (didn't realize the dessert was so symbolic until I looked it up!).  We don't follow all the traditions... basically it's just a great reason to get the entire family together for good conversation and yummy food!

Happy Vee took a nap yesterday (hallelujah!), so with my free time, I decided to make some felt "fortune cookies" (a la Martha Stewart, which I mentioned here), and stuff them with Dove chocolates and a condensed version of everyone's personalized "2011 Chinese Fortune".  For the kids I went a step further and added some hopeful predictions like "will learn how to use the potty" and "will become a better listener".

i cut out a step or two and sped up the process by using color-coordinated pipe cleaners & a hot glue gun

my "cookies" weren't holding together, so i put a little dot of hot glue on the top rim.  worked like a charm!



And, just for fun, here's the general forecast for 2011

The Year of the Rabbit

Most Rabbit years are quiet, positive and inspiring and 2011 looks to be heading in this direction – a refreshing change after the fast-moving and quite dramatic Year of the Tiger. Family, diplomacy and personal development will all be highlighted in 2011. Once again alternative sources of energy and green living will be under the spotlight. The arts and culture sector of society will very busy producing amazing works of art and staging important exhibitions throughout the year. Love, romance and family life are well-starred, with a renewed appreciation of loved ones and friends. Overall, it should be a fun and relatively peaceful year. Even though aggression, violence and war zones will still be in evidence, the Chinese Rabbit year favours peaceful solutions and diplomacy, so there will be a feeling that all is not lost and that hope is still very much alive.

via moonslipper.com

Peace and diplomacy?  I'm all for that!  Happy New Year!

linked to:

paisley passions
the shabby nest

On the Road Again - Lamp Restyle

Smarty Pants, my almost 5 year old, absolutely loves cars.  He loves to play with cars, he likes to watch movies & shows about cars, he knows the make & model of most cars, he points out the different types of rims (huh?), he even enjoys going to all-day car events with The Mister-- I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree :)  So, of course, he wants a CAR room.  I didn't want to pigeon-hole him, so at first it started out as a "Transportation" room, but now I think it's time to go all-out cars, cars, cars!

First project...

A Car-inspired Lamp

I took a plain old lamp...

this one was part of a set that we purchased at Home Depot years ago

Changed out the lamp shade...

I picked up the black drum shade at Target for $13

Cut out white craft felt into 1 x .5 inch pieces... 

Asked Smarty Pants which cars he wanted on his lamp and

Glued everything down with a hot glue gun...

Quick and easy!  The hardest part was figuring out the spacing of the dotted white line.

My lampshade has a 37.5 inch circumference so I spaced apart the felt strips every 1.5 inches. 

Cars in Motion...

just ignore the cars that are driving backward...


As far as projects go, it was really fast and easy-- 20 minutes tops.  And the best part is that Smarty Pants absolutely loves it.

Next up:  Pixelated Car Wall Art

linked to:
between naps on the porch
all things heart & home
sew much ado
someday crafts
somewhat simple
shabby nest
just a girl

Oh Martha Monday - Felt Fortune Cookies

These are darling...

how-to here



They're cute for Valentine's Day, but in a different color scheme, they'd also make a unique favor for an Asian-inspired party or wedding. And with a glue gun, I think they'd be pretty quick to crank out.

Where, oh where, did the weekend go?  And for that matter, where did January go??!! Happy last-day-of-January!

The Rotunda - Before & After

I thought I'd share a small project that's been in-the-works for a while. Last summer we framed the alcoves in our rotunda... I mentioned it way back when. Last night I finally put together the finishing touches.   As usual, I'm very slow with this decorating stuff, but I'm happy with the outcome.

{before}

{after}

i found the vases at Home Goods last fall.

the pussy willow stems are from Target.  They're well-made & flexible.

With all the white and cream, it's a nice, calming look.  I was eyeing some peacock feathers the other day... I might go that route when I get tired of serene and want a splash of bold color.

I have a couple of projects that I've been working on involving Hot Wheels, Lamps and Pixelating... Hopefully they'll be ready to share next week.

Have a great weekend!

linked to:

between naps on the porch

Rugs, Rugs, Rugs.... and an Overstock Discount!

We're in need of a large area rug for our Family Room.  Our feet are cold and our poor floor has been taking a beating.

When we purchased our home, it came with beautiful travertine tile throughout most of the downstairs rooms.  However, as with most soft stone, it chips easily... especially when Hot Wheels (those little metal devils) are dropped and thrown at rapid-fire speed-- pew, pew, pew! pew, pew, pew!  Since Hot Wheels and CARS keep my fellas busy and (mostly) out of trouble, I can't justify taking them away.  So instead of removing the problem, we're just going to cover it up!

Our Family Room is very neutral, so picking a rug style has been hard for me.  Do I want to go floral?  contemporary? retro? statement piece? or blend in?   And to make it even more difficult,  The Mister has an opinion too (can't this just be a dictatorship? it's much easier that way! heh heh! )

Here's our Family Room:

pretty boring... the right area rug could definitely warm up this room!

our current rug worked for our previous home, but is way too small for this space. also, the cream colors just blend into the rest of the floor.

And here are some Area Rugs that I'm we're considering:

floral

via overstock

i'm leaning away from traditional, but this may be transitional enough.

via crate & barrel
a little busy, but i saw it in person and liked it.  the mister's non-commital though.

contemporary

via overstock

i'm drawn to this.  the mister said "crop circles?"  and yet, i'm still drawn to it.

via crate & barrel

i also like this one.  the mister said "pick-up sticks?"... you see what i'm dealing with?  dictatorship already! :)

via overstock

the mister discovered this one.  the circles are growing on me...

retro

via west elm

kinda neat and puzzle-like...

via overstock

ooh, this is bold.  definitely a statement piece.

We've been "researching" rugs on and off for over a year now.  So when I received an email from Overstock offering a discount to my readers,  and my other tab was open to Overstock's huge selection of area rugs... Well of course I took that as a sign! 

And so my friends, after viewing about a million rugs and measuring & remeasuring, we finally purchased a rug last night.  One of the above rugs is making its way to us as we speak.  Care to guess?  I'll make the big reveal once we're all situated.

And, thanks to our friends at Overstock, here are a couple of discount codes especially for you:

121745 - good for 10% off Overstock products (excluding movies, books, and electronics). This discount code never expires, however, it can only be used once per email address.

202234 - free shipping promo code for electronics.

Thanks for reading and happy shopping!

legalese:  No animals were har... I mean, all the ideas and opinions expressed are my own. No monetary compensation was received for doing this post, however, I was provided with a 10% discount code.