Yarn letters for my niece!

I made these super cute letters for my niece! I bought the letters at Hobby Lobby and them covered them with colored yarn. I used hot glue to secure the ends of the yarn, and added the store-bought pinwheels. They turned out fabulous!!

More recipes for your shelf

Here is a quick and easy recipe for slow cooker banana bread. Just tried mine, and it tastes great!

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

2 tbsp light corn syrup

3 ripe bananas, well mashed

Grease and flour a 4 1/2 quart crockpot. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a small bowl, set aside. Cream butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Slowly add sugar, eggs, corn syrup, and mashed bananas. Beat until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture to creamed mixture. Pour into crockpot, cover and cook in high for 1 1/2 hours or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool, then invert bread onto serving platter.

DIY Shelf Decor

I have taken my shelf-filling skills to a whole new level! With a little inspiration from ideas I found on Pinterest, I have made a wreath! Using some materials that I had around home and a green florists wreath, I grabbed my hot glue gun and made wreath magic!

 Here's how I did it:

I used this burlap garland to over the green florist's wreath.

Using the glue gun, I started covering the wreath. I found that it was easier to put a strip of glue on the wreath, and then folded the burlap over and stuck it to the wreath.

I continued wrapping the wreath until I met back up with where I started. I cut the burlap with about 6 inches of extra fabric. I doubled up and tucked in the end before I glued the last little piece of the burlap.

Here's the wreath with all of the burlap attached.   The last step was to add the fabric flowers with a dab of glue.

Fill those shelves!

Ok. I am in love. The industrial look is really popular right now, and I am ready to add to some shelves around my house! I have already started my industrial look with an industrial coffee table and end tables that I found at Ashley Furniture. They were reasonably priced and match well. I have also added the wire storage baskets from an earlier post to the room.

Here are a few other industrial shelf fillers that I am dying to get my hands on!  All items can be found at Chez Renee which is full of amazing pieces!

On the kitchen shelf

Here's a great recipe to add to your kitchen shelf. I got it from Country Living magazine and made it several times with great success! It takes a little time, but doesn't require any special utensils or hard to find ingredients.

Here's a helpful hint~ the recipe requires shredded roast chicken. I like to buy a whole roast chicken at the grocery store and we use about half for this recipe and then use the rest of the chicken in something else like chicken quesadillas! Very affordable and provides at least two meals!

Macaroni and Cheese with Chicken

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish

salt and pepper

½ pound of penne pasta

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, thinly slices

1 ½  cups of coarsely grated smoked mozzarella

1 ½ cups shredded roast chicken

1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

2 ½ cups of whole milk, heated to simmer

2 garlic cloves

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Butter a 1 ½ quart baking dish
2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, about 11 minutes. Drain, run under cold water, and drain again. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and a pinch of salt, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and  lightly golden, about 10 minutes.
4. Add onion to pasta and stir to combine. Add mozzarella, chicken, 2/3 cup Parmesan, and rosemary, stir to combine.
5. In a medium heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter. Add flour and cook over low heat, whisking for 3 minutes. Add hot milk, whisking vigorously, then add garlic and 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Brink mixture to a simmer, whisking; then reduce heat and gently simmer, whisking occasionally, until béchamel is thickened (The sauce should thickly coat the back of a spoon), about 10 minutes. Discard garlic before adding béchamel to pasta, season with pepper, and stir.
6. Transfer into a baking dish and smooth top. Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup of Parmesan and pepper. Bake until bubbling and golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

For the love of mercury

That's right. I said it. I love mercury glass. I first started this love affair with Christmas decorations, but since repainting my bathroom and replacing the lighting fixtures with silver pendant lights, I have been on the hunt for some silver mercury glass that I could display year-round. A tall vase would be ideal, but I have had a hard time finding one.

I did find these really cute candle holders on Etsy. They are selling for $19.50 for a set of three. I am still going to keep on the search for something large, but these are nice to admire in the mean time!

                                                           Etsy mercury glass link

Clean off that shelf!

Filling shelves is usually my game, but today I actually cleaned one off! My jewelry had been getting a little out of control and has not only taken over the top of my dresser, but was hanging from every handle and hook I could find. A free standing jewelry box was really what I needed, but definitely not in the budget right at this moment. So I went and found the next best thing.

This hanging jewelry organizer cost a fraction of the price of a large, free standing jewelry box. And sorting through my mess of a jewelry box turned up some interesting finds!

I have done a little research and found the best selection of jewelry organizers can be found at Charming Charlie. They have several different color schemes and sizes to choose from. If you aren't familiar with Charming Charlie stores, you might want to check it out when you have a little time to spare. They separate their jewelry and accessories by color and offer great selection and prices! I am supposed to be cleaning off this shelf, but it's so hard not to add to it!

Great way to fill your book shelf!

Maybe I am the last person to discover Goodreads, but in case you have been living under a rock like myself, you will want to continue reading and then click the Goodreads link! Think Netflix meets Barnes and Noble! You can rate books that you have already read, and then see suggestions of books tailored to your interests! What a great way to find new books and keep track of all the books you have read! I am thinking this might be a fun thing for my students to do! I think I just spent 45 minutes rating books! Geesh!

A great read for your shelf

Although this book is no longer present on my bed side table, it has made a permanent place for itself prominently displayed on my living room book shelf. I must admit, I picked up Room, by Emma Donoghue, solely based on its cover.  I broke the cardinal rule of English teachers: Don't judge a book by its cover. Well, I did, and this time it paid off.

Room is Jack's home. It is all he knows. He was born in Room, and he and his mother spend every minute of their lives in Room. But Jack's mother refuses to live in captivity and has a plan to get herself and Jack out of the prison they have been forced to live in.

What makes this story so unique is that Donoghue tells this amazing tale of survival through the eyes of five-year-old Jack. We see Room not as a prison but as the only home he has known. We understand the connection that Jack has to Room and its contents, and what leaving it really means.


 Make a little room for Room by Emma Donoghue on your shelf!

Welcome!

A shelf. The possibilities of what it can hold are endless. Books, nicknacks, recipes, art, pictures, you name it. I love filling shelves and my home with all of these things. I am a teacher by day and a shelf filler by night. Well, I wish I could say that was true. Ask any teacher and they will tell you that we are teachers pretty much all of the time, and what little time we have left we fill with our families. My family only consists of a husband right now, so I am going to take advantage of the free time I have to share my shelf-filling addiction with all of you.

My husband and I were fortunate enough to purchase our first home about 5 months ago. We went from a small apartment that I refused to fill with much of anything because of the large number of stairs it required just to make it to the front door, to an 1,800 square foot home. The living room was the first room that I decided to make over. Fresh paint, new carpet, and a new couch, coffee table and end tables. 

You are probably wondering when I am going to get to filling shelves. Well, here goes. I have been on the hunt for wire baskets that I could put on the lower shelf of my coffee table. I figured my best bet was to keep my eyes open at antique shops or I would end up paying a small fortune for them at a decorating store. But I hit the jackpot:

I scored two of these baskets at TJ MAXX for only $7.99 each! They are absolutely perfect! I would recommend filling them with magazines, toys, or what ever else you have laying around that you need to get off your shelf!