O{pin}ions

Well another long weekend away ~ camping this time (in a tent) ~ and Wednesday has once again snuck up on me!  Good thing I like to try new recipes on my family quite often (insert evil laugh.....mwahhhhahahaaaaaa).

Here's what I have pinned, tried, and my thoughts on it.

First up we have:

Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce

(Via ~ Olive Garden)

This was a good sauce.  Thick, creamy, flavorful.  Hubby, Smiley and I all enjoyed it (Sassy was sleeping over at a friends house and Action doesn't seem to like anything these days ~ grrrr.....)  Even though it is from the Olive Garden website, I'm not sure I liked it as well.  But, doesn't everything taste better when someone else makes it? =)
Yes, I will be making this sauce again

Next:

Triple Berry Popsicles

(via ~ myrecipes.com)

These were easy to make and quite tasty.  They have blueberries, strawberries and raspberries in them.  Yummy!  Perfect for these HOT summer days.  My kids thought they tasted like frozen smoothies.  Lets just say they have been devoured and it's time to make another batch!

And last, but absolutely NOT least:

This "Shine" Print

(Via ~ Studio JRU on Artfire, and Jennifer's blog)

I loved this print when I first saw it, thinking it would be perfect for my daughters room.  But besides the colors and the simplicity of it, I love the reason behind it.  The artist Jennifer from Studio JRU wrote: "We would not light a lamp and put it under a basket, we would set it up to give light to everyone. In the same way we are to let our light shine before others. God tells us to let our light shine. Let it shine!!"  Truly this is what I want my daughter to remember.  She is such an amazing girl with   many talents and I want her to share her gifts and with others and be an example of Gods gracious love.  I want her to remember to "Shine" and to look for the glimmers of light in others.  I ordered the print and received it the other day.  It is not yet up in her room, which is still a work in progress, but I can't wait to see it on her walls!

So, what have you been pinning?  Any O{pin}ions to share?  I would love to hear them!  

Plate Wall

Yesterday, I showed you my inspiration picture, talked about the plates I started with, ones I purchased and the one I personalize.

For my wall, I gathered my plates and arranged them on my dining room table.

Then, I traced each plate onto a piece of paper, cut it out and hung each one up on my wall.

After more rearranging, I hung each plate.  One by one.

Before:

Um, yeah.... nice vacuum!

And After:

I love it!  I love looking at the plates and seeing them for their meaning and not just for decoration.  I want to add a couple more ~ a little one next to the dark green one and a couple more towards the bottom, but they have to be the "perfect" plates ~ not just some to fill it in :)

Like I said, I got my idea from Pinterest and found lots of kitchen inspiration ~ for our new kitchen ~ on Pinterest as well.  So I'm wondering, what have you found on Pinterest that has inspired you (link it up in the comments)?

Creating a Plate with Meaning

I saw this wall on Pinterest and instantly fell in love with the idea!

(photo credit: Larissa Holland via mmmcrafts.blogspot.com)

I love the variety of sizes and colors of plates and how they all fit together.  I love the way they seem to creep up the wall, or perhaps they are falling down ~ depending on your perspective. I liked it so much, I decided I wanted to replicate it in my own home.

My wall wasn't created overnight.  My collection started with a couple of plates I got from my Grandpa, an antique collector.  One use to hang in his house, one still has his handwriting and price tag on the back of it and one is from a set of old dishes he had.  The other ones I purchased from random places ~ Crate and Barrel, a local antique store and Home Goods.

But since my plate wall was going up in my dining room, I also wanted a plate with our dinner blessing on it.  And I knew I would be creating it myself.  :)

I purchased a plain white dinner plate at TJ Max (on clearance for $1.50).  Measured out and drew lines (with pencil) directly onto my plate.

Took my fine tip black sharpie marker and wrote our prayer on it over and over and over.  I let it dry, began to wash off the pencil lines and proceeded to watch ALL of my words go down the drain with my lines. :(  Note to self ~ Regular Sharpie Markers DO NOT work on  glazed plates!

Since it was 11:30 at night.  I took a deep breath, gently place my plate on the counter and went to bed.

THE NEXT DAY.....

I went to the craft store and purchased the exact marker I had held in my hand the previous day when I was there, but talked myself out of buying.

Went home.  Redrew lines, rewrote my words and worried just a little when I turned the water on to get rid of my pencil lines.  I began to gently wipe them off and was relieved when they came off easily, but my ink did not!

My new plate:

Perfect for my plate wall!

Which, I will show you all tomorrow :)

A window where there wasn't

 

Yesterday, I showed all of you my "new" laundry room!

I.LOVE.IT.

BUT.....

It is lacking something.

For starters, a window.

Hubby and I talked about ripping out the wall to install a window.

These talks didn't last long.

Reasons?

#1 ~ Cost

#2 ~ The view

I really like my neighbor, but I don't want to look at this ~ every time I'm in my laundry room:

So, enter Jen from Hope Studios.

I was remembering a post she did using an old window and voila.... A PLAN WAS BORN!

I searched for old windows.  I was looking for a certain size, and I knew I wanted panels.  I looked at our local reuse center ~ nothing ~ well in regards to size, shape and look.

And then one day I was shopping.  And I spotted a window. It was new, unfinished and inexpensive!  JUST WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!

I primed this baby.

Painted it black.

Gave it a couple of coats of white.

Sanded  a bit to weather it.

Wiped on some mahogany stain

and ......

Alrighty.

I have a window, now what?

I had a picture enlarged.

Cut it into pieces that would fill each panel,

then taped them in.

Flipped it over, hung it up and VOILA...

a  room

with a

View

The only bummer now is when I'm doing laundry, I look out my window and see my hubby pulling the kids in the tube behind the boat on a gorgeous summer evening while I'm stuck inside.

Not sure I like that idea.

HA!

Don't forget, today is Tuesday and that means PARTY DAY!

Come be inspired!

 AND  

don't forget about the linky party and giveaway that starts here on THURSDAY! In honor of my 1 yr blog anniversary, I want to know why YOU started your blog!

Go here for more details!

Don't forget, today is Tuesday and that means PARTY DAY!
Come be inspired!