Painted Easter Eggs

It's been another crazy week in our end of the world, hence, the spotty blog posting. Spring Break started yesterday, though, so hopefully I will remedy that very soon. Today I just wanted to stop by to share our egg handiwork that we worked on today. We always dye eggs; however, this year we decided to also bust out some acrylic paint and see what we could create. I've pinned some pretty amazing egg decorating ideas on Pinterest but I knew, in reality, with Audrey helping some of those ideas were just way out of our league. We came up with some pretty snazzy eggs, though. I think the Easter  Bunny will be impressed.  

 

We did a thumbprint egg. One side is Audrey's with her name and age. The other side of the egg is Will's.

 

This next egg was all Audrey. I'm kinda digging the tie dye look.

 

A speckled egg was a must have.

This is our version of a dipped egg. 

 

By far my favorite is Audrey's blingy fabulous bejeweled egg.

 

And, our collection wouldn't be complete if I didn't do some sort of chevron effect.

 

From our home to yours, have a Happy Easter!

 

**I have several projects in the works that you can expect to see in future posts, such as, an updated dining table, our front door reveal, and someone's first birthday party.

 Check back soon for all of this and more!**

"Bear"ied Treasure

I must warn you now. If you happen to be a fan of Boyd's Bears this post may be extremely disturbing to you; however, if the harming of a few bears doesn't bother you than please keep reading.

 

 

I have had this tray stashed away for years now. I received it as a Christmas present and as adorable as it is, it never really felt like me. So, it has been buried at the bottom of my hutch hoping that one day somebody will love it enough to display it proudly.

 

As I was going through our things in preparation for our impending move; I needed to make a decision about this tray. Keep? Toss? Donate? But wait, I thought of another option -- give it new life!

 

I decided a glossy white tray would be super chic in our new place. I primed it with some Zinsser spray primer and then applied a few coats of Rustoleum white gloss spray paint. Yes, I sprayed right over  those sweet bears. I felt a little guilty as I covered those dear little faces once and for all.  

 

As you can probably tell, the bears were printed on six different 6x6 square tiles. To give the tray a whole new look, I decided to cover the tiles with scrapbook paper. I headed to Hobby Lobby to see what I could find. I knew I wanted a pop of color and a fun pattern. I decided on this turquoise chevron look.

 

 

I like it but I don't know if I love it. It was a little tricky to get the pattern to line up.

 

 

 

It will hopefully be perfect once I find a home for it in the new place. The great thing about scrapbook paper, though, is that i can always change it up if I feel the need.

 

 

 

So, what do you think?

Completely disturbing or completely brilliant?

A Life in Lists

Well, hello there. It's been awhile, hasn't it? I'm sorry I haven't been around, lately. Sometimes blogging must take a backseat so that I can successfully  wear my other 10,000 hats. I also think that my posts are feeling a bit disjointed. Part of that is because I'm stuck in limbo waiting for our house to be done. Once we move in and I can start making it a home, I'll have a plethora of things to share. Right now, well, not so much. For all of you who are sticking around despite all of that. Thank you! I love you for it!

To remedy my, "It's 10:00 PM on Monday night and I have no idea what to post tomorrow problem that I've been having," I've decided I need to start keeping a to-do list of projects or tasks I want to accomplish that will also be share-worthy over here on Inspired Adventures. I mean this is a no-brainer, right? I make to-do lists for every other aspect of my life so why wouldn't I have one for blogging?

Last weekend, I began the monotonous task of going through some of our things to prepare for the move. My goal is to shed anything that we absolutely don't need so that we are beginning fresh in the new place. I am also boxing up anything that we can do without until we move. Check out my wall of boxes!

There are about a half-dozen bags in my car, too, ready to be donated. It's like I'm nesting all over again. Getting just a little taste of this feels so good and has motivated me to keep moving forward. In addition to this project, here are a few other things I hope to accomplish in the upcoming weeks...

