My dad would make these popcorn balls on a cold, winter night as the family was hanging out together. He would whip them up in no time flat! They were such a treat!! Here is his recipe. I’ve just added Valentine’s Day conversation hearts. Enjoy!!
{Popcorn Balls}
Ingredients:
2 batches of popped popcorn
1 stick butter
1 bag marshmallows
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Directions:
Prepare 2 batches of popcorn according to directions on package. Place popcorn in a large bowl. Melt butter & marshmallows. Add sugar & vanilla. Pour over popcorn. Stir together. {Optional: Add 1 cup of conversation hearts, red hots, etc.} Allow to cool slightly. Butter hands and form into popcorn balls.
My family and I had lived in our house for about 1 year when we were asked if we would be willing to have our house on our town’s HoLiDaY HoMes ToUr. Up to that time I really didn’t know what kind of style I wanted for our master bedroom, so I really didn’t do much with it. There was no ThEmE, no cohesiveness, no inspiration. But once we agreed to place our home on the tour I was motivated to do something. So, out came my magazines {I had not yet discovered PiNtErEsT} and I began scanning the pages to find the style that fit us best. One thing we enjoy from time to time is to stay in a nice hotel. So, that was the “FeeL” I was going for. Here’s the before pictures of my bedroom. Not a huge disaster, but definitely had no “WoW!” factor.
{Before #1}
{Before #2}
{Before #3} I liked having these photos on this wall, but I really needed the space for my dresser, so the photos had to be moved.
{After #1} One of first things I did was to add a rug which helped define the space. A rug-on-a-rug may seem odd, but this one works especially with the BaSkEt WeAvE design and jute texture of the area rug. I also added curtains and placed the rods as high up as possible. This gives the feel of a taller ceiling.
The inspiration for the curtains came from a magazine picture that I ripped out and then tried to duplicate. Believe it or not, they were made from drop cloths that I got from Sherwin Williams {I bought the heaviest weight they had as I wanted them to have a “starchy, stand up on their own” look.} However, you can get the drop cloths in a much lesser weight if you want yours to have more of a “just hanging” look.
{After #2} MiRrOrS add depth to any room.
{After #3}
That’s ChiCkY our yellow lab.
These pillows came from HoMe GoOdS. I just picked beige ones that I liked.
Lighting is a great mood setter! It gives AmBiAnCe and a sense of warmth.
Blank wall in bathroom.
I originally wanted to find one large mirror, but after looking for over a year I settled on four smaller ones.
Pictures from a wall were moved to my closet for a constant reminder of my girls when they were babies. I’ll never tire of seeing their PrEcIoUs faces! Closet #1
Closet #2
The throw fabric came from Wal-Mart.
For the duvet {the cover for my down} I purchased 400 thread count sheets from Wal-Mart. My mother-in-law sewed them together like a big pillow slip. The down was placed inside and voila! They are SuPeR-SoFt!
These plates came from Home Goods {Marshalls}
Laying out the plates for the blank wall above my bed. The hardware used to hang the plates came from Michael’s {I bet Hobby Lobby would have them also}.
That’s one blank wall!
Hardware to hang plates. Super-easy to hang!!
Place this plate holder around plate’s edges.
Finally a focal point!
These mirrors for the wall behind the bathtub came from Wal-Mart for a little under $10/ea.
Make sure you tape them really good.
I used white spray paint and then I used paper towels to wipe the paint giving them a distressed look.
Hope you EnJoYeD the tour!
:) Robynn~
Here’s a video of the space. {I give a few more details on the transformation.}
I’m not exactly sure where I picked this up. {Thinking it may have been in James Dobson’s book “Bringing Up Girls”.}
Anyway, I love it and wanted to share it with you.
Teaching children conversation EtiQueTte, can be analogous to playing “catch”. In order for this game to be fun and to continue both players need to participate.
When someone talks to us, say for example they ask, “Hello, how are you?” They are throwing the “conversation ball” in our CoUrT. It is then our turn to throw the ball back to them for the “game” to continue. If we just say, “I’m fine.” We have not thrown the ball back to them and the game ends. However, for the conversation to continue it is important that we send the ball back with an EnGaGiNg statement or question such as, “I’m doing find. I especially love the beautiful weather we are having.” This statement encourages the other person to continue the conversation. Another example would be someone asking us, “So how old are you?” When we answer, “I am 9.” we are holding the ball. However, adding, “But I turn 10 in just 2 months and then I’m going to take piano lessons.” We invite and EnCouRaGe the other person to throw the ball back to us.
This activity can be practiced simply by grabbing a ball and playing the “Conversation Game”. The person with the ball asks a question or makes a statement to one of the other players and then passes the ball to them. The person with the ball can only pass the ball when they ask a question or make an engaging statement.
Even children at young ages can learn the ArT of conversation! Hopefully this little game can help in that endeavor!!
