Distressed Picture Frame

I'm not crafty at all!! Last night I attended a bunco party that ended up being a craft night, and we made these distressed picture frames. They were so easy and everyone's turned out so good! 

Supplies:

Wooden frame from your local craft store {like Hobby Lobby}

~3 colors Acrylic Paint

Brush

Sandpaper

Polyurethane stain

How I made mine:

The three colors I chose were a medium brown color, bright teal, and a very very light teal. Paint each color darkest to lightest and let dry in between each. Once it is good and dry, then use your sandpaper to go over it giving it the distressed look. After sanding it, we used a damp washcloth to remove the dust on the frame. Lastly, I used the stain to go around the edges to give it the "antique" look. We wore disposable gloves and dipped our finger in the stain then wiped it with a paper towel. Some girls covered their entire frames with the stain, some did just the edges, and some just did certain areas. Everyone used different color combinations, and they all turned out very pretty. 

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

I saw this recipe in my current Taste of Home magazine. It looked simple and good {and not to mention the super cute heart pastries}. It was so easy, and the heart pastries were fun to make! 

Soup Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup cubed peeled potatoes

1 cup chopped sweet onion

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 (14.5oz.) cans chicken broth

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 cup frozen petite peas

1 cup frozen corn

Directions:

In a dutch oven, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes, onion, celery and carrots; cook and stir for 5-7 minutes or until the onion is tender. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper until blended; gradually whisk in broth. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in remaining ingredients; heat through. Serve with pastries. 

**I used a bag of frozen mixed vegetables {green beans, corn, carrots, and peas} and added them all at the end as the remaining ingredients**

Pastry Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1.25 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup shortening

5-6 tablespoons 2% milk

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly. Gradually add milk, tossing with a fork until dough holds together. Shape into a disk; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight. On a floured surface, roll dough to 1/8in. thickness. Using a floured 2.5in heart-shaped cutter, cut 18 shapes. Place 1in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 425degrees for 8-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a rack.

Guten Appetit!!

Lately

We haven't been to busy around here lately. Most of all, I'm just thankful for not traveling every weekend. =) Stephen has been duck hunting twice this season, and he leaves again tomorrow for another trip. We have just been taking advantage of girls only weekends. 

Last weekend while he was gone we went to our church's school's basketball game. I had been wanting to take Caroline to a basketball game and I figured this would be easier than braving a Razorback game. She really enjoyed it except we only lasted for the first two quarters. =) We also attended Payton and Parker's 3rd birthday party at a local bounce place. I was a little worried Caroline wouldn't do well, but she proved me wrong. =) She had so much fun!! 

New Years Tradition

On New Year's Day, we always celebrate at my Nana's house with the traditional New Years meal of black eyed peas, fried potatoes, hog jowl, and cornbread. Stephen's parents always come, and we were looking forward to seeing them since they had been in Germany over Christmas. I'm a few weeks late on posting these pictures, but here's our happy girl! 

Someone was happy to see her Opa

Wordless Wednesday

My Favorites

I just wanted to share a couple Christmas gifts that I received. My sister-in-law is pretty much the best gift giver! She always thinks of the most creative things. These are two things she gave me for Christmas this year, and I love them both!! The first one is a Birchbox subscription. I had read about it on a blog and ever since thought it is the neatest thing! You sign up for it, and then each month you receive it in the mail with samples of beauty products, make up, etc. It's a gift that keeps on giving =). I received my first one today, and I was so excited to open it. Here are the items that were included... I'm definitely going to be purchasing the perfume, it smells wonderful!

1. Tili Bags
2. Hello perfume by Harvey Prince
3. Number 4 Clarifying Shampoo
4. Berry Pink lip gloss/shine by Model Co.
5. A Twistband

 The other gift that I received was a "Mom's One Line A Day" journal. I started it on January 1st, and I have loved writing in it everyday and just reflecting on what we did that day. It holds five years worth of memories. I love this now, and I know I will love it even more when I look back at it in five years.