DIY: From Mirror to Chalk Board

 

Remember that mirror I found at a garage sale from my April post? Well, I finally got around to re-purposing it. My original plan was to re-finish it for my parents front entry, but they found something else to use and I ended up keeping the mirror. I've always wanted to make a chalk board for my quest bedroom/craft room but I never found the right shaped, sized, or priced mirror I could transform until I got this one. This project was so easy and simple to make, anyone can pull this one off. All you need is an old mirror or picture frame, paint, painters tape, and patience.

DIY Lamp Upscale

 I've been on the lookout for a nice lamp to repurpose for my son's room, and a few weeks ago I came across this beauty at a garage sale and snatched it for $3 bucks! The main reason I fell in love with this particular lamp was because it was brand new and the base was all-wood-- and you know me, when it comes to all-wood furniture and fixtures. With a couple coats of spray paint, some jute, and a hot glue gun, you can transform an ugly lamp into a beautiful piece of decoration. Here is how I did it.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

 

Happy Monday everyone! Today I want to share with you a homemade laundry detergent I made a few weeks ago. Before I got into making my own laundry detergent, I used Kirkland's detergent but I was running out and I've always wanted to try making my own and going the more "natural" way since both my son and husband have more sensitive skin. I found *this* recipe and I decided to give it a shot... After a few weeks of using the homemade soap I'm completely sold. It cleans very well, the boys are not allergic to it, makes towels fluffy, and absorbs odor- that's from the baking soda. I'm very happy with this new method of washing clothes without harsh chemicals.

Carrot & Garlic Hummus

 I've always wanted to make hummus, but for some reason I thought it would be really complicated to make... turns out it's so easy to make you can whip it up in minutes. I like my hummus to have a little twist to it so I made it with carrots and garlic and let's be honest who doesn't like garlic?! Here is what you will need and how to make it. 

 Carrot & Garlic Hummus

1 cup carrots
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced (you can add more if you like garlic!)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dry ground mustard seed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

pinch of pepper

• Peel and steam the carrots for 20-25 minutes.They need to be pretty tender to blend well in the blender.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
Place all the ingredients in the food processor/blender and blend until thoroughly combined and smooth.

Serve on pita bread or with pita chips. Enjoy! 

DIY Chevron Clutch

Before I had a baby, I used to have a purse all to myself and didn't have to share with anyone. Just like every other mom, when you have a baby, you need a bag full of baby essentials. I found myself digging through my diaper bag one day looking for my chapstik and had a hard time finding it due to all the diapers, wipes, and toys. Later that day I had a light bulb moment and thought about making my own little clutch for easy access to my things.This clutch is not only for moms; anyone can make and wear this. It's very easy to make and perfect for beginners of DIY projects using the sewing machine. Here is how you make it:

DIY Cardboard Letters

Happy Friday everyone!! --I'm always changing things around in my house and, this time I decided to change my sons room from a little baby nursery into more of a play room. I bought some cubbies from Lowe's that I will be using to store all his toys... I found these awesome letters and I decided to do something similar for my sons room. -- I love cardboard letters because you can do endless things with them. And don't get me started on mod podge... I use it for a lot of projects and if you are wanting to start on the DIY road I recommend you get some, you will use it... I promise.  

So, here is how I got plain cardboard letters to look like this...

 

P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I absolutely love eating at P.F. Chang's but I don't always get a chance to go. I decided to start making some of my favorite dishes from there, so I started with their chicken lettuce wraps. They are really easy to make and taste amazing! I found this recipe, which I tweaked a little to my liking. Here is what you will need.

 P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps (My version)

1 lbs ground chicken breast
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons Asian chili pepper sauce (I used sriracha)
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil

ice burg lettuce leaves 

Rinse lettuce leaves, keeping them whole. Set aside to drain. 

Cook chicken in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring often to break up the meat. Add onion, garlic, soy sauce, ginger, vinegar and chili sauce. Cook until the meat is crumbled and brown. Add green onions. Cook until onions begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.

Stir in sesame oil. Arrange lettuce leaves on the outer edge of a platter. Spoon meat mixture in center. Serve with white rice.

 

 

Strawberry Greek Yogurt Smoothie

 Ever have those days where you want something cold and refreshing to drink? Well, I don't know about you, but I sure do. Whenever that feeling strikes I always turn to my magic bullet to help me make a delicious fresh fruit smoothie! This one is by far my favorite. It's made with fresh strawberries (you can use frozen as well) greek yogurt, a hint of raw honey, and a splash of cranberry juice. This refreshing smoothie always reminds me of a breezy mid summer day. Enjoy!

April Highlights

Another month has passed us by, I can't believe April is over and we are in May! --To get to know us as a family a little better and get a little "behind the camera/blog posts" I decided to share our highlights of the month. April was a very busy month for us. It started with a nice vacation in the sunshine state and ended with hard labor on our house.

We took Luke to the beach for the first time and we all had a blast. The water was to cold for him  but he loved the soothing sound of the ocean and slept like a baby! I was a little nervous abut this trip because I've never been on vacation with a 4 month old BUT it was a lot easier that I expected.

 On our way back from Florida, we got a little surprise from our transmission on our SUV and had to get a new car. You might be wondering, "why a van for one kid?" Well, since we needed to get a new car we decided to buy a van now because Luke will eventually have more brothers or sisters to play with. We also wanted a van because I'm pretty short and I had a hard time getting Luke in and out of a big SUV. The van is WAY easier and I love the automatic doors. 

I remember saying, "I am NEVER going to drive a van...Well my friends never say never.

 Our little peanut turned 4 months and started rolling over. We were so excited when he did it for the first time and now he won't stay still for one second.

 We have been working on replacing all our regular light bulbs to LED High efficiency ones and we finally finished -- we would buy a few at a time because they aren't cheap.

 I am working on redecorating our diniing area in our house and this is what I have so far. I'm still working on the bottom half of the wall, it needs to be painted white. And I'm still not sure if I want to put anything in the corner. I'll update on that soon.

 

I started going to garage sales and here is what I found.

-Garden bench for my parents backyard -- My dad is going to pressure wash it and repaint it.

- All-wood framed mirror that I'm going to re-finish for my parents' entry.

- Found some all-wood frames that I'm going to re-do *all-wood frames is something you dont want to pass.. there are endless things you can make with them.**

- Last but not least I found a brand new lamp that I'm going to re-do (I'm really excited about this one)

 Aaaand here is where the hard labor comes in. For the past week John and my dad have been working on putting french drains along our house. So yes, my yard is full of holes and trenches in it BUT it will be worth it in the end because they are getting all the drains to empty out deep into our backyard instead of near the house. This will give us a GREAT excuse to re-do our landscaping!! 

So there you have it folks, the highlights of our month... exicting right? 

I hope you all have a lovely month of May!!