A Room Reno for a 10 Year Old!

My youngest daughter just turned TEN! It’s so crazy to think she’s already in the double digits! For her birthday she wanted a room renovation. She has a tiny little room and it was SO cluttered and crowded with SO much stuff so it ALWAYS felt so messy and disorganized. So along with giving her a few new things that were more her style, we had to find ways to maximize the space in her room. In case you aren’t sure how small I mean by tiny – it’s about 7 feet by 10 feet and I know people who have closets bigger than her room! Anyway, here are a LOT of photos of what we did.

 

Some before shots – keep in mind this was a crazy weekend for us and her room was EXTRA messy with junk, plus her mattress was in her sister’s room from a sleepover the night before. This is looking toward the right from the door of the room. 

 

And this is looking toward the left from the door of the room.

This is looking straight on, you can just about see the wall on both sides of the room.

 

First we emptied out EVERYTHING we possibly could with the exception of a couple pieces of furniture. I took down the window treatments and washed the super nasty, dirty windows and window sills.

 

We FILLED my dining room with all the junk from her room! I seriously thought it looked like an episode of Hoarders and could NOT believe ALL this stuff fit into that tiny little room! Seeing all that stuff motivated me that we had to get rid of some things and make the whole room more functional for her.

 

And this is the tiny closet. There was one shelf {around where the middle one is in this photo} and one bar for hanging clothes. But her closet was always a crazy mess and she never hung her clothes up properly. So we lowered the bar and added 2 extra shelves … you’ll see in the later pics how much more efficient this makes the tiny space …

Here is the ‘in progress’ photo – the walls are painted, the doors and trim are all painted and it’s just drying overnight.

 

In the morning we moved the furniture around. This bed is fabulous because it has drawers underneath, but it also had a bookcase headboard that held a lot of junk and just took up a couple extra feet of space – so we took the headboard away and it added a bit of space to the room. Every little inch of added space was helpful!! Side note, someday we will replace the rug, for now it was not in the budget and even though there is beautiful hardwood under it we feel that it warms up the room a lot to have a rug – so that will come at a later time.

 

See how the bed now butts up against the wall instead of a headboard, she really doesn’t miss the headboard at all at this point. I also painted that little dresser. It used to be in the closet and holds her PJ’s, socks and undies – but we pulled it out to use as a nightstand and I painted it to match the room. At the last minute I decided to try the Chevron look with some scotch tape and it came out pretty good! Not perfect but good enough!

 

On the other side of the room we put 2 bookshelves. We took the desk out of her room {it was just used to hold clutter and not really functional} and we purchased the cube style bookshelf {the tall one we already owned}. The black shelves you see near the ceiling are ones a friend of ours installed for us when we were pregnant with our first baby. They hold stuffed animals, trophies, etc. and have been a WONDERFUL thing to have in a little girl’s room for all these years {especially girls who like to collect lots of things!}.

 

I tried to cover her lampshade with fabric – UGH, I should have looked up a tutorial or something because it did not turn out well. But it’s there for now until I can do something better.

 

And I re-did her bulletin board since she has pretty much outgrown her Princess theme … I got some fabric that matched the room and some ribbon and buttons to match – a whole lotta hot glue later and it turned out great!

 

Here it is hanging on the wall before putting all her little mementos on it …

And with all her stuff …

 

And here is the AFTER of her room when you look into it from the doorway … it’s so light and bright and airy now!!! She got the new bedding for her birthday and we already had the curtains.

Because she’s 10 and she still needs to be allowed to ‘make it her own’ she was allowed to put up all her posters after the room re-do was all done.

The paper lanterns in the corner were something we already owned.

 

Here is her bedside area …

And the opposite wall with some things she already had. The little shelf was something she got a long time ago but we had never gotten around to painting. So I got a can of dark purple spray paint and painted it to go in the room. It turned out so cute!

