Easter Decorating

I love to decorate for the seasons and for all the holidays. Easter is coming up and so I put away all the St. Patrick's day decor and got out the stuff for my Easter Table Decorating. Easter Table Decorating - I love all the spring colors and baby chicks and bunnies here on my kitchen table. My Kitchen buffet has some new pictures and cute little eggs everywhere.   I always start my Easter decorating in the kitchen, and do the Easter Table Decorating there first. Gotta have a lovely Easter Dinner table, now dontcha? Next I go into the entry way and decorate the little table there. Those are  two
areas I fuss over the most.
  
Easter Decorating is about done at my house. Yay Next I do my formal dining room Easter Table Decorating. I We got a new rustic, whitewashed, dining table and these cute blue nailhead trim chairs for the formal dining room. We hardly ever use this room except on holidays. Formal Dining Room table. I love the yellow and green and coral decor in here. I love to decorate the entry table with these cute bunnies, eggs and chicks. This sad Mr. Bunny lost his eye in a doggie-bunny stand off. Our bad boy Bruce bit it off. We called him Brucifer THAT day. snicker...
  I do the coffee and end tables last. I have gobs of stuff. I have to stay away from Hobby Lobby this month! Eek!
I love this little bunny pair on my family room end table. It goes with the brown/neutral decor in there. Darling little "Chickies" and bunnies. My grandkids love this light up Easter Bunny house. Great Room table has some of the leftover doo-dads. My 3 Easter bins are almost empty! Woot!

The kitchen island always has some bright and cheery flowers of some sort. These have some egg pics along with the florals. These mercury mirror glass eggs are my favorites. I used to have more of them. But since the grandkids.....well....you know how that goes. :D

I think I'll add some Easter Egg picks to the greenery all over the house. Maybe there IS an excuse to go look at Hobby Lobby tomorrow after all!! I'm getting ready to spray paint these old chairs and this cute bench. But for now, they are covered in stuffed animals for the grands to play with.

Next I'll do the grandkids' two tables for Easter Sunday Dinner. I'll have my Chicago peeps here sometime around Easter. So I will need two tables for all the 6 grandkiddos to sit. And THAT will be such fun! Happy decorating!!

PATTIE

Blue Beachy Bathroom Remodeling

I decided to redo my 90s bathroom that was dark green and yellow. All the decor was so dated. I found some really pretty paint in just the perfect blue-gray color that I wanted to redo these 80's light oak cabinets with.

My Old 90s bathroom decor with dated light oak cabinets has to go. 

 Bathroom Remodel Part 1. My bathroom cabinets were all this light oak that I wanted to paint a pretty color. So I bought the paint at Home Depot called GRAY MORNING in the BEHR paint line. I like the paint and primer in one to make the job easier. I really only had to use 1 coat and just touch up the edges and ridges with a 2nd coat. It looks beautiful!

I love this BEHR paint called GRAY MORNING. It is a light blue gray that looks great!

GRAY MORNING from BEHR paint turns out the perfect gray blue shade. I got flat paint. I probably should have gotten eggshell or satin. But I wanted it to look like chalk paint. Did you know you can add 1/3 cup plaster of paris and 1 cup water to a gallon of paint and it makes chalk paint? Well, that's what the Home Depot guy said. I'd check that out online before doing it though.

After painting the cabinets they still needed a little something. So I bought some pretty brushed silver knobs and 2 little, wooden, doo-dads for each of the false drawer tops. I have two of them since I have 2 sinks in that bathroom. I think they were $3.50 each.

Cabinet doo-dads really add a little flair to boring old 80s light oak cabinets. 

 The easiest way is to glue them on the cabinets first, then paint it all together. That's what I did in my master bathroom. And I think I lightly tacked them on with tiny finishing nails till they dried.  But this one I bought them after painting so I had to glue them on painted wood. It is definitely harder that way. Glue them first, paint second, just a heads up. I used a little bit of tape to hold them on while they were drying but they curled up at the ends. I'll have to do some more gluing. Bummer.

Bear Paint and Primer in one is the way to go. I only needed one coat and then a little touch up.

Bathroom Remodel Part 1 - First Step was the definitely the ugly cabinet repainting.Then we ordered our granite. I wanted dark granite for this bathroom since we already had pretty, dark, variegated slate floors.  The dark granite looks good with them. I thought I could brighten up the rest of the bathroom using a light gray paint. I wanted to get rid of all that yellow. 

Hey, they look pretty good! Finished painted cabinets look a lot better now! This is where I added the wooden doo dad. It looks a lot better. I'll post a pic when I'm finished with the knobs.

