The Lacey Place

Easy Chicken Recipe - Crockpot Sweet and Sour BBQ

2011-09-25T10:01:00.000-04:00

1 bottle Archer Farms Hawaiian Style BBQ Sauce (from Target)
1 20oz can pineapple chunks drained
4-6 boneless chicken breasts (frozen is fine)

Spray your crock pot
Place frozen chicken in the crock pot and cover with sauce
Empty can of pineapple on top
Cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4-6 hours
Shred chicken with two forks while in crock pot
Serve over rice

HOLY WOW!!!!

2011-09-14T10:14:00.000-04:00

It's true... I tried to do as many life changing events as possible this year! I turned 30 and wanted to have everything I possibly could to show for it. Okay, so maybe it wasn't planned around me turning 30, and... maybe we didn't really plan any of it to happen in this time frame... regardless... my 30th year has been HUGE so far and it's not even halfway over.

In the last 12 months ...

Logan and I got engaged (well just over 12 months ago now)

We bought our first house together!

Planned a wedding (two if you count Mexico and our Atlanta reception)

We will get Married! (in 38 days if anyone is counting!)

I turned 30! (good times... it's true life does get better with age)

I have registered to get back in school!

And now I have accepted a new job! Which means leaving the one I have been at for years! The same job where Logan and I met and worked together until now.

It's been CRAZY!!! and GREAT!!! and CRAZY!!!!

Insta-Love!

2011-08-30T18:03:00.000-04:00

Glass juice containers are the best!

2011-08-21T14:43:00.000-04:00

So I'm a huge orange juice fan. I mean, nothing is better than an ice cold glass of orange juice in the morning! But what could make it better you might ask?

That's right! Cold orange juice out of a glass container.

Something about it just makes me happy. Oh the little things...

Dreaming of a craft room...

2011-08-19T13:33:00.000-04:00

with my new cabinet

painted an awesome color!

That would go perfectly with this Studio Day Sofa that I LOVE!!!

I would probably hang this in the room.

and something like this would go up on the walls too!

Then I would add a super great rug...

under a really rustic table! Something you can mess up and it only gets better!

yeah...

Do you have a craft room? What would you put in yours?

New Power Tool Toys

2011-08-18T10:19:00.000-04:00

I am the luckiest man alive. Yesterday morning I awoke to a large box wrapped beautifully in happy birthday wrapping paper. What was inside you ask?

That's right, fantastic new power tools! It even came with a bag to keep them all in, which is good because I tend to leave my tools everywhere.

I was in major need of new tools to play with and my wifey to be knew it! She's the best future wifey a guy could have. So now its off to create some magic and hopefully not loose any fingers or toes. Now to find something that needs sawing!

Happy Birthday hubby-to-be!

2011-08-17T08:09:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday...

to the guy that is the jack to my jill

to the guy that opens my car door every single time and who lights my fireworks so I don't burn my fingers.

to the guy that loves my friends simply because I love them.

to the guy that showed up at the end of my bridal shower to say thank you to all the ladies... and to carry all the heavy gifts to the car.

to the guy that spends time with my family because he knows being with my parents makes me happy.

to the guy that makes me the luckiest girl ever!

Happy Birthday to my guy!

Wedding Wedding Wedding

2011-08-16T22:10:00.001-04:00

66 days until Logan and I get married and we are marking things off the list left and right!

Cancun wedding
~~choose resort~~
~~set a date~~
~~find group travel agent~~
~~wedding dress~~
~~make the save the dates~~
~~send save the dates~~
~~make DIY invitations~~
~~send invitations~~
~~book rooms~~
~~book flights~~
~~book photographer~~
make my bouquet
make my bridesmaids bouquets
favors
officially ask my bridesmaids
beach accessories
groomsmen boutineers
rehearsal dinner plans
~~get wedding bands~~
choose ceremony location at resort (pick the details)
choose reception location at resort (pick the details)
make a reception menu (pick a cake)
create welcome bags
apply for a wedding license
create playlist for reception (load ipods)
~~choose first dance song~~
choose father/daughter and mother/son dance

Atlanta reception
~~pick a date~~
~~choose location~~
send invitations
~~pick menu~~
make decorations
decide on favors
change name
order wedding cake

I am sure there are things I am forgetting and I add to this list as I go... but for now... I feel great! We are getting things done and I am getting married in 2 months to the love of my life!

Today...

2011-08-08T11:35:00.000-04:00

Logan went out of town for work... in Mexico! So I am eating his trail mix! If there seems to be a bunch of raisins there are! I eat around them because I just don't like them :) Never have... never will.

I am drinking my coffee out of my Google mug. I won it at a conference a couple months ago in MN. I had a couple prize choices to pick from and I had to have the mug. Love it!

I am day dreaming of what I am going to do with my new cabinet! I think it's going in the craft room after we give it a major face lift... color change and getting rid of that crazy shelf liner ASAP!

How's your day shaping up so far?

Egg and Oil Free Brownies

2011-08-06T09:31:00.002-04:00

Not sure if everyone knows this or not, but you can make box brownies with just black beans and water, no oil or eggs. I know amazing right! Or maybe not if you knew this already but here is how we did it.

