The Purple Door

Need a Cake?

2011-11-11T15:07:00.006-06:00

I knew that my friend from college had started a cake making business, but I had no idea how AWESOME they looked until last weekend when I saw her website!

Yes people, that is a cake!

She does weddings, showers, birthdays, you name it. I am so impressed with her creativity and ability to make a cake look so cool!

These flowers aren't even real, they're SUGAR!

Check out her website and if you happen to live in Baton Rouge, look her up!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T06:51:00.004-05:00

Anyone trick-or-treating at my house? I promise to have chocolate covered pretzels, animal crackers, and swedish fish! =)

(I got the idea for the front door on Pinterest)

Here is Jay on his way to work... 80's stock broker day. Gotta love homemade bow ties and suspenders!

Entryway Progress

2011-10-19T15:37:00.006-05:00

Okay, it has been forever. But I figured I would post a few projects that we've (I've) been up to! First was the entryway. I just thought lighter colors would match the rest of the house better and feel more welcoming, so here are the Before & Afters:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Hopefully more to come soon, and on a much more regular basis!

The Spotted Fawn

2010-09-24T16:30:00.003-05:00

A friend in Houston has started her own online store with the CUTEST homemade stuff... check it out, it's called The Spotted Fawn.

Clutches:

Car Seat Covers:

Twirly Skirts for Girls

http://www.etsy.com/shop/thespottedfawnshop

Bathroom Cabinets

2010-09-24T16:21:00.004-05:00

Remember how we couldn't decide whether or not to paint our master bathroom cabinets after our remodel? Well, we decided to go for it, and here is the finished product!! We are really happy with the decision, and it makes it look so much bigger (and newer!)

BEFORE WE MOVED IN:

POST-REMODEL:

POST-CABINET PAINT:

2010-07-28T19:38:00.004-05:00

I recently saw a blog post with DIY roman shade curtains (here) and decided to give it the old college try. I thought 1) I hadn't used my sewing machine in a while and 2) our bathroom windows could use a little color, and 3) this was the perfect solution, since it's a fixed shade - it doesn't go up and down, it's just for looks. (I know, SO many people see our master bathroom! ;)

Here is the BEFORE shot:

And here are the results:

You Know You Watch Too Much HGTV When...

2010-07-10T16:42:00.003-05:00

That's right, Jay and I covered our bedroom lamps with fabric last weekend, and he was happy to give the Do-It-Yourself instructions ala HGTV. We later realized that his shirt was off the whole time, so that's always a little added flavor ;)

Here are a few pictures of the project!

Krista's Crosses

2010-07-02T09:36:00.006-05:00

One of my dear friends from our church Life Group has started a business. She is one of the most creative people I know, and has a great personality to go along with it.

She makes crosses - out of wood, stone, concrete, you name it! We are lucky enough to have 2 of them in our own house, but now they are for sale online! Check out her website - they would make a great gift or addition to anyone's cross wall (which apparently is a Texas thing I am learning!)

www.kristascrosses.com

Ta-Da!

2010-07-02T09:02:00.009-05:00

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Our (formerly red) front door was just begging for a fresh coat of paint and new hardware... so naturally we thought, "why not purple?" There are SO many houses with red doors - so now instead of trying to explain WHICH house with the red door is ours, we can just say, "the one with the purple door!"

Plus, a little school spirit never hurt anyone ;) GO FROGS!!

Latest House Project

2010-06-17T18:09:00.003-05:00

We've been spending so much time on making the INSIDE of our house the way we want it, that we haven't put very much thought into the EXTERIOR... until now! My current project will slightly change the way our house looks from the street. But you'll have to wait until I'm finished to find out what! =)

In the mean time, here are some pictures of flowers in our yard... most of which we were lucky enough to have already here when we moved in!

HOORAY FOR SUMMER!

Pineapple Jerk Chicken

2010-05-21T14:29:00.002-05:00

My new favorite recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray:

2 cups brown rice
1/4 cup oil
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeño - stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
1 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
1/2 pineapple, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (or 1 can of pineapple chunks)
1/2 cup jerk marinade
One 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the rice according to package, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until tender, about 30 minutes; drain.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapeño and cook until the onion is browned, 7 minutes; transfer to a bowl.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the same skillet and increase the heat to medium-high. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then add to the pan and cook until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the pineapple and jerk marinade and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the onion mixture, black beans and cilantro; cook until the beans are heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and serve over the rice.

YUM!

My Custom Shoe Closet!

