A Nursery for Twins

A little over two years ago we welcomed twins into our little family of three.  We were still living in our two bedroom, basement apartment in Iowa, and we brought the twins home from the hospital to pack-in-plays in the living room.  Six months later we moved to Colorado and lived in my brother-in-law and sister's basement and the twins slept in pack-in-plays in the basement storage room.  So when at last we moved into our this, our first home, it was pretty much bliss to set up two cribs in a Nursery.   Now, since one of the twins was my first (and who knows, maybe only?!) baby girl I went ahead and painted the nursery pink.  I'd already done the boy nursery theme when my oldest was born, so it was time to have my girlie one. Her twin brother doesn't seem to mind too much, and we make sure he always has green blankets - no pink. ;)

I went for a fairly traditional feel, using lots of older things that were passed down to me - things full of sweet memories and reminders.

 This little clock was my mother's which she received as a cherished present on her fifth birthday.  The piggy bank was mine and the Ginny doll was my Grandma Doris's, who gave me my first Ginny doll was always making me dresses for her. 

These sweet little Beatrix Potter figurines and books were given to me by my mother's natural mother when I was born.

 

And these little ladies were from my Memaw Schott's collection (the one who wrote all the letters).  She and I were mutual lovers of pink, and I adored this pink little gal with all my heart.
The ball of pink the corner is yarn my great-grandmother crocheted as something to keep her busy after she lost her sight.

 Here's a little nod to the sweet boy in the room, hanging with a pink Janie and Jack dress on a simple coat rack from Hobby Lobby, spray painted.  The old prints on the walls are ones my dad matted and framed and hung in my old nursery.

And in case you'd like to know: the wall color is Fairy Dust from Lowes (very hard to find the right pink, but we did it!)  The letters above the beds are from Hobby Lobby, of course, and are spray painted ivory.  All the furniture is second-hand.  Simple sheers and a pull-shade dress the window.

See more of our home {HERE}

{Linking to A La Mode, Just a Girl and 320 Sycamore}

French Coffee Cake

This coffee cake was one of my first baking ventures at 17.  It didn't disappoint me then, and I've been making it ever since.  It's fairly simple, and - taken from a "light" cookbook - it's got some good things going for it.  I've made a few adjustments along the way, subtracting sugar, adding whole-wheat and trying out the chocolate cinnamon filling - yum.

Here's the recipe!

French Coffee Cake

2/3 cup butter

1 1/4 cup sugar (i usually just use 1 cup)

3 egg whites or 2 whole eggs

3 cups flour (I usually do half whole-wheat and half reg)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups plain nonfat or low-fat yogurt

Brown Sugar Nut Filling

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

OR Chocolate Cinnamon Filling

1/3 cup sugar

4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 T. ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Cream butter and sugar in medium bowl.  Add eggs and vanilla; mix thoroughly.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda in separate bowl.

4. Gradually add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

5. In a separate bowl combine ingredients of one of the two filling options.

6. Pour 1/3 of batter into a 12-cup bundt pan coated with cooking spray.  Sprinkle with half of the filling. Repeat layers, ending with batter.

7. Bake for 45 minutes.  Cool completely in pan and then turn out and drizzle with a simple powdered sugar/milk/butter/vanilla frosting.

Bake it up in your oven, brew some coffee (or tea!), and sit down for a nice Saturday morning treat with a friend or Sunday morning breakfast with your family.

 See all my tried-n-true recipes {HERE}

Simple Kindness

My kiddos and I were little under the weather over Easter and the start of this week.

A friend brought me this sweet bouquet, made up from parts of her own Easter bouquet.

I want to be thoughtful, just like that.

 

{Linking to Lollipops}

I See a Red Door...

 ... And I want it painted Black.

Now, I didn't start out wanting a black door.  A couple weeks after moving into our home, I painted the then violet colored shutters and front door this rusty red color (Mark Twain Brown}. Though it was a vast improvement, for awhile now I've been a little tired of the red.  One major problem with the paint wasn't the color, however.  I'd very unsmartly got the paint in a flat finish, which made for a constantly dusty, dirty-looking door that I couldn't very well wash off.   That was silly.  Here was my door before. 

 So I got this dandy little can of Black Gloss from Lowes.  

And a paint-brush (a smaller one would have been nice for painting around the handle and such, but I just made this big ol' one work). 

I painted it last Saturday, putting it down as a very relevant and necessary part of my Easter preparations. :)  It is very glossy!  Perhaps a semi-gloss would have been the way to go?  Obviously I have paint finish issues.  But overall (and despite the frosted oval window I'll never be too fond of) I like it very much. 





I also sprung for a new door mat from Target - I think it was 12.99?  That green with the black are making me quite happy.

 

 Here it is with a bit of the red shutters so you can see how the door pops now all stately like.

And yes, the box-woods are having an outdoor day. :)

See more of our home {HERE}

And today's post {HERE}

{Linking to A Bowl Full of Lemons, Funky Junk Interiors, & Centsational Girl}