Merry Christmas!

The trees are up,

Unstaged!

 

Ornaments have been precisely placed,

Stockings are over the coal fireplace,

Cookies, coffee cake, brownies are baked,

Nativity is set up with Christ as the center piece,

Christmas movies are strung across the mantel,

Tree scented candles burn every night,

Snow covers the ground,

Packages have been sent,
garland and lights are hung,

Christmas party was a huge success!

Christmas Sunday was awesome, a lady performed "oh holy night"

At the end...which is my favorite Christmas song!

My brother who has been on a mission in Russia for almost a full year now

Gets to Skype with us on Christmas!

My Brother Ty is on the right

And although things are not exactly how I thought they would

Be this Christmas....prayers being sent to my grandma who just found out she has cancer.

But amidst the trials we all have, things are amazing, and I am so blessed!

Wishing you and your loved ones a

Wonderful Christmas!

May we all remember the true meaning of it,

Gather family and friends near and 

Truly indulge in each others company!

Lily

Maxwell

Oh Christmas Tree

One of my favorite things about

our home are these huge windows with

large molding!

And nothing accents them better 

than a Christmas Tree...

This little tree was found on the side 

of the road with a "free"

sign attached to it!

I am not sure why the previous owner 

no longer wanted it?

The lights work just fine...

and it's so convenient, 

there are only 2 separate pieces to put together

in order to assemble it...

the bottom, and the top!

And since those windows face East,

we can see the moon rising thru the Christmas tree.

 This is my favorite time of the year,

there is something magical about watching a 

Christmas movie with your little family,

wrapped in blankets,

while the tree sparkles.

Even the Hot Chocolate and

popcorn taste better this time of year.

Happy Holidays!

Our 2013 Christmas Tree!

In the middle window you can see an almost FULL moon!

Jalapeno Popper Chicken

Anytime we go out to get chicken wings,

I like to get a side of Jalapeno poppers.

The crispy deep fried outside,

The warm cream cheese inside,

The Spicy jalapeno....

It's heavenly,

yet hellish on my

attempt to stay outta of the 

maternity clothes! (at least for a few years)

So here is a version of the tasty appetizer

that is fit for a meal...

and it's baked, so you can keep

wearing your skinny jeans!

Ingredients:

(Sorry I don't use measurements, just use as much or as little as you want of each ingredient)

chicken breast (thawed)

Grated Cheddar Cheese

Cream cheese

Jalapeno slices (jar is better than fresh for this)

Ritz crackers

egg

salt

Steps:

Cut the chicken breast along one edge to form a little pocket

to stuff the cheeses in.

Chop the jalapenos into tiny pieces

Mix the cream cheese, grated cheddar cheese and chopped jalapenos together,

along with a little salt.

Put the cheese/Jalapeno mixture into the pocket of the chicken.

Whisk the egg in a bowl large enough to dip the chicken into.

Smash the Ritz crackers in a bowl large enough to dip the chicken into.

Dip the chicken into the egg mixture.

Dip the chicken into the cracker mix.

(repeat this step, to ensure a nice thick coat)

Bake the chicken a greased baking sheet

and flip the chicken half way thru cooking

Cook until center is completely white (no pink meat)

ENJOY!

Check out my EASY corn chowder recipe!

Bedroom gallery wall

Now that we have lived in our home

for one year now,

I figured it was time to put a little effort into 

decorating the master bedroom.

Keep in mind when you see the pics of the room,

that this home was built in 1912,

our "Master Room",

is probably the size of your 

kids room, or the size of

your master walk-in closet.

The dimensions are about 13X12 feet.

 And the closet is about 4" wide.

Older homes did not have large rooms like we do today,

the home was heated completely by

the coal fireplace in the living room...

and heating smaller rooms was much easier.

These are all the little frames etc,

that I have picked up

over the past little while to decorate our room.

Since the room is so small,

I wanted to keep it very simple.

So here is the new SIMPLE gallery wall

that I have hung next to our

bedroom closet!!

Total Cost: $16.50

Gold Frame from Burlington, $3.98 (clearance)

White wood frame, gift from Grandma's basement $0

Canvass plaque with the quote that was on our wedding CD mixes that were a reception gift, Wedding gift $0

Antique frame, rummage sale, $5 it was donated to the sale from an antique store that was trying to sell it for $40

Dark brown 11X14 frame, Kohls $7.50, Clearance (original cost $30)

Burnt orange frame, Burlington, $3.98 (clearance)

 

 

Lamp stand $3.50, Thrift store

Lamp Shade $1.00 Garage Sale

The design I had planned on putting the frames in before I started hanging them

The finished SIMPLE gallery wall Total cost $16.50

 One wall down, 3 to go!

