Part 1 of my Retro Renovation…

Let the fun begin!

Here is another before picture of the little pink bathroom all 6 of us share! Some dear friends of ours who own our little brick ranch also lived here with four children. So this bathroom has been well loved! It was so exciting when my friend/landlord gave me her total consent in giving this bathroom a new life!

Original pink tile vanity with layers of paint covering the wooden cabinets underneath. Notice the pink pinwheel floor!

If you look closely in this picture you will notice that the hardware has been painted over. This was the original hardware. Once we were able to pry them loose (which took some elbow grease from the years of caked on paint), we soaked them in paint thinner. I wanted to see the original color of the hardware. They were a perfect mint green. Unfortunately they were in no conditioned to be reused. So we opted for a simple chrome with a vintage feel.

After sanding away the years...

Our electric palm sander was our largest tool of choice for this makeover.  Years of paint and water damage are easily erased with a little fine grade sand paper!

Under the wall paper! Before...

The sheetrock walls have taken quite a beating over the years. We found dingy mold as well as quite a few layers of paint ranging in bright yellow, to cream, to an ultra pepto bismol pink! I also found the tiniest shred of an old wallpaper with little pink and blue flowers scattered all over.

A palm sander and some spackle does the job again!

Thankfully I have a handy hubby as well as a handy palm sander! There is no way I could have finished this project with out him! There is lots of work to be done, but the rest will have to wait till tomorrow.

Do any of you have or have grown up with a retro bathroom? If so I would love hear about them.

Pink Bathroom Before…

The dark wall paper and shower door was blocking out the light... who could have known what would be hiding underneath all that paper!

On a Mission to Love the House I’m In!

To say the least, I was unhappy when we first moved back to Tennessee from Florida. It’s not that I had it out for Nashville, it’s just that I had opened my heart to Melbourne, Fl and found it’s small town life to be full of small town joy! For me anyway. It also didn’t hurt that I spent at least one pleasant, sunshiny day a week on the beach. Of course, there were the typical moving mom woes involved with moving to Florida. Packing and unpacking, making new friends, finding a new church, and less I forget having my husband work Christmas day because he is the new man on board. I just chose not to remember them on the way back to Nashville. Instead of embracing our return to Music City, I resented every Nashville bound mile.

We have been very blessed in our marriage to have always owned and lived in our own home. However, as a result of the economic downturn my beloved little Florida ranch house has still not sold leaving us with no other option but to rent a little 1960’s brick ranch in the suburbs. My first few months in this house were filled with bitterness and frustration. It’s small, cramped, there are holes in my walls where there used to be AC units and heaven forbid… A Pink Bathroom!

This is where my boohooing ends and healing begins. One night, in an effort to gain some sort of sanity and crawl out of my shell of self pity, I began to remodel my attitude through reviving that pink bathroom. That night with the help of a much loved friend I removed an old shower door that was not only blocking the light in my bathtub, but also helping to cast a shadow on my bad attitude.

A few weeks earlier as the world was ringing in the new year I had found myself on my hands and knees in repentance. I knew deep in my heart my resentfulness was tearing down my husband. I have a loving husband who wants me to be happy, he works so hard to provide for us. I prayed, “Lord, let me find beauty in this house, my house.” The next day I found this website.

http://retrorenovation.com/

Her subtitle says it all! “Love the House You’re In!”

Have any of you experienced this? I would love for you to share your thoughts and musings! And maybe I can convince a few of you to “Save the Pink Bathrooms!”

Princesses and Superheroes!

A Princess...

and two, very happy, laser eyed, Superheroes!

As my babies become children I am more and more amazed at God’s brilliance in creating us male and female. Since we are all created in His image, we each reflect both the masculine and feminine sides of His perfect nature.

It is true that because of our sinful flesh we are corrupt. This is not only evident through my own actions, but it is also proven to me through my children everyday as I struggle to teach them using biblical truths. I do not need to teach them to be unkind or selfish. My beautiful children were born that way.

