homemakeover: the living room { the plan}

Here are the before pictures of our living room:

This is the photo that gave me my inspiration for this room. It's got a bright, casual, cottage feel that I really like and feel like this style really suits my house.

So here is the plan....

-find a rug for the entry
-stain the side table
-find a lampshade
-find some more accessories
-make some pillows for the couch and chairs similar to these pillows:

source

 source

source

-get frames to flank the fireplace:

source

and cover our photo albums with fabric:

source

And here is a little mood board for the living room:

homemakeover: the front yard { plan }

Here is a before picture of our house. It is a cute 1920's cottage style home. (we are actually framing  sidewalk in this picture) We have actually done quite a bit since purchasing our home. I wish I would have gotten a picture of how it looked before we bought it. It still needs a little more work, so let me show what projects I have in mind for it...

This is the photo I found that I absolutely fell in love with. It has everything I am looking for. I love how it has both cottage and classic style. 

First things first, we need to put in some sidewalk and gravel the driveway. After the not so fun stuff I want to build some shutters like she did here:

Then i am hoping to build some boxes for plants to flank the front door similar to this one here:

 

 Then I want to either make or buy these pillows for my chairs on the porch:

 

 Then I want to make a sunburst mirror like this one  or....

 

make a chalkboard to hang up like she did here:

And here is a little mood board I created for the front yard:

Cheesesteak Sandwich

These sandwiches were really yummy! I always wondered how to get the thinly sliced beef that you get when you order a philly cheesesteak at a restaurant, and luckily I found this recipe which tells you just how to do it!

Cheesesteak Sandwiches
Recipe found here

photo credit

1 lb. steak (you really can use any cut; since you’re going to slice it up and season it heavily, there’s really no need to splurge on a fillet mignon.)
2 Tbsp. butter
1 green bell pepper (i used red bell peppers)
1 medium yellow onion
Provolone
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Hot sauce (like Tabasco or Cholula; optional, I suppose, but super yummy!)
(i didn't use any hot sauce)
4-6 Hoagie rolls


We stuck our sandwiches in the oven for a few minutes just until the cheese was melted and the bread was toasted, yummy!


Suggested Sides: homemade french fries

Menuplan 02/16-02/22

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: White Chicken Enchiladas
*cucumber salad
*jello
dessert: chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake bars

Saturday: Broccoli Soup
*green salad
*rolls

Sunday: Family Dinner bring Broccoli Salad

Monday: Meatloaf
*carrots
*potatoes
? rolls

Tuesday: leftovers or Freezer Meal

Wednesday: Philly Cheesesteak Sandwhiches
*garlic fries

Happy Valentine's Day!

My gift for my husband:
" We make a great COMBO", " I've got a CRUSH on you!", and " I would be MIXED up without you" and of course a card;)
printables found here and here

Our Valentine's for friends:
We got the idea from Family Fun

Our gift for our families:
Homemade peanut butter truffles a.k.a chocolate peanut butter balls.
These are so good!


Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day and hope you got to spend it with the ones you love!

Menu Plan 1/26-2/1

Thursday: Tuscan Garlic Chicken
*garlic bread

Friday: Lasagna
*breadsticks
*green salad
*dessert: baked smores

Saturday: Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
*peas or broccoli

Sunday:Justin in charge

Monday: Baked Coconut Shrimp
*cilantro lime coleslaw
*bread
*fruit

Tuesday: leftovers or freezer meal

Wednesday: crockpot orange chicken
*rice

Menu plan 11/17-11/23

Thursday: chipotle chicken taco salad ( freeze leftover pork)

Friday: chicken cordon bleu
*garlic rice pilaf
*carrots
dessert: caramel apple pie

Saturday: pizza
*green salad

Sunday: Husband in charge

Monday: porkchops with caramelized apples and onion
*mashed potatoes
*cucumber salad

Tuesday: leftovers or freezer meal

Wednesday: minestrone soup (freeze half)
*green salad
*breadsticks

Food Storage: Let's Get Started!

"We can begin ever so modestly. We can begin with one week's food supply and gradually build it to a month and then to three months...I fear that so many feel that a long-term food supply is so far beyond their reach that they make no effort at all."

