Blue Chest

Since Cory and I have moved into our new apartment, I have found the need (or should I say want?) for some more furniture for our bedroom. In our old apartment I stored my jewelry in a small cabinet in our "office" which was where I would get ready in the morning because 1.it had a full length mirror there, 2. it was close to the bathroom, and 3. Cory was usually sleeping because his classes started later than 8:00. In our new place we now have the luxury of having a full length mirror in our bedroom, a bathroom attached to our room, and Cory gets up when I do to go to work. Therefore, I need a place to keep my jewelry in our bedroom.

Last Saturday Cory and I found this little dresser-ish thing at a local antique store.

It was labeled as an entertainment center, but it looks very similar to the bottom half of the china cabinet that I painted last year.

The first thing I did (or Cory did) was tear out the wooden spindles.

Then I took off all of the hardware. I already had some new pulls for the drawers that I had bought for the china cabinet but didn't work out. I was really excited to get to use them.
Next I sanded the whole thing and primed it.
The new pulls were a little wider than the old ones so we had to fill in the holes with wood filler and then sand that down.
After it was primed, I applied Valspar Aqua Mist paint to the chest. I was excited to use Valspar paint at first because it supposedly had a primer mixed in it. I thought since I had already primed the piece with primer that I would only have to paint one coat on the whole thing. Boy, was I wrong. I had to paint 3 coats on it and 4 in some places. I surely won't use that kind of paint again. I will stick to Glidden from now on.
After I painted it a few times I decided to distress it. I wanted to go for an antique/country cottage vibe. (also I took a poll--thanks, Josh & Heidi) . I distressed it by gently sanding the edges of the chest.
Then Cory put some chicken wire on the backs of the door for me. I really like the look of the doors with the wire, but I didn't want all of our junk to be exposed so I made some linen curtains to put behind the wire.


Ta-da! I know this look isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it's right up my alley. I would love to put this in a (large) bathroom one day and take the curtains off and have this as a towel/toilet paper/other bathroom items holder.
But for now, it serves it's purpose wonderfully. It holds my earrings box in one drawer and my necklace box in the other drawer. On top I have my little bird jewelry holder that my sweet grandparents gave me for Christmas. Sadly, it doesn't hold all of them, but it sure is cute. It also holds Cory's "jewelry holder" aka men's vallet that the same grandparents gifted this year.
The pictures kind of make the cabinet look white. The actual color looks more like this:
Here's a before and after shot side by side. Thanks for stopping by. I hope everyone is doing well. :)

Caramel Pie

Here's a recipe that I'm sure most of you know. If you don't know it then it may surprise you to see how it's made...or at least surprise your husband. It's really easy but it takes a while to make. I decided to make this pie one day last week when I was out of school for the snow because, like I said, it does take a while to make. The recipe calls for condensed milk which was a bad choice being a snow day because Wal-mart was completely out of it. I forgot that it's used in snow cream. I had the hankering for this pie though, so Cory so sweetly took me to a pretty sketchy grocery store close to our new place.

For this recipe you will need:

1 large graham pie crust

2 cans condensed milk

1 small tub Cool Whip

mini-chocolate chips *optional*

First you take the labels off of the cans of milk.
Then you place the cans in a large stock pot, preferably in a pot that doesn't have a Teflon coating because it may chip.
Now fill the pot with water cold water.
Make sure you fill the pot with water until it covers the cans about 2 inches over.
Now bring the water to a boil. This is what takes a while. Boil the cans for a total of 3 hours (or 3 1/2). Check on your cans every 30 minutes to turn them over and also to add more water to the pot. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT that the cans are under water the whole time or they can explode!

