Sparkling Apple Ginger Mocktail

September 22, 2016

Welcome FALL!!!! We are so glad you are here. And to celebrate the first day of Fall, I have the perfect mocktail. Our days are still really warm, so I’m not ready for warm drinks yet. This crisp, refreshing Sparkling Apple Ginger Mocktail is just the right about of Fall, but still cool and refreshing.

I picked these cute mini apples at my parent’s tree. They are the perfect size for topping a drink. I sliced these apples and ginger super thin with a madoline.

Sparkling Apple Ginger Mocktail

Ginger Beer
Unfiltered Apple Juice
Apples and Fresh Ginger

Fill a glass with ice, add equal parts ginger beer and apple juice, stir. Garnish with thinly sliced fresh ginger and apples.

This drink would be perfect spiked with Jack Daniel’s Apple Whiskey.

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DIY

Fall Napkin Folding with Fresh Flowers

September 21, 2016

Now that Fall is here, all the outdoor dining and BBQs have to be brought inside. And I’m ok with that. I love setting a pretty table. Fancy folded cloth napkins instantly make a place setting feel special for your guests, especially when you add pretty fresh flowers.

I’m having fun playing with this pretty blush and camel combo. I want to try a new palette for Fall, browns and oranges seem overdone, I’m ready to try something new.

Now head over and check out the full how-to tutorial over on eHow today!

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Design

Master Bathroom Accessories

September 13, 2016

Be sure to head over to Emily Henderson Design today and check out the post I put together with 8 Bathroom Accessory Combos to Rescue Your Drab Bathroom. And while I was on the hunt for fun bathroom accessories, I decided I pick out a few things for our master bathroom.

Someday, way in the future, I’d love to do a little remodeling on our master bathroom. But, for now, it’s a very functional space, just aesthetically very dated. The number 1 issue is the many, many mirrors. The bathtub is surrounded with three walls of mirrors! Really, it’s the worst thing possible, having to see yourself at every angle possible as you sit into a bath. These are the things nightmares are made of. The ceramic tile on the floor is also really very unattractive. It’s kind of a marble looking peach and rust, very shiny tile. The counter tops are a natural stone, but it’s a tough color, kind of a rusty red-brown. So, in order to make this bathroom work for the next couple of years, I’m spending a little money on some accessories to make the space feel more like me.

So you can fully appreciate the all the 80s and 90s glam of my bathroom, here’s a sneak peek at the floor and counter top situation I’m dealing with (more pictures to come very soon). I decided adding a touch of peach might be nice with the rusty counter tops. But, for the most part, picking accessories that don’t have a lot of color seemed the best route to take. Can you handle it? Wouldn’t you agree, the floor tile is pretty bad?

So, did you check out the 8 combos? Do you have a favorite? Mine is the Manly Metallics! It’s really not manly, just not super girly and feminine (which is nice when you are sharing a bathroom with a man).

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DIY

DIY Reversible Bandana Bag with Leather Straps

September 12, 2016

As a mom of three or maybe just being a women, I feel like I’ve just got so much stuff to get from point A to point B. A girl really can’t have too many bags, so I decided I needed a big, but still stylish tote for those days that require carrying more then just a purse. This DIY Reversible Bandana Bag with Leather Straps instantly makes whatever I’m wearing look so much more trendy. I’m loving bandanas these days, I’ve been wearing them tied around my neck and on the straps of my purse.

This is really a great beginner sewing project. Actually, everything I sew is super simple, straight-lines-only, sewing. I’ve got detailed step-by-step instructions to walk you through every step of this project. Be sure to check out the full how-to over on eHow!

I’m starting to think about the holidays already, and this might be a cute gift I could make for some of the ladies in my life. And with bandanas coming is every color under the rainbow, I could add a pop of color to the inside of some of the bags.

So, are you loving the bandana trend? Does it feel too cowboy/country or maybe like you are a part of a gang? Well, usually I don’t feel very trendy, but I’m embracing this one whole heartedly. I’m sure you’ll be seeing more of this here.

