Ian Seamus - The Big Nursery Reveal!

It's finally done. The nursery is complete, and not a moment too soon, since he will be here 9/3 at the very latest!

Remember this room?

It is now, THIS! :)

Just a few more days now until I can hold my little man in my arms and welcome him to the world!

Nursery Name Wall Decor!

I'm a firm believer that every nursery needs at least one or two things with the child's name in/on them. And with our underwater theme, I figured what better way to do that then with an OAR!

So I went to Cabela's (definitely not my scene!) and purchased a small oar for $15, and then went to the craft store and purchased a package of small knobs to glue onto said oar after it was all painted to my liking. (re: once my husband painted and didn't miss a spot!)

Then I purchased unfinished wood letters from Hobby Lobby and painted those white as well, so they had a good base going.

It only took one coat of paint for the letters, but I believe we did 2 or 3 coats on the oar and the knobs just to make sure coverage was there!

After the paint dried on the letters, I traced them onto scrapbook paper, and cut them out. After that, I used Mod Podge to adhere them to the wooden letters like so.

Next was finding a way to get them to hang off the knobs! I figured ribbon was the simplest solution in this situation, so I used super glue to stick the ribbons to the back of each letter (be careful to make sure the ribbons are the same length or else the letters will not hang evenly)

Now that we got this far, I realized I had no idea how I was going to put the actual oar on the wall. If it doesn't require glue, scissors, glitter, or a paintbrush, this is where I recruit the help of my trusty husband, who came up with a solution I like to call "TEETH!"

Then a quick test shot to make sure the letters hang evenly....

Close enough for my liking! Then came time to hang the oar on the wall, and with that! Ian's nursery is now complete. 

Linking Up To:

Kid's Summer Craft Camp, and my First Guest Post!

I recently completed my first guest post over at Sowdering about in Seattle, as a part of Randi's Kids Summer Craft Camp series!

 I've always loved taking something old and seemingly useless, that would just wind up in the trash, and turning it into something not only functional, but adorable!

 

Click HERE to see what project we completed! As well as check out all the other amazing and fun, kid-friendly crafty goodness created by others around the blogosphere!

Enchiladas

Family Circle Magazine has always been one of my favorites. Great recipes, great articles, and fun projects to do with varying age groups! My subscription showed up the other day, and on the cover I saw the most amazing looking enchiladas, and I knew I had to make them. That night. So I jammed the magazine into my purse, and headed to my local Meijer store for ingredients.

Click here for the recipe!

First step was to make shredded chicken. I always do this in the crock pot because it's easy and I can do other things while it's cooking. So I put 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts in the crock pot on high for 4 hours. And shredded the results.

I sprayed my casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray and poured in a small layer of enchilada sauce. Then mixed the rest of the enchilada sauce into the chicken, along with the shredded cheese. 

Then the neufchatel cheese was spread on the tortillas, filled with the meat/cheese mixture, and then the tortilla was rolled up and placed in the baking dish!

Cover the enchiladas with the remaining cheese, and bake at 375 for 20 minutes, and then 400 degrees for 5 minutes.

 Garnish with whatever you want. I used jalapeno peppers because I love them!

Cut out your piece, and enjoy! 

Another Step Closer to Crafting My Heart Out

Since we moved, most of the non-necessities have been living in boxes. This includes the bulk of my crafting items, which means that mama can't play! We decided to use a little nook in the basement as my "craft area". The rest of the basement is going to be set up as a playroom for the childrens. Naturally I needed a surface to work on if I were going to have a craft setup, so off to my favorite thrift store I went. And came home with this gem. Only $14.41! I liked the detailing on the bottom of the table, and figured it would be the perfect table to love, and use and abuse simultaneously.

So, I bought it, brought it home, and asked Scott if he could make it prettier. Of course he agreed, since I'm pregnant, and pregnant ladies shouldn't be playing around with paint fumes ;)

So the yucko, chipped, blue paint was covered with a couple coats of white.

Here it is, in it's new home in the "craft nook"

 After the bottom was taken care of, it was time to make the top look nicer without putting too much work into it. So I picked out a sample paint color that I liked, bought a can, and WHAM! 3 coats later, table is finished :)

And then we replaced the table top, and once again, put the table in it's rightful new home.

Paired it with an old chair (also thrifted) for $5

The first step of completing the basement! Hallllllllelujiah!

