Funky Wood Lovin'

If you ever find weird wood pieces in the thrift store...BUY them! I got TWO of these little babies and at the time I had no idea what I was going to do with them. They have been sitting in my garage for over 6 months (maybe close to a year). Finally, I had a place for one to call home... AND

It has a new home on my kitchen ledge, which seriously needed a makeover.

The clock had been up there all by it's lonesome for so long. I finally got bit by the craft bug and have been working on projects around the house. It still needs a few things painted and something to put in the frame, but I LOVE it! Having house projects done makes me happy!

I Ruffled!

Back to school shopping with three girls was not much fun...and I only have 2 in school right now. In another year all three will be in school. I had a hard time finding things to buy them this year. Am I getting pickier or are the clothes getting worse...ok don't answer that. I decided to buy some Wallyworld tshirts and dress them up a bit. I bought 2 medium shirts...one for each girl. (Yes they wear the same size...we gave up on hand me downs a year or so back.) I unstitched the pocket on the front.

I also bought 1 xtra large shirt to cut up for a total of $12 for all 3 shirts. I cut 3 inch strips of fabric off the bottom of the shirt.

I had to do a gather stitch...one of these days I will get a ruffler foot for my sewing machine.

All finished! I love it!

Love Freebies!

My BFH (beautiful friend Holly) was at her dads house and he was putting this shelf out into his shed. Holly said to her dad I know someone that would love that shelf if you want to get rid of it. So she called me and asked if I wanted it...heck ya! It's so cute...I am moving craft stuff around in the basement and setting up a new craft room in the unfinished side. (my 8 yr old is going to get the finished room)

Has been on a long craft hiatus and have had no desire to blog. I just made a bunch a new stuff and have finally gotten in the craft mood again. Stay tuned for pictures.

New Dinner Recipe & Key Lime

Words can not even express how much I love Chicken Picatta with Capers Sauce. I had it on Valentine's Day at The New Yorker for the first time. And then a Veal Picatta for our Anniversary at Cucina Toscana . (The New Yorker was soo much better) I though I would give it a try myself. The recipe was super easy and pretty yummy!

And to top off the meal...Key Lime Cupcakes!

I am loving the cupcake cookbook...a little too much.

A new obsession begins..

Cupcakes..what's not to love about them.. really? Little mini pieces of heaven individually wrapped for our eating pleasure. And making them Gourmet in 10 minutes...well that's an added bonus.
So tonight I carefully scanned the pages of the book and picked my first recipe to attempt...or maybe I just picked the recipe that I had all the ingredients for. Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache. Sounds Yummy. I'll tell you the truth.
The cupcakes were beautiful coming out of the oven..it was love at first sight. I then moved onto the Ganache, which I will confess, I have never made before. And let me pass on what I learned. You need to make it in a glass bowl (which I will soon be purchasing) in case you need to microwave it a bit after stirring to make sure you get the chocolate all melted. Other than that super easy recipe. So I frosted these pretty little babies with the Ganache and admired my work for a bit. Mmm, cupcakes. Then I carefully pulled the paper back and took a bite. It was yummy, but I think I had built expectations up in my head about eating the best cupcake ever and this recipe didn't meet those expectations. I used a super moist cupcake mix, but with the recipe you add milk, less eggs and no oil, which make them really pretty, but not super moist like you would expect. I like this cupcake more on the second one I ate than the first. The recipe has to grow on you a bit.
Now time to scan the pages and pick out my next attempt at Gourmet Cupcakes...the Key Lime and the Orange Dreamsicle are calling my name. I might have to toss a coin.

Confessions

1. Last week I attended my first Scrapbook Expo. It was pretty cool and full of crazy ladies.

2. I am very unorganized with my supplies right now. If I can't find something I must be out and have to buy it thus resulting in multiple items when I find the one I was looking for.

3. I got a new sewing machine last year for Mother's Day/Birthday. I haven't even used all the fancy stitches on it yet.

4. Much to your dismay I can not do it all. I have so many hobbies that some of them I haven't even done for a while. Like cardmaking...I really need to make some more cards for my stash.

5. I want a new band saw.

6. I spend more time on the internet looking for new crafts ideas than I do actually making them.

7. I have a craft room that is pretty much just my craft storage room. I do all my projects on the kitchen table..resulting in lots of trips up and down the stairs and a kitchen counter full of craft supplies all the time.

8. I am a self taught woodworker, but would like to take some classes or find some books to sharpen my skills.

9. I am a procrastinator and I hate it

10. I worship the ladies on the cute craft blogs. They are awesome and have so many cute ideas.

Bookshelf Painted- Check

It turned out super cute painted...now on to the next item on my To Do list.