My Home Office

I have finally chosen a room in the house to use as my office/craft room. I haven't fully decided how to decorate the whole thing, but I'm slowly updating items to make it look the way I want. I think I want to go for a glitter/gold and pink theme for the room. I've only had the time and supplies so far to update my desk organizer and pen holder. I want to eventually get a white desk and a cute/comfy chair...plus do a WHOLE lot more. 

I got my desk organizer at Target. 

Original Outside View

Original Inside View

At first it was pretty ordinary, but still cute with it's chevron zig-zags on the inside. I really wanted to do something to the outside though so it didn't just look like a cardboard box... So I gathered my supplies. I found a gold paint pen, gold glitter, and modge podge. I love modge podge. I always find so many uses for it.

My end product looked like this...

After Outside View

After Inside View

I was happy with the end look. I may end up changing it a little more, but for now it has it's own little flair.

Going with the glitter theme I decided to glitter-ize {we're going to say that's a real word....even though it's not} my pen holder. I painted the end with modge podge and dipped it in glitter. It helps to add a little glam to my desk.

<3 Kelly Jean

Seasonal Wreath Ideas

Since we've moved into our new house I've been trying to come up with ideas for wreaths that match the season or the holiday. Here's a few I've made so far...

This cute little monogrammed bunny was for Easter. I got the cutout from Unfinished Wood Co. through a deal site called Groopdealz. It arrived a little later than I expected so I only had time to paint it before it was already Easter weekend. Next year I think I'll add a cute little bow.

This one was one I created to Welcome Spring. I made a burlap wreath then added a few floral decorations as well as a burlap bunting that matches the flower color. It looks really nice on our front porch with the pink flowers in the stone planters.

Now, it's almost July 4th and time to celebrate being an American. I'm trying to decide what wreath I want to make now. I really want something patriotic, but I don't know exactly what I want. 

Here's a few of the Pinterest inspirations I have found....

Photo Credits

Photo Credits

Photo Credits

Photo Credits

Now I just have to decide what I want to do for my patriotic wreath for July. It looks like it's time for me to go shopping at my local craft stores. I think the first place I'll hit up is Michael's since they are having 15% off your entire purchase from 3pm-7pm today.

<3 Kelly Jean

Weekend Project: Backyard Water Fountain Makeover

Now that the weather is warmer and I have a few free weekends I am taking the time to repurpose some of the chipped and dated items I am finding around the house that were left from the previous owner. One of the projects I have taken on this week was to re-do the grey chipped water fountain in the backyard that wasn't working.

It looks nice, but it wasn't working and it didn't look that great in the area. I decided the best fix was to patch the holes and repaint it. I first used Rust-Oleum Spray Paint to prime the whole thing.

Since it was my first experience spray painting anything in a VERY long time it took me more cans of spray paint than I had expected. The priming process took about 4 cans of spray paint to cover the entire water fountain. The actual painting took about 8-10 cans to cover the whole thing and create an even finish. 

I chose a textured finish spray paint by Rust-Oleum to give it a "stone" look. I really like the end product. I'm still working on finishing it up so that it works like a normal fountain. Sadly, I have had a lot of rain this last week so I haven't had the time to repair the inside of the fountain where it has a few cracks that cause it to leak.

<3 Kelly Jean

Sweet Potato, Chickpea, and Quinoa Veggie Burger

Sometimes finding a dinner that pleases both myself as a vegetarian and my meat-loving very hungry fiancé is not that easy. I always search Pinterest for new inspirations for tasty meal options. I recently happened upon a recipe for a spicy quinoa veggie burger and decided I had to give it a shot. The recipe was originally taken from the PopSugar Fitness blog that has tons of inspiration for healthy meals and great easy to do at home workouts. 

Here's how to make this tasty veggie burger:

INGREDIENTS

1 small sweet potato, baked
1/4 cup dry quinoa
1/4 cup dry barley
15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons parsley
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 fresh red peppers

                             

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake the sweet potato for 45-60 minutes or until soft.
2. While the sweet potato is baking, cook the quinoa and barley in separate pots until soft, about 30-60 minutes (barley takes a little longer).
3. Remove the stem and seeds from the red peppers. Cut the whole pepper in quarters and the half a pepper in half, and roast all six pieces in the oven for about 15-20 minutes.
4. Once the sweet potato is baked and cooled, combine garbanzo beans, sweet potato, parsley, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt and pepper, flour, and one tablespoon oil in a food processor.
5. Allow the grains to cool, and then in a separate bowl, mix the bean mixture with the quinoa and barley.
6. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large pan on medium heat. Place heaping spoonfuls of the mixture onto the hot pan, and use the back of the spoon to pat them flat and form four-inch diameter patties. Brown both sides of each burger. Serve on a bun with one piece of the roasted pepper, sliced into thirds.

