It's My Brithday!

It's was a great start for my 31st birthday this morning!  Yep, I'm officially "in" my thirties and loving it!!

My favorite coffee was from my sweet hubby and the balloon was from the little guy!  They're so sweet! 

I can't wait to spend the rest of the day with my boys!

Recipe Time: Easy Pizza Pasta Casserole

Recipe from Food.com

Prep Time:  20 mins.
Total Time:  1 1/4 hours
Serves:  20

I cut this recipe in half and still had a lot left over.  It was really good and good for lunch the next day too!

Recipe:
2 lbs ground beef  (I used 1 lb)
1 large onion, chopped  (1/3 of the onion)
1 clove garlic, minced  (half a clove)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning  (I used 1/4 teaspoon)
2 tbsp olive oil  (I used 1 tbsp)
2 jars of spaghetti sauce  (1 jar of sauce)
16 oz rotini pasta, cooked and drained  (8 oz of pasta)
5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese  (2 1/2 cups of cheese)
8 oz sliced pepperoni  (I used enough pepperoni to cover the top)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown ground beef, onion, garlic and seasoning in oil, Drain.
Stir in pasta, spaghetti sauce and 2 cups of cheese.
Place mixture in greased 9x13 or 8x8 baking dish.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese and top with pepperoni.
Bake 25-30 minutes, until heated through.

This was pretty tasty and very kid friendly...even the little guy liked it and he won't eat anything these days!  It reminded us a lot of lasagna.  It would make a great freezer meal.  To freeze, cover tightly and freeze up to 3 months.  To bake, thaw casserole in refrigerator overnight and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 mins, until hot.

The Perfect Baby Accessory

When Hudson was born we took a monthly photo of him until he turned 1.  We just dressed him in whatever cute little outfit we had and snapped a picture.  Well, I've recently been seeing monthly onesie stickers floating around the web, so the first place I started looking was Etsy.  (I love browsing around Etsy.com, especially at all the great baby stuff. ) There are a TON of great shops with so many adorable options! 

So, I waited until we found out what we were having and then shopping until I found the perfect stickers.  I ended up purchasing some from a shop called Baby Smiles.  They had at least five or six that I had a really hard time choosing between.  I knew I wanted some with bright colors and a special thirteenth sticker saying "just born" for the baby girl to wear in the hospital.  Like I said in my last post, I've really been getting into the whole owl thing lately...I know they've been popular for a while and I've always liked them, but recently I'm a little obsessed!  That being said, these stickers quickly became my first choice.

All images courtesy of Etsy.com

I liked them so much that I ended up ordering the same ones for my sister that is due just a week before me!

They also have similar owls for baby boys and in other colors.

So, if you're in the market for onesie stickers whether it's for you or for a gift, I would definitely suggest checking out Baby Smiles.

*I was not paid or perked for this post.  I am just a happy customer and thought I'd share my cute find with you!

Jumping on the Bandwagon

Recently I've been loving all things owl, just like the rest of blog land, and the little guy is really into them now too.  Every time he sees one, he points and yells out, "Woo, Woo!"  It's really cute!  Anyway, I thought I would make him an owl of his own to watch over him while he sleeps.  It's nothing fancy...simply made out of some scrapbook paper I had on hand.  He loves it!  The process was as easy as it gets:

Find some cute scrapbook paper.  I had some cute polka dot paper on hand, so I used that.

 Then I drew, freehand, the body of the owl.

 Once, I had the body cut out, I drew the other parts and cut them out.

Next, I glued all the parts together into an owl.  I wanted to leave some space on the center in case I decide to add his initial or something fun there later.

 And finally, I put it in a frame that was already hanging in his room.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!  It's not perfect, but I think it looks pretty cute and you can't beat free artwork.

 We plan to paint his room aqua soon, as I mentioned in this post, and then I think the colors will really pop.

As you can see, artwork can be made easily, out of pretty much anything.

Welcome Spring!

It's finally starting to show signs of spring here in Nebraska!  We couldn't be more excited!  Especially the little guy.  He loves playing outside.

The proof that spring has sprung around here...

Can you see my daylilies poking through?  Once they break through, they really take off, so it won't be long and they'll be in full bloom!

I hope spring is starting in your neck of the woods!