Here's what you need:
1 Can Black Beans
1 Box Brownie Mix

First, get your black beans ready. You will need to wash the black beans off, we usually use a strainer, but don't throw away the can. Once you have cleaned the beans, put them back in the clean can and add water to cover the beans. The water should just about hit the top of the can.

Next, you have to puree the beans with water. Do not drain the water! Dump it all in, the water helps make the beans smooth. We tried the food processor first, but that turned out to be a bad idea. To small and way to messy!
So we brought out our blender (thanks Amy!) and after a little pulsing we were ready to go.

In a large bowl, combine the contents of the box, the pureed black beans and 1 cup of water until smooth. We just used a wooden spoon to stir the mix for a couple minutes.

Your set to go. Cook as directed on the box and you will have delicious, fudgy egg and oil free brownies. So Yummy and good for you!!
Nether of us are allergic to eggs or oil, but thought it was a fun and tasty science experiment. What unique recipes have you tried?

-Logan

Fun Finds - Online

2011-08-05T09:12:00.000-04:00

My obsession lately!! I can't get enough... follow my pins here

I love paper source! I have to get this calendar... it's lovely!

Grape Licorice is my favie!! I have never seen it in stores around here... but I did just find it online at the Candy Depot!

Love this and it's on SALE!!! Just under $9.00 at Pier One! I'd burn the candle and use this as a cute decoration outside or a planter.

Anything and everything Farmers Market from Anthropologie makes me happy!

Crate and Barrel ... I love you!

2011-08-04T09:12:00.002-04:00

Logan and I have always been pretty low key when it comes to our bedding. He loves quilts and I love a great fluffy over-filled down comforter with a super cozy duvet cover. Most of the time our duvet covers come from a clearance table at bed bath and beyond or Ikea. So it was about time for some top of the line bedding action! Grown up bedding for our new "a couple of grown ups live here" house!

At my bridal shower we were given so many sweet gifts and a crate and barrel gift card was just one of them. As I was shopping around on Crateandbarrel.com trying to decide which of their amazing products we would buy with our gift card I came across this beautiful bedding... and it was on SALE!

Anything on super sale at Crate and Barrel moves fast so I got Logan's approval as quickly as possible and got on the phone. This gorgeous duvet was already sold out online so I had to find it in a store. I called customer service (the lady was amazing by the way) and they found it for me in Virgina. Logan is a bit of a cover-hog in our queen sized bed so we figured why not get a king duvet/filler for our queen sized bed? This way I stay covered and the bed looks great because the duvet will hang down low enough to cover the fitted sheet and most of the mattress/box spring.

Up close the design looks like it has been stamped onto the fabric. I love the imperfections in the design that make this duvet sooo amazing! This image really shows you the warm color. In my opinion it reads greige and I LOVE GREIGE!

We ordered the duvet cover and a couple of shams. We passed on the sheets because we thought a fun color or a subtle pattern would be awesome for our sheet set and bring in another design element for our master bedroom. I do really love the look of the whole set though.

Logan and I are not the only ones that love the new duvet. A few minutes after I had it out of the box... someone else let us know they loved it too!

Where do you normally get your bedding? Are you a quilt or fluffy filled duvet fan?

Ravioli Lasagna

2011-08-01T09:20:00.003-04:00

I am always on the look out for quick and easy recipes for weeknight dinners. I had seen a couple recipes that were similar to this one... so one night with some oh hand ingredients... boyfriend and I decided to give our own version a try. This dish is simple, thrown together quickly... and of course DELICIOUS!!

Ingredients:
- Ravioli (we used refrigerated kind)
- Spaghetti Sauce (we used a jar from the store)
- Shredded Mozzarella
- Left overs (we used onion, tomato and fresh mozz)
- Non-Stick Spray
*Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees

*Store bought refrigerated ravioli that we didn't even thaw them out first!!

*Left over fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and onion that we chopped up and put in a small dish. We left our onions raw because we liked that it gave just a little crunch to the dish. If you don't want your onions still a bit crunchy ... saute them in a little butter and/or olive oil before tossing them in your lasagna.

* Now, let the fun begin!! Spray a glass baking dish (we used a 7x11 since there were only two of us. But you can use 9x13, an 8x8, a pie plate... whatever you have on hand) Start layering until you run out of ingredients. Sauce, ravioli, mozz-tom-onion, spices (we used italian seasoning and red pepper flakes) and repeat!!

*Once we reached the top we covered the whole thing in shredded mozzarella cheese. We are cheese people but you can just cover in sauce if you want to. Put it in the oven for 45min to an hour. Some people cover with foil and pull the foil off the last 10 mins. We did not cover ours because we like our cheese totally melted and a little crispy brown on top too!

*Let stand for about 5 mins!! Enjoy!

Baby Food Jar Favors

2011-07-29T09:17:00.001-04:00

My best friend was preggo and I needed the cutest favor ever for her baby shower. Here is what I came up with...

Favor Supplies:

20 baby food jars

printed our handmade labels

glue stick

m&ms (or other small candy)

cute tray (from around my house)

small bit of fabric (left over from this cute baby room idea)

*I couldn't find empty baby food jars and to be honest I didn't really look to hard once I found full baby food jars for $.33 each! Buy as many jars as you need for each guest to take one home.

