Talk To Me - Calling All Crafty and Creative People! HELP!

So we never really decorated Henry's room.  We have items in his room and went with an animal theme for lots of his stuff, but as for decor or a theme nothing was ever done.  Basically, his room is SO basic!  Nothing on the plain white walls (no, didn't even paint as my sister was living there when he was born) and no real decor.

Since he turned one I have wanted to do something with his room that is more permanent and for him.  I am going with the space/alien theme!  I think we are going to get him a solar system thing that lights up on the wall and we already have stars that we can turn on to light the wall.  However, I want to do some fun things decor wise....and that is where I need you!

I have some vague ideas and am usually pretty creative but honestly between work, home, and just having a brain that feels like mush all the time I just haven't done anything the past few months.  I have had a major creative block!

And as SO many of you are very creative, I thought it never hurt to ask you all to help inspire me so I can have his room done before he leaves for college ;-)

So here is what I have so far.....

* Chalkboard - though I am thinking of taking this back and getting chalkboard paint for a small part of the wall.  Thoughts on chalkboard paint? Thought on a chalkboard in his room?

* Wooden letters of his name that I want to paint in some fun way w/ little wooden space items.  I am not sure how to incorporate these into his room.  Do I hang his name and put those around.  Maybe put the letters in frames with fabric behind.  Maybe put velcro on the back of the space items and make a backdrop that they can stick too?  Make some kind of picture with them of the solar system?!

* Space fabric.  Two different kinds of cotton fabric (on the left).  One is of planets the other of alien robots.  Not sure what to do with these either.  Pillows? use as a backdrop for something?

* Also have alien scrapbook paper (below)

I also thought based on a picture Sassytimes put up where she used felt for a Christmas thing, that I could use felt and make plants that he could move around.

I can draw a bit and paint so I would and could do something that involved that as well.

We want to paint his room a blueish grey, but honestly not sure if or when that will be done based on our schedules.

ANY THOUGHTS/IDEAS?!?!?!  

They would be greatly appreciated :)

I Am An "As Seen On TV" Junkie

I love infomercials and if I could afford it, I would want to own one of nearly all the “As Seen on TV” products available. I love the totally unrealistic struggle with an item or situation that a person undergoes and then seeing them effortlessly resolve that problem with the new product that they are selling. I seriously want to be an actor for one of these infomercials as I am sure the Director says “just say act like an idiot” and that is it.

My newest favorite item is the Perfect Brownie Pan Set!



“Perfect Brownie Pan makes baking brownies easier than ever before!!!

NOW you can make 18 perfectly sized, moist and chewy brownies, EACH with PERFECT edges with the Perfect Brownie Pan!!! Don’t just bake brownies; the Perfect Brownie, non-stick Pan is also great for making rice crispy treats, corn bread, crumb cake and MUCH MORE!!!

Your Perfect Brownie Pan set will include an 11x7 inch Perfect Brownie Pan, divider and serving rack...PLUS our gooey and chewy recipe guide…ALL for just $19.95 plus $8.95 processing and handling… We will ALSO include our BONUS offer of TEN decorative stencils…at NO ADDITIONAL COST!!!”

Yep, I think I need this because it is just genius!! Not because cutting a square brownie is all that hard (I mean watch the video, come on - really?!?!) but because each brownie would have that crispy edge around it with a gooey middle....mmmmmmmm. And the multipurpose serving trying is pretty darn cool as well. Yep, this is a must have.

Changing Things Up....Just A Bit

So I have been in a blogging slump. Partly due to the stresses of every day life but partly because I just haven’t had the same passion in my blog when I started out a few years ago. In an attempt to freshen up my blog and make it more fun for me (and hopefully you as well) I wanted to share something that truly interests me and that I enjoy talking about.

So what do I have an interest in and a passion for…..cooking and entertaining. I seriously LOVE IT and get such joy out of cooking a romantic meal for just my husband, a big lasagna dinner for my family, cooking with my sister & family, or hosting a party for my friends with a great theme and lots of fun food!!! I think recently I realized how much I miss event planning, and I think this would be a good compromise and outlet for my ideas.

I know we have a food blog (see link to right) but I am thinking of putting down some of my favorite things about cooking & entertaining on my blog on a weekly basis. I may feature fun tips, budget friendly recipes, quick recipes, family-style recipes, recipes for parties, or even some of my favorite serving dishes, utensils or party ideas.....this is something that I REALLY adore and want to share with you on my blog. Hopefully you will enjoy it as well! By the way, this isn’t going to be ALL my blog is about, just another part of what I want to share and who I am.

Besides posting about the things above, I will also rate the recipes I post in different categories with 1 being the lowest/least and 5 being the highest/most for those categories.

Examples:
Cooking Level: 1 = anyone can do it; 5 = may need a helper
Quickness: 1 = quicker then a box of mac and cheese; 5 = get comfy, this may take awhile
Cost: 1 = very budget conscious; 5 = a bit of a splurge
Ingredients: 1 = you just need a basket; 5 = may need a couple carts


So you get the idea. The first post will officially come tomorrow and I will post whenever I get new ideas or something fun to talk about!! Also, look for new food related features on my blog. I hope you will enjoy this new feature and PLEASE let me know if there are any topics you would like to read about!!

For You Two Pretzels

So K, I saw this in my Rachael Ray magazine and immediately thought of you! And as a lover of all kitchen gadgets I thought I would pass this along!

It is called Eiko, and it is an eggcup that you can hang on your pot to boil eggs in. Can’t say how well it works, but it looks like a great idea and way fun!

"EIKO is an ingenious solution for the perfect breakfast egg: Simply hang the egg cups containing the eggs over the edge of a pot of boiling water, use the colors to differentiate cooking times, remove the eggs by grasping the cool handle, run under cool water, and carry to the table where Eiko functions as an egg cup!"

Click here for the egg cups website.


I love all things kitchen!