Be sure to check out the full tutorial HERE!

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Design

Blush + Camel

September 8, 2016

Color is sure fun! Why haven’t I noticed this perfect combo before? Sometimes I just get on a kick when I notice a combination that just works really well together. And then I start pinning and searching down inspiration and before you know it I want re-do a whole room (or at least change all the pillows on my sofa).

Maybe it is the change in season, but I’ve been loving this warm camel color. It’s somewhere between brown and yellow and it feels warm and cozy. It also has this fun vintage vibe to it, probably a 70’s look and feel that I love. And blush – well I still love all these soft, subtle shades of pink.

shapes print // dusty pink plate // velvet arrow stitched pillow

camel tealight holder // woven cross pillow // camel paisley sheets

triangle pillow // camel serving bowl // blush arrowhead pillow

peach quilted pillow // blush linen pillow // round camel pillow

blush planter // pink leather pillow // blush folds pillow

Ok, now let’s observe blush + camel living together in the wild. I’ve got a few examples that are going to make you want to scheme up a plan to make this color combo a part of your life right away! This is such a pretty pairing.

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DIY

Add Style to Kitchen Linens with Cricut Gold

September 3, 2016

If you’ve been following me for a while now, you know that I LOVE making cool, customized pieces for my home with my Cricut Explore Machine. It’s really my favorite crafting tool ever!

And do you remember when I got to design a whole bunch of fun projects for the Cricut Gold Machine for JoAnn? Well, if you don’t remember, I’m about to remind you – be sure to check out the Half Moon Wall Hanging, Geometric Patterned Edge Throw, these fabulous pillows, and also these fun Tropical Leaf Napkins. When we moved this last month and I unpacked our kitchen boxes, I realized that my kitchen linens had seen better days. My oven mitts, pot holders and dish towels were stained and just down right ugly. So, I decided to add a little style to our kitchen linens by customizing them with some of the modern geometric patterns I’d designed for the Cricut Gold Machine.

Using the metallic gold, glitter gold and white iron-on vinyl, I cut out a couple different sizes of this pattern. (And if you don’t own a Cricut, you can still use this awesome iron-on material and just cut out simple shapes with a pair of scissors.) And then I just ironed the patterns onto generic, inexpensive grey towels and oven mitts.

Now I’m drying dishes and grabbing pots in style!

This post is sponsored by Cricut, thank you for supporting the companies that help make this blog possible.

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etc.

The Week’s End

September 2, 2016

Well, September is here, so I guess we really do have to say good bye to Summer. Homework, practicing instruments, school pick-ups and drop-offs, lunches, marching band, cross country, and drum line – days like this look nothing like the freedom of Summer.

I’m looking forward to the weekend. I need to do some grocery shopping and meal planning. Week night dinners have been on the fly, and I’d rather have a plan. It’s still hot here, but since it’s “Fall”, I’m pulling out the crock pot and making some giant pots of soup. Do you have any favorite Fall recipes I should be making? Dinner ideas and inspiration are welcome.

Sometimes I forget to share with you some of my freelance work. I’m having a lot of fun creating content for eHow. These DIY Customized Notebooks were a fun project that Denali and I worked on together.

And there also other things I find of the internet that I think you should check out.

I want these lavender candles in every room in my house!
I’ve watched all these “Intro to Weaving” Skillshare videos and now I really, really want to weave!!!!
This little midcentury planter in adorable!
You might need to make one of these cute clocks this weekend.

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Food & Drink

Salad in a Jar – 3 Ways

August 31, 2016

With school back in session, there are a lot of lunches to be made. So, to avoid the PB+J on repeat, I came up with 3 make-ahead salad’s in a jar that use one rotisserie chicken. Last week we all ate these yummy salads for lunch. Today I’m ready to make another batch so that we can avoid another week of boring, unhealthy lunches.

It’s hard to pick a favorite – Asian Chicken Salad, Pesto Caprese Chicken Salad and Curry Chicken Salad give you lots of flavor options.

