Some Before Pics

 The time has come for us to give our second bathroom a fresh, new look.

I have wanted to update this bathroom for a while.

 With a tight budget, I'm hoping to make a big impression with paint and accessories. 

 The light fixture will soon be replaced. 

I tried painting it,

but that turned out to be a BIG FAIL!   

Stay tuned!  I promise I'll be sharing this makeover with you soon. 

Peach Smoothie

It's been so hot here lately that I haven't felt like doing much of anything besides sitting under the fan.

To keep cool I've been sipping on one of these smoothies.

The ingredients are simple...

In a blender, puree six fresh peaches

and add the juice from four, fresh squeezed limes.  Combine with 16 ice cubes and 3/4 cup of sugar and blend until smooth.  You can add more or less sugar or substitute for honey, depending on your taste.  Pour into a glass. Then sit back, relax, and enjoy your peach smoothie! 

   

Chic Little House

Last Saturday my beautiful friend Katrina of Chic Little House, home caught on fire.  Katrina and her family are now displaced after the fire damaged their home.  Although her family is safe, they all suffered such a huge trauma.  My heart aches for Katrina and her family.  I can’t imagine what they are going through.  However, what truly matters is that they are all safe and sound.  Katrina, my prayers go out to you and your young family.  Please join me by visiting her blog and remembering them in your thoughts and prayers.



*Unbeknownst to Katrina, Summer and I are in the early stages of planning a way to aid Katrina and her family.  If you would like help, you may contact Summer, calvin.summer@hotmail.com or myself, donotdisturbthisgroove@yahoo.com.

Flower Dog Collars

I decided to make a few fabric flowers, inspired by Emily's Little World.

I thought the fabric flowers would be a cute way to embellish my dogs' collars.

To save money, I created each flower using fabric scraps.

Although I made these for my dogs, you could follow Emily's tutorial and embellish anything that you like; such as accessories for your hair or clothing.

I attached each flower to their collars using my glue gun.

Such a simple way to transform a plain collar into a cute one.

  Because every dog deserves a cute dog collar...right?! 

*ETA-  After washing the collars(in cold water), I would recommend using some fray check to keep the edges crisp.

Homemade Bread

Despite my love of baking, I've always had this crazy idea that making homemade bread would be too difficult for my novice hands.

This weekend, I decided to get over my bread making fears and try a fabulous recipe that I found on Pinterest.

This was the perfect recipe to conquer my fears.  No kneading or rolling required!  So simple that even first-time bakers can do it.

Original recipe from Janet @ Simply So Good.  Click HERE to view it.  *Scroll through the comments on her blog for additional info.

Ingredients

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 cups water

Directions
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast.  Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 - 18 hours.  Overnight works best.

Heat oven to 450 degrees.  When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes.  *I used a glass baking dish with a lid.

Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball.  Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating.

Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough.  Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes.

Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.

*Pam also made this recipe, with great results.  You can read her post by clicking HERE. 

A Pillow for Mark

You may recall waaay back in March I hosted a Favorite Things Exchange and Giveaway.  I randomly chose two winners and made each winner a pillow of their choice.

Mark won through Google Friend Connect and Ms. Jaime won through email.  Jaime chose an exact replica of my Pottery Barn Pillow Knockoff and Mark chose the Felt Dahlia Pillow, similar to the pillow I made for my sister's birthday. 

Mark wrote a hilarious post describing the pillow I made him and I thought you might enjoy reading it as much as I did.

Mark makes me laugh!  I'm fortunate to call him my friend.     

You can read Mark's post by clicking here. 

Fried Eggplant

I love vegetables; raw, roasted, grilled or fried.  We live near an amazing farmers market and are fortunate enough to be able to enjoy a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Eggplant can be prepared many different ways; Eggplant Parmesan, Eggplant Lasagna, roasted or grilled.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy it is fried.

My kids, who do not like eggplant, ate every single bite and asked for more!

Ingredients
1 large eggplant, sliced into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick slices.
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Canola oil for frying

Marinara sauce, optional

Directions
Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in a separate bowl combine flour, salt and pepper.  Dredge each piece of eggplant in the flour, coating thoroughly and then shaking to remove any excess flour.  Fry eggplant for about 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Transfer to paper towels to drain.  Serve with marinara sauce, if desired.