Pizza

Cooking isn't really my favorite thing to do.  I can think of a lot of things I'd rather do, but  this is what we made for dinner last night.  It's quick, easy & ALL of my kids like it!

 You will need Rhodes Texas size rolls, pizza sauce, cheese & toppings of your choice.
 If you don't have Texas size rolls, you can just put 2 classic rolls together.
If you wanted to make it healthier you could always use whole wheat rolls.

My kids actually love to make their own.  So we start by washing our hands!

Then coat your pan with Pam & place your rolls on it.
You can cover & let  the dough rise for 4-5 hours if you have time.
We usually do the speed method....
1-Preheat oven to 200 degrees
2- boil water in a small pan
3-Once your oven is 200 degrees turn it off & place the boiling water & rolls in the oven.

Close the oven door &  Let them rise for an hour.

 They will be double in size.

I give each kid a piece of wax paper to roll their dough. (Easy clean up!)
Then have them spray a little Pam on it, so the dough doesn't stick. 

Just pat the dough & spread it out. 
Then add the sauce, cheese & toppings.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

  Enjoy!
We usually just pair it with a salad or carrots & ranch , then add a  fruit and you've got a yummy meal!
I love Rhodes dough.  You can check out their website for even more recipes.

I'm linking this too:
http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/2011/10/tutorials-tips-link-party-33.html

http://www.hopestudios.blogspot.com/ 

http://mommybydaycrafterbynight.blogspot.com/

http://organizeyourstuffnow.com/wordpress/

http://sweetpeasandbb.blogspot.com/

http://diycraftstomake.blogspot.com/

http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com

http://www.the36thavenue.com

Our Entry Way...

Last week, I showed you some of the changes we've made to the exterior of our home.  This week I'm starting  the tour of the changes we've made on the inside.

"WELCOME" to our home!

I find that changes are an ongoing theme around our house....just when you finish one project, I think of another!

The very first thing we did was get new tile in the entry. I don't have a picture of before, but it was plain bright white, with dark grout.  We added travertine tile & it warmed it up a bit!

The next big change we did was stain the railing a walnut color. 

This process was triggered when I bought this new piece of furniture for the entry way...

Then it didn't match the railing or my other furniture,

  Being the impatient person that I am...I began staining the staircase that day!

This lead to staining  3 more pieces of furniture, which I will post about another day.

OK, back to our entry way...

 It was quite plain for years...

It had a lovely GOLD chandelier!
 It's amazing how a few changes warm up the whole space.

Here is how it's changed over the years:

1-The color of the staircase...I LOVE how the dark stain contrasts with the white rails.

It was a really dramatic change

2-I waited for over 6 years for board & batten...we finally got brave & added it last year.

I think it turned out beautiful...

3-New lighting.  Our Chandelier was not a pretty sight! It drove me CrAzY for years! Other projects always seemed to come first, but FINALLY a few years ago... it became the project!  Best change we ever  made!

4-Decorating the landing above the door.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do up there, but we added a few decorations last year...I'm sure this is one of those projects that isn't "done".

5-The latest change was adding a picture collage up the staircase.  

This change was triggered when I couldn't find the 4th frame to match these oval ones when Sophie was born.

 So I just gathered a bunch of old cheap frames that I had & gave them a new coat of paint.

And a collage was made...

I'm loving the entry way now...it feels very "home-y"!!

You know how I said that one thing leads to another....I have one more change & I think we are done!

Hopefully I'll get to that soon!
Thrifty Decor Chick

WE'VE MADE SOME CHANGES OVER THE YEARS...A LOOK BACK

We moved here seven years ago. It all started when Steve returned home from Iraq. He had been gone for 15 months. The house we were living in was over a half an acre. By the time he got back, I was tired of mowing all that lawn! There also weren't too many other kids in the neighborhood for ours to play with. So we started looking for a new house...I am always doing this anyways, it's kind of my hobby! We kept driving by this house & would call the number & they would say it's under contract. Then one day we were looking at a home & the Realtor sent us an email with other homes we might be interested in. This house was on the list & we asked if it was available. It had been under contract, but the sale had failed that day! Our Realtor suggested we hurry over because it was a short sale. We walked from the entry to the great room & my husband & I both said, "This is the one!" Of course, we ended up with anxiety...Will our house sell in time? Will we be stuck with two house payments? Somehow it all worked out & we got our home.

October 2004

October 2011
A few things we've done to the outside...

1- Put in lawn & a tree up by the door.
(This area was covered in rose bushes, you couldn't even see the front door.)

2-Updated the lights

We got these at Lowe's...I LOVE them!

3-Spray painted the gold kick plate black & replaced the gold door hardware with a bronze color.

 

4-Painted the pole & pink trim white

5-Made & hung black shutters

6-Cleaned up the flower beds & added more plants.

 Of course there are still a few things we hope to add in the future: Painting the stucco,replacing the red brick with rock & my biggest dream...a big front porch!

