Living Room Makeover NEEDED!

So I need a living room makeover desperately!  We moved into this apartment just over a year ago and we have two little girls so toys are everywhere!  However, our budget is tiny.  I'm not repainting the walls and I'm not getting new furniture so I need to work with what I've got and spend just a little money.

And I introduce my home - in all it's glory - (please ignore the mess - I always feel sad when I see pictures of people's homes online and they look amazing and then I think - their house can't possibly look like that all the time!). 

I am thinking of adding green accents to the living room.  I was thinking of making dining room cushions with this fabric:

54'' Wide Premier Prints Amsterdam...

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Click for larger image and other views         I am  thinking of building a faux fireplace where the tv is (sort of as a new entertainment center).                   Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

Avery's Friend Lucy

Please check out Avery's blog and learn about her friend Lucy.  Lucy is just shy of turning 3 and she is still proving doctors wrong by living!  She was diagnosed with SMA type 1 when she was just a baby and given the same diagnosis as Avery.  Avery's website lists places you can make donations to help raise money to fight SMA.

Bubble Guppies Cake!

Hi Everyone,
Sorry I've gone missing.  My house has been plagued with sore throats and the croupy cough!  So not much sleep has been happening!  Plus my other half has been going on lots of interviews which is great - we just hope it pans out to something!

So I wanted to share how I made the Bubble Guppies cake!  I made a chocolate cake with vanilla butter cream frosting!

Cake Ingredients (from Taste of Home Baking)
3/4 cup of butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 cups of flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups of milk

1. Grease your pans (this recipe calls for 3 9-in round baking pans - I made the cake twice using a square pan)
2. in large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light & fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beat in vanilla.
3. combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt & baking powder - add to creamed mixture alternately with milk.
4. transfer to pans and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry.

Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
5 to 6 tablespoons of milk

1. in bowl cream sugar until light & fluffy.
2. beat in confections sugar (to me it helped to beat in the sugar slowly - maybe 1/4 cup at a time.
3. add vanilla
4. add enough milk for desired consistency
** NOTE: do not make the butter cream in a hot kitchen and work quickly otherwise the butter will separate (which started to happen to me).

I put some frosting in the middle of the cake.  The next batch of butter cream I colored blue to look like the ocean.

Bubble Guppies Topping
Fondant!
Use the Nick Jr. templates to cut out the bubble guppie shapes from the fondant.  You will need food coloring to color the bubble guppies skin and "clothes".
Don't be afraid of fondant it's much easier to use than I expected- but use confectioners sugar to prevent sticking to your hands and use water to attach the pieces to one another.

When you're done attach the bubble guppie to the top of the cake - and there you go!

 

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day All!!!

I hope everyone out there had a great day with their families.  Mine was interesting to say the least.  My husband was supposed to have an interview - he went to the restaurant but they forgot it was Mother's Day when they set it up and realized it was too busy to have an extra body in the kitchen.  And I was home with my 2 sick girls till he got home.   Overall a busy day.  But I did get a beautiful mug with pictures on it, 2 fabulous cards and a fantastic dinner!  So a success.

What did everyone else do for Mom's Day?  Any favorite traditions?

Survived the party!

I survived (or we all did) the party!  IT was a ton of fun and my BIG GIRL had a great time!  Below is a picture of the cake I stressed a great amount over.  I made a chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream frosting in the middle, blue buttercream frosting for the top and then I made the bubble guppies out of fondant.  The fondant was much easier to work with than I expected.  I got the templates for the Bubble Guppies from Nick Jr.'s website.  I made the little sign that says Happy 2nd Birthday Erin and taped it to 3 lollipop sticks.

What are some great things you have made lately!?

Hump Day!

Well friends - I'm having a busy week.  When I get home I can't seem to get anything done!  I'm hoping after E's birthday party on Saturday life will calm down and then I'll be able to concentrate on some things. 
Any ideas for fun crafty things to do with a two year old?
Thanks!

Avery

Yesterday Avery passed away.   Tonight after putting my girls down I was going to write Ellen another note asking her to recognize Avery and her family as inspirational people.  I logged in and saw her blog.  I immediately began to cry.  It's not fair that a beautiful little girl - not even a year was stolen from this world.  However, in such a short time Avery inspired thousands of people.  Her message about SMA was spread - she has educated people.  Avery made me smile on countless occasions and made me appreciate and love even more the things I have.  We are all given a life to live - some of us are blessed with long lives and some are cut short.  Avery had a bucket list - and in just a few short months crossed many things off her list - some small things like getting her picture taken with the Easter bunny and large things like getting kissed by a boy.  Honor her by take a risk and doing the things you really want to do but perhaps you think you don't have time or you doubt yourself or whatever the reason - try to get those things done.  But more importantly help honor her by spreading the message about SMA.  Please visit her website: http://averycan.blogspot.com/ - there they will connect you to a place where you can make a monetary donation.  Please keep Avery and her family in your prayers.
This is the last picture taken of Avery before she passed away - always smiling - God Bless.

Goodbye April!

Mondays...what can be said about Mondays...nothing good!
Except for the fact that Andy Cohen host of Watch What Happens Live is now on in the background.  Gotta love him.  How he controls those crazy housewives I just don't know!
I really don't have much to say.  I'm exhausted - we had one of those crazy weekends and I didn't feel well on Saturday.  Okay I keep getting logged out!
Must be off!
xo world

This was one of those weekends that I didn't get much done.  I made the Mr. Grouper cake and it tasted delicious but Mr. Grouper didn't look so happy.  So my cake shall go in another direction.  Yesterday we were at a 1st birthday party which was cute.  And today we celebrated my brother's birthday at a restaurant - in my family that's unheard of!  We usually just have a family dinner at home.  In any case here are two pictures of the same tree that I pass everyday on my way to work.  I call it the dancing tree - just look at the way the branches extend.

Now in black & white.

Our Chicklets

Tonight I have spent the better part of the evening making a run through cake for my daughter's 2nd birthday party.  The "theme" is Bubble Guppies - you know that really cute show on Nick Jr.  It's the show that makes her sing, dance, giggle and eat her breakfast, lunch & dinner!  So how could I not throw her a party with bubble guppies everywhere? My idea is to bake a chocolate cake in the shape of
Mr. Grouper (seen here).  Yes I think it's challenging and I might fall flat on my face!  But hopefully I will have some kind of picture to post tomorrow.  I think part of my whole obsession with her birthday is that I'm back to work and I have worker's guilt.  I want to be supermom - even though I know it's impossible.  And I think part of me wants to make an impression.
Well we shall see what happens tomorrow.  I made the buttercream frosting and it's the best frosting I have made to date - so at least that worked out!

OHHH the things we go through for our chicklets!