*Next, I came up with a basic design for the labels... I knew I wanted the label to look as close to an actual baby food jar label as I could get it. We needed some sort of a barcode and some fun ingredients listed. A dash of mommy, a pinch of daddy a whole lot of love etc...

*I took the design to of my greatest friends Cat (who happens to be the most amazing graphic designer) I gave her my super basic idea and she came up with the labels!!! THEY WERE AMAZING!!!

*Now, I know not everyone has a graphic designer that they can ~~ask~~ beg to help them out. You can google label templates or just give it a shot on your own! I am sure they will be super cute either way!!

* Next, I simply dumped the baby food out of the jars, took off the original labels and threw those babies in the top rack of my dishwasher!

* Cat printed the labels out several to a page. That's a super easy way to get lots of labels from 3 pieces of paper sooo I cut those apart.

*I broke out a glue stick and (my favie part) a HUGE bag of M&Ms.

*Next step... my mom and I set up shop at the island in the kitchen and just glued the labels on and filled the jars with the candies.

This part was super quick! The glue stick was def the way the go.

*I thought about doing all blue M&Ms since Amy was having a baby boy... but I kind of liked the idea of the splash of color since everything else for the shower was blue and yellow!

*We put the lids on tight and to be honest fell in love with our new creation! My mom and I are pretty crafty but we still love when things come out even better than planned!

*I put our cute little favors on a great tray with some baby friendly fabric and invited our guests to take a sweet treat home with them on their way out :)

A few of my favorite things this week...

2011-07-28T08:40:00.001-04:00

Honey Peppered Southern Fried Chicken from Friday night date night! Sooo good!

Coming home to beautiful roses from my honey! I'm a lucky girl!

My guy :)

Our upcoming Mexico beach wedding!! Three months to go!!

Our view once we get there... I can't wait!

and of course these two sweet faces are ALWAYS two of my favorite things!

What are your favorite things this week?

Pom Pom Wreath

2011-07-27T10:00:00.001-04:00

I thought of my friend Cat right when I decided to take on this fun Pom Pom Wreath! She is over the top sweet and sooo happy! This colorful wreath was a perfect gift for her.

Craft Supplies:

Styrofoam wreath

1 large bag of pom poms (multi sizes)

glue gun

paint

short piece of ribbon

I started off with a 10 inch styrofoam wreath. I got mine at hobby lobby... on sale for just a couple bucks. I painted it purple so the back of the wreath would be super cute to match the front.

Next, I broke out my hot glue gun and started covering the wreath with the pom poms one by one. I started with the largest ones, then the middle sized poms and finished with a couple of the tiny ones.

To make it easy for Cat to hang, I glued a little piece of ribbon on the back so she could slip it over any nail or hook.

Did I mention I love fun colors and polka dots??

I loved it... but more importantly... Cat loved it!!

Do you love rainbow colored crafts too??

DIY Save the Date

2011-07-25T08:56:00.001-04:00

I was having a hard time finding a destination wedding Save the Date that we really liked. I feel like I was living on google and coming up empty handed. After not falling in love with anything we found online we decided to DIY our Save the Dates. Since I work in the wedding business and spend a lot of time with paper products... i.e. invitations, save the dates, thank you notes etc. I figured between Logan and I we could make something super cute and save some serious money too!

Instead of doing a step by step... here are a few bullets points to highlight what we did.

printed a beach theme on the thickest paper we could get thru our printer at home
used a razor to cut the slits for the cocktail umbrella (I love that it looks like a beach umbrella)
hot glued the printed invite (with the umbrella already in place) onto a thick KRAFT paper card stock that I ordered from the sweetest ETSY shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/StraightHome?ref=ss_profile
tied bakers twine around the whole thing (I got it from bed bath and beyond for 99 cents!) and attached a kraft tag saying "Atlanta reception details to follow".

The envelopes were my favorite part! We had a Save the Date stamp that we used on the front and another stamp with our name and new address for the back! So fun!!!

Did you design your own Save the Dates or order them from somewhere amazing?

Puppy love

2011-07-23T11:08:00.000-04:00

We have two of the cutest little pups in the world (if I do say so myself). Bailey (black) a mix of dachshund and chihuahua and Riley (reddish/brown) our miniature pinsher. They are always doing the sweetest things... like...

It usually takes a minute or two for Logan and I to investigate to find out which one of our cuties was the culprit for each specific crime but in this case it was pretty clear...

I told Riley to stop making a mess... and this is the look I got!

Then he ignored me completely and called for reinforcements.

REALLY???? All I could do is laugh... and make sure the bathroom (with our pretty basket of extra toilet paper in it) had it's door closed.

Oh, did I mention... Our pups love Dunkin Donuts almost as much as we do :)

Fun Finds - Hobby Lobby

2011-07-22T09:15:00.001-04:00

Logan and I were running errands last week and jumped into Hobby Lobby for some crafting supplies and I hit the home accessory JACKPOT!! I don't think I ever knew that Hobby Lobby had such amazing things for sale and for such great prices!! Here's what we brought home and yes... this might have taken a little sweet talking to my hubby-to-be to bring it all home :) Oh, and I should probably mention that each item was under $5! SWEET!!!

