Nautical Toddler Room Reveal

While I was pregnant with Ellie (baby #2), I decided to change my son's room from a nursery to a "big boy room". Even though it still has a few things you would find in a nursery such as the crib, and the changing table.  I added a toy bin, a book wall, and an alphabet mat to make it more appropriate for a toddlers age. Originally I wanted to decorate his room with hints of nautical pieces, but didn't have much success in sticking to that at first, until I collected my ideas and made a few pieces of decor myself, like the nautical sign above his crib, the rope mirror, and the white washed sign.

Below are a few pictures of how it looked before.

And here is how it looks now.

Now let's be honest for a second. It's a toddlers room, it's not always this organized and put together and when it is, it stays that way only when the little guy is not in his room. There are usually toys and books scattered across the whole room and the alphabet mat is never complete because he loves to take it apart.

Back to Blogging

Hello there! Long time no see, right? After a long break from blogging I am back and I couldn't be happier to be writing again. I've missed everything about blogging and I definitely feel ready to pick up where I left off a few months ago.

As most of you may know, 4 weeks ago I gave birth to a sweet baby girl, Ellie Jane. She is the sweetest, and I am so thankful for her gentleness and the fact that she only wakes up once at night, eats and falls right back to sleep. I have recovered very nicely and having 2 kids isn't as scary as I thought it would be. I think the fact that Ellie is so well behaved makes it so much easier to give Luke the attention he needs at this age (he's 14 months). 

Either way, I am happy to have things go back to normal and for me to start sharing yummy recepies and fun DIY's with you again.

10 DIY Christmas Decorations

 Christmas time really is the most wonderful time of the year! In our family the main focus of Christmas is the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We try not to get caught up in the shopping, planning, eating, and chaos of the season. Don't get me wrong, I still like to decorate the house and make Christmas treats, but since I'm 8 months pregnant this Christmas season I wasn't able to make too many things myself so here are some of my favorite crafts that I would have made.

 A Beautiful Mess

 Remodelaholic

 Shanty 2 Chic

 One Project Closer

 View From the Fridge

 Southern Scraps

 Design Dining and Diapers

 Lemonade Makin' Mama

 Clean & Scentsible

 

Cherished Bliss 

 Merry Christmas!

Deconstructed Christmas Wreath

After a short Thanksgiving break from blogging, I'm back with a Christmas craft! This will be my first Christmas post on the blog and I'm pretty excited about it. 

We spent Thanksgiving week with the part of our family that live in the Midwest which was a lot of fun. While we were there, two of my sister-in-laws planned this neat craft-- we made deconstructed wreaths... This isn't your traditional Christmas wreath that's for sure, but I absolutely love how they turned out and as always this is a very easy craft to put together.  

    

 We started off with a variety of pretty ribbon and different ornaments.

 I decided to make a more rustic piece so I grabbed some burlap and red ribbon to start my bow.

 I used the same technique to make my bow as I did for my *fall wreath*

1. Cut both ribbons the same size.

2. Bring both ends towards the middle and bind together with a hot glue gun. 

3. Pinch in the middle. 

4. Secure with floral wire.

 Tie a few pieces of twine in the middle of the bow. I made mine different sizes to give it dimension. 

 After you have your twine tied, it's time to add a center to the bow. I chose to make a cluster of mini pine cones, cinnamon sticks, and berries for the center of my bow by gluing them together with a hot glue gun.

  

 After the center was finished I tied one ornament to the end of each twine and glued clusters on the top of each ornament to match the center of the bow.

 

 This is how mine turned out.

 SIL #1's wreath... she went with the classy red and gold colors which turned out very pretty. 

 SIL #2's wreath... She went with the fun festive red and green colors! 

All 3 wreaths turned out very cute and we had a blast making them. 

What's your favorite Christmas craft?

Rosemary Garlic Bread

 My mom is a fantastic baker. She makes everything from melt-in-your-mouth desserts to fresh buttery baked bread.-- she even made my wedding cake! I surprised myself the other day and decided to make bread. Since my garden is full of rosemary, I went with baking a delicious loaf of rosemary garlic bread. (Thanks to my mom for all the tips since I've never baked bread before.)
I was so surprised when I took the first bite, it was soft, moist, perfectly seasoned! This type of bread pairs perfectly with a little butter and pinch of salt on top.

Some of the loafs my mom baked a few days ago.  

 Rosemary Garlic Bread 

1 cup warm water

1 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. active dry yeast

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped + a little extra for sprinkling on top

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups white flour 

a handfull of corn meal 

Egg wash

1 egg whisked

1 Tbsp. water

 In a large bowl, combine warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let it sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast. 

Stir in the salt, rosemary, garlic powder, pepper, olive oil, and whole wheat flour. Add the white flour and stir until the dough forms into a ball. Knead on a floured surface for about 5 minutes. Add more flour to prevent sticking, the dough should be smooth. Place the dough in a large lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 1 hour. 

After 1 hour, punch the dough down and form into a ball. Place onto parchment paper that is lightly dusted with corn meal, cover, and let it rest for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven and pizza stone to 400 F. After 45 minutes, carefully place the dough on the hot pizza pan and lightly brush with egg wash and sprinkle with chopped rosemary. Bake for 25 minutes, until top is golden brown.

(This is a modified recipe. Original recipe adapted from All Recipes)