24 Weeks Down

I completely admit to being a terrible blogger, but I actually have some down time tonight (when I'm not practicing balancing things on my belly :)So I thought I'd post a few pictures of the babies room:

So here's the finished product (well, the paint at least, and please excuse the not-so-great iPhone photos):

And here's how I did it (in case you want to try to do some stripes in your house):

First, I painted the entire bottom section the white color I wanted to use for the stripes and the top part of the wall (above the chair rail).

Then I measured and marked where I wanted each of my lines. I made the white stripes 2 inches and the green stripes 5 inches. Then I had to use the laser level (my best friend in so many of my projects) to tape down all the sections. I started out using Frog Tape, but I wanted 2 inch white striped sections and Frog Tape doesn't come in a 2 inch width so I used delicate blue painters tape for the rest (which I thought worked just as well for these purposes).

The I painted over the tape with the white color to seal the tape--this is really important if your walls are textured.
Next, I painted the sections between the tape with the 2 shades of green I selected.

Finally, I carefully pulled off the tape , and voila!, The stripes were just about perfect! Only a few little flaws I was able to fix free hand with the white paint.

I wished I had taken pictures of the room before, but the walls were a basic tan shade. We used Sherwin Williams Superpaint, and I really loved it. I've used Behr before and liked it, but the Superpaint seemed to go on smoother & covered beautifully. We were really lucky and just happened to buy all the paint the one weekend a year when all of their paint was on sale for 40% off. So it didn't cost us more than it would have if we'd bought it at Lowe's or Home Depot. ALSO, we decided to use their paint samples to be sure I liked the greens--only about $5 for an entire quart of paint. I ended up loving the colors and we were able to paint all the stripes with just the samples. Perfect!

My parents came into town and finished the painting (above the chair rail & all the wood work). My mom convinced me that we needed to change out the wood blinds to white blinds and the knobs on the doors to white also. I really loved the way it turned out!

We don't have the furniture yet, but here's our bedding:
(Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn Kids)

I'll post more pictures when we have more of the room ready (or when I learn to balance something really cool).

xoxo, Shel & Bert

Everyone says, "there must be something in the water," but I know for a fact it was the champagne...

That's right, no water about it, drinking champagne will make you pregnant. At least that's apparently what it does in the Alonzo household. We were slightly shocked to find out about our little miracle...THRILLED but a little surprised. So just about 30 weeks from now, around Christmas day, our little bundle should be joining our home and blessing us with our greatest adventure.

I needed 2 tests just to be sure I hadn't read the first one wrong (which I had done 2 days prior--I know...I'm blonde, forgive me). In fact, I took one on a Friday morning, thought it was negative, and threw it away. Later that day at work I told my friend Jill about it who informed me I had read it wrong (she's brunette--she gets these things quicker than me). The worst part about it was that I still wasn't sure, but I had to leave straight from work to go down to Austin for my friend Tara's bachelorette party weekend. That left me in a state of anxiety all weekend. UGH! Luckily, I enjoyed one glass of wine each night while we were there and attempted to stay "under the radar" while hoping that no one would notice Tiffany and Carolina drinking everything else that was handed to me.

I've felt great, better than I could have imagined. It's just the constant feeling of being tired that is obnoxious and the "boobs of doom." I honestly don't know how you busty women do it day in and day out. I will be a happy camper returning to my comfortable B cup when all of this is over.

Luckily, I'm not going this alone. Trey has been incredible as always, but it is impossible for him to completely understand what/how I am feeling. I'm so blessed that my cousin Erin, my sweet friend, Krystal, and a few other women at work are going through this at the same time as me. Here's me and sweet Krystal out for dinner for her birthday (she's about 8 weeks ahead of me).

