Mudroom Reveal!

So, I can't believe I am showing you the photos of how my mudroom looked before we got the lockers, but again... I am trying to keep it real! Let's start with the after, shall we?

Alright, now I will do the before. Don't judge me... well, you can if you want, but it no longer looks like this. This room would seriously give me anxiety every time I opened the door. So, I tried to keep it closed, unless I had something that I didn't have time to put away, but wanted out of sight... I would quickly open the door, throw it in, and close my eyes as I shut the door.




Are you scared? I am a little, and I still can't believe I am posting these photos!!!

So, the reason our mud room looked like this, was that the builder we built our home with wanted SO much for lockers, and we were already maxed out. My husband promised we would get some within a year of moving in, and he delivered. (Love him.) I think it is now my favorite room on the main floor of my house. We honestly thought about building the lockers ourselves, but for a project like this, we didn't want to spend time and money on something that may or may not fall apart.

We found a great local company, called The Closet Butler. We like to support local businesses, and the price was so right! They were nearly half the price we were quoted by the builder. The Closet Butler was so easy to work with, and did exactly what we wanted, right down to custom matching the cabinets in the rest of our house. They are located in Kaysville, Ut. So, if you live in or near Davis county, Ut, and need cabinetry or closet organizers, give them a holler :) I am hoping to talk my husband into replacing one of my kitchen cabinets with glass front doors, and plan to use the same company if he agrees. I haven't even asked him yet. We'll see what he says.

Here are some photos from before the doors were put on.


All you bloggers who are making your pantries so cute have inspired me, and I may wallpaper the back wall behind the locker, as it is just wall now, and I didn't take the green paint all the way down.

Did I mention the shelves are adjustable? It is so nice, for growing kids, to be able to adjust the height on the shelves!

Of course, I had to put my own personal touch on things, so I customized the knobs. They are from my favorite store... Hobby Lobby. The knobs are half off every other week.

So cute - right? We each have our initial on the bottom door, and a random but beautiful knob on top!

I still have more of my mudroom to reveal... look in the bottom right corner of the photo below for a sneak peek.

Now, instead of throwing things in, and closing my eyes as I close the mudroom door, I leave the door open, and feel happy when I walk by.

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

I am linking to Purge Party.

FISH TACO'S

So, I don't usually post recipes, but this is too delicious not to post! I came up with it by combining a few recipes (listed below), and now I will share with you. Seriously, this dish is so delicious and healthy. We had it Thursday night, and my husband asked for it again today. The secret is in the sauce! I have to say... I am not a big fan of seafood, but I am craving this! I prefer using talapia, as it is so mild, but you can use whatever fish you like.

Home Made Breaded Baked Fish Sticks:

One Cup buttermilk (Or, you can make your own, in a lower fat version which is what I do, by combining 1 to 1/2 Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar and enough skim milk to make one cup. I prefer lemon juice, as it is more tangy. Mix and let sit for 5 minutes before pouring on fish. Let it sit while you cut the fish.)
Fresh Talapia or whatever fish you prefer, cut into strips.
Seasoned Bread Crumbs

Directions:

Cut fish into strips, place in container, and pour buttermilk over the top. You can do this early in the day, so you have it ready, and it marinades. When you are ready to bake, pour the crumbs into a container, and then remove the fish piece by piece, and coat with crumbs. Place on a pan coated with non-stick cooking spray. Bake in a 500 degree over for ten minutes, or until crumbs are golden brown, and fish is cooked through. Before you bake the fish, you can sprinkle fish sticks with olive oil if you like, but you don't need to.

Sauce:

8 ounces of reduced fat sour cream.
2 to 3 Tablespoons of fresh squeezed lime juice. (I prefer 3!)
2 teaspoons of lime zest.
1 teaspoon of your favorite fish seasoning. (I prefer Spade L Ranch seafood seasoning.)
1/4 to 1 teaspoon of cumin. (Start with 1/4, and see if you want more.)
1/4 to 1 teaspoon chili powder. (Start with 1/4 and see if you want more.)
Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together, and taste as you go, to see what you want more of. I like to make this in advance as well, so the flavors can settle.

Put it Together:

After baking the fish sticks, serve on a warm corn tortilla. (I prefer white corn.) Top with sauce, shredded leafy lettuce, and your favorite FRESH salsa. My husband put Tabasco on it, but I liked it just the way I made it. This dish is very healthy, not very expensive, and so easy!

