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Making Bathroom Storage Pretty

One of my dreams is to renovate our master bathroom down the road, but until then the drawers and cabinets in our vanity needed a quick fix. They were lined by a previous owner with some super country-cutesy gingham and heart-filled contact paper and I can't believe it took me this long to rip it out and start fresh. (I swear I took before pictures of this project and now I can't find them which is a huge bummer because the before & after would have been awesome.)

I found a big roll of bright and pretty contact paper at TJ Maxx for like $5.99 and it was perfect for prettying up our bathroom drawers and cabinets. I also did a huge purge of all the junk that was overflowing in this area. I used some drawer organizers and bins from the Dollar Store and I'm feeling so much better about this space. Overall it cost me about $10 to fix up 3 cabinets and 7 drawers!

The light in this bathroom isn't great so it was hard to get good pictures of all the cabinets. I love the white towels against the blue paper. It feels so fresh and so clean clean (Outkast anyone?).

I grabbed some plastic tubs to corral similar items that were spread out all over the place before. Stuff like extra sunscreen now has a place to live instead of hiding in the back of the cabinet where no one can find it.

On either end of the vanity are three smaller drawers that house all the daily-use items so my husband and I each have a set of three. I took the picture below before the drawers were filled because you really don't need to see all our personal choices in bath products. Although clearly as seen above we're big fans of Dove soap.

I love how something as simple and cheap as contact paper can make over a space. For a week after I made this change, I would just open the drawers and cabinets to see how pretty they looked. Organization tasks are so much more appealing when they can be nice looking too!


Linking up to 
I Heart Organization

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

If you're living in Low-Carb Land like me right now, you might be missing certain indulgences like, oh I don't know, bread in general! But let's get specific here. Pizza is a huge program buster, especially if you're on a low-carb plan, so I went searching for alternatives. I didn't have to look very hard because there are a lot of recipes out there for cauliflower pizza crust.

Even if you're not avoiding carbs, this is a healthier, lower-calorie option packed with veggies. The recipe I used is from Sandy's Kitchen and can be found here. After making cauliflower pizza a couple times, I now know that the key is making the crust thin so that it has the maximum potential for crispiness. Soggy crust is bad on real pizza and downright unbearable with cauliflower crust so spread it thin, people!

The crust is just grated raw cauliflower, shredded cheese, egg beaters and some seasonings. I used the shredding disk on my food processor but you could grate the cauliflower by hand too.

Using a spring-form pan makes it simple to get the crust into that perfect pizza shape, aka a circle. Covering the bottom in parchment paper before you snap the pan together and giving it a spray or two of cooking spray makes it a lot easier when it's time to flip the crust.

After baking the crust for 30 minutes, you flip the crust and bake for an additional 10-15 to get it nice and crispy. The edges will look a little burnt but that means you're doing it right!

Throw some toppings on with some sauce and some cheese and bake or broil for another 5-10 minutes. I just baked it and had no problem. I pureed a can of diced tomatoes and used about half a cup as the sauce. Yum yum.

So I'm not gonna lie. This dish will not be an exact replica for real pizza dough. But it's definitely a reasonable substitution to help kick the craving. And it's easy. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Books for Kids

As soon as Halloween was over, the kids were ready to launch into Thanksgiving. I think my 5 year old even started talking about it at bedtime on Halloween :) One of our favorite ways to get excited for any holiday or special occasion is to read about it together and this year I realized that we don't have a very good selection of Thanksgiving books. I was on a mission to gather some but of course ten minutes after Halloween, the library was already completely cleaned out of Thanksgiving books! I found one turkey-related story. ONE. The book store has a great selection but I knew I could get them cheaper on Amazon so I did a little research and then chose a handful to order. All but one have arrived and we've been really happy with the selection.

