Addison's Room

Here's another project in Addison's room completed. Ryan built me a frame today and we stretched the painting on it. My friend Tiffany custom made the painting. I love it so much. It really helps to tie in all the colors and makes the room make sense. I wish the camera conveyed the colors better. You all are just going to have to come and see it in person! Thanks again Tiffany.

Addison's Room Update

Here's a side view so you can really see the texture.

So here's the latest completed project in the baby's room. This wall will eventually be the backdrop for the crib. (The missing piece will be going up as soon as the glue is dry enough for the hanger on the back to stay on.) I origionally wanted to buy coffered ceiling parts and use them on the wall. Since I couldn' t find any that weren't a few thousand dollars I decided to use these instead. They are ceiling tiles. You know the ugly suspended ceiling in schools. The ones which are usually all water stained and have holes in them. Well these tiles are meant to replace the ugly holey panels and make them look better. But I thought they would work great as a wall treatment. I'm trying really hard to make the room a mix of modern and traditional. A very hard task as I always lean to the traditional side. Anyway I wanted a fun 3-D wall treatment and I love, love, love the way this turned out! Ryan really doesn't get it but he says he's good with it since I'm so in love with it. And the best part is when we move I can take them with us.

Trunk or Treat

Here's a little catch up from this last month. Our Young Women at church were in charge of our branch Trunk-or-Treat party. When I heard this I thought, "Oh good I won't be heading this one." I've been a little burnt out since the Christmas breakfast and Valentine's dance in Florence. That is until I was called into YW's as second counselor. Oh, well if you can't beat them join them right? It was a really nice party and pretty easy to throw together. The girls had all the ideas and we just helped them accomplish it all.

This is Kim (1st counselor) and her husband Sam with their youngest Abe. We've been doing a lot with their family since this summer. They are one of only two other families in the branch who are about our age. So it's really nice to have them around. Plus Kim loves design too!


One of our girls wanted us all to dress like witches....so here we all are on the follow through. A little scary. Morgan is on the far left she and Gaby (not pictured) are the only two active YW. We have two others we are working on. We need all the girls we can get. Especially since the presidency outweighs the girls right now. Second from the left is Sara (YW president). She's tons of fun and so great to be around. I have a feeling I'm going to learn a lot from here. Only bad this is they live about 30min out of town so it makes it difficult to get together.


And finally here is a glorious close up of a pregnant witch. Have you ever seen the likes? A lot scary! See what happens when I'm let loose in a Goodwill? I was pretty much busting out of the dress but it worked for one night. Ryan went to the party too but he decided not to dress up so no pictures of him this go around.

Halloween Treats

Here's the latest craft I've whipped up. I found this great idea off of the Homemaking Fun blog, follow the link at the bottom of the picture. When Ryan asked if we were sending our nephew a Halloween treat I knew instantly what we could do. We modified the instructions a bit to reflect a Halloween theme. For instance we named the chocolate melts "black bats' blood," nuts "crushed bones & skulls." You get the idea and I'm sure our nephew will have fun with it. Perhaphs even more fun that his uncle had in helping create it.
http://partiesandholidays.blogspot.com/2009/10/caramel-apple-kit.html

This little birdy

Here's a picture of the drawer pulls I painted for Addison's dresser. For those of you who don't quite understand my "creative perspective" it's a birdy. They still need a few coats of laquer to shine them up.

Recipe Repost

Opps! This is the recipe I meant to post, but the gingered chicken is really good too!

Green Curry Chicken (*for those of you with kids, okay who am I kidding you all have kids except us...for the moment, justt use on tablespoon of curry paste and there won't be any heat.)

1 lb Chicken Breasts 1 Can Coconut Milk
Crushed Garlic, to taste 1½ -2 T. Green Curry Paste
Olive Oil 3T. Sugar
4 Carrots, chopped Fresh Cilantro, chopped
3 Celery Stalks, chopped on a diagonal Lime Wedges
1 Medium Onion, chopped 2C. Rice, cooked brown or white

Cut up chicken & fry in garlic & olive oil. Set aside. Stir fry carrots, celery & onion in garlic & olive oil - about 5 minutes or until onions are mostly cooked. (Don't over cook - you want the carrots slightly crispy) Mix together with chicken in a big pot & pour the coconut milk over. Stir in the green curry paste & sugar. When it comes to a boil thicken with a little cornstarch. If you want more sauce, add some chicken broth to the consistency you desire. *be warned...do not add too much broth or it will dilute the coconut flavor too much.* Serve over warm rice & top with fresh chopped cilantro & lime wedges.

Fun Recipes

Here are a few recipes we've tried this last week. I love recipes that have been proven to be good and these are Agre approved good!

Baked Oatmeal with Apples

1C. Rolled Oats 1T. Orange Zest
1t. Cinnamon 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
Pinch of Nutmeg 1 Banana, mashed
1/4 t. Salt 1/4C. Walnuts, finely chopped
3T. Maple Syrup 1 ¼ C. Milk


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Grease a 9-inch pie plate with butter.Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.Pour into the pie plate and place on a baking sheet in case of spills.Bake in the centre of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed (but don’t cook it for too long or it will dry out too much).Remove from the oven and let cool. Serve with yogurt or milk and honey. Sprinkle on your favorite nuts.


Sour Cream Banana Pancakes

1½C. Flour 2 Extra-Large Eggs
3 T. Sugar Maple Syrup
1 t. Vanilla 2 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Lemon Zest1 1/2 t. Salt
Unsalted butter ½ C. Sour Cream
2 Bananas, diced, plus extra for serving ¾ C. + 1 T. milk

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing only until combined.Melt 1 T. of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan to make 3 or 4 pancakes. Distribute a rounded T. of bananas on each pancake. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles appear on top and the underside is nicely browned. Flip the pancakes and then cook for another minute until browned. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, add more butter to the pan, and continue cooking pancakes until all the batter is used. Serve with sliced bananas, butter and maple syrup.

Gingered Chicken & Friend Rice

4 Chicken Breasts 14.8oz Cooked Rice
2T. Fresh Ginger, grated 8oz. Sugar Snap Peas
2T. Soy Sauce ½ C. Red Bell Pepper, chopped
2 Large Carrots, chopped Green Onions, sliced

In a large nonstick skillet heat 1T. oil over medium-high. Add chicken, half the ginger, & soy sauce. Brown chicken on all sides. Add ½ C. water. Cook, covered, 15min. or until no pink remains in chicken.
In a dish cook carrots, ginger, & 2T water in microwave for 4min or until tender. Add peas & pepper, heat through. Add rice.
Remove chicken & juices. Wipe skillet with paper towels; return to heat. Add eggs, cook & stir 30sec. to scramble. Stir in rice mixture; heat through. Serve chicken & juices with friend rice, onion, & soy sauce.