Mardi Gras

Saturday I had a Mardi Gras party. I bought a murder mystery game that involved Mardi Gras nine months ago, and have been planning on the party ever since. I got my camera out and then promptly forgot to take pictures. I thought I would share the recipes I used:

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

Golden Sweet Cornbread

Clone of a Cinnabon

It all turned out pretty good, but the cinnamon rolls were fantastic!

Living Room Update

I found a new entertainment center I liked - 40% off at Circuit City. I also moved the cat tree to my bedroom and got a new smaller scratching post for the corner of the living room. Getting better a little at a time!

Kitchen

After working on the living room, I decided it was about time for some finishing touches in my kitchen. This is a giant magnetic board my mom found for me at Robert's, that I got with a 50% off coupon. I still haven't decided what to do with the frame - it needs finishing somehow.

The little white things are magnetic poetry. I made the flower magnets myself. They are super easy and cheap if you get the clearance floral between seasons. The other little magnets I found on Etsy from Mosty Magnets. They are super cute, and strong too!

Rock Band

So this may not interest anyone that doesn't play Rock Band, but we've been playing it at our house quite often. I am the only one that's here that has figured out how to play drums, so that's what I do. Just recently I hit some new highs, so I had to show off, er, I mean share. Playing drums is actually a pretty good workout. I'm always hot and sweaty by the time we're done. Oh, and BTW, Victoria is just the name I came up with for my personna.

My Mom

I have a great mom. She is always doing little things for me that I really appreciate. Last week she bought me some cute socks with cats on them, just because she thought I'd like them. She's bought me two aprons she found at thrift stores and estate sales. Also, if I am on the lookout for something used, she'll look for me one her weekly thrift store runs. When she came over for Pat's birthday dinner last week, she gave me this:

She's been starting to make these altered art type books lately out of books she finds on clearance for dirt cheap. She puts them together, and they are so cute! Thanks Mom!

Do you see the cute little "Love, Mom" in the corner?

Happy Birthday Patrick!

His birthday is on Valentine's Day. It's a bit late, but I had to have birthday pictures to post didn't I?

Photo Share

We bought our 'new' living room furniture from classified ads online. On our way to pick up the round chair, we saw a fox running down the sidewalk. I tried to get a good picture, but it wouldn't cooperate. In this one, you can still see it's glowing little eyes. Keep in mind, this was in the middle of the Salt Lake Valley. Crazy!

Another Collection

You might all think I'm crazy for this one, but I LOVE Mustangs. I have since I before I could drive as a teenager. I started collecting them about that same time. I have an entire room in my house that we refer to as 'The Mustang Room'. I might have to grow up someday, but not right now.

Yes, we did steal a real road sign. In our defense, someone hit the pole and it sat in a ditch for two years before we took it.

My first real Mustang:

And my current one:

Mission: Organize and Declutter

As you can see from the button on my sidebar, I've joined Thrify Decor Chick on a quest to get my house in order. I'm making pretty good progress, just taking it slow. Today I decided to share a closet. I love playing games, and I have a lot of them. Unfortunately, they were all living in giant piles everywhere. The closet of the room they were living in was also a mess.

We bought some shelves at Lowe's that fit inside the closet of one of our extra bedrooms. It's not pretty, but it works.

The box the shelves came in was a perfect kitty hiding place!

Living Room

My sister has a better eye for decorating than I do, so I invited her over to help me put my new living room together. We usedwhat I had, and found a couple new things to add. I am thinking of painting the East and South walls a warm goldish yellow. What do you think?

I also need to figure out what else to put on the walls. Suggestions are welcome!

North:

East:

I know the cat tree is ugly, but i worry that they'll tear up the furniture if it isn't in here.

South:

I also need creative ideas on how to hide all our gaming paraphenelia.

West:

Books

I have to admit that I am a bit of a bookworm. I blame it on my parents, who have always been big readers. However, they passed the share for all three kids down to me. My sister and brother don't like to read much at all.

I think Pat gets a bit frustrated sometimes because I spend so much time reading. If I get sucked into a REALLY good book, I'll be up reading until 1 AM on a work night.

I read a post on A Stochastic Chrestomathy (check out the link - her library is AMAZING!) a little while ago about her book collection, and how she keeps a 'reading journal' of everything she reads. I thought that sounded like a great idea, so I've started my own. Here's everything I read in January:

By Charlaine Harris:
Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse

By Suzanne Sizemore:
I Burn for You

All the books I read were about vampires. I usually read sci-fi or fantasy books, but I had never read a book about vampires until Twilight. I read it, thought it was good, then went back to my usual books.

Then, I started watching the show True Blood on HBO (also about vampires) and really got sucked in. I made Pat watch an 8 hour marathon Christmas night. I found out that the show was based on a series of books by Charlaine Harris, and had to read them. They are just as addicting as the show.

I decided that maybe I liked vampire books after all, and proceeded to put another 6 or so books on hold at the library, all by different authors. (Side note: I love the library. If it didn't exist, I would be very broke all the time.) So, if you have any good suggestions, please let me know. And the Suzanne Sizemore book? Not great.