Here is her tall bookshelf filled with her stuff. We got those blue bins at Five Below and they are fantastic for holding a lot of her things. She also has her American Girl doll bunks and other doll stuff over on this side of the room.

I labeled the bins so it will be easy for her to know where things go when she needs to put stuff away. I love how the inside of the bins has the same polka dots and colors of her bedding!

 

And here is her other shelving unit filled with her stuff. I got rid of a lot of stuff so it wouldn’t be totally overloaded. The trash can in the bottom right corner was also from Five Below and matches perfectly!

On the upper shelves she has lots of things that she doesn’t use much {if at all}. Trophies, snowglobes, stuffed toys, etc. …

After we got all the shelves in the closet I painted the WHOLE thing to match the room. Amazing how the color in the closet can already make it look so much better! I didn’t worry about doing a perfect paint job since no one will ever see it closely.

 

And then we filled it back up with her stuff! The highest shelf has some blankets that are just for extra use. The middle shelf has her instrument, some hats and some bins to hold special things she likes to save. The bottom shelf has 3 green bins {that we already had} and even though they don’t really match her current décor I thought it would be silly not to use them so in the closet they work just fine. I filled them up with her crafts supplies and let me tell you she has A LOT! It was SO nice to have a place to store all that since before it all cluttered up her desk area.

I also put a little hook on the left side wall to hang her necklaces from…

 

These bins also got labels so she can keep her things organized and put away. Having the closet set up this way has helped a lot! She has so much more storage space and there is a place to put everything away now!

Finally here is one last BEFORE picture of the room ….

And the AFTER!!

 

A Baking & Organizing Day

Part of trying to eat healthy is just simply being organized and having the right foods on hand. Most weeks I order my groceries online on Sunday night, and pick up curbside on Monday morning. It's great to start the week off with a full fridge and lots of fresh foods.

Today I decided it was also a good day to prep a bunch of things so not only is the healthy stuff 'in house', but it's also prepped and ready to go during those busy times. I mean a bag of Romaine lettuce is no good to me if when I'm totally starving it's still in the bag and not ready to eat yet!

I also wanted to tap into my Pinterest finds and make some of the things I've been pinning for months.

So here we go, first off I made some Taco Seasoning, this is something we use ALL the time and love so I actually quadrupled the batch.

Then I made a batch of my favorite Banana bread. This was actually my Grandma's recipe and it's always a hit. I will include the recipe at the bottom of the post. {It makes one large loaf or 3 of these mini loaves.} We ate one mini loaf for a snack this afternoon and froze the other two to use another day.

Then I cut my lettuce, washed it in the salad spinner and chopped up my veggies.  I keep the salad in the large bowl of the spinner in my fridge so I can have fresh salad whenever I want.

I made a batch of Crystal Light Pink Lemonade {my hubby and kids love it} and a pitcher of Green Tea with lemon {which is my fave drink of choice most days}.

Then I did homemade Whole Wheat Waffles. I would so much rather make these than buy Eggos! This batch made 8 LARGE waffles which I froze so the girls can have them for breakfast by simply reheating.

Then I *tried* to make homemade Almond Butter. Mine didn't come out so great but I don't have a food processor so I'm wondering if that is why? It still tastes pretty good, just isn't very creamy. I need to invest in a food processor!

I also tried the to make the Chocolate - Coconut Mousse from Pinterest but it also didn't come out quite right. Maybe I need to learn to follow directions better?! =) Mine was too runny and never really got thick and fluffy. So then I decided to freeze it and just eat it like frozen yogurt and that was pretty good. My girls didn't love it, but they don't really care for coconut and you can definitely taste the coconut flavor!

I hard boiled a dozen eggs so that we can use them on salads or make egg salad for lunches.

Lastly, in my crock pot cooking all day I did BBQ Pulled Pork. I honestly didn't follow much of a recipe. I basically just put a large Pork Shoulder roast in the crock pot and dumped a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce over the top and let it cook all day on low. It turned out amazing!

