January 24, 2014

5 on Friday

It's some kind of January on the Jersey Shore, with no end in sight...


Pretty start to a Nor'Easter.


Finished the boys playroom and our summer kitchenette.  Full post can be found here.  Will be styling it shortly...


This is how you shop clearance + Ebates.  Banana pieces would have been $150 full price.


Fun Peplum sweater from said sale...perfect for casual snow days.


Booked our Spring trip to Chicago.  First time hubs and I will have been away alone since 2008.  Can't wait to show him the city and all it has to offer.


One for the road...Thank goodness he doesn't mind playing in the snow.  My toes prefer sand.

Thanks for visiting!


January 23, 2014

4-Ingredient Salsa Chicken {recipe swap}

Just melt cheese...it makes everything better.  This recipe has just 4 ingredients and is low-fat and low-carb.






Salsa Chicken

2 Cups chunky salsa, hot, mild or medium (to your taste)
4 Medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
6 Tablespoons light cream cheese, softened
1 Cup reduced or fat free shredded cheddar cheese
Salt, pepper and cumin, to taste

Preheat oven to *350 degrees.

Season chicken breasts with S/P.

Spoon a layer of salsa in a baking dish and lay chicken breasts on top.  Spread softened cream cheese on top of each breast (this is where I added a sprinkle of cumin) and spoon more salsa on top of the cream cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove foil and add shredded cheddar to each breast and return to oven, and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

This is insanely delicious and quick for a weeknight meal.

Thanks for visiting!
Prototype Mama
Jam Hands
Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
Jam Hands
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January 21, 2014

Project Playroom

Our playroom is a garage, turned efficiency that we inherited when we purchased our home.  Husband thought it would make a great man cave, but for practical purposes, it became a playroom.

An early peek at our playroom, can be seen here.

It has a kitchenette and 3/4 bath attached.  It was brown, beige and blah. It needed a fresh coat of paint, a purge of toys and a more sensible layout for boys who like to game.


It took me just about 13 hours over 3 days to paint this room with tons of angles and a lot of cutting in.  I learned one thing during this project...I actually love to paint. (which is good, because my husband doesn't and we can't afford to hire one!)


These are the toys and objects that survived the purge, I will be donating more stuff in the future.


I may take on painting the cabinets in the future if time allows.  Paint is cheap and makes a huge difference.





Before and after...the new color is so crisp and refreshing.

I used Sherwin Williams Harmony Paint in Iceberg.  The Harmony paint is  is a zero VOC formula that helps reduce common indoor odors from your pets, cooking and smoke to help rooms stay fresher, longer. Harmony contains new technology that helps promote better indoor air quality by reducing VOC levels from potential sources like carpet, cabinets and fabrics. It also gives your walls a washable, durable finish.

This room is ground level and tends to be damp in bad weather, the Harmony seemed to be a sensible choice for this environment.  I used the eggshell finish and it coated the wall beautifully. (Not a sponsored post, all opinions are my own, just a fan!)





Purdy brand brushes are my favorite as well.  I've used them for probably close to 20 years.


This one ^ is a gem...for letting Mommy paint all weekend.


Yes, we have a kegerator in the playroom, and will empty and lock accordingly as they get curious.


Everything for this project (other than paint) was either already owned or a clearance item.  The honey fabric shades were a Lowe's clearance missing the brackets, just around $10.  They are also on the larger window...that set about $14.


All of the shelving and storage cubicles we had and I moved the pleather futon from the office in for them to comfortably Wii.


Still to do...Large area rug, steam the curtains, art projects for the walls, bookshelves and pillows.

I will barely get a second to stage the finished product before the boys tear it apart, but that's ok...it's their space and I hope they enjoy it for many years to come.

Final, finished photos shortly!

Thanks for visiting!
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