Raspberry Woods...

You MUST check this guy out - his work is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and so B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!  I've had the great privilege of knowing Tom since I was a kid.

Now my little sis is married his oldest son (so we're kinda like family...)

If you are around Van Wert Ohio - this weekend you'll want to check out Artrageous - stop by Tom's booth and check out this gorgeous stuff in person!! Raspberry Wood Pottery Studio!

Above Tom in the studio

 I am in love with this next one.. 

I may have to talk the husband into an 'just because I love you gift'

 I love the next glaze - so PRETTY!

Make sure you check out Tom's website for a full bio (he also has great drawings!!)

& If you are an animal lover - check out Raspberry Woods Poodles

I love to visit Raspberry Woods just to check out 

the pottery and play with the dogs!

Memorial Day Munchies

We had a super fun cookout yesterday with some of our favorite old friends and some new ones too!!  Lots of yummies to share with you!

3 Cheese Mac & Cheese with Panko Bread Crumbs

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound large elbow macaroni
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound white Cheddar, shredded
• 4 ounces Romano, shredded
• 4 ounces Asiago, shredded
• 2 cups Panko (Japanese) bread crumbs

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In large pot filled with water add 3 pinches of salt and the macaroni and place over high heat. Bring to a boil and let cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain. Set aside
3. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Sprinkle flour over butter and cook 2 to 3 minutes on medium heat, whisking until a roux or paste forms. Add cold milk and whisk vigorously until dissolved. Cook sauce on medium-low heat until thick and bubbly. Add heavy cream, all cheeses, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon pepper. Cook until cheeses are fully melted, stirring occasionally.
4. In a separate pan melt 2 tablespoons butter and then mix in panko bread crumbs until the butter is thoroughly absorbed.
5. Add cooked macaroni to cheese mixture and mix thoroughly. Place macaroni mixture in a 13 by 9 baking dish and top with bread crumbs. Place in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
6. For extra crispy topping, place under broiler after baking until bread crumbs turn golden brown. Recommended. 

Oreo & Fudge Ice Cream Cake

(I didn't make this - my wonderful friend Kim brought it &  it was the talk of the party!)

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed

1 tub  (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding

8   OREO Cookies, chopped (about 1 cup)

12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches

Instructions 

POUR fudge topping into medium bowl. Whisk in 1 cup COOL WHIP. Add dry pudding mix; stir 2 min. Stir in chopped cookies.

ARRANGE 4 ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on 24-inch-long sheet of foil; top with half the COOL WHIP mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining sandwiches. Frost top and sides with remaining COOL WHIP. Bring up foil sides; double fold top and ends to loosely seal packet.

FREEZE 4 hours or until firm. 

 

I ♥ SHOES!

I really love shoes!  Did you see the movie 'In her shoes'?  I love her comment that 'shoes always fit!'  Even when you're feeling blah, shoes always brighten up a day.  I especially love shoes since I'm not so tall so a pair of heels keeps my pants/jeans from dragging on the floor.

Here are my latest finds!

ELLE Karissa Peep-Toe High Heels 

Originally $64.99, right now on sale $12.99

(I used a code and scored them for only $10.39 & Free shipping)

 Vera Wang Eden Peep Toes 

originally $79.99, right now on sale for $15.99. 

(I used a code and scored them for $12.79 & Free shipping)

Do you love a deal?  

When I need a code for free shipping and/or a discount I always check Deal Finding Chik first.  She was the first Blog I ever followed and I've ended up with lots of FREEBIES after linking up to her suggestions, plus saved lots online with codes too!

Here she is... the Side Table

So the weather finally got warm enough I could spend time painting outdoors.  I swear I primed this lil' gal about 4 weeks ago and then its rained and rained and rained and rained sum mo....

Here was her debut on Thrift Store Rock Star - she came from Goodwill for $5.99

She had tons of potential!  It's crazy awesome what a little black does for a gal!

I could have left the drawer pulls bronze but thought it would be really cute with painted pulls!

Now I've been looking for a side table for years to replace a tall shelf (which was our very first furniture purchase after we got married).

Checkout the after

I am just amazed at how much different the room looks now!  Its so much more warm and inviting and strangely looks larger?! 

Another Perfect Recipe

Tonight's Dinner was so good I just had to share!!  I love to cook at home, so much so I'm usually disappointed when we eat out because I feel like I could have done it better...

Baked Fish

1/4 c milk

1 t salt

mix together in dish large enough to dip fish into.

