Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Tippy Tuesday

I know I said that I would be debuting the pics from our Christmas photo shoot today, but I just mailed out my Christmas cards yesterday and I want to allow enough time for everyone to get my card before I post our pics.  

So to hold y'all over another week, here is another Christmas themed pic...which I believe is totally Christmas card worthy.  I love this so much!


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Tippy Tuesday

It was a VanHoose Christmas on Saturday!  Yep, my dad's side of the family got together and we had our family Christmas.  My cousin Stephenia missed Tippy's birthday in September so she got her this beautiful Christmas dress as a belated birthday present. 


Psst....Tippy and I are having are Christmas pictures done this Thursday so next week I will debut the outtakes photos.  :)

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Cooking Challenge...Pinterest Style: Cheesy Quinoa Mac & Cheese


I'm back with another Pinterst recipe!  This time, I tried out the Cheesy Quinoa Mac & Cheese that came from this website.

Via

In the recipe, she said you could use veggies of your choice which were optional.  I'm pretty picky when it comes to my veggies so I opted to use green peppers, red peppers, banana peppers and a few jalapenos.  I have been on this huge jalapeno kick lately!  And I was recently introduced to banana peppers and became pretty fond of them as well so I bought some for myself, which raised this question:  Are banana peppers a type of pickle?  First of all, I found the banana peppers with the pickles.  Then when I got home and opened the jar, they smelled like pickles.  I don't like pickles so I didn't know if I picked up the wrong kind of banana peppers or what.  I would love to know.


After I sauteed my veggies, I followed the rest of the recipe and came out with this. 


Now.....does that look anything like that ooey-gooey goodness in the first picture?  No.  Mine did not turn out cheesy at all and was more cake-like.  And the fact that the word "cheese" is in the title not once but twice is hilarious to me.  I don't understand what is it with me and cooking?  Why does it never turn out the way it's supposed to?  Or should I say What ingredient did I leave out this time?

With that said, I pulled out my trusty rating scale:

1 - Dear recipe, RIP. Laters, Shari
2 - I'll cook it again....if I'm cooking for someone I don't like.
3 - Eh, if I already have the ingredients, I may whip it up.
4 - I like you, but I'm not in love with you.
5 - Get in my belly!

I give the Cheesy Quinoa Mac & Cheese a.......2.5

I may try it again but add more cheese or something!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

A special YouTube Message to Britney Spears

I meant to post this on Sunday when I uploaded this to YouTube, but hey....better late than never.

2012 Christmas Ornament Exchange: Rustic Chalkboard Ornament

Well, I did it.  I did my very first ornament exchange!  Dana from Crafted Niche organized the whole sha-bang and it was super fun!  I'm not sure if she did it on purpose but she paired me up with someone whose decorating style was completely different from mine!  When we signed up we had to describe our style and any other information you thought they should know.  I said that my style was glam and my exchange buddy, Steph from Salem, MA, was rustic.  I will say that it was fun to do something different so I'm glad it worked out that way.  

Steph also mentioned that she had a 4 year old son so she said she was open to anything that would be fun for him too.  My mind immediately went to chalkboard paint.  I went to Hobby Lobby with a general plan and picked up some chalkboard paint and this round piece of wood.


After I painted the front side with 2-3 thin coats, I let it dry for a full 24 hours and pulled out my paints so that I could give the back side a couple of coats of red paint since I didn't want it to look unfinished.



Once that dried really well, I folded some ribbon in a loop and attached it to the back, folding the raw edges underneath so it didn't show.


That was the easy part!  Here is where I struggled a bit.  I knew I wanted to line the outside of the ornament with sticks to give it that rustic effect but I couldn't decide how I was going to place them.  First I thought I would take really thin sticks and lay them flat all around the ornament but then I had a better idea.  I'm sure you've seen in decor where people are slicing logs and branches and stacking them with the insides facing out so that it looks like artwork.  You don't?  Oh, well here are a couple of examples to show you.

Via

And this one makes me say Oh Em Geeee.  Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my mouth.

Via

Brilliant! (I said in my best British accent.)  So I gathered a bunch of sticks from outside and stuck them in the freezer for about 7 hours.  Supposedly, that's what you're supposed to do if you use anything from outside.  It's supposed to kill anything that's living inside them.  Lovely thought, I know.  I sliced the stick until I got a really pretty inside.  Please excuse the manicure, or lack thereof.  