And here's the first belly shot. I'm almost 10 weeks at this point, so I just look like I'm really bloated--no "real" bump yet. I'm looking forward to the point where people hopefully say, "aww look at her sweet belly," and not, "did you notice Shel's put on a few pounds?" (for the record, I've only gained 3). Ugh...we'll get there. School is out is 6 days! Whoo-hoo! So I'm hoping that will mean I will be blogging a little more regularly. I make no guarantees. :)

Until next time, say a prayer for me, Trey, and Baby Zo and know that we're praying for you, too.

xoxo, Shel & Bert

The Truth about Cake Balls

Happy New Year everyone! I can't believe my last post was in October! I feel like such a slacker--hopefully in the new year I'll keep up more with my blogging.
Many people have been asking me about how to make cake balls so I thought I'd post my "recipe" and all of my tips and tricks to hopefully make the process as painless as possible.
Supplies:

• 1 box of cake mix (& all it calls for to make the cake--typically just eggs and vegetable oil
  
• 1 can of icing


• 1 brick of almond bark


• shortening
  
• toothpicks
• wax paper
  

Process:

• Bake the cake according to the instructions on the box(I use a cake mix to help with the time, but if you have a wonderful homemake cake recipe you want to use-knock yourself out)


• Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes


• Cut the edges off the cake and discard (feed to the dog, husband, etc.)


• Dump the cake into a big bowl and crumble it up (I typically use 2 forks and all of my pent up aggression)


• Mix the cake with the full can of icing--be prepared for the gooey/delicious mess that this will create


• Stick the bowl with the mixture in the freezer for a while (I usually wait at least an hour)


• Roll the mixture into balls and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet (you can do this by just grabbing some of the mix and rolling it with your hand, or you can use a cookie scoop and press the mixture firmly into the scoop. I prefer using the cookie scoop because it is easier to create more uniform balls, and I like the balls to have a flat bottom so they don't roll around). 1 box of cake and 1 can of icing usually makes a little more than 7 dozen balls.


• Freeze the balls at least 3 hours. (I typically let them stay in the freezer over night.)


• Melt 1/2 of the brick of almond bark and add 1 tablespoon of shortening. If you melt the whole thing it gets hard too quickly and the shortening is important to thin the chocolate a little bit.


• Stick a toothpick in the bottom of the cake ball and dip into the chocolate. Be sure to only pull a few cake balls out of the freezer at a time or they will become soft and more difficult to dip.


• After you dip the ball you need to twirl the chocolate around to let it set before you put it down onto wax paper. OR if you have a piece of styrofoam you can stick the toothpick into it, but you still need to let to chocolate set before your put it in the styrofoam or your cake balls will end up looking like the ghosts on pac-man.


• After the cake balls are dry you can decorate them however you want. For a friends wedding shower I drew pink hearts on the cake balls. For Trey's birthday we drizzled milk chocolate over the white chocolate. For Christmas I dipped them in crushed peppermint before the chocolate was completely dry.
  

The combination possibilities are endless! We've made:

• Strawberry cake, cream cheese icing, white almond bark with chocolate drizzle


• Yellow cake, cream cheese icing, chocolate almond bark


• Red Velvet cake, cream cheese icing, white chocolate almond bark with red drizzle


• Triple chocolate fudge cake, chocolate icing, chocolate almond bark coated in crushed peppermint.
  

ALL were delicious! If you're making them for the first time be prepared because the process if very time consuming, but the results are worth it!

Happy Baking! xoxo, Shel & Bert

I H.E.A.R.T. Chalkboard Paint

I don't heart anything--in fact the phrase itself annoys me, but that's just how much I lurve chalkboard paint. Maybe it has something to do with my teaching roots, but I think it's just fabulous. When I discovered my first can at Hob Lob one day I knew I needed a project to use it on.

Shortly thereafter I found a number of silver trays at a thrift store for $1.00, Bob.

So I taped it off:And followed the directions on the can of chalkboard spray paint--seriously do as they say--or you will be left with a message board with lots of "ghost messages."I gave a few of these away as wedding gifts and kept one for myself. I love that I can change the message and personalize it. This is just one use of chalkboard paint though. The possibilities are endless! I'd love to hear how you've used it!

xoxo, Shel & Bert

Madness

I am disappointed in myself for not being better about blogging since school started..shame on me! It has been a busy couple of months!

We celebrated Trey's 28th birthday:

And made some D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S cake balls:

If you haven't made/tried these they are TO DIE FOR! I'm not even kidding. I'll post a later blog with the tips and tricks I learned while taking on this project.

I started with a new group of 19 precious angels. All of them want to go to UT--or at least I'm doing my best to brainwash them :)

We've accomplished many-a-project around the house just too many to post all at once so I will FORCE myself to post more this week, but for now I'm super excited about my new window treatments for the kitchen that were just delivered this week (by my fabulous parents-in-law).

