diy painted utensils

after a week of traveling, i am home for another week and wanted to share my latest craft!

my utensil holder in the kitchen was filled with a hodge podge of wood, stainless steel, and plastic polka dot utensils and i just wasn't digging how messy it looked. i decided to give my utensil holder a clean fresh look. i placed all of the utensils i use on a daily basis in the drawer beside the oven and went to bed bath and beyond to purchase a large pack of new wooden utensils. 

i wanted to paint the ends with a fresh white to give it a pop against the taupe and grey surroundings. the wooden utensils were inexpensive and the paint as well.i simply purchased a cheap white acrylic paint from hobby lobby. my goal here was to keep the utensils on display and not actually use them; therefore, the cheaper acrylic would work just fine for this. 

then, i used my fun washi tape to create a chevron look and a straight line. after i wrapped the tape around the wooden utensil, i painted the bottom portion. i let those dry for thirty minutes and placed them in my new and improved utensil holder. this gave it a whole new look!

i love how sometimes the smallest details can completely transform your space. 

hope you all have a great weekend!

glazed pineapple & ham ka bobs

yesterday marked our one year anniversary for our proposal in South Dakota at Mt. Rushmore, and we decided to celebrate at home with grilling a feast and watching movies. it was great!!! i wanted to try this new recipe that i found on pinterest and thought this was the perfect occasion to do so. 

here is the recipe!

ingredients:

-1 fresh or canned pineapple chunks

-ham slices cut into squares or slices

-kabob sticks

-1/2 cup butter, melted

-3/4 cup brown sugar

-2 tablespoons of honey

-1 teaspoon of coconut extract

details:

-start by soaking your wooden kabob sticks in water for 20-30 minutes

-alternate ham squares and pineapple chunks on your kabob sticks

-in a medium sized bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, honey, and coconut extract. 

-warm the glaze in the microwave for about 30 seconds and then brush the mixture on the kabobs

-then add them to the grill 

reed and i loved this recipe, and we hope you do to :)

homemade blueberry waffles

breakfast for dinner anyone? around this household we love breakfast for dinner. when reed and i were first dating i would invite him over and we would make breakfast for dinner together all the time. tonight he requested blueberry waffles. 

heres the recipe! 

ingredients: 

-1/2 cup of vegetable oil

-1 cup of whole milk

-2 eggs

-1 cup of sugar

-1 3/4 cups of flour

-1 teaspoon of baking powder

-1 cup of blueberries fresh or frozen

details: 

-pre-heat the waffle iron to medium/high heat

-in a large bowl whisk together the oil, milk, eggs, and sugar. slowly add in

the flour and baking powder until well combined. 

-fold in the blueberries

-spray the waffle iron with cooking spray

-fill your waffle iron with 3 cups of batter depending on the size of your iron

-cook until golden brown for about 2-3  minutes 

-i made sure to spray more cooking spray in between each waffle to ensure the batter didn't stick

-serve with maple syrup and some yummy butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar, fruit, cinnamon whatever your heart desires  :)

i hope you enjoy this recipe and eat breakfast for dinner like we do!

fruit salsa & cinnamon chips

this is one of my grandmothers (mam's) many  dessert recipes. i always request this for my birthday dessert (and of course cake) :) i make this often for parties and i always have someone ask me for the recipe by the end of the night.

fruit salsa and cinnamon chips is such an easy dessert to put together and everyone will love it!!

ingredients for salsa:

-1 qt of strawberries sliced

-2 medium apples peeled and chopped (doesn't matter what kind)

-2 kiwi peeled and chopped

-1 can of mandarin oranges drained and chopped 

-2 tablespoons of apple or strawberry jelly

-2 tablespoons of brown sugar

ingredients for cinnamon chips:

-1 tablespoon cinnamon

-1/2 cup of sugar

-1 bag of plain taco chips

*if you don't want to make your own chips you can also purchase the brand stacy's cinnamon pita chips as well. that is what i did above for this party*

details:

-chop/mince the strawberries, apples, kiwi, and oranges (i used a quick chop in my ninja for each fruit before mixing into a large bowl)

-mix the brown sugar and jelly together in a small bowl and then add into the bowl of fruit

-set aside 

-mix the sugar and cinnamon  together and pour into a bag of taco chips

-shake the bag of chips very well until you see the chips coated in the sugar and cinnamon 

-place the fruit salsa in a serving bowl or dish and serve with the cinnamon chips 

yum! i love this recipe. enjoy!!! xoxo

diy crate table

reed and i found this idea on pinterest (of course) and decided we wanted to change out our trunk in the living room and use this crate table for our coffee table. it was so easy to make and we really like how it turned out (so does paw) :)

materials:

-4 regular size crates purchased at home depot

-1x4 

-(4) 2x2's that are 6"long 

-1 box of finishing nails

-1 box of 1 1/4" wood screws 

-1 can of dark or light stain

-1 can of polyurethane

details:

-first, stain all four of your crates with your choice of stain

-then use a polyurethane on the crates

-cut the 1x4 to form the base of the crates (see in pictures above)

-use finishing nails to bind the crates to the 1x4 base

-lastly, use the wood screws to attach the (4) 6" legs to the bottom of the crates (placing the screws on the corners of each crate as shown above)

enjoy!!

buffalo chicken dip

i made this dip last week for my girls party and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. i wanted to share it with you all :) it is so easy and tasty! this is such a great dip for a holiday, party, or get together. 

ingredients:

-1 package of 8 oz cream cheese softened 

-1/2 cup of franks original cayenne pepper sauce

-1/2 cup of blue cheese

-2 cups of shredded cooked chicken

-1/2 cup of shredded cheese (i used sharp)

details:

-set your oven to 350

-combine all of the ingredients in a 1 qt. baking dish except your chicken

-mix the chicken in last 

-lastly, sprinkle the shredded cheese or blue cheese crumbles on top 

-bake for 20 minutes or until the top of the dip starts to look crispy

-serve with celery and tortilla chips 

i hope you all have a great 4th of july weekend! enjoy!!! :) xoxo