• Despite the wonders it is doing for my kitchen, find a place to store my wall of boxes. It is a safety hazard, after all, with a baby crawling around.
• Update our kitchen table
• Find new chairs for the kitchen table or redo our old ones (ignore or sand away the teeth marks left by dogs)
• Make a dining room table (yes, I said make)
• Go thrifting, yard-sailing, or Craigslisting for: (don't you love when a list has a list?)
• 6-8 dining room chairs
• entryway table
• frames
• mirrors
• birdcages for Audrey
• mid-century dresser for our bedroom
• desk or vanity for Audrey
• Take Will's 1-year pictures and Audrey's 5-year pictures (pretend I'm not 4 months late on that)
• Get started on the daunting task of covering our walls of windows in the new place
• Plan Will's 1st birthday party (this could have a list, too, but I won't do that to you)
• Redo a tray that I've had on the back burner for awhile now
• Get crafty for Easter

I think that's enough for now. This should keep me quite busy for a little while. Good thing I have Spring Break coming up in a week. Let's do this!

Coffee Stop

Image via www.truewestcoffee.com

There are few things that I love to do more than to  kickback at a local coffee shop and enjoy a warm vanilla latte. Even better is when I get to do that while amongst friends and good conversation (especially the adult variety since I'm around five and six-year-olds all day long). Last night, I was able to do just that with a few of my wonderful Ohio Writing Project colleagues. I received my Masters degree in teaching through this amazing program. Follow the link and check it out! A small group of us OWPers headed to one of my favorite spots for a chance to reconnect and chat about all things teaching, writing, reading, and whatever else happened to be on our minds.

This latest coffee stop took place at True West Coffee. I adore this place and fell deeply in love with it the first time I ever stepped into its fun and colorful atmosphere. I find myself being inspired by every little detail that the owners put into decorating this hip little place. I thought I would share a few snippets of why I love it and why I smile every time I'm here!

Let's start with the fireplace mantel. I love owls and so do the owners. These amazing little owl figurines are all over the place. I love the way the orange mirror pops against the turquoise wall and I love the crafty little garland.

 

Adjacent to the fireplace is this yellow, leather sofa. How fun is this! I wish I could have gotten a better shot but the space was tight. It's obvious that it is totally vintage and totally uhhh-mazing!

 

 

To the right of the counter is this cute little end table made from license plates. So unique!

 

 

I can never visit without checking out the gift section. I especially love these handmade necklaces. They are made from recycled cardboard. Really? How'd they do that?

 

 

Let's now head into the dining area. Here are just a few things that were catching my eye.

 

 

 

 

Isn't that gallery wall super  cute? So much of the artwork is handmade by local artists. A few pieces are even for sale.

 

Let's head upstairs, shall we? Oh, wait. Are those painted stair risers that I see?

 

 

If  you think the steps are cool, wait until you see what is at the top of the stairway. Yes, those are stenciled, teal wooden floors! I must do this in my new house...somehow!!! I have some ideas abrewing.

 

 

Here is the view from the second floor. Such cute little stars. Wouldn't those be fun in a kid's space?

 

 

This orange desk is super cute, too! I love that the owners share my weakness for old, yet, freshly painted furniture.

 

 

I leave you now with this little guy dreaming of what lies beyond the glass. If I were him, though, I'd be thankful that I live in such a fun and inspiring space!

 

 

 

 

 

What's for Dinner?

This is a question that I seem to be asking myself all of the time. Preparing dinner really isn't my thing. I can bake desserts all day long but when it comes to cooking a meal, I often find myself feeling a little uninspired. With that said, there are those recipes that I always rely on when I need a quick and nutritious meal for my family. Today I am going to share one such recipe. This is a delicious chicken and zucchini soup. I got this recipe from my mother-in-law several years ago and it never disappoints. Instead of keeping this little gem to myself, I thought I would share it in case you, too, are asking yourself "What's for dinner, tonight?"

To begin I cut up about 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I saute the chicken with red onions and garlic in olive oil on medium heat until the chicken is cooked thoroughly. I also add a little pepper for taste.

 

While that is cooking, I chop up three medium zucchinis and add them to the mix.

 

 

Once the zucchini is mostly tender, I add four cans of Italian tomatoes.

 

 

It's a little chunky at this point, so I take a slotted spoon to mash the tomatoes a bit and stir it all together. Doing this gives it a consistency that we're happy with but you could also add a little water if you'd like. Simmer on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes.

