Shelf Lining

As I was cleaning the other day before Thanksgiving, I spied some shelf liner in my cabinet that I bought quite a while ago to use. I had been ignoring the fact that I really needed to line my pantry with the pretty chevron pattern for quite some time... so finally I decided to be brave and just do it. ;)

I found the shelf liner at T.J Maxx for $5.99. Can't beat that!

This is the pantry before. SO sorry for the blurred picture. 

I didn't realize it until now, but you get the general idea of how blah it was.

The supplies needed: cleaner (for the shelves), measuring tape, scissors and shelf liner.

I measured the length of the shelf and then used the helpful grid on the back of the liner to cut a straight line. Adhering it to the shelf is easy once you get it all straight and lined up! The liner is sooo forgiving. I must have peeled it up at least 6 times the first round. Since it wasn't wide enough, I just cut extra pieces and tried to match up the pattern the best I could. 

I like the end result. It took time, but is so worth it. And now I will know the tricks for next time! :)

Check out your T.J Maxx for more pretty shelf liners. There are some gorgeous patterns!

Homemade Coffee Treat

This morning I had good news... I lost another pound. It really was thrilling and exciting to have reached the 15 pound mark! Although I don't believe I can make it to 20 by Thanksgiving, I am pretty happy that I have gotten this far!

So to celebrate, of course I had to make some coffee after my healthy breakfast of yogurt and an egg on toast. And my vitamins too! I have been dying to get an espresso maker so I can make my own lattes at home, but since that won't be happening soon, I'm on my own for crafting up a yummy coffee.

To make my coffee a little extra special, I brewed a strong pot (I normally do anyway) and added some plain soy creamer. I then topped it with Cabot whipped cream and drizzled some ice cream topping (caramel) on top. To finish, a pinch or two of pumpkin pie spice. Let me tell you, it is so good! And really, it isn't full of as many calories as you would think! I counted 95 calories. Of course if you would have only opted for way less caramel than I did (don't judge! ;) it would have been less. Pretty good for a special treat, I think.

So there's a little something for you to try on occasion... Maybe even today to help me celebrate! ;)

Happy Thursday.

Homemade Baguettes

My baguettes turned out pretty good. Not quite how I wanted, but they are crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. Very yummy!

A Day of Homemade

Today is definitely one of those days where I am happy to be home. The weather has turned nasty, yet it just makes me want to bake and be all domestic. :)

I decided to try homemade bread again. Last time I made it, it turned out okay, but I have yet to bake a homemade bread that I absolutely loved! So the dough for my French bread is rising and I am anxiously waiting to see how it turns out.
Meanwhile, I am going to watch a couple movies from RedBox while I crochet Christmas gifts. All of this is definitely taking place with some strong, hot coffee and a cozy blanket. I'm really feeling the whole winter thing here today. Weird how the weather can put people into different moods. Hah!

There are many other things I can think of to accomplish today, but we will have to see how far I get. The list of Christmas "to-dos" is getting longer and longer, so I hope to kick a few items off while I have days like this! Now if only I could get to Jo-Ann's for more supplies. My sweet husband willingly offered to take me yesterday in the snow, but the highway was backed up and accidents were everywhere. So we ended up turning around.
Don't we all wish we had a Jo-Anns in our back yard? Hehe.

Guess I should get to my projects. The thing about not having internet connection or cable is that it makes it a lot easier to get projects and housework done without the distraction. There, I found one positive thing about it! ;)

Enjoy the first snowfall... Even if it is yucky. :)

I have seen people doing the Thanksgiving countdown since November 1st and really wish I had remembered to do it! They take each day until Thanksgiving to list something they are thankful for. Frankly, we all should be doing this every day of the year, but I think it is especially neat to be able to see people list the things they can praise God for. The list is endless once you sit and write it all down!

Today I am thankful for a God Who still loves me even when I am unlovable! I think of the many times I become so caught up in life and worrying over things, that I forget to remember Who is in control of it all. Yet God still loves me even when I get off track. How much better the world would be if we all tried to follow His example of unfailing love and forgiveness.

Today I spent some much needed time working on my house, laundry, etc. I also started making a Christmas List of gifts for people and worked on a budget for it all. I like to plan ahead, but feel like I am a little behind in all of this! December is sure to be a hectic month, so I am going to challenge myself to get a lot of the Christmas gifts done this month. I am making a lot of different items this year, mostly for the ladies in the family, which I am excited about. We came up with a plan for keeping track of spending this year, which is what I need because I always have a hard time remembering what I spent on who! The idea is to make an envelope for each person and put the amount of money (cash) we are going to spend in each one. Once we use up the money in each envelope, then we are done buying for them! :) Since I am making the majority of the gifts for the ladies, we will have less shopping to do. So I'm excited for it all, and am feeling more ready with everything planned out and organized.

With all that said, here is a recipe link to end this post. Lol. I made these tonight, and not only are they easy, but so stinkin' delicious! Get the recipe here for No-Knead Pumpkin Rolls with Brown Sugar Glaze. Mm-mmm.

A little laugh

I have had an extremely long day, but I won't take the time to write a book about it! Let's just say, almost everything that could go wrong DID.

Anyway, tonight I decided to go through some of my bins packed away to see if I could add anything to my mom's yard sale tomorrow. Yesterday I found my books and supplies from taking the GCNM nutrition course and decided to pull out Dr. Andrew Weil's CDs on optimum health. Tonight I found my notes from the whole course and went through them.

My note made me chuckle:

"Fat is not evil! The more people cut out fat from their diets, the fatter they get. Haha."

Very true statement. And that is my fun fact for the evening.
Enjoy your weekends, everyone! I know I plan to enjoy mine. :)