See the room before any decor:

Mundane Master Bedroom

The best wedding gift!

when we got married my Aunt Elizabeth

and Uncle Brad were living in India

at the time...and wanted to have

a custom bed spread and curtains made for our wedding gift!!

she asked what colors I would like for 

the bed spread and curtains.

She sent me a tons of fabric pieces and I 

could not decide..there were

so many beautifully hand stamped fabrics and colors.

So I let her decide, and I am so glad I did!

It is made from PURE silk!

It is ethically woven and stitched..

the design is completely custom...

nobody else in the world has 

anything that is the same...The beautiful women's group that

she was part of helped her design the block

print, and they also helped print it.

The design is very Indian and I am

obsessed!

I have never put the bed spread on our bed, for

fear of it getting too worn.

I want to find an old ladder

and drape the folded bed spread over one

of the rungs, so

we can see it everyday without wearing it out.

This gift was the inspiration for the colors

I have thru out most

of our house, and most of my wardrobe.

I love it sooo much!!!

The linens in process of being stamped and sewn

My Aunt and her friend who helped design the linens

The Women's group who helped make the linens

My Aunt and the other Women in process of sewing etc

Thanks Uncle Brad, and Aunt Elizabeth

and all the wonderful women who helped!

xoxo

(ps, Aunt/Uncle makes them sound old, but they are only a few years older than us haha)

Mundane Master Before

We have improved almost every room in

our home, except

the Master.

In fact this is one of the only 

rooms that we did not

paint....

although we had plans of painting

it as soon as all the other rooms

were finished.

But plans have changed,

I decided I kinda liked

the old fashion green color.

especially since it kind of embraced

that boho, minimalist-look 

that I like soo much in a bedroom.

So the paint is staying!

Side Note:  I would consider the way I

dress, slightly bohemian..with

a lot of flowy  shirts and sandals

(even in the winter)...and my hair is usually

just left to dry on its own time.

Anyway,  a couple weeks ago my Grandma was trying to 

describe the way I dress...and she said it was

"Home Body" and "real different".

Haha well, let's see how 

"Home body" and "real different"

I can make this room!

This is our room before any improvements,

just a few things on the dresser:

door to room, dresser, closet

The closet and open corner space

Our bed, next to the window

Bed and side table...

The main inspiration piece for the whole room

are the amazing curatins.

You can't see the detail in these pics,

since I took them with an ipad...

but they were a wedding gift from my Aunt and 

Uncle.  They were living in India and they had custom curtains,

pillow shams and a bed spread made for us by some amazing

women in India....best wedding gift ever!

I will do another post about the gift asap!

So this is the bedroom before...stayed tuned!

Mirror mirror

Mirror, mirror on which wall?

This past weekend I bought a mirror at goodwill,

It has a real wood frame that had

Been painted gold by previous

Owner.

It was $20, but i paid $10 for it since it was a half off day....

At first I thought we could put it

In the bathroom, above the vanity....

Since this home was a foreclosure, and all the 

Things like mirrors, and other fixtures like ceiling fans,

Refrigerator, stove etc were ripped out before

The home went on the market.

So, Right now we have a mirror that goes

To a dresser sitting on top of the sink.

But than I remembered I have a desk on its way here,

And my buffet will no longer

Have a computer on it

And thought that the mirror would look good above my buffet!

Which wall should I put that mirror on?

Bathroom?

Above buffet?

Finally a desk!

We have been married for 6 years...

and we have never owned a desk.

While we were getting our bachelors degrees 

at BYU-Idaho, we just toted our laptops

all over the apt, and did most of our homework

at our tiny kitchen table.

After we graduated, we moved to Colorado,

and into my parents basement

(while we saved money to buy a house).

While living with my parents, we had our

laptop on a bedside table in our room and 

after we found a

used mac for an incredible deal, we set that next to my

parents computer

on a long built-in desk.

After moving into our own house,

and having 2 kiddos...

we could no longer afford a new desk,

and we also didn't have  a car that was big enough 

to get a used desk from the thrift store

to our house....

So the computer has sat on the buffet I bought at 

an estate sale for the past year.

 So, I was so excited the other day when I found  a desk on homedepots

website for 70% off!

So this year as one of our Christmas gifts,

we are FINALLY getting a desk!!

COST

SALE  $56.70 

Was   $189.00

Save $132.30 (70%)

Shipping $0 

(because I shipped it to the store for pick up, which saved $52....

I could have almost bought another desk for that shipping cost!)

 

Home Depot Link to the desk....if you want it too! 

 

 

 

NEW DESK from Home Depot Sale  $56

Now my buffet can be a buffet, and no longer a desk!

 

Cheap night out

Can you believe this cold weather we have been having?

In denver the temps have been in the single to negative digits...

Contrary to popular belief, colorado is not usually a super cold state.

So this week has been quite an adjustment,

Especially since we hadn't had much 

Snow yet!