The original recipes I used to come up with my version can be found here and here.

Have a Healthy and Delicious Day!

Risa

BURP CLOTHS for BOYS!

As promised, I am showing you a few of the burp cloths I designed for my baby boy. My awesome mom sewed them for me, as it was too uncomfortable to sit at the sewing machine at the end of my pregnancy. I cut out and pinned everything on, and she sewed everything on. We make a pretty good team!

Beta Fish!
This fabric matches his car seat cover that I made.

Marching Elephants!

Boys are a Blast!

Turtle Time!

Caterpillar!

Cowboys!

We made a few more, but they look just like the ones you find on etsy and other sites. I just wanted to share the more unique ones.

Have a Happy and Creative day!

Risa

I am linking!

LOVE BUGS {& Printbale} !!!

This year for Valentines Day, we got the kids each a Hex Bug Nano. My son is slightly obsessed with them. My kids love playing together on Sunday mornings. So, I decided to give them their V-day gifts a day early. I came up with this cute little LOVE BUG card to go with them.

When I saw this PINK nano, I knew I wanted to get it for my daughter.
(I have to apologize for the photos. I don't know what was going on with the camera...)

And, BLUE and ORANGE Nano for my son.

Here's the printable. Someday, I will learn how to make professional printables, but until then, this will have to do :)

My daughter is sick today, so my son brought the nano track in to her room to play with her. He really LOVES her, and that's what it's all about on Valentines Day - right?

Have a Happy and Lovely Day!

What are you doing for Valentines?

Maybe this post is TMI. Maybe it's okay. You be the judge...

What do you do for Valentines day? When I think about V-day, I think about all the people I LOVE. Topping the list is my husband, and my kids. This post is about what I did last year for them.

For my husband, my neighbor and I traded babysitting kids, and we had a stay-at-home Valentines Day date. It was nice to be completely in control of everything. Yes, I am a control freak, but it makes it nice when things flow smoothly.

My theme was 50's HOUSE WIFE! Yes, I picked a theme for Valentines Day with my honey. EVERY detail was 50's, but I can't share all the details with you (wink, wink).

The only thing that wasn't, was the food. I had my husband pick up Chinese from our favorite Chinese restaurant, The Mandarin. I wanted to focus on everything else.

When he got home, I was wearing a 50's-ish dress. I had him sit on the couch, and gave him a paper, then rubbed his feet, and brought him sllippers! No, I have never done that before, and probably won't again. He was a little confused!

Okay, it's the 50's right? Let's make these photos look the right age.

I set the front room coffee table up in front of the fire place for us to dine.

Then I brought in the food.

I even tried to do my makeup like a girl from the 50's.

Alright, here's where the photo's stop... I will say though, that I transformed our master suite into what felt like a totally different room! There were candles, rose petals, and different bedding. I think he was very surprised! I love and appreciate my sweet husband. We have been married 11 1/2 years, and I like to do things that are memorable and fun for him and us. He also surprised me with a lovely piece of jewelry. He can never go wrong with jewelry! He knows me so well.

Now on to family LOVE!


This is a cherry pie I made for dessert.

When the kids came down for breakfast, I had the table set, and a little gift at each place, with a card telling them how much I LOVE them. They LOVED it!

We had heart shaped German pancakes.

I have to include photos of last year's formal dining room. It was not the favorite table I have ever set, but I liked it. My cute sister gave me the LOVELY pink glasses. I LOVE them.

I will use any excuse to put out my Great Grandma's silver.

I LOVE it too!

Have a LOVELY and Creative Day!

Changing Table Facelift

This is our third child, and we have a LARGE age gap from our other kids, so we basically had to start all over again buying baby gear. I got a crib for free on ksl.com. I don't love it, but didn't want to spend $300 for one I like, so I had to figure out a way to make all the furniture work together. I got this changing table at the DI (thrift store) for $45. Actually, my bff DL found it for me, and I bought it. The color doesn't match the crib, and the thought of refinishing a crib made this pregnant girl T-I-R-E-D! So, I decided to paint it. I am happy with the way it turned out.

Before

After

All I did was clean it, do a small amount of sanding, prime it, and spray paint it. It was super easy. I replaced the wood knobs with ceramic knobs from Hobby Lobby. Easy-Peasy!

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

I am linking!