2010-05-17T11:39:00.004-05:00

I WISH!
That would be the closet from 13 Going on 30 (LOVE it!)

Here were my BEFORE pictures...

And thanks to the sweet hubby and his brilliant ideas...

Now all of my shoes have a place!

Sewing For Baby

2010-04-29T10:55:00.002-05:00

Not MY baby of course, for a friend's baby shower! I decided to get creative and get some use out of my sewing machine for the baby boy due June 23rd. His name is Grant, and I helped to host the shower! I made him burp cloths, some soft blocks, and a pennant sign with his name. The colors of his bedroom are baby blue and chocolate brown, so I tried to stay within those lines. Here are some pictures of my projects!

Our finished bathroom!!!

2010-03-15T11:29:00.006-05:00

Well it's finally done, and we couldn't be happier with our updated fixtures, cool new tile, textured walls, and most importantly, more room in the shower! Here are a bunch of pictures that take you through the process. The "before" picture doesn't even look like the same room!
P.S. Check out the monkey rug on the last picture... it was Jay's Christmas present from my sister!

We are thinking about painting the cabinets white to match the trim... what do you think?

Our Trip to Virginia

2010-01-10T20:25:00.009-06:00

Jay and I spent the first five days of 2010 venturing east to Charlottesville, Virginia. I was a bridesmaid (one of TEN!) in my friend Ruth's wedding. During the rest of our trip we did tourist-y things, like skiing, touring UVA's campus, and sight-seeing in Washington, DC. (And of course, watching our beloved Horned Frogs in the Fiesta Bowl, boohoo).

The windchill was -8 degrees, yikes! I was looking forward to returning home to much warmer DFW weather... but instead schools were cancelled the next day because of icy roads and windchill! This is obvious in the pictures, since all you can see of us most of the time is our eyes! Anyway, here are a few pics:

Ruth and me at the wedding... WOOHOO the dress stayed up!! =)

Jay and me at UVA's Rotunda

Skiing at Wintergreen

The Washington Monument from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

Chocolate and Pigs?

2010-01-10T20:18:00.006-06:00

This Christmas, my sister Colleen and her boyfriend Chris gave me a chocolate bar. But this wasn't just ANY chocolate bar... it was dark chocolate with smoked salt and smoked BACON!! Yes, you read right. Meet Mo's Dark Bacon Bar.

Now, we're not talking about a strip of fried bacon dipped in chocolate. It's a legitimate chocolate bar, with little salt crystals and tiny bacon bits. Actually quite tasty!
I tried it for the first time last night and decided to take it to work with me to try it out on the guys at the fire station. Once they could be convinced that it wasn't a prank, they dove right in. The verdict:

"Really good chocolate, with a faint taste of salt. I can barely even taste the bacon."

"It's like, breakfast chocolate! Do you have any chocolate scrambled eggs?"

"Well since it has meat, I guess it's like a full meal then."

So there you go - an honest food review.

Bathroom Overhaul

2009-12-16T18:35:00.012-06:00

Well we're finally doing it! We have decided to have our master bathroom shower and tub retiled. We did the demo ourselves, and for the next few weeks our bathroom will be in disarray while being tiled.
The old tile was in pretty bad shape, which was even more obvious after finding tons of moisture and mold behind it! I was definitely grossed out. We are also raising the showerhead about a foot, so the water will no longer be spraying everywhere when Jay sticks his head under the stream.
So we're REALLY excited to have a new (slightly bigger) shower in a few weeks! Here are some pictures of the demo process and how it looks so far... more to come soon!

My video of demo day

Around the tub

The old shower walls

The new cement backerboard... looking better already!

The new tile and spacers, before grout

Go Frogs!

2009-12-09T09:45:00.003-06:00

In celebration of

A. The Christmas season

and

B. An undefeated regular season for the TCU Football team,

we have done up our Christmas tree in true Horned Frog fashion! (Red wall to be painted in the near future)
The tree topper is a ceramic monkey that Jay painted a few weeks ago.

A Fun Weekend

2009-10-28T09:34:00.005-05:00

Last Thursday night, I went to the TCU Volleyball game, where they played No. 25 Colorado State. And WON! It was a blast - the Frogs won in 3 in front of a record crowd of 1,850. Fellow alums Ally, Tori, and Little Miss Sami met me at the game.

Then Jay agreed to paint some festive mini pumpkins for Halloween. I did Harry Potter and Frankenstein (which is hard to see because it's so dark). Jay did a TCU Football one and Hobbes (from his favorite cartoon Calvin & Hobbes).

