Stanley the Snow Loving Dog

I have not been enjoying all the snow we've received lately.

At least our little Stanley likes it!

We love our little snowball!

Check out Debbie's Pet Party @ Debbiedoos Blogging and Blabbing

My Newly Organized Pantry

I've been meaning to clean out our pantry for a few weeks now.  It was a total mess.  I would just throw stuff in and quickly shut the door hoping it would stay.  I've never been crazy about the design of our pantry.  The shelves are so deep that stuff would get shoved to the back and never see the light of day again.  I was reading Lisa's blog over at Popcorn Served Daily and she had just posted pictures of her organized pantry.  I was completely inspired and started on ours that evening!

One of the biggest changes I made that has helped a TON was taking out two of the shelves.  You would think that more shelves would equal more storage.  Nope.  Taking the selves out made organizing so much easier.  And you can actually see the back of the pantry now!

Look at this mess!

I made some fun container labels using Photoshop. 

These aren't really necessary but once I start organizing I get a little carried away.

A well stocked stash of popcorn and hot chocolate is essential for these cold winter evenings. :)

I have all the baking items in this corner.
It's so handy to have the flour and sugar right there instead of digging around in cabinet for it.
Why didn't I do this sooner?!

I've found that Big Lots has a great selection of little shelves and bins.  What I didn't find there I got at Target.

It was a big job to tackle the mess but It's making things so much easier in the kitchen. 

Thanks Lisa for inspiring me to organize!!
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Linked to: Inspiration Friday @ Southern In My Heart, Show & Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home, Kitchen Clean Up Party! @ Beneath My Heart, Between Naps on the Porch, Organize It @ Thrifty Decor Chick

Sentimental Artwork

I am such a sentimental person.  There are several "memory boxes" around our house that are full of notes, menus, ticket stubs, maps, cards... you name it and it's probably in there.  I love the memories that are brought back to mind when looking through everything.  Since I rarely see all these special items, I decided to frame a few things so I can look at them everyday.   I'm in the process of revamping our computer room and the sentimental artwork adds the perfect touch.

Here are the two pieces I chose for the project.  A coffee sleeve from The Coffee Shop in Gilbert, AZ.  We loved relaxing on their beautiful patio and munching on their amazing pastries when we lived in Arizona.  Definitely a happy memory.  The other piece is a business card from a cute little cafe we visited in Hawaii.  

I used some inexpensive frames that I spray painted black.

I thought about using scrapbook paper for the background but decided it was too busy looking.  I just wanted a nice white background.  I looked around and found a leftover box from Christmas.  The base made the perfect background - nice and sturdy.

I taped the items on the white cardboard then placed them under the glass.

I set The Coffee Shop art next to a photo collage I made of the cafe.  

What an easy project that's filled with wonderful memories!

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Linked to: Boring to Better @ Savvy Southern Style, Creative Share Wednesday @ The Trendy Treehouse, 
Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, Inspiration Friday @ Southern In My Heart, My Romantic Home, Between Naps on the Porch

Extreme Makeover {Savannah Episode} on This Sunday!!

Remember back in November when we stumbled on the cast of Extreme Makeover Home Edition filming in Savannah?  Well the show is going to be on air this Sunday!  We are so excited!  We were able to watch all the filming that was done outside of Paula Deen's restaurant, but didn't get to see what was happening inside.  This Sunday we'll get to find out!  

Be sure to watch at 8/7c on ABC 

Click HERE for my original post about all the excitement!

Delicious Tomato Feta Bruschetta

I've seen this recipe floating around Blogland and decided to make it for my family's get together on Christmas Eve.  After one bite, I was hooked!  This is the easiest recipe to make and it tastes absolutely wonderful. 

The original recipe is from Clover Lane.

Here's what you need:

Olive Oil

Tomatoes

Green Onions

Feta

Cavender's Greek Seasoning

Here's what you do:

Pour olive oil on the bottom of your platter, then add all the other ingredients. 

Mix together and serve on lightly toasted french bread.

Linked to:

 
 

Tuesday at the Table
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Foodie Friday

Happy Snowy Monday

Our week is starting out very cold...

Can you spot a furry little someone?!  

A Week Full of Owls and Cupcakes!

Whew, I'm back!  The last couple of weeks have kept me busy with all kinds of fun-filled Christmas activities.  My 11 year old niece came back with us to Kansas City and spent the week here so we could continue on with the fun.  We had a busy week full of movie watching, eating out, shopping, and cupcake making.  It was pretty rough. ;)  My niece is really into owls so we got online and found a cute idea for owl cupcakes.  After stocking up on Oreos, Junior Mints, banana Runts, and frosting, we got to work. 

 

She even had an owl necklace on while making the cupcakes.

 

 

 

 

Here are the finished owls!  We had a hard time eating them because they were just too cute.  Each one seemed to have their own little personality.  We were about to name each owl but thought that may be taking it too far. :)

 

 

Later in the week we rang in the New Year complete with festive cupcakes.  She came up with the design and sketched out the plan.  I was just there to help. :)

 

 

 

 

My niece is in the process of redoing her room so we decided to make some owl pictures to hang on her wall.  We searched Google images and found some ideas we liked, then I traced them in Adobe Illustrator {love that program} and added our own touch to the design.  We found some inexpensive frames and spray painted them white.  We were very pleased how they turned out.  Talk about cheap wall art! 

I love the orange and blue color combination in this print so I had one made for myself!

We had such a fun week!  Being an Aunt is the best. :)


Linked to Show & Tell Friday