What brings me much joy as I strive to raise my children to be God fearing men and women, is how God has already cemented their feminine and masculine natures into their beings. For many years I believed that a women’s desire to be beautiful or a man’s desire to be strong stemmed from their own selfish desire. Motherhood has taught me that this is not true. Today, I sat and clipped four over sized bows into my daughter’s hair for no other reason than her desire to be a beautiful princess. I was reminded how it is good and right for we as the bride of Christ to desire to be beautiful in His eyes. In fact, as we accept the gift He gave to us He sees us as His perfect creation. He also desires us to seek after Him, just as a woman longs to be desired by her beloved.

My little boys fly around the house in their capes. They jump and leap off the stairs and couch determined to demonstrate their incredible superhero strength and awesome capabilities. God has given them this desire to guard and protect, just as he guards and protects His children. It is true that we live in a fallen world full of sin and sorrow, but we are surrounded by His never failing love. If you feel the desire to know God, then seek Him and He will make himself known to you.

I personally struggle to seek God on a daily basis. Today however, He reminded me to continue to pursue Him through four little princesses and superheroes.

References

Psalm 127:3 ~ Sons are a heritage from the Lord,

children a reward from him.

Psalm 91:4 ~ He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge.

Matthew 7:7 ~ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;

knock and the door will be opened to you.

White Modeling Chocolate

White Modeling Chocolate: Before and After

Ingredients
7 oz or 1/2 of a 14 oz bag of white chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Preparation

To keep the corn syrup from sticking to your measuring spoon, spray with Pam or wipe with a little cooking oil.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over med-low heat. Stir the chocolate until thoroughly melted and smooth. Remove from heat.

Stir in the corn syrup. The chocolate will stiffen almost immediately. Stir until the corn syrup is mixed completely. The chocolate should pull away from the sides of the pot and be warm to the touch. Place the chocolate in a ziplock freezer bag. Remove as much air as possible.

Refrigerate overnight or until completely cool. Chocolate will conform back to a pliable consistency after reworking it thoroughly. White modeling chocolate can be dyed any rainbow of colors and can be molded into any number of beautiful things. To celebrate fall try pumpkins, scarecrows or candy corn!

To achieve the texture I used for the Raggedy Ann and Andy mix 1 part modeling chocolate to an equal part fondant. Here in Nashville I purchase my fondant at “Sweetwise” by the Opry Land Hotel!

Happy Molding!

Raggedy Ann and Andy Cake

White modeling chocolate makes a sweet little Raggedy Ann and Andy!

I used a two equal part mixture of white modeling chocolate and fondant for the Raggedy Ann and Andy. I find that this gives it a smoother consistency and a slower drying time. I used my gum paste tools for the neat little details like the stitching and

Raggedy Andy

gel colors and vodka to paint on Andy’s plaid shirt and both their faces. The hair was made with a garlic press and then I gave them both cute little haircuts!

Raggedy Ann

I smoothed the buttercream with both the hot water method followed by the Viva paper towel method! The block was pieced together with fondant and I piped the edges to cover up the seams! I will post my recipe for white modeling chocolate tomorrow! Both Fondx and Caljava are great delicious brands of fondant. They taste

Buttercream icing smoothed with the Viva method!

nothing like Wilton’s recipe which has given fondant a bad reputation for taste. Comment if you like and if I seem to have enough interest I will post an easy recipe for a delicious homemade marshmallow fondant!

A Tea Party!

Raggedy Ann and Andy come for a visit!

The past few days I have been preoccupied with the last two remaining remnants of our Raggedy Ann and Andy Tea Party. My mom and my sister! We have all thoroughly enjoyed their visit. My personal favorite night this week was spent wondering through the gardens of the Opry Land Hotel, while dining on a delicious scoop of Chocolate Almond Gelato.

Aside from a small two hour delay (waiting on my mom and sister to arrive by car from Colorado Springs, Co), the party was great fun. And any delay is worth having a party with much loved friends and family close by! Traditionally baby Julia tore into her lemon cake with two hands, loving every bite!

