What I Wore Wednesday

A couple of the blogs that I follow have been participating in What I Wore Wednesday for a while now.  I enjoy seeing all sorts of different outfits and thought that I would join in and share what's in my closet.

February Recipes

Cheesy Wild Rice Soup
My mother gave me a recipe for a cheesy rice soup and this is the closest thing I could find online.  There are only 5 ingredients so it is super simple!  When I made it, I used milk instead of the half and half and brown rice instead of the wild rice. The next time I make it, I may try it using this version of the recipe to see what one I like better.

Taco Cups
This recipe has been on one of my Pinterest boards for a long time.  I finally made them to snack on as we watch the Super Bowl.  They were very simple and very good.  They are the perfect finger snack.  (To see the recipe, you will need to hover your mouse over the picture.)

Creamy Peanut Butter Dip
This is a very healthy dip for any type of fruit.  It is also a good source of protein because of the Greek yogurt.  I love honey, so instead of using maple syrup to sweeten it, I used honey.  I have been taking this in my lunch just about everyday since I have made it :)

Streusel-Topped Banana Bread
I have a ton of frozen bananas.  Instead of using the all for smoothies, I thawed some and made some banana bread.  I found this recipe and the streusel top intrigued me.  It was delicious!  My husband would have eaten the entire loaf in one sitting if I would have let him :)

I try very hard to not cook the same things over and over.  Of course we have our family favorites, but I also enjoy cooking new things.  I try to cook something new each week.  In the past, I have subscribed to many cooking magazines to get new ideas.  I would tear out recipes that interested me.  Just recently I create a new organized way to store and save these recipes.  You can read about that here - Recipe Binder.  Now I have Pinterest :) The nice thing about Pinterest is I don't have to print off the recipes.  I can pin them to my boards and quickly access them on my iPad when I am meal planning and cooking.  Here are my recipe boards if you want to take a look:
Yummy Snacks                       
Slow Cooker
Delicious Desserts                     
Soups
Drinks                                       
Daily Dinners

Good Morning Breakfast             
Lunches

What I Wore Wednesday

A couple of the blogs that I follow have been participating in What I Wore Wednesday for a while now.  I enjoy seeing all sorts of different outfits and thought that I would join in and share what's in my closet.

Organizing the Spice Cabinet

My spice cabinet has always been very cluttered.  Awhile ago I bought some baskets and a tiered rack hoping that those items would help clean up the cabinet a bit.  It helped more in grouping the clutter then organizing it.

What I needed to do was really look at what was in this cabinet.  Basically, I need to get rid of some stuff.  First I took everything out.  I grouped the items into three categories - 1.  Baking  2.  Cooking  3.  Oils.  Then I really looked at the items in each category.  If I haven't used it within 6 months I got rid of it.  I have heard that spices should be replaced every year.  Some of mine I have had since I got married - much longer than a year ago :)  

I then started putting what was left back into the cabinet.  The top shelf I designated for my baking items.  I don't back a lot so this is a good spot for them.  I put all of them in a white basket and was able to place my containers of powdered sugar, white flour, and wheat flour.  

The bottom two shelves are for all my cooking spices and oils.  I placed all the oils behind a white basket that houses the back-up spices that I use to fill the spice rack that is on my counter.  Next to that basket I placed larger boxes and spice containers that didn't fit in the basket. On the bottom shelf, I placed the tiered rack with all of my WildTree spices on them.  Next to that I placed the salt and pepper.  On the cabinet door I have a hook where I hang my monthly meal plan and any recipes I will need for the week.

Here is the finished look:

It doesn't look like a huge change, but I can already see that this is going to be easier for me to find something when I need it.  I now know exactly what spices I have so I wan't be purchasing doubles anymore.  

What I Wore Wednesday

A couple of the blogs that I follow have been participating in What I Wore Wednesday for a while now.  I enjoy seeing all sorts of different outfits and thought that I would join in and share what's in my closet.

Valentine's Day Crafts

As I have stated before, my daughter loves to do anything that involves glue, paint, and paper.  With Valentine's Day right around the corner, I thought today was a great day to make some Valentine's Day crafts to use to decorate the house.

We first made what I am going to call a Love Bug.  It was pretty simple.  Just a couple of hearts and some ovals.

Of course everything gets better when you can add some "googley" eyes and a pipe cleaner :)

Then we made a caterpillar out of hearts.  Again, I just cut out a punch of hearts that she glued in a row.  She added some eyes and I added the smile and legs with a black marker.

Here are some other neat craft ideas that I found on Pinterest:

• Butterfly with Heart Wings
• Paper Plate Heart Hat
• TP Roll Heart Stamp

What I Wore Wednesday

A couple of the blogs that I follow have been participating in What I Wore Wednesday for a while now.  I enjoy seeing all sorts of different outfits and thought that I would join in and share what's in my closet.

Painting Tile

My kitchen really needs to be updated.  When we moved into the house I remember saying that the kitchen was going to have to be one of the first things that we redo.  Well, life has happened resulting in the same kitchen eight years later.

To help make the kitchen more bearable, I have done little makeovers over time.  The one that has made the biggest difference involved painting my tiled back splash.  Here is what it looked like before I painted it:

The green tiles felt very country to me and really limited the paint colors I could choose from to paint the walls.  Last summer, after talking to many people who have painted tile and doing some online research, I took the leap and painted all the tile white.

First I really scrubbed the tile with soap and warm water to remove any dirt or grease on the tile.  I then took some steal wool to the tile to scuff it up hoping it would help the paint adhere better.  After leaving the tile dry for 24 hours, I gave it two coats of bright white paint, letting the paint dry almost 24 hours between coats.  I did put an additional coat on the tiles behind the sink and the stove.  The last step was to put on 2 coats of polyurethane, again waiting 24 hours between each coat to allow it to dry.  I also again put an additional coat on the tiles behind the sink and the stove.

It was a lengthily process, but it was worth it.  Here is the painted tile:

I am amazed at how getting rid of the green tile has change the appearance of my counter top.  It used to look mint green, but now after painting the tile and the walls in gray, looks more grayish.  Overall, I kind of like my kitchen now :)  I am now okay waiting a couple more years to remodel it and being able to update our upstairs bathroom instead.