Memorial Day Weekend

Our Memorial Day weekend was pretty good, we didn't go out of town but we bought a 

bike and trailer and went bike riding sunday and yesterday. It's fun and it's a good exercise

 for myself. I snapped some pictures while taking a little break. Here are my kiddos happy as

 can be with their water jugs and toys. My son loves making faces when I take pictures...

Right after taking that happy picture, I took this one to show some of our trail and

the kids began fighting for a toy....

I love bike riding! I loved it as a kid as well but I never bought myself an adult bike until 

this weekend and I'm so glad I did! I bought the Raleigh Venture 3.0  and I love it!

We had been looking and looking around for a good bike and checking out reviews online

and I had decided on a Giant but when we went to the bike shop they didn't have it and 

this one looked just as nice, and the price was $40 less so I went for it!

It is still a pricey bike but it's really good quality and so far I love it!

Also this memorial day weekend we took the kids to see Kung Fu Panda 2 

and went to IKEA and ate for free! IKEA had this event going on that if you spend

 more than $100 you get to eat free at their restaurant. 

We already had to buy handles for our kitchen and I didn't feel like cooking 

so off to IKEA we went! We bought the door handles and

even some curtains for the dinning room. So we are making progress slowly in our

kitchen remodeling but it's progress none the less! I will take pictures

and post them tomorrow. 

How was your Memorial Day Weekend? Did you go out of town?

<3 Cindy

Favorites Friday 5.27.11

I'm starting up something new because I'm running out of things to blog about 

I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite crafts, recipes, sewing projects

 and such with you. Maybe I will even feature one of your creations! 

So let's begin our first favorites friday....

1. I have to try this Crisp Chicken Salad with Apples & Basil 

that Rachel Made from Maybe Matilda.

I love chicken salads with fruits & nuts in them and I even tried making it once

with a recipe I found on a little booklet that came with my toaster....

and it was a FAIL! I blame it on the recipe! I will give it another shot with

this one sometime soon... 

2. I LOVE this TP wall art that Chris from Just A Girl created.

Ever since I saw her post about it on her blog, I can't stop thinking about it!

I started collecting TP rolls and I have quite a little stash in my craft closet.

All I have to do is go out and buy a canvas and some spray paint and copy make

 awesome and inexpensive wall just like this!

3. Check out this cool top made from a t-shirt that 

Christie from Sew What's Happening made.

I love it! I have tons of t-shirts but they all have prints, but I might 

just take one of my husband's many solid colored t-shirts and make this!

4. Isn't this cute? I found this on Pinterest but it's from Creative Little Daisy.

I am totally making this for the naked pillow I didn't finish! 

The one I didn't even try to finish because of my glue gun incident remember?

and Last but not Least:

5. I am LOVING this dress by LUCA LUCA.

I love Maxi dresses and this one is just fabulous!! 

If I had the money I would buy it! 

I actually love their whole Spring/Summer 2011 collection

but this dress is my fave!

If I featured you, you can grab my button on my sidebar 

(not a requirement but it would make me feel special) lol

Hope you all Have a Wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

<3 Cindy

Tuna-Potato Cakes

Here is one of my husband's favorites! Growing up my mom would often make us "tortitas de atun"

or tuna-potato cakes. She makes them from scratch and they are good but to be honest

I don't really like them but tons of people do and my husband is one of them.

So I found and easy peasy way to make them (as I do with almost all my recipes)

 and they are packed with a bunch of flavor!

I actually like these better than the ones my mom makes shhh!! 

So here is what you need to make them:

* Potato Pancake Mix 

(you can find this in the Kosher section of your grocery store same brand as Matzos)

*Water

*3 cans of tuna

(yeah I know I only took a picture of 2 but you need 3)

*2 eggs

*Oil

(I used olive oil)

Follow the instructions on the potato pancake mix box and once your mix has thickened

add your tuna:

Add enough oil to cover pan and when oil is hot, spoon some of your mixture to form patties:

They don't have to be perfect (obviously mine aren't) 

When your patties are nice and brown on both sides put them on

a plate lined with paper towels:

Serve with rice or beans or a salad and you've got dinner:

Quick, easy and cheap! Oh and they are delicious! No need to add salt, pepper or any

other spice the box has a bunch of great tasting spices that will flavor your patties :)

I usually make this recipe on days I don't feel like cooking because

they are so easy to make and don't require much so I usually have

a box of the mix in my pantry for those "don't feel like cooking" days 

which are more often than the "I feel like rachel ray, let's get cookin'" days.

