Zuppa Toscana Soup

Is it really still soup season?  Lets get the warm weather here and replace the soups with burgers off the grill!  Needless to say, this soup is quite delicious and easy to make...

Zuppa Toscana Soup (similar to Olive Garden)

1 pound sausage (I use regular Jimmy Dean)

2-4 russet potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans chicken broth

1 quart water

Bacon bits

1/2-1 cup cale or swiss chard, chopped

1 cup heavy cream

Cook sausage (I cook it over the stove) and drain.  Place onion, potatoes, chicken broth, water and garlic in a pot and cook on medium-high until potatoes are done.  Add sausage and bacon bits.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for another 10 minutes.  Turn to low, add kale and whipping cream.  Heat through and serve.

Serves 6-8

**Special note...I was asked about an easy pizza dough crust.  I must admit I haven't made it much, but the Better Homes and Gardens recipe has worked for me...find it here.  Thanks for asking Renee!

Windmills and Banners

Our friend Stephanie (with this beautiful home) makes the cutest banners for each holiday.  She and a group of friends get together once a month to scrapbook and once a year they each bring a designed banner for different holidays...great idea right!  This one was made by Missie Rudy and it is darling!  You can find these in a bunch of etsy shops...but you can make one yourself! 

Steph gave me a tutuorial on how to make the windmills...they look so cute on this and can also be used to embellish lots of things.

Start by getting a book you can tear up a little bit.  Stephanie found an old dictionary at DI for .50 cents.  I used the back of one of my books that had an excerpt from an upcoming book that I didn't care to keep.  After I made mine I realized it works better if you trim the page first so the words are even on all sides of the paper.

Fold the paper long ways (not side ways) accordian style in a fairly tight fold...

Flatten all the folds together and fold the strip in half...

Holding the middle part together, fan out the rest of the pieces to form a half circle.  Hot glue the top middle pieces of each side so they stay together in the fan shape.  Repeat this process again for the bottom half of your windmill.

Hot glue the long side of one of the windmills to stick each side together...

 Each side will be a little bit loose so hot glue the next layers up together (on both sides) so it stays tight in the middle...

Make a second colored windmill to layer over the first cutting the paper down 1 inch from the size of your printed paper.  Embellish with something in the middle and all done!

Here are a few up close shots of Missie's banner and where she placed the windmills.  I love the little bird!

To attach each flag together Missie used a thicker ribbon and layered a decorative ribbon on top.  She used layers with different materials and paper in different yet coordinating patterns to give it dimension and amazing style! 

Thanks for sharing your great idea Missie and Steph.  What talent!  I've caught the bug to start making these for each holiday!  I've also seen these made for kids birthdays which makes for a fun party decoration!

Basement job 9...carpet

The last thing to finish is the carpet and flooring and you are ready to move in! 

We went through Wholesale Flooring in Lindon (801.796.7222).  When making your budget for the basement give yourself a good cushion for the carpet...you won't regret spending a little bit more on it!  We bought a thicker pad and the higher level of carpet (it comes in a 1, 2, 3 etc.) which makes it soft and cozy! 

 I really like the color and will work well with kids!

For the playroom we went with a vinyl product that looks like hardwood.  It was a little more expensive than most vinyl, but I wanted it to look nice without having to worry about my kids dropping their toys on wood and chipping it.  So this was a great alternative and I love how it looks. 

It's so nice to walk down to a finished basement!  As a recap, here's the list of our sub contractors if you are looking to be your own general contractor!  I highly recommend them all for price and work!

Framing and finished carpentry...Kevin Madsen, 801-850-7839
HVAC...Holmes Heating and Air, 801-768-4151
Plumbing...Austin Headrick, 801-209-4870
Drywall and texture...RCI Drywall, 801-420-7905
Paint...Petersen Painting, 801-766-6685
Flooring...Wholesale Flooring, 801-796-7222

**We really like our electrician too but he's a friend and isn't necessarily looking for extra work :)

Our total cost was about $17 a square foot to finish.  This is definitely reasonable and so worth the money for the extra space!

I hope this information will help you in your basement projects!  I'd love to hear from you when you finish yours! 

Finishing touch

We added a few extras to the basement that really enhanced the space... 