My idea was to slice them about 1/2-1 inch thick and line them around the perimeter.  Well my crappy bush trimming shears weren't doing the trick.  Actually, it was doing a trick.  It was splitting the wood in half like you'd see a magician splitting a human in half.  Womp, womp.  On to plan C.


I ended up cutting up two different colors of sticks and laying them around the perimeter, alternating the colors of the sticks and attaching them with my handy dandy glue gun.  And yes, i was doing this while watching Glee. 


Once I got them all in place, I was still worried that the sticks would fall off so I went around the back of it with my glue gun just to make sure it wasn't going anywhere.


After all that was done, I decided to give it a whirl on my own tree to see how it looked.  It was a little bigger than I hoped it would be but you gotta have plenty of room to draw!  Also, it was a bit heavy but once I tucked it in the limbs a bit, it worked just fine!


Hold up!  I'm not done yet.  Actually I lied earlier.  I said figuring out the branch issue was the hard part.  Let me take that back.  Finding chalk was the hard part! Never in my life did I ever imagine that finding plain, white teacher chalk would be so difficult!  I went to WalMart...no chalk.  I went to the Dollar Tree...no chalk.  I went to the Dollar General...no chalk.  Finally, I went to the place that I should've gone to in the first place...Hobby Lobby.  Actually, I did go there first but to buy the other stuff for the ornament.  Not chalk.  Doh!

Once I finally got the chalk, I took it home and treated the front side by laying the chalk on its side and covering the entire area.  I erased it and wrote this on it.  I figured her little boy could count down to Christmas, draw pictures on it, or write some festive messages. 


I couldn't send the ornament without any chalk...heaven forbid I send them on a wild goose chalk-chase!  So I took some Velcro and attached a small piece of chalk to the back of it and wrote on the back.  


So since this is an "exchange" I have to take the time to show you what I received!  After anxiously checking the mail every day like a crazy person, it came!  


Isn't it sooo cute??  I told her I was incorporating peacock feathers into my decor and she made me peacock ornament!  Oh, and blinged it out!  Thanks, Steph.....I love it!  And thanks, Dana for hosting the exchange.  If y'all want to, hop on over to Crafted Niche and check out all of the other ornaments people made!

Tippy Tuesday


One thing Tippy hates is when I'm watching basketball games....especially when the Cats are losing.  My language and tourettes-like outbursts make Tippy super nervous.  This is a great example of Tippy throughout the entire game....just imagine her also shaking. 


Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Tippy Tuesday

As I mentioned on Facebook last week, my dad saw a cat hanging out in the parking lot at Food City.  When he got home, there was the cat!  Yep, the cat managed to climb underneath his truck and "hitch" a ride home with my dad.  That's why we call her Hitch.  We are not cat people but we've all taken up with this cat.  Unfortunately, Hitch can't come inside because of the dogs so we're still looking for a good home for her.  She's sooo sweet and sooo cute too!  Anyway, here is a little video of Tippy meeting Hitch for the first time......Tippy's not a fan.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Tippy Tuesday

Let's look at the elements of this photo:  A piece of sausage.  Rocky with his eye on the prize.  Now I ask you....Do you think Tippy is A) smiling with excitement or B) about to rip his head off?


Monday, November 19, 2012

Cooking Challenge...Pinterest Style: White Chili

Hey, what's cookin'?!  I had some White Chili cookin' over here!  Yep, that was my latest recipe in my Cooking Challenge.  I found the recipe here and I actually thought it was pretty good!  It was very beany but I didn't mind because I looooove me some beans! 


There was only one thing I did differently.  In the recipe, she said it was a little soupy and it's probably because the recipe said to not drain the beans.  Since I'm not big on soupy stuff, I drained one of the cans and mine turned out perfect!  Oh, and adding a bit mozzarella cheese made it even better!!!


Using my rating scale:

1 - Dear recipe, RIP. Laters, Shari
2 - I'll cook it again....if I'm cooking for someone I don't like.
3 - Eh, if I already have the ingredients, I may whip it up.
4 - I like you, but I'm not in love with you.
5 - Get in my belly!

I give the White Chili a.......4.5

I would've given it a 5 if I didn't eat it for 4 days in a row and got slightly burnt out on it. 

