Sometimes I just need to laugh

Maybe it's because I'm from FUN Country (flag page personality test stuff), or maybe it's because today I spent most of this beautiful day sick in bed. Now that I'm out and about I'm feeling like I needed a good laugh!

Have you ever seen your favorite celebrity without eyebrows? It's a wonderful thing. It makes me feel like they aren't that great after all, especially without eyebrows. It also makes you see how God carefully placed eyebrows on his creation's faces as a way to frame out our eyes...he's brilliant! So if you need a good laugh as much I do right now please check out http://celebswithouteyebrows.blogspot.com/.

Have a great weekend!

Sitting Project #2: Jewelry Box

Abby has had a little jewelry box for some time now and it's definitely seen better days  I've had every intention of updating it, but other things seemed to take priority in the past. Now, as I find myself in need of sitting down creative projects, the jewelry box's time has come.

This is a simple re-do with some mod podge and nice paper. Hope you enjoy!

The before shot.

Measuring out the paper for the front drawer.

Paper to cover the front of the drawer.

Cutting out the shape for the side panels.

Side panel cut out.

Top panel attached.

Drawers ready for pulls.

Pulls attached and dry. Found the pulls (they're beads) in the dollar bin at Walmart. 

Thinking about a Boy's Nursery

So today I woke up with grand ambitions, but a steady dose of contractions has put a damper on that! Don't worry it's not the real thing- yet. They're hardly timeable. So what can I do without doing much at all? PLAN! Yay! I love to plan.

There has been a project that I've been putting on the back burner until the baby comes. Something very small really- just where he's to sleep when he moves out of our bedroom and into his crib. The Babies Nursery!

I'm not being lax, just waiting for the right time. You see Sophia, my 18 month old daughter, is going to share a bedroom with her 4 (almost 5 year old sister) We've been working on the room the past few months and it only needs some trim to be completed! By the way, I'm not holding off moving them together because of trim.

Actually, Sophia is doing what every little child her age is expected to do- she's teething! Not just any teething, the dreaded molars! There's been snot and crying and fussing and snot. Have I mentioned the snot? There's been night waking and singing (she likes to sing happy birthday at night, we're not sure this child is awake when she does it!) There's been poop and lots of it! So I'm not ready to move them together just yet. I need time to get some rest, so I reluctantly decided to wait to move them together. At least I'll be physically able to do the work after the baby comes.

So, in the mean time, I will plan things out. Do you want to see what the nursery looks like now?
It's very girly. We thought that we were finished having children after Sophia, so I went all out with the girliness. It was fun. But first, let me show you what it looked like when we first moved in:

Okay this is what we started with. It is a small room (about 8x8 feet) that originally was used as a storage area for the family's clothing. Eventually we'd like to convert it into a bathroom. 

The same angle but with new flooring and repaired plaster walls.

This is the other side of the window and a view from the opened door. See, very small room. 

So, what to do, what to do? I don't want to go over-board, obviously, because of the room not being utilized as a bedroom for much longer, but I need to get rid of the pink. I'm thinking grey or grey-blue on the top and a beige on the bottom. I have a different more masculine dresser for little Owen and I'm keeping the crib. All that French provincial furniture has been moved into the Girl's room already. Some new wall art will spruce things up I think.  I want it to say "hey a boy sleeps here"  Not that pink can't work for a boy, I had an art history professor in College who's son preferred neon pink socks and that professor, would go on and on about how it didn't matter anymore what color a man wears. "Whatever floats your boat dude!" was all I could think at the time. I for one, like gender specific colors, call me old fashioned.

Here's some ideas I like so far. Not over the top, but more boy friendly.

I love that little framed out shelf above the crib!

I'm having a lot of thoughts about displaying his initials. I like what they've done here.

I'm loving the repetition of the planes. I could see this with whatever theme I chose for the room.

So I have a lot to think about today-unless I spend it pushing out a baby...oh please, please let it be that!!!

Sitting Project 1: a nicer place to store pencils

I'm trying to do more "sitting projects" until my egg hatches, as walking and breathing has become quite unbearable... 2 more weeks, 2 more weeks!

So yesterday I started a project you've seen a hundred times before on a million other blogs (fuzzy math, I know.) It's basically just a container that has been mod podged with decorative paper. Ooh ahh! But it's my spin on it and it made me happy!! Especially because I just need to create things right now and the things I'd like to do are just too physically demanding, so I really need to do these little projects that have been done before. Oh well, I'm sure you understand!

Ooh Ahh!

Meal Planner Monday

Happy Valentines Day! I hope you're going out tonight with someone you love and not even having to think of cooking!!

I'm not going to be so lucky. I will be cooking, but I'll be spending the evening with Chris and my OBGYN, so it will be somewhat enjoyable. That is, as long as Chris remembers to tell me I look pretty and the Doc tells me "It won't be long now Mrs. Izzo!"

I'm shifting to an easy routine this week. I'm entering week 38 of pregnancy and I'm finding myself very tired and run down, not to mention barely able to walk up right like a Homo sapien. Yes, I somewhat resemble an ape these days, slightly hunched over and holding my belly for extra support.

