At the last rehearsal dinner I was photographing, I saw the classiest Christmas/winter decorations. I LOVE them! I thought I would share them with you.

I love our home. It's spacious, nice, and I can paint walls any color I would like (something I didn't have in our last home). However, there is one little space that drives me crazy!!! The wall dividing our dining room from our living room and kitchen has a thermostat on it. The thermostat is off-centered, boxy, and an eye sore. I'm sure I would feel differently if it wasn't seen by everyone who comes into our home.

I thought of a plan to "fix" this. No, didn't move the thermostat. I just covered it up....with MAIL. I LOVE getting mail, and I keep cards and letters that are sent to me. There is something special about words written on paper... I just can't explain it.

I bought an ugly canvas with a beautiful frame at a thrift store a couple of months ago (I'll have to post the before picture later). It has been patiently sitting in our garage until I figured out what I wanted to do with it.

Here it is!!!!
Old frame, picture wire, and clothes pins. Love it! And that's a wedding invitation covering up the ugly thermostat.

I can't take credit for this recipe. I watched Rachel Ray make it on one of her shows, but it has become a favorite in our household. (I think she calls it something else, but Americana Italiana is shorter.)

Ingredients:
6 slices peppered bacon
1 box whole wheat penne pasta (cooked)
1 can fire roasted tomatoes (28 oz.)
2 medium red onions (chopped)
3 cloves of garlic
1 container of chicken stock
Fresh parsley and basil
Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese (shredded)

1. Heat up Olive Oil.
2. Cut up bacon and add to skillet. After about 3 minutes, add onions and garlic.
3. When onions are soft, add chicken stock and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Add pasta, parsley, and basil.
5. Top with cheese.


I hope this makes it to your dinner table tonight! Enjoy!

I found this awesome wire basket at Savers last month. I thought it would be great for holding my big cooking utensils on my kitchen counter... however, the salmon color did not match the color scheme in my kitchen. I turned to my handy-dandy friend.... SPRAY PAINT. I had some left over from a previous project. Total cost for project: $2.99.

Not all letters/cards have to be sent in the mail. As much as I love to send and receive mail, I also love to hand deliver cards. There's nothing like seeing someone's reaction to a thoughtful card.

Here's an idea for an envelope:
Decorate the outside according to what you have in common with the person you are writing to.

For example, the picture below is a card that I gave to a guy that my husband and I know at the gym. He is a dear friend to us now. He works at Anytime Fitness. (If you're in the Las Vegas area, I highly recommend this gym... especially if you work crazy hours like my husband.) He's pretty hard-core too! On his envelope, I drew the gym's logo as well as some of the equipment we use there.

Make whatever you give personal!

Next week, I'm doing a post on some DIY envelopes.... with paper you probably already have in your house.

Have a blessed weekend!

I recently finished my new office. Well, it's not really an office, it's more like just a desk. It's where I spend most of my day. Before I reorganized, I couldn't concentrate on a single task for very long. I would look around at all the papers and my brain would forget what I was doing and think about what to do with it all the clutter! AHHHH!!!!
But not anymore! Woo-hoo! Everything is organized and has its own place. FINALLY!
I took some pictures to show you the dramatic results.
I love my $15 sewing table/desk!

I now have an inspiration board! I bought a huge canvas painting at the thrift store (frame and all) for $3.50. The idea was to paint the canvas with magnetic paint so that I could use magnets on my board. Word of advice: Magnetic paint doesn't work so well on canvas. So, I went to the next idea, which is to use push pins. It gets the job done. Oh and by the way, the colors match the pillows in our living room (our apartment is one big room. lol!)
And my new lamp.... $3.50 from thrift store. The lamp shade is from Hobby Lobby ($15 regular $29.99)
Have a blessed Tuesday!

This post is long overdue! This post goes with a previous post... and there's more to come!

I have a friend who recovered my couch pillows for me. She did a fabulous job... and our pillows look a million times better! Thank you Alicia! They make our living room a much more enjoyable place!

BEFORE: UG-LY!!!!

AFTER: B-E-A-Utiful!
Have a blessed Thursday!

My husband and I currently live in an aparment where we can't paint the walls....boo!!!! So, for the past couple of weeks, I've been thinking of new ways to bring in color to our living room without painting the walls. I've been thrift store shopping (so much fun!) and redoing a couple of on sale items from Hobby Lobby. In the next few weeks, I'll post more of all my little projects, but for now, you'll have to settle for the painting. lol!

I got the frame from the thrift store for $2.50. It had a very UGLY bird painting in the middle....not any more!
My inspiration for the painting:
The painting (Its reference is to our first place that we've lived... It will be sentimental to us when we move... I know it will!)
Have a blessed day!