Inspiring Summer Projects and Recipes

I invited Cassie from Hi Sugarplum (don't you love that blog name?!) to guest post today, since the girls and I are busy visiting family in Alabama this week. (You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook to join the fun...and chaos) Cassie's going to share some her favorite Summer Projects and Recipes!

Take it away, Cassie....

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Hey, hey, hey!! I'm Cassie from Hi Sugarplum, and I'm thrilled to crash in on Serenity Now while Amanda is off frolicking with her family! I don't know if it's the longer days or frosty cocktails, but something about Summertime makes me even craftier than usual. Here's a round-up of my favorite Summer projects and recipes....

A few packages of wood shims, a mountain of glue sticks, and an acrylic mirror are all you need for this awesome, beast of an outdoor Starburst Mirror.

If your front porch is anything like mine, it needs some jushing after the long Winter. This year, I gave our old coir mat a new life with a fresh monogram.

Our Cuisinart ice cream works overtime during the Summer...Blackberry, and Strawberry Chocolate Chip are always a crowd favorite.

Are you a hat person? We live in Texas, where the sun doesn't quit, so I'm usually hiding under a hat. Fedoras are everywhere and inexpensive, but not always cute. I snipped the generic band off mine, and gave it a dose of preppy.

I can never resist a $5 package of sisal rope...it just holds so many possibilities! After about 5 minutes and 12 hot-glue burns, I had a new set of Sisal Trivets.

And since I still had rope left over, I whipped out this Sisal Bowl.

But my most favorite Summer project to date, is our Otomi Stenciled Table. With a little contact paper and some spray paint, we have a unique, quirky outdoor table.

Thanks so much for letting me share...hop over to Hi Sugarplum and browse through my Project Gallery for more fun ideas, or poke around Our House if you're a creeper like that.

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Okay, is that otomi table not the cutest! If you head over to visit Cassie at Hi Sugarplum, be sure to tell her I sent you! Her blog is full of fab DIY projects...she has great style!

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments.

Quinoa Caprese Salad Recipe

Greeting, all! I'm visiting my sis in the great state of Alabama this week, so I invited a few fabulous blogger friends to share with you all. Today, my friend Megan has a mouth-watering recipe for Quinoa Caprese Salad for us. Megan writes the popular blogs Honey We're Home and Honey We're Healthy. Please give her a warm welcome!

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Preparing weekend lunches is a favorite of mine.  It's really nice to enjoy a home-made meal if you're at the house to eat it. With all the weekend running around, sometimes eating while out is more convenient.  This Saturday, having completed the morning errands and getting home in time for lunch, I made a quinoa caprese salad with grilled chicken.

This is one of those easy-to-assemble meals that is packed with protein and flavor.

I start by grilling boneless, skinless chicken breasts in olive oil for a few minutes at the same time I boil the quinoa. Quinoa cooks quickly, about 8 minutes. I used 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of organic chicken broth to give it more flavor. 

Then, because the caprese ingredients are a favorite combo (tomato, basil, and mozzarella) I assembled them all together. 

Quinoa is a good source of fiber, magnesium, iron, calcium and fiber.  It has a slightly nutty flavor, but mainly takes on the flavors you cook it with.  It cooks quickly, in about 8 minutes. Then I chopped the cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls in half and tossed in the basil. 

I seasoned my salad with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt-free seasoning. 

A bright, refreshing (and filling) salad!

After lunch, I portioned the rest out into plastic containers for quick meals later on during the week.  

Have you tried quinoa? Do you like it? 

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Doesn't that look amazing? I love healthy recipes that are easy to prepare! 

Thank you so much, Megan, for sharing this one with us! 

If you haven't "met" Megan yet, you must visit her blogs. Honey We're Home is an inspiring look at Megan's beautiful home...lots of great decorating posts! Honey We're Healthy is filled with clean, tasty recipes like this one. 

Have a good one, readers. Tomorrow brings a great round-up of summer projects from another blogger friend. 

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments.

Featured Project Ideas {Link Party Features}

Happy Monday! How's your week starting out? The girls and I are out of town, but I wanted to share something creative with you today. As promised, I'm back with some Features from the weekend link party. There was a fantastic line-up of creative posts: Home Decor, DIY, Crafts, Recipes, Party Ideas, Tips and Tricks, and more. It's an awesome spot to find stuff to add to your Pinterest boards! Without further ado, here are some that I spotted this weekend:

~Family Room Gallery Wall via Lookie What I Did

~Sweet Potato Bruschetta via Peas and Crayons

~12 Month Calendar Journal Box via Hoot Designs

One More Day to Link Up--Showcase YOUR Project!

Howdy! The girls and I are on the road today...heading to Alabama to visit my sister and fam. Just wanted to remind you that there is one more day to link up to this week's Weekend Bloggy Reading link party. I'd love to see you there! I'll have a post with some Featured Project Ideas up tomorrow morning.

