Diptacular 2012: Cheese Ball from Heaven

College football season has started which means it's time for BooMama's annual Diptacular!

I recently had this dip at a birthday party and could have eaten the entire bowl...seriously, it's that good!  My friend Lisa that made it and gave me the recipe simply called it "Cheese Ball"....but I didn't think that name did this dip justice.  It really is a cheese ball from heaven!

Cheese Ball from Heaven

1 8oz package of cream cheese
3/4 stick of butter
Garlic powder (to taste)
1 package of Buddig dried ham (chopped)
Green onion, chopped
2 cups of finely shredded cheddar cheese

Cream together the cream cheese, butter, and garlic powder.  Then add the ham, onion, and cheddar cheese.  Chill the dip before serving.

Lisa added that she normally doubles the recipe (double everything but the cheddar cheese) and I can see why, you never want to run out of this Cheese Ball! :)  Also, if I remember correctly, Lisa served this with Wheat Thin crackers.  So delicious!  I'll be running to Wal-mart now to make up a batch of my own.

link love: 08.25.2012

Welcome to "link love" on Saturday! Here's a collection of links that I've found around the web (and Pinterest!) this week...

Source: homestoriesatoz.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

Wait until you see how Beth from Home Stories from A to Z transformed this fantastic dresser!

Source: havenbyhayden.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

We all love a good PBK Knock off! I'm trying to figure out which "words" to use on pillows like this for my little guy's room.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

Have you been eyeing all of the barn doors on Pinterest?  Me too!  This is a FANTASTIC (and cheap!!) way to recreate that look for less than $40!

Source: topthistopthat.blogspot.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

I love these personalized jute bags...Laura from Top This Top That adding a little something extra to bags she bought at Hobby Lobby!  Love it!

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend so far!

another nursery project…

I feel like we have lots of unfinished projects floating around right now, but why not add another one to the list?   We scored this dresser, which will serve as a dresser/changing table, at a yard sale for $20!  It doesn’t look like much now but with a little paint and new hardware, it’ll look great!



I’ve been waiting to try my hand using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and think this will be the perfect piece.  I picked up a sample pot of Duck Egg blue and LOVE the color!  Here are a few pictures that I’ve found on Pinterest to use as my inspiration…

Source: serendipityfurnishings.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

This dresser is almost identical to the one that we purchased...even down to the hardware!  I wish that I could find replacement hardware to match the existing (unbroken) ones, but I'm not holding out hope on that one. 

Source: ruthsfarmandfurniture.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

The drawers on our baby girl's dresser are lined with...wait for it...multi-colored cat print paper. I'm loving these drawers lined with old hymnal pages!

I will be sure to keep you posted on this, and all of the other unfinished projects we have for our sweet baby girl's nursery!

link love: 08.18.2012

Welcome to "link love" on Saturday! Here's a collection of links that I've found around the web (and Pinterest!) this week...

Source: shadandlizzie.blogspot.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

I never thought I'd be making sweet, flowery headbands (I thought I'd have all boys!) but I'm so looking forward to seeing more of these in our future.

Source: shanty-2-chic.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

Hop over to Shanty2Chic and learn how to make these awesome stenciled photo frames for $5 each.

Source: forchicsake.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

We all know that monograms are all of the rage...here's a free printable that you can customize with any monogram (with lots of colors to choose from!). I think that this would be a sweet new baby gift or wedding shower gift!

Source: zigandzagblog.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

Do you have a box of preschool art like I do? This mom is a genius! She scanned each piece of art and created a beautiful photo book out of it. I'm thinking this will be my fall project, using last year's preschool art. They'd make great grandparent gifts, too!

It's a beautiful day here in the Midwest...hope you're getting some of the same weather! I'll be spending some of my day spray painting. :)

pinterest test kitchen: pecan pie bars

 A few months ago, I posted about a series called "Pinterest Test Kitchen"...and then I slept for 15 weeks.  Not really, but I would have liked to!  This pregnancy wore me out for the first trimester and part of the second!

Anyway, I'm back with another recipe from Pinterest that I tried out in my own kitchen to see if it was a success or a big, old fail.  The recipe up for testing this time was Pecan Pie Bars.

Source: justataste.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

We were headed to a birthday dinner and I needed to bring a dessert...preferably something with pecans as they are a favorite in that household.  It was too hot (for me) to bake a pecan pie, so I went in search of something similar.  These pecan pie bars did not disappoint!  The recipe is pretty simple and straight-forward using mostly ingredients that you'll have in your pantry and is done in less than an hour!

