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Living Room Revamp

I live in the top half of a house that was built in the late 1800's.  It's OLD.  When we first moved in about a year ago, we did A LOT of work, we painted all of the rooms, put sticky tiles down in the kitchen, painted the kitchen cabinets, replaced the cabinet hardware and even did a tile back splash.  We do rent, so we have tried to use minimal amount of $$ since we won't be taking a lot of this stuff with us we do move.  Trust me, I plan to live here as long as possible.  I hate moving. 

The entire apartment was a dark dungeon before we worked our painting magic.  Paneling all over the place, dark wood floors that are awesome in theory but are so old that there are huge cracks and in the winter they are VERY cold.  I loved our living room when we first moved in but the last month or so I have wanted to do something different.  My mom came down this weekend and helped me. 

The first thing that is new is the carpet.  My husband works at Lowes part-time and was able to score an awesome deal on a carpet.  He and his brother laid it down about two weeks ago.  It doesn't cover our whole living room but it looks great and much better than the smaller area rug we had before.

I bought a new couch cover from Collections Etc for about $35.  Not too shabby.  I think it looks pretty darn good!  As you can see, our kitty Sully approves. 

You can also see the new carpet.  I just love it, so cushy!

We recently moved our computer and desk into the living room, it was in the bedroom before and I hated being in there isolated if Marc was in the living room.  The only thing was our desk was UGLY.

My mom helped to solved that by whipping up a desk cover!  Doesn't it look awesome?  I would have never thought of this idea.

Then I needed a little decorative something in the space above the desk.  We thought about tissue poms, a light but ultimately decided upon a little piece of artwork.

I bought the collage frame from the Christmas Tree Shop for $7.99, a few pieces of scrapbook paper and black poster board for the little birds.  I just love decorating with birds. 

This was super easy to make.  I just cut the scrapbook paper to size, found a bird template online, cut the birds out.  I did coat them in modpodge to make them a little bit more shiny and VOILA, your very own art.

I love the new little corner in my living room.

The chair you see in this picture is going to have the same pattern cover as the couch.  I ordered it once I saw how perfect the couch looks, hopefully I will get it early next week.

I think I have some before pictures at home but I forgot to email them to myself at work and I wanted to get this posted today.  I'll try to find them for a later post.

Guest Blogger Kristina from A Perfect Dose of Life

Let's all give a WARM welcome to Kristina from a perfect dose of life!!

I'm so honored that Leslie has asked me to be a guest blogger on her blog and actually take over my blog responsibilities on my blog and doing a post there! The beauty of a blog swap, and I will say I'm thrilled to be here visiting. Life is a funny thing! It's not perfect, and the most beautiful thing is it isn't supposed to be. There is the beautiful things in life such as love, blessings, friendships and family, births and weddings, and there is the things that aren't as beautiful, frustrations, hurt, pain, and all that other drab stuff. I believe there is the bad to make us appreciate the good, the beautiful and make us just a bit more grateful for what we do have. That is what my blog seems to be about.I have been a blogger since 2007, and to be honest, up until eh...the latter part of 2010 I really didn't get out into the blog world to experience all that there is to be experienced and boy was I missing out! Never did I know what the blog-o-sphere was truly like and what an awesome community there is out here, and way awesome friends I would make all around the world along the way.

Let me introduce myself, I'm Kristina, and my blog is a perfect dose of life.

I'm married to an awesome man, Ryan, and we have 5 fur-children (2 dogs -Rudy and Wyatt, and 3 cats-Leo, Leah and Link). No, 2 legged-children running around just yet, but they are in our future, God willing. I was born and raised in Kansas, moved to Colorado to be with Ryan (he is from CO) in 2006 after a 10 month long distance relationship. We moved back to Kansas in August 2010, to see what life would be like in Kansas and if we would indeed like life in Kansas - we would never have to wonder 'what if', if we truly found out. Well, needless to say, its a goal to get back to CO before too long. But I'm blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

