My Best Projects of 2010!

I'm participating in:

and
Top Projects 2010 at Southern Hospitality


Here are my favorite projects of 2010! I'm so glad these parties gave me a little nudge to reflect back on what I've been able to accomplish in my home this year, especially since I was feeling badly about not posting as often as some bloggers do. I've realized that what I lack in frequency, I think I make up for in content! Without further ado, here are my faves from the last year...

I made this slipcover:


I slipped this coffee table:


I made new pillows and finally wrote out a tutorial for slipcovering sofas and chairs (which may have taken longer than actually sewing the slipcover!)


I used a ledge shelf to make a simple wall mounted charging station:


I turned this clementine crate...


into this little footstool:


I revamped my sewing/craft area from this (eek):


to this!


and took my daughters' bathroom from this:


to this:


I copied these Ballard pillows:


and came up with these:



I made this prayer wall art for my daughters' room for less than $5!


I slipcovered this chair for my dear friend. Before:


After:


I wasn't thrilled with the state of my dining room (before):

but after making more slipcovers, refinishing and reupholstering the side chairs, sewing new drapes, doing lots of painting and faux wainscoting, backing the china cabinet with grasscloth and velvet ribbon and adding some new accessories, I'm in love!


I couldn't take one more day of pink carpet in the "man cave"...


so my hubby helped me lay a great looking and downright cheap (and easy!) peel and stick faux wood floor:


I took my 3-sided fireplace from this pink monstrosity:


to this with the help of spray paint (lots and lots of textured spray paint!)


and then my wonderful dad helped me take it a step further and added this beautiful mantel!


He also built this nice chunky mantel in our basement family room (lots of details on this room including some not-yet-finished projects in the new year!)


and last, but not least, I had a ball decking my halls for Christmas!

I hope you enjoyed my 2010 year in review and I hope you'll come visit me soon!

Love,

Egg Nog French Toast

In case anyone else out there is wondering what to do with all that leftover egg nog...




Egg Nog French Toast

• Leftover French Bread (roughly 12 slices, or as many slices as you can cram into a 9 x 13 baking pan without overlapping. They can be fresh or stale.)
• 1 1/2 cups egg nog
• 2 eggs, scrambled
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• a dash nutmeg

Arrange bread slices in a single layer in a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over bread slices. Turn slices to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, set the pan on the counter for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 500 degrees (yes, I said 500!). Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, turning slices once halfway through. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

This recipe worked great for Christmas morning with little ones- it went together really quickly after they were in bed on Christmas Eve and in the morning I just pulled the pan out of the fridge and set the oven to preheat on our way down to see what Santa brought. Then I popped it in the oven when we came back up to look in the stockings. 15 minutes later it was ready to eat and I didn't have to spend any time in the kitchen! I have a hunch that adding a couple of minutes to the bake time would make it unnecessary to set the pan on the counter for 30 minutes, but I haven't tried out this theory yet...

Merry 4th day of Christmas!

Love,

My Decked Halls...

We hosted a cocktail party for my hubby's office last weekend and I got a chance to snap some pics right before everyone arrived...



The entry console:


another console around the corner:


closeup of the nativity:


The new mantle all decked out! There's actually a frameless oval mirror up there, but I couldn't get a good shot in this lighting...


A peek into the dining room...


The dining room side of the mantle:


and here's a sneak preview of the changes in the basement family room:


I still have a few projects to finish in here, details coming in the new year!


and I realized the other day that the pic of me at the top of my blog is roughly two years old! Here's a recent shot complete with new(ish) haircut and prego belly!


Merry Christmas!

Love,