Dresser Mirror Update

In a previous post I mentioned how we are trying to use things we already have when we are cooking to avoid spending unnecessary $$ at the grocery store...Well..we are extending that to decorating. Oh Dave Ramsey, how I miss Home Goods! I'm sure we'll reunite one day, but that day is not today. Thus, I've been looking around the house. Hubby had some unattractive furniture when we moved in together about a year ago after the wedding and I haven't looked at it since. Well this is what I found...



Anyone else have one of these? After looking past the drawers and how it used to be used on top of a chest of drawers, hubby pointed out that we could probably detach the mirror. So while I don't necessarily love hubby's furniture, I sure do love him!! Great idea! Well after a lot of pulling, a hammer and a chisel, and 30min in the 100 degree heat, we had this...

Then came this...


This is her in the garage with her old buddy...

My husband and father-in-law were able to hang it up...
Before...

After...


Now to find a new spot for the framed Love verse. Sometimes I guess that is what decorating boils down to, just moving stuff around. But that can be fun too =)

I have a couple of other projects I'm trying to finish up before school starts back, otherwise they may never get finished! I hope to post those soon!



I'm linking up at:

Cheese Danish

The thought had never occurred to me that I could make this at home, but I did =). I ran across this recipe at Life in Grace blog, she says on there that she can't take credit, so I'm not sure where this came from, but it is oooooo so good!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Unfold and press 1 can of crescent rolls into a 9×13 pan (I sprayed mine with Pam).
Mix 2 sticks of softened cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar, 3 egg yolks, and 1 tsp. vanilla (I used my mixer on low speed and it only took about 1-2 min).
Spread the cream cheese mixture over the crescent rolls and then unfold another can of crescent rolls and lay it on top of the cream cheese mixture.
Brush the top with egg wash (the leftover whites from the mixture) and then sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 35 minutes and cool before slicing (we cut ours into triangles).
Enjoy Danish as is or top with preserves or a powdered sugar glaze (just mix powdered sugar with just a little milk until you get the thickness you desire- We had actually run out of milk and so I had to use a little water with mine instead and didn't get it quite to the consistency I wanted, but milk really does get it thicker and smoother than water)


This is what it looked like coming out of the oven...


And this is another close-up right before it was eaten...


This danish is so good with some coffee on a Saturday morning! Enjoy your weekend!



P.S. A special Happy Birthday to my beautiful friend Kim!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

The hubs and I have been trying something new, revolutionary even...Cooking with only what's in our pantry without going to the grocery store...I know I know, we are real original, ha! Well it is for us anyway, I don't know why but we love running to the grocery store, but our wallets do NOT =) So, it is definitely making us more creative! This was our dinner tonight and we LOVED how this chicken came out!

Crunchy (French's) French Onion Chicken Strips! (courtesy of the back of the French's Can)

This is what you need for the Chicken...


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Cut 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts into strips
-Put French's Onions into a baggie and crunch up into small pieces (you can use regular French's Onions or the Cheddar flavored)
-Chicken will then be dipped into flour and then egg and then the French's Onions
-Place them onto a greased baking sheet
-Bake for 20 min at 400 degrees

mmmm... It smelled so good while it was cooking. We will DEFINITELY be making this again!

Our Complete Meal




P.S. I am so excited! Bonnie at http://creatingahouseofgrace.blogspot.com/ has chosen our dining room furniture as one of her favorites from last weeks Twice Owned Tuesdays! She has another linky party starting today to display your awesome finds, check it out!

Grilled Pizza!

It is dinner and a movie at the Aldridge house tonight! Oh how I love weekends! Tonight we grilled pizza, got a redbox and some popcorn, and I just made an Oreo Pie! For those of you who have never had grilled pizza it is soooo GOOD and sooo EASY to make! Seriously takes about 10 min! and it has the pizzeria brick oven taste! Check out the play-by-play below!

First you need...