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey

This goofy spin on the original 'Twas the Night story is about a class field trip turned rescue mission at a turkey farm. The rhymes are reminiscent of the Christmas version, but the story is silly and both my kindergartener and almost 3 year old loved it. The illustrations are great but it's the hilarious antics of the school kids that really make this story fun.

A Plump and Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman

Another silly story of turkey-related shenanigans, this one doesn't disappoint! I don't think we've read anything by Teresa Bateman, but I will definitely look for other stories because her writing is wonderful. The story revolves around a town in need of a Thanksgiving turkey for their annual feast and the lengths they go to lure what they believe to be an unknowing participant. It turns out the turkey might be on the clever side and the result is the townspeople learning that Thanksgiving is really about being thankful for what you have.

10 Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston

Silly stories seem to be our theme this year, but my little one especially enjoyed this one. Each of the turkeys in this story attempts some sort of stunt that doesn't go so well. It's great for counting (and especially counting backward.) And in the end you find out that all the turkeys are safe and sound.

The Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern

If you're looking for a more realistic portrayal of pilgrim life and the first thanksgiving, then I highly recommend this one. It's definitely for the older crowd, but my five year old daughter has a very inquisitive mind so it was perfect for her. It's on the longer side so it makes for a lengthy reading session, but the story is divided into sections based on the seasons so you could break it up into multiple story times. The illustrations are great and the story is full of rich detail painting a picture of those early Pilgrim times.

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Allison Jackson

Along the lines of the old lady who swallowed the fly, this story follows an old woman who manages to eat an entire Thanksgiving feast. It's pure silliness and my kids think it's hilarious. The only thing I wish was different was the "Perhaps she'll die" bit at the end of each segment. The consequence could easily be something a little less dire straits than death, although for the record, the old woman does not die and the end is pretty funny.

Thanksgiving on Plymouth Plantation by Diane Stanley

Another book for slightly older kids, this one is a more creative twist on the traditional Pilgrim story. The main characters are twins who time travel to Plymouth Plantation with their grandmother to learn first-hand about the early settlers and their harvest celebration. The illustrations are fantastic and there are plenty of details about Pilgrim history. My five year old enjoyed it but it was a little lengthy for my little guy's attention span. I definitely want to check out other stories by Diane Stanley after reading this one.

Happy reading!

Halloween in Oz

Yes, I'm completely aware that it's a week into November and I'm a little behind the game here, but I have to share our Halloween theme before we're too far gone. Right before Halloween last year I found some amazing Oz inspiration from Brooklyn Limestone. Stefanie is a creative genius and every Halloween she really goes above and beyond with her amazing ideas!

Unfortunately it was too close to the big day and I was already into the dance with our pirate theme so I pinned away and promised myself I would follow through the next year. So here we are all decked out and ready for some serious trick or treaters!

I used a projector to focus images of the flying monkeys and wicked witch on black posterboard, then traced the images with white chalkboard pen and cut them out.

You can see our yellow brick road (so easy with some yellow chalk although I did have a major fingernail situation when I was hurrying to finish)!

Our yellow brick road led to the front door, which was wrapped in green plastic table cloths to look like the entrance to the Emerald City, and our creepy sign was draped in cobwebs.

Witch legs peeked out from under the house right near the front door. I scored those witchy shoes at a local thrift shop for $2.

And of course no Oz theme would be complete without the ruby slippers...

I loved how everything turned out and it was pretty inexpensive overall. Now I just have to come up with a theme for next year!

Linking up to...
Design, Dining & Diapers
Becoming Martha

Medifast Pancake Muffins

So the hubs and I have been trying to lose some weight and a friend got me hooked up with Take Shape for Life, a program geared toward improving your overall health with a focus on weight loss and nutrition. TSFL uses the Medifast portion-controlled meal replacements to help with weight loss and gradually transitions to regular food with healthier habits. Over the past couple months I've tried a number of different Medifast products and also experimented with a handful of recipes that use the Medifast meals. Sometimes I get sick of the repetition of the same meals, so it's fun to test out recipes that alter them slightly or transform them into a different type of meal. I'll post some of the recipes I've gotten from other bloggers and my results soon, but for today here's one of my own creations.