And that was my day! It's not as time consuming as it seems, I actually had many things going on at the same time {which makes for a messy kitchen!} so it probably only took a couple hours for everything.

Here is the Banana Bread Recipe:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup shortening {or butter}
2 med. ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
{Optional mix ins: chopped walnuts, mini choc chips, etc. Add 1/2 cup if you want but the bread is just as yummy without any extras.}

Mix everything together except your add ins. Stir those in by hand. Pour into a loaf pan that is greased or sprayed with Pam. Bake at 350 degrees for 65-75 min {for one large loaf} or 40-50 min {for smaller loaves} Bread is done when a toothpick comes out clean.

What have you been making lately?

Christmas Baking

There is just something about Christmas time that makes me want to bake! I used to make ALL sorts of things, but in recent years have learned that it's better to just narrow things down to just a few simple favorites.



The first step of course is to have all the proper ingredients on hand. So I pulled out the recipes I knew I'd want to make, made up a big grocery list of items needed, and headed off to Walmart. Yep, I figure it's only once per year that Christmas comes around so I'm gonna go with price over quality. =)



And all of this .... is what we came home with!






Don't these peppermint crunch baking chips look amazing? I can't wait to have them!

And THIS is what you get suckered into buying when your daughters shop with you ...

Here are the things I'm planning to make this season:

Cutout Sugar cookies - already made some for Bible study, but I know we'll make more.

Scotch Shortbread - just made a small batch last night cause I've been craving a little something sweet to have with my tea each evening.

Devil's Food Chocolate Cookies with Peppermint baking chips

Red Velvet Cookies with White Choc chips {never tried before but thought they sounded good!}

And that's it! Yeah, just got the oats and walnuts and such to have on hand just in case I decide to make something that needs them. {Otherwise they make a healthy breakfast too!}

And while I'm here, I might as well share the recipes, right? Cause I know you'll want to know them!

Scotch Shortbread

2 sticks of butter {don't EVEN try to sub something else, only REAL butter will do!}

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 cups flour

Mix all together, press down into a square 9x9 pan, then either poke some holes in the top or sprinkle with some festive colored sugars. Bake for about 20-30 min in a 300 degree oven. When mostly cooled cut into squares. This is soooo yummy and buttery and rich tasting. I can only eat small squares at a time!

Sugar Cookie Cutouts

Cream with a mixer:

3 eggs

2 sticks of butter

1 cup of sugar

Add:

1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Slowly mix in:

3 & 1/2 cups of flour {I may have even added more like 4 cups cause my dough seemed too sticky}

Chill dough in the fridge for an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Working on a floured surface, roll out your dough to desired thickness {my trick is to keep it fairly thick - you get MUCH nicer cookies!}

Cut with floured cookies cutters {I let the kids do this, they love it!}

Bake for 10-12 min until the dough looks dry but NOT brown. You may need to keep an eye on the first batch to figure out what the best amount of time is. Every oven and pan cook a bit differently.

{My other trick for cookies is using a Baking stone, like the kind from Pampered Chef, you get great cookies every time without burning the bottoms.}

Once they have cooled you can decorate with icing and sprinkles. The girls LOVE that part!

Devil's Food Cookies with Choc. Chips

One box of Devil's food cake mix

Mix with 1/2 cup of oil and

2 eggs.

Add 1 cup of {any kind} choc chips.

Form into balls and bake for 10-11 min at 350 degrees.

This can be edited with any kind of choc chips - I am going to use the peppermint chips with this cake mix.

I am also going to try using the Red Velvet cake mix with White Choc chips by using the same recipe but just changing the flavors - we'll see how they turn out!

And that's all, very simple but delicious recipes.

