Blueberry Banana Smoothie

Lately I've been on a smoothie kick.  I have enjoyed a smoothie for breakfast everyday so far this week.  The best part of this recipe is the cream cheese.  Cream cheese in a smoothie?  Who would have thought!   The small amount of cream cheese makes this smoothie delicious!  I hope you like it too!

Ingredients
1/2cup milk(almond or soy milk taste great in a smoothie)
4oz. cream cheese
2cups blueberries
2 very ripe bananas
1/2cup ice cubes

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

Felt Leaf Pillow

I mentioned on Monday that my cousin celebrated her 30th birthday!  In addition to having a little get-together for her, I also made her a pillow.

I went to Pinterest for a little inspiration, where I found this pillow.  I loved it and I hoped my cousin would too.  I purchased a few felt sheets and fabric in colors to match her room.

I spent a few hours cutting the leaf shapes, then gluing the leaves in a circle pattern in the center of the pillow.

My cousin loved her pillow because of its 3 dimensional look and I couldn't be happier!

*I used Google Images to find the original source of my inspiration pillow.  Similar pillows are available to purchase here.  I am in no way affiliated with this Etsy shop.  I just happen to love her pillows! : ) 

A huge thanks to, Vanessa @ Nifty Thrifty Things for featuring my pillow on her website!

Mini Cheesecake Cups

 Happy New Year!  I hope you all had a nice holiday weekend!  I had a wonderful time celebrating with my family!  I hosted a small get together for my cousin who celebrated her 30th birthday on New Year's Eve.  My daughter's friend was kind enough to come and sing for us as her birthday surprise!  Since most of the menu involved a lot of cooking, I wanted to keep dessert simple.  I decided on semi homemade, mini cheesecake cups. 

Rather than a graham cracker crust, I used ground gingerbread cookies instead.  The idea came after hitting up Target's after Christmas clearance and purchasing the cookies on sale!  To make 24 cups, I used 1½ cups of crushed cookies, 1/3 cup of light brown sugar and 6 tablespoons of melted butter.  Simply mix together, then press about 3 tablespoons into each cup. 

The ready to eat cheesecake filling was such a time saver.  Just spread and enjoy!

I topped each cup with a strawberry after soaking them in sugar water overnight.  You could skip this step if you like, but the strawberries were a little bitter.  The sugar water helped to sweeten them up a bit.

The mini cheesecakes were such a hit!  Everyone loved them, and I'm so glad I didn't have to sacrifice dessert because I was short on time!  

May Your Christmas Be A Very Merry One

As we count down the final days until Christmas, I wanted to pop in and wish you all lots of love, joy and happiness! 

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for a Happy New Year!

Cinnamon Apple French Toast with Caramel Syrup

While my kids are home for Christmas break, I wanted to switch up their normal breakfast of cereal for something warm and tasteful.  My kids love french toast, so I make it a lot!  This morning, I changed my normal recipe by adding cinnamon and apples.

This would be a great holiday breakfast.  This recipe is easy to prepare and smells great while cooking.  My kids enjoyed the new twist to our traditional french toast and quickly gobbled it up!

Cinnamon Apple French Toast with Caramel Syrup

Ingredients- Cinnamon Apples
2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored, and sliced
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter

Directions
In a saucepan, combine the apples, sugar, cinnamon and butter.  Sauté over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until apples are soft.  Set aside.

Ingredients- French Toast
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon sugar
6 -8 slices bread
butter for cooking

Directions
In a large bowl, beat eggs together.  Add milk, salt, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.  Dip bread in mixture to coat both sides.  Place the bread into a buttered skillet and cook until lightly browned on one side.  Turn and cook until done.

*To serve, place french toast slices onto a plate.  Add caramel syrup and top with cinnamon apples.  

What to do when you run out of wrapping paper?

Hmm...Well I suppose you could drive to the store and purchase more.  But it's the week before Christmas!  I'm sure the roads and stores are crowded, so I'd rather stay home.  

Using brown paper lunch bags, along with a few items I had on hand I was able to finish wrapping the last of my gifts and avoid making a trip to the store.  

I added stripes to one of the bags using painter's tape and craft paint.

I made a flower from fabric scraps and a gift tag using paint chips.

I added an accordion style bow to this package.

You can learn how to fold your own bow here.

Burlap, twine, a pine cone flower, some greenery from my yard and a berry sprig, is what I used for this present.  I love the natural look! 

This present reminds me of my blogging friend Noelle and the beautiful way she accents her home with the color red!

A paper doily and some ribbon is what I used!

So there you go!  I ran out of wrapping paper and that's what I did!

Kitchen Cabinets Updated With Moulding

As you may or may not recall, we had some water damage in our kitchen caused by our dishwasher.  Unfortunately, with our high deductible and a lot of insurance mumbo jumbo, we weren't left with a lot of money for repairs.  But, I'm not complaining!  We made the most of our estimate!  We found a great deal on flooring and were able to update our cabinets with moulding.  The process was long, but worthwhile and I'm excited to show you the updates that were made!

Before pictures of our cabinets.  As I mentioned before, they were my least favorite thing in the house.  I can remember second guessing myself after we put in our offer for the house knowing that the ugly cabinets were apart of the deal!  I'm only kidding!!

Our friend came over with his Skilsaw and made all the cuts for moulding and flooring.  While my husband and I did all the painting.

And now!  What a difference a little moulding makes, eh?!  We decided to keep handles/knobs off of the doors.  The cabinet doors have grooves underneath of them for easy opening. 

I love the barn door inspired cabinets.  I initially saw the idea while browsing Pinterest.  Then clicked my way over to Lisa's blog, A Vintage Vine for all the details.  I can't thank Lisa enough for the inspiration!  She has such a beautiful blog.  Her taste and her home are incredibly gorgeous!  

Although we painted the cabinets, the wall colors remained the same.

Once we updated the cabinets, the old rug no longer seemed to work in the space.

I purchased this jute rug and I couldn't be happier!  It fits the space nicely.

I also changed out the curtains.  I made simple window treatments, but sewing them proved to be a little difficult.  I am amazed that they came out even in length.

 

The previous curtains were my first attempt at sewing and it showed. ; ) The curtains were actually made from a sheet set.  I used the pillowcases for window treatments in my laundry room as seen here.

I almost went with this fabric for the curtains.  As much I liked the fabric, it didn't work for the kitchen.

All the plates on the wall were purchased at thrift stores.  You can see the inexpensive way I hung them on the wall here.

A plate holder also doubles as a place to keep my cutting boards.  Laminate counters scratch easily, having the cutting boards nearby helps to prevent further scratches.

I really hoped to add some type of open shelving to this empty wall.  I even found a trio at the thrift store for a great price!  But once my husband helped me hang them on the wall, the shelves made the room look cluttered.  So they came down!  All the ceramic pitchers I've been collecting over the last few years to display on said shelves are now being stored in the cabinets.  Makes me so sad.

I purchased the chair prints from West Elm a couple of years ago.  I found an inexpensive frame at Ross to display them in.  The planters on the shelf were 49 cents each, at IKEA.

The cabinets extend to the ceiling.

I use my small stepladder to reach the contents as needed.

I'm so glad to be done with the kitchen.  We're very happy with the final results!  I think Bella is too!  Thanks for being patient with me as we updated our kitchen.   

*A huge thank-you to Beth @ Home Stories A2Z, Kristin @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Stephanie Lynn @ Under the Table and Dreaming, Home Dzine and Kristi @ Addicted to Decorating for featuring my kitchen on their blogs!

**Click here for a few updates to this post.