Travis & a Recipe

My mother in law has been in the market for a new recliner for a while now, and we finally found the perfect one. I am not a recliner person at all, but I fell in love with this chair. The leather is gorgeous, and smells like heaven. Meet the Travis:

I can not wait for this chair to come in.

On another note...we had a great Memorial Day, swimming in the neighborhood pool, grilling, and throwing frisbee in the yard. It was perfect.

I tried a new recipe last Friday night and loved it. It is too easy and too good not to share!

Shrimp and Grits Casserole:
YIELD: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)
COURSE: Casseroles, Main Dishes
Ingredients
2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1 (3-ounce) package 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 large egg whites
1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp, coarsely chopped
Cooking spray
Hot pepper sauce (optional)

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Combine milk and broth in a medium heavy saucepan; bring to a boil. Gradually add grits and salt to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook 5 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan, butter, and cream cheese. Stir in parsley and next 4 ingredients (through shrimp). Spoon mixture into an 11 x 7–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until set. Serve with hot pepper sauce, if desired.

Julianna Grimes, Cooking Light MARCH 2008

Enjoy!

If you are interested in ordering any furniture from Drexel Heritage, please email me for info.

New Look

Obviously, I re-did the blog. I love my time with Lillian, and would not trade it for anything in the world! Being a full-time mom is all I have ever wanted. I do, however, desparately miss the daily inspiration of working with fabrics, furniture, and design. So, I am hoping this blog will suffice for now. (and maybe even generate some business!) Thank you Jenny for turning my business card into a header, and for being my only reader! :-) I do sell drapes, and now furniture from my favorite line, so please email me if you have any questions, or are interested in my help!

Kitchen Before and After

Our kitchen when we bought the house: The backsplash, countertops, and floor were all the same ugly tile. We replaced the backsplash with tumbled stone on a diagonal, and replaced the countertops with granite. The island already had a granite slab top, so I had to match it. We popped up the bar and trimmed it out with beaded boards and added corbels. We antiqued all the cabinets, painted the island an ebony color and antiqued it, and tore out those hideous pendants and replaced them with one chandelier. The wall color and ceiling color were also changed to a slightly more golden neutral.And the after:

Please excuse the blurry photo, hopefully you get the idea. It is time for a new camera.

I love this kitchen and how it functions. Normally, you never see the cooktop in front of a window (this one has a snorkel draft), but it has been nice. I spend so much time there, and I like looking out the window, instead of staring at stone tiles. Our next house we will build ourselves, and I want a similar kitchen, but we will do the standard sink under the window and the cooktop in front of a backsplash with an overhead draft.

Anyways...we have had painters in the house yesterday and again today, doing some touch-ups, and trying to keep Lil out of their way has not been fun!

Happy Friday!!!

Ramblings

Im still here. I haven't been able to decide if I want to keep this up or not. Dustin hates the "publicness" of it, and I've started to agree with him. Not to mention that chasing after a sixteen-month-old and keeping house keeps me busy enough. Anyways, I decided to post a few random thoughts today. My Lil has gotten so big. She is fearless. She loves to run around with older kids - she thinks she is twelve. She is FULL of personality and makes us laugh all the time. Books, Blues Clues, playing outside, singing and dancing, strawberries, and butterbeans are her favorites. Have you seen the new Stages magazine? She has a full page ad. :-)

In other news...Our house is for sale! If anyone is looking in Reunion, let me know! We have four bedrooms, three and a half baths and a large keeping room, formal living and dining. The house backs up to walking trails and has a huge front/side yard. We love Reunion so much and think it is the best place to live and raise a family! We hope to never leave. ( We are building a new house here.)

I'm also selling drapes still....so message me if you are interested in that! I have sample books full of silks, linen, and burlap!

I guess that is about it for now. Here are two recent pics from last weekend. She loved the sprinkler!

Lil's One Year Pictures

We just had Lillian's pictures made by Christina Cannon. I absolutely LOVE how they turned out! To see a slideshow of a few of them, go to www.Christinafoto.com and click on client galleries. Then click on Lillian.

The tutu and hat get-up we borrowed from friends, but the rocking chair, pillow, and silver rattle were mine as a baby. The dress we got for Grace's wedding, and we have pictures of me as a baby in a similar dress. Christina was great to work with, and I am so happy with all the pictures!

Thanksgiving 2010

We spent Thanksgiving this year at my Nana's house. Holidays are a big deal at her house. She goes all out, and they are usually pretty formal. I do believe the place cards were set two weeks in advance! I was kinda worried about Lillian and if she would sling sweet potatoes across the room, or drop peas on the rug! She did great, though, and everyone had a wonderful time! We have SO much to be thankful for this year, and I am so appreciative!

The kid's table:

Nana's pretty table:

I can not wait for Christmas this year! Kids make the holidays so much fun! Lil has done pretty well with the tree so far. No broken ornaments as of yet!

Everything right now is "Daaww" for dog. And if you ask her what the dog says, she says "whhoo". So cute. Her favorite toy at the moment is a box of diapers. She loves to sit on it and push it around the house. Who needs real toys?? Works for me...

Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My sister-in-law snapped some pics of Lil after church last Sunday. We pretty much have a walker! She is taking several series of steps all by herself. I got her a pair of squeaky shoes, so she LOVES to hear them squeak everytime she steps. We are looking forward to a traditional, yummy Thanksgiving at my grandmother's house!