Martha, Martha, Martha

Oh that Martha...she's done it again! Seriously! How does she find the time? Does the woman ever sleep???

I LOVE her new (New? I don't know if it's really "new" but it's new to me!) paint line. It's my new go-to for when I have refurbishing projects.

There are metallic glazes and textured paints:

The terra cotta paints are also textured and come in various colors or in a paintable finish so you can customize it to your needs.

Do you fancy a crackled finish? Martha's got you covered.

For those who need a little sparkle in their life, there is glitter paint.

I'm dying to try her Potter's Clay. It creates a beautiful textured finish that you can vary just by using different tools. It also comes in over 20 colors so you're bound to find a shade that you'll love.

Martha again makes your life easier by having 8oz samples of her paint in EVERY color. Not only are they perfect for trying out a color before you totally commit, but they are great for those small paint projects you have on your list!

The Martha Steward Living line can be found at Home Depot and are reasonably priced so you won't break the bank with your newest project.

Happy painting!

Make Over Your Monday

Happy Monday! How are you doing? We survived our first mini-week of school and are slowly getting into the grove of things! Lo is totally digging kindergarten and NoJo is enjoying her special time with Mommy. How did you do on last weeks challenge? Did you cut yourself some slack? Did you make it okay to not get EVERYTHING done? I sure hope so!

This week's challenge is to organize something.

Now is the time to attack that clutter that's been driving you crazy. I'm sure you can find a closet, drawer, garage, refrigerator or desk in need of some attention. None of us wants to be showcased on the next episode of Hoarders!

Have a great week and GET ORGANIZING!

And the award for Mother Of The Year goes to...

PLEASE USE BUG SPRAY!!!

This has been a public service announcement from Hanging On By A Thread....

To Market, To Market

Every week I make my grocery list, and EVERY weekend I head to the market to do my shopping. We all have our systems for lists, menus and coupons. For me I plan my nightly dinners and then make my list. I came across these wonderful downloadable planners at Design Sponge and I wanted to share them with you. A few are blank so that you can customize them for your needs, and for those who want a pre-made list you'll find it there too.

Here are the links to the downloads:
Grocery List
Menu Grocery List
Grocery List Items

You also find some great helpful tips on organizing to help minimize the headaches that often come with shopping at the market.

Happy shopping!

Chicken Florentine Bow-tie Pasta

When I saw this recipe at the Picky Palate I knew it was perfect for our family. It was super easy, quick to make and I loved that I could put it together the night before and just pop it into the oven when I got home from work the next day. It was the first time I used Philadelphia Cooking Creme and it was a huge hit with the kids and the hubby.


Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup finely chopped white onion
1 clove minced garlic
4 cups baby spinach leaves
2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups Philadelphia Cooking Creme
1 pound bowtie pasta or other small noodle
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place oil in Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Stir in spinach leaves, cook, stirring until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, salt and pepper and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add cooking cream, stirring to combine.
3. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and run under cold water to stop cooking. Add pasta to chicken mixture stirring to combine. Transfer to prepared baking dish and top with cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Kindergarten Round-up

 As some of you know yesterday was a big day for me Lo.

Yup, that's right, my baby is all growed up! She was so very excited about starting kindergarten that it was almost too hard to be sad. She has been counting down the days, and yesterday morning she practically flew out of bed.

She had her first day outfit all picked out right down to the matching headband, earrings and painted fingernails.

We walked to the bus stop and for those who know me well I'm sure it's no surprise that we were the first ones there...but it's a good thing we were because the bus arrived about 5 minutes early! Lo would have been devastated if we would have missed it.

Noa quietly slipped on her sister's backpack hoping that she could sneak on the bus unnoticed. To her dismay we noticed!

The bus arrived and she hopped right in like she had been doing it all her life. I admire her bravery. I myself an not very comfortable in new situations and I'm grateful I haven't passed along that trait to her.

I was very brave. I didn't shed a tear, mainly because there was no time to. It was all so quick! As the day wore on I started feeling a little sad. I missed my baby and so did her sister. I am now the proud owner of my very own mini shadow. I think it's going to take us all a while to find our groove.

She came skipping off the bus with a huge smile proclaiming she had a great day!

The highlights were:

• Meeting the principal "She's a GIRL Mommy!"
• Seeing her friend Abby in the cafeteria
• Learning the song, "Who rocks the house? The bears rock the house and when the bears rock the house they rock it all the way down!" We've heard it a million times today.

Nothing makes this mama happier than a first day full of smiles!

Room Redo-The Cave

Last week I was given the opportunity to pretend I was a contestant on HGTV's Design Star. I was given a blank wall and a budget and it couldn't have been more fun!

The project was to redo the "Cave" at work. The cave is a small portion of my office where three nurses and a doctor squeeze in together.

Here is the Cave pre-makeover...dreary, drab and DE-PRESSING!

...and here it is today clean, calming and contemporary!

I started by painting the walls a dark gray. It's Better Homes and Garden "Driftwood" in an eggshell finish. It's calming and worked well with the furniture and textiles already in the room.

The inspiration for the colors came form my favorite floral fabric from Hobby Lobby. It's full of various shades of blue which coordinated well with the burgundy countertops and navy carpet. I covered 4 stretch art canvases with the fabric and then applied mod podge on top. The large letters are from Jo-ann Fabric and were painted navy to match the fabric. Each panel was hung using command strips.

All the frames came from Goodwill on their 50%-off Saturday. They cost less than $2 each. For the chalkboard I simply turned the picture around and sprayed the back with chalkboard paint. Now it's a great place for us to leave important, funny or inspiring messages for each other.

For our "11" (and inside joke at work) I covered the print with cotton batting and matching fabric. I then hot-glued painted wooden numbers onto the fabric.

The clothespin frame (find the tutorial {HERE}) was salvaged from a neighbor's trash. I spray painted it and again covered the picture in cotton batting and fabric. It's another great place where we can hang pictures or leave silly notes for each other.

The shelving came from Hobby Lobby (half off!!!) and the cork boards are from Wal-mart. You may notice that none of them are hung at the same height. This was on purpose and I trick I like to use. It is so difficult to get them all level. If they are off just a little it will look funny, but by having them at obviously different heights it looks intentional (which it was).

All the accessories also came from Jo-ann Fabrics. They were a steal at 70%-off! I love how organized and updated the Cave looks.

The best part was being able to pull a whole room together at once. Usually I work on a room little-by-little, gathering things here and there. I was able to pull it all together over the weekend and surprise my co-workers Monday morning.

So much fun!