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

An Ode to Mila....but not Kunis

Here's one you can file under I-meant-to-blog-about-this-4-months-ago.  My friend, Karmen had a baby back in June and I decided to let The Crafty Bachelorette come out and whip out a gift.  Maybe I shouldn't say "whip it out" because that makes it sounds like it didn't take much time.....but it did.  Like I did in this post, I drew out the design on graph paper (sorry, forgot to take photos).  I bought a book of some fonts and I had to decide what fonts I wanted to use based on how bold they were and how many stitches tall and wide it would end up being.  I wouldn't want the baby's weight and length to be a bigger font than her name!  Most of the fonts I used from the book but there were some that I created on my own.  I wish I could remember which fonts I created but since I made it 4 months ago, I really can't remember.  Sad, I know.  I'm thinking it was the line with the weight and length then the font in blue that says "Proud Parents".  I really didn't think it was going to take as long as it did but I didn't mind it because I was making it for someone else and gee, I sure do miss cross-stitching! 


I know it doesn't photgraph well so in case you can't read it, it says:
Mila Katherine (I love that name)
June 15, 2012 5:49pm
7lbs 8oz  20.5 inches
Proud Parents Karmen + Travis


Here's a better close up.


And here is a pic she posted on Facebook that shows it hanging in the nursery.  I love the yellow matting with the blue walls. 


And if you're wondering, I was able to get in to see the nursery beforehand and took some pics of the bedding and pulled out all of the colors from it. 

I think it turned out pretty....But not as pretty as that baby she popped out.  I swear, she makes some of the prettiest babies!

Tippy Tuesday

If this isn't the look of guilt, I don't know what is.


Sunday, November 11, 2012

Artfully Yours....or Mine

I'm sure you've heard about all of these cute little painting studios popping up where you can spend an hour or two painting a particular painting.  Some of them you can even bring in adult beverages!  There's one in Louisville called Sips n' Strokes.  Doesn't that name just scream a good time?  Get your minds outta the gutter!  Anywho, there's a new studio that opened up here in Richmond called Artfully Yours.  I don't think they actually advertise that you can bring beverages but we didn't need to because we spent 2 hours at Casa Fiesta before going to class.  Holla!....or should I say Hola!

It was super fun and I definitely want to go back!  Here's my masterpiece. 


I had a problem with my leaves....I kept making them to where they looked like they were flipping the bird! (Subconscience talking?) First, it was the one on the bottom left and I tweaked it so that it didn't look so crude.  Then I'll be darn if I didn't do it again on the very top one!  I decided to just leave it.  I mean, don't true painters paint what they feel?  That must have been what I was feeling so why cover up my true emotions.  Plus, it's kinda funny.

And here we both are with our paintings.   


We definitely plan on coming back!  Perhaps to the paint your pet class.....

As if Tippy needs any more shrines in my house!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Tippy Tuesday

Yesterday, I was sitting at my vanity putting my makeup on when I saw this going on behind me in the reflection of the mirror.

A couple of things to note:
1) Yes, that is Justin Bieber playing in the background.
2) Watch til the very end because the best part begins at the :24 mark.


Monday, November 5, 2012

It's here!! It's here!!

What's here, you ask?  Only the book written by my very favorite blog in the whole wide world Young House Love, that I pre-ordered on July 1st!  It's the same blog that I talked about here.


I received an email last week that it would actually arrive today but the UPS man (or was it Fed-Ex?) decided that Christmas should come early for me so he delivered it on Saturday!  Unfortunately (and ironically), I couldn't dive into it right then because I was getting dressed to drive 2 hours to Cincinnati to take a trip to IKEA.  Why is it ironic?  Well, IKEA is "their jam" and also Cincy was the very first stop on their first ever book tour....because this is their first ever book.  Sadly, I didn't get to make it to their book tour stop because I had already planned a little weekend girls' trip to Myrtle Beach.  I was sad that I couldn't be a part of their first stop on their book tour but I'm hoping I can catch them somewhere else even though all of their other stops aren't exactly close.  I think they're in the process of scheduling one in Atlanta so you can bet your britches that I'm gonna drive the 6 hours down there to see them! 

Before I get into my love affair with this book, let's back up to last week.  I stopped in Barnes & Noble to say hi to a friend that works there and thought that maybe I would just walk by the Interior Design section and just SEE if they already had it in stock.  I strolled by and look what I saw!