:)
Robynn~
Hidden “Live-It List” question:
What is the most important item on your “Live-It List”? {Consider this, but you don’t necessarily have to answer this part of the question in your comment: Is time to “rip it like a bandaid” and get this item completed so that you either have it checked of once & for all OR you are actually “Living-It”?}
Until recently I was the kind of mom who took my kids to the local portrait studio for nearly every and any occasion I could come up with to have their picture taken. To give you a visual of what went down on my last visit, just picture my four-year old son jumping off a lego table, my two-year old niece crying because she wanted to sit in the chair that my daughter was sitting in, and my two-year old daughter not cooperating because I was too busy wrangling my son off the obstacle course he had created out of the furniture to be paying any bit of attention to her needs. My sister and I left the studio with the three kids an hour later physically and mentally exhausted with no pictures to show for our effort.
Inspiration for this photo came from a friend who did a search on Pinterest!
Shortly after that debacle of a visit to the portrait studio my parents bought my husband and I a new camera for Christmas. I decided that I was going to start taking more candid shots of my kids and family instead of trying to always get the PeRfEcT shot. It has been a LeArNiNg experience, but it is a lot of fun!
Candid at dancing school
Suede Sofa Challenge…
Get your cameras out and get snapping! We would LOVE to see what our readers come up with for fun and exciting photos from across the globe! Email us your photos with your name, city, and state or city and country. All photos will be shared in a special post on Friday, March 30th titled, Fun Photo Friday!
Email your photos to:
suedesofa@yahoo.com
Put “Fun Photo Friday” in the subject line of your email
Remember this fall when I did a bedroom makover in one afternoon? See my blog post BEDROOM MAKEOVER. Well, my husband and I finally got around to making the door an official headboard. Check out how we did it!
First, I took off the hardware & Doug cut one end of the door off to make each side the same length.Then we measured the 1x4 that will be used for the top of the headboard. This will be the LAST piece that we add because it will hide the brackets that help secure the headboard to the wall.We added this simple trim on the face & sides of the door. The angles weren't too hard to cut. Pretty easy with the help of a miter saw!To secure the bottom of theheadboard, we took a 2x3 and drilled it into the wall. We sat the door on top of the 2x3 & screwed them together. For the top, we attached these brackets to the back of the door and then screwed the top of the bracket into the wall.
To finish, we nailed the 1x4 to the very top, that way it covers up the brackets we just screwed into the wall!!
I forgot to take a picture of how I distressed the headboard. I painted the entire door white and then took a dark brown paint and went around all of the corners with a small brush. At times, I painted in random spots and then wiped it off with a paper towel to give it a worn, smudged look! No sanding involved to get it to look this way! Can't beat it!My bedroom is complete! YaY!!
Big thanks to “my man” for helping me complete this project!
Remember being a kid and your mom giving you NaStY tasting MeDiciNe? The only thing you wanted to do was spit it out! Well, that is a lot how taking correction can be. Whether it is from your spouse, a friend, your boss, {or God}, we really don’t like to be told we need to make a ChAnGe. However, a lot of times they are right {God is always right}. And although it can be HuMbLiNg, taking correction to heart can be like taking medicine. Incredibly hard to swallow, but the very thing that can fix the internal problem. Truth about ourselves can hurt. But it can also bring growth and FrEeDoM.
So next time you are faced with correction, take a deep breath, put your pride aside, and just SwAlloW.
All of God’s ideas are BriLLiaNt and guess what, you’re one of them!!
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Do you ever feel like that? I have felt that way on our jOurNey to get out of debt. On Tuesday, I shared the story on how we got out of denial and started tackling our finances in my “Getting Out of Financial Denial” post. Does that mean the process has been easy and I haven’t wanted to quit? No way!
Today I wanted to shed some light on the “lows” of working toward a gOaL. There will be times when you feel like you are making no progress. When we first started tackling our debt I felt like we were moving mountains. But as time went on there were moments we felt defeated because of unexpected bills or kinks in the “plan”.
Life isn’t easy. There will be suRpriSes and setbacks. In tough times, Doug and I talk a lot about where we’ve come and the good things in store for our future. When we need inspiration we tune into Dave Ramsey’s radio show for the “Debt Free Fridays” to hear how other people turned their financial disaster into a sUcCeSs story. We surround ourselves with friends that have similar goals and give us support. We choose NOT to give up because we know there IS a light at the end of the tunnel.
If you are feeling defeated in some area of your life, take heart! You may not feel like you are making progress, but YOU ARE. Eventually you will see your hard work pay off. Believe it and persevere. The greatest rewards come to those who work hard and wait….
Lara
Live-It List Hidden Question of the Week
List an item on your live it list that you will do with another person and your relationship with that person.
This past weekend I decided the frames on the shelf in my living room needed a make-over. Not only did none of them match, but they really weren’t showing off the pictures of my kids and niece like I wanted them too. Instead of going out and buying new frames I looked through my house for frames I wasn’t using and painted them three different colors to match the decor in the room. I then sanded off some of the paint to give them an “older” look and then sprayed them with a lacquer.
Before mix and "not" match framesFrames found around my houseNew look!Close up on my "new" frames!
I am so HaPpY with the finished result!
I bet you have tons of stuff just waiting to be re-done in your home…be creative and HaVe FuN!
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