Now they just need the silver knobs. I needed 12 cuz this is a big bathroom with a bathtub and 2 sinks and lots of cabinetry. So I got 3 sets of 5 in the clearance bin at Home Depot. They were $7.00 per set. What a deal!   I love how the cabinets turned out.

Pretty Tin Shelf I got at Home Goods for $15 bucks! 

Next I went shopping for accessories.  My first stop was Home Goods of course. This cute metal shelf  will look great added to the new bathroom remodel.  I think I might replace my old wooden shelf with this one. I'll have to decide how it looks after painting the rest of the room. Maybe it is a tad too greenish. I think it will look okay though, since I have a Beachy painting I bought as my bathroom inspiration.

Pretty candle I found at Home Goods

I bought this pretty beachy candle at Home Goods too. It was only $5.99. They have great deals on candles there.

Bathroom Towel Basket I got from Taipan Trading.

 I got a few things for the countertops too, now that my granite is all put in. I thought this would look good with rolled towels inside. I may try nailing it up onto a wall, just depending on how the other stuff looks when I'm done. It was only $12.99 from Taipan Trading. And it has the nail holes if I want to screw it up onto the wall.

This area I need to add the pretty tin shelf to and maybe the wire towel basket, I have to see how they look after I paint the walls gray. 

Now I've got to paint the walls. I have to redo all the decor in here. It's gonna take me a few days. It's gonna look great though! I'm excited how everything is turning out so far.      

Snow Weekend

We haven't had snow in a long time in Utah. And this weekend it snowed lightly, but the weather is still really nice and warm.

Here is my granddaughter Marisa and I enjoying the soft peaceful falling snow yesterday. And today look what it looks like out on the back deck!

 It will melt off quickly. I think we will have an early spring.

 And in the backyard! Whoa.

 Gunner, the dogger got into it too. 

  
He loves romping around in the backyard when there is a pile of snow to play in!

 We made some sugar cookies and decorated them too. It's been fun having my grandkids stay with me.

 But sadly, there house is now done and they are moving into it tomorrow. Whaaaaa....(sounds of sniffling).

I have soooo loved having them here. Especially getting this sweet little guy out of his crib in the mornings when he is warm and has bed head. He and I are the early birds at our house. We hang out together eating fruit loops or oatmeal and bananas every morning together. I will miss that time with him.

Navajo Tacos

Navajo Tacos with Indian Fry Bread 

Indian Fry Bread made from a Bread Dough recipe that is cut up into balls and rolled out with a rolling pin, and then pan fried in a 1/2 inch of canola oil. 

These are about 6 inch circles. You can either buy frozen bread dough, or just make up a batch of your favorite 2 loaf recipes for bread. I use this one from allrecipes.com Here. It is kind of a foolproof bread recipe that my family loves. 

I rolled mine out pretty thick but if you like light Navajo Tacos, roll them thin. Or experiment and have some that are thick and some that are thin. You know the insides are done when big bubbles appear, kind of like pancakes.

One bread dough recipe will make about 8 Navajo Tacos. I used a 2 loaf recipe of bread and made about 14 pieces of Indian Fry Bread.

 Navajo Tacos are great meal to make when you have leftover chili at home. Fry up the Indian Fry Bread for about 2 minutes per side......

Fry up the dough in a frying pan with 1/2 inch of hot, canola oil. 

Then dry the Indian Fry Bread on paper towels to soak up excess oil. 

Here is the Indian Fried Bread....this would be good with honey and butter OR cinnamon and sugar on top. I do this with the leftover dough and make small "donut" twists.  That's a fun thing for kids to do with the leftover dough! 

Spread the warmed up chili on top and add your favorite Mexican shredded cheeses. Then add your toppings like tomatoes, lettuce, olives and avocados! Yummy! 

I cut up all the veggies while the leftover chili was warming up on the stove......and then put them in individual bowls. Everybody just made their own Navajo Tacos. Some added salsa and sour cream to theirs. 

And there you have it!  Navajo Tacos are a great way to use up your leftovers from Chili Night! You can also just bake the flattened dough pieces if you want to reduce the calories. We baked ours for about 8 to 10 minutes at a Girl's Camp one year.

Now Dig in! Yum! (sounds of yumminess)....

Valentines Decorating Fun

I've been remembering family fun times I've had over the years, as I dragged out all of the Valentines pink bins a few days ago. I have the old house all decked out  for the big day. It is always fun for me to get out the pink bins of February and get reaquainted with my sweet hearts and cupids and roses and pink junk. And I think about times we've shared as a family, and all the love I have in my heart for all of the people in my life. And I think of how lucky I am. Remembering Family Fun Times; One of my many happy places spent with my kiddos caught in pictures. Here is little Danny, tubing in the mountains of California, probably near Big Bear.