One of the big no-nos on the Medifast plan is bread so obviously if you are used to eating a lot of bread products, it can be kind of a bummer. I made a "muffin" using the Medifast Original Pancake mix because sometimes I just don't feel like eating an actual pancake. It was quick, simple to make and a delicious breakfast alternative.

Pancake Muffins

(Servings: 2 medifast meals with 1/2 condiment each or 3/4 condiment each if you use sugar-free syrup)

2 Medifast Pancake packets (any flavor)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup cold water

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together all ingredients (I use the blender bottle). Spray two cups of an extra-large muffin tin with cooking spray. Divide the mixture between the two cups. Bake 18-20 minutes.

I poured about 1/2 tbsp of Walden Farms Pancake Syrup on a plate and cut the muffin in half and dipped it in the syrup but you could use just about any spread you wanted that complies with the plan. I know you can make pancake muffins in the microwave but I've noticed that a lot of the meals taste better when I bake them in the oven. I personally liked this better and it would easily slice in half for to use for a breakfast sandwich alternative. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Lamp Transformation

Our living room is a giant work in progress, but I made one small step recently with a new lamp for our end table. The awesome guy who custom made our kitchen cabinets agreed to make us a small end table/cabinet for our tv components. It has a glass door so you can still use the remotes, but everything is neat and contained, which is the opposite of what it was after the living area was first renovated.

I recently found a GIANT consignment store near our house and I've been going in about once a week checking around for good deals. Last week I decided to see if they had any lamps for cheap and happened upon this little lady who was just begging for some spray paint.

Not that I don't love peachy-mauve... but it wasn't going to work in my house without some new paint. I liked the shape and it was working fine so I figured some spray paint love and a new shade would do the trick. The shade that came with it was so dirty and ugly I left it at the store. I covered the important parts with tinfoil, primed it and gave it two light coats of Rustoleum Heirloom White. 

And here she is now...

Did I mention this lamp was $10 at the consignment shop?!? The shade was $20 at Target and if it looks just a little shiny, it's because I hadn't completely decided if this was the one when I took the picture so it was still wrapped in plastic :) For $33 including the lamp, shade and can of spray paint, I have what I really wanted at a third of the cost. I saw a similar lamp online at Ballard Designs, but with two small (and sometimes clumsy) children, I don't need a $219 lamp in our main living area! 

Now I need to figure out the wall behind the sofa and we'll be on our way to finishing this room (at least for now!)

I'm still so happy when I look at the before and after...

Thanks for stopping by!

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Spring In My Step

I know it's still snowing in a lot of places but here in sunny southern California, it's been spring for a while. So I decided it's time to come out of hibernation! I love to use fresh flowers to give some new life to our home. I got the flowers at Trader Joe's, one of the best sources for reasonably priced flowers.

I found the parsley and sage hanging boxes at Homegoods and I couldn't believe my luck. I had seen them in Layla's kitchen on The Lettered Cottage and loved them for so long. Then I was just strolling through Homegoods and there they were!

I love the bright green and yellow of the tulips when you first walk in the door. We still have little hands in this house that like to pull things off of tables so I don't put much within reach but this simple arrangement makes the entry feel much more welcoming.

Thanks for visiting!

On Hiatus

The past month has been chock full of transitions for our family. In a matter of three weeks, my "baby" boy moved out of the crib into a toddler bed, gave up the bottle, and started showing interest in potty training. Oh and he turned two years old!

Despite a fun solo getaway for my birthday to visit my sister in San Francisco, I've been feeling just a little overwhelmed by all this change. I'm usually pretty good at rolling with the punches but as I told some friends recently, I feel like my hand was forced on some of these big transitions and so I wasn't as psychologically or physically ready to handle them as I would have liked. I suppose that's the nature of parenting but still it's sent everything else out of whack.

