Yummy Panini!

I wanted to share one of our favorite recipes with you...



We LOVE Atlanta Bread Company's Chargrilled Chicken Pesto Panini. This is my version of that and it's sooooo easy!

Here's what you need:

Focaccia bread sliced in half
Pesto ( I buy the cheapest brand at the store and put the whole jar in the freezer after I make these. Then, I have it when I want to make these again!)
cubed cooked chicken
Provolone cheese (Mozzarella works great also!)
sliced Roma tomatoes



Add the chicken
Then sliced tomatoes

Put some cheese on top and then put it on the grill.


I bought this Krups panini grill at GW for $14.99!! I found them here for $99! Don"t worry, though, you can totally make a panini in a skillet and use another skillet on top with a jar or can inside for weight to press it down. But, this definitely makes it a little easier!!


Press her down hard to smoosh that sandwich down into a panini!



Enjoy! Makes me hungry just looking at that picture!!


While I'm at it...here's my new refrigerator my hubby bought me...aaaahhhh!

I LOVE it! I finally have matching appliances at the new house! It was half price at Sear's, too! Originally $2300 on sale for $1150!!! Yes, I'll take it, thank you very much!

I'm linking to A Soft Place to Land's DIY party! Go check it out!

Pinboard do-over

I showed you a fun little pin board I made for my daughter here.




I loved the way it turned out, but we just didn't have enough wall room in her new room to hang it. I really wanted to have a pin board for her to hang her little creations on, so I came up with this idea:


I simply took out the covered corkboard and hotglued it to the side of the nightstand. I think it works! I'll have to find somewhere else to use that adorable frame it used to be in. I'm sure I'll think of something!

I'm linked to It's So Very Creative Party and Met Monday. Go check out their projects!

Wordless Wednesday

(...she's asleep...)

Revamped Dresser

This dresser has been in my daughter's room since she was born. It was stained wood when I bought it at a thrift store. My first redo on it looked like this...

I loved how it turned out and it looked great in her cottage style room. Then we moved and her room became a little more modern. The dresser still seemed to fit in.

It was really starting to show it's age and needed a facelift. The paint was starting to scratch off. And yes, we distress all our furniture so the paint will look old and crackly, but this dresser just lacked that kind of charm. Plus, we moved again and I wanted to give E's room a little more of a bohemian feel without changing too much. I thought painting her dresser would be a great place to add a punch of color and personality. So, remember the before...

(look how old that tv is!!)

And now, the after.....aaahh!



I just love the way it pops off her light aqua walls.



I bought the pulls at Target several months back. There came in a set of four originally for $18.99 but I found them on sale for $4.98. I bought the only two packs I could find. I went to another Target and they didn't have them on sale and wouldn't give them to me for the same price. I just couldn't bring myself to pay the full price for another pack, especially when I only needed two of the four! So, I went with a mismatched look! I think it works. I'm keeping my eye out for another set of the glass ones, though!

I'm loving the way my girl's room is turning out! I have several more projects (like her headboard) to share with you from her room, so stay tuned!

I'm linked to A Soft Place to Land for DIY Day and tomorrow I'm sharing this post over at Infarrantly Creative's Roadkill Rescue Party!

Coupons really pay...

I'm trying to get back to clipping coupons. It takes a lot of time to get organized to shop and time is just not something I have had a lot of since we've moved. This was my first week back using coupons and I do remember why I use them! I spent $104 and saved $88! $23 of the $104 was that big box of diapers. They weren't a great deal, but I needed them and I did save on them, so they were a must. So, if you take those off the bill, I would have saved more than I spent which is what I always shoot for. Doesn't always happen, but this was a good week!

Lamp Revamp and a chalkboard

I am still in the long process of trying to get my house in order. It seems like it is taking forever this time! I've had so many projects that I have wanted to blog about but I would either forget to take pictures or just not have time to post them!

Here are two quick and easy projects that I will share with you! First of all, I bought this mirror at GW for $6.99.

It was actually a little more than I wanted to pay, but I have been looking for a scrolly mirror , so I went for it.


First, I sprayed it with Valspar Porcelain spray paint.



Then, I used chalkboard paint and painted right over the mirror. (Sorry don't have a pic of that step!)

And...ta da...