Let me know if you try these! I would love to see pictures of your patties!

<3 Cindy

Linking up to these parties HERE

Cheap Laundry Room Signs

It feels like I haven't posted something in forever! I had such a great weekend with my family. My husband had the day off yesterday and we took the kids to the park downtown, we went bike riding, had a picnic and went canoeing. It was fun but I am still exhausted!  Meanwhile I've also been working on blog designs and I updated my blog as well.... again! I guess that's what happens when you love graphic design and you have a blog. I added new sidebar titles and changed my background and header background too. I love pink but my background was just too much pink for me!

Anywho... Here is a little sign I made a couple weeks back and I've been asking my husband to drill holes on it for me to hang... and since that never happened I took matter into my own hands and used tape and hot glue! Yes I am using my glue gun again! :) 

I used leftover scrap pieces from I don't even know what! lol I found them in the garage:

and here is how I glued and taped the back of my sign... fancy!

I used a permanent marker to draw the Laundry on to it and voila

  a cheap and cute little laundry room sign...

I found two pieces of cardboard in my kitchen drawer (again I don't know where from)

and I painted them and made matching little Wash & Dry signs to go on top of my

washer and dryer. Sorry the photo is not the best quality, my laundry

room has very poor lighting just like the rest of my house.

On a sidenote... I have 60 followers now!! yay!! I'm so happy! :D

Thanks so much for following me! 

Linking up to these parties HERE

<3 Cindy

Not getting replies to your comments?

Well I learned something new today! Thanks to Sarah from Emmyloubeedoo! I always left comments on other bloggers' blogs but never received replies... and I never knew I could reply to your comments through my e-mail! duh! lol I would just reply sometimes on my blog post. So I started replying to some of you today and as I was replying to your awesome comments I noticed some of you are no-reply comment bloggers too:

So if you would like to get replies to your comments not only from me but from any blogger you leave your awesome comments to, follow these simple steps:

1. Got to your dashboard and click on Edit Profile

2. Check the "show my e-mail address" box

3. Hit Save Profile

And get ready to receive replies to your comments! :)

I am so happy I learned this today so now I can reply to all of your comments!

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Psalm 107 Subway Art Printable

Who doesn't love free things? I know I do! and I bet you do too! So I am giving you all another free printable. I love Psalm 107:1, as you can see it's on the sidebar of my blog. It just reminds me to thank the Lord everyday because he is Good, no matter what circumstances we may have God is faithful and his love is everlasting. So I would love to share this printable with you so you may frame it and put it somewhere in your home and hopefully it can remind you to thank the Lord everyday every time you see it. I created this subway art style print using photoshop (my favorite!) and thought it would go perfectly framed in our bedroom on top of our dresser...

Here is a close up of the framed art printable:

So click on the picture below and save to your computer to print.

it is an 8x10 printable:

Please let me know if you use my printable,  I would love to see pictures of it in your home :)

Just e-mail me or leave a comment with a link to your post using my printable.

Have a blessed day!
<3 Cindy

Linking up to these parties HERE

Another Rosette Pillow

I found two navy blue pillows at Target last week for $2.48/ea regularly priced $9.99. They are the exact color I want to start decorating my living room and dinning room with so I bought em.
I knew they were plain so as I did with my other pillow, I added rosettes. I made the rosettes out of leftover scraps from the t-shirt I used to make my braided bracelet. While making the rosettes yesterday I got burned badly and had to stop working because the glue was stuck to my skin :(
I have gotten burned before but this time the hot glue was stuck to my skin and really hurt! I got blisters so I put on some Neosporin, took some Aleve and had to hold on to an ice pack until my hand went numb and could no longer feel the pain. Thankfully the pain is gone and today I finished one pillow because I am too scared to make rosettes for the other one.
So... here is one of the plain navy blue pillows before:

I placed the dangerous pretty rosettes on the pillow to see how they would look

 and where I would want them.

I initially wanted to make a whole bunch of rosettes to go all the way down the pillow

but because of my little incident I only made six... 