I haven't been able to put the energy into writing posts or even finishing projects that I need to and yet the blog is always in the back of my mind. So last night I decided that I need to take a break from blogging for just a couple months so I can get back on track in other more important areas of my life. I hope you will keep checking in and come back once I'm writing again. I hope that when I do come back I will have plenty to share!

Food Storage Revamp

Today I had the chance to go grocery shopping by myself. You know you are a mom of small children when going to the grocery store alone feels like a vacation! I went to Trader Joes which makes the experience even better because these days shopping at TJs with my kids is a nightmare. The aisles are so small and it's always crowded and my little ones' arms seem to reach sooo far. 

Anyway... I went shopping and when I got home and put everything away, I realized that it's high time for a little fridge/freezer/pantry reorganization. I grabbed a few pictures for inspiration off Pinterest. There were a lot of great ideas for french door style refrigerators but we have a traditional side by side so I tried to stick with pictures showing the same layout.

*Please pin these from the original source. It takes a few seconds extra but directs people to the real source that deserves the credit.

 Rubbermaid Blog

Real Simple

Ask Anna

Squawkfox

I included the last example even though it's french door style because it has some good tips about actual food storage and not just how to keep things from falling all over the place. 

Now in the name of keeping it real, here are the before pix of my fridge and freezer. I love them being full, but hate that all the organizing I've done in the past has kind of fallen to the wayside. 

Umm.... whoa. The freezer looks like it could all come tumbling out at any minute. 

After some strategic rearranging and cleaning the shelves, drawers and walls of the fridge and freezer, here are the after photos. 

I used some white plastic bins from Ikea and Target to corral the lunch meats, yogurt and snacks since those things seem to quickly spread out and take over. I had the plastic bin meant for juice boxes which I used for a few randoms since we don't typically have a lot of juice boxes on hand. 

I removed the fruits and veggies from their plastic bags so we could not only see what we have in the bins but also how much is left.

Amazingly I didn't have that much expired food to toss. I go through everything quickly almost every week the night before the trash gets picked up so pretty much what we had was useable. I did get rid of a bunch of packaging just to clear out space. It's also easier to see what you have if it's not in a box.

I'm very happy with the results and it's a great way to start the week feeling so organized! 

Linking up to Design, Dining & Diapers

A Gift For A Lifetime

I love opening presents. I think it makes me feel a little bit like a kid again, remembering all the anticipation that would build before a birthday or Christmas morning. My own children are at the point where the process of opening almost overshadows the gift itself. This past Christmas, we could barely contain my daughter as she sped from one package to the next. I get it. Really I do. But I'm also old enough experienced enough to know that peeling off the paper is a momentary thrill while the gift itself holds the real value (well, usually).

Even the best gifts rarely have true lasting power. I don't mean to sound pessimistic or ungrateful, but the truth is clothes will go through wear and tear, gift cards get spent, make up gets used up. Even my fabulous macbook from last Christmas will at some point need to be replaced (hopefully not for a long, long time). But this year, my sister gave me a gift meant to last a lifetime.

My Prudent Advice by Jaime Morrison Curtis is a sort of fill-in-the-blanks journal meant to be passed from a mother to her daughter. It's broken into sections like "On Friendship" or "On Being a Woman" and each section has a series of writing prompts that allow a mom to pass on her thoughts and/or advice to her daughter. There are also "free" sections where you can write about the section's theme without any specific prompt.

You could probably sit down and fill this book in a matter of months, but since my daughter is still so young, I plan to take my time over the next several years to finish. I think it would make a great gift for her 18th or 21st birthday or when she graduates from high school or even college. There's nothing inappropriate but some of the topics are a little more mature, which makes me think it would be a better gift for when she's older. Not that I didn't have a sincere interest in politics or education when I was 13... right, so you get my point.

