Recipe for a Lovely Fall Morning

This morning we were so happy to have Josh at home! He worked extra this week, so we were very excited to just have a morning at home and some family time.

If we lived in a city with a bakery or fun breakfast spot, this would have been a good morning to go. However, we live 70 miles from a Starbucks or bakery, so that wasn't an option. So, we make our own breakfast, and it turned out so delicious!!!

We had pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin spice scones. The scone recipe can be found HERE and the latte HERE. Josh and I were both very impressed by how good it all tasted!

 

After it was all ready, we sat down for our Saturday show- Pioneer Woman on the Food Network or the "horse" show as Gus calls it.

After breakfast, it was time for some yard work. Josh looked outside at the thermometer- 50 degrees!!! YAY!!!! A cool crisp morning- nothing like it :) We all got ready and headed outside.

For lunch, Josh made us some delicious shrimp po' boy sandwiches. Not bad food so far for living in the middle of nowhere in Texas! 

  And now if we can get the kids to nap, it'll be time to relax with a movie :). I hope each of you are enjoying a wonderful weekend too!

These Days......

Today is just a random collection of all that's been going on around here.

Toddler Bed: Whew! I said a few posts ago how I thought our adventures were just beginning, and boy was I right! Gus would not stop crawling out of his crib, so we switched him to his toddler bed. It has not been an easy transition. If he stays up late and is really busy, then he will go to sleep without much of a fight. Otherwise, it is a battle. For example, I spend usually about an hour getting him to stay in his bed for a nap. We start with just putting him back in bed, multiple times. Then after he does not listen for a while, we have to start with discipline. Let me tell you, it isn't fun for anyone. I am so worn out in the afternoons, I really need a break while the kids nap. I have been putting them down at the same time each afternoon. But the time I get Gus to stay in his bed, Maddie wakes up. Argggg! Anyone who says this is easy is crazy! Just a moment ago I thought I heard Gus up, and I found him in the bathroom sitting on the counter playing with a pen drawing on nightlight. (I'm lucky that there isn't much gray hair in my family or else they would be appearing everywhere!)

Potty Training: So today, we started our potty training adventure. Now you ask why would we put these two big changes so close together?!?! Well, Gus had decided to take his diaper off all the time so we thought it might be getting close to time. I wanted to put it off until I was sure he was very ready. Then two days ago, he took his diaper off- unknown to me- before his nap, and he took his whole nap with out an accident and didn't have an accident until I put a new diaper on him. I thought that must be my sign, so our adventure has begun. At this moment, I'm exhausted! I will do a whole post on potty training another day. We are not there yet!

On some lighter notes!

I tried these rolls from Pinterest last night:


These rolls were easy and delicious and looked just like the picture. Now after reading how crazy things have been around our house, you have to know they can't be too difficult if I had time to make them. And my tips for making yeast breads! Make sure your water isn't too hot for the yeast. And I let mine rise in the bathroom with a heater on so it'll be nice and warm since I don't have a sunny window or anything.

I'm excited that it is so close to football season and am looking forward to watching the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday.

I am NOT cooking dinner tonight after all this potty training. My brain is already fried!

As always I'm looking forward to the weekend. But we will be spending it continuing to potty train. Do I really have a child old enough to do that?? It is still shocking sometimes. I love you Gus!!! You are such a big boy :)

Pinterest Projects- Canvas Letters

I am going to be posting a few of the Pinterest projects that I've done over the last few months. I have not done as many lately as I would like- due to the lack of time. (two kids under two) But- I am also going to put on here some that I made last Fall that I didn't post about!

Many of you may have seen this pin floating around:

Source: etsy.com via Catie on Pinterest

I wanted to make these for Gus and Maddie. To begin, I went to Hobby Lobby in search of fabric. For Maddie's, I took a swatch of her crib bumper material with me and matched it with all the fabrics and ribbon. This took some time since I decided to get multiple fabrics. For Gus, I just got two fabrics, and the colors in his room are easy to match. I found 8x10 canvases at Hobby Lobby for a good price. I hot glued the fabric on the canvas and then hot glued the ribbon around the edges

.

For Gus's letters, I bought wooden letters at Hobby Lobby. I then painted them. To attach them to the canvas, I poked a small hole and put a metal fastener (brad) through. I hot glued it to keep it in place and hung the letter on it. Here is how his turned out:

For Maddie's room, I did everything the same for the fabric and ribbon.

 I chose different letters for her, and Josh spray painted them white for me. They were much lighter and smaller than Gus's, so I was able to just hot glue them onto the canvases. And here are how her's turned out:

I like the way these look, and if I decide to change their rooms up in a few years, I won't feel bad getting rid of them since they weren't a huge expense. I also think the fabric might pull off of the canvas easily, and the canvas could be reused! This was an easy fun project that I really enjoyed. 

