Transformation Thursday at Shabby Chic Cottage

Every Thursday, I love opening up my reader to see what's going on over at the Shabby Chic Cottage, where Gina hosts Transformation Thursday.  It's a linky party featuring reader projects of everything from clothing upcycling to recipes to redecorating... my favorites are always the furniture transformations, and I'm hoping one day soon to finally be able to link up!  Here's what I'm working on...

That, my friends, is the beginning of cushion recovering!  The previous owners of our home left us an outdoor settee that while in decent shape, was in need of quite a bit of TLC.  First up, recovering the nasty, faded, dog-haired cushions.  Ick.  (And yes, some of that dog hair belongs to our pooches, so don't think I'm a dog-hater!)  I've got almost two done and about seven to go.  It's slow going with the kids going to bed on their summertime schedule.

Late bedtimes = less sewing time.  Boo!

Don't worry though; I'm determined to get this done.  Next up is a new spray paint job for the frame.  Oh, and for the awesome vintage bed I scored for Big Sis.  And a paint job on the chest of drawers I scored for my entryway.

Oh yeah... lots of transforming to be done around here.

And did I mention that I've been put on a crafting budget?  More on that to come...

{What's Cookin' Wednesday} Lemon-Coconut Pound Cake

Are you ready for the next edition of What's Cookin' Wednesday?  With it being summertime and a holiday weekend, there weren't a whole lot of gourmet meals going on around here... so how about something a little sweet?  I found this recipe in a magazine feature all about pound cakes!  (You better believe I tore out every page...) Enjoy!

Lemon-Coconut Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tsp. lemon zest

1 cup sweetened flake coconut, divided

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light & fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just blended after each addition.



2.  Stir together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning & ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in lemon zest & 1/2 cup coconut. Pour batter into a greased & floured 9×5 inch loaf pan.


3.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack & cool completely (about 1 hour).

Lemon Glaze:

Whisk together 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 Tbsp. milk, and 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice, adding an additional 1 Tbsp. milk, 1 tsp. at a time for desired consistency.

4.  Spoon lemon glaze over cake and sprinkle with coconut.  (For a fancier look, toast large coconut shavings and use those instead!

Enjoy!!

{Friday Faves} Red, White, and Blue Food!

Like everyone else, I've been pinning all things red, white, and blue like a crazy person!  While there are many crafts, projects, clothes, etc. to share, I decided instead to show you all of the amazing food to celebrate Independence Day!  Enjoy~

Source: tasteofhome.com via rhonda on Pinterest

Source: blogs.babble.com via rhonda on Pinterest

Source: polishmycrown.wordpress.com via rhonda on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via rhonda on Pinterest

Source: iammommy.typepad.com via rhonda on Pinterest

Source: iheartnaptime.blogspot.com via rhonda on Pinterest

Source: None via rhonda on Pinterest

Hope you all have a delicious Fourth of July!

Monday Monday...

This weekend flew by... And let's just say I didn't get a whole lot accomplished around here except laundry! I got a great deal on a bed for Big Sis this weekend - now to get to work on painting it! Hope to have some progress soon!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Enjoy the Win!

I was shocked and excited this morning when I opened up an email revealing that I was the winner of this fabulous stencil from The 36th Avenue!

I have to admit... I enter a lot of giveaways *cough* Silhouette *cough*, and don't ever win, so I feel pretty darn blessed this morning.  Thanks Desiree!

Oh, and don't worry big sis... something will be made for you with this stencil!

What's Cookin' Wednesday, No.1 {Stacked Enchiladas}

Hi everyone!  This post is going up late tonight as I was having issues with uploading images to Blogger this morning... grr.  Anyhoo, I've decided to start a new weekly feature on home.made.:

 What's Cookin' Wednesday!

I'd been contemplating joining in on the whole WIWW series with Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy when I realized that (a) I "get dressed" every day since I work outside the home so it defeats the whole purpose and (b) there's only one full-length mirror in my house and it's a cheapo so it makes me look larger than life!  Soooo... I decided instead to focus on something else, like cooking for my family.  With busy schedules, it's easy for me to get in a rut with cooking, so my challenge to myself is to try out a new recipe each week and share it with you.  If you're interested in joining the challenge, let me know and I'd be happy to start up a linky party!

First up, Stacked Enchiladas!

Ingredients:

1 package corn tortillas (small)

1 pound ground beef

1/2 white onion, diced

1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes (with or without green chilies)

1 15 oz. can enchilada sauce (I like the mild red sauce)

shredded cheddar cheese

2 T cooking oil

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Heat oil in large pan over medium-high heat.  Add diced onions and saute until nearly transparent, then add ground beef and cook until brown.
3. Drain meat/onion mixture, return to pan.  Reduce heat to medium.  Add salt and pepper to taste and add tomatoes.  Cover and simmer for five to seven minutes.
4. In a 9x12 baking dish, coat the bottom of the dish with a thin layer of enchilada sauce.  Place two corn tortillas on top of the sauce, side by side.  Place large spoonful of meat mixture onto each tortilla, then cover each with a little enchilada sauce and shredded cheese.  Stack another enchilada on top of each stack (similar to lasagna) and repeat three more times.
5. Place the final tortillas on top of each stack, top with enchilada sauce and shredded cheese.
6. Cover dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and serve alongside your favorite sides.  Refrigerate and/or freeze leftovers.

Makes: 8 servings (1/4 stacked enchilada=1 serving)

Bon Appetit!

DIY Dreamland!

Beth over at Home Stories A2Z is having an amazing summer series for all of us DIYers - have you seen it yet?!  It's called How to Decorate {For DIYers} and it is ah-may-zing!  Here's some of the fab DIY bloggers she has on the lineup:

And that's not even the half of it!

If you have DIY dreams and are in need of inspiration/motivation... head on over to the How to Decorate Series!