Now, I just need to find new homes for all our awesome new stuff! I have a feeling I'm going to have some very happy looking cabinets and shelves in the near future!

What do you consider a fun find?

Our Vacation Wedding!!

2011-07-21T09:15:00.001-04:00

I know I mentioned that Logan and I are getting married !!! But.... did I tell you where we are getting married??? ... MEXICO!!!

I couldn't wait to make an inspiration board for this one!! I have so many amazing ideas and so little space to squeeze them into this perfectly planned board! Let's just say there might be several inspiration boards saved on this computer (but this ones my favorite) I am so excited to marry Logan and so excited to do it in Mexico this October!

There are so many wedding details to share with you that we will have to break it down over a few blogs. More on that later... for now... just look at where we will be in just a few short months! Less than 100 days to be exact!

Are you getting married somewhere tropical?

~Lacey

A Perfect Quote!

2011-07-20T09:20:00.000-04:00

“I must learn to love the fool in me–the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my fool.”

— Theodore I. Rubin, MD

I love this quote as it reminds me that to be human means to be imperfect, but that that imperfection is what makes life worth living.

We should all celebrate our inner fools today!

Spicy Ranch Chicken with Bacon

2011-07-19T08:30:00.003-04:00

So this is one of my favorite recipes. It's not just the bacon (which is probably my favorite food group), but also my love for ranch that puts this at the top of my list. This is also an easy recipe, something that Lacey will actually trust me to make for her.

Here's what you need:
1 Package of Chicken (4-5 breasts of your favorite, we like the thin sliced cutlets)
1/2 Package Bacon ( 6 slices thick cut bacon or as much as you like :)
2 Tlbs All-Purpose Flour
1 Package Spicy Ranch Dry Salad Mix
1 1/2 Cups Milk
1/2 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 Package of your favorite noodle (I have a thing for egg noodles, while Lacey likes Penne)

The first thing to do is get that delicious bacon going in a large pan/skillet. Keep in mind that you will be using the same pan for the chicken, so choose wisely. *Keep your bacon whole or at least halfsies so it will be easier to cut later. Once your bacon is going, you can cut the raw chicken into bite-sized pieces. *Always use a good knife, it really speeds up the process and can be kinda fun. As your bacon finishes, take each strip out of the pan and put onto some paper towels to drain. Pour off a little of the leftover liquid but not all of it. Leave about 2 tablespoons to cook the chicken.

After the cooked bacon is out of the pan, its time for the cut chicken to go in. Cook the chicken as you normally would, turning often till you get a nice golden brown.

This is the time in the cooking process where I like to get my dinnerware ready and of course get a ice cold beverage. I enjoy seasonal beers from time to time, but our all time favorite (the one we wait for all year and stock pile in the fridge) is SweetWater's Festive Ale.

We usually eat this with pasta (*just cook to the directions on the package) but you could try it with rice or anything else you fancy. While your pasta is cooking, you can slice your bacon into thin strips and set aside and start adding the flavor to your fully cooked chicken.

Sprinkle in the spicy ranch mix, the flour and about 1/3rd of the sliced bacon. Stir well for a couple mins. *If you can't find a spicy ranch version at your local store, then you can always add hot sauce at this stage to the original ranch dressing dry mix, but don't do both (we tried it, and for a couple who eats jalapenos on everything it was too spicy). Add the milk and stir. We find a whisk works best around the edge of the pan to incorporate the flour.

Stir everything together for a minute or two. The sauce will thicken up and you are ready to serve.

And that's about it. Add the shredded parmesan cheese and the rest of the bacon (this is the best part) and serve.
Now find a cozy place to eat and enjoy!

Do you have any awesome BACON recipes you can share with me? Let us know if you make this meal and if you change it up at all!

Chicken Pot Pie

2011-07-18T09:11:00.000-04:00

This is one of my easy recipes. Quick for dinners during the week, great for lunch the next day and an all time favorite of my bf so that works too!! I took the top from one of my moms recipes and the bottom is something easy I came up with but change around every time I make it :)

Recipe Ingredients:

2-3c cooked chicken

veggies (frozen, canned, or fresh)

1 can cream of mushroom (any cream of something will work)

1 can pillsbury crescent rolls

1/2c sour cream

1/2c mayo

2 tablespoons butter

Sliced almonds

handful or two of cheese (mozz or swiss)

non stick cooking spray

I change this recipe up every time I make it. It all depends what I have in my kitchen at the time. This week in the way of veggies I had a bag of frozen veggies, some left over (already steamed the night before) brocc, and a can of potatoes. I had bf cook up some chicken cutlets on the grill while he was cooking dinner the night before so I was ready to go! I gave the brocc, pots and chicken a rough chop and threw them in a bowl with the frozen veggies.

Next, I put the can of cream of whatever (I used mushroom I think) sour cream and mayo into a large soup pot... threw in the bowl of veggies and stirred every once in a while until bubbly. While waiting to bubble and heat threw I added salt and pepper to taste and some rosemary and thyme (you can leave those out or add others if you like... I normally open my spice cabinet and add whatever looks good to me)

Once heated thru for a bit (maybe 5 mins) and bubbly I poured the mixture into a greased 8x10 pyrex casserole dish.