I would be lying if I said my blog was about just one thing, unless I describe that one thing as life. Simply put. That's exactly what my blog is about. The good, the bad, lessons I've learned as a woman, a wife, etc. I have a few series that I have that I go through here and there rotating around my blog (quote of the week, someday I will, thoughts of today, wordless wednesday virtual coffee) but I won't tell you they are every single week, because well...that wouldn't be the truth. I have weeks that they are every week and other weeks...well, not on the blog roll. That's life. I am starting a new series called, Ask the Chef, featuring my co-star in life (aka Hubby), who is a trained chef, that one may be weekly - we shall see. Anywhooo....My blog is full of life. Wellness and Health stuff, because I'm a massage therapist and wellness coach, recipes, music, features, etc. I participate in blog hopping here and there, too. So, like I said before it can't be described about anything but a blog about life, and honestly I like it that way. I like having guest posts, and I'll have an occasional giveaway here and there or a discount for this company or that one. My blog is far from a giveaway or a review blog though, nor will it ever be a fashion blog. Although I enjoy fashion blogs, mine will not be one of them. I am not a fan of photos of myself nor am I one that I would necessarily call fashionable, so not really my cup of tea. I'm typically that blogger that if you participate on my blog and we make friends, I tend to mention you in my post to get more people over to you because I value you. ;)

I love people, the great outdoors, cooking, my favorite season is fall, although I do like a night out I'm really more of a home-body and I think that's quite alright. I would much rather a night in with the hubby. I work too much, and don't get paid nearly enough, but I just remember this job is just temporary. I blog for me, and if someone likes my blog even better, but even if I lost all of my followers tomorrow, I would still keep on blogging. I love photography, drawing and painting - really just being creative, there is so much beauty in the world! I swam with the dolphins on our honeymoon and absolutely fell in love with them, so if I ever disappear I might be off becoming a dolphin trainer, you just never know.

I love laughing, and sometime I enjoy a good cry too. Road trips are awesome with the hubs, and the two dogs out on the open road listening to the radio is an awesome place to be. I don't think there is anything comparable to a good mountain hike on a sunny day taking in that fresh air. I tend to be one to want to try and save the world first, take care of myself last. I think that you have to keep those that try and hold you back further away so you can keep going, and appreciating the blessing that you have in life, because life is truly beautiful, and you only get the chance to live. I believe sometimes people are come into your life for a certain season[s], and leave for others, there may never be an explanation but that's the beauty of life, there doesn't have to be an explanation.

[some of the favorite posts at my blog]

Sometimes the Simplest Words Change Us

Remembering to be the Male Lobster

Won't you have a coffee chat with me?

Pretzel Crusted Chicken with a Cheddar Mustard Sauce

Someday I Will....

So, now that you know a little bit about me, we would love to have you come by the good ol' blog! Come by share a laugh, a cry, some inspiration or just a little bit of life, over here at a perfect dose of life! If you do come by, please leave a comment, as I would love to come and see your space in the internet world to thank you for coming by mine!

Homemade Baked Crab Rangoons

I've already shared this recipe over on The McMommy Diaries but wanted to share it on my blog as well, it is really delicious and you do not want to miss it! 

 My husband & I are ADDICTED to crab rangoons.  With us both trying to lose weight still, having Chinese take-out is not the best decision so my Mom found a reciepe for homemade crab rangoons online and I've modified that a bit to the one I'm about to show you.

Homemade Baked Crab Rangoons

 

Supplies:

*Wonton Wrappers

You can find these in the produce section of most grocery stores

*1/4 cup of Mayo

*Can of shredded crab meat

You can also use the imitation crab meat if you prefer, I found I liked the can crab meat taste better

*5oz of Cream Cheese, a little over 1/2 of the block

*Chives, amount varies, it's to your taste

*Dash of soy sauce

*Garlic Powder

*Salt

*Cooking Spray

*Muffin Pan or Mini Muffin Pan

I used mini muffin, I think the smaller size works better but a larger would work as well.

With these ingredients, I made 12 crab rangoons.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, we are going to bake our wonton wrappers without any filling in order to get them crispy.  These are going to be kinda like "open faced" crab rangoons instead of the sealed ones you get at Chinese restuarants.  I tried the crab rangoons closed before I made this batch and they weren't as good because they were not crispy enough.

Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray. 

Before Baking

Take your wonton wrappers one at a time and push them down into each individual muffin tin.  You will have to fold the edges a bit over the tin, you want to make sure that you will have a big enough opening for the filling once these are baked.