 

 

And, that's it! It is so easy, so quick, and delicious. It is also packed full of healthy goodness and leaves you feeling full and satisfied. I love to serve it up with some fresh multigrain french bread. Yum!

 

 

Do you have any go-to dinner recipes that you love. I'm always on the lookout for new ideas.

 

Happy cooking!

 

 

A Good Night for Some Aimless Wandering

After a long, busy week (even with a snow day) I was in desperate need for a little Target therapy last night. That is, meandering the aisles aimlessly looking for nothing in particular and simply enjoying the sights along the way. So, with my two little loves in the cart we began our trek around the store. As we wandered, I began to notice several things that would work really well in Audrey's new bedroom. Earlier this week, I shared this mood board and I kept these ideas in mind as I snapped some pics of things that she and I both loved for her room.

We saw these mirrors that looked very close to the inspiration piece above the desk. There was this larger one...

 



 

And this cute set of three much smaller mirrors. I think the larger one would be a little more functional, though.

 

 

 

We didn't find much in the way of pillows except for this fun, fuzzy one. Audrey loved the feel of it and I think it would be a nice way to add texture to her room.

 



 

There was a lot in the way of fun ceramic animals. Audrey oooohhhed and ahhhhhhed over this turquoise unicorn.

 

 

Personally, I was giddy over this cutie pie bird.

 

 

"Oh, hello, Mr. Crab! How would you like to come live with us?"

 

 

This Nate Berkus basket is to die for! Looooove it!

 

 

In keeping with the storage theme, we also liked this paint-dipped wire basket.

 

 

This woven frame was also amazing! So unique! I love that it would add a little natural wood to Audrey's mostly white furniture.

 

 

This white, wooden frame was very sweet. I asked Audrey to pick out a frame she liked among several options and she gravitated towards this one. She does have good taste, doesn't she?

 

 

A pop of pink on the wall like this frame would be super cute. I would never buy this though because I could easily recreate it with a thrift store frame and some spray paint. Just add it to my project list.

 

 

With that, we ended our perusing in the home department. We didn't buy a single thing. As I've said before, I don't want to commit to anything until we are actually in the house and I'm putting the room together. Plus, I have absolutely no interest in storing anything else in our current house!

 

We did leave with a couple of fun things, though. One being these adorable rolls of gift wrap that we found in the $1.00 bins. I love the patterns and thought they would be pretty as drawer liners or even framed as artwork.

 

 

Oh, and I rarely ever leave Target without a new notebook. This lovely was a steal on clearance for 98 cents! I couldn't pass that up! I may even use it in Audrey's room on her desk. Who knows?

 

 

Well this is where the shopping trip ends. Thanks for tagging along with us. Hope you picked up a few ideas for your own space along the way. Have a wonderful weekend!

Girly Bedroom

 

Things have been a little busy around here lately. Between doing what we can to get our house finished, report cards, and just life in general I haven't had much time for much else. I also spend a lot of time being preoccupied with thoughts of decorating our new house. I'm always running through each room in my head and trying to imagine what they should look like. As I've done this, I realized that it was high time that I made a mood board for Audrey's bedroom. I have a feeling that the kids' bedrooms will be the first places that we put together. Mostly, because we already have the walls painted and we're using most of their current furniture. So, here is what I've been dreaming up for Audrey. Of course, she's given me a lot of input. And, that input usually begins and ends with the word, pink. I suggested that we also use black, gray, and a little turquoise in her room and she seemed okay with that. I hope that she loves it when she sees what I came created for her.

 

 

 

We already have the white bed and headboard and we will most likely continue to use Audrey's bedding. It is a light pink comforter with flowers. She likes it so I have no plans of changing it right now. I thought the gray fabric would make some gorgeous curtains that would be a nice neutral to go with the pink accent wall.

 

I am hoping to find an old desk that will double as a vanity. I'd like to paint it white and pair it with a black mirror. Different types of art, natural baskets, and a framed chalkboard will bring the room together. It looks like I need to go shopping! I also see some projects in my near future in the form of a mirror, those chalkboard jars, curtains, and pillows for the space. I am itching to get started on this. How great would it be if we were in the new place over Spring Break so I have time to get stuff done? A girl can wish, can't she?