How do you decorate?

We recently moved.

Uggg....

So I have been Constantly unpacking trying to find homes for all things.

Along with that I have been trying to figure out what and how to decorate of little place.

I like changing things up and not making our living room the same as the last so I have been looking for inspiration to take the things I love and meld them together. So while unpacking I found my inspiration and it was right in front of me literary.

Remember this? From here.

  

Well see that AWESOME sofa.

Let me tell you about the sofa.

It is my husbands favorite.

She came from DI (thrift store)

He bought her long before me. 

She is ten feet long.

My six foot husband loves to stretch out on her.

She has been in his parents basement.

Now we have her and I love it!

SO for now all decorating will revolve around this bright and amazing sofa.

I have found my inspiration.

What have your found inspiration in? 

Tell me in the comments I would love to read them.

Love <3 Lace

Sleep?

Ok so we all know its Winter Time and sometimes you can find yourself unable to sleep as well do to stuffiness (nasal congestion).

Well my husband and I received a sample of the best product EVER to help you breath better and night.

I had seen this product before but never really thought it could or would help me. 

These strips are easy to use and inexpensive and that is a plus.

The technology is simple the strips are adhesive you simply wash and dry your nose and place the strip in the middle bridge of your nose. The strips have a bendy plastic that opens your nose allowing you to breathe better. 

They can also help with snoring and deviated septums.

You can find more about this simple yet great product here.

Go here to recive your own sample of breathe right strips.

Along with your free sample you will receive a coupon to use for the purchase of breathe right strips.

Breathe Right offers different types of strips and you can read about them here.

After trying the strips my husband loved the advanced four point strips. I on the other hand have a small nose so the breathe right kids fits better.

Love <3 Lace

*Note I was not paid by the product and the opinions shared are of my own.*

Framed TV

I was doing a bit of inspiration seeking and 

happen upon the coolest thing.

I hate how TVs can be an eye sore

 and the pretty ones always

 come with a HUGE price tag

Well I found Full of great ideas and man she sure does.

I mean look at this! 

We don't have our TV mounted but this might happen in the future. 

Happy Friday 

Love <3 Lace

Keep moving!

I move a lot.

I am packing things up for our move and it makes me get all sentimental and I was thinking about all the different moves I have made through out my life. Some people like me move a lot and some stay in the same place for a long time. I don't know what it is like to live in the same place your whole life. My husband has lived in the same town for his whole life minus a brief time in Mississippi when he was five and two years spent on a mission in New Mexico. He lived and grew up in the same house. I on the other hand have been on the move since my parents first big move when I was 13 ever since then I have been moving every few years to every few months. It has taught me a few things about moving to a new place.

Here are my 8 tips to moving!

1. You have one chance to make a first impression so make it count!

2. Pack light. If you really don't use it you don't need to lug it around.

3. Use moving as a time to sort through your stuff.

4. Less things quicker move, faster unpacking.

5. Be quick to settle into your new place. If you move often you want to enjoy your new place for as long as you can so don't use that as an excuse to live out of boxes. Put up pictures and get everything just where you want it so you can begin to feel at home right away.

6. Try out the best of ____. Every town and area has things its known for. Maximize your stay by doing and trying what the area is known for. If you don't know use you resources see if your town has a visitors center, if you do go for a visit talk to the person working there ask for advice of what you should try and see there. If    there isn't a visitor center in your town ask new neighbors and also the internet is a great resource for information. Most towns have a website with information on what the town offers. 

7. Use sites like yelp.com and other restaurant review sites to help you know what restaurants to go to. Saves you from paying for a horrible meal and realizing oh that is why the parking lot is empty.

 If you don't have time to read reviews follow my rule of thumbs when picking a place to eat at go for the one that has plenty of cars in the lot at dinner rush hour. The more cars, the more popular and delish the place tends to be.

8. Don't forget to forward your mail. The post office has forwarding forms also available online here.

Well back to packing and unpacking I go!

Happy Staying and Happy Going! 

Love <3 Lace

DIY: Was a Speaker Box now an Ottoman/bench

So my husband has had this guy for a lonnnng time...

It is a homemade car speaker box.

This thing is pretty sturdy.

But he didn't use it and it takes up space.

We were moving stuff around and trying to figure out where to put it or what to do with it.

My husband picked it up and put it down in front of his favorite sofa and a lightbulb went off in my head.

Ding Ding Ding

It now has a new life as a ottoman! 

I am pretty sure he loves his new look.

So here is a few pictures to show his transformation.

My Husband LOVES it! 

We removed the speakers and just left the holes open.

Cut 2 layers of 1" foam batting from Walmart to fit.

One layer at a time we we sprayed with foam adhesive.

The foam batting gives the top a nice cushy layer.

My cute husband trimming the foam a little while the adhesive dries.

We cut a piece of blue Naugahyde that we already had to fit.

Pulled it all tight and straight to get all the creases out and stapled away.

Gave him some nice tucked seams like a present.

There he is so handsome.

Haha funny picture but he is cute and so proud of his speaker box's new life as an Ottoman. 

This turned out to be a fairly quick and easy project that costed only $15 pretty well worth it. 

