What's for dinner tonight?

Well, it was dinner Sunday night. And again tonight,

{I heart leftovers on the nights when O has a late class!}

Loaded Potato Soup

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp butter

1 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

5 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 box chicken stock

1 cup of half and half (you can do milk instead!)

Toppings: Crumbled Bacon, Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream and Green Onion

Heat the olive oil and butter in a dutch oven {or other gigantic pot}.  Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes, until translucent, and then add in garlic.  Cook for an additional minute.  Throw in your peeled, cubed potatoes and add enough chicken stock to cover everything.  Mine took the whole box.   Bring to a boil and cover until potatoes are fork-able {approx. 20 minutes}.  Add in half and half, stir.  If you like your soup ridiculously chunky, like O, your soup is complete.  I like mine medium chunky, so I used my immersion blender to smooth some of the soup out.  You can also hand mash with a fork or the back of a wooden spoon.

We topped ours with crumbled bacon, cheddar cheese, green onions and a dollop of sour cream!  I love toppings on soup, can't you tell?!

This made A TON of soup for just the two of us! It was lunch the next day and dinner tonight.

C-A-T-S Cats! Cats! Cats! {DIY Burlap Bunting}

We are right in the middle of basketball season, and if you know us, you know we L.O.V.E. Kentucky basketball in our house!  Our Saturdays and the occasional weeknight are planned around what time the Cats play.  Whether its just the two of us watching the game or with a group of friends, I try to keep things festive on game day!

If you check out my Pinterest boards, you'll see that I've been loving on banners and bunting.  I thought a festive UK bunting would make a great addition.

Let's back up--I started out by gathering all of my supplies at Joanne's.

Burlap {or other choice fabric}
Acrylic Paint & Foam Brush
Wide Ribbon
Decorative Ribbon {optional}
Stencil
Sewing machine or Liquid Stitch

I made a quick triangle template out of scrap paper, and used a rotary cutter to cut out the burlap.

I created my stencils the same way I did to label our closet bins.

Hold the stencil down & dab the paint onto the burlap with the foam brush.

After the paint dried, I used Liquid Stitch {more on this stuff later!} to attach the painted burlap triangles to the wide ribbon.

I added a little extra decorative ribbon at the ends of the banner & that was it.  Seriously simple project! I'd like to think it helped with the W on Saturday {still too close for my liking!}

So glad our fifth house's Dog Days of Winter Challenge suggested I stop pinning and start doing!  I love how this turned out!

I have a thing for Bee's.

Those close to me already know this fun little tid-bit of information. It's true, I love bees. My sweet Nanny gave me the nickname of "Bee" as a toddler, because I was "busy as a bee." {Still accurate}

I have acquired quite the bee collection over the years.  Most of these items, if not all, were gifts from sweet friends and family members who know how close I was with my Nanny and how these little things help to keep her spirit alive.

Today marks seven years since my Nanny passed away, but I love to look around my home and see her everywhere, in the form of bees.

Fast Weekend in Disney World!

This past weekend I invited myself met up with my extended family in Florida for a fun weekend trip to Disney World!  This is my third time visiting the Magic Kingdom, but it was probably the best time ever.  Visiting a place like Disney with a 9 & 3 year old makes it impossible to miss all the magic.

First day in town, we went to the Magic Kingdom.  As soon as we got in the park, the baby pointed out "Hey, Cinderella lives there!"  Presh.

We made a bee-line to the teacups.  Nothing like getting the spins first thing in the morning.  {Radford flashbacks}

The new Fantasyland section was a-maz-ing!  The picture below stinks, but that is the Beast's castle--where you can be their guest for dinner. Too cheesy?  Yes.  But that's ok. 

As if this place wasn't awesome enough, it's even more beautiful at night.  Makes you feel like a little kid all over again!

Day two, my favorite park of all: Animal Kingdom.

I loved the Kilimanjaro Safari!  Seeing the animals so close was unreal!

We made a quick trip to Sea World before we had to leave for the airport.  We saw a few dolphins,

Did a little face painting,

And got to meet Shamu!

Before we knew it, it was time for Miss Cindy and I to leave the fam in sunny, 75 degree Florida.  This is what I came home to.....Yes, that says 7 degrees.

I can't wait to hear how the rest of their week went after we left!  I would have given my left arm to stay down there with them for the whole week.  I have the best family & I'm so lucky they let me tag along for the weekend.

Thrifted Buffet

Not so long ago, I had been stalking yard sales & Craigslist searching for a buffet to put in the kitchen. We needed something {other than the random console} along the big, empty wall. Anddd we need a little extra storage for our "not-every-day dishes." Note to self: next house must have more cabinets and a dining room. I lucked out and found one pretty fast on Craigslist, at a great price--$50!

When we picked it up, it was painted in a matte black with a bunch of silver knobs. Check out the two knob "pulls" on the drawers. Creative, but not my style.

Since the kitchen is so bright with the white cabinets and light walls, I kept the buffet black. I freshened it up with a coat of semi-gloss, and decided to strip the top surface & stain it to match the kitchen table, which actually reads a little darker than the picture.

I quickly found out why the previous owners had two knobs in place of an actual drawer pull. The holes were placed 3 1/2" apart, and virtually every hardware store I visited only had 3" pulls. Thanks to Amazon, I finally found 3 1/2" pulls! I also found these great glass bubble knobs at Hobby Lobby, that match the wall color. I think they're a fun, expected touch!

I have been meaning to share this great thrift for awhile--thanks to Our Fifth House's Winter Challenge for reminding me!

DIY Stenciled Bins

Yesterday, I posted about our freshly organized coat closet.  I got a great deal on the three canvas bins from Home Goods {$4 each!}, but I wanted to be able to distinguish our bins easily, so I decided to add a quick stencil to each.  I printed out the letters in Word, and used an exacto knife to create the stencil.  I Google'd "dog bone clipart" to create the bone stencil for the pups' bin, and cut it out the same way.

I held down the stencil with one hand, and used a foam brush to lightly dab the paint onto the canvas bin.

Ta-da!  Labeled bins!

Shared with The Winthrop Chronicles

I'm a closet organizer.

One of my 2013 goals {I'm not good at keeping resolutions} is to get more organized.  Things are pretty organized around here to begin with, but there is always room for improvement!  One little area that needed some extra attention was our hall closet.  So often things get shoved in the closet, or thrown up on a shelf.  Before you know it, its out of control.  A quick trip to Home Goods for a few baskets & bins took our entry closet

A large basket at the bottom holds a few pairs of shoes we wear often & I added a hook on the inside wall where I can hang my purse and work bag.  I'm famous for just hanging them on the outside facing knob!  Now, they have a home.

I stenciled our initials on each of the bins that hold our hats, gloves & scarves.  The dog children also share one with their leashes, toys and etc.

The top shelf now keeps all of our random household items in one central location. Magazine holders now store miscellaneous warranties and manuals.  Our home management binder {that mysteriously travels from one location to another in the house} has an official home!

Its amazing the sense of accomplishment you get from getting one little space organized.  Thanks to Our Fifth House's Winter Project Challenge for kicking my rear into gear!

More kitchen progress

Whenever I look back at the pictures we took during our home inspection, I'm always amazed at the progress we've made! I was SO happy to be able to cross one more thing off the list last week: a beautiful, new, FUNCTIONAL stainless steel range! Merry Christmas to us!

Before:

After:

I seriously stand in the kitchen and stare at it!  Thanks for the great deal, Sears!

The only thing left is to replace the fridge & the kitchen will be 100% done! Ok, probably not. I'm never 100% done with anything in this place....Sorry, O!