Monday, March 18, 2013

Zucchini "Spaghetti"

All right I love spaghetti, but when I decided in August to cut my carbs to get healthy and lose weight, spaghetti had to go.  Not just spaghetti, but pasta in general.  When I am measuring out my food, pasta is not worth it even though it used to be one of my favorite things to eat.  The first thing I tried was spaghetti squash.  I like it, but not a huge fan of the texture (I'm pretty special like that.)  So, what to do....I got the idea to try zucchini which I also love.  The first time I tried it I grated it and it was too small, but tasted great.  This time I cut it up and it was even better and super healthy.  I know this isn't for everyone, but we really enjoy it here.  If you are looking for an alternative to pasta and like zucchini, you should give it a try.

Zucchini Spaghetti

1 pound of ground turkey
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
zucchini (I usually do 1-1 1/2 per person)

First, I brown the ground turkey and add the spaghetti sauce.
I then let it simmer while I work on the zucchini.
While I am cooking the sauce I start cutting the zucchini.
I then add a little olive oil to the pan and then the zucchini.
  
I cook it until it is pretty tender.  But you can do it as long as you want.
Final shot of my yummy dinner!
Don't be jealous of the paper plate.  I realized we were out of plates after I started the dishwasher!

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Bringing In My Dad

For my final project of the week I had to bring in my Dad.  So I have this table that was my Granny and Paw Paw's.  I love the table, but it is too small for a kitchen table and well we really don't use our dining room.  So for the last few years I have been trying to figure out a way to use this table.  It finally came to me the other day...turn it into a coffee table!  So I called my Dad because he is awesome and can do anything!  So Friday night my parents came over for dinner and to talk about my project.  When they walk in my dad is holding a new Stained Glass that he has put together!  Awesome!

It is beautiful!!!!!!
We added it to the bathroom and it is amazing!

Now onto the project.  We looked at the table and my dad says "Easy, I can do it tomorrow!"  Like I said he is amazing and can do anything.  So yesterday he brings it over.  I imagined that it would look good.  But it was even better than I expected and it is so special because it was my Granny and Paw Paw's and they were two of my very favorite people!!!!!!!  I really love that my Dad was able to help me find a way to keep such a special piece.
Thanks Dad!  You are the best!

Final Spring Break Projects


The last few projects were all going on at the same time, so you are now getting the final reveal.

First, we had the Laundry Room painted.  I will be adding a few more things, but the color changed the whole room and made me super happy!



The second finished project was the guest bathroom.  We decided to make it a little more kid friendly but not have the kid theme spilling out everywhere.  Really excited about how it turned out!

 
I did not take before pictures of our bathroom, I really should have because going from Brick Red to "Latte" made a HUGE difference.  My big project in there was replacing the towel bar with a shelf.  We love it!

 

Finished Bathroom!
              


I am so happy that I got so many projects done this week!  Hope y'all enjoyed!





Thursday, March 14, 2013

Two More Projects Done


I now have two more projects crossed off of my Spring Break To Do List.  First I painted our fireplace tools.  We rarely use the fireplace, much less the tools because it is a gas fireplace.  But the previous owners left them here and we haven't done anything about them.  While I was at Canton a couple of weeks ago, my friend Jen and I saw this booth where the lady had just updated old things.  One of them was the fireplace tools...so I decided to try it.  All I did was spray paint them.  It took a few coats, but I really like them.
Before
After
My second project that I finished was a Bubble Mesh Wreath.  I love them, so I decided to try it.  It was pretty easy...Once I read a tutorial and ran to WalMart to get Pipe Cleaners
1st Time Around

2nd Time Around

 I added the ribbon and the awesome owl my friend Mary found for me (as you can tell, awesome friends that support my crazy projects!)  Then I hung it up on the front door.

Hopefully I will have two more projects finished tomorrow.  I really love Spring Break and project time! :)  Hope y'all are having a fun Spring Break too.








Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Flamingo Project

I really love Flamingo's for the yard.  It might make me Redneck, but it's ok.  So I bought this super cute flamingo two years ago at Canton and named her Frenchy (Grease fans get it).  She has seen better days, so I decided that she needed a face lift.

A can of Watermelon Spray Paint later...she is a new lady!

Cute and easy update!

Chevron Picture

This is a project that has been a long time coming.  I found the "D" a long time ago, but could not decide how I wanted to use it.  I pinned so many initial things on Pinterest and then finally found the one that I loved!


I found this one on The Baeza Blog, and knew that it was the one.  She actually built the frame herself. I am in the process of learning how to do this, but while my mom and I were at a Garage Sale I found the perfect frame for 50 cents.  So I snatched it up quickly.

The first thing I did was paint my "D."  I got the "D" at Canton super cheap!

I then decided to paint the frame.  Originally the plan was to paint it and then antique it.  Then I got an awesome surprise.  As I started to paint it with craft paint, it decided to antique itself.  I was so excited when it turned out just perfect!  I always welcome surprises like that. :)
 

Next step, I hot glued my Chevron Fabric to the back of the frame.  I actually had the fabric left over from another project but I originally got it at Hobby Lobby.


Now to finish it...Because the "D" is kinda heavy I decided to hang the frame and letter individually.  I hung the frame and then hung the "D" inside of it.
Once again I love the way that it turned out.  I always hope that a project will turn out well and get really excited when it does.  Makes me pretty happy!  And another great part of this project is that it was really cheap!

Hanging in the entryway...above the tables that need to be painted.  I should add those to my To Do List. :)

1st Spring Break Project

It is Spring Break so I made a list of all the projects that I wanted to do by the end of the week.
My actual To Do List on my iPhone.


I have pinned and saw many burlap crosses.  I decided to make one of my own.

First, I traced and cut out a burlap cross.  I decided to do two layers so it would hang better.  I then hot glued them together.


I then found some extra fabric that I had and cut it out smaller than the burlap cross.  I then hot glued the fabric to the burlap cross.

 

Finally, I added a Chevron Burlap Tab and some cute flowers and finished the project off.


I love it and love how it finished that area off.  So excited to have my first project Spring Break Project finished.

First Time

So we loved and survived our first time as Foster Parents.  We got two sweet little boys (ages 1 & 4) for two days!  We knew going in that it would only be a couple of days, and were prepared.  We quickly fell in love with both boys and wished that we could keep them.  We will continue to pray for these sweet boys and pray that they are taken care of and find the best place for them.

Things we learned:
1.  It is hard to let kids go.  We did know this before, but it was hard to hand them over.
2.  We can handle two kids.  I have really had my doubts about going from no kids to two kids, but I think we can handle it.  So we will hand it over to God and see what he has planned for us.
3.  We are doing the right thing.  Helping kids that need help is what we are meant to do.  It is not going to be easy, but with time, patience and a lot of prayer we will do it.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Valentine Project

So I know I am late getting this posted, but I am really excited about how it turned out!  I am also excited to make this my very first post on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Click here for the download:
Kool Valentine

Pictures of my original document before making it legal for Teachers Pay Teachers
































It was pretty easy to make and my kids loved it!  Hope y'all can use it next year!



Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Birthday Projects for my Cousins

Here is one of my favorite projects I have done this year.  I made these for my cousins for their Birthday's and I was so excited that they liked them.

I started by wrapping a canvas with burlap and hot glueing it.
Then, I drew a T for one cousin and an L (not shown yet) for  the other.  I used paint on the T and a paint marker on the L.
I then started to cut fabric so I could add a flower.
I cut them in half circles, then folded them in half and
started hot glueing them together to make a flower.
I put the button on top to finish the flower off.
And the final product!
I love them so much, I am getting ready to make one for my house!