I LOVE the way it turned out. It's simple, yet elegant. I really envisioned this being a bright color with some distressing, but...I'm still in the beginning stages of decorating my kitchen and my whole house for that matter, so I decided to go with the porcelain color since I could always change it later when I am ready to commit to a bolder color!

Speaking of a bolder color...

I really needed some of that in this area in the foyer:


It's a really bad pic taken with my cell phone. I am not crazy about the lamp. I've had it for about 8 years. I already got rid of it's twin. It did have a bell shade, but for some reason I took the picture after I removed the shade. Apparently I am prone to forget to take a pic of a lamp before removing the shade because I did that here, too.


And as you can see, everything is cream or brown.

Soooo, I dug around in my acrylic paints and decided to throw a little color on that lamp.


It's pretty bold, but I think I like it! Hey, I can always repaint it...right? What do you think?



I really like how the whole area turned out. I desperately needed an area for the kids' school folders and a way to control the swarm of papers they bring home everyday. I bought these banana leaf baskets at Kmart on sale for $8.99. They are the perfect size! I need to find one more, though, just to fill the space up better. Oh, and don't mind that Longaberger basket on the right. It's been sitting there since we moved in. I'm just taking one spot at a time and trying to make it feel like home!

I made a $1.47 purchase at the antique store to use in another project for the kitchen that I hope to be able to share with you next week. We'll see if I get to it that soon!!

You see, we have added to our family this week...Meet Lucy our new puppy.


It's a good thing she's cute...that's all I'm saying! : )

I'm linking to the DIY Show Off Surprise Party and Transformation Thursday. Check them out!

Wordless Wednesday

Halloween Fun

We had a great time trick or treating on Halloween in our new neighborhood. It was great to get to know the neighbors and of course get some candy!

E went as Fancy Nancy, but right here she was Fussy Nussy because she did NOT want to trick or treat with the boys!

And, after about 5 minutes, she was fine!


K went as a football player. Here he is getting some advice from his coach. I think Emma is trying to kiss the coach.


Here's coach Trooper Taylor...

Dad and coach.

That's all the pics I have. It was such a busy day that I didn't get my camera out to take more. Don't you hate that when things get really busy and then you look back and think, why didn't I take more pictures?!!

Finally a DIY project!!

I have been working hard to try and get my house in order, but there is still SOOOOO much to do! It doesn't help that this is the busiest time of year with all the holidays and school. But, I wanted to share with you a project from this past weekend.

A few weeks back, The Little Green Notebook posted about some pelmet boards she made from foam core board (She has some great ulphostered headboards, too) . My mom and I had made several of these before in previous homes but we used insulation board. Someone commented on TLGN about an idea of making a headboard using the same method. The wheels in my mind started turning because I had this that needed to be covered up:



So, I asked my wonderful husband to grab me an insulation board while he was at Lowes. I told him to get the thickest piece they had, which I thought was around an inch. Well, he came home with one that was 2 inches thick! It turned out to be perfect! I forgot to ask him how much it was, but when I had priced them, there were some as cheap as $8 and the most expensive were about $15. So, very reasonably priced!!



First, I drew out a template. I only drew half of the design- then, traced one half, turned it over and lined it up and traced the other half.


Then, I started cutting with an electric knife. It worked, but was a little slow going since the board was so thick and dense, so I opted for using a drywall saw. It worked wonderfully, but it did make quite a mess!

Once my shape was trimmed out, I stapled batting and then the fabric, which was actually a $12 shower curtain that I had bought to actually use as a shower curtain! In some places, I used long straight pins to hold the fabric a little tighter.



So, here's the final result...well, final for now. I am still toying with the idea of adding a chocolate bias tape about 2 inches from the edge to trim it out all the way around. We'll see. I was planning to use velcro to attach it to the wall, but it turned out to be heavy enough to just put it against the wall and push the bed right up against it. It holds nicely.

Don't worry, I am not finished with her bedding either. It is all kind of pieced together for now. I almost took another picture to post on here because I absolutely hate what I did with that aqua pillow! I took that piece of damask fabric off it once I saw the pic. The pillow needs something, but not that! I'm thinking of doing a bird applique on it. We'll see... By the way, I haven't posted about it yet, but this little girl just turned 5 a couple weeks ago!! All her birthday pics are on Dad's computer, so I haven't been able to get them together for a post.


I'll have to get that up soon and tomorrow....Halloween pics will be coming. Have a great Tuesday!
Linked to Kimba's Do it Yourself Day.