Traditional and Modern elements mixed together=Beautiful

Home show tour Beauty!!!

I LOVE this kitchen- It's a nice mix of modern and traditional elements. White cabinets, nickle fixtures, silver hardware and lighting, metal bar stools, black and stainless appliances, warm dark wood floors, some glass cabinets, granite counter tops, a separate island with a contemporary pendant lights. The blue table is a NO-NO. It was for brochures only.

I like everything about this vignette. I enjoy the colorful graphic photo. I like the position of the tall silver vases next to the photo. I love green walls and white crisp trim. It is just like my house. Go figure that's why I LOVE it.

I have dark floors, white trim, and green walls just like this in my house!!! I like the modern and traditional elements mixed together. Carpet is just ok. Overall = Inviting!!!

Ditto on the colors and elements!

A basketball necklace

My daughter just wrapped up her first basketball season. A teammate and her mom made these stretchy basketball pendant necklaces and handed them out to the girls at the last game. I thought is was a thoughtful gesture. I know soccer season is starting so may be you could make some for your girls teammates with a soccer ball (tennis, softball, etc) on them.

You go GIRL!

Superfoods to ward off illness?!

It might be a marketing scheme (or in my head) but I think this stuff from Costco saved me from a cold this last week. Do you have any superfood opinions (pros or cons)? Please share and leave me a comment!

I hope all of you are healthy and happy this week.

In memory of Daxton...our second cousin.

Together Again

His eyes were so blue, his smile so sweet.

With cute tiny toes, that curled on his feet.

Tender and loving, beyond his young age.

All his attention to you, he gladly gave.

Here on our Earth for such a short time.

To show us the love we needed to find.

His task here completed, he then went away.

To Heaven, to wait, for his family someday.

The Earth moves so slowly, and time crawls by.

For us it seems we may never die.

To join our sweet baby, in Heaven above.

To give him our hearts, and all of our love.

But Heaven I hear has a time all it's own.

And for him it will seem, as if he's just gotten home.

Only a day or two, it has surely been.

Until his family is all-together again.

Go to Intermountain Farming Association (IFA) for FUN!

Cute little Baby Chicks at IFA!

Are you planning on planting peas this weekend in the garden? Well, then head on over to the bulk seed section of IFA and pick some up. Oh and while you are there take the kids to see the baby ducks, chicks, and bunnies for sale. We went last Saturday and it was fun. The kids were begging for us to buy them a chick. Maybe someday.

Ah cute little baby ducks!

The outdoor greenhouse 2009!

My husband built this greenhouse on Saturday. My lovely father-in-law saw a steal of a deal at Home Depot and told us about it-It was ONLY $50 (plus tax) Reg. price about $300ish. You better believe my husband was all over that. Oh and nothing is planted in it YET.

Here's a look inside the greenhouse with tomato cages large and small.

Here we are space planning our dome with small and large tomato cages. Yes, I admit the space planning/Interior Designer side of me comes out in these types of projects. Next he will fill the "Wall of Waters" to be warmed. Stay tuned I'll explain in a future post.

Painting vertical stripes

Painting vertical stripes can be tricky and fun! I enjoyed this fun paint project when we first moved into this house. This is my uni-sex safari nursery. I designed this nursery on a budget 5 years ago. I decided to incorporate the existing denim fabric rocker that my husband bought me for my first Mother's Day. I also wanted the impact to be with PAINT! I designed the spacing of the stripes and then marked with a pencil the color locations. My lovely husband painted the stripes. There are lots of tricks to taping and painting stripes.

Check out some helpful vertical stripe painting hints found here!

Growing our garden seeds 2009

It is garden seed growing time!

I can't take any credit (but moral support) for this growing endeavor. My husband has the deep inner passion for gardening. I offer a supporting role of: eating, picking, cooking, canning, and freezing the harvest. My daughters and I have sold some cucumbers and tomatoes to our neighbors. We hope to sell some unique items at the Farmer's Market this summer. I am looking forward to learning and preserving more this year. I can't wait for fresh veggies and fruit!

Our new find-The Home Depot tray and dirt sponges for $6.XX! That is a great deal. We buy most of our seeds from catalogs/online. We purchased a lot from http://www.rareseeds.com/. We like to support heirloom seeds if possible.