If you haven't joined the fun yet, please hop over to the party and add your best post of the week. We have Home Decor, Crafts, DIY, Recipes, Tips and Tricks, Party Ideas, and so much more! Lots of fun ideas to Pin and tuck away for future use.

If you've already linked up, be sure to browse some of the other projects. If you haven't added a link back to me within your post, please take a minute to do that if you'd like your project considered for a feature. It's good for both of our SEO, guys!

Hope you've had a fantastic weekend.

Share Your Best Post of the Week--Link Up!

Happy Saturday! What are you up to today? I just wanted to offer you guys a quick "weekend update." Please pop in to link up YOUR best post of the week at my Weekend Bloggy Reading link party. Today's the day to link up because I'm busy rounding up more Features! I'd love to know which ones caught your eye.

All kinds of posts are welcome here: We have recipes, party ideas, room makeovers, crafts, printables, tips and tricks, home decor, DIY, fashion advice, and more! The code for the button is located over at the party, or you can add a text link back to me within your post. Remember, I only feature projects that have a link back to me within the post.

This is just a quick "sneak peek" snapshot (ie. you have to go to the party post to get the links to work) of all the awesome projects that have been shared at the party this week. You can click the party link above to check them out and share your own project! I'd love to Feature you in a post!

If you haven't linked up yet, hop on over! Be sure to browse some of the amazing projects that have been shared.

If you missed this week's posts at Serenity Now, here are some links for you:

• Baby Gender Reveal
• Painting the Kitchen
• Featured Projects
• Big Ultrasound

Features coming soon!

::Weekend Bloggy Reading:: Link Up!

Happy Friday! First of all, thanks for your kind comments on our baby gender reveal yesterday! And now, welcome to my Weekend Bloggy Reading link party. This is the day of the week where other bloggers stop by to link up their best post of the week, and readers get to browse tons of fun project ideas. If you're new here, don't forget to "Follow" or subscribe so you don't miss future parties and projects! Please be sure to read my guidelines before you add a link.

**Hint hint, I'm going out of town Sunday, so today is the best day to link up for this weekend's party before I choose Features!**

This party is a great place to showcase your very best post of the week (home decor, crafts, party ideas, recipes, DIY, tips and tricks, etc.) and to see what else is out there.

Here are a few of my faves I spotted around the web this week:

sources listed below

~Deck Makeover via Love of Family and Home

~Decorating with Hydrangeas via On Sutton Place

~Horchow Inspired Nesting Tables (IKEA Hack) via Simple Details

~Tween Boy's Room via Don't Disturb This Groove

~And Me? I'd love it if you have a moment to click over. This week featured:

• Baby Gender Reveal
• Painting the Kitchen
• Featured Projects
• Big Ultrasound

Time to link up your best post of the week!

It's A... {Baby Gender Reveal and Other News}

Drum roll, please.....

Are you ready?

Yep, it's a boy!

(Disclaimer: I'm not sure why my children are dressed like that, but let's just go with it, mkay? It was the end of the day)

We've known for a few weeks after the four (well, five) of us went to a local sonogram place with a gift card from my sister-in-law. The owner spent extra time with us because baby would not cooperate. He was laying with his arms behind his head and his feet propped up...very much like his father does.

T and the girls were beyond thrilled, pumping their fists and dancing around (the girls, not T...although I'm sure he wanted to). I'm really excited and a little bit nervous....after seven years of girlie stuff we're venturing into a whole new ball game. I have a younger brother, so I'm not completely flying blind here, but it's still new territory as a mom.

I bought a pair of navy blue baby tennis shoes. I couldn't help myself.

Yesterday's big 20 week ultrasound at the perinatologist was really just a gender "confirmation" for us, since we were pretty certain about our boy. The baby looks healthy, although they want to do another ultrasound in three weeks to look at his heart after hearing about Michaela Byrd being born with a hole in hers (it closed up on its own). 

The visit did have a scary portion, and I'll spare you the gory details, but something about the placenta yadda yadda yadda, there's a very small chance I might end up getting a hysterectomy if it moves over my scar. As I'd very much like to keep my uterus, I'd appreciate your prayers for a healthy pregnancy. I left wishing I knew a bit more about when I'll have the baby. Hoping I can get some more answers today when I see my OBGYN, who I very much prefer. 

Thanks to everyone who said a little prayer for me yesterday...I am so grateful!

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments.

Big Ultrasound Today!

I'd like to ask for your prayers and/or good thoughts this morning. I'm having my 20 week ultrasound done at the local perinatologist's office. It's at the perinatologist's because this will be my third classical (ie. "old school") C-section, thanks to Natalie's giant baby head. They want to make sure my set-up is good to go.