The Girly Weekend Update

Hey friends! I just realized that a whole week has gone by and I forgot to update on how our girly weekend went last week! If you remember, my hubby was away for the weekend with some buddies, so it was just us girls at home. This is what I posted that we had planned to do together:

Make: * Banana Bread * Pumpkin Bread * Pumpkin/Caramel Butter * Homemade applesauce *A new soup recipe

We also plan to ...
Have a spa night at home, watch movies, sleep in Mommy's room, go to Hope's soccer game, go to church, go to our Bible study group, and if I still have time I might try to work on my current organization project which is my basement/craft area.

Well, we DID get all our baking done … we did 5 loaves of Banana bread, 5 loaves of pumpkin bread, 12 jars of applesauce and 6 jars of the caramel/pumpkin butter. We also had the new soup and great news – it was a hit! A bit on the spicy side but after a LONG day it was great to come home to hot, yummy soup that was all ready to eat. The girls and I gobbled it up!

Hope accidentally turned the mixer onto HIGH and the flour went everywhere! We could NOT stop laughing!

This was our first taste of warm Banana bread with Pumpkin/Caramel butter on it – delish!

The first night we got a movie from the Red Box and did a Spa night. We soaked our feet, did our nails and just relaxed while watching the movie.

Oh and of course, we had a special dessert – brownie sundaes!

On Saturday we went to Hope’s soccer game – which they WON! Then we went to a Fall Carnival at the school where some of our friends go, then we went to see Dolphin Tale at the movie theater. It was a busy, but fun day {no pictures, sorry!}. Then we came home, had the soup and watched The Indian in the Cupboard from Red Box.

I have to tell you – we all LOVE, LOVE, LOVED Dolphin Tale! It was such a wonderful story in a million ways. I swear I had a lump in my throat & tears in my eyes through the WHOLE thing! And I loved that they didn’t add any stupid love story stuff in it so it was great for kids. There was a young girl and boy in it and also a single woman and single man in it – both of which you could ALMOST see how many movies would have made either of them into a romantic type relationship – but not this movie! I just can’t say enough about it, it was great!

On Sunday we got up and went to church, then I got a surprise when my friend offered to take both girls to play with her daughters for the afternoon. So with Bob away and the girls at a playdate I ended up going out to lunch with my Mom and some of her friends, and then running a couple errands. By the time I got home I only had about an hour before I had to leave again for our Bible Study small group. {The girls were there, the hosts are the friends they went to play with.} So I went to Bible study and got the girls and when we came home Bob was home.

All in all we had a GREAT weekend!

My week - day six

Day six - Saturday. I love a quiet, lazy Saturday morning! Saturday is the one day when I allow the girls to watch cartoons when they get up in the morning. This gives me plenty of un-interupted quiet time ... alone. (well of course I have my Bible, journal, books, and COFFEE!)
After that I check my email and favorite blogs ...
And start some loads of laundry ...
H had a noon soccer game so we head out to the field. Bob works some Saturdays so unfortunately he couldn't watch the game. His parents usually come though. This is before the game -
H did great and even scored a goal at this game! We were hootin' and hollerin' - we were so proud!
After the game the girls and I had some errands to run. We ran home to change and grab a PB sandwich for the road and then headed out. One errand stop was the consignment shop to look for winter stuff for the girls - we had some success and were happy about the prices ...
Later that afternoon the girls played outside while I cleaned house ...
Then they came in to help me bake some cookies!
My little helper wearing an apron that I used to wear as a child!
This is what happens when you run out of flour while making cookies - they go FLAT! Oh well, they still tasted good!
Then I browned up a big double batch of ground beef. Might as well cook the extra now and save time later.
We usually wait until Bob gets home to have dinner. Sometimes the girls eat earlier but this night we all wanted to eat together so we could have TACOS, one of our family's favorites!
After the kids were in bed I really wanted to scrapbook ... but first I had to fold some more clothes ...
Then I could get busy scrappin' ...
And I know this is the first time I've mentioned it - but I always end my night by reading. Even if I stay up way too late and am totally zonked, I always read a little. It helps me wind down and get sleepy.