I have already started writing in it and it makes my heart lurch just a little to think of my baby girl as a young woman reading what I've written to her. Although I hope to have a long time to share all these things, one bonus of the written word is that it has some serious staying power. That's also why I'm being careful and intentional about what I write. I want her to have a collection of my thoughts and advice that she can return to even after I'm gone someday. I'm very grateful to my sister for this gift and while I'm in no hurry, I look forward to the day when I can pass this to my sweet baby girl.

The Best of 2012

I thought that it would be fun to kick off 2013 by looking back at some of my best posts from 2012. A lot of blogs I read have been doing this and I personally really like seeing the highlight reel from the past year. So here are some of the favorites, both mine and yours (based on comments and pageviews). As always, I'm thankful to those who take the time to visit!

1. Banana Oatmeal Muffins 2. Fabric-covered drawers 3. Linen Closet Makeover 4. 31 Days Series 5. Fall Front Porch 

6. Kids Craft Packs 7. Medicine Cabinet Reorganization 8. Master Bedroom Closet Overhaul 9. Kitchen Reveal

Starting 2013 With A Bang

Happy New Year! I am so excited for all that this next year will bring, both for my family and this blog. I have a lot of home projects in mind and I hope to share them with all of you. You probably noticed I took a little bit of a break from posting these last few weeks and I can only blame the busyness of the holidays. I did some good pre-Christmas shopping and planning but once the ball got rolling, it was moving a little faster than I expected. I guess it was just a good reminder to plan ahead even better next year.

I needed to step back from the blog in order to really enjoy the holiday season with my little family. We did so many fun things together during the month of December and it all culminated in a lovely Christmas and New Year celebration. The kids had a blast on Christmas morning and my Christmas dinner turned out extremely well (with a lot of help from my amazing sister)! I will share the menu one of these days and maybe even some pictures if I can scrounge any up. Even though I was pretty excited with how my holiday decorating turned out, I managed to not take any pictures before I took it all down. Well done, blogger, well done. Oh well. Not much to do about it now :)

After all of the crazy, fun chaos of the holidays, I was ready to settle back into our normal routine. Instead, as a belated Christmas present for me and the hubs (not really) my little guy climbed out of his crib for the first time on Sunday. Instead of crossing off some other tasks on the to-do list, the hubs and I spent Sunday afternoon taking down his crib and putting together a new big-boy bed. Our little guy will be two at the end of this month and I reallllly wasn't ready for him to be out of the crib, but I also wasn't prepared to risk him climbing out again and getting seriously hurt. So far he's done pretty good in his new bed, although naptime mostly involves him turning on his lights and looking at books or pulling the clothes out of his dresser. Nothing like starting the new year off with some major transition.

Hope everyone's year is off to a wonderful start and I look forward to sharing some good stuff soon!

So Little To Say

Since Friday, so much has been said. News articles have been written. Blog posts have been published. Facebook statuses are abundant. Some are factual, some are encouraging, most are grief-stricken.

You don't have to be a parent to feel the sting of Friday's tragedy. Our entire nation and maybe even a good portion of the world stands back, utterly horrified by what happened. It was difficult to read the news updates and see images of a community in shock and at some point, I stopped reading because it was just too overwhelming. As a mother, the thought that something like this could happen to our children at our school is more than I can bear.

There's not much I can do now but hug my children a little tighter, let them know how deeply I love them and pray. I pray for the protection and safety of our family, say thank you for the time we have together this day, and ask for comfort for the families changed forever by this tragedy.

The Ultimate Holiday Comfort Food - Super Easy Turkey Pie

If there's one food that I love to make this time of year, it's a Turkey Pie. A lot of people call it turkey pot pie, but I don't know why and the name bothers me for some reason. So we just call it turkey pie (or chicken pie if that's the case.)