-Gordon B. Hinckley
in Conference Report, Oct. 2002

in the past i have posted about food storage and eventually forgot about it and didn't post again. ( unfortunately this seems to be a pattern in my life) well, i have a spark again and have mapped out some goals to get our food storage in place. currently our food storage isn't half bad, but i would like to be more organized about it. so i am going to attempt again to post about food storage, but this time i have a six goal plan as follows:

Goal #1: Create 72 hour kits for each family member and a car emergency kit
Goal #2: Get a two week water supply
Goal #3: Set aside a financial reserve
Goal #4: One month supply of basic food storage
Goal #5: One month supply of expanded food storage
Goal #6: One month supply of non food storage

after completing these six goals, i plan to go through goals #3-#6 and work on a 3 month supply, then a 6 month supply and maybe even a 12 month supply.

i plan on doing a more detailed post about each of these goals as me and my family go through achieve them. i also plan on posting some other food storage related posts that support the goals. hopefully this will be helpful to some of you that are trying to create food storage in your homes as well.

so who's with me?

LET'S GET STARTED!!!

Next post: Why Store Food? aka Why become a food hoarder?

Menuplan 11/11-11/16

Friday: Broccoli cheese soup
*green salad
*rolls

Saturday: Out to Dinner

Sunday: Lasagna
*green salad
*breadsticks

Monday: Oven fried chicken
*carrots
*baked potatoes
*cornbread

Tuesday: leftovers or freezer meal

Wednesday: Pork Carnitas
*tortillas
*lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese
*pineapple

menu plan 6/30 -7/6

Thursday: sweet and spicy grilled chicken
* green salad
*fruit salad
*rolls

Friday: creamy salisbury steaks
*mashed potatoes
*green beans
*rolls

Saturday: pineapple apricot skewers
*macaroni salad
*sunshine jello salad

treat: scotcharoos


Sunday: grilled steak and shrimp
*asparagus
*fruit
*rolls

Monday: grilled hot dogs and hamburgers ( lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, buns)
*potato salad
*cucumber salad or veggies + dip
* watermelon

dessert: homemade icecream

Tuesday: leftovers or breakfast

Wednesday: glazed porkchops
*green salad
*fruit
*rice

menuplan 05.26- 06.01

Thursday: Beef Tacos
*guacamole and salsa, tomatoes and lettuce
*corn tortillas
*zucchini melody
*brazilian lemonade

Friday: Cheesesteak Sandwhiches
*baked fries
*watermelon or pineapple
*broccoli salad

dessert: strawberry cheesecake bars

Saturday: lasagna casserole
*green salad
*breadsticks or french bread

Sunday: hubby's in charge

Monday: glazed pork chops
*green beans
*carrots
*rolls

treat: chocolate zucchini bread

Tuesday: leftovers or breakfast for dinner

Wednesday: cream cheese crockpot chicken
*peas
*fruit
*noodles or rice

menu plan 05/05-05/11

Thursday: southwestern beef or out to eat

Friday: chicken alfredo
*zucchini
*fruit
*breadsticks

Saturday: bajio chicken
*guacamole
*fruit
*corn
*fresh strawberry limeade

Sunday: cheesesteak sandwhiches
*fruit

strawberry cheesecake squares

Monday: hawaiian turkey burgers
*sweet potato fries

?treat: tres leches cupcakes

Tuesday: leftovers or baked creamy taquitos
*guacamole
*cilantro lime dressing or tomatillo salsa
*zucchini and corn medley

menuplan 04/13-04/20

Thursday: broccoli quiches (try freezing some)
*fruit salad
*toast

Friday: out to eat

Saturday: Sweet and Savory Steak
*carrots
*baked potato
*rolls
dessert: tres leches cupcakes

Sunday: hubby's in charge

Monday: Steak fajitas (freeze leftovers?)
*cilantro lime coleslaw

treat: strawberry cheesecake squares

Tuesday: leftovers or freezer meal

Wednesday: sweet and sour chicken (freeze half)
*rice
*broccoli
*fruit

menuplan: 4/7-4/14

Thursday: out to eat

Friday: cheesesteak sandwiches (try freezing leftover meat mixture?)
*spinach salad
*zucchini fries

dessert: strawberry cheesecake squares (freeze extra strawberry sauce)

Saturday: out to eat

Sunday: hubby is cooking

Monday: chicken alfredo
*broccoli
*breadsticks

treat: tres leches cupcakes

Tuesday: leftovers or freezer meal

Wednesday: zucchini casserole (freeze half)
*fruit and/or veggie

Inspired by: Heart Felt Wreath

wow, i can't believe i actually finished a project! i've been kind of thrown off my groove with having a new baby, but now that he is kind of on a nap schedule, i might be able to get back into doing some more projects!

i saw this heart felt wreath from the idea room. i told myself i wasn't going to mess with valentine decorations, but i couldn't resist this wreath. and when i found the styrofoam heart at our local craft store for 50% off, this project was calling my name. i even had the felt and straight pins on hand. it really is super easy to make! go here for directions on how to make one for yourself!

