Snuggle Up- Its Movie Season!

Happy New Year!!

 

I hope you all had a good holiday/new years break and are looking forward to 2013 as much as I am. Since the Mayans were not correct and the world will keep on turning, its time to relax and enjoy that the new year brings.

 

One thing I have really been enjoying lately are all of the amazing movies out in the theaters right now. I am not usually a movie go-er. I maybe see one every two or three months, but there is so much out there right now that looks amazing that I had to jump on board.

 

Movies I have seen so far:

 

Lincoln

 

I am a total sucker for a good historical movie and this was one that both Joey and I were eager to see. I highly recommend it. Rating: B+

 

 

Les Miserables

 

OMG- I died watching this. This musical is absolutely one of my all time favorites and I know every word to ever song. I have vivid memories of my mom playing this cassette tape in the car when we were little, so it has been ingrained into my bones. I LOVED the movie and would see it ten times over. The singing was amazing and the best part was that they did not work regular conversation into the dialog. It was 100% singing. I laughed, I cried, I sang softly to myself like a freak- I did it all.

Rating: A+

 

Movies I want to see in the near future:

 

 

Zero Dark Thirty

 

I am not usually a fan of present day war movies, but the hubs read No Easy Day and raved about it so I thought I would give it a go. 

 

 

Twilight: Breaking Down Part 2

 

Can you believe that I have not seen this yet?! I feel ashamed as a huge Twilight fan that I have yet to go see the final installment of the series, but I need to go before it is out of theaters. I mean, who can resist watching the offspring of Bella and Edward on screen.

 

 

The Impossible

 

With very vivid memories of watching this unfold on the news, the tsunami was both heartbreaking and unimaginable from an outsiders perspective. I am really interested in seeing this take on one family's experience. And who could play it better than Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts?!

What movies have you seen lately? Would to recommend any or steer me away from any that would be a waste of my precious $12?

 

XOXO Katie

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'Tis the Season!

You want to know one of my most favorite things about the Christmas season?!

 

The holiday cards!!

 We did not do holiday cards this year because of a few reasons:

 

#1) I've been a little distracted the last few weeks and I couldn't get my act together

#2) We can't compete with the my extended family and their ADORABLE babies and kids

#3) I tried and failed miserably getting the kittens to sit still close enough together to snap their pic ;)

#4) Joey refuses to be married to the crazy cat lady who spends an hour trying to get two kittens to sit together for a photo...

 

I can not wait to send out our first family Christmas card next year, and I am gathering inspiration already. Here are a few that I have seen online:

Love the cut off shot of the parents in this pic, and who can resist a little holiday bunting...



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Twinkle lights and baby chub...can't beat it!


 

  

If I could get my kittens do to this I would be a magician!





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What did you do for your card this year??

XOXO Katie

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Two Tone Tammy

I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to start sharing my nursery projects with you. I have been holding off doing anything until I reached 14weeks, just in case I jinxed it. But I am officially 18 weeks now and the projects have begun! I told you all about the vibe I was going for last week in this post. Neutral is the name of the game :)

 

Here is the checklist that I have started (and I am sure will evolve as I go) with what I want to do to get the room ready:

 

-design and sew bed skirt and bumper (bumper we will use when baby is a little older)

 

-makeover vintage dresser for changing table

 

-buy a crib

 

-rehang and accessorize chalkboard

 

-rewire standing lamp

 

-dress up back of bookcases

 

-reorganize closet

 

-figure out storage (toys, laundry, books)

 

-art for over the crib

 

-make pillows for bed

 

-find a home for old office space

 

All for as close to $500 as possible

 

 

The first project I tackled was the dresser makeover. And you all know how I love a good furniture face lift! Of course, I went straight to Craigslist to find something that was going to work. I wanted a dresser that was tall so changing baby would not kill my back, had good storage, and was not a true changing table. I would love this to be something that baby can use for a while.

 

I found this for a whopping $85.

 

Honestly, I really did like the original color, but it was not quite the right blue and it needed a little love.

 

First step was to remove the hardware, then sand and use a filler to fix any dents or chipped areas.

 

 

 

Up next was primer (2 coats).

 

 

I was debating going all blue like the one on my inspiration board, but then I realized the the pale blue kind of blended in to the light gray walls. Blah...

 

So I decided to go two-tone with it. A white body and pale blue drawers. I knew I liked the two-tone look from this side table project I did, and if it went south then it would just take a can of paint to fix. I already had the blue and the white semi-gloss paint from past projects as well as a foam roller. Whoop Whoop for having to buy NO supplies!

 

After two coats of each color, I accented the detailing that frames the doors with a thin pinpoint of white paint. I just used painters tape to make sure that it was not messy.

 

 

I loved the hardware so I was able to just reattach and the dresser was good to go!

 

 

 

I think baby will love it. If not, I will tell it how my back was sore for a week after painting this sucker, so that's just too bad!

 

All in all, I am in this project for $85. Not too shabby...

XOXO Katie

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Salty'n'Sweet

I love baking cookies, but there is only ONE cookie that Joey actually requests in particular. I don't know what that says about my baking skills, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I just tell myself that he loves ALL my cookies, these ones just must be extra special :)

 

 

Of course, I found this recipe on Pinterst so I will not pretend like its my own genius that came up with this salty'n'sweet combination. It was all Sarah over at her blog Sugar Cooking. It pretty much a delicious chocolate chip cookie with broken pretzels in it and then sea salt on top. I know you mouth is watering right?!

 

 

The only substitution I made was I didn't use the peanut butter chips that were in Sarah's recipe, instead I used half milk chocolate and half semi-sweet chocolate chips. Oh, and I doubled the recipe- obvs.

 

 

 

Here are the directions from Sarah's Blog:

 

 

Recipe: Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chip Pretzel Cookies

Makes 24 cookies

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. of salt

1/4 tsp. of baking soda

1/2 cup of butter at room temperature

1/2 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup of granulated sugar

1 egg (beaten)

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1/2 cup broken up pretzel pieces

Pretzel Salt or Sea Salt

 

 

Directions:

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

 

In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). On low speed, slowly add the beaten egg and vanilla extract.

Beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl.

 

Add the flour mixture and beat just until there are no more streaks of flour. Stir in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and pretzels. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

 

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out well rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Leave about 2 inches between each ball. Bake for 10 minutes. If you prefer crispier cookies increase the baking time by 1-2 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing.

 

 

 

I'm not joking- these cookies are SOOOO good. They have just that little hint of salt that makes a tall glass of milk that much better.

 

 

 

I told Joey that I was going to take some to work and he actually got mad. As if 48 cookies was not enough to hold him over until at least next weekend :)

 

 

 

 

 

XOXO Katie

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