Love <3 Lace

Soup in a Hurry!

I love soup.

But sometimes you just don't have time to chop all the ingredients and wait for them to cook. 

And canned soup just won't cut it, so I am gonna share with you my no fail so easy my sister who burns water could do this secrets to making a quick hearty mostly homemade soup.

Here is what you do.

Grab what ever fresh of frozen meat you have chicken or beef.

I used beef for the picture above.

I had a steak in the freezer that I threw in my hot pot with a little oil till it was slightly brown and defrosted it only took two minutes. Then chop it in cubes. Through it back in your pot cook for two more minutes. You can do this for what ever meat you choose. Then dump in one can of tomatoes and one can of broth (use beef for beef and chicken for chicken).

Get it to come to a boil.

In the grocery frozen vegetables you can find vegetable soup mix. Mine is a 12 oz package for $1 with chopped carrots, corn, green beans, Lima beans, okra, green peas, celery and onions. Most stores carry a mix similar. Dump that in. Add a bay leaf and some salt and pepper. Cover and simmer. Leave go do something else for 10-15 minutes  haha. Come back stir and enjoy! 

You can add and change this guideline up anyway you like. I had a friend come over one time when I was making my dump soup (that is what it is known as in my family) my friend was amazed that I didn't have a recipe and it turned out yummy in a hurry.

Another thing I like to do is add a box or flavored rice and more broth for a meat-vegetable-rice soup. 

Do you have any tips for no-fail hurry soup?

Happy Cooking!

Love <3 Lace

Rolled Felt Flowers

I love felt.

I think it looks so pretty and it is a dream to work with.

Well I recently in my surfing of the web came across this tutorial here and had to make and share.

They are pretty aren't they?

And they are super easy to make. You can  make them in any size and color. Plus felt is inexpensive! 

They are my new favorite rolled flowers to make.

The only thing is they take time. 

I am in the process of making a wreath like this one here but it takes soo many felt flowers and I have just began plus I ran out of felt. So here are a few shots I took making them.

Pretty simple.

You can check out the full tutorial from I heart nap time here

Happy Crafting!

Love <3 Lace

Mushroom Risotto and variations!

I love warm hearty meals in the winter time like Risotto.

Mushroom Risotto

(if you are not a fan of mushrooms I have variations to the recipe at the end so hang on)

What you will need

1/2 Cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbs olive oil

2 Tbs Butter

1 cup arborio or medium grain rice

2  14-ounce cans of chicken both 

1/2 shredded Parmesan or your favorite hard cheese

Salt and Pepper

8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms (I used baby bells) 
1/2 dry white wine (optional)
1 Tbs fresh snipped basil

Place your broth in a small pot and allow to simmer.

In a large sauce pan cook onion and garlic in oil and 1 Tbs butter. Cook for a few minutes till onion becomes tender.

Add your mushrooms with the onion and garlic and allow to cook for a few more minutes till mushrooms become tender and slightly golden brown.

Add rice cook and stir over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes till rice begins to brown. Add 1/2 dry white whine or 1/2 broth that we have simmering. Stir constenty over meduim heat until liqued is absorbed. Countiune to stir constently adding 1/2 cup broth at a time till absorbed. Rice should start to become creamy as you stir and add 1/2 cup broth at a time. 

Towards the end if you notice the texture of your rice is still crunchy then stir in 1 cup of the existing broth and cover with lid allow to cook for 5 to 10 minutes on low heat till broth is absorbed. This will help to soften up the rice. Then continue with the rest of the broth cooking as before stirring contently.

Stir in remaining butter, snipped basil, Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. 

I spoon this into large bowls and top with a little basil.


**Variations** If you are not a fan of mushrooms here are some variations to this recipe that I also love! 


*Regular Risotto*
Prepare as directed above except leave out mushrooms and basil. Pretty easy!


*Lemon Asparagus Risotto*
Prepare as directed above except leave out the mushrooms and basil. When half of the broth has been stirred into the risotto add 1 cup chopped fresh asparagus and 1 tsp finely shredded lemon peel to the risotto. Finish as directed.


*Butter Nut Squash Risotto*
Prepare the regular recipe of risotto. After risotto is finished stir in 1 cup squash puree and 1 Tbs fresh snipped sage. 


*Note My husband who doesn't lie mushrooms even ate the mushroom risotto when I made this mushrooms and all. I even told him he could eat around them. So when I say its good it really is. Risotto does take time, you have to babysit it for a half hour or so, but it is worth it. Very hearty! 


Happy Cooking


Leave comments for any questions.


Love <3 Lace

Changes!

As you probably can tell I have been tweaking my site a bit. This is all new to me so I am learning how to run a blog as well as learning what I like and what is reader friendly. I do this for you! My goal and reason for blogging has and always will be to share and inspire you (my readers) so bare with my as I learn how to make this better. Let me know what you like about the site and what I can change to make it better. Please leave comments, follow, and share on facebook, so I can inspire others with my posts. I can not thank you all enough who have supported me as I began this new adventure just the beginning of January. I have many hopes and goals for this site and look forward to sharing them all with you!