Our finish carpenter, Kevin Madsen, did the wood beam.  We had a plywood support beam there...so instead of drywalling and painting around it, we wrapped it in knotty alder and had it stained (by the painters).

My talented husband did the brick wall!  I had a vision for what I wanted and it turned out great!  My brother in law is a brick mason and helped us track down the brick...old, reclaimed and perfect for the basement!  We had to cut it pretty thin for it to be flush with the trim around the wall and luckily it held together for the cuts. 

McKay is interested in helping other people add finishing touches like this to their homes if you are interested.  I'm so happy with the finished product! 

When finishing a basement or any space, find at least one way to make it unique and personalized.  It will make you happy everytime you walk in!

Oriental Trading

My four year old recently had a birthday party and I bought a bunch of the party goods from Oriental Trading.  A friend asked me where I bought everything, and when I told her she hadn't heard of it!  So I thought I'd share just in case you've never heard!  They have party supplies for just about any party you can think of!  We had a pirate party and they had the best selection, cutest items and cheapest prices among the party stores I checked out.  Here are a few things I bought...

Pirate hats...$14 for 12

Treasure chest boxes...$3.99 for 12

Swords...$10.99 for 12

Telescopes...$2.99 for 12

...and these were my favorite!  Pirate finger puppets!  They came in a set of 24 for $6.  I used them on his cake also for decoration! 

A little secret if you live near a Partyland, you can have your items shipped to their store for free!  It requires a little planning as it takes about three weeks for items to arrive...but it saves you the $10 they charge to ship!  Just write the online item numbers down, take them to the store and they have a form for you to fill out.

Happy party planning!

Eggo's no more

Khloe has to have breakfast as soon as she wakes up each morning.  To her, breakfast consists of either waffles or pancakes.  The waffle and pancake recipe from the Better Homes and Garden cookbook are the best recipes!  Not only are they tasty, they are easy to make and freeze well.  Mix up a double batch, eat, and freeze the leftovers in a large freezer bag.  In the morning, simply heat in the microwave, and your kids have a warm breakfast!

Ingredients

• 1-3/4  cups  all-purpose flour
• 2  tablespoons  sugar
• 1  tablespoon  baking powder
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 2    eggs
• 1-3/4  cups  milk
• 1/2  cup  cooking oil or butter, melted
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla

Directions

1. In a medium bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.
2. In another medium bowl beat eggs slightly; stir in milk, oil, and vanilla. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be slightly lumpy).
3. Pour 1 to 1 1/4 cups batter onto grids of a preheated, lightly greased waffle baker (use a regular or Belgian waffle baker). Close lid quickly; do not open until done. Bake according to manufacturer's directions. When done, use a fork to lift waffle off grid. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve warm.
4. Makes 12 to 16 (4-inch) waffles

Ingredients

• 1  cup  all-purpose flour
• 1  tablespoon  sugar
• 2  teaspoons  baking powder
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1    beaten egg
• 1  cup  milk
• 2  tablespoons  cooking oil

Directions

1. In a medium mixing bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture; set aside.
2. In another medium mixing bowl combine the egg, milk, and cooking oil. Add egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just till moistened (batter should be lumpy).
3. For standard-size pancakes, pour about 1/4 cup batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet. For dollar-size pancakes, pour about 1 tablespoon batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet. Cook over medium heat about 2 minutes on each side or till pancakes are golden brown, turning to second sides when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and edges are slightly dry. Serve warm. Makes 8 to 10 standard-size (4-inch) or 36 dollar-size (2-inch) pancakes (8 servings).

How do I spell my name?

I love having my kids' names spelled out in their bedrooms, as I know it helps them to spell their name by seeing it everyday.  Khloe didn't have her name in her room yet, so when I saw these letters at Hobby Lobby for $3.99 each and 50% off, I purchased them.

 Her room is accented in silver, so I simply spray painted them with a metallic silver spray paint from Lowes.

 I mounted them on the wall above her toy chest.  It seemed too plain, so I added the ribbon dragonflies for extra flair.  I used my Bowdabra to make them.  If you have a girl and don't have one of these, buy one today from Walmart or Target.  It makes it so easy to craft bows.



I am pleased with how it turned out.  Now she'll be ready to go to preschool in the Fall.