With all the craziness at the beginning of this pregnancy, I am more than a little nervous. We're pretty sure of the baby's gender (my sis-in-law gave us a gift card to a local sonogram place), so today will hopefully just confirm what we were told. 

Please pray for a healthy baby! I'll be sure to update via Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, so you can check in with me there. And we'll do a little gender reveal post sometime soon!

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers, readers!

Painting the Kitchen

Pigs flew yesterday and progress on the Kitchen mini-makeover was made. You may remember the long-forgotten Before pictures and post I shared before I was pregnant and feeling like crud for months at a time. At any rate, my mother-in-law took pity on me and asked if I'd like some help painting the kitchen before the baby arrives. She enlisted the help of my mom, who, coincidentally, has never painted anything before. Ever. She's not a DIY kinda gal, but she jumped right in!

I hesitated for NO SECONDS before accepting this proposal because, um, hi? free labor!

I tell you, the work goes by so much easier when you have your feet propped up and sip a tall glass of lemonade. I kid, I kid. 

I donned a mask to keep fumes at bay and taped and rolled for awhile. But I was mostly in charge of feeding the children, getting them ready for some time at the pool with their father, and keeping The Beast (Ellie the German Shepherd) at bay. She very much enjoyed an afternoon of leisure, jumping from the cool leather chair to the cool leather couch with no T around to shout "hey, that's my spot!" at her.

We finished priming today and plan on starting up again on Wednesday. I may do the chair rail and the lower half of the wall today because it won't take much time and then we won't have to wait for the paint to dry before retaping tomorrow. We used an inexpensive, plain Glidden primer from Wal-Mart and it was fantastic. It kept costs down, and looks like it will only need the one coat before I can add some color.

The girls were sort of sad to see the yellow go. I loved the cheery light yellow when I first painted it...years ago. The white primer was a welcome change. It's pretty stark looking, but it's a sign of a blank slate.

I'm excited to get creative in this room and add some homey touches once the paint is applied and dried! We ripped the curtains down, the mini blinds go today, and I'm planning some artwork for the walls.

What's your favorite paint color combo for a kitchen?

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments.

Featured Project Ideas {Link Party Features}

Happy Monday! How's your week starting out? As promised, I'm back with some Features from the weekend link party. There was a fantastic line-up of creative posts: Home Decor, DIY, Crafts, Recipes, Party Ideas, Tips and Tricks, and more. It's an awesome spot to find stuff to add to your Pinterest boards! Without further ado, here are some that I spotted this weekend:

~Succulents in Tea Cups via Cottage in the Oaks

~Chocolate Covered Watermelon Oreos via The Pink Flour

~Dog Feeding Station (IKEA Hack) via Create. Bake. Celebrate

One More Day to Link Up:: Showcase YOUR Project!

Just one more day to link up to this week's Weekend Bloggy Reading link party before I choose Features for tomorrow. I'd love to see you there! I'm busy enjoying some summer fun, so this gives me an extra day. I'll have a post with lots of Featured Project Ideas up tomorrow morning.

If you haven't joined the fun yet, please hop over to the party and add your best post of the week. We have Home Decor, Crafts, DIY, Recipes, Tips and Tricks, Party Ideas, and so much more! Lots of fun ideas to Pin and tuck away for future use.

If you've already linked up, be sure to browse some of the other projects. If you haven't added a link back to me within your post, please take a minute to do that if you'd like your project considered for a feature. It's good for both of our SEO, guys!

Hope you've had a fantastic weekend.

Share Your Best Post of the Week: Link Up!

Happy Saturday! What are you up to today? I just wanted to offer you guys a quick "weekend update." Please pop in to link up YOUR best post of the week at my Weekend Bloggy Reading link party. Today's the day to link up because I'm busy rounding up more Features! I'd love to know which ones caught your eye.

All kinds of posts are welcome here: We have recipes, party ideas, room makeovers, crafts, printables, tips and tricks, home decor, DIY, fashion advice, and more! The code for the button is located over at the party, or you can add a text link back to me within your post. Remember, I only feature projects that have a link back to me within the post.

This is just a quick "sneak peek" snapshot (ie. you have to go to the party post to get the links to work) of all the awesome projects that have been shared at the party this week. You can click the party link above to check them out and share your own project! I'd love to Feature you in a post!

If you haven't linked up yet, hop on over! Be sure to browse some of the amazing projects that have been shared.

If you missed this week's posts at Serenity Now, here are some links for you:

• Solution for Craft Supply Chaos  (My Ugly Confession)
• DIY Jewelry Storage Projects
• The 25 Minute Rule
• Featured Project Ideas

Features coming soon!