I used Fabric Glue to glue the rosettes in place, 

then placed a heavy book on top and waited for them to dry...

...and here is my new rosette pillow that will go in the living room as soon

as I gather the courage to pick up my glue gun again and make more rosettes for

it's naked brother pillow: 

Do you have a glue gun burn story? I would love to hear it! or read it! lol :D

<3 Cindy

Linking up to these parties HERE

Free Quart of Glidden Paint!

Head on over to the Glidden Website to get your free quart of paint!!
I already did! I chose:

I would love to use this in our guest room closet which I plan to turn into a 

little office space for myself someday and this quart of paint is a start!

I was leaning towards white or gray but I had to step out of my comfort zone and

went with a yellow! Hope it looks as great as I imagine it once

it's up on the walls! :)

<3 Cindy

Dollar Store Door Basket

I finally got to finishing the other dollar store basket I bought when I made
these baskets for the wall in between the dinning room and kitchen.
Here are all the supplies I bought from the dollar store:

(I didn't realize the twine was upside down when I was taking the picture lol)

Supplies:

*Wall Hanging Basket

* Flowers

*Twine

Everything is from The Dollar Tree.

Here is the finished product:

Very simple and easy to put together and perfect spring/summer accessory for our door.

It only cost $5 to make and I have lots of twine leftover.

Here it is hanging from our front door:

Linking up to these parties HERE

<3 Cindy

Hollister Top Re-Fashion to Toddler Girls Dress

I found this Hollister top at the Salvation Army for $1.50 on my last thrift shop trip
and thought it would make a cute dress for my daughter.
It is a size small but looks more like an xsmall so obviously it wasn't mine or would't fit me lol
Here is the top transformation from strapless top to toddler girls halter dress:

Here is what I did:

1. I removed the strip that was in the middle.

2. I used my seam ripper to cut the seam that was making the top

gather in the middle and was left with this see through-ish stripe

where the seam was. 

3. To cover that up, I cut the strip I had initially cut off

 and sewed it on back and added two buttons.

(I don't have pictures for the following steps)

4. I cut the tie back strips in half 

5. I sewed the cut off strips on the top of the shirt to create the new

halter ties. 

and now here is how the finished dress looks:

What do you think? I think this will make a cute summer dress for my little princess

and it only cost $1.50! yay!!

Linking up to these parties HERE

<3 Cindy

Versatile Blogger Award

I've gotten this award twice from the following lovely ladies:

Angie from Thrifty Like Me who I started following myself a couple weeks ago

after seeing her amazing Goodwill finds which 

left me wanting to shop at Goodwill and Thrift Stores all the time. 

and Kathryn at The Dragon's Fairy Tail who shares lots of creative crafts!

Thank You both for this awesome award!! :)

For these awards, the blogger must:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award & 

link back to their site in your original post.

2. Tell us seven things about yourself.

3. Pass along the award to five newly discovered bloggers.

4. Contact these bloggers and let them know they got this award.

Okay so here goes..
1. I am 24 years young, I'm a young mommy :)
2. I am a mommy to 2 kiddos, Joshua is 4 and Sarah is 2.
3. I love the clearance back sections of Target
4. I don't like milk, only with cereal (not by itself)
5. I love trying new recipes especially from whole foods.
6. I am not the most patient person, I had a hard time waiting
for paint to dry on the side table I painted. 
7. I am sort of a neat freak, I don't like seeing things out of place.

Here are 5 awesome blogs I discovered in the past couple of weeks:


1. Living in the Woods
2. Southern Lovely
3. Extra Frosting Please
4. Here On Crow Creek
5. Millie Morgan Media

<3 Cindy

The Shine Project

I got an e-mail yesterday from a wonderful Lady named Ashley
who started The Shine Project.
I love it! She gives her readers weekly challenges where you can
do something Good for someone else or even yourself.
Step out of your comfort zone and begin doing something that
will impact your life and those around you.

These are my favorites:
Quit Talking and Begin DOING
Meet Your Neighbor
Teach and Love.
Cheer for Your Enemies
A Compliment a Day

If you haven't already, you can visit her blog HERE
or if you haven't noticed, you can find her button on my sidebar :)

Now On to Meet My Guest Blogger: 
Ashley LeMeuix, The Shine Project

Just so we're a little more aquainted, my name is Ashley,

and I want to inspire the WORLD.