I unrolled the crescent rolls and started to lay them flat to cover the top of the chicken - veggie mixture.

In a small bowl I microwaved 2 tablespoons of butter until melted, then I threw in a handful of sliced almonds and a handful or two of mozz cheese. Stir to coat the almonds and cheese with the melted butter. Sprinkle on top of the crescent roll crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. We like it with rice... but eat it alone or with anything and it will be perfect!!

Peanut Butter Pie

2011-07-17T10:28:00.001-04:00

This is a quick and insanely good dessert! Simple to make and everybody loves it. Also, "It's in the freezes beautifully section of my cookbook and I want to make something that freezes beautifully" -quick Steel Magnolias quote!! Only one of my favorite movies of all time :)

Here's what you need ...
(1) 4oz cream cheese
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter (I use a little extra)
(1) 8oz Cool Whip
3/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1 prepared graham cracker crust
chocolate shavings

Combine cream cheese and peanut butter in a large bowl; beat until light and fluffy.
Gradually add whipped topping and sugar, continuing to beat until smooth.
Spoon into pie shell and freeze 8 hours or overnight.
Garnish with chocolate shavings

*you can use chocolate sauce instead of shavings, or you can leave off the chocolate and add crunched up peanuts on top, or come up with another fun topping for your peanut butter pie.

Salt Cellar

2011-07-16T09:15:00.000-04:00

I love my Salt Cellar!!

It came from Home Goods a year or two ago. Its a mini cast iron pot with a lid. It's really heavy ... very sturdy and I get so many compliments on it. It is the one thing in my kitchen that has taken up most of the conversation. Super cute... right??

What do you use for your salt cellar? Did you find something random like I did?

Red, White and Blue Cake

2011-07-15T09:15:00.001-04:00

We had a very low key cookout for the 4th of July this year. I wanted a dessert that was quick and easy and super festive. Logan and I have been known to bake some deliciousness from scratch but this time around we decided to take a short cut we like to call Pillsbury box mix and frosting.

Super easy... here is what you need:
box mix (white cake)
frosting (white frosting)
food coloring

Follow the directions on the box to mix the batter

Separate the cake batter evenly into three bowls evenly and mix red food coloring into one bowl and blue into another

We baked our 3 layers in foil cake tins so we could bake all three at once quickly. Follow the baking instructions on the box.

Let the cakes cool completely. Frost between the layers and and the outside of the cakes. *I always start with a bunch of frosting in the center of the top of the cake and then work my way around the top and down the sides.

I added fruit on top for a little red, white and blue decoration.

Did you make anything great for dessert for your 4th of July weekend?

Food Fun... or Fun Food!

2011-07-14T09:15:00.011-04:00

I love pictures with tons of color in them. Big, colorful, bright pictures! Here are some of my favorite random pictures from our kitchen! This makes me want to go cook something fun... while eating M&Ms of course!

Line it up

2011-07-13T08:58:00.001-04:00

As soon as we moved in I went straight for the kitchen cabinets. After living in so many apartments my mom and I have shelf lining down to a science. It's quick and easy and I think it makes a world of difference on the way the insides of your cabinets look not to mention helps your dishes hold up as long as possible.

My mom and I both have the same must-haves on our list...

Taupe
non-adhesive
Machine washable in warm water
Non-slip grip surface
Thicker than most shelf liners, so it's durable and lasts long

This is perfect for upper cabinets, lower cabinets and all your kitchen drawers.

We simply measure, cut, and lay it flat. Easy as that! Well, easy as that until my fiance joins the party. For some reason he can't seem to keep the shelf liner flat in the cabinets. He drags the dishes off the shelf causing the liner to bunch up and look something like this...

So I decided to pull out my trusty staple gun and...

It only took a few staples, but it made a major difference. Now I don't have to straighten up the shelves every time he takes out a dish, which keeps us both happy.

I also use this same shelf liner as rug liners and pads for the inside of cabinet doors. These things have a million uses, I even have plans to create a bathroom floor mat out of the liner and some dollar store smooth stones.

Taco Salads are the best!!

2011-07-12T09:21:00.002-04:00

I love that you can put whatever you want on them and they taste fantastic! Logan and I like the whole "build your own" thing because...

I LOVE BLACK OLIVES ... and Logan doesn't.
LOGAN LOVES RANCH DRESSING ... and I don't.
I WANT A TON OF AVOCADO ... and Logan wants a little.
BUT... WE BOTH LOVE A BEER WITH DINNER.

*We use lettuce shreds for everything. They are quick and sooo easy!!

Can you guess who made each salad?

Returning to blogland with the BIG 3-0!

2011-07-11T09:15:00.001-04:00

It has been a crazy wonderful year!

I became a God Mother! My best friend had a baby this year and made me a god mom! This little boy is the sweetest cutie ever and I'm honored every day to be a part of this little ones life. Don't you just love this face?

Logan and I got engaged! Logan proposed on his birthday!! I had no idea it was coming and it was perfect!! Now, we are planning our dream wedding... more on that later.