I also was in the market for 2 more small, wooden, child size chairs to refurbish, to put with the set we already have down in the play area. Instead I lucked out and found 2 matching, perfect condition chairs with the seat the same height as the current ones, for $3 each!

So while there is no project there, WHAT A DEAL. Coloring table can now seat 4 beebs!

Bloglovin!

 Finally getting with the times, and signed up on Bloglovin! Would love some more followers on there!

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Nightstand to Glider Side Table - A Transformation!

Since my early 20s, I've always loved thrifting. I like to decorate things, and make them my own, and it's easiest to do that with cheap items from thrift stores, garage sales, etc.

We got this eyesore nightstand.

Looks pretty rough, doesn't it? But it's a really cute shape, and a sturdy piece of furniture, so I decided to rescue it!

We decided to turn it into a side table to put in Ian's nursery next to the glider. Since the theme in Ian's nursery is Finding Nemo, we went with a turquoise and orange color scheme in there. And since it's a small piece of furniture, I decided it needed BADLY to stand out. So we (ok, Scott) slapped a coat of paint on it.

And then another coat, and then another coat. (We bought a full quart for $9)
(Paint color is : Caribbean Sea by Glidden)

Once we were happy with the color and the coverage, the project was brought to me for it's finishes!

I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up a paper that I thought would be fun to use to the accents, and wound up with an orange chevron pattern. I lined the inside of the drawer with it, as well as put it on the very back of the open cubby on the bottom.

We bought a two pack of wooden drawer knobs, from Menards. ($0.99) We dipped the knob so it was all white, and I then Mod Podged the same chevron paper over the front of it to tie it all together.

And here it is today, in it's home next to the glider!

Nighstand : FREE

Paint : $9

Knobs : $1

Paper : $2

Mod Podge (already had on hand)

Grand Total?

$12!

Linking up to:

Baby Love

Today I am officially 30 weeks and 2 days pregnant with my son. I cannot believe time moved so fast, and now it feels like these next 9 weeks will never end. I cannot wait to meet this little guy (and subsequently get my body back!)

We are going in for a 3D/4D ultrasound session this Saturday. I've never had one done before, so we figured it was due time. Bonus since the elective place we go to offered us a discount on a return visit!

But everything hasn't been all sunshine and roses. on June 20th, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, something I never had to deal with in my previous pregnancy. I took the news hard, felt like my body was a failure, and my labor and delivery was bound to be awful and optionless. I felt like maybe if I had done this differently, or just been better in general about this or that, I would not be in this situation.

I didn't understand, how if all of my numbers during monitoring are WELL under what they are looking for, they still gave me this diagnosis based on (what I feel) is an antiquated test. I mean, come on, what pregnant woman starves themselves for 12 hours and then drinks 100 grams of sugar water and sits in a hospital waiting room for 3 hours for hourly blood draws? Definitely NOT this one!

But alas, I have to deal with the diagnosis. If anything it gave me a reason to quit my Coca Cola habit, which isn't really a bad thing. And as long as everything goes smoothly, I'm okay with it.

It did depress me greatly, and while there are risks, it's also a pretty common diagnosis. A good friend sent me this link to help me cope, and it helped reading it, and then having a sit down with my doctor.

http://birthwithoutfearblog.com/2013/06/24/the-truth-about-gestational-diabetes-and-why-its-not-your-fault/

 

Have a few more exciting posts planned in the near future, but for now, here is my 30 week bump in all it's glory!!

Pinterest Win! Artichoke Spinach Cannelloni With Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

While looking for inspiration for dinners, I came across this pin.

Artichoke Spinach Cannelloni with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. 

It looked pretty easy to make so I opted to give it a try, with a few modifications, so all the ingredients were to my liking! I skipped the sauce entirely, using a favorite jarred red pepper/garlic pasta sauce from Meijer.

Ingredients:

12 fresh lasagna sheets (about 3" by 8")

10 ounces frozen spinach, squeeze all the liquid out

14 ounces cooked artichoke hearts, chopped

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

Sea salt, garlic powder, and black pepper to taste

1 cup fresh parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

 Start boiling your Lasagna noodles, since they take a little time

 Combine artichoke, spinach, parmigiano reggiano cheese, ricotta cheese, and  cream cheese. Season with sea salt, garlic powder and black pepper to taste.

I then put some of my sauce in the bottom of my casserole dish to help with sticking.

Spread spinach artichoke mixture along center of each lasagna piece.

 

Roll up to enclose filling.

 

 Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Cover with remaining sauce, and cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 40-50 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown.

Enjoy!!