You can follow me on Pinterest by clicking on the link on the upper right hand side of this page!

Recent Pinterest Recipes

I use Pinterest all the time for ideas, and I wanted to share some of the ones I have used recently!!

Baked Ravioli

Source: tastykitchen.com via Catie on Pinterest

I recently made this baked ravioli. I just used frozen ravioli. It tasted really good!! The sauce is very yummy.

Bread

Source: keephomesimple.blogspot.com via Catie on Pinterest

I didn't believe it when it said you could make this bread in an hour, but you actually might be able to. I have made it twice now. Mine didn't rise a ton, but there are always so many factors in that- yeast, humidity, etc. Even though it didn't rise a lot, it was still good and quick! I'm sure I'll be making it again.

Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats

Source: foodsnots.com via Catie on Pinterest

I made these, and I'm pretty sure I ate most of them because they were yummy!!! I used just regular rice cereal, but I think the cocoa kind would be even better. I pressed them into a mini muffin tin. This made them the perfect size!!!

Million Dollar Spaghetti

Source: ashleykaitlin.blogspot.com via Catie on Pinterest

I loved this, but it wasn't my husband's favorite. He would have preferred it made with ricotta instead of cream cheese. I will probably try it again with ricotta for him. I'd make it just like the recipe for me!

Baked Chimichangas

Source: tastykitchen.com via Catie on Pinterest

We love Mexican food, and these were very good. And it's always great when it's a little healthier.

Crusty Bread

Source: simplysogood.blogspot.com via Catie on Pinterest

This bread really did get crusty! It takes a little planning ahead. I don't have a bakery in town, so at least we can have this bread now if we want it! 

I hope this might give you some ideas as you are cooking for your family! I have a board on my Pinterest where I have all the "Recipes I Made and Liked" if you would like some more ideas.

Pinterest Letter Craft

A few months ago I started on a project for both Gus and Little Miss. I wanted to do these fabric covered canvases for each of their rooms.

Source: etsy.com via Catie on Pinterest

 I finished Gus's a few weeks ago and am finally getting pictures up! Here are what the canvases looked like after I hot glued fabric and ribbon on them.

 I bought wood letters at Hobby Lobby and painted them. I then used brads  to hang the letters on and also hot glued them to the fabric. Here's how they turned out.

I really enjoyed making these, and they look great! I also love the ones I made for Little Miss's room, but of course you will have to check back with me after she is born to see those!

Linking HERE 

Wreaths

I had been wanting to make a fall wreath for our front porch and a few other crafts, so this morning Gus and I made a trip to Hobby Lobby. And this is what happens when your son has your phone while shopping. (and there were about 20 more that looked just like this)

Here is my finished product!

 

I hung it in the house just so I could work on it. Now this is the first wreath I have made like this, and I can't believe that it turned out. I really enjoyed picking out what to use, and I feel like it was a good deal comparing it to the price of wreaths you can buy already put together at Hobby Lobby or other stores.

I posted this picture from Pinterest a few days ago, and I had wanted to make one for Little Miss's room.

Source: iaminthearmytoo.blogspot.com via Catie on Pinterest

I bought stuff today to make it. As I was shopping, I came up with a few changes that turned out well!

 

 

I added the tulle to mine. I got the decorative pearl pins (corsage pins) and flowers in the bridal section at Hobby Lobby. This was very easy to make. I followed the directions on the blog from the pin on Pinterest, and then I just added the tulle. I put green on first, similar to leaves or greenery. I added the pink tulle in the middle of the pink felt. This was easy to make and not super expensive. 

Wreath ~ $5

Fabric~ on sale- $2.50 (I bought 1/2 a yard and only used about half of it)

Pink Felt~ 25 cents

Tulle- on sale $2.50- per color

Pearl Pins~ $2

Flowers- on sale $2.50

and then I used some regular pins as well

These prices are just an estimate of what I remember. 

I am enjoying doing crafts so much!! Yay!

Linking to Serenity Now 
Linking to Blissful and Domestic
Linking to 30 Days

Oh Pinterest

Oh Pinterest, I can't believe how much I use you now! I thought I might be crazy at first when I decided to check you out. And now, I find all my ideas for all kinds of things from you.

Recent finds:

Source: tastykitchen.com via Catie on Pinterest

Baked Chimichangas- so yummy!!! One recommendation is to heat the tortillas just a few seconds in the microwave so they don't crack. I topped them with my Ranch Jalapeno Dip, so good!! Here was mine: 

Source: alizadventures.blogspot.com via Catie on Pinterest

Apple Cake- not an exact recipe, but mine still turned out yummy. I added cinnamon and nutmeg. Top it with ice cream- yes for a Fall Treat!!! 

