Easter Traditions..

I don't remember how old I was when my mom made a bunny out of two cake pans, but I had to have been young. Every year we did a bunny cake. I thinks that's where I started loving coconut, she just piled it on. My dad isn't a fan of coconut so I often wondered in my later years if it was intentional so she could have more to herself. My grandmother made them too. She went all out and actually tinted her coconut sometimes. I love making them but my dedication hasn't been yearly., especially since the girls have gotten older. When my sister asked me to make the cake for Easter dinner this year I took the challenge. The girls wanted to help so.. I allowed them. Jensen made the cakes. I even tricked her with a white vale recepie but she caught it and discarded the yolks. She did a great job. Then came decorating.. Lets face it. My kids know I'm a control freak but.. I allowed them to help. I iced and they decorated. A word to the wise. Twizzlers chocolate is not worth it. Find the black.. More appetizing. A quick tip..(and I'm sure you all have done this). No pastry bag? Use a gallon storage bag, cut the tip and put you're decorating tip in. Happy Easter!! Enjoy you're family, he died for us so we could have days like this. The Hoods

01 02 12

Bargain basement find..

I love a good deal, and as I have stated before I don't buy anything full price... Well, scratch that, my beloved West Elm Owl lamp was purchased at full price (I was in a rare mood that day). Most retailers, whether it be Ikea or Pottery Barn, or even Anthropologie have a sale area, and I know where they are. Target end caps are my favorite hideout as well.. There are even websites that have "unofficial" discount schedules (here's one: http://faithfulprovisions.com/2012/06/12/how-to-shop-clearance-items-at-target-targets-markdown-schedule/)
When we made our yearly trip up to Ikea a few weeks ago (no I have to drive to Ikea too) I couldn't wait to get to the end of the blue line and see the discount area! There is always tons of stuff. From dented furniture to pre-owned duvets and curtains to mattresses stacked high. There is always fun stuff to dig through. Since I gained a breakfast nook in our new house I had a space to fill.. I really wasn't looking for a table but there it was... A small round table that looked liked Charlie Brown's Christmas tree, that just wanted to be loved...AND it was only $29! Yeah it had some issues but it wasn't anything some putty couldn't fix. I haven't decided if I will leave it black or paint it, but for now here's the before and after.

01 02 12

Memories in design..

I've (we've) lived in Indiana MOST of my life. I was married here (twice ;)), all 4 girls were born here and most of my family lives in Indiana. In 2005 Eric and I embarked on a family adventure and decided on transferring to Texas. We started out living near Houston. I loved the hustle and bustle of city life! I was a kid in a candy store. So many shopping opportunities and things to do! (Going from 250k people to over 4 Million) and the weather...warm 10 months out of the year, and mild the other 2, we fell in love! We missed our family a lot, but oh how we loved Texas. My in laws showed us what the meaning of real southern hospitality and taught us about real Texas cuisine. I learned about flea markets and discovered my love of buying and selling via Craigslist! We also rekindled our faith, and found a church that changed our lives. 18 months after moving to Houston, the job crash started to happen, and we moved North to College Station, an exciting college town commonly known as "Aggieland" During those two years we fell in love with Texas even more..we discovered blue bonnets, Blue Bell Ice cream, BBQ, Aggie football and Longhorns! Also during this time we took in a very special houseguest, my dad. So all of our memories became that more special. It all changed when the job crash came to Central Texas we all lost our jobs... But we weren't leaving just yet. Jobs were plentiful in Houston and in Dallas - we both found work within a couple weeks and we moved North yet again, to Dallas. Big D.. By far my favorite place out of the three. So much to do..the Farmers Market where I became obsessed with everything fresh, Cowboy Stadium, the Stockyards where I could walk with the Longhorns, Mockingbird Place, Uptown and Delaney Plaza. I was in my element. We did something every weekend (even trying to find where "W" lived as well as Mark Cuban) it was a whirlwind year.. But home and family called my name and we knew we had to go back to Indiana. I was happy to be closer to our family, but I missed "home". Enter the design portion (sorry for bring long winded) I love "upcycling" repurposing things and giving things new life. Everything in our master is used, nothing is new. From the crisp white duvet I bought on EBay to the antique cowhide on the floor. The headboard is made out of old cedar fence panels. The feature wall is all things Texas..prints from a local Dallas photographer, my old truck plate, and the piece de la resistance..a photo my dad took at one of our old hangouts in College Station. It's crisp, rustic and Texas, and I love it! My husband calls it Texas throwback... I called it comfortable.. I hope you like it..