You can find all three of these recipes over on eHow today!

Curry Chicken Salad

Asian Chicken Salad

Pesto Caprese Chicken Salad

Making these salads ahead of time sure save me a lot of time in the mornings. Do you have any other morning time-saving tips or ideas? I’d love to hear.

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Design

Plans for the Upstairs Bathroom

August 30, 2016

Well, I can’t believe we’ve been in our house a month now. It feels so much like home already. So far, we have tackled the sunroom and unpacked almost everything. And so, I guess it’s time to move onto another room. Next up is the upstairs bathroom, the one the kids use. It has adorable black and white tile floors and the original subway tile on the walls (see the before pics below). It has a lot of storage and it’s a nice spacious room. But, there is no shower, it’s just a bathtub. With two teenagers, that is just not going to do.

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So, I did a lot of measuring and searching online and found a shower curtain surround that mounts to the ceiling and wall. And if you follow my snapchat (I’m oleanderandpalm), you would have seen yesterday that I figured out how to retro fit the shower head hose to the new shower head that came with the curtain surround. Feeling pretty proud of myself! It’s not ideal, but for less then $100, we now have a working shower upstairs.

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Now that the shower is working, it’s time to make the space cute. Fresh paint is a must! The cabinets and trim are pretty beat up. And as much as I really do like Toile, the wallpaper is going. I really want to keep this room bright and white with some crisp black. I’ve been pinning and these are some of the ideas I’m considering. I love the idea of painting the door black, at least on the inside. I also think if could be nice to paint either the walls above the subway tile black or add new black in white wallpaper in a more modern pattern. And if I don’t paint the walls black, maybe it would be nice to paint the cabinets black.

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And here’s a look at the bathroom now. Here’s the BEFORES!

So, what do you think? Are black walls too much? How about just painting the cabinets and door black? Chime in, I’d love to hear what you think.

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Food & Drink

Night Cereal – Curry Coconut Cashew Granola

August 29, 2016

I had so much fun creating a fun sweet and spicy ‘Night Cereal’ a couple weeks ago. The Chocolate Chipotle Granola is gone and I might have single handedly eaten it all by myself. So when got milk?, CA Milk challenged me to create another savory twist on cereal and milk for a fun night snack or even meal, I was ready for another challenge.

This was a easy flavor choice our family. One of our favorite things to eat is curry, especially coconut curry. This latest savory cereal recipe is another sweet and spicy combination. The heat of a little curry is balanced with sweet mangos and pineapple. Olivia, my youngest, is always ready to help in the kitchen. And I find that if kids help with cooking and prepping meals they are more likely to eat whats put before them. She loves measuring the stirring so I happily took the help.

We’ve survived the first couple of weeks of school, but we have a crazy week ahead of us. With sports, band, church activities, and homework I know there is going to be an evening when this savory cereal is going to hit the spot as a late night snack or even dinner that my kids can grab for themselves. Curry Coconut Cashew Granola

3 cups of rolled oats
1 cup of dried coconut
1 cup cashews
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 1/2 tbsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cardamom
1/4 cup dried pineapple (chopped)
1/4 cup cup dried mango (chopped)

In a small pot, combine the coconut oil, honey, sugar, curry powder, cumin, salt and cardamom. Warm over medium high heat until the sugar and honey dissolve. Remove from the heat.

In a large bowl combine the oats, coconut, cashews. Pour the melted honey and coconut oil mixture over the oat mixture. Stir till all the ingredients are wet.

Pour the granola onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.Spread out on the sheet evenly. Bake in a 325 F oven for about 25 mins, stirring the mixture halfway through the baking time. Then add the pineapple and mango pieces and bake 5 mins. more.

Cool completely and then break apart the bigger clusters of granola. Store in an airtight container. Serve with cold milk or use as a yogurt or ice cream topping.This post is brought to you by got milk? (Food loves milk!) Thank you for supporting the companies that help make this blog possible.

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