Looking back though,
I can't believe it's the same house!
Linking to:
Somewhat Simple
Fireflies and Jelly Beans
French Country Cottage
Frugalicious Friday
Tickled Pink
Crafty Scrappy Happy Thursday
The Shabby Nest
Simply Designing
What Have You Redone Every Friday
Thrifty Thursday
Fancy Friday: Mel Dreams Often
Family Ever After
Funky Junk Interiors
Craft Envy
Along For The Ride
Sundae Scoop@ iheartnaptime.net
Sisters Sunday Link Party
Think Pink Sundays@ Flamingo Toes
DIY Showoff
Craft-o-maniac
Creative Bloggers Party Hop
You Are Talking Too Much
 Amaze Me Monday@Dittle Dattle
Cure For The Common Monday
Making The World Cuter
Ta-Da Tuesday@Mommy by Day Crafter by Night
Blog Hop@Saved By Love Creations
Thrifty Decor Chick









Their buttons are on the right side of my blog if you want to check these great blogs out.

Board & Batten "How To"

Our base boards were 1/8 inch on the top. We didn't want to have to replace all of them, so we found a 1/8 inch slat of wood & had it cut into our 4 inch vertical slats. We found the sheet at Home Depot for $20 & they weren't busy so he cut our 4 inch pieces (the width) for free! The edges were a little rough so we took our electric sander & sanded the edges down.  You could also prime & paint the slats before you start...we painted at the end. We also purchased  the wood for the top rail & it was
5 1/2 inches wide.  Then we were ready to begin.

Step One:Prime & Paint bottom half of  the wall.

Step 2:
Measure down from the ceiling to where you want the bottom of the horizontal top rail to be.

Step 3:
Cutting the board where two pieces meet at a 45 degree angle will support & hide the seam better.

Step 4:
Recruit some help & nail gun the top piece of wood where you had marked it in step 2.
We wanted ours to be up higher up on the wall.
(It was about 48 inches from the bottom of the rail to the floor.)

Step 5:
Mark the wall for the space between the vertical slats.
(We wanted 12 inches between each slat.)
So we made a mark every 16 inches to account for the 4 inch width of the vertical slat.

Step 6:
Measure how long you want the vertical pieces & cut to fit.

Step 7:

Before nailing the vertical slats, use your level & make them straight.
Then you are ready to nail them in.  (We used a nail gun.)
Step 8:
Counter sink all nails so the surface is smooth and ready for putty.

Step 9:

Fill each nail hole & seams on the horizontal rail with putty.
Once it's dry it may need a light sanding to make it smooth.

Step 10:

Apply a thin bead of caulk (with a caulk gun) on all wood edges.
Then you are officially ready to paint!

Then enjoy the view...

It took a little time...but it was SO worth it!
You can see more of the nursery here.

I'm linking this to :

Funky Junk Interiors
Craft Envy
French Country Cottage
DIY Showoff
Craftomaniac Monday
Think Pink Sunday@Flamingo Toes
Sister Sunday Party
Sunday Showcase Party:  Under The Table & Dreaming
Amzae Me Monday@DittleDattle
Pinkapotamus
Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop
Making the World Cuter
Tuesday's Treasures@My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Handmade Tuesdays@Ladybug Blessings
Tip Junkie
Tutorials & Tips@ Home Stories A 2 Z
Night Owl Crafting
Somewhat Simple
Mommy by day Crafter by Night
Tutorial Tuesday with Hope Studios
Inspired by you Wednesday
The Idea Room
Whatcha-Work-up Wednesday
French Country Cottage
Frugalicious Friday
Tickled Pink
Crafty Scrappy Happy  Thursday
The Shabby Nest
Simply Designing
What Have You Redone Every Friday
Fancy Friday:  Mel Dreams Often
Funky Junk Interiors
Craft Envy
I Heart Nap Time@iheartnaptime.net
Fresh Friday@Release Me Create
To visit their blogs....click on their blog buttons on the right side of my blog!

Give-a-way

Jen at Tater Tots And Jello is having a give-a-way for two $50 gift cards to Home Goods.  To enter visit her blog here:

http://tatertotsandjello.com/2011/10/homegoods-giveaway-50-to-2-winners.html

Baby Nursery

We had our 4th baby in April. Who knew adding one more person to the family would cause so many changes. I have a daughter who is 10 & she has a room of her own, our two boys share a room & the third extra bedroom has always been the office. In the middle of the rooms is a loft area which had a couch & TV. It was a great place for the kids. We decided the baby needed it's own room, so here's where the fun began. We had to move the office & some how keep the loft a lounge area too. Since this was our last baby & it was a GIRL...I wanted to make it a really cute nursery. I love the board & batten look. So my husband got to do the hard part & I got to decorate! Her room has turned out to be one of my favorite rooms in the whole house...

It turned out so bright & fresh

I took wooden letters from Hobby Lobby & mod podged some paper on them.

I went with a "bird" theme & found the perfect clock.

My sister in law made the cutest quilt!

Here is the refinished dresser that ended matching the other furniture perfectly.
You can read more about that here.

Keeping with the bird theme, I added a vinyl tree with birds.

This is here little reading corner
(when she's bigger of course)

This is a frame I transformed to put her newborn picture in.

So this is the before
(if only it had always looked this clean!)...
And After...
My next post will be a 'how to' for the board & batten.
I'm linking this to:



 





iheartnaptime.blogspot.com

http://lollyjaneboutique.blogspot.com/