01 02 12

A New Light Pt 1

I've been working on our room for a couple weeks now, actually it's been in the works for a couple of months. I'm shooting for a rustic chic, or Eric calls it our "Texas" throwback. But that reveal is for another day, hopefully some time soon... But, one of the things I was looking at is lamps. For some unknown reason I have a plethora of lamps... Since my color palette is light, the couple I had just didn't fit. Plus we have the smaller (not sure how that happens) of the 3 upper rooms, so I had to find something less bulky. I visited a local shoppe and found this gem, in the back, on the sale table. The lines were current to today's style but the color was very 80's. however in true Sara fashion I knew I could make it look like I wanted. On my weekly trek to Lowes I picked up my supplies, a can of Valspar paint plus primer spray paint and a drum shade. That's it, $16 for both. I got home, prepped my outdoor space for painting. Final product ..

01 02 12

Like Mother, like Daughter..

Over the last few years of buying, selling furniture, recycling and up cycling stuff I think my girls have gotten the decorating bug. So, while I'm working on a few projects (of course to be blogged soon) McKenna got anxious and wanted her room painted. Since we had just done her room in the old house, she was not on the top of updates list. So I said I would provide the materials, and she can do and recruit a few friends too. She wasn't sure what to paint it, but I had a stash to choose from. I have a habit of picking up "oops paint" at Lowes (sometimes at the depot but not daily like Lowes - GREAT $$ saving tip), its $5 a gallon, and if you want a quart most times they are $2.50. I had picked up two gallons of oops Valspar a few weeks back, one a light grey and the other a darker. She tested a few strips in her room and made a decision. She recruited her sisters for help... For a first timer she did a great job! I may also note that her headboard is an old closet door that we painted and she stenciled and wrote on.

01 02 12

King of the Hill

Although there are no DIY tips in this blog, it's definitely 'Hood' worthy. The home we purchased is in a neat neighborhood with larger homes, big yards and in our case an even larger driveway. We're at the front of the neighborhood and our home sits above (or it seems anyway) everyone else on a hill. We've had many comments on our winding driveway. It's a beautiful setting. That was until today.... For the first time since we moved back from Texas (3 years now...ugh :)) we had the largest snow fall, 11", from what we measured. So picturesque, and serene. The trees covered, and the ground glistened. The dogs were in their heyday, and all I wanted was a true SNOW DAY. The kids were off but alas a snowy trek to work. We don't yet own a tractor, or even a snow blower, just a shovel. Since we opted to at least sleep in, we chose not to shovel, my husband just did what he likes to do and "make it work". This entailed taking Stella (my Yukon Denali) down the driveway and back up, marking a path to assist all who go forth. Well, going down the driveway went great, it was getting UP the driveway (for him) that proved difficult. When I got home I wanted to make sure he got into the garage ok ( as the kids did do some shoveling earlier). I started a path and was doing pretty well until I saw him start up the drive, then back down the drive, then off and revving to get up again. Yep. He was stuck. He came, stole my shovel, and I went in to do what I do best, cook. Enjoy the pics .. (Yes a few may be fuzzy)

01 02 12

Family Room

Wow! I am one blessed woman! My husband says after looking at so many types of flooring. "You pick it and Ill lay it". I had so many different kinds I wanted, but when it came down to it, it was about the bottom dollar. We had to do the dining room as its attached to the family room, so that is almost 500 sq ft. We knew we wanted hardwood, with dogs and teenagers its a no brainer. I also knew I wanted a darker, more rustic looking floor, so my focus was hickory. I am a HUGE Lowes fanatic but I had acquired a 10% off coupon from "the Depot" so being the cheap skate I am, I decided to find one there. Eric found one he loved but it was 2.49 per sq ft. I found one that was scraped and thick and wonderful buzz...3.29 sq ft. Nope. Ok. I went further down the line and found something called Kingston Peak Hickory... I looked, pondered, and then took it home. I thought about it more and kept asking Eric. Well.. After the 10th time he's like. "Whatever you want, just do it". So we went, grabbed our 21 boxes and underlayment and went home. My hubby has Fridays off and with the kids gone he decided to take on the task.

1. Removed carpet & padding
2. Remove tack strip
3. Make sure there are no staples, nails, etc still down.
4. Sweep all the debris and dust
5. Ready for the underlayment. There are different types for different floors so make sure you get the right one.
6. Ready to install the laminate. Make sure you have he proper tools, saw, hammer or mallet, wood block (Eric just made one) and last but not least, the infamous "super shoe" (basically any tennis shoe that will help those stubborn ends into place)

It took him about 6 hours. When I got home. I couldn't believe the difference. Night and day!!!

01 02 12