DIY Reversible Placemats

Happy Thursday! 
Atlanta has been rainy and stormy all week.  I really hope the sun comes out this weekend, I have plans to lay by the pool ;-)

So I had some leftover fabric from my pillow project and decided to make placemats!

One side is green zebra and the other is orange print.  I used an existing placemat as the template.  Trace around the edge of the placemat leaving a 1/2 inch seam allowance.  Cut out your circle.

To make the placemats more sturdy, I added another fabric in between, just a plain cotton fabric.  Sew the circles together- right sides facing each other.

Leave about 4 inches un-sewn so that you can flip the fabric right side out.

Sew the opening shut.

Iron the placemat so that the edges are flat and smoothe.  Now run a seam along the edge.

And there you go - homemade placemats!!

I have a little fabric leftover, I'm thinking homemade potholders! 

Have a great day!

~ Elizabeth



Chevron Chalkboard Tutorial

The summer edition of the Pinterest Challenge has started and we are so excited to link up to it! Check out the link parties at: Young House Love, Bower Power, Centsational Girl and Ten June.

I am in love with Chevron Stripes and Chalkboards right now!!! So I decided to combine the two and create a Chevron Chalkboard!

Inspiration for this project came from this image I saw on Pinterest several weeks ago:

Chevron Picture Frame

Supplies Needed:

Pencil

Yard Stick

Painters Tape

Exacto Knife

Scissors

Paint

 Wood Board (any size you want)

Chalkboard Paint

Frame (any size you want but smaller than the board so you can see the Chevron stripes)

Step 1: Paint your board the color you want your stripes to be.

Step 2: Creat a grid to help you tape out the chevron stripes.

(my squares were 5in x 3.5in)

Step 3: Tape stripe starting in top right corner of the first square going to the bottom left corner of the same square - leave excess tape so that it looks like an "x" where the tape meets.

Step 4: Cut off excess tape with exacto knife.

To do this line up your yard stick with one of the stripes and cut off the intersecting piece.

Step 5: Paint the edges of the stripes with the same color as the board

This will eliminate bleeding

Step 6:  Once your paint is dry paint the board with your top coat.

Step 7: Remove the tape once the paint has dried.

Step 8: Paint over or erase the pencil grid lines inside the chevron stripes.

Step 9: Determine where you want your chalkboard and paint the area.  

*Follow chalkboard paint instructions*

Step 9: If reusing an old frame remove the old hard ware since the frame will be mounted to your board.

Step 10: Glue frame to board.

If your frame is heavy you might need to screw in some screws as well.

There you go!! Now you have a Chevron Chalkboard!

 

This is one of my favorite projects that I have done for our house!! It only costs $2.50 - I had everything except the chalkboard paint and chalk.  The chalkboard has really come in handy lately since the hubs is working nights (only one more year of residency...yay) so we barely see each other - now we can write each other little notes!

~Julia

We Finally Went to the Grand Ole Opry

After living in Nashville for two years we finally had a chance to visit the Grand Ole Opry.  Before going to the show we went to Solario for dinner.  Solario is a mexican restaurant located inside of Gaylord Opryland Hotel.  If you have never been to Opryland Hotel it is absolutely gorgeous!! It kind of feels like a casino because it is huge and you never need to leave - they have everything onsite. 

Here's what we had for dinner:

Jalepeno Gaucamole


Sangria and Margritas

I got the Solario burrito which had steak and goat cheese.  It wasn't your typical burrito but it was very good!

The hubs and mother in law got the tacos - LOVE the presentation!

Here we are outside of the Grand Ole Opry

The Grand Ole Opry is a live radio show so you get to hear a bunch of different artists perform throughout the night.   You also have commercial breaks between each act which consisted of a word from the sponsor.  This was a little strange because there were only 4 sponsors the entire night so we kept hearing the same commercial over and over again.

We didn't recognize many of the artists that performed but we did know the last band.  Rascal Flatts ended the night by performing 3 of their songs and the crowd went crazy!

Overall I would highly recommend going to the Grand Ole Opry! The tickets are pretty inexpensive and it's a fun way to spend a Saturday night! 

~Julia

Strawberry Breakfast Cake

Since we kind of did our Friday Faves on Tuesday - today we are going give you a delicious breakfast recipe that you can try this weekend!

