Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With Strings...

...these are a few of my favorite things!!!  I am not sure how to categorize my style... it's a little Pottery Barn meets Restoration Hardware meets my Mother.  And below are some inspiration pieces that I dream about.

Oh how I love framed maps...

these 2 are also HUGE which makes them even BETTER

Don't you love how clean and relaxing this looks... and the lamps are to die for!

Huge mirror... don't mind if I do!  And the chandelier can come too!

 This my bedroom inspiration... so nice and calming...

and I love the hat rack above the bed!

Love this headboard... I am currently trying to figure out how to make one:)

And If B would let me cut out walls and add floor to ceiling windows

I would so do it!!!

These wood floors would make my footsies so happy...
I just love the rustic look to them!

When I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad!

I am my Mother's Daughter... and Now I Don't Have Cabinet Doors!

Growing up, my brothers and I never knew what house we might wake up in...  we would go to sleep and when we woke up furniture was moved, walls were repainted, and once there was a hole in a wall that later turned into a walk-through.  

We grew up with an amazingly talented mother who never left things as they were.  Her compulsion was passed down to my brothers and I and it is this trait that led me to removing my cabinet doors.  

I have seen cabinets without doors all over blog land and while sitting on our couch the other night I thought it would be just the ticket for my over-sized dinner plates (which I LOVE) that do not allow my cabinet doors to shut all the way.  

I am not sure I like the contrast of the white and the blonde cabinets... so I am thinking about redoing my cabinets next! (don't tell B though:)).

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

I grew up with snowy winters 

and I will admit that the lack of snow we get in Nashville does make me sad.  

So I was so excited when we got snow again

 for the 3rd time this year!  

Of course it doesn't bring the same excitement that 

getting off of school 

and spending the day with friends sledding did... 

but it still made my heart happy!  

And to make it even better, 

it just happens to be one of the 

Handsome Pup's favorite things !

(Sorry Pretty wasn't here and I don't have any other

children to photograph...so pup it is!)

He always takes a few minutes before really jumping in...

Staring from the deck at the fun below...

Finally getting down and playing!

And I couldn't get him to come back inside...

And for all of you wondering...

Yes, I am that girl who dresses up her dog:)

Burlap Bulletin Board

I bought some burlap to make a burlap wreath this week 

with my friend Tiffiny. 

While in Joann's I found an olive green burlap 

that I thought would be perfect for the bulletin board 

I wanted in my kitchen.  

I am tired of putting things up on the fridge 

and wanted something to go up in an empty 

space I had on my kitchen wall... so I killed 2 birds with 1 stone!

First I found an old framed picture 

I had from college in the garage (sorry, I forgot to take a picture before).

I took the picture and wrapped it with the burlap... 

nothing fancy and then I just taped it down (later to glue it)

 Anytime I start crafting, the Handsome Pup runs to his room...

 After wrapping the burlap I took some twine 

I had on hand and wrapped it around in vertical lines 

and taped down on the back (later to glue).

I then put it back into my frame (with some gentle pushing)... and voila

Next I just added all the invitations, some of our Christmas cards, 

and photos we had previously on our fridge:)

After getting it on the wall I thought it looked good but not quite big enough... 

so I will be making a larger one!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I am a HUGE fan of warm, tasty soups in these cold months.

My friend Tiffiny gave me a recipe for Broccoli Cheddar Soup 

I found that the soup was both easy to make and tasty...

and this is the reason for my blog

Ingredients
6 tbsp butter, divided
1 small onion, chopped (I omitted due to B's distaste for onions and it was still very tasty)
1 C carrot, chopped or shredded
4 C broccoli florets
3 C low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
4 tbsp flour
2 C milk
2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Black pepper


Directions
In a large pot, melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat.  Add the onion to the pan and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the carrots to the pan and cook a couple minutes more.  Stir in the broccoli, chicken broth, onion powder and garlic salt.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.


In a medium saucepan, melt remaining butter.  Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes until golden brown, whisking constantly.  Whisk in the milk and cook until the mixture thickens and bubbles, about 5 minutes.  Once mixture has thickened, whisk in the cheese until completely melted.  Remove from the heat and add the cheese sauce to the soup pot.  Allow to simmer until warmed through and broccoli is tender.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with Hawaiian rolls.


Total time: 30 minutes

Step-mother (without the evil)

This is the first start of a year that I have been an official step-mom.  Since this is a HUGE part of my life I thought I would blog on my feelings about it a little bit…well actually a LOT.  Hopefully if there are any others girls out there starting off on the “step” journey this will help!