My dear hubby lovingly made the mini quiches for me as I was admittedly behind on the cake. This was a first for him and I couldn’t have done a better job myself! The quiches along side the other tea party treats made for a beautiful plate!

A Plateful of Goodies; quiche, tropical fruit salad, and heart shaped magic cookie bars! Yum!

Most importantly Julia enjoyed every second of her first birthday party!

Julia in her red riding hood!

Angels in the Bedroom…

Tip Toe…

Quietly…

What do I see?

Angels in the Bedroom…

First one,

Serenity

Then two,

Angels in the Bedroom…

Wrapped in Tulle

Hush, don’t wake.

My Angels in the Bedroom…

And even when they’ve grown and gone,

I will take a peek.

And still…

I will see…

Angels in the Bedroom.

A Delicious Blackberry Brandy Whip!

Blackberry Brandy Whip

Here is one of my own easy recipes. I created this recipe to use as a cake filling, but it is so yummy it can easily stand on it’s own! This whip is full of antioxidants, practically fat free, and with the inexpensive price of frozen blackberries how can you go wrong?

Yield: Makes 4 servings or enough to fill a 9 inch round, two layer cake.

Ingredients
1 cup frozen blackberries

2 Tbls water

2Tbls granulated sugar

2 Tbls blackberry brandy or liquer

1 8oz container of a cool whipped topping

1 tsp of orange zest

Fresh blackberries to use as a garnish (optional)

Preparation

1. Bring frozen blackberries, sugar, water and brandy to a simmer.

2. Using a whisk, stir constantly mashing the berries as they thicken.

3. Simmer for 3 minutes or until a smooth consistency.

4. If you desire a smoother texture pour thickened blackberries into a blender/food processor and puree for 20 sec.

5. Once your blackberries have thickened place them in the fridge to cool completely.

6. After your blackberries have cooled gently fold in your orange zest and whipped topping. *Do not mix or blend as it will disrupt the consistency of your whip

This looks lovely layered with fresh or thawed and drained frozen black berries and served in a glass bowl or cup. Garnish with fresh black berries, orange zest or chocolate curls!

I use this recipe as a filling for both my lemon and orange chiffon cakes! It is also wonderful as a substitute to your everyday strawberry short cake! Introduce your friends to a blackberry shortcake or serve on the side with your favorite blackberry cobbler!

Enjoy!

*This recipe can be sugar free by using a sugar free whipped topping and substituting Splenda for your granulated sugar*

The “Holy Grail” also known as the “Tea Party”

I love tea, hot, cold with cream or lemon. A more accurate statement would be that I love hot beverages! I also loved the idea of hosting a tea party, even if it is a small one! What I didn’t know when I began this little escapade is that tea is a finicky old bird of sorts and it is disrespectful to ruffle her feathers. In other words, tea means rules and these rules are NOT to be broken.

Now I am exaggerating a wee bit for the sake of dramatic effect. However, take for instance this little snip-it explaining a Cream Tea from another blog entitled “Tea Party Guide”.

“If you are serving a Devon tea, you will serve scones split in half(plain with no fruits, nuts or anything added to them and never frosted), with Devonshire clotted cream then strawberry jam on top… in that order!

Or…

If you are serving a Cornish tea, you will serve splits(a sweet yeast roll) or scones, split in half, with butter, strawberry jam, and then a generous scoop of Cornish clotted cream on top… in that order! “

To read the rest of this article visit: http://www.tea-party-guide.com/cream-tea.html

Apparently I will be hosting an afternoon tea which should not exceed two hours or I will be expected to serve a light lunch!

Obviously twelve month old little girls don’t care what kind of tea party they have as long as it includes sweet cupfuls of hugs and kisses! Still, I enjoyed the history lesson and in all probability will be hosting many more tea parties to come!

P.S. I recently discovered upon loving correction from someone who knows, that milk is best served with tea, not cream. Cream is too heavy and will mask the flavor of your tea!

Bottoms up!