Moving Season

It's moving season in the Army world right now. As I drive though my neighborhood {we live on post in Army housing} I see moving truck after moving truck. People coming and going. People packing and unpacking. It's pretty much constant in this life. But it really picks up during the summer months.

This week I'm watching 2 friends pack up their homes. Saying goodbye ~ It's one of the hardest parts of the military world. You become practically family in such a short amount of time. It's usually quite simple. You meet someone {who's normal} and there's an unspoken "Will you be my friend?" thing that happens almost overnight. And then bam you have a new best friend.

You spend holidays together. Watch each other's kids anytime, no questions asked. You are there to hold their hand when they deliver a baby without their husband because he's deployed. They become your shopping buddy, your lunch buddy, your coffee buddy, your movie buddy, your...well I think you get the picture. But all of that also makes it one of the best parts of the military world. I've been blessed to have some of the best girl friends I could ever ask for.

It's almost time for a new round of goodbyes. Almost time to start move #4 as a military family in the past 6 years. After all, it is moving season.

Image via We Heart It

Strawberries & Cream

Last night around 10pm I had the urge to bake some bread. Next week for the mister's graduation, I have to make breakfast bread for 75-100 people. Yes I'm insane. So I thought I would try out a new recipe.

Strawberries & Cream bread


Ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar (use if you want a sweeter bread)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups strawberries, fresh & coarsely chopped (do NOT use frozen) or fresh blueberries
3/4 cup walnuts (optional)

Directions

1 Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.

2 In small bowl, beat butter until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beat 1 minute or until light and airy. Add brown sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in sour cream and vanilla.

3 Stir into flour mixture only until dry ingredients are moistened.

4 Fold in strawberries and nuts.

5 Pour into a greased 8 x 4 inch loaf pan.

6 Bake at 350°F for 60 to 65 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

7 Let stand 10 minutes in pan.

8 Turn out on rack to cool.


**I forgot to add the brown sugar {it was late cut me some slack} but since it was listed as optional I wasn't too worried. After tasting it this morning, I'm glad I forgot the brown sugar. It was perfectly sweet enough without it. Only thing I will do differently is add more strawberries. Not enough strawberry taste IMO. I'm also going to try it out with blueberries. As well as my low fat banana apple raisin bread. Hopefully they will all be crowd pleasers.

Now where's the caffeine?!

Accomplished something

Finally! We finally got around to redoing this beauty! I love it and so does Caitlyn. I still need to take a picture of it in the girls room but here it is anyway.


Part of me was really sad to see the pretty flowers go but it goes perfectly with the girls furniture. For now I kept the original hardware on it but painted them pink and purple {Caitlyn's favorite colors}. I hope you like it as much as we do! This project makes me very anxious to get my hands on our new house.

Shrinky Dinks

Who doesn't love Shrinky Dinks?!?

Oak Overload

At first glance of our {soon to be} new home, the current decor is on the verge of being too country. Thank goodness for paint and our own personal style. Here's a sneak peek of the kitchen at the moment {Current owners stuff}.


Eventually we want to completely redo the kitchen. But until then paint will be our best friend in this kitchen. We want to knock down the two cabinets over the breakfast bar to open up the space. Paint the cabinets white and add new hardware. We aren't 100% sure what color to paint the walls but I'm thinking a subtle light grey color. And finally painting the wood ceiling white. As much as the oak wood on the ceiling is gorgeous, it's just not for me.
Some pictures for inspiration.


Photo via here


Photo via Completely Coastal


Photo via My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Something like this...maybe even slightly lighter?

I can't wait to get my hands on this kitchen!

Spring is here!

{photos via me}

Spring break was actually last week here for my kids. The weather couldn't have been more perfect all week. Sunny and 70's. We spent everyday outside playing at parks and the zoo. It's amazing how a little Vitamin D from the sun can really perk you up.

Here are a couple pictures of the kids being, well, kids.







The kids are back at school today so that means I must get myself back on some sort of schedule. My weeks are filling up quickly. Kell graduates in 4 weeks! Which means in 4 weeks I will have a house full of out of town family. That also means it's getting closer to our next move and so much that needs to be done around the house. I hope to be back to regular blog posts soon. Wish me luck on that one haha!