We bought our first house together! Just a couple months ago we signed on our first home together. We love it!! We live for hands-on projects and decorating. We have so many ideas to update our house and will share with you as we go.

I turned 30! Go big or go home!! Three birthday cakes, a great party and a year full of fun. We can't wait to catch you up with all the details!! We have some amazing recipes to share, house projects to walk you thru and wedding plans full of DIY details!

Did anything big happen to you over the last year??

The Lacey Place is back !!

2011-07-03T13:49:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone,

We went away... and now we are back!!! We are working on a new look, new attitude and of course brand new content with a ton of great blogs!! We have had a lot going on and can't wait to share it all with you!

You will see lots of updates and some big design changes...please bare with us. We are almost 100% set to go!

July 11th is the official re-launch date but we will have plenty going on before then if you want to start stopping by!

Can't wait to catch up :)
Logan, Lacey and of course our sweet lil pups

29 is fine... and soo sweet!!

2010-07-05T09:39:00.004-04:00

My 29th birthday was a few weeks ago... and it got me thinking... I have had an ice cream cake every single year for as long as I can remember. Some years I had 2 or 3 ice cream cakes...

If we do the math... that is... lets just say 30-35 ice cream cakes!

le have a couple slices of the "said" cake and then bring the left overs to my house ... that leaves me single-handedly eating around 25-28 entire ice cream cakes by myself!!

Wow, life is good!!!

**Thank you for all the cakes, Mom and thank you for the 20lbs I should be trying to lose :)

Cupcake Cutie!!

2010-06-28T09:37:00.003-04:00

I love cupcakes... okay let's be honest I love anything and everything cake related!! Because of this most of my friends swear my middle name should be sweets or sugar. My girlfriend Hope Davis (soon to be Mrs. Bilthouse) hit one out of the park when she sent this over to me for my birthday!!

Is this the cutest kitchen timer you have ever seen????

I LOVE IT!!!

Cupcakes make everything so happy... my kitchen is sooo happy :)

Thank you Hope!!

Diaper Cakes

2010-05-17T09:43:00.002-04:00

My girlfriend and I got together one weekend to make diaper cakes for a couple of our friends. It was really fun and I think they turned out super cute!

This is how we made them!

Craft Supplies:

cake platter or stand

wine or champagne bottle

rubber bands (all sizes - I used small hair ties too)

Diapers (I bought 100 and used 70 ish)

ribbon, toys, any other fun accessories

hot glue gun

We started with a cake plate ($5-$6 from any craft store) and a bottle of wine. My friend used champagne! We rolled a bunch of diapers up to start and rolled more towards the end as needed.

We placed the bottle in the center of the cake plate. We wrapped a couple diapers around and the bottle and then put a couple rubber bands around the diapers. One to hold flat diapers around the bottle and the other to slip the rolled diapers into. This is where the different sized rubber bands really come in handy.

From there we just built out the layers. We both did three layers.

Bottom: 3 rows of rolled diapers

Middle: 2 rows of rolled diapers

Top: 1 row of rolled diapers

The flat diapers wrapped around the bottles helped to even the layers out. The wine bottle was pretty straight and was really easy to put the diapers around. The champagne bottle had more curves so the you could add as many as needed to make each layer look even in spacing to the next.

I used wash cloths for the top. I pinched the bottoms and stuck them in the top layer of diapers. I thought it kind of looked like flowers on the top or a funky cake topper.

I wanted my diaper cake to be more of a decoration at the shower so I kept it very simple... I used the hot glue gun to add a dot of glue here and there to secure the ribbon on each layer. I kept the rubber bands on the layers and just covered them with the ribbon.

Instead of putting the wash cloths on top... my girlfriend rolled hers up and replaced random diapers on each layer adding color all over the cake.

My girlfriend wanted her diaper cake to be more of a gift. So she added fun toys all over the cake. At the end she topped the diaper cake with a pink stuffed bear to finish it off. It made such a sweet gift.

And mine made a perfect decoration at my best friends baby shower!!

His and Hers

2010-05-16T12:15:00.001-04:00

Since I am on a vintage kick... I thought I would share a couple of my favorite antiques in my house. My mom and I jump into antique stores a good bit and this is one of those "one of a kind finds" that I had to have!!!

They are the cutest little things! I shouldn't say little... they are a really good size.

We hung them in our master bathroom and we love them!! I think I got them for $6-$7 each! I would have paid a lot more :)

I love how rustic they look! The black coming thru the paint makes me happy! Perfect spot for Boyfriend and I to hang our towels!

The Big Chill

2010-05-15T13:04:00.001-04:00

Have you seen this website!!? Big Chill has retro kitchen appliances. I love the stoves and the dishwashers!! I have to have one!!! But what color? They have tons of colors!!

I love the Rachel Ray show... guess where she got her fridge :)

Do you love it???

1 week until...

2010-05-11T09:13:00.003-04:00

I am 29!!!

Where does the time go??

The great time... the amazing time...

all the years that led me a year from 30?

Let the countdown begin...

1 week until my birthday

1 year until I'm 30

1 can't wait to see what's next... life!!

I hear the best years in life are your 30s... is that just what the 30 and over are telling me??