while we are on the subject of valentine decorations here is some more i've put together, nothing fancy. it's actually a tradition that i've started this year. we call it, i love you because... each member of our family has a jar (i've covered our kids names with hearts) so that we can leave each other "love notes" and tell each other why we love each other. ( my jar is empty, i'm really feeling the love;)



another tradition that we have on valentine's day is "kicking valentines". this tradition came from my husband's side of the family. i had never heard of "kicking valentines" until i met him. basically you make a treat and deliver it to loved ones but you leave it on the doorstep, ring the doorbell and run. ( so it's doorbell ditching with valentines).

now it's your turn, what kind of valentine traditions do you have with your family?

Hearty short ribs

photo found here

I made this recipe last night and it was so yummy! I served it with mashed potatoes, carrots, salad and rolls. Reminds me a lot of pot roast.

Hearty Short Ribs
Recipe found at taste of home

Ingredients

* 1 large onion, sliced
* 4 pounds bone-in beef short ribs
* 1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms (i used an 8 0z. pkg)
* 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
* 1/2 cup water
* 1 envelope brown gravy mix
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (i omitted this but want to try it next time)
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch
* 2 tablespoons cold water
*

Hot mashed potatoes

Directions

* Place onion in a 5-qt. slow cooker; top with ribs. Combine the mushrooms, soup, 1/2 cup water, gravy mix, garlic and thyme; pour over ribs. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 6-1/2 hours or until meat is tender.
* Remove meat to serving platter; keep warm. Skim fat from cooking juices; transfer to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil.
* Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Gradually stir into pan. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with meat and mashed potatoes. Yield: 6 servings.

* could try this recipe using a roast

menu plan 8/26-9/1

Thursday: grilled summer porkchops
*coleslaw
*peaches

Friday: campout bring dessert: blueberry cheesecake

Saturday: southwestern beef
*cilantro lime coleslaw
*corn

Sunday: husband's in charge

Monday: chicken fettucine
*broccoli
*fruit
treat: peaches n cream pie

Tuesday: leftovers or freezer meal

Wednesday: peking porkchops
*broccoli
*fruit

menu plan 8/5-8/11

thursday: harvest vegetable quiche (freeze one)
*cantaloupe

friday: marinated steak
*broccoli
*mashed potatoes
*rolls
dessert: chocolate pie

saturday: steak fajitas
*guacamole
*corn
*grapes

sunday: husband in charge

monday: spaghetti (freeze half)
*squash or green salad
*garlic bread
treat: no bake cheesecake or yogurt pie

tuesday: leftovers or freezer meal

wednesday: chinese chicken salad (crockpot chix freeze some)
*rolls

Menu Plan 7/22-7/28

Thursday: grilled summer porkchops
*grilled corn
*spinach salad
*rolls

Friday: hot dogs
*grape broccoli salad
*fruit salad
*baked beans

Saturday: picnic

Sunday: honey butter shrimp tacos
*mango salsa or pineapple salsa
*guacamole
*salsa
*avocado rolls
*creamy grape salad
*summer bean salad
dessert: black bottom pie

Monday: Grilled teriyaki burgers
*summer bean salad
*creamy grape salad

Tuesday: leftovers

Wednesday: pork carnitas
*guacamole
*salsa
*corn
*fresh fruit

Honey Walnut Shrimp

this was a seriously yummy recipe! even my 3 year old gobbled it up. i've got one more honey walnut shrimp recipe to try to compare, i'll let you know which one is better, but for now this one was great!

Honey Walnut Shrimp

recipe found at allrecipes

Ingredients
• 1 cup water
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 4 egg whites
• 2/3 cup mochiko (glutinous rice flour) (I used cornstarch instead)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon canned sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup vegetable oil for frying

Directions
1. Stir together the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and add the walnuts. Boil for 2 minutes, then drain and place walnuts on a cookie sheet to dry.
2. Whip egg whites in a medium bowl until foamy. Stir in the mochiko until it has a pasty consistency. Heat the oil in a heavy deep skillet over medium-high heat. Dip shrimp into the mochiko batter, and then fry in the hot oil until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
3. In a medium serving bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, honey and sweetened condensed milk. Add shrimp and toss to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle the candied walnuts on top and serve.
*Can cook walnuts in 2 Tbsp. butter and 2-3 Tbsp. brown sugar

*Served over rice

*Suggested side dishes: broccoli , pineapple