They still need to be steamed, but I'm waiting for them to fall a little this week. Oh but I lurrrve them and they look so stinkin' cute with the coordinating bar-stools:

Finally, I'll leave you with our weekend update. We celebrated Trey's Grandmommy's 90th birthday with a fabulous party at the Hilton Lincoln Center. She was surrounded by loved ones including 9 of her grandchildren in order by their age (yes, Trey is the baby).

Our madness continues, but we like our lives that way.

xo, Shel & Trey

Wall Art

Well, you know what time it is...back to school time. Trey waved bye to me this morning as I headed off to my first official day back to work. Sigh...Which means my the majority of my projects have come to a screeching halt (although I'm still going to squeak a few in on the weekends when there's not a UT game to be watching).

Just about every time someone comes over to the house they comment about this wall art:

I luurrvee being able to smile proudly and say, "I made that! And it was SUPER easy." Now, let's get real here, folks, I am not a creative genius. In fact most of my projects have been stolen by someone else that I've discovered on the web.

So here's whatchagottado to make this project happen.

1) Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and find a piece of MDF (in the lumber section).

2) Ask a sweet employee to cut it down for you into 12 inch squares (they may groan a little or give you a look like you are crazy, but they get over it...promise).

3)Sand the edges of each of the pieces a little (so they are smooth) and wipe down with Mineral Spirits or a Tack Cloth (both available at H.D. or Lowe's also).

4) Spray paint the edges with your color of choice. I used an espresso brown with a satin finish. Let it dry for the recommended time.

5) While the paint is drying find some cute scrapbook paper you'd like to use. That's right...scrapbook paper I had a pack of paper lying around with coordinating colors that I liked.

6) Use spray adhesive on BOTH the board and the back of the paper. Let it set for about 30 seconds or so.
7) Lay the scrapbook paper on the board and smooth it out. BE CAREFUL when you are laying it down because this is a PERMANENT bond and it will not come off gently.
8) If you're like me and can't seem to lay it just perfectly you can go back with an exacto knife and trim the edges.

9) Drill a hole in the top center of the back of each piece of wood (about an inch down from the top).

10) Screw in your wall hanger like so:

Now here's where you have an option. You can leave it alone or you can add 2 bumpers to the bottom corners. I find that it prevents the board from wiggling so much on the wall, and it's as simple as putting on a sticker.

Your project is ready to hang! Hooray! I HIGHLY recommend getting another person to help you hang your project. I did it by myself using my handy dandy laser level, but I'm convinced my time would have been cut in half if Trey had been around to help.

I liked the project so much that I found other paper I liked and made another smaller on for our bedroom with a wedding picture.

All of the materials together cost me about $35-$40 which is a heckuvalot better than the $200 piece that is similar in Ballard Designs.

My friend, Tara, made the same project after I explained it to her to put above her mantle. I wish I had a picture of hers to share because it's gorgeous. She had a 10 inch square wood piece to put in the center so she had all of her pieces cut down to 10 inches. The possibilities are endless!

I'll post again after I get back into the swing of school and Trey's birthday!!!

Happy back to school all you teachers!!!

xoxo, Shel & Bert

Our Favorite Weekend Breakfast

Almost every weekend we have a big breakfast because I get tired of the cereal and milk or fruit smoothie routine that we live by during the week. So I thought I'd share my recipe for our favorite biscuits.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening (I like to use the shortening you can buy as a stick and just cut it)
3/4 cup of buttermilk (if the buttermilk is really thick you may need a little extra)

1. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Cut in shortening using a pastry blender or criss-crossing 2 knives, until the mixture looks like fine crumbs.
3. Stir in buttermilk until dough leaves the side of the bowl (dough will be soft and sticky).
4. Place dough on a slightly floured surface (I like to use a baking mat, but wax paper works well too).
5. Knead lightly 10 times.
6. Roll out until the dough is about 1/2 inch thick.
7. Cut out with a round biscuit cutter (honestly, I don't have one of these so I use my round cookie cutter which is a little big, but it does the job--hopefully I'll get the biscuit cutters I want for Christmas from William Sonoma).
8. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart
9. Heat oven to 450 degrees (this is important to do this last and wait until it heats all the way. This allows the chemical process with the baking soda, powder, and salt to take effect, which causes your biscuits to rise better).
10. Bake 10-12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Enjoy!!!!
xoxo, Shel & Bert