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!

Pink Gumball Machine!

Remember my old yellow gumball machine that I was going to put in our bedroom, I guess only because it was yellow.? {who needs a gumball machine in their bedroom..??} So once I scratched that idea, then I just had a yellow gumball machine. Then I thought, "why don't I paint it pink and put it in the office!?" {everything is better painted pink!} so that's what I did!

{Before}

{After} at first we put in peanut butter M&M's and picked out only the brown and orange, Adam thought I was crazy for doing this.. This really was not the look I was going for.

Then, I found these gumballs at TJMaxx! They are perfect!

 

This now sits on the shelf in our office, with a pile of change close by. :-)

Recent Yard Sale/Goodwill Finds

and by recent I mean last 2 months...
Yes, it's been a while since I've posted! But, none the less I think I've found some real treasures lately. Starting with this fabulous breakfast tray:

$1.49 @ St. Vinnys! Maybe will be getting a paint job... :-)

this fabulous..? 1950's wiener dog caddy.. $5.00 @ an Estate Sale. Adam bought it with the intentions that it would go on his desk to hold paper clips and post-its. But then he googled and found out that it is actually a 'Dresser Caddy' so it now holds his ring, watch, and wallet on the night stand - Score.

 maybe my favorite of them all... I found more DUCKS!!! $1.49 each at a Thrift Store in Albany, what a steal! There was 4 total. Not sure what color I'm going to paint them yet, pink..? maybe..?

 

Fu Dogs - $2.99 @ Goodwill. I think I got a real bargain, check these Fu Dogs out from CB2: http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=598&f=4639 cha-ching!

These guys have already been painted, maybe I'll get around to an after post soon.

 

This super cool ornate mirror! $10 at a garage sale! Soon to be painted an unsure color. {Hamilton is inspecting it}

We got 2 of these super cute night stands that are PERFECT in our new guest room, pictures coming soon, $15 at a thrift store in Albany. They already got new hardware {not pictured} Now, to paint or not to paint, that is the question.

This awesome ornate mirror, $29.99, a little steep at Goodwill but I love it. I haven't found the perfect spot for it yet, these are the options: in place of the bathroom mirror, in the living room, just use the frame around the TV,.. hmm.

 

 Last, but not least, this stainless steel range hood. $15 at a flea market in Bend, brand new in the box! {We then sold our old white one at my sisters garage sale, so technically it only cost us $10!} The plan is to someday update to stainless appliances so we got a head start :) We have a lot of other stainless items so it blends right in!

This was our old range hood:

 

Everything will soon have a spot in our home, if they don't already! I can't wait to post after pictures of how I've fixed these items up! I love a bargain!