While I have only been a step-mom for 3 months, I have been “Daddy’s girlfriend” for over 4 years.  I do not think anyone can ever prepare you for what this role entails or means… and even when you become a step-mom it is an endless battle of understanding it yourself.  For the past 4+ years Pretty and I have worked to get to know each other, trust each other, and form a bond… a bond unique to that of a parent-child bond.  I often tell B that I am going to write a book called “When Prince Charming is a Daddy” because this is what happened.  There I was… sweet, innocent, naïve Cinderella (ha!) when suddenly Prince Charming rode up on his white horse with a car seat on the back!  I often thought step-mothers were cold and mean… we have all seen the movies… but I thought I was young, vibrant, and fun so this would probably be really easy.  I pictured myself driving my Xterra down the road with Pretty in the back seat singing along to Wicked, Annie, and The Newsies soundtracks… I could now go see Disney movies in the theaters without people looking at me funny!  This was going to be a blast… we are going to play dress up, paint our nails… it was like the ultimate babysitting job!  And that is the thing… step-mom is somewhere in between babysitter and mom… it is like this weird gray area that no one ever talks about and it is a battle that I live with every day.  Easy… BAH!  Along with struggling about my place in Pretty’s life I struggle with her security, making sure she is safe and becoming a good person.  I worry about her doing well in school, getting hurt on the playground, getting teased or being the one teasing, boys, her spiritual development… I worry about the normal parent stuff… it’s not just dress up and nails!

B kept Pretty and I separate for a good part of the 1^st year we were together… I completely understood his desire to protect but sometimes I felt a little jaded, like I was not getting the whole B.  When year 2 rolled around Pretty and I started seeing each other frequently and she was even told that I was the G word.  I worried about her reaction, and I could tell that she had mixed feelings about it, but we talked to her about what it meant and that in NO WAY did it mean she was any less special.  As time has gone on Pretty and I have grown to love each other so very much… but we have “grown” to this point, and that is natural and ok.  B once told me that he thought it was easy for Pretty and I… and while we always liked each other, this was a foreign reality for both of us and nothing about it was easy.  You cannot throw 2 strangers together and expect them to love each other like a parent and child, the natural bond a parent and child share is not there… we have to form a unique relationship and bond and no one ever tells you that it is ok to struggle with that, to have to work on it.  It is NATURAL that it takes time.  On top of that Pretty had to share a daddy she had never shared and I was not the only girl in my boyfriend’s life like most couples who are dating.  Our relationship with B was changing at the same time that our relationship with each other was evolving.

My uncle once told me “it is not natural for a child to live in a house without both parents” and while that is Pretty’s reality, my uncle is completely right.  Pretty has no memory of her parents together but she is torn that she can never be with the 2 people she loves the most… it is always 1 or the other.  When she is with her mom she longs for her dad and when she is with her dad she longs for her mom… I truly cannot imagine.  And while she struggles with that, B and I struggle with how to raise her “every other weekend” and I struggle with what it means to be a parent but not a mom.  Pretty respects me, obeys me, and comes to me just as a child does their mom when she is with us… and I get to be the mom for a few days and then she goes back to another mom… a mom who gets to make more decisions about her best interest than me, a mom who takes her to school every day, a mom who packs her lunch and makes her dinner while helping with her school work at night, a real full-time mom.  And like being stabbed with a knife it hits me again… I am not her mom… I am in between.  I have no doubt it is hard for her mom to share Pretty with me, after all she dreamed about her for years, carried her for 9 months, gave birth to her, and raised her.  It is hard… for everyone.  I will always love Pretty, I will always want what is best for her, and I will always be in between.  Life is full of strange and curious things and most of the time we don’t have a handbook on how to do it… step-families are one of those things.  But what we do know more than others is that family and love is not always biological, love is a gift we have to share with each other and make each other’s lives that much better.  I am a better person because of her and she is better because of me… and that doesn’t take away from her relationship with her mom and it won’t take away from my relationship with the children I give birth to.  We love each other unconditionally and we didn’t have to, we chose to.  We chose to be a family, and it hasn’t been easy and I am sure there are more hurdles ahead but we have formed our bond, a unique bond from that of her and her mom, a bond that only we can understand.  Forever and always I love you My Pretty!

Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot?

I am a little delayed getting this post up... but who am I kidding?  I am always running late!

Happy New Years to all!  What a great year 2010 was!  I got married!!!!  I cannot wait to see what B, Pretty, Briggster & I get ourselves into this year:)

I was so excited to get to ring the new year in with old friends!  I have known some of these people for almost 10 years now!  What a treat to share life with such wonderful friends!  They have known me through my good moments and some that were not so good... and 10 years later they still love me!

Me and B... LOVE HIM!

Oh Boys...

LOVE!!!  We all lived on the same floor our freshman year in college... 10 years ago in August!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Still loving him:)

The next day the girls had New Years Day Brunch...perhaps an annual tradition???

As for resolutions???  I have never been one to get into resolutions but I do have some suggestions for myself in 2011:

1. Don't sweat the small stuff

2. Eat right & take care of your body... this is the only one your getting

3. Snuggle with B often

4. Make more time for creativity

5. Cook

Happy 2011 everyone!