Yield: 6 servings

NUTRITION

Calories per serving
 
202

It was definitely not the easiest veggie burger I have ever made, but it was definitely the best. My fiancé asked twice during dinner when I would be making this again. I believe that is a good sign.

<3 Kelly Jean

Kitchen Remodel

One of our first projects as new homeowners was to give our kitchen a re-facing. When we first toured the house we loved everything, but we just weren't too keen on the faux antique finish on the cabinets. In my opinion it made them look dirty, like someone had splashed brown liquid all over the cabinets while cooking. 

I couldn't find any pictures of our actual cabinets beforehand, but I believe this picture I found on google is pretty close. The point is I just didn't like it. Others may love this look and try to replicate it on their cabinets, but it was just not for us. We figured there was no time like the present to get this taken care of before we took the time to unpack anything in the kitchen. After coming to that decision it was time for us to start the work. We enlisted the help of one of my sisters and a friend of ours to help us remove cabinet doors and sand EVERYTHING.

I let my fiancé do the majority of the power sanding since he had prior experience using this type of equipment. I however did take a few spins on the Black & Decker Mouse Sander myself. It was surprisingly easy to use and made quick work of the job of sanding the cabinet walls and faces. After many days of coming home from work and sanding until bed we finally finished that part of the project. 

Next, we moved on to moving all large appliances out of the room, taping off the area, and putting rosin paper down to protect our granite counter tops and floors. 

After all the prep work the only thing left to do now was to prime, choose our paint colors, and get started painting. Painting is a LOT of work! It is definitely no easy task and not one to be rushed. 

In the end it turned out BEAUTIFUL! Sadly, I have to admit that my fiancé and I didn't do any of the actual painting of the kitchen ourselves. After choosing our colors and priming everything we were realizing all the mini-issues you come in contact with while repainting cabinets. Luckily for us our situation allowed us to have the opportunity to hire someone my fiancé's family had previously worked with to paint everything for us so that we could have the professional look we were going for. And since we were having someone come in to do the cabinets we figured we'd have them do the walls as well.

The final look was more beautiful than I could have imagined. I felt like the kitchen now looked pristine and cheerful, rather than dreary and dirty. It was definitely worth the time, effort, and money it took to get everything done.

<3 Kelly Jean

First Time Home Owners

Recently my fiancé and I decided it was time for us to give up our role as property virgins and purchase our first home. We had been living in a one bedroom apartment up until the point it flooded due to a burst pipe in the sprinkler system. The apartment complex handled the situation badly and didn't take the proper steps to repair the damage. 

After that we were forced to move out and were gratefully given the opportunity to stay with his parents until we could find a home. After a month of searching we thankfully found our DREAM home with the help of an amazing realtor.

Now we are learning what it's like to be home owners. There is constant work to make things the way WE love it and indefinite work to keep it clean enough for my standards.

Here's my handy fiancé mowing our enormous backyard. 

<3 Kelly Jean

Weddings, Wreaths, and Bow Bouquets

My best friend is getting married tomorrow. I am so unbelievably happy and excited for her. I have been lucky enough to be blessed with the role of being her maid-of-honor. In preparation for her impending nuptials I've been given the chance to create a few DIY wedding inspired crafts.

My first DIY was the creation of this beautiful monogrammed burlap wreath for my best friends new home. I tried to match it to her wedding colors, while still designing it to stand out hanging on her front door. I was very happy with the way it turned out, especially since this was my first attempt at a burlap wreath. 

The supplies I needed to make this wreath:

• 18 inch metal wreath form
• 5 inch burlap (12-15 yards)
• Scissors
• Twist ties
• Embellishments (optional) 
• Hot glue gun

I followed Frou Frou & Frills tutorial on How to Make a Burlap Wreath. Her video was amazing and super easy to follow. After completing the wreath I just had to decide what embellishments to add. I picked up the flowers, wooden letter D, and the chevron ribbon all at Hobby Lobby. I had to paint the letter D. I'm sure if you want more of a rustic look you could leave it aú naturale. I then glued down everything with the hot glue gun and added some extra ribbon at the top to hang the wreath.

My next DIY was to create the bow bouquet needed for her rehearsal dinner being held today. I had to make sure to save all the bows from her showers to complete this beautiful creation. I then followed this tutorial and ended up with the beautiful creation shown below.

Now, it's time for me to get dressed up and pretty for the rehearsal dinner. I can't wait! 

<3 Kelly Jean