1/2 c Panko Bread Crumbs

1/4 c Parmesan Cheese

1 t Garlic Powder

1/2 t dried parsley flakes

mix together in a second dish large enough to dip fish into

2lbs fish of your choice (I used Tilapia today).  First dip the fish in the milk mixture and then into the bread crumb mixture.  Place fish in a 9x13 greased glass baking dish.  Bake 375 for 25-30 min.

NOTES: 

-I had to use 2 dished to bake all the fish.  

-I sprinkled the extra bread crumb mixture of the top of it all 

I served it up with rice & veggies - my kids liked it so much even the picky one asked for seconds!!

Tasty Tuesday!!

Here it is - the OMGoodness Gracious YUMMO Recipe I made this weekend.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Coffee Cake.
3 c fresh rhubarb, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 c fresh strawberries
1 C sugar
1/3 c cornstarch
-Cook the strawberries and rhubarb for about 5 minutes.
-Combine the sweetener of your choice with the cornstarch and add to fruit. Cook until bubbly and thick (thickens really quickly once it all gets warm). 

-Set aside to cool

3 c flour
1 c sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon

1 c butter
1 c buttermilk (I always substitute with almost a cup of Sour Cream and top it off with milk)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Beat wet ingredients together and add to flour mix, stirring just to moisten. Spread half the batter in a greased 9x13x2 inch baking pan. Spread the cooled rhubarb filling over this and spoon the remaining batter in small portions on top of the filling.

Honestly I think you could do this as muffins instead of a 'cake' and it would be really yummy and an easy brunch treat! I would also half the batter ingredients next time too just since it grew so BIG in the pan and crumbled over the sides. 

Make a topping by combining
3/4 c sugar, 1 cup flour, cut in 1/4 cup butter and then add 1/4 cup flaked coconut
Sprinkle over the coffee cake batter, bake at 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.

We ate this warm and it was oh my yummy nummy wow!  This would be really good with some fresh whipped cream or if you like Ice Cream I bet that would be good too!

Dresser Makeover

We bought this dresser at an auction last fall.  The weather wasn't warm enough to paint it so it sat all winter awaiting its new look.  I'm so excited about the final product!!

 Antique Dresser $27.00 (it's old - dovetailed construction - built to last)

I love details like this!!

Check her out after she got all dolled up!! 
(Just ignore the carpet, its on its way OUT).

 It's so Pretty in Pink!!  

I used Painters Touch x2 Pink Spray Paint to do this dresser

Checkout the top!  

I decoupaged Scrapbook paper tiles to the top.  Then I clear-coated the top to seal it in case something wet would ever get accidentally left on top it won't ruin the paper or wood.

Before & Afters

Here it is! Before & Afters of this week's trip to Goodwill!

$2.99 Chair - Primed then painted with Krylon 'Watermelon' spray paint.

 

$2.59 Bust - Primed and then painted with Krylon 'Watermelon' spray paint.

Check out the makeover corner in the new bedroom.  

(everything pictured was thrifted excluding the rabbit fur)

These are the 'Love Birds' I picked up on another thrifting expedition $.99 each

Primed and painted with Krylon Spray Paint

 

The Scarf Holders $.99 each.

 Smaller one primed and painted with Krylon Spray Paint

 White one Primed and Painted with Krylon White Gloss Spray Paint

 Everything else from 'Fun at The Thrift Stores' is still in progress - stay tuned for more!

Da Dress...

So.... I bought this dress because 1. It was 50% off at Goodwill (1.90).  2. I thought I would give it my sister.  Then I got it home and decided I really liked the fabric, so I planned to add it to my Sun Room 'planning box'.  I was going to re-cover two chair cushions with it (note still looking for those 2 chairs...).  Then tonight I decided to paint the oval frames red, modge podge the fabric to the cardboard backing of the frames and then modge podge the printed pictures to the fabric.

(Here is a sneak peek of the frames)

Before I ripped into the seam I thought I should give it a whirl just to see what I thought of the dress (I am obsessed with dresses, love how they feel, how they fit, how girly they are).  Putting it on was a BIG mistake...

It's SO cute!  (Darn my cute curves they really look great in a dress.)  

(As for my arms - I'm working on those!  Running on my treadmill does nothing for my arms so my awesome friend came over to demo a at home workout for me).  If you are looking for 'Healthy Lifestyles for Women' my awesome friend is hosting a class a couple days a month!  It's great and its local and its totally free!  I can always use the accountability and love new suggestions on how to life more healthy!