**And stay tuned because we have TONS of home improvement, decorating and landscaping projects to come here this Spring and Summer!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Wishing everyone a very Happy St. Patrick's Day filled with tons of luck and maybe a green beer or two!

I get to spend the day with my little leprechaun!  Isn't he cute?!

Slow Progress

I've been searching the web looking for fabric for our baby girl's nursery.  I wasn't having much luck until yesterday afternoon.  I wanted something with a large, bright floral pattern, but wasn't having any luck finding one. Going into the search I wanted the fabric to include pink (but not too much pink), aqua, and green.  Apparently that is too much to ask when looking for a big, floral pattern!  But the more I looked at this fabric, the more I fell in love with it and think it will make very pretty curtains and maybe a dust ruffle as well.

Dena Designs-Kumari Garden Sujata in Pink

We plan to paint the walls a soft gray and add pops of color throughout the room.  Such as painting this dresser a blue or pink color!  I know I showed this forever ago saying it was my next redo, well I had decided that I wanted to wait until we found out what we were having so I could paint it a color instead of white or black.  And the color would be determined by the look of the room.  So now I can  the hubby can finally get to work refinishing it! 

And adding lots of color on the walls with custom artwork.  I already have a few ideas churning! 

I can't wait to get started!!

What do you think of my fabric choice?  Have you come across any bright, colorful fabric in a large floral pattern?  If so, I would love to check it out! 

We Have a Theme!

In the past couple weeks, Hudson has really been into farm animals and all the sounds they make.  He knows how to say them all and his new favorite word to say is "barn".  With that in mind, I decided on a party theme for his upcoming 2nd birthday, Barnyard Fun.

I found this amazing shop on Etsy called Stockberry Studios that has the most adorable clipart vectors, and since I'm into making my own decorations, that was right up my alley.  And the best part...it only ran me $5.00!!  They have tons more clipart available and I can't wait to be able to use it in the future.  They also have lots of super cute personalized invites and printable party packages at very affordable prices.  They also have a blog you can check out: Stockberry Studios Blog

Here is a peek at my order!

I can't wait to get started on the invites and decorations!

* I was not paid or perked for this post. I just love their products and thought you might be interested too!

Recipe Time: S*#& on a Shingle

AKA: Chip Beef or Corned Beef and Gravy on Toast

I guess it got the name S*#& on a Shingle because they used to serve it in prison...sounds tempting huh?!  Anyway, my mom has been making it for us since my sister and I were little.  Back then I didn't like it much, but it's grown on me over the years and now it's one of those stick-to-your-ribs meals that sounds delicious on a cold winter night.  Hopefully those kinds of nights are soon to be long gone for the year, but if not, this recipe is super easy and can be spiced up anyway you want.

Ingredients:
1 pkg. sliced corned beef  (I use Buddig)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 heaping tbsp flour
1 cup (at least) of milk  (I use low fat milk, but any kind is fine)
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 slices of bread for toast and butter to spread

Optional Ingredients:
onion powder
garlic powder
cayenne pepper

Directions:
Cut entire package of beef into small squares.  Set large skillet over medium heat and add butter and beef.  Stir together until butter is melted.  Add heaping tablespoons of flour and let flour cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add milk slowing, constantly whisking into other ingredients to form a smooth gravy.  The gravy will thicken quickly, so continue to add milk until you have to right amount of gravy that you need.  You may use more or less than 1 cup of milk depending on the desired amount of gravy.  Once you have the desired amount; add salt and pepper to taste as well as any other seasonings.  Toast bread and spread with butter then top with gravy and serve immediately. 

This is a really old recipe, but worth trying, especially if you are a gravy lover like me! 

I'll pretty much eat anything that involves gravy!!  Yum!

Our Project To-Do List

Over the past couple months the hubby and I have come up with quite the home improvement to-do list!  Once we started talking about it and writing them down, the ideas just kept flowing.  So, in order to organize all our ideas and thoughts, we compiled a list and divided it up by room.  We decided to hang in on our fridge so that anytime we tackled a project, we could cross it off the list, plus that way we are constantly reminded of all the things we need to do.

(Don't mind our outdated almond colored fridge...replacing it is one of the things on our to-do list)

It may no be the most sophisticated way to go about things, but it's working for us so far.  Now the next move is to actually start crossing things off!!