Flour your counter (so the dough doesn't stick when you roll it)...


Next you just roll it out, this particular dough ball was HUGE!...


Roll it up on your rolling pin to transport it to the grill...


Make sure you have your toppings ready outside by the grill...


Grill temp should be at 600 degrees...


Spray the grill with Non-stick spray and Roll out the dough onto the grill...


The crust will bubble, kind of like a pancake, just check the bottom and when it is ready, flip it over...


Then it's time to top it!


Once you are done topping, Turn down the grill to low and shut the lid and the toppings will melt. Just keep checking it until it has the desired meltiness (if that is a word =) ha!) And we use our cutting board to bring it in since it was a big one, and bon appetite!


And now it's movie time! We rented the movie Bounty Hunter, it looks cute, I hope its good! We love redbox AND we love the B1G1 Popcorn!


I have to give my Mama props, she gave me the idea for the grilled pizza, her blog is a southern cooking blog with some great recipes! Check her out at http://www.mamas-southern-cooking.com

Have a wonderful week and Happy Grilling!




p.s. Thank you for all the wonderful responses to our friend Kight!

Show Us Your Life Friday-- Meet Kight...

Kight is a 28 year old single man who loves the Lord and will be a great catch for a special lady out there! My husband and Kight went to Auburn University together and have been great friends ever since, such good friends that he was one of the groomsmen in our wedding. Among many things, Kight loves Auburn football and his dog Macy. He is a landscape architect in Alabama and a true southern gentleman. Kight is very thoughtful, witty and makes a mean Steak with red-wine mushrooms! He's not just handy in the kitchen, but around the house and in the yard. He's a landscape architect by trade, but he also happens to be the leading AT&T salesman in the state of Alabama. I'll leave it at that, and you can get to know more about him if you are interested! So if you live in AL and would like to meet Kight leave me a comment with your email address and a little information about yourself.

All-Star

We are still excited for the National League and one of our favorite Braves players Brian McCann who came through BIG TIME in the clutch! My All-Star husband also came through pretty big last night by grilling an All-Star meal! So yummy! Love him!


Earlier this week I made my friend Ashley a birthday gift, her initial modpodged to match her bedspread. This was my first modpodge experience and I love it! She is also a big Peanuts (Charlie Brown) fan, and I've started collecting some of the comic strips for another gift in the near future working with modpodge!



I'm now on a break from cleaning the garage, I'd like to think of it more as searching for potential projects =) It makes it sound more glamorous, ha!

Hope y'all have a great day!

Twice Owned Craigslist LOVE!

There is a special place in my heart for Craigslist! My hubs and I bought our first home when we got married and we've lived here about a year. As many of you know, it is tough to merge your stuff and fill a house when it is a little bigger than the apartments you had been living in =). Our house has a breakfast area and a dining room, but we only had 1 table. We love entertaining but knew we could not afford a new dining room set...so...we went yard salin'. Below is a picture of a table and chairs we found at a yard sale and the china cabinet was from craigslist. We got it all for about $90 and has worked great for us, maybe not as much seating as we wanted, but it worked...



About a month ago, we were looking on craigslist for furniture for some friends of ours who just moved into an apartment and then had a baby, all within a span of about 2 months. They unfortunately did not have very much furniture, really only their bed. So I stumbled across a dining room set. I LOVED it. It was a set that I would have picked out in a store brand new and brought home, but did NOT have the brand new price. We couldn't pass it up. So we gave our friends our dining room table and it fit perfectly in the dining room in their apartment. And now we also have a dining room set that we did not think we'd be able to afford for years...



How much did we pay? -- $600!! for the table, chairs (which some still have the plastic on), china cabinet, and buffet -- We are so thankful that we found the ad just 20 min after it was posted. We did have to drive a little ways for it, and it took 2 trips. We had to get in the area well before we could pick it up both days to avoid traffic, so we left after football and softball practice each day, and we found things to do with our time =)




We definitely still have some decorating to do in the room, but The Lord really blessed us with such a great find and we hope to have many meals sitting around this table!