Happy Mother's Day!!

2010-05-09T11:31:00.002-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to the woman I aspire to be!!

Wednesday Blog Love!!!

2010-05-05T15:52:00.001-04:00

Some of my favorite ladies!! Check them out... and love them as much as I do!

Dreamy Nest - http://dreamynest.blogspot.com/

Housewife Bliss - http://housewifebliss.blogspot.com/

I love my house - http://ilovemyhouse-ilovemyhouse.blogspot.com/

A Girls Gotta Eat - http://agirlzgottaeat.blogspot.com/

PaperTrails - http://skirt.com/papertrails

I won the craigslist lottery!

2010-05-04T17:02:00.001-04:00

I had been looking on craigslist for a couple of weeks for a new DIY project!! I wasn't sure exactly what I was looking for ... maybe a rolling cart for the kitchen, or a piece of art I could spruce up, a great bookcase, or maybe... A CRAFT CABINET!!!

I love love love it!!! It was posted for $20 and I got it for $15. Boyfriend and I had to drive 30 mins to get it... but it was sooo worth it!! It's solid wood and totally naked on the inside!

Now, the real question! What color do I want it to be ??

Baby Room Letters!!

2010-05-03T09:38:00.006-04:00

My best friend should be delivering my god son any day now... and with me being crafty and all... I just had to make something super cute for the nursery!!

craft supplies:

-Wooden letters from Hobby Lobby

-cute inexpensive fabric from Joann fabrics

-a roll of craft paper

-mod podge (I already had)

-glue gun (I already had)

-two rolls of thin white ribbom

My mom and I traced the letters out of the craft paper and cut the paper letters out.

Next, we used the mod podge to glue the letters to each color of fabric. Once dried... we cut the fabric down leaving about a 1/2inch around the edge of the letters. We cut notches in the fabric all around the edge and began to use mod podge to wrap and glue the notches to the sides and backs of the wooden letters.

We let everything dry completely.

After everything was dry we hot glued the craft paper letters onto the back of the letters. We wanted everything to have a clean look.

To finish up and continue with the clean look... we bought some thin white ribbon to wrap around all the edges of the letters. I used my glue gun and just worked my way around each letter.

Did I mention I borrowed the nursery bedding and matched the fabric that I used for the letters to it :)

And... I put some of the left over craft paper to good use.

Pretty cute gift... right??

Mommy-to-be loved the letters and hung them above the changing table!!

Perfect room for any little boy!!

**Oh and see the diaper cake on the shelf... I made that and will blog about it this week!

Monday Blog Love!!

2010-04-26T17:14:00.002-04:00

Have you seen these blogs? These are some of my favies this week!

Sweet Things - http://sweetthings-toronto.blogspot.com/

How About Orange - http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/

Curbly - http://curbly.com/

Smitten Kitchen - http://smittenkitchen.com/

Paper Cakes Finds - http://papercakesfinds.blogspot.com

Oh Joy - http://www.ohjoy.blogs.com/

You will love them :)

Baby Fever!!

2010-04-26T12:25:00.001-04:00

Two of my very best friends are preggo and I am thrilled!!! One is 13-14 weeks along and the other is 34 weeks!! Sooo needless to say we should have a baby here in the next few weeks and not just any baby... my god-baby!!

A couple of weekends ago I threw my very first baby shower ever!! It was such a great time! I took on a couple of fun projects for the baby and the event over the last few months so this week I will try to share them!!

Starting with these super cute baby name letters!!

Stay Tuned!!

Chunky Monkey!

2010-04-24T21:51:00.000-04:00

I've lost three pounds in the last 3 weeks... I'm trying to eat a little smarter. Less at lunch and better snacks (I normally have candy stashed in my desk) like veggies and fruit. I'm not trying to lose weight ... just trying to make better choices when it comes to what I eat. Oh, now my point...

Last week I was at the an annual festival in Atlanta and my hands were swollen. My ring finger was almost to the point that it was a dark purple-blue color. After a bit of a struggle my rings were off my finger and the blood was moving again... but why did it happen and how did it happen after I had even lost some weight? I know your fingers can swell in summer months, or if you are dehydrated so I didn't think much of it since we were outside in he sun. But it continued to happen this week... so my question now is... do I get my ring resized?

I don't want to jump the gun, but I don't want my ring to not fit all summer either. I'm not really sure how they resize a ring in the first place. Do they thin it out? Do they add gold? And how much exactly is this going to cost?

I know what I'm going to be searching on Google tonight :)

WOW... T-I-R-E-D!!

2010-04-22T13:09:00.003-04:00

I couldn't sleep at all last night. It was one of those nights that you just can't fall asleep and once you do you can't stay asleep kind of nights. I was hot, or couldn't get comfy, or a tiny little light from outside was in my eyes... needless to say I have no energy at all today.

I went to ehow.com to see what I could do to perk up in the energy dept and this is what I found!

http://www.ehow.com/how_3826_maintain-energy-throughout.html

If I am going by this list... I have already broken rules 1-4 (the sugar overload of candy at 10:30am was probably not my smartest move today), 5 and 6 I am working on... #7 is crazy because if I try to take a 10 min break at work with my eyes closed I will be sleeping on my desk, and 8 and 9 are more for at home time.