If you are planning to go out tonight or 

Tomorrow...I have the perfect date 

Or family outing for ya!

And all for a super cheap price tag

Pei Wei restaurants have a bogo offer that is good

Until the 15th of December.

And this is a bogo that is actually a "buy one get one free",

Not a "buy one get one half off".

Just click on this link and input your email, and they will

Email you your coupon.

http://www.peiwei.com/holidaybogo/html/default.html

And if you want to bundle up, you can attend the denver parade of lights

After you grab some dinner at pei Wei!

The parade is completely free, and is super festive.

Get some warm drinks on the way to the parade,

And that sounds like a perfect

Night!

We went to Pei Wei the other night and used our bogo

Offer, our total was $7.56 to feed the 3

Of us!

I got the Dan Dan noodles, and Shaun got the pad Thai.

(I liked the pad Thai better.....)

We found out our little man is pretty good with the chop sticks

Thanksgiving Decor

I cannot believe Thanksgiving is over...

It was seriously Labor Day last week!

Our little Family talked about

what we were especially thankful for this year,

and this is my top 5

*Family

 *The fact that I get to stay home with our lil' guys

*Shaun's Job

*Our home

*epidurals/modern medicine

Here are a few pics of our Thanksgiving Decor!

 I made this Thanksgiving Bunting from some felt and 

potato sac material I bought at a Garage sale from a lady that used to own a 

fabric store....I paid $1 for all the materials!

 This is our front door, with a wreath that we got at Gordmans

a few days after Halloween, when all the Fall decor was 75% off.

The wreath was $7.50, instead of $30

The "give thanks" wooden plaque next 

to the TV (which we got for free), was from the Gordmans

Fall clearance as well.

It was $6, instead of 24!

Happy Late Thanksgiving!!!

Super Heros...Super Cheap

Our little guys were Batman and Robin

for Halloween!

And to dress the 2 of them up from head to toe

as the adorable duo, 

I spent a total of $8

The batman costume was easy, but the Robin costume had to 

be pieced together and homemade with different pieces.

Batman costume $.50 (Garage Sale)

Batman Cape/ears $1.99 (Goodwill half off day)

Robin neon green tights $2.99 (walmart baby girl clearance)

Robin red body suit $0 (we already had a red onesie from when our older son was a baby)

Felt in assorted colors $3/1 (Joanne Fabric)

Robin Yellow Cape $1.50 (yellow fabric from Joanne Fabric)

Batman costume needed no adjustments, or additions!

For the Robin costume, I cut out the felt pieces

to resemble the "old school" robin outfit.

He wore the tights under the onesie, so it looked like

he had on little super hero undies.

and the cape was hot glued together, and than to the 

back of the onesie.....gluing instead of sewing is what you do when 

you buy the pieces for the costume the night before the "Trunk r Treat" party.

They looked so adorable and I have never seen a better

Batman and Robin duo.....George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell

got nothing on my guys...or any Batman Duo btw!

In Colorado, this is what your costume looks like when you go Trick R Treating

Frigid Friday Fun

It is freezing cold today,

and I can't think of any better way to kick off this

cold weekend, than with FREE 

Redbox rentals!

Here is a list of several codes,

they can be used one time per credit card...

 you can also use a couple different codes to get a 

few FREE rentals and

stay inside all weekend long!

Don't forget to grab some "take out"

on your way home

Free Redbox Code: REDBOX (ongoing) – first time rental code

Free Redbox Code: DVDONME (ongoing)
Free Redbox Code: BREAKROOM (ongoing)
Free Redbox Code: WALGREENS (ongoing) (only at Walgreen’s locations)
Free Redbox Code: DVDATWAG (expiration unknown) (only at Walgreen’s locations)
Free Redbox Code: DVDATMAC (expiration unknown) – (only at McDonald's)
Free Redbox Code: DRIVEIN (expiration unknown) – (only at Sonic locations)

Half Price Halloween Fun!

Looking for cheap fun on Halloween?

Who isn't?

Here is a list I compiled of Free or pretty-much-free

things to do....

(This list is for the Denver Metro area)

Chipotle Booritos-Every year Chipotle has cheap burritos, salads, bowls, or tacos

for all customers wearing a costume.  This year they are $3

(Do you remember when they were free if you wrapped yourself in foil?)

Jamba Juice- Free kid size smootie for kiddos under 8 years old

From 2-7 pm Halloween night!

IHOP- Free HUGE buttermilk "Scary face"

 pancake for kids12 and under.  

The pancake has a candy corn smile, oreo eyes, a strawberry nose,

and a ton of whip cream.  All day Halloween!

Sonic- $.50 corn dogs all day on Halloween! 

Go between 2-4 pm and you can also

get your drink-on for half off!

