Hey...where'd you go?

Sorry for the lack of blogging.  We are in the middle of a big move and my creativity has been put on hold!  But don't worry, I'll be back shortly!  Thanks for checking in!

Mini Fruit Pizzas

I love Pinterest...have I told you that before?  I recently pinned and tried these Mini Fruit Pizzas from Pillsbury.  They are super easy and make a tasty treat!  (Fruit makes anything healthy, right?)   

Here's what you'll need:

1 (18-oz.) pkg. (20 cookies) Pillsbury® Ready to Bake!™ Refrigerated Sugar Cookies
1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup powdered sugar
10 fresh strawberries, quartered
1 kiwi fruit, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and cut into 10 slices (optional)
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh raspberries

DIRECTIONS

1. Bake cookies as directed on package. Cool 10 minutes or until completely cooled.

2. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine cream cheese, limeade concentrate and powdered sugar; beat until smooth.

3. Spread each cooled cookie with 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture. Arrange fruit on top of each. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 hours.

Want to try other great desserts?  Visit my dessert Pinterest board here. 
Have a great weekend!

My Favorite Nail Polish

I heart nail polish.  Every time I go into a store with a beauty section, I bee-line it towards the nail polish and try on as many colors as I can.  (Am I allowed to do that?)  I go through seasons of nail polish buying but find myself addicted to the hunt during the summertime.  Some of my favorite memories with my mom and sisters are going to the 24-hour super center at midnight and trying on nail polish!  (Why?  Because we can!)  After much consideration, testing, trying and buying, I have decided the best nail polish on the market right now is Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure.  In fact, I love this polish so much, I tried to call Sally and tell her.  But, the number was unlisted so I'm doing the next best thing: I'm blogging about it!  

Kook-A-Mango

This line of nail polish has the best. brush. ever.  Hands down.  The wide, tapered brush allows the paint to go on smoothly with as little as two swipes, and looks perfect after two coats.  Some brands have teeny, tiny, straight-edged brushes that go on streaky, and don't dry evenly.  Why mess with that?  

Plum Luck

Next time you're near the beauty section at your local store, check out Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure line.  Test it for yourself!  

Left to right: Petrol, Plum Luck, Wine Not, Right Said Red, Kook-A-Mango, Frutti Petutie, Parchment

What is your favorite brand of nail polish?  Leave a comment!  (You know I'll go straight to the store to try it on!)

Paper Flowers Giveaway!

It's time for my first giveaway!  Since we are moving at the end of the month, I decided it would be easier to give away these flowers than to pack them.  One lucky person will win a lovely bouquet of paper flowers as featured on last Friday's blog!  (Sorry, jar and extra decorations are not included.)  All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me what you would do with these paper flowers!  It's that simple!  The giveaway will end Sunday, July 15 at 11:59 pm CST. 

Crock-Pot Chicken Tacos

I love ideas.  I love electronic hoarding.  I love Pinterest.  I have over 100 boards and over 5,000 pins. (Should I admit that?)  The key to justifying the horrendous amount of boards and pins acquired is to actually test the pins.  One of the first recipes I tested was Crock-Pot Chicken Tacos.  I tried it because the description said it was only three ingredients. Really? Can it really be that good?  Oh girl.

The recipe I pinned was from Chocolate Therapy, and originally from Tasty Kitchen.  If you try anything this week, try this recipe.  It will change your life!

What you will need:

• 6 chicken breasts--frozen or fresh
• 1 packet of taco seasoning--or make your own if you don't have one on hand.  A great recipe over at All Recipes will do the trick!  I've used it often and I omit the salt to help cut back on the sodium.
• 1 16 oz. jar of your favorite salsa

Instructions: Put all of the above ingredients into a crock-pot and cook for 4-6 hours, depending on if you're using frozen or fresh chicken.  Stir occasionally.  It will fall apart and shred easily when it's ready.

I serve the chicken with tortillas, cheese, avocado, black beans, tomato, fresh cilantro and sour cream.  Believe me, you will want to make this at least once a month, if not once a week...or more.  Just sayin'!

Dig in, friends!

Want to see all 5,000+ pins?  Follow me on Pinterest!  

www.pinterest.com/tacojulieromero.  

Office Transformation

We are moving in a few weeks and I've been madly sorting, purging, packing, fixing, and painting the house to get it ready for it's new owners.  As I was packing up my husband's office this weekend, I thought of the surprise office makeover I gave him a few winters ago, while he was out of town for work.  As a musician, he had been wishing he had an office to write and practice in, and since the spare bedroom was just collecting junk, I decided to surprise him and turn it into his office/studio!  I needed inspiration and found the perfect solution from a book we received for Christmas that year called Junk Beautiful by Sue Whitney & Ki Nassauer.  

These brilliant women redo rooms by using flea market finds--and this book was right up my alley!  I found an office makeover in their book that became the inspiration room by which I made over Taco's office.  (Yes, my husband's nickname is "Taco".)  What I liked about this inspiration room were the colors, the layout, and the use of vintage finds to create a one-of-a-kind office space!


Here are some photos from the inspiration room:

 Here are the before and after photos of Taco's office makeover:

As you can see, the spare bedroom happened to have a closet perfect for duplicating the desk space similar to the inspiration photo above.  I made the desk by taking an old door and adding banquet table legs and plexiglass on top.  I inserted photos of Taco's family and friends between the plexiglass and the top of the table.  I attached an old, red, retro lamp to the table for added light.

To the right of the table I hung an old window frame without the glass, and painted a layer of magnetic paint and then chalkboard paint inside.  

I removed the closet doors, put an extra table inside the closet and added old jars to hold change, business cards and receipts.  A wire basket contained journals and notebooks.

When I saw the red chairs in the inspiration photo, I just knew this was the room for Taco!  We acquired two, red, retro chairs a few years ago that would look perfect in that space!  I turned upside down an old flour barrel to create an impromptu table top.  We also just happened to have a few black screens to add to the wall decor.  The rest just fell into place!

In addition: I added another window pane on the wall between the two windows and painted chalkboard paint inside; hung an old crate from shelf brackets; leaned an old ladder in the corner of the room and hung magazines on the rungs; and put the rest of the magazines in an old bucket on the floor.

Against the spare wall I put our Ikea bookshelf and filled it with Taco's expansive book collection.  On top I displayed our collection of old cameras and reel to reel projectors.

The result: Taco flipped out when he came home from his trip and immediately put his new office/studio to use!  


Recently, Taco recorded his first album and one of the songs was produced in this room.  What a great memory to hold on to as we move out and say goodbye to five great years in this house!


A quick photo recap:

Clockwise from top: inspiration photo, after, before

Clockwise from top: inspiration photo, after, before

For more inspiration from Sue Whitney, visit her website at: www.junkmarketstyle.com  
For more information about Taco's album, visit his page on Facebook: Mike Romero Music, or visit www.mikeromeromusic.com (coming soon!)