I was torn.  Should I "cheat" on my exclusive copy and look at one of these other books?  I didn't know what to do.  So I casually picked one up and my breaths were getting very short and shallow.....then I got light-headed because of my lack of oxygen.  I have to say that I've never reacted this way over a book.  A book, people.  A book!  So I rubbed my hand over the cover.  Turned it over and rubbed my hand on the back.  Should I open it?  I didn't know what to do.  I took a deep breath (still feeling light-headed) and opened the cover.  


Ahhh!  This may just look like a meaningless pattern to you but it's not.  They designed it themselves based on a little heart logo of theirs and turned it into a pattern that screams Young House Love!  When I saw saw this pattern, I knew this was fo' real.  I basically just slowly fanned the pages out so I wasn't technically cheating on my copy.  I was just getting a preview.  I mean, anytime Justin Timberlake comes out with a new movie, I know I'm gonna spend my money and check out his fine self.  Just because I watch the preview on TV and rewind it over and over again doesn't mean I'm not gonna enjoy every single second of the full-length movie.  

After my little rendezvous with the book, I put it back on the shelf and then hoped that all those people around me didn't actually see what had just happened with me and this book.  It was a private moment.  

Back to my copy!  I got home late Saturday night, slept in til about 9 but when I got up, it was on like donkey kong.  Before I even had my breakfast, I set up shop on the couch.  Stretched out on the couch with blanket....check.  Book....check.  Post-its to flag projects I want to do....check.  Tippy pouting because this book is going to more attention than her today.....check!


I seriously wanted to read every. single. word. of this book.  I even read this page....the page that nobody reads.  I'm tellin' ya.....I was serious about this book.  Oh, did I mention that I've never pre-ordered a book in my life?....And I ordered this one 4 months in advance.  


One page into the book and Tippy had the mentality of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."


Soooooo.....how big of a loser would I be if I told you about 6-7 hours later, I read all 336 pages.....all 10 chapters....all 243 ways to paint, craft, update & show my home some love.  The only thing I didn't read was the 10 pages of resources because I knew I could easily refer to those pages if I needed to know where something in their book came from.  Thank God for that extra hour we gained yesterday because that allowed me more time to park my butt on the couch and only get up to pee and eat.  Right before I was about to start reading chapter 5 about organizing, I realized it was 1:28pm and I should probably go brush my teeth for the first time today.  I'm not kidding.  I had this day completely blocked off for Young House Love.  I didn't even take the time to play with my new stuff I got at IKEA the day before....actually, it's still in the car. 

So my opinion of the book?  It's great.  It's cute.  They're cute.  I love how their sense of humor is all over it.  It was exciting.  It had great ideas.  Leave your house right now and go buy it....or just get on your computer and order it.  Actually....scratch that.  You'll have to wait for it to be delivered.  Go.  Right now.  Get it.  Oh, and check out their blog when you get back. www.younghouselove.com.  (Like they actually need my help in getting followers....Ha!)  But I'm not doing it for them.  I'm doing it for you.  You're life (and home) will be better.  Promise.

Update: Look who commented below!  Ahhhhhhh!!!!! 

Another update:  One of the photos I posted above made it in today's Young House Love post! This is the greatest day of my life!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Monday, October 29, 2012

Cooking Challenge...Pinterest Style: Nacho Jack-o-Lantern Cheese Ball

I'm back with another Cooking Challenge!  This time, it was for my sister-in-law's 3rd annual murder mystery birthday party.  When I saw the recipe, I was all over it like Kristen Stewart on her director.  It's basically like a Doritos Locos Taco from Taco Bell.  Sidenote: How fun is it to say "Doritos Locos Tacos" in a Spanish accent?  Just try it.  Fun, huh?  

Via Cooking Channel

So yes, that outer layer is crushed Doritos.  Click here for the full recipe.  It was super easy!

And if you're interested in how mine turned out....here she is!


In true Shari-fashion, I left out an ingredient.  Not kidding.  After I formed the cheese ball in a pretty pumpkin shape and I was cleaning up my mess, I saw the jar of salsa hiding under a Wal-Mart bag.  It was just 2 tablespoons of salsa so I wasn't about to reshape my pretty ball for 2 tablespoons of salsa.  Now...if I had left out the jalapenos, oh heck yes, I would tear that thing up faster than you can say Speedy Gonzales.