::Weekend Bloggy Reading:: Link Up! (and BOTB News)

It's Friday! Welcome to my Weekend Bloggy Reading link party. This is the day of the week where other bloggers stop by to link up their best post of the week, and readers get to browse tons of fun project ideas. If you're new here, don't forget to "Follow" or subscribe so you don't miss future parties and projects! Please be sure to read my guidelines before you add a link.

This party is a great place to showcase your very best post of the week (home decor, crafts, party ideas, recipes, DIY, tips and tricks, etc.) and to see what else is out there.

Here are a few of my faves I spotted around the web this week:

sources listed below

~Drum Shade Lamp Update via It's Overflowing

~DIY Photography Backdrop via The Blissful Bee

~Candlestick Apothecary Jars via Teal and Lime

~Strawberry Lemonade Mix via Echoes of Laughter

**It's also BOTB Day over at Centsational Girl. You can click over to see what inspiring finds Kate and I rounded up for this week's Best of the Blogosphere column. There's also an exciting change for the Best of DIY site!**

~And Me? I'd love it if you have a moment to click over. This week featured:

• Solution for Craft Supply Chaos  (My Ugly Confession)
• DIY Jewelry Storage Projects
• The 25 Minute Rule
• Featured Project Ideas

Time to link up your best post of the week!

The 25 Minute Rule (Building Good Reading Habits)

I wanted to chat for a bit today about a simple little tip I'm using this summer to encourage and build good reading habits...for both my girls. (And I'd love for you to leave your suggestions in the comments section!) My firstborn, Natalie, was born with a lot of smarts. Her vocabulary has always impressed other adults, and she loved being read to from a very early age (I can still recite Moo, Baa, La La La and I Am a Bunny by heart)...still does.

Learning letters and sounds was a breeze for her, but real, actual reading involved much wailing and gnashing of teeth. On both our parts. You see, reading requires effort. And (like her mother), Natalie can be lazy. Why bother to read when someone will just read the book to you? Firstborn, perfectionist tendencies also cause us both to get frustrated when we can't do something right the first time. 

After spending some time with an excellent private tutor this year, Natalie's reading skills (and scores) soared. She started to enjoy reading and choosing her own books.

Summer, however, has made us somewhat lax, and I felt like we needed to implement some sort of easy system to keep her skills going and to grow them. 

The new rule is simple:

Each girl has to read for 25 minutes before they can watch TV, play, etc. in the afternoons. 

I set the oven timer and Natalie chooses any book she wants to read for 25 minutes. Michaela Byrd and I spend the time reviewing her letter/sound flashcards and sounding out simple words. 

My strong-willed child, Natalie likes having control over which books she chooses. Michaela Byrd likes having me all to herself. I like that the TV isn't on, they're not yelling at each other, and they're doing something productive. 

So far, this system has worked well. It's non-negotiable. They don't get to watch a cartoon or a movie until they've done some reading. We spend the rest of the day playing, at the pool, running errands, etc.

Why 25 minutes?

Natalie's school sent home information (which I've found backed up online) that children who read for just 20 minutes a day perform better in school. It was part of her daily homework last year. I tacked on another five minutes because I figured it wouldn't kill 'em.

And it hasn't. Natalie picked out 17 books at the library yesterday, excited about each and every one. She would have tossed more into the cart if I hadn't stopped her, fearful of what kind of fines we might incur with any late returns. I've "caught" her reading in the car, on the couch, in her bed, etc. I've seen her let her little sister choose a book and they sit and read together.

I'm hoping the rule pays off. I know it did with me. I struggled with getting reading to "click" for me as a small child. I loathed it. My dad finally got strict and set a book goal for me. It eventually paid off. I grew to be a bookworm whose degree is in English, Speech, and Linguistics. And I write a blog. 

We aren't doing much travelling this summer, but I bet my seven year old has logged some serious miles in imaginary worlds!

How do you encourage your kids to build their reading skills?

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments.

DIY Jewelry Storage Projects

Hi, all! I'm busy relentlessly purging the upstairs area of our home and also battling a nasty-ish cough. I spent some time the other day going through my jewelry, so I thought it would be fun to do a post with DIY Jewelry Storage and Organization Ideas. Which ones are your fave?

~Frame and Shelf Jewelry Organizer via Twinkle and Twine

~Boutique Wall via Honey We're Home

~Crib Spring Necklace Storage via Vintage No. 35

~Hanging Organization with Paint Sticks via Infarrantly Creative

~Organize with Hurricane Vases via Nest of Posies

~Accessories Station via The 36th Avenue

~Framed Jewelry Organizer via Momtastic

~Jewelry Cabinet from Crib via Infarrantly Creative

~Shadow Box Jewelry Display via The North End Loft

~Printer's Tray Jewelry Organizer via Create Celebrate Explore

How do you organize your jewelry?

If you enjoyed this post or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+. And I always appreciate kind comments.