I hope everyone has a fun Halloween! This will be our first one in a house, so we are excited to hand out candy to all the little Trick or Treaters!

On A Roll...

2009-10-19T21:35:00.007-05:00

Our kitchen walls are officially finished! Here are a few pictures of the process...
1. Tearing off wallpaper
2. Texturing walls
3. Priming
4. Painting!

BEFORE: ugly yellow wallpaper

Wallpaper gone!

Walls have been textured, ready for paint!

This is what you call "Hazy Sage." Hooray we're done!

Gross.

2009-10-19T21:29:00.005-05:00

My husband decided to grow a beard for a few weeks. I think it was just so he could do THIS on his way to shaving it all off.
Does this picture creep anyone else out?
(For the record, the bottom picture is what normal looks like...)

Guest Bathroom Makeover

2009-10-02T09:51:00.006-05:00

I am ashamed to say I never took any "before" pictures of the room, but just imagine bright blue sponge-painted walls, a chipped 1980's seashell sink, and yeehaw western rope towel bars. This is the first room we have officially finished, and I'm rather proud of our effort =)

We managed to:
-Remove the old countertop and install a new one
-Add a new faucet
-Texture and paint the walls
-Replace all of the hardware (towel bars, toilet paper holder, etc.)

We decided to go with charcoal gray for the walls, so nothing too girly for Jay! I think the end result is MILES from where we started!

Decadent Caramel Sauce

2009-08-23T15:10:00.004-05:00

I have combined a few recipes for caramel sauce and came up with one that I really like. I think it would be great for lots of uses: popcorn coating, ice cream topping, apple dipping, or dessert fondue! =)

It only takes about 20 minutes and makes 4 cups.

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar and corn syrup and cook on medium-low until heated through.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and heat on medium until gently boiling for about 30 seconds.
3. Remove from heat and let cool.
4. Store in air tight container.

The Story of Oliver

2009-08-06T09:37:00.003-05:00

When we moved into our house this April, we found a note from the previous owners that went something like this:

"Welcome to your new home, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did! You may be wondering why we left a bag of cat food on the counter... there is a stray cat living under the deck who "adopted" our house about 11 years ago, and he's been there ever since. His name is Oliver and all the neighbors know him by name. He will never step foot in the house, but likes to lounge around on the deck and keep the squirrels away. Please continue to feed him if you don't mind."

So now we have a gray cat living in our backyard! Jay is not a big fan of cats, but decided to take this video to introduce everyone to Oliver.

Kitchen Project

2009-07-28T16:56:00.011-05:00

For those of you who have not gotten the chance to see our home yet, we have just finished scraping off the yellow wallpaper in our kitchen. (NOT a recommended activity, but thankfully THAT'S over!)

Our next step is to do a trowel texture over the drywall, then prime and paint. This is our first attempt at anything like this, but we are excited to try it... it's just like frosting a cake, right? =)

We are still undecided on the wall color, so we're open to suggestions! Our cabinets and countertops are white with black appliances. We are possible leaning towards a light sage green, or something light and calming. I'll be sure to post any progress in the future!

Here are a few BEFORE pictures...

Pineapple Upside Down Cake (yum!)

2009-07-05T20:13:00.008-05:00

Last week at work was my first attempt at making this (or tasting it, for that matter!) and everyone at the station requested it again... the very next shift! So here is the recipe I was fortunate enough to find:

PINEAPPLE UPDISDE DOWN CAKE

6 Tbsp. butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
pineapple rings (about 7)

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk

- Preheat oven to 375.
- Melt 6 Tbsp. butter and brown sugar together, and pour into bottom of a greased 9" cake pan. - Arrange pineapple slices on bottom of pan in a circle, with one in the center.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, then add sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg.
- Add dry ingredients alternately with milk until smooth.
- Pour into pan.
- Bake for 35 minutes, then let cool 5 minutes before turning over and serving. *Try to give it a few minutes to absorb the sauce once it is turned over. Maraschino cherries are optional (see picture) and they would go on after it is baked, but I'm not a huge fan of those.

Enjoy! (We did with vanilla ice cream =)

My Talented Husband

2009-06-08T21:49:00.004-05:00

Jay has agreed to play a song for a friend's wedding in a few weeks, and he is a little nervous about it. I think he sounds great (along with everyone else who has heard him), but I guess playing at a wedding is different from leading worship for college students...

