Hot New Bathroom!

Do you ever have those days when you're just feeling "extra creative". You just get the itch to change or create something? Well today was one of those days for me. Our hall bathroom, which is also the boys' bathroom in our house, has been several colors over the last two and a half years, but I could never seem to mask the horrible yellow tiles on the floor and the walls of the shower. I was feeling ambitious today and handy-hubby was working on the plumbing in our master bathroom, so I decided to finally give the hall bathroom a little overhaul. The picture does not due the color justice...in fact, it looks rather neon in the picture, but its actually a beautiful, earthy, green called "Willow Wind". The frame around the medicine cabinet, the sconces, and the cabinet unit are all painted black. Then I found a really great zebra print shower curtain at Target (you can kind of see it through the mirror in the picture). It's not cheezy zebra, it's pretty and it looks awesome. The art work is homemade and orginally planned for the kitchen, but I'm going to finish the other two canvases I had planned and hang all four in that bathroom because they seem to go well in there. These colors have finally muted that 70's golden hue that seemed to saturate the entire bathroom due to the floor and shower tiles. I'm very happy with it. :) :) A successful Saturday!

~audrey

Sweet Potato Cake with Coconut Filling and Caramel Frosting!!

This is the link to my most recent baking adventure:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=640828

I might add that the caramel frosting from this recipe was a complete disaster for me. I googled "Homemade Caramel Frosting" and this is the one I used:

NEVER FAIL CARAMEL ICING

5 tbsp. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. milk

Cook 3 minutes. Let cool and add:

1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. powdered sugar

Beat until right consistency and spread

The cake was presentable and absolutely delicious. Everyone commented on how moist the cake was. I'm always rather nervous to serve a "new" recipe to people the first time I make it, but this one was a success! Good luck and happy baking.

**Just to set the mood, you may want to have some Christmas music playing lightly in the kitchen! Or maybe french music from the "Somethings Gotta Give" soundtrack; it's a great one!! :) :) I LOVE FALL!

~audrey

$700 Children's Entertainment

We are having two HUGE pine trees removed from our backyard. Thankfully, they are both located in areas that can be observed from inside the house. The first one was outside my master bedroom window and the second is right outside my kitchen. The trucks, dumpsters, bobcats, and chainsaws showed up at our house at 8am this morning. My boys are extremely excited! Joshua went to the door with a big smile on his face and said, "Now THIS is going to be a COOL day!" I called my husband at work and told him how excited the boys were about watching the entire event from a beach chair in the garage, with the back door propped open. He just laughed, knowing how much heavy machinery can get a male's motor runnin'! I fixed them both their cups of milk and some yogurt and they're in it for the long haul. I guess we'll wait until after the action to do school. :) I would say it's great free entertainment, but the tree removal itself is definitely NOT free! But I'd rather the boys be watching this crew than watching TV anyday!
~audrey

Stuck In My Good-Smellin' Home

As most of you know, gas has reached record highs at around $5/gallon due to Hurricane Ike. As a result, many of us "frugals" are staying at home to save our fumes. :) I did make a trip to my Walmart Super Center about a mile from my house yesterday morning. One thing I got that was not on my list was a new candle. I don't usually buy candles from the grocery store, because they can be rather "hit or miss" on the fragrance, strength of the smell, burn time, etc... However, a certain candle was calling my name and I decided to go for it. It was the Pumpkin Febreeze candle (with odor eliminating core :) It was on sale for $6 and I have been yearning for a taste (or smell) of fall in my home. Well let me tell you, the candle is awesome. I love it just as much, if not more, than any other fall or pumpkin candle or wall flower that I've ever had. Now, if my one year old would quit pooping so much, my house would smell divine! LOL!! I was also checking out fall decor in my latest Lillian Vernon catalogue. They have some VERY cute stuff for your home at extremely reasonable prices. They are also having a special on their shipping and are giving a sneak peak at their Christmas stuff too. SO CUTE and I can't wait for the holidays to get here!! I recently tried a new recipe from Southern Living (well it's not new, just new to me!) It was a "Sweet Potato Cake with Coconut Filling and Caramel Icing". It was incredible. I burnt the filling a tiny bit and tried a different caramel icing recipe then what was written, so I'm hoping when I make it for Thanksgiving, it will be perfect. Well, I'm daydreaming and rambling. Time to get ready for church!
~audrey

I Hate Snowballs!!

Do you ever notice how QUICKLY your house can go from, "Ah, nice and clean" to "Crap! What happened?!?" That is what happened to me in the last 48 hours. I generally get my house nice and clean over the weekend so it is easier to maintain during the week. Well, just as a snowball starts out small and slow, so does the clutter in your home. It doesn't take long, in case you didn't notice. A pair of shoes left in the living room, a few dishes on the counter, some toys in the office, socks in the hallway...you get the picture. Unfortunately, this is what has happened to my house. Luckily, if you generally keep the house clutter-free, you should be able to pull off a ten minute "mad dash" around the house and pretty much have it back to working order. I find that sometimes it's easiest to pile everything on the couch or throw it all in a laundry basket. Then, when I've decluttered, I carry the basket with me throughout the house and put things back where they belong, threatening the lives of all my children in the process..."You had better put your clothes in the hamper tomorrow!...You know where these dishes belong, so please put them there! Next time you leave these toys on the floor, I'm giving them to someone else!!" Yes, even SuperMom turns into the Wicked Witch of the West when you ruffle the nest. :) Go ahead girlies, declutter real quick before you settle down for the night. You'll feel so much better in the morning when the kitchen doesn't stink, you're not tripping on toys, and all of the laundry is already sorted. Go for it. You can do anything for just ten minutes!
~audrey

Where You're Going

I was listening to a podcast this weekend and Peter Walsh (from Clean Sweep) was being interviewed. The interview lasted for about 45 minutes, but one thing in particular stood out to me above all the rest...
...where ever you are in life, whatever changes you are wanting to make, you need to set goals and decide where it is you want to be. Whether you want to lose weight, get organized, find a new job, it doesn't matter what it may be. Then you need to consciously ask yourself, "is what I'm doing right now helping me get to my goal?" If you're trying to lose weight, eating a piece of cheesecake is not pushing you toward your goal. If you are trying to get organized, then buying more "stuff" that you don't need, is absolutely NOT helping you toward your goal. Getting organized is not a one time event. It is a process that involves a, sometime dramatic, change of lifestyle. You must create new habits. Out with the bad, in with the good. If something is working well for you, keep it! If there is something that continuously frustrates you, lose it! I have found that one of the most important things to grasp when getting organized is, you have to be willing to admit that you no longer need something. Whether it has a memory attached to it or you value it for reasons you can no longer remember! You have to be willing to let go of the things that are holding you in this place of disorder and turmoil. You'll be amazed at how much a little "purging" of useless stuff can liberate you! Especially if someone else can use it! Have a yard sale, give it away, or take it to Goodwill. This is a challenge! Pick one particular space in your home. Whether it's an entire room, a closet, a drawer, or a bin in the attic, and sort through and decide what can stay and what needs to go. Let me know how it turns out!!
~audrey