Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Family Motto Board

I have so much to blog about I feel like it is running all over the place, like water making puddles where ever I step...
and through my mind...
always running through my mind.
Christmas decorating, our recent trip to Boston (during Hurricane Sandy), the unbelievable B&B we stayed at in Vermont, some fun projects...I honestly don't know when I will get to it all.
My Etsy shop  has exploded this Christmas season and I have my head above water, barely.

BUT, I had to take just a moment to share what a client did with her family motto board. I think this makes the most amazing family picture...thanks Schuring family for letting me be a small part of it!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Thankful Day

 We all have so much to be grateful for...just living in this country, being born at this time.
 There is bad all around yes, discouraging things everyday yes, things to overcome everyday yes.

Read the rest of the post here...

Friday, November 16, 2012

One Year Anniversary-Amy and Amber Basement Boutique TOMORROW!

 Amy and Amber Basement Boutique is tomorrow-November 17th from 10:00am-3:00pm.

Read the rest of the post here...

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Family Gathering Room

The next stop on our tour of 'what one does when she does not blog for 5 months' drops us in the family gathering room.

 This is not the first time we have visited this room. You may remember the dismantling of this room some time ago. You may even remember the update. Truth is...I was never really happy with it. The wall was just too vast and needed a heavier piece on it. True to my DIY self, I searched for some time for a piece to refinish but came up empty...sadly, this does happen from time to time. This piece comes from our good neighbors to the East {and North? Where exactly is Sweden?} anyway, across the pond, but luckily I just had to travel about 30 minutes to IKEA...
 As much as I cringed to bring this thing home in boxes and put it together with semi-real hardware and highly confusing instructions{okay, who is kidding who, husband and son put it together}, I truly loved the finished look of it. And speaking of finish, I did nothing to it...it came in this finish and color which I found warm like the rest of the pallete of the room.
Other shopping list items: club chairs were a Costco purchases years ago, picture frames and boxes are also from IKEA {I added the numbering}, basket is Fred Meyer, fleur de lis  and FAMILY pillows I created, suitcases were an amazing find. Expect Good signs both created from reclaimed wood.
 Wire rack may look familiar, another fun find, I enjoy its usefulness now as a unique DVD holder {love when decor is also useful}. Trust-hope-faith canvas is a personal creation, wreath purchased too long ago to even hope to have a clue where it came from. All flowers and flower pots from IKEA {I added numbering}. Would I have loved a reclaimed piece in here full of history, uniqueness and vintage flair...heck yeah! But the usefulness of this piece has won me over. One major problem with finding a vintage piece to repurpose is they do not have large flat screen TV openings, nor do they have spots to hold your components {DVD players, receivers, cable boxes, etc.} This piece had the perfect place for all of these 'modern necessities' plus the drawers hold tons of blankets, remotes and DVD's. The shelves with glass allow me to display just the right amount of decorative touches and books, plus everything feels it has its place.
So while this room did not fulfill me creatively speaking like many of the other spaces I have reshaped in recent months...in the end it fulfilled the purpose of order to chaos and most importantly of all...I can't see a single cord!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Welcome November

 I am not a foodie.
 I believe I have mentioned more than once that we only eat in this house because it is needed for survival.
 But today was Sunday,  we had a few moments to slow down, realize Halloween is over and November is upon us and Father Winter is knocking on the door...homemade loaded baked potato soup, a fire in the fireplace, a few rounds of Bananagrams and homemade chocolate chip cookies for desert seemed only right.
 Although from scratch, I have a very simple recipe for loaded baked potato soup from my sister-in-law that just takes a few minutes to put together {one you get the potatoes cooked which I just nuke in the microwave for 15-20 minutes...because, have I mentioned, I'm not a foodie}.
Loaded Baked Potato Soup

4-6 large baking potatoes
2/3 Cup butter
2/3 Cup flour
6 cups 2% or whole milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 green onions chopped
12 slices bacon, fried and crumbled (or Costco bacon bits)
2 Cups shredded cheddar
1 Cup sour cream

Cut potatoes in half, scoop out pulp and put in bowl. Melt butter over medium heat in large pot. Add flour. Gradually stir in milk, continue to stir until smooth. Stir in potato pulp, salt, pepper, onions, bacon, and cheese. Cook, stirring continually and breaking up pulp lumps until heated through. Stir in sour cream before serving.