Woot! Woot! I'm Guest Posting!

Hey everyone! I'm excited today because I'm guest posting over at Tausha's blog at Sassy Style Redesign!



She has been an awesome blogging friend and great at encouraging me to keep sharing my experiments creations.  Go by and check out all of her inspiration for us budget friendly people!  I hope you'll be as impressed as I am.

I'm off for a last ditch camping trip before school starts up again next week.:)  It always amazes me how much work it is to get a family of 5 ready for camping...uuugh!

Hope you all have a fun packed weekend!  

I'll be enjoying dirt and kid chasing for sure.

Heather

Accomplishment

I'm going to do a little show and tell today because I'm a bit proud of the outdoor projects my husband and I have accomplished over the last few months.

WARNING:  This post is a bit long, but we've gotten a lot done, so it had to be, right?

Remember when I was so excited that my husband built these?

Well, this is what the project turned into and I couldn't be happier!

I love it when a plan comes together!  (Name the show that came from.)

Maybe I did pack these great garden beds a bit too much but my vegetables are doing so much better this year than they did last!

Tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers, oh my!

Ok, I know I'm hanging out with my 2 year old a lot and it's rubbing of.

Here's another angle, green and beautiful, at least inside the landscape timber. I also realize that we need to do more work on the areas surrounding the garden beds. 

A little at a time and we'll get there. 

Jeesh, we do live in a dessert after all, so this is a small miracle!

Here was the start of another project I showed ya at the beginning of the summer.

Can you say ME-ESS!

This is where it is now.  

The grass has been reseeded...twice, and I've actually planted some flowers.

Everything needs to grow in for another year.  Plus, it doesn't help that there has been a huge bug problem this summer.  They have pretty much eaten the petunias I planted down to the ground.

This fall, or maybe next spring, I plan on adding some bushes and perennials to this bed for more green and color.

I love this time of summer in my yard, simply because the potted plants are at their showiest.  I love the color they give to any space you put them.

This pot and it's twin have a home by my front entry.

I'm sad to know that they'll only last for about another month or so.:(

Then I get to switch over to fall chrysanthemums! :)  I can see my husband roll his eyes as he reads this...I have a bit of a flower addiction.

We're hoping to get a few more things done before the real cold of winter hits and the new kiddo arrives. 

It all depends on how I feel during the last trimester, and how busy fall soccer season becomes.

Linking to:

Savvy Southern Style 
The Thrifty Home 
Today's Creative Blog 
Not JUST a Housewife 
House of Hepworths 
Delightful Order 
A Bowl Full of Lemons

Getting Started on the Bathroom

Remember when I spray painted this hardware a week or two ago and left ya'll with a teaser about what it would be going on?

Well, the hardware is reattached and the project it was a part of turned out better than I expected.

You may have guessed by the title of this post that I started work on a bathroom.  Specifically, my master bathroom.

These are the cupboards in the kid's bathroom that still need refinishing.  The master bathroom cabinetry looked like before I got started.  Yeah, more of that old honey oak finish with a peeling poly layer from water damage.

I would have loved to buy an entire new vanity for the master, but again that's just not in my very low budget.  A can of paint and elbow grease will have to do.  Can't say I'm in love with the countertops either.  Oh well...ya do what you can.  At least until you can change it again, haha!

This is after I sanded everything down and got the shiny layer off the cabinets.  I didn't worry that it was completely sanded to the base layer, because I was painting, not restaining.

Gotta love the mess and yeah, that's my trusty fountain Diet Coke to at least give me the energy to get started.

A quick picture of the doors.  Did I mention that they have been leaning against the wall for 2 or 3 months sanded and waiting for paint....and me to get started? 

Pregnancy does have a way of stalling the best plans. :(

I mixed a product called Floetrol with a combined paint and primer from Behr.  I ended up only having to do a couple of coats of paint and love, loVE, LOVE how the Floetrol decreased the brush marks from my paint brush!  

As you can see, I chose black hoping the contrast would make the countertops look better.  I'm thinking it may have worked.

I also added basic satin nickel knobs and pull from the Home Depot (there were no old ones to refinish), and put back on the hinges that I spray painted.  Who needs a new vanity, phftt!?

Side note:  Am I the only one that is driven nuts when builders don't put hardware on cabinetry?  Really, it's not that outrageously priced and it adds sooo much to the look!  

Well, maybe I am, since my house is 20 years old and none of the previous owners put any of this great bling on.  Grrrrr!

This is just my starting point.

  I have plans for the floors, wall color, and other bath accessories!

It's a process in this house, and I promise to show you all the steps along the way.

Linking to:

Beneath My Heart
The Thrifty Home 
Savvy Southern Style 
Blue Cricket Design 
House of Hepworths 
Delightful Order
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating 
Remodelaholic 
Fingerprints on the Fridge
Tatertots and Jello

Taquito Casserole

The following recipe is my lazy lady's take on enchiladas.  To give credit where it is due, I got this recipe From Jose Ole Taquitos and adjust it for what I have on hand.

Prep work involves chopping up a little green and red onion (about 1/3 c. each) if you have them.  Takes about 2 minutes.

If you don't have grated cheese on hand you might have to grate your own.  I usually  just use a medium bag of a Mexican cheese blend.

I use whatever taquitos I can get on sale, but prefer using corn taquitos.  A can of refried beans, and a couple of cans (10 oz.) of your favorite enchilada sauce.

I find that an 8X8 pan is plenty to feed a family of 5.  With this size, I only need about a box of 25 taquitos.  My boys aren't big eaters yet though, so you could increase the recipe to a 9X13, just adjust your ingredients accordingly.  

Great thing about this recipe is nothing has to be exact, it's just to your taste.

Put about 1/3 of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish.  Then a single layer of taquitos.

Add a layer of refried beans (about 1/2 a can is my preference).  I think this is easier if you warm the beans before trying to spread them over the taquitos.  A minute in the microwave seems to do the trick.  Then layer on some cheese and about 1/2 of your onion mix.

Put down another layer of taquitos and top them with your remaining enchilada sauce.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 min.  Coat the top of your taquitos with cheese and put them back in the oven for about another 5 min. to melt.  Top with your remaining onions and whatever else sounds good.

Last night I used some fresh chopped tomatoes.  I love olives too, but was completely out.:(

I usually serve some sour cream, guacamole, and hot sauce with this casserole, just because I'm a condiment junky.

Fresh fruit goes great as a side, and my kids wolf it down!

Again, this is easy and tastes pretty stinkin' good!

Linking to:

Pinkapotamus
The DIY Showoff 
Dittle Dattle 
Tip Junkie 
Lines Across My Face 
The Stories of A2Z 
The DIY Home Sweet Home Project 
Jam Hands 
Today's Creative Blog 
Not Just a Housewife 
Blue Cricket Design 
House of Hepworths 
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating 
Remodelaholic