Here's what we are growing this year in our mini greenhouse in the basement: Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, pineapple tomatoes, brandywine tomatoes, whopper tomatoes, sugary tomatoes, zucchini, crockneck, Lebanese squash, many many watermelon varieties, tigger melon, golden thai melon, collective farm woman melon (Russian variety), Charantias melon (French melon), prescott fond blanc (French Melon), bell peppers, huckleberries, cantaloupe, spinach, lettuce, eggplant, Hungarian wax hot peppers, cucumbers.

Here are some little seedlings in the Styrofoam cups from Parkseeds.com. We paid way more than $6.xx-last year for this set up. We now get our supplies from Home Depot!


My husband uses this seedling heat mat purchased at Home Depot. We also use energy efficient grow lights. Of course the less power we use equals more money in our pockets!

Our bell peppers and tomato plants (as of the first week in March) are moved to bigger pots. We will put them in wall of waters in April. Wall of Waters are an water greenhouse protectant (purchased at Home Depot) It's one of those things you have to see it to understand it.

Taller and Taller the plants grow!

Here's the growing system in our unfinished basement:

Level 1 two bio domes and bigger plants moved in bigger pots

Level 2- Spinach and lettuce boxes and 1 dome

Here's the mixed lettuce tray (in front) and the baby spinach tray (in the back)

We hope to grow these in the house all year round for fresh greens. More garden information will be coming. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment!

If you read my blog give me a shout out!!

Howdy! I know I have blog readers out there who don't like comment on blogs. Ah come on...feel free to give me a comment or write me via email at www.designingmotherhood@hotmail.com What do you like reading and seeing on my blog? Comments, suggestions, additions are welcome. I think more the merrier. I hope you enjoy your time on my simple blog. If you feel inclined become one of the firsts to follow my blog. Thanks and COME again!

Baby Quilts-A gift of love

The great state of Utah LOVES babies and baby quilts!

In Utah, we go ga-ga for baby clothes, baby showers, and baby quilts! I recently was cleaning out my daughter’s nursery (she turned 2) and I decided to take pictures of all the wonderful quilts. I am planning on including pictures of their keepsake and heirloom baby quilts for their baby books (yet to be completed).

My maternal instincts don't point me to making baby quilts-I like to decorate nurseries! Thanks to all the loved ones who shared the love of quilts to my girls-they are a treasure. Who knows may be you'll be inspired to make one for someone you know from these photos?

Ashley's rag quilt- For my first daughter

Ashley's flower patch work- For second daughter

Ashley's flannel duck tied blanket- For my first daughter

Kristin's quilt-For my third daughter

Great Grandma's safari animal quilt- For my first daughter

Great Grandma's pastel polka dot bear quilt-For my third daughter

Ashley's pink and brown square quilt-For my third daughter

Becky's (a co-worker) purple quilt with silk edges-For my first daughter

The endless mothering job of grocery shopping!

To know me...is to know I love a DEAL!

I like saving money more than grocery shopping. You know the drill: We plan meals, we shop, we cook, we eat it, and it's gone. So, I don't like forking out a ton of $ on full price food and tolietries. That doesn't mean I want low quality items. [Enter coupon pitch-Ha Ha] Coupons allow me to get get quality things for less (a lot less). I have been couponing since 2005 and learned a lot. I have the wonderful free help of http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/! This site is a blessing to my budget.Here's my trip today to Smith's Food and Drug (similiar to Kroger).

I ONLY spent $71.11 after coupons which was a 54% savings.

Pictured: I got Corned beef, cabbage, asparagus, 3 onions, bunch of grapes, 1 avocado, 3 milks, 3 country crock tubs, 3 bags of pasta, cinnamon bread off the reduced rack (French toast on Sat. morning), 4 loaves of 100% whole wheat bread (I freeze them), 5 bags of Quakes (free with coupon), 3 crescent rolls, 1 powerade, 5 boxes of Kellogg Mini-wheat cereal, 4 jars of Classico spaghetti sauce, 1 Diet Dr. Pepper (free with coupon I had), Beef Roasts in a 2 pack reduced manager special-about $6 a roast, 1 bag of frozen chicken breasts, 1 box of fish sticks, 1 24 ct. Tylenol, 2 packages of 200 napkins, 5 soft toothbrushes, 1 small young chicken on manager special

Growing Herbs

I had some cilantro lately and reminded myself on how much I loved it.

