family summer fieldtrip kickoff: Bridal Veil Falls

If you know us well, you know that we love to explore. Exploring has become even more fun now that we moved from Texas to Utah-- new terrain! The mountains are a treasure trove of exploring surprises!

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Only good things can be found when you have to cross:

And-- look what we found!


Of course, even though it is only 72 degrees, our shoes come off and we enjoy the water.

Pure ice water! The cold made our feet ache.

I took the opportunity to get a little sun on my:

Yikes! Sunglasses required!

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Hiking along the river was so peaceful.

A happy day.

Lunch time!

Time to pack up! We've got to get back to our driving adventure!

Good bye Bridal Veil Falls, I'm sure we will see you again soon!

We decided to take the L O N G way home, through Heber Valley and Park City.

We are so excited that:

bring in the clowns... the circus is in town.

Summer vacation has just started.

You know what this means!

I see lots of crafts, cooking, and craziness in my future. Monday morning I started things off right with a pile of craft books and a bunch of small paper bookmarks. I let the boys go wild.

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"Pick anything and everything you want to do this summer!" I said, like a good mom should. We'll see just how long the "Ant Farm" activity stays on the list-- that bookmark might accidentally get lost. oopsie!

We are well into day three today, and I can say that things are going along great! We've got a craft under our belts, summer haircuts, and a field trip planned for today. I can't wait to show you where we are going!

Do you want the Cinnabon recipe?

I think I've found it!

Really.
I have such a weak spot for:

Last Sunday, I decided to whip up a batch. After a whole lot of searching on the internet, I stumbled across a recipe marked "THE Cinnabon Recipe". So, we decided to give it a whirl.

If it's not THE recipe, it's pretty darn close, mostly when they were warm from the oven. I had to try a second one, just for you-- you know, to make sure it was the real deal.

The Cinnabon Recipe

Rolls:

1 1/4 oz package of yeast
1 C warm milk
1/2 C sugar
1/3 C melted butter
1 t salt
2 eggs
4 C flour

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Filling:
1 C brown sugar
2 1/2 T cinnamon
1/3 C butter (softened)

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Icing:
7 T butter, softened
1 1/2 C confectioners sugar
1/4 C cream cheese
1/2 t vanilla
1/8 t salt

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Rolls: 1. Dissolve yeast in milk
2. Mix in sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and flour. Mix well.
3. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead into a large ball. Cover and let rise one hour.
4. Roll dough out into a 20 X 15 inch rectangle.
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Filling: 1. Spread the softened butter over the entire rectangle of dough. Sprinkle the filling generously over the dough.
2. Roll from long side to short side. Pinch the ends.
3. Using a serrated knife, cut the rolls about one inch wide. I got 12 rolls out of mine. You can cut them wider to make bigger rolls.

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Baking: 1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Allow rolls to rise for 30 minutes.
3. Bake the rolls until they are slightly brown, but not doughy. I set the timer on my convection oven for 15 minutes, and they were perfect. Depending on your oven though, they may need more time.

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Icing: 1. When done, remove the rolls from the oven and allow to cool for a bit. 2. Cream all of the icing ingredients together and spread on top of the rolls. Enjoy!

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So excited to be featured here on Amy's 100 Days of Summer list!

Also, have you seen my latest SITS article, here? Finding your recipe heritage. Check it out!

bedroom makeover: cowboy edition

Did you think I would never return with the next room re-do?
I had a few life priorities set me back for blogging last week.
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First, my best friend from high school surprised me with a lovely visit. We shopped, baked, crafted, and chatted. It was lovely, a welcome break from the normal. More about that later...
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Then, this week also brought the last day of school for the boys! Every day included a new activity, project, and experience. We had our share of busy afternoons.
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But, this morning brings the first day of summer! I have the windows open, it's a bright blue sky day, and I sense an excitement in the air!

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I see many projects in our future... but for now-- on with the next room makeover!

This room posed the challenge of space. It's a bit smaller than what we were use to in our other house. Furniture placement was key.

But, after our wood floors went in, I knew they would lend themselves to the "cowboy theme" well. We replaced the light fixture, added a peanut butter colored paint, and then the best part: DECORATIONS!

I made the curtains out of old denim. I added pockets to hold little treasures, notes, and trinkets. (Which boys have more then plenty of.)

I also used the shelf to display our great collection of western themed children's books that my parents had collected from thrift shops and antique stores.

The piece de resistance is the red work quilt my sister made for my oldest back when he was a wee babe. The detail is amazing! And of course, we can't have a cowboy room without a bit of Texas.

a bedroom makeover: aviation edition

In preparation for summertime guests, I decided to totally re-do my boys bedrooms. I wanted to get it done quick, so I took 3 days total. Three days to paint, dry, decorate, and enjoy. They were three very long days.

My youngest helped me choose a paint color. His choice, a very dark violet blue. The perfect backdrop to our aviation theme.

I love how the blue paint looks with our new floors!

The old yellow airplane, a finishing touch.

The perfect little habitat for a pilot-to-be!

More makeovers tomorrow.

a slight obsession starts with black paint.

Two weeks ago, I wrote an article about making your own silhouettes, here. It was my most popular article to date, bringing in over 35,000 hits in just a week!
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After that, it made me think a little bit. How could I make the silhouette a bit more interesting? How could I raise the bar.

So, this time around, I started to think smaller--- I printed off the photos as usual, cut the face line, and got out my trusty black paint.

And then, I *gasp* decided to take it one step further:

I collect old and vintage books, so finding the best one to use for this project was difficult-- BUT, I am sure I will have another project in the future that requires old book pages-- so I donated it to crafting purposes! You can find vintage books anywhere from your local thrift shop, to a Friends of the Library sale, garage sale, or even online. I won't rip something that I paid more than $1 for though!

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Next, I removed the inside of the picture frame I selected, and used it as a template for cutting the book page down to size.

When you do this, take a quick scan of the page and make sure there are not any strange words or phrases on it.

Find the middle of the page, and:

I would use an archival adhesive that is found in the scrap booking section of your local craft shop.
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Place the silhouette in the frame, and presto!

I love it!

I think mine make the perfect:

the queen of hearts, and her strawberry tarts

Sorry, if I am not answering my phone-- it's because I am off in my own la-la-land...

Around here, I am the queen of hearts-- making sure everyone stays happy, healthy, and fed. The old adage really is true, that a way to a man's heart is through his stomach-- I've seen it first hand! Today, the queen of hearts is making strawberry tarts-- to keep her guys happy.

I just got a box of puff pastry (I love that stuff!) and cut it into rounds. Then, I added a extra large, juicy, red, strawberry-- and a pinch of sugar.


I baked at 400 degrees until they were golden brown and puffy-- delish!

So easy.

So chic!

This afternoon I feel like I'm in Paris, instead of Utah. And, that's not a bad thing!