Vintage Frames...

I love antiques and reflective pieces in a home... Before we bought our house we were in a turn of the century rental home with lots of Victorian touches.  I loved that house, even the creepy cellar/basement.  It had been completely remodeled - it was beautiful.  The layout, closet space, backyard, ect had lots of draw backs so we opted not to purchase it when we had the chance...  I'd love to pull vintage elements into our more metro modern home but alas I struggle finding the perfect 'mix'.  

Here are a few of the things I've picked up and am going to try to mesh into our more metro modern style...

These came about when I was looking for frames for our 'frame wall'.  It looks like they came from a garage sale or antique store booth (original price $8 each). I thrifted them for 1.99 each.  I am thinking about painting the frame and putting these prints in them...

What do you think?  They'll go in our Sun room that we're making over right now (its in the inspiration/collection phase)

 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

These next 3 paintings (I ♥ these)... I found all 3 together at a Goodwill in Kenton (larger 2 were 2.99 and smaller one was 1.99)

 Sorry the pic is blurry.  If you look closely you can see a couple behind the subjects shoulder off in a meadow together.

 This next one also has people mingling off in the distance.  I love when a painting focuses not only on the immediate subject but also tells a story in the background.

I really thought I'd pop the paintings out and re-paint the frames but it feels improper to separate the two.
I just did some research and found out the Three Framed Prints are by Turner Cydney.  The smaller of the 3 is called 'Garden Party'.  According to the old yellowed price tag on the back of the smaller one it was sold by The May Co (aka Macy's today) in Dept 21 for $2.98.  A few other of his similarly framed prints are listed on ebay for $39.99 each.  
Not bad for a trip to a Thrift Store one snowy Black Friday!

Fun at the Thrift Stores...

My oldest and I did a little Thrifting tonight.  We always have fun just the two of us - she loves to dig through the clothing and find all the Justice & AERO bargains.  Since our closets are literally overflowing right now we passed on all the clothing finds...  We are still working on decorating the new bedrooms (I can't wait to show you the antique dresser makeover I did.  It's perfect, I love it!  I just need to snap some pics of it...)

Here is what we scored tonight!  3 Shadow boxes (.99, .89, .79)

 Scarf holders!!  I have been watching clearance racks for 2 of these for the girls rooms!  A coat of spray paint and they'll be perfect (.99 each)

Giant WOODEN SPOONS (24" high each) (1.49 each)  I know you think I'm nuts but I can totally see these painted lime green and hanging in my remodeled kitchen.

Cute little Vanity Chair - can't wait to paint her up and sew a little cushion for this lady (2.99)

I spotted this and thought it was adorable but assumed it wouldn't suit my daughters taste ~ she surprised me by showing it to me and asked about spray paint of course!  (2.59)

This is a favorite find.  I have never seen anything like this before.  I believe it is a wig case, but I've never seen a 'hard case' for a wig.  It needs a good scrubbing but will be perfect for toy travel in the car and/or my make-up/hair supplies for a trip. (.99)

My husband loves a back rub, and most of the time I'm happy to help (I went to massage school before having kids).  Thought this would give my hands a break once in awhile (.39)

Grand Total for this trip14.59!!  

Normally I don't find all this in one trip!  If I find a single treasure I'm ecstatic, most days I walk away empty handed by never discouraged. 

Follow me on this Blog to check out all the afters!!  I've got loads of projects in the works and if the weather ever warms up I'll be able to finish most of them soon.

Ever wonder what to do with an old Bra?

I went in search of some garden inspiration online - looking for unique plant combo's for a large urn planter I picked up at Goodwill last fall for $4.00.  

Here is what inspired me!

This is called "Flowering C-cup" - got any bra's you want to re-purpose? (or a great fundraiser for Breast Cancer Research?)

This gave me a BIG chuckle!  I'd like to borrow her boots & do some line dancing - SO cute!

 Now I wish I hadn't thrifted my little ones old rainboots & cowgirl boots....

 This next photo is something I grew up seeing on our doorsteps & still at my G'ma's.

 This next pic is something I want to try!!  

I have a pair of heels I picked up garage-sailing for .50 that don't quite fit right.

 If I had old tires laying around I would totally do this!!  

I am now looking for some old tires if anyone has some they need to get rid of?

 I decided this is exactly what I want!  I love the Urban look of them.  Now if only the price tag was in my 'thrift store' budget...

Hope you were inspired by some of the things that inspired me!!  I will never look at an old bra the same way again...