Raise your hand if you've ever had a dream,

and you didn't reach it.

Don't be shy, no one can actually see you raising your hand at your computer,

unless your in your work cubicle or something.

Then this might be awkward.

Why do all of us have a goal that has been left unfulfilled?

Why do we sell ourselves short of our potential?

This is why I created The Shine Project.

To give daily motivation,

and weekly challenges,

that push us out of our comfort zone to stop making excuses

to do HARD THINGS!

Now, think about the last time you went out of your way,

to help someone.

The Shine Project is also a source of motivation to push us

to give light to those around us who are in need.

Think of what the world would be like,

if everyone did one thoughtful thing for someone else every day.

I want The Shine Project to change the world.

Come join The Shine Project team.

Motivate yourself, feel good about what you can accomplish,

and lift the burdens of those around you.

I have created SHINE necklaces so we all can have a daily reminder of our purpose.

$1 for each necklace sold goes into The Shine Project Scholarship Fund,

which will be rewarded to an inner city highschool student to help them pay for college.

This week's Shine Challenge is to evaluate your "circle of influence".

Are you up for it?

I just revealed the new direction of The Shine Project, which will allow YOU to

be a SHINE group service leader in your community. To unite us, I

created SHINE tshirts that are also up on my blog!

The second ever group SHINE project will be in San Diego, June 11th.

I'd love to have you come help clean the beaches with us!

Come join me at www.ashlemieux.blogspot.com

And go ahead,

let the world see you SHINE.

Organized Hallway Craft Closet & Chalkboard Labels

Don't you just hate when you need something and you have to go through a mess
of things to find it? and then you don't even end up finding it?
I do! Especially when making a craft!
I no longer feel this way because I finally organized and labeled my hallway closet!
This closet contained everything from cards, gift bags, tissue paper, supplies,
old papers and books. It was not organized at all! While cleaning it out I founds things
I thought were long lost! I found junk I no longer wanted
and from cleaning this and the guest room closet I made a pile of
garage sale goodies for our church garage sale.
I apologize in advance for the crappy photos, the hallway is very dark and
it's super hard to get really good pictures.
Here is the before and after of the hallway closet:

This closet is in between the guest room and the kids room and it never really
served for anything other than holding junk.
Now it is my new craft supplies closet. Neat and Organized and ready for me
to use on my next craft!

I have actually been using it and it is awesome knowing where everything is!
Here are some close ups of the closet.
From the top:

Yeah I don't know why I was using a Huggies box as storage?! and that K-Swiss shoe box?!?! 

I've had that since I was in middle school!! 

That box held a bunch of letters and cards from birthdays and notes

my friends and I would write to each other in high school. 

I bought six plastic containers from The Home Depot for $.99/ea

those little white buckets are from the dollar section at 

Target and they were $.25/ea on sale.

My fabric box is a gift box I got on my son's baby shower.

My Thread Jar is a glass jar that used to hold apple juice. 

The top magazine holder thingies are from Ikea, I bought them from the

AS IS section about 3 years ago for $.50/ea I think...

Moving on to the bottom section:

I organized my tissue papers, cards and such in the new plastic bins.

That long cardboard stick thing is from the rug we bought

the kids at Ikea. I thought it was cool and I could use for something

but I never knew what so in the recycling bin it went.

I wanted to paint straight on the bins with chalkboard paint to label them when I saw

This Post by Gina from The Shabby Chic Cottage on Chalkboard Labels.

I already had labels but I had chalkboard paint instead of chalkboard spray paint.

and here are the supplies I used for my tags:

*cereal box (you can use any cardboard you have)

*labels

*blue painter's tape

*chalkboard paint

*brush

(btw. If you haven't tried Cascadian Farms Organic Cereals then do! they are really good

and organic!! hello! lol I don't feel guilty for feeding my kids chocolate cereal for

breakfast and they love it! Their fiber cereal is yummy too!! that's the one I eat.)

back to the labels, you tape up the edges on to your cardboard and paint away:

Once dried you can write on them with chalk and stick on to whatever you want!

Have you used chalkboard labels or tags?

These are my first! and my second chalkboard paint project!

I'm loving the chalkboard paint!!

Any ideas on what I should do with chalkboard paint next?

Linking up to these parties HERE