A little background... my husband and I started dating in October so it wasn't long before the holiday season was approaching. Our relationship was new so to avoid an awkward conversation about whether we should spend Thanksgiving together, I simply made plans to spend turkey day with a girlfriend in San Francisco. The weekend before Thanksgiving, my then-boyfriend invited me to come to dinner at his house with a couple friends. When I arrived, I discovered that he had cooked an entire turkey dinner ON HIS OWN so that we could still celebrate Thanksgiving together. What a catch!

Since then we've often hosted a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner with a small group of friends. There's always a lot of turkey leftover so I use this very simple recipe that I got from my aunt to turn some of the leftovers into a simple and delicious dinner. This year we weren't able to host our traditional dinner so I used a roasted turkey breast from the store instead. The beauty of this recipe is that you can sort of throw in whatever you have left from a turkey dinner.

You will need:
2 - 2 1/2 cups shredded turkey or chicken (cooked)
2 pre-made frozen pie crusts, thawed
1 cup corn (frozen is fine and doesn't need to be pre-cooked)
1 cup peas (frozen works too)
1 1/2 cups pre-cooked potatoes, cut in 1 inch chunks
1 1/2 - 2 cups gravy (you can use the jarred kind if you don't have any leftover)
anything else you want to throw in such as onions, carrots, celery (all pre-cooked or frozen work best)

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and take your pie crusts out of the freezer. Let them sit while you round up and prepare the other ingredients - shred the turkey/chicken, chop veggies, cut potatoes.

2. Use one of the pie crusts as the base for your pie. They usually come in a foil pie plate which will work just fine.

3. Dump in your leftovers or ingredients and pour the gravy over, mixing gently with a spoon or fork. Be careful not to tear the crust.

4. Gently remove the other pie crust from its tin plate and lay it on top of your pie, pinching the edges to seal them. Try not to tear it, but don't stress out if you do. Just sort of pinch it back together. Channel The Nester here and remember that it doesn't have to be perfect to be delicious.

5. Put the pie plate on a cookie sheet to catch spills and put it on the center rack. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or so. The crust should be a nice golden brown. I sometimes turn on the broiler for just a few minutes at the end to make it crispier.

Hello yummy deliciousness!

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I'm Still Here!

I promise I'm still here. I didn't intend to take a blogging break but things have been a little crazy around here with sickies, work trips for the hubs and general busyness of life. I do have some projects in the works. You can see a sneak peek on Facebook!

Be back soon!!

Thankful on Thanksgiving

Yes, I know it's Sunday. I just couldn't miss the last installment of Thankfulness Thursdays with Ashley at Domestic Fashionista. We were out of town for the holiday and the trip didn't exactly go what you would call smoothly. Taking a time out to blog about being thankful was pretty much out of the question so I had to delay my post a little.

Over the past sixteen weeks, I've shared my gratitude for my husband.

For my children.

For my parents, parents-in-law, and my sister.

For the beautiful place we call home.

For my Bible study.

For my closest girlfriends.

I've expressed my gratitude for a number of other people and things as well, all which amount to a very blessed life.

It's easy to forget all these things in the midst of a sleepless "vacation" on the day when you are supposed to be most thankful, internally feeling the pressure to be your very best mom-self in front of the surrounding family and the kids are sick and misbehaving and difficult and you mostly just want to be alone and have a complete breakdown, but you can't because it's Thanksgiving. It's possible that there are moments when you look at those around you and think "I love you so much I would walk through fire for you, but I wouldn't mind sitting at that table over there right now." But the truth is that even that very unthankful statement reminds you just how gloriously grateful you are to be where you are with the people who matter so very much to you.

While that small sentiment won't give you back the hours of sleep you've lost or wipe the snotty noses or prevent the tantrums, it will help you remember that although you may feel like the worst mom in the world, you are overjoyed that you are the mom to these two wild hooligans that you love to pieces. And even though you feel like the worst wife in the world, it will remind you that you are over the moon for this man and you would never ever want to be anyone else's wife. So it is with these small, but ever so large statements in mind, that I celebrate Thanksgiving.