Using my rating scale:
1 - Dear recipe, RIP. Laters, Shari
2 - I'll cook it again....if I'm cooking for someone I don't like.
3 - Eh, if I already have the ingredients, I may whip it up.
4 - I like you, but I'm not in love with you.
5 - Get in my belly! 
I give the Nacho Jack-o-Lantern Cheese Ball a.......4
It had a great taste to it but I think it would be even better if it had salsa added to it.  It was a little hard but then again, I think it would have been softer if I added the salsa.  
 

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

My Dream Coffee Table(s)

I have been so excited about telling you all about this post but I'm just now getting a chance to write it.  For....oh....18 months or so, I've been without a coffee table ever since I turned my coffee table into my TV stand.  Since then, I've been looking and looking for a new coffee table.  I didn't know if I wanted an ottoman or an actual table.  What I did know was that I wanted something that was easy to move in case I wanted to move it out of the way to work out in my living room.  Ok, ok....so maybe it wouldn't be moved that much since I haven't worked out in my living room in months....but just in case I got a wild hair.

For about a year and half, I've been eying this table from CB2.  But I was thinking about taking 2 of these tables and placing them about 12 inches apart and making that my coffee table.  Well, the bad news is....one of these tables cost $149.  So if I bought 2, I was looking at $300!  Ouch.


One Saturday, I had some bags to take to Goodwill so I dropped them off and thought Well, I'll just check out the furniture section but I'm sure they won't have anything cool since I always seem to miss out on the cool stuff.

I turned the corner and holy moly guacamole! 

No, your eyes are not playin' tricks on you.  Trust me, I thought someone was tryin' to play a trick on me too.  This is legit.  Kinda like Coach Mitchell at UK's Big Blue Madness.  If you didn't see it, google it!  You won't be sorry.


I'm sure you're just dying to know how much I paid for them.


Yep. 5 dolla and 50 cents....Holla!  So for the pair, I paid a whoppin' 11 bucks plus tax.  Big difference from $300!  When I saw the price on these babies, I couldn't waddle myself with a table under each arm fast enough through those tiny clothes aisles. 

They were covered in dust, cob webs and definitely needed a good cleaning.  My plan was to wash them down and spray paint then with Krylon's Looking Glass spray paint to give it that look of the table from CB2.  Well, I washed them down real good with ammonia and even started sanding one of the tables.  Then life got in the way....and when I say life, I mean TV shows so I didn't get a chance to spray them.  

They sat outside for about a week and when it was about to start raining, I brought them inside.  They were kinda in the way so instead of keeping them in right in the middle of the hallway, I thought I would put them where they actually belong.  And come to find out, I actually liked them just the way they were.  Gold and all!  


I think Tippy even liked them.


The main reason I was going to refinish them was because of the corners.  This is probably to worst one but you really can't tell unless you're right up on it.  


I've been on the market for a new rug....one that actually fits the room and fits under the sofa and loveseat but I think the gold really works well with the rug I have right now.  So until I get a new rug, I think I may leave the tables gold for now.  And if I decide to keep them gold for the long haul, then maybe I'll give them a fresh coat of gold paint to freshen them up.


Wouldn't you know!  The other day, I came across this picture on one of my blogs.  This room was designed by the man.  The myth. The design legend. The one and only Nate Berkus.  The picture is kinda cut off but there are two gold tables......just like I have! 

Via Elle Decor
Maybe I'll embrace my gold cube tables and not change them to silver. I mean, if Nate Berkus is including them in his designs, then why shouldn't I? 

On a side note....have you noticed that you get a better sense of what a room looks like when you take a picture of it?  I know it sounds crazy, but I really didn't see what my living room looked like until I looked at these pictures and it's made me appreciate my living room much more....especially since I got these tables which helped finished it off.  I'm really digging all of the different patterns, textures and finishes I've put into my living room.  It just makes it feel....cozy and ecclectic. As Nate Berkus says, you want a room to look like things have been collected over time and not like you walked into a furniture store and bought everything in the room display. Now the other side of the room is a different story.  I still need to do some tweaking but for now, I'm liking the side of the room where I spent so much quality time with Tippy and my remote control.  :)