Here in Utah in the dead of winter we usually need a little perk this time of year. Surprisingly though, this winter has been so mild and beautiful. I got on the freeway today at 8:00 in the morning and the sun was shining so brightly I couldn't even believe it was February. It is like spring weather here, and I am LOVING IT!
I love you, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck.

I found a few fun Valentines things to get my little grandkids, who live all over the place.  I have 6 of them now. And I went to the post office to send my Chicago peeps some little doo dads. I just HAD to get my son Devin these little Simpsons characters I found at the dollar store. He was such a funny Simpsons nut when he was in middle school. He could repeat literal lines of some of the shows, word for word. He had a Simpsons book we got him one Christmas or birthday. And he pored over that thing for months!!  So cute. He'll get a chuckle.
The Simpsons were a lot of fun to watch back in the day.
Remembering Family Fun Times; making Valentines sugar cookies is always a favorite of mine.


I love making Valentines Sugar Cookies with my family.[/caption] I got my little granddaughters Disney Princess and Minnie Mouse pencil sharpeners. I know they all love those in school cuz I see kids with them in my classroom. The teachers hate them because they open unexpectedly and the shavings all land on the floor. But I know the kids LOVE sharpening their own pencils at their desks.
So too bad, teachers! haha. Minnie Mouse and Disney Princess Pencil Sharpeners for my 4, 6, and 7 year old granddaughters.

 I have so many memories of fun times with all of my children through the years. In my mind's eye I can see them all laying on our giant trampoline (before trampolines were popular we had one, the only one in our neighborhood in fact). I had sent away for it from San Francisco, some trampoline company. We had so much fun on that thing. The boys would put the hose on it in the summer and a swimming pool under it and jump really hard so they landed down in the pool, and the hose would splash all over them as they jumped, letting go a spray of cool water all over anybody nearby. I have a picture of our whole family lying in a circle of heads in the middle of that trampoline. I think about how much fun we had on that thing for years.

 
Remembering Family Fun Times this Valentines Day.

I've got my table and buffet decorations all up.  I remember taking them so many times to a place called Mother's Beach near Seal Beach, California. There was a playground at the top of the beach, and there was, well, a beach with waves and water that was safe inside a kind of manmade little jetty. The kids LOVED that beach, and we spent many happy hours there eating our picnics in the afternoons after school or in the summertime. I'd bring a stack of magazines to read lazily in the sun. And every 15 minutes or so I'd have to chase down the beach to collect my 2 year old, who had a tendency to run away in a crowd. It was fun. And I have happy memories of going to the beach with my kids.
Remembering Family Fun Times.....Here's Buffet Decorations for Valentines Day.

 Sometimes we'd go to Bolsa Chica beach and make a fire in one of the firepits at dinnertime with friends. We'd roast corn in a big pot and cut up a watermelon and do hot dogs on a stick. Fun times at the beach. Newport Dunes was one nice place we did the dreaded camping. You can see from the picture below, that I probably liked this place better than a rustic woods. But I still remember my baby, at the time, cried all night long and we were whispering feverishly trying new ideas to try to keep him quiet. We were with a group of neighbors and friends we didn't want to keep awake. But I still remember all the kids having a blast, sleep or no sleep. Kids are like that. Remembering Family Fun Times. Newport Dunes private manmade beach. We camped there I think 3 times over the years. A super fun resort!

 I remember going camping at Yellowstone and at Newport Dunes and the Redwoods and even in Utah. I absolutely hated camping. I still do to this day. But the kids always loved it. And my hubs was such a great camper. He always made everything fun. And he would do all the work. I have never put a tent up by myself in all these years. I AM a bad camper. I admit that. :D
Hiking and Touring a few summers ago seeing lizards, mountain goats and various flora and fauna.

.
Marisa and Meg finding a squirrel or a chipmunk or something foresty.

 I describe my worst camping experience at Yosemite. We ended up in a 12 x 12  "parking lot"  campground on Memorial Day with campfire smoke EVERYWHERE so you couldn't even breath, and lots of beer drinking campers surrounding us, and my 4 kids covered in mud running and riding their bikes around with our friends who had 7 kids. That was Yosemite. All I remember from that trip were yellowjackets everywhere and trying to keep my baby clean who just wanted to crawl around and get dirty. And all the people everywhere you turn. Yuck.

Yosemite and the Redwoods and Sequoia, we went to all of these, and I didn't love camping at any of them! lol. But the kids did.