So I decided to grow a few herbs this year. My husband and I went to Home Depot a month ago to check out their herb seed selection. We found this small herb growing kit. It was cute, an easy start, and a minimal investment of money. The kit was an Italian mix and came with basil, oregano, and parsley. We swapped out parsley for a cilantro seed pack. We followed the easy instructions and started the seeds under our grow lights in the basement.

Go ahead try something new this spring and have fun with it!

You never know you just might like it.

A plethora of Barbies...

I found this Barbie organizer for our basement playroom door at Target on clearance for under $5.00. I am happy to say we can get them off the floor now. Wishful thinking!

Clearanced Amaryllis Christmas bulbs now in full bloom!

I enjoy buying and growing Amaryllis bulbs indoors during winter. They are VERY easy to grow and beautiful. Many stores like Target, Home Depot, and Rite Aid sell them during Christmas time in gift packages. I purchased mine in early January at Rite Aid for 75% off which comes to $2.50 per bulb. They make great Valentine gifts for teachers, grandmas, and aunts.

The flowers (3 total) opened up this past week just in time-I am ready for SPRING! Beautiful flower! It makes me want to fly to Hawaii!

Same tile...two uses.

I really like these 1" x 1" mini glass tile sheets.

I took this photo in 2006 while touring the Utah Parade of Home show! I like the mix of contemporary and traditional elements with this fireplace.

I am dreaming of using it as a backsplash in my home. The Corian grayish countertop doesn't "go" with the backsplash in my opinion-disregard that part.

That is an eye sore of white outlets, cables, and dimmer switches! I always tell my clients to pay attention to your power and cable locations. Make sure you review the electricial plan in detail and mark it on the floor plan!

One of my favorite Interior Designers from HGTV, Candice Olsen, uses the 1" tiles too check out the links here:

1" Tile

Candice Olsen Kitchen

Calzones-A staple meal in our house!

From A Better Homes and Garden book

Titled: The Complete guide to bread machine baking recipes for 1 ½ & 2 lb loaves.


DOUGH: For 1 ½ Pound bread machine setting (8 Calzones)
1 cup water
2 Tb. Olive oil or cooking oil
3 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed
1 teaspoon bottle minced garlic
¾ teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast or bread machine yeast

Put the first 7 ingredients in the machine and hit 1.5 loaf for dough setting. After the cycle (my machine takes an hour and a half) cut dough in half. On a floured surface, roll each half in to a 10 inch square. Cut each square into four 5” squares or so (I did rectangles with my little helper).




Calzone inside: (my picture shows different ingredients): 12 oz lean ground beef, ¾ cup fresh mushrooms, 1/3 chopped green pepper, ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese, ¾ cup pizza sauce, 1 tablespoon milk



My ingredients are shown as- Ham, pineapple, sweet red peppers, and mozzarella cheese.

COOKBOOK recipe continued: For filling cook 12 oz. ground beef , ¾ c. sliced mushrooms, and 1/3 cup chopped green pepper until meat is brown. Remove from heat; drain fat. Stir in ¾ c. shredded mozzarella cheese and ¾ c. pizza sauce.

Divide filing among the squares and stretch to opposite corner over filling. Seal edges by pressing with tine of forks. Bake on a greased baking sheet. Prick tops with a fork. Brush with 1 tablespoon of milk. Do NOT let rise.

Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Serve with warmed pizza sauce and ENJOY!


A Mommy hint: Give the kids a little dough and a butter knife and they are happy to "help" you while you fill the calzones.

Winter in Utah isn't over YET!

It will be in the upper 50's todays but I know winter isn't over yet in Utah.

Here's two more quick winter projects.

Paper plate snowflake materials: A paper plate (draw a few triangles around the perimeter and cut out), string, hole punch, paint, and glitter

Paper mittens on a string materials: Paper, scissors, crayons, tape, and string