I stole this video off his blog where he basically did a test run so he could hear it himself - what do you think? (other than the fact that his head is cut off in the video ;)

I could be a little biased, but I wouldn't mind hearing this at a wedding! The song is "O Praise Him" by David Crowder.

San Antonio Trip

2009-05-07T13:50:00.003-05:00

Four days of much needed rest and relaxation. It was a good trip. We spent a lot of time on the hotel grounds floating on the lazy river, laying in the hammocks, playing on the waterslides, and talking by the firepits at night. We managed to make it to Sea World, which was not the least bit crowded... so it was perfect for the rides and shows. In my opinion, the sea lions were more entertaining than Shamu. But it was all a lot of fun!

Now we are looking forward to settling into the new house, painting, and doing a little decorating. It's going to take some time, but we are ready to start making it OUR home!

One Year Already!

2009-04-20T09:40:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was officially one year of marriage for Jay and me. Whoa, time flies! We went out to brunch, looked through our wedding pictures, talked about what we remembered from our wedding day, and of course, ate the cake! After hearing many stories of gross, stale cakes, I must admit that ours was pretty fantastic! The ice cream on top didn't hurt either =)

Here is a video of Jay from our Honeymoon. He is on the beach talking about the resort, the food, and most importantly, the topless old lady sunbathing a hundred yards away.

And if anyone is planning a trip to Mexico, the El Dorado Royale was unreal. We'd go back in a heartbeat!

Happy Easter To All!

2009-04-11T17:14:00.005-05:00

Jay is away on a bachelor party/golf weekend in Tyler, so I've had the day to myself. I spent the morning with a large group from church doing an Easter service project. We all went to an apartment complex where the majority of families are non-english speaking. We painted faces, played soccer games, grilled hot dogs, and had an easter egg hunt. But most importantly, we shared the true message of Easter and what Jesus did for all of us over 2,000 years ago. It was such a great time!

I also just finished up a little home decorating project for our new house... I took plain white lamps and covered them with fabric and ribbon to add a little personality. I guess HGTV is starting to rub off on me! Here are the before and after pictures:

As for the new house, we are having the popcorn ceilings removed Tuesday. Then we can begin the painting and cleaning process and move in the 25th! We are getting excited, although it will be a little sad to leave the apartment where we first lived as a married couple... sniff sniff.

My Latest Discovery

2009-03-21T22:31:00.005-05:00

Recycled Glass Countertops!
I guess at some point during our house search, I became very aware of the different types of countertop materials. I came across this the other day, and I think it's really cool looking. (And 85% recycled material!)

An Eventful Day

2009-03-19T16:36:00.013-05:00

A lot has happened today. First, it's Jay's birthday, so the big boy is now 26! We are having dinner with both sets of parents tomorrow night, so we are looking forward to that. This was my present to him; we're pretty excited about it:

(yes, I have been slightly converted to listening to some country music!)

Today also makes exactly 11 months of being married! I can't believe how quickly almost a year has gone by. Its been so great =)

Another notable event today was that we closed on our very first house! Lots of signing and paperwork, but a big sigh of relief just to be done with it all. It will still be a few weeks before we officially move in, but we will be sure to have a house-warming get together =)

The last thrill of the day was when we booked a little getaway for the first weekend in May. We'll be headed to San Antonio for a much-needed break from work and the chance to play a little! We found a resort that has waterslides, hot tubs, and a lazy river, and it's really close to Six Flags and Sea World.

Oh and Turbo Tax got dominated this afternoon. 2008 taxes DONE!

Big News!

2009-03-09T20:28:00.003-05:00

Jay and I have decided to buy a house, and we finally found one! Hooray! We close at the end of next week, and after that we'll have a few more weeks to pack up and move a whole 1.5 miles down the road! Meet the newest addition to our family:

What I'm Reading Now...

2009-03-09T15:07:00.002-05:00

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan

Fruit Salsa & Cinnamon Chips

2009-03-09T13:17:00.009-05:00

Jay and I just made this for a potluck gathering last night... and got many requests for the recipe.

FRUIT SALSA:

2 kiwis, peeled and diced

1 banana, peeled and diced
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
1/2 cup raspberries/blueberries
1/2 pound strawberries
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. fruit preserves, any flavor

(you can really put any kind of fruit you want in it - cantalope, pineapple, grapes, etc.)

CINNAMON CHIPS:

10-12 flour tortillas
Cooking spray
2 cups cinnamon sugar

DIRECTIONS:

- In a bowl, mix fruit, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

- Cut flour tortillas into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Coat one side of wedges with cooking spray and sprinkle with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray.

- Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.