 I'm thinking of the fun trips we went on where I actually had a blast. Probably everybody's favorite was Hawaii. I'd beg, borrow and steal money to do that again with my family. We had 2 teenagers when we went and 1 middle schooler and 1 in elementary. Remembering Family Fun Times; Hawaii with the family was probably everybody's favorite vacation spot. It was relaxing to me too. I loved it. But not as much as the hubs. He still talks about surfing Hawaii someday.
The Dole Pineapple Plantation maze and tasting the  Dole Pineapple Whips. Yum. That was a lot of fun.

The plane flight was fun too I remember the boys watching the in flight movie thinking it was cool.[/caption] We had a great time seeing all the sights like the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Dole plantation where we went in the maze and had pineapple whips. And then the blowhole on Waikiki Beach, Pearl Harbor, and eating crab and lobster for dinner. But the best part for me was everybody buying surf shirts and pooka shell necklaces at a little seaside tourist shop on the beach. That was a fun memory.
Pearl Harbor tour and the U.S.S. memorial there.

 Another fun trip we had was going to see Niagara Falls in New York, and going to the Mormon Pageant and seeing Donny Osmond acting as Samuel the Lamanite. After the spectacular outdoor show he was signing pictures of Jesus with his autograph. My middle schooler asked why he was doing that. We all just laughed. Why was he doing that? It was really funny. We drove down the east coast stopping in Philadelphia to see American history sights there. Then on to New York City to see the Statue of Liberty and the Twin Towers (before September 11th happened) and some museums, and the Empire State Building of course. Maids of the Mist at Niagara Falls getting sprayed and screaming at the top of our lungs is one of my all time family favorite moments, though.

Remembering Family Fun Times. Maids of the Mist boat tour on Niagara Falls.

Everybody wears a rain poncho because you get soaked with water coming at you on 3 sides.[/caption] On that same trip we then down to Washington D.C. and saw the Smithsonian and all the sights there, including the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The kids all went into the gift shops and got little momentos. I still have giant silver and copper coins I got for use in my classroom. We still have metal Statues of Liberty we got from New York, and Liberty Bell bronze pencil sharpeners, and little mini canons we got in Philly after we watched a historical reenactment in Philly. They are still hanging around here somewhere.

Statue of Liberty trinket.

Being there was a lot of fun. I'd go back anytime.
Gallery Wall of fun memories , and with glittery red hearts and greenery in the cones.

When it is a holiday or a Super Bowl or New Year's Eve, we get invited to parties by good friends we have. But the funny thing is, I always just want to hang out with my kids. We joke about going on their vacations with them, like tag-a-longs, Like Everybody Loves Raymond, buying the house next door to them. haha. Wouldn't that be SO FUN! not really. I know what you are thinking.
Ball of Roses hanging on the great room door for Valentines Day.

 We never know if they are serious when they invite us on their vacations. We've been invited to Disneyland from each one of  our kids. But we've never gone.....yet. John imitates us going along on the cruise with my daughter's family and her husband's brother's family, when they invited us. He uses his geek, nasaly voice and says "Hi guys! Here we ARE! Your sister-in-laws PAAAAREEEENTS!!" We both just chortle and roll our eyes. How bad would THAT be? But I would love to tag-a-long secretly. And someday I actually will. geek that I am.....


Kitchen Buffet covered in Valentines junk.

One time recently I dragged them all along with me on my trip to Lake Powell for the first time. All my kids had been there. And my hubs had gone multiple times with the boy scouts. I wanted to go. So we went to Zions and Lake Powell and I bought tickets for everybody to go see Aladdin at Tuacahn Outdoor theater in St. George. We had a really fun time seeing and hiking to Rainbow bridge, going to the Dam tour, and eating out every night. I would do that again, anytime. Someday, maybe in a houseboat. But for now, it was fun to stay in a hotel and swim in the pool.


Cliff jumping and swimming at Powell. We found our own little private pool.

Remembering Family Fun Times; Rainbow Bridge hike was fun too. Hot, but fun

. Jeff and Josie at Zions.


Touring through Zions National Park.


The whole family. Remembering family fun times this Valentines Day.

Devin and Caitlin at Zions.


Boating on Lake Powell.

 Lake Powell was probably one of my most recent favorite vacations spots I have loved going. It is a magnificent place full of beauty that just mesmerizes you. And going through Zions National Park on the way to Lake Powell is the way to go. You get two great places in one easy trip. I want to go again soon. This summer Tuacahn has Beauty and the Beast playing. The girls would love it.


Tuacahn Outdoor Theater in St. George to see Aladdin.


Tuacahn's Aladdin with real live camels was one of Tuacahn's  best shows ever.

Anyhoo, as I think of all the people and places I've loved this Valentines Day, the kiddos and the grandkids, my hubs and 4 kids, fill my heart with love and happy memories.

I wish them all the happiest of Valentines Days!  

In my life, I love you MORE.