Source: simplysogood.blogspot.com via Catie on Pinterest

I'm planning to try this crusty bread tomorrow! 

Source: ashleykaitlin.blogspot.com via Catie on Pinterest

I'm planning to make this Million Dollar Spaghetti to go with the bread- cheese and pasta- can't go wrong :) 

Source: allthingstarget.com via Catie on Pinterest

If I only lived near a Target!! This has great deals to get at Target. 

Source: yumm.com via Catie on Pinterest

I've been craving crab rangoon, and I really want to try these baked ones to make at home. Just looking at the picture makes me hungry.

Source: iaminthearmytoo.blogspot.com via Catie on Pinterest

I want to find some fun fabric and make one of these wreaths for Little Miss's room. 

I could go on and on, but I better stop there! Follow me on Pinterest, there's a link on the top right side of my blog. 

P.S. Check out the Erin Condren Giveaway at Life in the Green House.

Cleaning and Organizing

If you enjoy Pinterest as much as I do, you have probably seen all the pins about organizing and cleaning different areas of the house. I saw this pin a few weeks ago, and it inspired me to clean our pantry.

Source: dollarstoremom.com via Catie on Pinterest

Amazing right???

This morning I planned to go to a nearby town to shop a little, but my Gus woke up with a slight fever. So I thought it best to stay in town. I got us ready and then drove down to Family Dollar. (I know.... if you know me well you know this doesn't happen often). I got just a few things to help me organize. This pin said they got all the supplies at the Dollar Store, but they only had a few things at our Family Dollar like these. I ran by Sonic on my way home, put Gus down for his nap, and started organizing.

 Here is what I started with: 

Please tell me that I'm not the only one with a scary pantry like this!!! I pulled everything out, threw away everything out of date. Then I started organizing. Sure, I think it would be fun to put everything in a separate bin, but that just wasn't practical for me and my pantry. My shelves are very short and not very deep. So I just got this basket, and some plastic bins to put a few things in. (basket- $6, set of 4 plastic bins not pictured- $6)

 I also had to tackle the bottom of the pantry- oh how I hate having a million plastic grocery bags. If I could just remember to take me cloth ones more often!

And here is the finished product- the tops shelves. I put all my sugar (brown and powdered) in a bin, and then I put all my cookie cutters and cupcake liners together in one. I already had the red plastic bin and that's where I keep potatoes and onions. I also put things that come in small packets, like instant oatmeal and microwave popcorn in a bin as well. 

And I cleaned up the floor! This bottom shelf is one of my favorite things now. I used the basket I bought to put chips, snacks and bread in. And I threw a bunch of the plastic bags away. And this is my poor little sick helper. 

I am glad I got this finished, and hopefully we can keep it this way.

I also cleaned out our fridge, which included take out the shelves and scrubbing them. I had this on my list to do last week and didn't do it. It's amazing how your fridge doesn't look stuffed when you have it cleaned out! Hopefully I can keep this clean too!

   

I hope this might give you some practical ideas for your pantry. I didn't get mine to look like a Pinterest picture, but it works for us!

Over the last few months, I have been trying to keep our home better organized and cleaner. I think this makes our life as a family easier. It makes me feel good when I have things straight, and I don't have to constantly walk by clutter. I still have a long way to go, but I am doing things one step at a time. What I did this morning I hope will relieve a little stress in our home. When I get things organized, it makes me happy! :)

It's August, so that means it's Fall... right?!?!

I know...... posting two days in a row! Crazy!

So my favorite time of year is Fall! I love the cool crisp air, leaves falling, wearing Fall colors and clothes, I could go on and on. And on top of that, it is leading to the MOST wonderful time of year- CHRISTMAS!

I don't change the decor in our house much in the spring and summer. Once it won't be super frowned upon- the Fall decorations come out!

 I got this candle from Bath and Body works this week, I love the smell!

 All I bought for this was the string and popcorn. I had seen the idea on Pinterest and gave it a try.

 I just added the bow and popcorn to this too.

 This was a printable I found on Pinterest, and I put it in the kitchen. I had the frame in a closet, so it didn't cost a thing!

I may add a few more little things, I saw this on Pinterest and want to do it too when it gets closer to Thanksgiving:

Source: google.com via Catie on Pinterest

Here are the pins from Pinterest I got my ideas from:

Source: myheartsdesireblog.com via Catie on Pinterest

Source: thepinkinkdoodle.blogspot.com via Catie on Pinterest

 The only thing I bought was the popcorn. I already had the string I used for these projects. I still feel like I updated my decor, but it only cost me $2!!

My little man and I have been have a few adventures this morning- which included him getting wet coffee grounds all over the house- really fun for mommy! I love this guy though.

 

Show and Tell Friday