This is also the "husband surprising" part because he looked in the pot and looked at me confused that I was boiling cans.
After about 3 hours your cans should feel a little heavier and bulgy. Take the cans out and make sure you are wearing oven mitts. Let them sit for a few minutes to cool a little bit and then carefully open the cans. I say carefully, because when I did, caramel squirted out on my head. It was quite funny. Anyway, it should look like this:
Pour both cans of caramel into the pie crust and sit in the fridge for about an hour or so, or until it has cooled. Then top the pie with some Cool Whip.
And then some chocolate chips if you like.
Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. I refrigerated it for 8 hours and it was perfect.

See? Very simple, but takes a while. It's definitely worth the time.

Change of Post

I was going to post a recipe tonight but instead I'm going to post a prayer request (I seem to do that a lot on here---but it sure helps) In the past two weeks I have heard of so many families going through tough times and it truly breaks my heart. The year has just begun and I have heard of many deaths, sicknesses, and misfortunes. One bit of bad news that I just learned about yesterday was a dear friend of mine's dad has been diagnosed with leukemia. He is actually a close family friend and such a sweet, sweet man. He would honestly do anything for anyone and has treated me like one of his own daughters many times growing up. He is also a very strong man and I'm confident he will overcome this obstacle with the support of his family & friends and the healing power of God. Please pray for Jackie and his family as he goes through this process. Thanks.

Spaghetti a la Philly & Hitler Cat

So since I've last posted, Cory & I have moved into a new apartment. We've been unpacking for a few days and enjoying the beautiful snow that God has given us.

Tonight I'm posting a super simple recipe that you've probably seen on the inside of a Philadelphia cream cheese box. It's called Spaghetti a la Philly and it's delicious. I confess, the first year Cory and I were married I made spaghetti quite often because it is inexpensive and quick. Now, we didn't eat it every week but often enough that we kind of got burned out on it (or at least I did). When I found the recipe I had to try it. When I did it blew Cory's socks off. He thought it was something fancy that took me a while to prepare, little did he know. :)

All you need for this tasty dish is:

1/2 lb spaghetti,uncooked

1 lb ground beef

1 jar spaghetti sauce

4 oz cream cheese, cubed (half a package)

2 TBS parmesan cheese (I left this out tonight)

Cook the noodles according to the package directions.

While the noodles are boiling, brown the meat.

After the meat has browned, drain it and return it to the pan.

Stir in the sauce and cream cheese and cook for about 3-5 minutes.
Or until it is heated through. The sauce will lighten up a bit and almost look orangey.
Drain your noodles and you are done! The next picture looks like Pac-Man going in for a bite. I didn't plan it that way.
And now for Hitler cat. While Cory and I were looking around for apartments/houses we met a little cat that I thought looked like Hitler. Therefore, for the brief moments that I knew this cat his name was Adolf.
Adolf didn't have a tail which made him pretty hard core.
Don't you see the resemblance?

Hello 2011

I'm just writing to let you know that I am (and have been for 11 days) moved back to the Shoals area. Notice I said "moved back", not "moved in", because Cory & I are still searching for a place to rent. My parents are graciously hosting us until we find something. I have felt much love with multiple offers of places to stay in while we hunt, but living with mom and dad isn't bad. Hopefully we'll find something soon though so we don't overstay our welcome. Also, it would be nice to have everything unpacked and located. Tonight I have been searching for items and it's driving me nuts! Anyway, I'm here and with my man, so it's all good. ;)

I'm really excited about a new year. I'm hoping it is much better than 2010. While 2010 had it's ups it also had some pretty awful downs. Living here and having a job has started this year off well. Speaking of, my new job starts tomorrow so any prayers would be much appreciated. I'm excited and terrified at the same time. I'm not too sure what to expect but I'm going to take it on.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas time. Cory & I had a great Christmas catching up with family, old friends, and eating tons. We are so blessed to have such loving family & friends and received such incredible gifts. One gift that has brought smiles to my face this week is my new Boo calendar. (Thanks again, Ruth Ann!)

Another nice gift was a new camera. I can't wait to take some cool pictures for this old blog soon.

I hope everyone has a great week, especially my teacher friends who have to wake up early again. :)