Quote for the Day

Whatever you are

be a good one :)

Abraham Lincoln

The New HGTV House is here in Utah!

I live not too far away from where the new 

HGTV house is being built!

Me, my mom and my sister

were up in the area shopping and thought

it would be fun to stop by and take a PEEK!

Here are some pics.  

They won't let you get too close to the property,

so this is the best I could do.

It looks like it is going to be so beautiful!

View from the front 

View from the back

                                     

I wish I could have gone inside!

Can't wait to see who wins!

The best BaNaNa Bread EVER!

This is one of my very Best friends recipe!  

It is soooo Yummy!  

But I am a little bit of a Health Freak, 

so I tried to make a little bit Healthier

and it actually turned out super delicious!

This is the Original recipe

(Healthier version in)

Cream:  1/2c. shortening (1/2 c. coconut oil)

*Coconut Oil from Health food store

1 1/2c. sugar

Add:  2 eggs  

(Eggs from our own chickens pictured below)

*I doubled it so there are 4 eggs in this pic.

Mix together

Add:  1c. mashed bananas 

*about 2 bananas

Set aside 1/4  c. sour milk

*1/4c. milk 2 tbs. vinegar

(Rice milk and apple cider vinegar with the "Mother")

*Rice milk from Costco

*Vinegar from Health food store

1 tsp.vanilla

Slowly add in:

2 c. flour

(whole wheat flour)

*I use this kind or grind my own in my Vita-Mix

*this flour is Non-GMO

*Certified Chemical free

*Unbleached

You can get this at Walmart!

1/4 tsp. baking powder

(Aluminum Free)

*from costco

3/4 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

(sea salt)

Mix all together!

Bake at 350 for about 55 minutes

*Makes 1 large loaf

I doubled it so there are two!

So Yummy :)

Teacher Appreciation

Here is a cute teacher gift that

 we did for the kids' teachers this last year.  

I always like cute ideas for them

to let them know how much we appreciate all 

they do!

{ IN LOVE }

Spring is one of my favortie times of the year!

I LOVE IT!

So many great things are happening!

Babies animals are being born~

Spring bulbs are blooming~

The new leaves on the trees are saying hello~

The smell of fresh cut grass~

The feel of the warm Sunshine on your skin~

I am in LOVE!!

                                                                My Spring entry table

Our FuN Baby Chicks we got for Easter!

                  

                                           Our Sweet little cat Chloe had four babies 5-10-11.
                                                             Here is one of my favorites. 
                                                 She is going to be a Tabby just like Chloe.



Stairwell gallery

I am linking up my photo gallery wall to
The Inspired Room’s Gallery Wall Party.
If you get a chance, you should go check out all the FUN links!

I have always wanted a stair case to put a bunch of pictures
in and I finally have one!  YAY!

Here is my gallery so far...

I love old pictures of my Family!

They mean so much to me!

Which is what all of these are

except for the updated colored ones of my children.

Whassup Wednesday Linky Party!

I joined a linky party with Kara over at Elements Interiors!

Go to her BLOG to join the party

and also see some fun stuff!

 

Board and Batten Living Room!

We have only been here a our new home a month,

but I just couldn't leave well enough alone!

I had to do a project!

My husband thinks I should just concentrate on unpacking

and I totally understand his point! 

But I couldn't help myself!

I wanted the living room to be welcoming and fresh!

I love all this Board and Batten I have been seeing!

Inspiration

Chris Kauffman

And blue is the new red!

So I decided to paint!

This is what the room looked like before.

The red was a pretty red, but just not for me.

It made this large room seem too small.

Here is the room primed

 Here is it painted.

I chose Benjamin Moore Puritan Grey

for the main part of the room.

It is a real pretty blue grey.

I painted the lower 2/3 of the room

 the same color of the trim.

Which I am not quite sure what color that is .

They just had a left over can in the garage.

 

 Here is a pic with the boards put up. 

The boards were very simple to put up!

My husband did the math so that the boards were

spaced evenly across the wall.

(I think we just measured the length of the wall,

decided about how far apart I wanted them spaced,

decided about how many boards that would be,

and divided the length by the number of boards,

and that gave us the space in inches.  I think :)

We purchased primed 1x3's from Home Depot for the main part.

a 1x2 for the top, and a little piece of decorative corner round to go under the 1x2. 

It really was a piece of cake.

Neil cut the boards and I hung them.

Together we made a pretty good team!

Before

During

After (Almost)

Trying to find the right hanging light fixture, rug,

 a buffet or bookcase, and a standing light.

Details:

Couches from Ashley Furniture

Curtains are drop clothes from Home Deopt.

They came out with this seam I am not too fond of,

so I am thinking of sewing a strip of material through the middle.

Or take them down all together and get something

more custom.  It is hard to get curtains for this house because I have 9'

ceilings.  Which I love, don't get me wrong, but

for the curtains to go above the windows I need

ones that are 108" long. 

Those are hard to find!

And if I can find them they are expensive!

Strip?

Lamp from Ross

Still contemplating...

(may need bigger one)

Mirror is from Ross

Love this!

Homemade framed art

Frames are from Ross

Material is from Joann's

Very happy with how they turned out!

So why stop with the living room?

I decided to put it in the entryway too.

The color in the entry was also

just too dark for me.

Before

I wanted the entry to look nice and bright

when you walked in!

I wasn't quite sure what color I wanted the entry.

So for now it is the same color as the rest of the house.

Tavern Taupe from Kwal.

But is lighter and I like it a whole lot better!

Primed

All painted and the wood put up!

So far I am loving the look!

I have since caulked and painted it.

And also hung a mirror.

I would love to get a fun antique dresser

or buffet for the space!

More pics to come!