The Pecan Pie Bar recipe bakes an entire sheet pan of bars and the photo above shows what was left - only a few bars!  They were delicious, and rich...I should have cut them into smaller bars.  But, it gets 5 stars in my recipe book!

Do you have any recipes that you've put through your own Pinterest Test Kitchen?

**On a side note, my beloved camera was stolen out of my husband's office at church a few weeks ago during a break in.  Enter sobbing, crying face here.  So, you'll be overloaded with lovely iPhone pictures while we work out all of the details of getting my sweet camera replaced.**

link love: 08.11.2012

There have been some great furniture re-dos and furniture plans popping up all over the blogs this week!  Here are some of my faves...

Source: beneathmyheart.net via Mary Jo on Pinterest

Have you seen this burlap chair makeover by Traci over at Beneath my Heart?  Love it!

Source: howtonestforless.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

I have lost my big sewing area (in favor for a corner of the playroom - I'll show pics later!), but definitely pinned this for the future.  This awesome desk is built out of stock cabinets, plywood, and laminate flooring!

Source: shanty-2-chic.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

The girls over at Shanty2Chic built these super-functional and adorable rolling storage cubes to use as seats for the play table below...

Source: shanty-2-chic.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

Hop over to Shanty2Chic to get the plans for this play table and storage cubes!  What a great playing/crafting/project space for up to 8 kiddos!

Have you seen any great furniture re-dos this week?  I am still in the middle of one of my own!  In fact, the weather is perfect outside for spray painting again today!

a date with spray paint…

 

My Craig’s List search turned up pure gold…a Jenny Lind crib (in good working condition) for only $15!  The lady who posted it was advertising her garage sale, but I quickly emailed her and offered $20 if she’d hold it for me.  She agreed and the crib was mine!  The crib definitely has some spray paint lurking in its future.

It has been sitting in the garage for a few weeks because it’s been SO UNBELIEVABLY HOT here in the Midwest.  Hot sun + spray paint + pregnant momma = not a good combination.  But, yesterday’s weather couldn’t have been better so I dragged the crib out to the driveway and hit it with some spray paint.

Those pesky little beautiful spindles require a LOT of paint, so I’ll be back to post the “after” pictures…

i love jenny lind….

Well, I don’t really know Jenny Lind…but I love Jenny Lind style cribs and beds!  I have always loved the vintage-look of those sweet spindles (apparently other people do, too!  Check out this post by Apartment Therapy) and knew I’d have one some day.

When Grayson was just a few months old, I started seeing pictures of painted Jenny Lind beds used in boys’ rooms…I was sold!  I had visions of a red painted bed with navy and white bedding.

I stumbled upon a practically perfect, chippy painted, antique one at a garage sale in Austin for just $5 (including the headboard, footboard, and metal rails!) and threw my money at quickly paid the nice family.  It sat in our garage for 2 years, moved with us to Missouri, and eventually became our guest bed.  I'm so glad that I never painted it!

                                   Source: itstwoam.files.wordpress.com via Mary Jo 

**This is not our bed…but it looks very similar!** 

Now that we’ve flipped rooms and are combining the nursery with the guest room, the Jenny Lind bed has taken up residence there.  I have been secretly dreaming of selling Grayson’s old white crib and buying a Jenny Lind crib to match.  Just take a look at some of my “pins” to see how sweet this crib looks in a nursery!

Source: meaganmusing.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

I love this sweet, white crib with beautiful bedding...

Source: blogs.babble.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

The yellow crib pops off of these turquoise walls!  I love all of the fabric used in this nursery...especially that crib skirt.

Source: google.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

Another great white crib with beautiful bedding...and check out those tissue paper poms and paper lanterns!  Love!

Source: blog.urbangrace.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

Erica, of Urban Grace Interiors, had the crib she used as a child repainted in a gorgeous gold!

I decided to try my hand at Craig's List to see if I could find a reasonably priced Jenny Lind crib...I'll be back tomorrow to show you what I found!

gray or grey?

 

We are painting the walls of the future guest room/nursery gray.  I think it’ll pair nicely with the white Jenny Lind bed and crib that will be in there and plan to add a pop of color with a dresser painted in a robin’s egg blue color (maybe Duck Egg chalk paint by Annie Sloan?).

The only problem now is deciding WHICH color gray to pick.  Here are some top contenders:

Source: westermanfam.blogspot.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

 

Nimbus Gray by Martha Stewart (available at Home Depot)

Source: tarpapercrane.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

 

Wickham Gray by Benjamin Moore

Source: kellimurray.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

 

Glidden’s Smooth Stone

 

Do you have any suggestions for great grays that I need to know about?