I scream, you scream...

...you all will be screaming for this ice cream! Seriously, it is SO delicious and so simple. I stumbled upon this recipe first and knew I just had to find an ice cream maker so I could try it, it looked amazing. This recipe comes to us from the the kitchn. I mean seriously, how can you not be drooling over this.  For those interested in being  a little healthier, I substituted fat free half and half for the heavy cream, used fat free sweetened condensed milk and lite coconut milk and it was still delicious.  I've never had the full fat version, but this way was still delicious!

So, this led to my hunt for an ice cream maker, which I just so happened to find at Goodwill the very next day for $5! Coincidence, I think not :) I plugged it in to make sure it worked and it did. It's probably not the most gourmet ice cream maker, but it will work for what I need it for. Even if it just made this one batch of ice cream and died it would be worth it. (although I hope that's not the case b/c I have to make this again:) The fact that it's pink had me sold too, it's just cute. The little lotus leaf cups were a Goodwill score for $0.49/each. They are the perfect size for a little ice cream cup.

Here's my plan/thoughts.  I would love to make these for hostess gifts or just for someone who needs a little treat.  I found these great containers for the ice cream...

check them out here.  I haven't ordered them yet but I'm planning to in the near future.

Then I could decorate them with some cute little handmade labels  and maybe even have an ice cream party like this one  over at eat drink chic. 

 

These cups are covered with cute paper to dress them up and the template is a free downloadable template!  I'm definitely going to be doing this.  And those pink spoons are pretty adorable.

Enjoy your Sundae!  or Sunday! ;)

all ice cream party images from eat drink chic.

Feeling Blue...

I always get so excited when my pottery barn catalog comes in the mail, not because I'm going to buy anything but because I know I will be inspired!  As usual, I was again this time.  As I was flipping through, this room caught my eye...

I love this shade of blue, so pretty and the contrast with the black, brown, and caramel tones is just perfect.  My husband doesn't know this yet, but I would love to paint our office this color!  I love that pottery barn lists the colors of the rooms in their catalog because sometimes it's hard to tell what a color will look like on the wall.  This one is called Newburyport Blue, by benjamin moore. 

So, let's pretend we are in a dream world and I could recreate this room with no particular budget in mind.  Here are some pieces I think would work great!

some nice lanterns.

or maybe a nice big lantern chandelier like this.  I have plans to DIY this one day.  To be continued...

maybe a nice jute rug for some added texture and interest

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or maybe one like this

maybe some nice wall letters like they have in the pottery barn pic.  I actually have a few of these from Hobby Lobby.  You can get them for $5 when they go on sale.

probably would paint this a different color to tone down the bright gold, maybe a nice bronze or cream color. 

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and this desk and chair would look pretty great in there too...

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and this lovely Ikat chair from Urban Outfitters would tie the blue in nicely...

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maybe some mirrored frames mixed in with some wooden and metal frames for some texture and interest on the wall....

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and of course you need a great mirror to break up all that blue...

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and you always need some extra lamps...

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Hope you all have a great Thursday, it's almost Friday, woo hoo!

Chandelier Revamp

You may remember the chandelier I did here.  Well, my sister loved them so much that she decided she wanted one for her own house.  So, for her birthday this year I decided to oblige her.  :)  She was very surprised and excited to have a nice, new light fixture. 

This time I found the light fixture for only $5!



I disassembled it...

spraypainted everything a nice bronze finish...

put it together, replacing the large glace shade with a drum shade...

but it just looked a little plain.  I thought adding some fabric to the shade would give it a little more pizazz.  I was always intimidated to do this for some reason, but it turned out to be super easy.

I traced the outline of the shade onto some fabric and then cut it out.  I found this great fabric at Hancock fabrics on the remnants table for a few dollars a yard! 

I just used a little spray adhesive to attach it....

that's much better now, isn't it?

and the finished product!  They actually use their garage as an entryway most of the time so this new light makes this area feel much more "foyer like". 

Total cost for this project....less than $10!  can't beat that.

linking up to...

Mad in Crafts

Silly Little Sparrow

Skip To My Lou

Material Wall Art

Ready for some easy art?  I know they sell these wooden frames at IKEA for about $5 but they are much smaller than what I needed.  So, I went to Lowe's and had them cut some 1" x 2" board for me.  You can get a 96" piece for about two dollars.  The measurements for this frame were 36" by 40".  I just had them cut the pieces for me and then screwed them all together.  I used three 36" pieces and two 40" pieces.  Then, I just stapled the fabric around the edges.



and now I have a nice large piece of art!  Sadly, this actually isn't staying in my house, it's going to be used in one of the sleep labs I'm decorating.  It's a great, economical piece of art, especially with all the gorgeous fabric out there that you can use.

                                            

Happy Friday!! :)

Think Pink...

This is my new favorite print from vintage printable.  I love the color and of course I love that is beachy.  It has a lot of different, unique elements going on.  I wish I had somewhere in my house to use it.



and since we are on the subject of pink, I am really loving the color coral right now.  It's so fresh and pretty; combine it with some gray and teal and you've got the perfect room.  I was so inspired by the May issue of Martha Stewart Living.  She did a whole article featuring some of the colors in her new paint line at Home Depot.  These rooms will be going in my inspiration folder.

I love the unexpected, fresh pops of color in this living room. 

and this office is adorable!  Love the bookcases and all the teal-green.  I could do some serious work in that office...

and this is probably my favorite.  I love the contrast of a fancy mirror with a fun color and the trash can is adorable too.  Gray is one of my favorite neutrals right and now and I love that this one feels warm and inviting, not too industrial.  I will definitely be using this for some inspiration sometime.  In fact, I think I have the perfect mirror....Love the towel rack too, looks like maybe one of those racks used for afghans/blankets?

 

Candle Making

I set out on an adventure to make a candle.  I figured it couldn't be that hard.  It wasn't too bad but I definitely learned a few things along the way.  I started out with an old pillar candle that I had used up.  The wick was burnt out but the outside of the candle was still intact, if that makes sense?  And it smelled REALLY good!  I couldn't let it go to waste, that's what made me decide to do this.  So I chopped up the remaining wax.


Found the perfect container at Goodwill :)

added a wick from the craft store...

and melted the wax over a double boiler.  I lined the pan with some tinfoil, hoping for an easier cleanup.  It did help some, but wax somehow still got everywhere!  And wax is hard to clean up, especially when it gets wet. 

and....

here is the finished product!  It sunk in, in the middle a little bit (maybe the outside cooled faster than the inside?!?)  But it still works! :)

anyone tried this before?  any helpful tips?