Amber Waves of Grain

Here's the kitchen after 1 coat of paint tonight. The lighting happens to be poor and it's evening.... so bear with me. I'll take better pictures when it's all done. This is the color "Lagoon" by Sherwin Williams. I love it already! Good bye, maroon! Hello, lagoon!

Today represents day one of Extreme Home Makeover: Amber's Edition. Our downstairs is officially being renovated ! This means new paint, new carpet, new in-wall speakers (Nathan's part of the project, of course), new carpet, new furniture, and more. The painter started today and I've also been working with a friend who is making my curtains. The original fabric I picked turned out to be discontinued, so I had to pick new. I'm using some bold fabrics from the Anna Maria Horner Collection called The Drawing Room: The kitchen, which has been maroon for years, will be painted TEAL . The rest of our downstairs will be painted a nice shade of yellow (not too bright... not too pale...but just right). The painter (a friend of ours) is working as I type this. But, I just sneaked down to take some exclusive photos... .just for you . These pictures do NOT do it justice. The lighting is totally off to see the true color, so use some imagination. Again, really dark photo ...

So, have I been living under a rock? I recently found a great way to make a quick glass of iced tea. I can't believe I've never seen it before! I love them so much that I have to share them with you. It's Lipton's Cold Brew tea bags. And, here's the magic..... you just put the tea bag in a cold glass of water for 3 minutes, and it's done. That's it! No pitcher, no waiting, no boiling water (I make boiling water sound complicated, don't I?) . Of course, you'll have to sweeten it to your liking (and my liking is pretty sweet). How fast and easy is that?? I need to see if they have decaf or other flavors. I found these at Walmart. It's definitely my "new thing." Give them a try! Or, have you already??

I've learned one thing over the past couple of years of blogging. Some of you are cheaters. There, I've said it. Cheaters, cheaters, pumpkin eaters. You heard me. I post a delicious fancy recipe with a 35-step process and 45 of your favorite ingredients, promising it will be the best food you've ever eaten.... and nobody wants to make it. However, I post recipes that cheat ..... using boxed cake mixes or frozen noodles, and everyone is all over it. Cheaters, you are. Maybe "Cheaters never win".... but you and I both know they do get out of the kitchen sooner. And, that's why today I'm sharing another cheater recipe. I happen to love Buckeyes (some of you might call them peanut butter balls). I'm lucky that my best friend, Jennifer, makes them and shares at Christmas. They are one of my favorites. However, they are also a pain to make. Really.... who has time to hand-roll sticky peanut butter balls and dip them in chocolate? I don...

I've come up with some new inventions and ideas . I'm not sure which one I'd take on the show Shark Tank ( which I love, by the way ) but I'm sure they'd all give me millions. Anyone in? Here they are: 1) Designer trashcans . -- I recently purchased a new garbage can for our house. I was saddened by the lack of color choices available. Are Amish people making them? Some of you are thinking, " But it's for trash ." I say we have used our trashcans for 10 years now and they are used daily. I want to use something I enjoy looking at! It gets used more often than my favorite clothing item. Plus, when it sits on the street on trash day, it represents our house. So, how about red? Lime green? Paisley? Stripes or polka-dots? Let's get edgy with our cans! 2) A Sweet & Salty Bowl . -- Ok, imagine it.... a bowl that is divided into 2 halves. One side for your salty food, the other for your sweet. It would be a hit at movie...

Nathan & I got engaged exactly 10 years from today! I've already posted the 'story' in blog posts of the past, so today I'm just sharing pictures from our engagement night. This was August 11, 2000. So young, so thin..... Here we are all dressed up for our fancy date that night: Here's our official engagement photo by the photographer ( Emily Butler Photography ): Happy 10 year engagement, Nathan!

We went to the State Fair yesterday and it was a beautiful, sunny, 85 degrees with slightly less humidity than normal. Perfect! I should start by saying that it's important that we have 'fair wear'. Keegan and Nathan have their John Deere shirts on. I have on my John Deere "LOVE YOUR TRACTOR" shirt. I had big plans to make Kennedy a shirt but it never happened. That's what happens when you're the 2nd child. She's been forgotten already. In fact, have I ever mentioned that I don't have a single picture of her up in our house yet? I digress. She's cute anyway in her little sunglasses and hat. We started by getting Keegan's dinner.... the only thing he'll eat at the fair: POPCORN. Nathan and I split a chocolate milkshake. Then we saw a Turkey Hill sample booth and got in on some cute little free cartons of ice cream. We ate them in front of this year's new American Gothic art statues. This photo does not do these cool...

So, today I was craving.... well, lots of things. Let's face it; I just like to eat . However, there was only one thing that I had time to make.... CAKE MIX COOKIES . They are quick, easy, and yummy. It would be a sin to not share this recipe with you. CAKE MIX COOKIES 1 Box cake mix, any flavor 2 Eggs 1/2 cup oil Optional-- 1 cup of a stir-in (like chocolate chips) Mix it all together. Scoop onto a cookie sheet & bake at 375 for 9-11 minutes. (Note: You don't want to overbake these. I do 9 minutes and take them out just before they are really done). I'm not sure how many cookies the recipe yielded but I was able to do 2 cookie sheets-worth. Plus, I ate some of the batter, raw egg and all (don't tell my mom). Here's where it gets fun . Cake mix comes in about a gazillion flavors. (is gazillion even a word?) I've done lemon, strawberry, spice (yum- and great for fall), chocolate, confetti, red velvet, orange, you name it. For stir-ins, you co...

The county fair ended on Saturday. I'd love to show you some pictures. Here's all the delicious food we ate: Here's all the fun we had: Here's all the cool stuff we saw: What? You can't see anything? Ok, fine. Me either. I'm ashamed to announce that for the first time in years, Nathan & I did not make it to our own county fair this year. (insert gasps and dropped jaws here) It's like you don't even know us. I know several of you count on us for fair updates and we've fallen short of our duties this season. I have a good excuse though... Pregnancy Nausea + Hot/Humid Weather = BAD Our only day to go was a day I simply did not feel well enough to handle the heat. This baby is already bringing havoc to our fair visits; surely it's an alien child and not ours! The good news, however, is that the State Fair starts on Friday. Nausea or no nausea, we will NOT let you down for this one! Hope to see you all there!