give and get

Christmas has come and gone and once again I have disappeared from my little blog. I've been having too much fun celebrating this special time of year with my family. In addition to spending time with my little family we been playing with aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. Unfortunately all of my kids are sick (the boys both have ear infections) so we have had to take some breaks from the fun here and there.

I wanted to share just a few of my favorite things that I gave and received this Christmas.

Michael gave me this beautiful coat. It fits really well and I LOVE the color!

He also gave me this necklace made by Morgan Pranther. She makes some beautiful and affordable necklaces.

Unlike last Christmas's doll house, this year I only made two simple presents. Colorful art for Michael. I'll show you how I made it soon.

I also made a necklace for my little sister. Sorry for the crappy picture. In typical Erin fashion I made it after dark the night before I had to mail everything. The necklace looked great on my sister when we Skyped Christmas morning. I followed Jess' tutorial for felt flowers at Craftiness Is Not Optional.

As I mentioned back in October, I got Sutton Fashion Plates. They were a huge hit!

What did you give and get this year?

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas (or whatever Holiday you celebrate) and I hope that you have a fabulous and healthy New Year. Bring on 2012!

before and after: orange bookcase

In lieu Five Things Friday I am going to show off my pretty new bookcase that I mentioned last week.

I have been craving two things for our main living space; more storage and color. I had decided to buy the expedit bookcase from IKEA. It was fairly inexpensive and would give us the needed storage space even though it's bland and cheaply made. The day before my IKEA run I swung by the Salvation Army nearest my house and found this:

I knew immediately that she was going home with me and I knew just what I was going to do with her! I had just seen this a couple of days previous and loved it. Michael helped me add the vertical pieces. I chose Benjamin Moore oil paint (this piece is going to see a lot of wear and oil is so much more durable than latex) in Tawny Day Lily. It is the perfect reddish orange color (though it appears more red in the photos than it really is).

The bookcase was tagged at $50. I was able to get 10% off. $45 is still a ton of money for me to spend on thrifted furniture but this bookcase was perfect! So much better than the expedit I was planning on spending $70 on. My thrifted bookcase is solid wood and it's longer and narrower than the expedit. It fits in my family room perfectly! With the cost of paint, I spent about the same as the expedit shelves but I got something that is unique and won't fall apart in a year!

On top of the bookcase I have a little teal lamp from Target, a rose votive (Michael bought it for me at a local boutique), two thrifted books- I loved the pretty printed covers, and a little bird- also from Target, a few years ago.

I am really, really happy with it. So happy that I don't want to put anything in it! But this house is lived in. It's not a museum. There will soon be library books and baskets of toys and diapers filling these shelves. As they should be.

Happy weekend!

blender pancakes

A friend mentioned blender pancakes to me a while ago and I finally gave it a try for dinner last night. I will never make another pancake recipe (unless it's pumpkin pancakes or apple cinnamon pancakes!) and this is why;

Taste. The blender pancake has a very nutty, natural taste while still being light and fluffy. Michael repeatedly commented on how good the pancakes were and the kids ate several each. Gemma, alone, had three!

Ease. It's even easier to make than pancake mix, you just toss everything in the blender then pour it onto the griddle.

Nutrition. While the recipe calls for a small amount of sweetener (sugar or honey or agave syrup) and oil, there are no preservatives or unpronounceable ingredients and the freshly ground whole wheat is so good for you.


bender pancakes
1 cup milk
1 cup wheat kernels, whole & uncooked (I used hard red wheat)
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons honey or sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Put milk and wheat kernels in blender. Blend on highest speed for 4 or 5 minutes or until batter is smooth. Add eggs, oil, baking powder, salt, honey or sugar, vanilla and lemon juice to the batter. Blend on low. Pour batter straight from the blender (less to wash later!) onto a hot griddle. Cook; flipping pancakes when bubbles pop and create holes.

recipe lightly adapted from everyday food storage.net

five things friday

It's been a while since I have done a Five Things Friday post. Lately I have felt I am living my life on a treadmill. I am always running but never actually get anywhere. Am I alone? Do you ever feel this way?


I am finishing a painting project heavily inspired by this. Okay, I didn't just use it as inspiration, I full on copied it! I love it and can't wait to share it with you next week.

 My oldest is home sick today. He was puking all night. I am praying that no one else catches it, especially Gemma!


I started playing Words With Friends (the app version of Scrabble) yesterday and I am totally addicted! I have like six games going on at once, which sounds more chaotic than it really is. Hours go by between turns and some games last days. It's very different than scrabble in that way. Do you play Words With Friends? My user name is: nirenirewordsonfire. Let's play!


We have the outside lights up and the tree decorated but the rest of my house looks cah-razy! The kids pulled everything out of the bins and placed the decorations haphazardly throughout the house. I haven't taken the time to right everything yet and make it look pretty.

tissue box makeover

I thrifted this tissue box a few months ago and I finally got around to doing something with it!

I liked the filigree look of the box but I'm not a fan of the brass so I spray painted it a bright, cheery red.

Since the boxes tissues come in are notoriously ugly I wanted to make sure it wouldn't be seen at all while not losing the filigree detail. I bought a piece of white art board for a few dollars at Hobby Lobby and cut it to size. I used a tiny bit of E-6000 glue in the corners to secure the art board.

Now my tissues have a pretty place to reside on my kitchen counter.

It's a silly little thing but it makes me happy!