So, this week we're going to take it down a notch. I'm planning easier, faster meals (that require less standing) compared to the more adventurous meals I tend to make for the family. I'm going to TRY to take it easy this week. I'm selecting for you six fast and easy recipes to help you through your week.

Have a very romantic day and if you hate Valentine's Day, look forward to next Monday...it's Presidents Day...killer sales!!

 1. Honey Mustard BBQ Chicken

2. Slow Cooker Taco Soup (You have to wait a long time for it to cook, but it is super fast  and easy to prepare!!)

3. Spaghetti and Meatballs -consider making your own meat balls instead of buying those salty processed balls at the store! It's fun and they taste like real meat, but if you're really not up for it buy a bag of balls...go ahead, no one's looking!

4. Greek Pasta with Tomatoes and Beans

5. Grilled Chicken Panini

6. Bow Ties in Beef Blush Sauce

Five desserts that score a man major points on Valentines Day

Let me explain the point system to you... or at least let me allow someone else to explain it to you. This comes from Mark Gungor, the marriage guru who has made marriage make sense to me. At least watch the first 3 minutes to get the idea of the scoring system in a relationship. Watch the whole thing to get some good insight. When you're finished read the blog post.

Okay, I assume you are well versed in the point system. Now that you have some understanding. Here's how a guy can score a least a point or all five if you make all five desserts!

1. Chocolate Fondue by Lindt Chocolatiers

2. Mini Chocolate Triffles by Lindt Chocolatiers

3. Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse

4. Molten Chocolate Cake by Modern Domestic

5.  Red Velvet Sweetheart Cakes by Better Homes and Gardens









I don't know about you other girls, but if Chris got up the initiative to make these for me or heck even buy a quality any one of these, he might even score two points! But unlike most of you, I get to spend Valentines at the Dr's office for my weekly check up... how romantic! Maybe that's why I'm really thinking about Dessert right now?

Veggie Wash is for more than just your veggies!!

 I've been experimenting lately and found there's a few things you can do with veggie wash beside wash your veggies! Believe me, I know how to experiment. I used to do it all the time in the family toilet, seeing how many different kinds of cleaning solutions I could mix before it foamed over the bowl. Explains a lot though doesn't it?

You've been introduced to Veggie Wash right? Please don't tell me you haven't met? Well let me introduce you.

Veggie Wash- Blog Readers, Blog Readers- Veggie Wash

Oh, some of you have met. Chrissy I see he's angry at you for calling him Hippie Spit...not cool.

(This is my sister Chrissy)

Alright back on track. So I've been experimenting lately. I found a few new things you can do with Veggie Wash. First of all what is Veggie Wash? Its an all-natural way to remove wax, soil and agricultural chemicals from produce. It's made from food derived ingredients so it's environmentally safe (that includes your body folks!)

Also, Veggie Wash gets the Good Housekeeping seal of approval; which is kind of a big deal. Have you ever seen the Good Housekeeping testing facility? Amazing!

Now that you know what Veggie Wash is, here's what you can do with it!

1. Clean your citrus fruit for zesting. Have you ever had a recipe that calls for Lemon or lime peel or zest? I use zest in a lot of my recipes, but I always hated the thought of all the chemicals on the surface of the fruit peel being scraped into my meal. Gross. Veggie Wash will clean all of this right off, leaving you with the peace of mind that you won't grow a third arm from lime-marinaded chicken!

2. Wash the garlic stink off your hands. Look, my last name is Italian (Not that I am. I'm more of a Swiss Miss!) Anyway my husband and children love Italian food ladened with tons of garlic, and what the heck so do I! But if you've ever handled garlic you know that smell. The one that follows you to bed even after you've scrubbed and showered. I've read that a little bit of lemon juice will rid you of the smell, so one day, in a bind, I tried a little of my Veggie Wash on my stinky hands. Amazingly the smell was gone! Veggie Wash is really raking up the points here!!

3. Clean out your microwave. You know you've done it. You forgot to cover the plate of spaghetti with a paper towel and the sauce spits all over the inside of the microwave. You're in a hurry so you rush away multi-tasking your brains out only to forget the mess and give it ample time to crust on to the microwave's interior. Next time you open the door...SURPRISE!!! A big mess. Normally you'd take a wash cloth or some kind of spray cleaner and clean it out right? But have you ever thought about that chemical residue cooking into your food after you've rinsed it off and you turn the microwave on? Yucky! Or maybe you've tried the lemon and water trick when you put a lemon in water and heat up the microwave allowing the lemon steam to loosen the food debris. Hey it works and it's safe, but I'd rather be shoving that lemon into a chicken's body cavity and cooking it for a hour and a half at 425 degrees! So if you're like me and you want safe and clean, next time use a little Veggie Wash! Don't worry it's safe! They tell you on their website to use it on counter tops and other surfaces. It really works and leaves the microwave smelling citrusy fresh! Here's a demo below (sorry I can't link the wonderful smell!)

Spray right on to the mess.

Add a small dish of water for humility.

I set my time to 25 seconds. 

Yucky.

Yeah!

Clean!

Ahhh! That's much better.