just a peek

I've been working on our guest room for a few months now, slowly. Just in the last weekend I finally had a vision for the room and now it's coming together! Just a few more touches. Take a peek

Drinks anyone?

A couple weeks ago I was 2nd-handing with my friend Kara and we came across this fabulous 70's looking/fake wood veneer cart. I had been wanting to get a drink cart for our patio and when I saw $5 on the price tag I knew this would be perfect!

I debated on how to fix it up {Adam actually said I he liked the wood look and I shouldn't paint it, um - no, sorry husband} I was debating between white and green like the patio chairs I fixed up, or white and yellow.

I took the whole thing apart to prime and paint.

and... I decided on Yellow! and am glad I did!

 

Thank goodness I had a before picture so I could see how to put the darn thing back together. I ended up having to print the picture off so I could figure it out! Once I did I was super happy with how it turned out.

Ta Da!

{straw dispenser at a garage sale $0.50}

 

{utensil & napkin holder, from GoodWill $0.99}

 

It's a perfect addition to our patio! One last thing I need to do is polyurethane the yellow parts. I have it, I was just too excited to hold up posting it any longer. We're ready to have a party!

Mmmmm....

'Tis the season for fresh berries! I've been trying to take full advantage of u-pick farms and getting some berries in the freezer. So far my friend Kara and I have picked blueberries and raspberries, and I even got Adam to pick blueberries with me one day and we picked 12lbs! At a farm only 1 mile down the road, Blueberry Meadows, they sell u-pick blueberries for $1.25 a pound! The Raspberry farm we found sold u-pick for $1 a pound! Can't beat that when at the grocery store a little pint of berries costs at least $3+  Since I have all these berries on hand I've been trying out some new recipes and making some delicious summer treats!

My favorite cobbler I've made so far was made from a recipe I found on allrecipes.com It is called 'Apple Blueberry Crisp' Mmmmm... so good!

2 Granny Smith Apples {peeled & sliced}
1 Cup Blueberries {I added more}
*1 Cup Raspberries
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 Cup sugar
1 Tbs Cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 Cup Flour
1/2 Sugar
1/3 Cup Butter
*The original recipe didn't call for raspberries, but I am glad I added them
 
Mix the apples, blueberries, sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, and salt in a baking dish. In a bowl combine the flour and sugar. Using your fingers, blend the butter until the mixture resembles course sand. Spread the flour mixture over the fruit evenly. {I doubled the recipe in this picture to share with our favorite aunt & uncle to thank them for taking care of Charlie and Hamilton when we go out of town :-) }

Bake 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees until the filling is thick and bubbly.

Serve with frozen yogurt! Yum I want some right now!

Another recipe I recommend is for Healthy, yes Healthy, Banana Cookies. My sister Jesi originally shared this recipe with me and I decided to try it out with Blueberries!

Here is my version of the recipe:

3 ripe bananas {make sure they are ripe, getting black}

2 cups oats

*1 cup blueberries

*1 tsp cinnamon

*1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*handful of chocolate chips

 *the original recipe calls for dates instead of those four items.
Another idea, Jesi adds apples into hers when she makes them - Yum!

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Stir in oats, blueberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, oil, and vanilla. Mix well, and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly brown.

YUM! Super easy and super good!

I also made a Apple, Raspberry, Blueberry Crisp. Still delicious, but not my favorite.

And, Blueberry muffin tops! Mmmm!

We're having company tomorrow, I think I might need to make some more treats!

Front door vamp up

I am WAAAY behind on posting about our recent DIY/fix-it-up projects we've been working on, but actual summer weather has finally arrived so we've been taking full advantage of it! One quick project I did about a month ago was I painted our front door apple green! I had been wanting to paint the door some color for some time, but was unsure what color would look right with our ALL white house with blue/gray trim. I originally wanted to paint the door yellow; bright, fun, cheery, welcoming... But then I thought "what would a Christmas wreath look like on a yellow door" hmm. Then I thought black would look nice, but that seemed a little boring for me. To help me decide on a door color I took a picture of the front of our house, brought it into Photoshop, and colored the door!
Here were my choices:

{only kidding, our mailbox is already pink, I can't push my limits too much} :-)

 

And, I decided on the green! It's a natural color that looks good with grass, trees, dirt... my car! and come Christmas time it will be the perfect shade to hang a wreath on! To make this even better I already had this shade of green that we bought last summer off the "opps" rack at Home Depot for $5 - I forgot about it, $5 we spent last summer well spent!

{before}

{after}

 

While I was painting Charlie and Hamilton were caged, and Trudie sun bathed!

 

I really like how it turned out, it gives our house some much needed outside character.

Sewing project, for Trudie

When we first brought Trudie home last week we went to Ross and bought her a little dog bed. Adam said she needed a blanket in bed with her so we used a fleece one we had from the wedding. It was just too big and not very cute in her little bed so I decided I would make her one! I already had all the supply's from different past projects so it didn't take long to get started.

ta-da! complete with pom-poms and taggies for her puppy teeth to chew on

and a matching pillow!

 

I think she likes LOVES it!

So cute!

Meet Trudie! ... and the new couch

We've added a new family member!!! Meet Trudie Elvebak! A little West Highland Terrier puppy. She is 11 weeks old & only 8" tall! She is a little bundle of fun! Her brothers {2 cats, Charlie & Hamilton} are about twice her size. Hamilton doesn't really want anything to do with her and Charlie is curious and will occasionally play a little. We brought her home on Saturday, June 5th, and have had a blast with her since! Since we've had her she's met her grandmas, some aunts, an uncle, cousin Maylon, several neighbors, her guncles, the little day care kids down the street, ... and we even made a trip to Goodwill and TjMaxx! {what are the rules for taking your doggie to stores?} These pictures are sooo cute of her, but she is so much better in person! She loves meeting new people!

It's a good thing Charlie and Hamilton had such a great wardrobe, Trudie can now fit the things they've grown out of! Like a PINK snuggie!!

 

she loves her toys! and her bed!

 

Swim suit season!

 

 each one of our 'kids' stick their tongue's out, is this normal??
{see charlie here}

Cousin Maylon loved Trudie, I think...

 

hahahah, he wasn't sure about the laser pointer though.

 

he tried catching it!

he did this all on his own :-) 

Maylon's birthday list: Laser Pointer, Dog Crate, remote control mouse...

Charlie and Hamilton like the crate too!

not sure who loves it more.

 and finally, our new couch! Over Memorial Day weekend we bought a new couch, finally!! Our old couch was a hand-me-down and worked great for the time we had it, but it was time for us to get our own. We found this one at {Macy's}. It was on sale, then we opened a Macy's card to save us an extra 20%! I now have plans to re-paint the living room - a new living room post will be coming hopefully soon!

 

 Trudie is such a happy puppy!

Oh little Trudie! We love her sooo much already! This weekend we have plans to go to the farmers market downtown and to some yard sales! Hope she enjoys it!