Love <3 Lace

Valentines Heart Wreath

February is soon approaching so you know what that means....

...Wreath of the month time!

I put this one together very quickly and was super inexpensive! 

All supplies except lace were purchased at Michael's Craft store.

Here we go.

What I used 

Heart shaped Grapevine Wreath

Rose buds I pulled them off the stems

Hot Glue Gun

and some ribbon or Lace

To help it hang better I made a hanging strap by taking 1 foot of my lace and folding in half tying some string around the bottom like pictured.

With hot glue attached the hanging loop by gluing to the backside of the wreath were you want it to hang form. My is in the center. Let Dry for a few minutes.

Take rose buds without stems apply hot glue and stick their little stems in between the branches of the wreath.

Pick a pattern to follow and keep placing more rose buds. I placed my roses about an inch about rotating between colors.

My wreath with all the flowers in place.

I took a long piece of lace (ribbon can be used) and wrapped it twisting as I went along in between the flowers. I started and stopped from the top back using hot glue to hold it in place.

All Finished! CUTE!

For something different you can go without the hanging loop and hang like this.

Happy Wreath of the Month!

Love <3 Lace

Mid-Night Snacks

Lately I have been waking up in the early mornings hungry and unable to fall beak asleep. So I get up and work on my crafts and blogs along with making some of my favorite snacks. I have been craving fruit, veggie, cheese and bread plates! So yummy and fresh. 

Here is my latest favorite mid-night 

or early morning snack to munch on

Sliced Avocado, Sliced Granny Smith Apples,

 Swiss Cheese, French Bread

Might seem like a funny combo, but I love slicing different foods and placing on a plate to snack on. Its fun and feels all fancy like.

What are your favorite snack combos?

The poor sad projects waiting for lace to finish them!

I can see their faces (if they had faces) so sad.

 I was looking around at all my unfinished projects and trying to find the motivation to finish them BEFORE I start any more. I am notorious for starting a project to quickly start another one before the first is finished. I seem to lack motivation at times. Well not seem I just do lack motivation. haha So my goal for the next few days is to finish my half done projects before I start anymore. So hopefully I will have some more finished projects to share and post with you soon! 

Here is to hoping!  

So...for now I will leave you with this lovely picture of my husband and one of my many unfinished projects!

Cute? I thought so..

Its pretty good motivation if I say and so is the cute little girl it is for.

Love <3 Lace

Vegetable Beef Barley Stew

Nothing like a hot pot of stew on a COLD day!

One of my favorites growing up that my mother taught me.

Here is what you will need!

Four cans Beef Broth (about 7 cups)

Stew meat (about 8 oz.)

2 Tbs. Flour

1 clove garlic minced

1 medium onion

3-4 carrots

2 potatoes

3 stalks of celery

1 Bay leaves 

2/3 cup Quick Barley

Salt & Pepper 

Chop onion, peel and slice carrots, 

peel and chop potatoes into small cubes,

thinly slice celery,

Make sure your stew meat is trimmed of all fat and in small pieces,

place meat in a plastic bag with flour and a dash of s&p

Shake the bag till all the meat is coated.

In a pot pour 1-2 Tbs of oil and place on medium-high heat to warm it up. Place meat in pot with hot oil and stir to get a nice brown crust on the outside of the meat.

After cooking for a few minute add onions to the pot and stir till onions become tender.
Add beef broth then all the chopped vegetables and bay leaf to the pot. Let soup come to a slight boil on a medium heat. Cook for about 15 minutes till vegetables are slightly soft stirring occasionally.

 Add quick cooking barley and let simmer for 15-20 more minutes. Vegetables and barley should be soft. If your stew is too thick for your taste add more beef broth. Finish with salt and pepper to taste and any other spices you prefer. 

This stew is easy to quickly put together and cooks fairly quick. You can add/change the vegetables and amounts for your taste and what you have on hand.


Warm wishes!
ENJOY!


Do you have a favorite meal for a cold day? Let me know in the comments below! 
Love <3 Lace

Rolled Fabric Flowers

Love these pretty rolled fabric flowers? 

Well they are super easy to make!

And they can be used for so many things!

Attach them to hair-clips, headbands, picture frames,

 lamp shades and so much more!

OK lets get started 

What you need

Strips of fabric I use about a 2-4" wide strip

A hot glue gun 

 Felt to use for backing

The wider and longer your strip of fabric 

the bigger your flower will be. 

Take the tip of one end and gather it together 

and loop it through to tie a knot at the end.

Pull tight

take the end of the knot

 and press it to the knot with a small dot of glue

begin to bunch and twist the fabric as you add a dot of glue every so often to keep the layering in place.

Keep twisting and wrapping around attaching with dots of glue.

Once your flower is as big as you want 

take the tail end and press to the backside with hot glue

With the backside up cut a circle of felt or fabric

Glue with hot glue in circles on one side of the felt.

Press onto backside of fabric flower.

Let Dry 

Then you have a pretty fabric flower!

I went ahead and made another one and attached it to a headband and added embellishments 

(Note my frizzy hair lol)

These rolled flowers are fun and versatile!

Leave comments for any questions and I can clarify.

Love <3 Lace