sandr077

I don't know if this all started with Missoni hit Target, but I am loving zig-zag rugs right now.  I would like to "update" Avery's room and maybe she needs a zig zag rug?  I decorated her room with soft pink, white etc and I will say as her personality develops she is more Magenta than Soft Pink!  I want to paint and "grow up" a bit. Here are a few zig zag rugs I have my eye on! Dash and Albert... they make my FAVORITE rugs! Rug Studio Pinterest Garnet Hill (LOVE this orange/pink number) Same rug... better view! Trina Turk I am thinking gray walls.... but not ready to commit to anything just yet.  Just getting my creative juices flowing.  Until next time....xoxo

Okay I tried out a meatless recipe this weekend that I intended on sharing today, but it was not GREAT.  So, instead I am sharing the exact opposite of meatless Monday.... MEATY Monday.  The husband and I have been on a constant search for a great chili recipe.... like really really great.  Chili is kind of like pizza... even when it is bad it is fine,  But, we wanted AMAZING hearty, thick, meaty, flavorful, slightly spicy chili.  We found our recipe.....it was so delicious.  I found it on " Gimme Some Oven "... yes love the name!   We made a few substitutions... Ingredients: 3 Tbsp. olive oil 1.5 – 2 lbs. lean beef (or you can use pork).  We got steak and cut it up. 1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped 1/2 a jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced  1 green Pepper (or Poblano) 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced   2 Tbsp. chili powder 1 Tbsp. ground cumin 2 tsp. dried oregano 2 tsp. sugar 2 cups beef broth 2 cups water 1 (15 oz.) can ...

Yes, I want a dollhouse.  It will be a few years before Avery can appreciate and truly enjoy a dollhouse, ut I want one.  I was recently perusing Making It Lovely  and fell in love with the dollhouse she made.  It is truly AMAZING!  I feel like to make an awesome dollhouse I need to start collecting furniture and ideas now... it could take years. Check out Nicole's really really cool dollhouse! Um, did I say AMAZING?   Right!  Check out the rest of her photos on her blog Making It Lovely .  Perusing Etsy I found some cute furniture options! It is an opportunity to decorate a whole house all over again!  Ahh.. maybe some day.  Until next time...xoxo

So, yesterday was a holiday .... so no post.  But, I thought I would share what would have been my Meatless Monday post!  I have actually gotten into making homemade pizza once a week. The husband who is generally not a pizza guy has actually enjoyed this.  Homemade pizza always tastes a bit healthier than its takeout counterpart! I love it because it is quick, easy and creative! :) We made a yummy Sweet Potato, Spinach and Red Onion Pizza.  The recipe from  Two Peas and their Pod , called for Kale which would have been awesome, but the husband said the grocery store was all out (hmmm....). I buy fresh dough (at Trader Joes).  Who has time to make dough?  Here you go: ingredients: Your favorite pizza dough 1 large sweet potato, thinly sliced, about 1/4 inch thick 1/2 red onion, sliced 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, divided Salt and pepper, for seasoning potato slices and onion 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese 1 1/2 cups chopped kale (we substituted baby ...

Okay, remember I posted about decals a month or so ago!  I still love em' and have them on my brain as I finish the basement playroom/guestroom!   I love a way to personalize, but not permanently.  Well, our friends at Lulukuku have a special code for Life & Style A to Z readers...15% off! Here are a few of my Lulukuku favorites!   Go to their Etsy store and get yourself some decals with a discount.  Just enter ATOZ15 to get the deal.  Thanks for the coupon Lulukuku!  Until next time...xoxo

So, I talked about the playroom/guest room we were working on in our basement eons ago.  Well...we have a re-engerized focus on in due almost entirely to the amount to toys Avery got for Christmas and her birthday.  If there is a plastic thing that moves or plays music, it is safe to say we probably own it! Now, I am someone is is overly organized.  I label and color code whenever and whatever I can! :)  The toy clutter in our family room is driving me NUTS!  It is driving the husband nuts too, so we agreed to get going on the basement room.  So, we have been working over the holiday to finish.  As I have mentioned in the past this room is a old finished room in an unfinished basement.  I am pretty sure it used to be an old school "men's club" room... with a fireplace, wood floors and all! So, this is a teaser as we don't have a finished product just yet, but we have painted the wood molding, painted the fireplace, and painted the wood floor! ...

Okay, I know.  It has been a zillion years since I last posted.  All I can say is that it has been crazy-town here with work, the holidays, Avery's first birthday, etc!  I promise to get back in the swing of things ASAP and share some great posts. In the meantime, I thought I would share a bit of Avery's birthday.  I promised myself I would not make myself insane with too many DIY ideas.  But,  I had to have at least one crafty project or it just would not be me! :)  So, I decided to make cupcake toppers.    I made simple cupcakes ... a recipe from my Aunt Betty.... Betty Crocker that is.  I had perused etsy for cute ideas but whenever I saw cute topper options, I knew I could make em'.  So, I bought myself three different decorative punches.   One round one (1.5 inch) which I used to punch out Avery's face from a photo I picked and copied.  The second punch was a 2 inch flower which I used to punch decorative and colorfu...