(Not) Complaining

Top: Ann Taylor
Skirt: J.Crew
Clutch: H&M
Shoes: Burlington Coat Factory
Shades: LOFT
Pearls: Gift from hubby

WHEN: Sunday church and visit to in-laws

It's Sunday night.I'm sitting on the couch with my fuzzy PJs and 2(!) pairs of socks on, with heat still on and I'm freezing! What is up with the weather? It was gorgeously sunny out but not warm, not even a little bit. So here I am not complaining about the weather and not saying that I'm sick and tired of cold, and not saying that I want to turn off the heat in the house. I am so ready to wear my new white jeans which I think look great on me, and you know how hard it is to find white jeans that don't make you look fat (I got them before my resolution)
P.S. I will say a prayer for all my not complaining tonight

Serving Tray (DIY)

So here is a long promised DIY project, well, more like a make over. I was doing a Baby Shower for my girlfriend and needed a serving tray for decorations. Instead of buying one, I decided to Do It Myself because I would make it exactly the way I wanted it.

You Will Need:

1. Serving tray 
2. Spray Paint (color of your choice)
3. Gloves
4. Newspaper/old magazines
5. Card stock (the harder, the better)
6. Super Glue

I went to a thrift store and bought an old serving tray in ugly red and yellow, layered my J.Crew catalog underneath the tray to protect the porch from over spray, threw on a pair of gloves and got to work.

The trick with spray paint is you have to be patient and use multiple coats, otherwise you will end up with runs. First coat was just a white primer. But I didn't want it to be white, so I had off-white color spray paint (donated to me by my father-in-law) which I used.

After I thoroughly covered the tray with first coat, I let it dry for about 30 minutes. Then I did two more coats of beige (off-white) with couple of hours of drying time in between.

I bought card stock at Hobby Lobby that would nicely match the beige and serve me well after the party is over. I picked out a nice vintage pattern and cut it to the size of the tray. Next, to make sure that the paper will be secured and the surface would remain smooth, I glued it on with super glue (make sure to keep your gloves on and don't use glue gun).

TA-DA!!!

Note for Self: Make sure you are paying attention to the gluing part and not talking to your mother while doing it. See how the pattern went from horizontal to vertical? Yeah, not good... and super glue isn't nice when it's being ripped off.


Here it is being used at the Baby Shower

Another way to style it! There are so many ways to use it that I'm already excited by how nice it came out.
(I DIY the flower pot below with spray paint too)

I hope you liked this! Enjoy! 

Hillbilly Breakfast

Last Sunday night we went out to our friends' house and had breakfast for dinner. My girlfriend is a great cook of all things breakfast and made a delicious hash brown casserole, which I haven't mastered yet. She also made biscuits and gravy and, let me tell you, those were the best biscuits and gravy I have ever had. So the boys devoured the food (I had only 2) and I was left with a craving for more.  Today I finally had the time to make some. My recipe is a combination of Pioneer Woman's Biscuits and Gravy and what I saw my friend do on Sunday (I was hanging in the kitchen with the girls).

So here it is:
10oz pork sausage (or ground pork)
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sausage fat
1/4 cup of flour
3 cups of 2%milk
8 biscuits
salt and pepper

Place the sausage into a warm skillet and cook through until there is no more pink. Drain sausage and reserve the fat. In a clean skillet melt butter, then add flour constantly whisking on medium heat. Cook roux until it's starting to change color and getting a little yellow. At this point put the biscuits in oven and follow the directions on the box. Start adding more milk a little at a time on low/medium heat. (DO NOT add all the milk at a time, you will get clumps). While whisking the roux add more milk and stirring  to make sure it's all absorbed until you run out of milk. Cook the sauce on low heat, adding 1tbsp of pork fat, salt and pepper to taste. Add sausage to the sauce and mix well. Once your biscuits are done, you are ready to devour this goodness and never to look back!
I served them with scrambled eggs and OJ.
Enjoy!

Little Bit of Jackie

Pearls: Christmas present from hubby
Cardigan, shoes: Ann Taylor
Jacket: LOFT
Jeans: GAP

Every time I see a button up sweater and pearls it reminds me of Jacqueline Kennedy. She was a style icon and  always will be. Her hair, manners, clothes and speech radiated class which is very rare. So here is a twist on classic Jackie (with jeans)... Well, maybe it's not like Jackie at all but I feel very classy in this outfit.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Striking a Pose

Top: Old Navy
Necklace, Shoes: TJMaxx
Jeans: GAP
Sunnies: LOFT

WHEN: Last Friday when it was beautiful out

Honestly, I haven't gotten the hang of the whole picture thing yet. I had many complements but truth be told, who poses in their clothes every day? Kind of weird... Yeah, people are driving by our house, as I'm trying to strike a pose, giving us weird looks; it all makes me a little self conscious. I don't know my best side yet and want to look good but I end up looking like I have stick up my ... lol  Therefore there are no pictures from today. I was trying to look like a model with one of their fierce looks but didn't really work out that way. So hopefully the good weather will return and we will be on track for summer.