 

Strawberry Breakfast Cake

(Receipe adapted from Alexandra's Kitchen)

Serves 6-8 people

Ingredients:
1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature
2 T lemon zest
7/8 c sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 t vanilla
2 c flour
2 t baking powder
1 t kosher salt
2 c strawberries
1/2 c buttermilk

Directions:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Step 2: Cream butter, lemon zest and sugar until light and fluffy
Step 3: Add the egg and vanilla - beat until combined
Step 4: Toss strawberries with 1/4 c of flour
Step 5: Whisk together 1 3/4 c flour, baking powder and kosher salt
Step 6: Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with buttermilk
Step 7: Fold in the strawberries
Step 8: Grease a 9 inch square baking pan with butter or non-stick spray
Step 9: Spread batter into pan and sprink with sugar - bake for 40 minutes
*Check with a toothpick for doneness.  If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple more minutes
Step 10: Let cool for 15 minutes and then enjoy


The original recipe called for blueberries but when I went to the grocery store blueberries were $4.  I immediately decided to use strawberries instead - they were only $2.50.   Also the original recipe said to bake for 35 minutes but mine took more like 45 minutes.  Once you hit the 40 minute mark start checking it every couple of minutes with a toothpick.

This recipe was very good and goes great with bacon!  I will say there is a lot of bread/cake so it is very filling.  My husband suggesting putting syrup on it which I think is an excellant idea since the bread got a little dry after a couple of days -we only had two people eating it so it took awhile to finish :)

I hope you have a great weekend!

~Julia

4th of July Recap

Morning!! It feels like it is Monday today, I am so confused!   How was everyone's 4th of July!

Yesterday morning the BF and I woke up early to run the Peachtree Road Race.  We had a great time people watching and enjoying the festivities.  People were dressed up in patriotic clothing, some had their body covered in paint, and we saw one guy running in a leopard speedo ~ it was all very entertaining!

After the race we enjoyed some pool time with friends.  For lunch we grilled pizzas - I wish I had a pic, but they were eaten too quickly!  We used Boboli's thin crust mini pizzas - you just put on all your toppings, then heat on the grill for about 5 mins (with the grill shut) - they were delicious!! 

It was a great 4th of July!!


So remember when I won a free pair of Brooks Running Shoes - well I got them the other day!!!  I got the new Glycerin 10 bright pink running shoes.

Brooks was so great to work with!  I originally asked for a different pair of shoes but they were out of stock.  They worked with me to find another great pair. 

I've been wearing the Brooks Ghost shoes for the past few years and I love the fit of them.  The Glycerin's feel similar - they are light weight with a cushioned sole. 

Thanks for the free shoes Brooks!

~Elizabeth

4th of July Inspiration!

Happy Tuesday everyone!! I'm so happy to have tomorrow off of work, but coming back on Thursday will be tough ;-(  I wish we could just get all 3 days off for the 4th - it's the patriotic thing to do ;-)


Tomorrow I'll be waking up early to run the Peachtree Road Race 10K with my closest 60,000 friends!! I'm not as well prepped as I should be, but my plan is to have a good time!!


Here's some 4th of July inspiration:

Patriotic Bikini

American Flag Wreath

Red, White & Blue Strawberries

Patriotic Nails

Firecracker Shots

Have a fun and safe holiday!

~Elizabeth

Bag of Tacos

I'm not sure if y'all have realized yet but I love mexican food!! I could eat it every single day of the week :)!  So whenever I take a meal to a friend I figure they love Mexican food too....right?!?!?

I recently took a meal to a family that just had their 3rd baby.  Since they have two small children I tried to think of a meal that everyone would like...tacos.  Who doesn't love tacos?!?!  

Here's what I included for the dinner:
Taco Meat - ground turkey
Sauteed Veggies - onions and green peppers
Mexican rice
Shredded lettuce
Shredded cheese (I forgot to include it in the pic...oops)
Sour Cream
Salsa
Guacomole
Shells
Tortilla Chips


For delivery to the family I put everything in a cute gift bag (hence the name - Bag of Tacos).  One great tip I learned from Espresso and Cream was to buy new disposable containers for the food.  Some people may get grossed out at the thought of reused containers.


I hope you find this useful!  Have a great Monday!!
~Julia