Krispy Kreme- Free donuts for All customers that come in a costume!

Sweet Tomatos- Kids under 12 eat free on Halloween with a paying adult

Shaun and I at Chipotle for $1 booritos, 2011 Halloween!

Halloween Decor

Halloween is my 2nd favorite holiday,

second only to Christmas.

This is the first year we will be 

living in our House on Halloween...

Last year at this time we were waiting for

the inspections etc to go thru.

So we were super excited to decorate 

our home this year for Halloween!

It doesnt get much better than decorating a

101 year old home for Halloween.

I don't have a lot of Halloween decorations (yet)...

But here are a few of my faves, and here are the crazy

cheap prices I paid:

 The lamp was my great Grandpa's...and I found it in my Grandmas basement.

My Grandma no longer wanted it, and she gave it to me!

It weighs about 12 pounds and I LOOOVE it.

The smaller candle stick was a thrift store find, and I paid $1.98

The taller candle stick that resembles a hooka, was a clearance find at Burlington,

I paid $4

The metal owl Halloween countdown was from Joanne fabric,

I paid $12, because I used a 40% off coupon

The little windy pillar candle holder is from Yankee Candle

 (the only place worth buying candles at, FYI)

I bought it during there semi annual sale for $2.50

 This is our sunroom, one of my favorite places in the whole house.

I put up cheapo spider webs and 

jack-o-lantern string lights.

The lights were from Walgreen's, I got them 2 weeks ago 

and paid $5 a string, because they were already 1/2 off!

Caden helped me put the spider webs up in the living room windows....

and then decided to rearrange the black spiders

every day....hence,

HA

Caden spent 30 minutes picking this bad boy out...

and I have never seen a more perfect real pumpkin in my life!

The little gords were 3.75/bag of 6 at Target...

and Caden set these ones up himself

 

 

 On top of our dining room table sits

A silver candlestick that was my grandma and grandpas...

I found it in her basement laundry room,

and she told me to take it...or she was gonna sell it in her garage sale.

Ha, you don't have to tell me to take it twice!

It is super old, and I love that the silver no longer shines...

The pumpkins were at her garage sale, and I paid her a whole

$2 for them....they are ceramic and I cant believe no one else bought them!

The candy corn string was from TJ MAxx and I paid $12 for it back in 2008!

The haunted dresser

I wanted to save this story for Halloween time,
So here it is:
I went to an estate sale back a couple months

Ago, in search of a dresser for our

Boys room.

I wanted to find a solid wood dresser that 

I could paint a lime

Green color.

Their room is brown, and lime green 

And I thought an old dresser

That was painted would be the perfect piece to make

The room complete.

I searched Craigslist and found two 

Estate sales just down the road from us...

I stopped at the first one and walked into

What I think had been an abandoned home.

It looked like there hadn't been anyone living there for 

A very long time.

It also looked like it had belonged to a hoarder.

The garage was jam packed full of anything and everything

You could ever want to fulfill your Pinterest dreams!

I first checked out the bedrooms
 and found exactly

What I was looking for....an old, solid wood dresser!

Ecstatic, I quickly ran to the lady

Who was running the sale

And asked how much it was

(There wasn't prices on anything).

She asked what I wanted to offer, and I said 

$10, figuring she would counter my offer....

But she didn't!

Next stop was that garage!

"Oh how I wish I had a truck" was exactly what I 

Thought as I carefully stepped over old furniture

That was begging me to

Take it home and

Pinterest the hell out of it!

I found a wooden garden bench and offered her $2,

And I also found two bookshelves and offered her $10 for the set....

I asked them if I could come back later to pick everything up

 With a neighbors truck...and they offered to drive it to

My house!

I paid for the items, and they followed me home.

Little did I know that along with that dresser came something else.

Not sure why, but as soon

As they uploaded that dresser onto my driveway, I no longer wanted it.

I did not want that thing in my house anymore.

All my excitement about painting it

Was gone...

And I even considered setting it out on the street with a 

"Free" sign. 

I have no idea why I had that feeling about the dresser.

But to make a long story short,
it never made it inside our

Home.

It went straight to the shed until I could get rid
of it....luckily, that week it was gone....onto the next home!

Was it haunted?
I think so.....

This is the garage at the estate sale....

Church Pew Redo!

 

I have FINALLY finished revamping 

 the old church pew I bought last Summer!

It took so long because I did not know which room I wanted it 

to go in...and I have a 17 month old which keeps me busy.

I finally decided on putting it in the

mud room, which will have a 

vintagey-nautical

feel when it is completely decorated.

Anyways, here are the before and during pics of 

the long awaited church pew...

oh, and of course here was the cost break down:

Church Pew: $9

Stain: $2

Fabric: $11 ( originally $22, I used a half off coupon at Joann Fabrics)

TOTAL= $22