Sprinkle the wonton wrappers with garlic powder and salt before baking to give them more flavor.

Bake at 350 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes or until crispy.

While your wonton wrappers are baking, mix up the filling.

1/4 cup of Mayo, 5oz of cream cheese, dash of soy sauce and chives. 
It's easier to mix if the cream cheese is at room temperature. 
I also added some garlic powder but this is optional.

Keep checking on your wonton wrappers, you do not want them to get burned.  Mine took about 6 minutes in my oven.  The edges were just a little golden brown, as you can see in the next picture with the filling added before baking again.

Fill your wonton wrappers with the crab/cream cheese filling. 

Bake your crab rangoons for another 10 or so minutes or until the filling is heated throughout.

Voila!  Homemade Baked Crab Rangoons!

Guest Blogger Melanie from The McMommy Diaries

Hi everyone! Leslie was nice enough to share her blog with me today so that I could get to know her awesome readers. I'll start by quickly introducing myself, and my blog, and then I'll be sharing a Saint Patrick's Day craft with you {okay, I admit, it's a kids craft, but this mom had just as much fun as her little one did, lol}





My name is Melanie McFadden
I'm 28 yrs old & have one child {a son named Joshua}
I married the best guy I've ever met
My life revolves around being a SAHM
I'm a Preeclampsia survivor
Joshua's a former Micro Preemie {born @ 1 pound, 7 ounces}
I'm the oldest of 4 daughters {my poor father, lol}
You can find me rambling about over at The McMommy Diaries. I mostly blog about my life as a mom, which includes an abundance of my crazy little guy, now 3 years old. You'll also find fun finds, blog hops and more. I'm also hoping to venture into the world of reviews and giveaways! Wish me luck (wink) and I'd love for you to stop on by if you'd like!




Leprechaun in The Mirror, Saint Patrick's Day Craft
click on images to enlarge

Supplies: foam sheets (your choice of colors), craft glue,
a plastic mirror and scissors.


I used yellow(2 for background), green sparkly (1 for hat & clover),
brown (1 for hair & beard), and black (1 for strip on hat).

Take one of your yellow sheets and glue or tape the mirror onto it. Then, take your second yellow sheet and cut a circle {no bigger than the size of the mirror} into it. Now line the two sheets up and glue the second on the first.

 

Next, cut out your hat from your green foam sheet. Cut a black strip from your black foam sheet and a square from your left over yellow sheet. Attach as shown above. Last, cut your hair and beard out and glue all pieces together similar to the image below. Let dry approx 15 minutes and your child can now see him or herself as a Lucky Leprechaun.

I used my leftover green sparkly foam to cut out a 3 leaf clover for decoration. Cut 3 hearts and a stem. Arrange accordingly and viola!



 

There you have it! A simple and fairly cheap craft to do with the kids that they will love this Saint Patty's Day! I hope you enjoyed it and I want to thank Leslie so much for sharing her blog with me!

Melanie McFadden @ The McMommy Diaries
Thanks to Melanie for sharing her blog and this cute craft with us!  Be sure to check out her blog, it is one of my favorite reads.  Plus Melanie loves the show Dexter, so that just means she is awesome.  :-)

Cupcake Fail.

Tonight has been one of those nights.

For Marc's birthday I wanted to have two flavors of cupcakes.  So I decided to try to make a vanilla cupcake with mini chocolate chips, filled with a strawberry/cool whip mix and topped with vanilla frosting.

Let's just say three major things happened....

#1 - the mini cupcake liners I bought were for truffles not cupcakes so they were even smaller and harder to fill.

#2 - the filling was too thin.  It was going into the cupcake properly, plus it was making a mess.

#3 - Marc was chopping garlic to put in a marinade for the chicken wings we were having for dinner and instead of putting them into the marinade he put into the rest of my strawberry/cool whip mixture that I was going to try to thicken.

At that point I gave up.  I threw it all away which was complete waste but I wasn't going to bring in too tiny cupcakes with garlic flavored fill.

I said I would post the good with the bad and this is the bad.

Maybe I will just have the Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes...they were really yummy after all.

Sigh.