Sunday Fun!

Can I just say that I love Sundays?! Yesterday I had girl time with my beautiful friend Ashley (she was also my Maid of Honor), she lives 2 hrs away, so we met in the middle. We decided to meet for church and lunch. We had never been to the church that we went to, I just found it online. They played some of the same songs from my home church and it was such a sweet time of worship with my friend.


One of the songs we sang was Your Love Never Fails. It reminded me of the verse I posted for Kelly's Korner Show Your Life. What a great reminder! And as Gibbs on NCIS would say, "I don't believe it coincidences" =) (This wasn't from the church we went to, but it gives you an idea of what it was like, beautiful song!)



Your Love Never Fails Lyrics

Nothing can separate
Even if I ran away
Your love never fails

I know I still make mistakes
But You have new mercies for me everyday
Your love never fails

Chorus:
You stay the same through the ages
Your love never changes
There maybe pain in the night but joy comes in the morning

And when the oceans rage
I don't have to be afraid
Because I know that You love me
Your love never fails

Verse 2:
The wind is strong and the water's deep
But I'm not alone in these open seas
Cause Your love never fails
The chasm is far too wide
I never thought I'd reach the other side
But Your love never fails

Bridge:
You make all things work together for my good

Chris Quilala singing "Your Love Never Fails" from the "Your Love Never Fails" CD/DVD, available on jesusculture.com. This DVD was recorded live at a Jesus Culture Conference in Redding, CA. The mp3 is available at iTunes by searching for "Your Love Never Fails".

W/M Chris McClarney / Anthony Skinner
©2004 Thank You Music
All rights admin. by EMI Christian Music
Recording/Video ©2008 Jesus Culture Music

Favorite Bible Verse

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze...Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I LOVE YOU..."
~Isaiah 43:1b-2,4a

What an amazing promise! God doesn't say that there won't be waters and rivers that try to knock us down, or that there won't be fires that burn us. But He says that through everything, He will protect us...why?...Because He Loves Us. There are several places in the Bible that talk about God's incredible love for us, but this is the only verse that I have found that actually says the words "I love you." There is just something so beautiful about seeing it in those three special words. I am my redeemer's and He is mine.

Recipes!

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake (Recipe courtesy of Kelly's Recipes blog!)


Ingredients:
1 pkg dark chocolate cake mix
1 pkg instant chocolate pudding mix
1 16 oz sour cream
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Icing
1 cup Powdered Sugar
Milk (add a little at a time until it reaches the consistency you desire)

Preaheat oven to 350. Grease a bundt pan. Mix together ingredients and pour in pan, (the batter will be thick). Bake for one hour and then cool. Top with an icing or with powdered sugar and Enjoy!

Honey of An Oatmeal Bread

My parents gave me a bread machine for my birthday, and I LOVE IT! You really do just put the ingredients in it and it does EVERYTHING else! Even bakes it! Below is a picture of our inaugural loaf and the recipe for it that I got from the All Recipes website. It made a great gift for my in-laws for hosting us this past Sunday night!



Ingredients
1 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 1/3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon active dry yeast

Directions
Place ingredients in bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer.
Select Light Crust or Basic setting, and press Start.

Back in Town

We have been out of town since Sunday visiting family and friends and just got back today...just in time to host my mom, niece, and 2 beautiful great nieces for dinner! It has been such a fun week getting to visit with friends and family!

Fireworks!



Having fun in front of a fountain in Florence, AL =)


Breakfast at my Mother-in-Law's!


Grandmother!


One of my sweet great nieces =) Precious!


The Lord is so good to us! I have recipes to share tomorrow for Honey Oat Bread, and also A delicious Chocolate Chip Pound Cake (courtesy of Kelly's Recipes blog)! Posting will be a great break from cleaning the garage!