Now, I know these are more of a get into a routine and feel more energy over all but I was looking for a quick fix. :)

I love TARGET!!

2010-04-18T13:58:00.002-04:00

Check out these retro style steel breadboxes!! I found them at Target ON SALE!! I got them each for $10 and thought they would be super cute in my craft room!!

They are perfect for storing anything! I stacked them on top of each other on my desk and love them!!

I got mine at my local store... but they were still listed on Target.com yesterday! They have matching paper towel holders, canisters and trays too!

I love Target!

My boys and their toys...

2010-04-17T20:31:00.000-04:00

I had to cut Riley's tennis ball so it was safe for him to play with and so his little tiny mouth could fit around it.

He looks like a little bear!!

He loves that thing... who knew a tennis ball could be so much fun?

Bailey's all time favorite toy!

Rustic Picture Collage!!

2010-03-08T15:43:00.002-05:00

Soooo I started with this super simple rustic frame! I found it for half off at Hobby Lobby!! Super great deal...

Some twine... from bed bath and beyond's kitchen section...

And did I mention it was $.97!!!

Throw in my new Staple Gun and some cute pics... maybe a clothes pin or two!

Super Easy... here is what I did.

I flipped the frame over and stapled the twine to the back of the frame... I just zig-zagged back and forth! Turned it over and this is what I had...

Looked pretty good...

I started to hang pictures. I used clothes pins to keep the pictures in place. I thought it looked good... but boyfriend thought it could use more twine to fill in some of the empty space.

Sooo we flipped it back over and stapled some more twine... this time we did a few zig zags going different directions then our first path.

With the extra twine I really didn't need the clothes pins to hold up the pictures. You can leave them on if you like them... I decided to leave them off and add more pics.

We hung our frame in our family room above our TV. This project took 10 mins, was super east and is sooo cute!

I love it!

A crafty idea...

2010-03-05T17:30:00.000-05:00

I found this beautiful rustic frame... and I got an idea!!

The same weekend I got my very first staple gun!!

This... gave me an even better idea!

I will let you in on this awesome idea of mine...

tomorrow!!!

It's a good one!!

PS... I love my staple gun!

After just a little love...

2010-02-28T20:18:00.000-05:00

... I have an amazing vintage spice rack.

My brother (the artist) found this spice rack at a friends family garage sale. He is in art school and he never knows when he will need something cool for an assignment. I'm not sure if he paid for the spice rack or if he simply picked it out of the would be GOODWILL pile. I do know... it had $5.00 written on the front of the glass window in grease pencil and that I spent the next almost 3 months begging for him to give it me. I offered him anything I could think of because I had to have it. I'm not sure if I caught him on a good day or if he truly knew he would never use it for anything... because he finally gave in.

I am thrilled he gave it to me because this is one of my favorite things in my house and is one of those things that I know I will have forever!! I'm so sad I do not have before and after pictures of this one... this spice rack was such a mess when I started to clean it up.

It was beyond dirty, rusted in places and had dried spices in all of the jars. It was a brown color with the paint chipped off in several places. There was a cross bar of wood glued onto the glass front that made it look like a window.

Here is the short version of what we did...

We removed the glass from the front and took the whole thing apart so we could paint it. We cleaned up the hardware and the glass, spray painted the whole thing black. We cleaned the bottles by running them through the dishwasher and bleaching the plastic sprinkle caps. We spray painted the spice jar caps black and just waited for everything to dry. We put the whole thing back together... minus the cross wood from the front and there you have it! Quick and easy!

I filled the bottles with my favorite spices and just used round labels for the names of the spices. I thought about printing some cool old labels to go on the front of the bottles... but I liked the look of the old glass so much I couldn't bring myself to cover it up.

I have more projects coming up that could use just a little love... come back and check them out.

Chalk it up for easy gifts!!

2010-02-25T22:02:00.002-05:00

My best friend and I set a $30 limit this year for our Christmas gifts. We have done this the last few years and it's been great! We are both people who tend to go a little over the top with gifts... so this way we can save money and we are forced to get creative! This year I decided to make Amy a chalkboard for her kitchen. With a baby on the way... a chalkboard for grocery lists, to do lists and fun baby things couldn't be a bad idea... right??

Here's what I did...

To keep under my $30 budget I found myself at Michaels for a frame. Because it was Christmas season I found a great coupon for half off any frame including the sale frames. I got a black simple but very classic frame! My mom had some left over chalkboard paint I could use and sent me home with the roller too!!

You can always paint the insert or the backing of the frame. Or you can cut and paint a piece of Ply, Veneer, MDF... any thin wood really. Just remember to keep it really thin because you want it to fit in the frame and still be able to get the back of the frame on. My dad cut the piece I used with a little hand held saw... my parents have the best tools!! I painted it with a bunch of thin coats of the chalkboard paint... maybe 4 or 5 by the end of it.

I let the piece of wood dry and I put it in the frame placing the back on next. Oh and by the way... this frame did come with a piece of glass too... I took that out and saved it for a future craft project.

Boyfriend was running to Lowe's one night and I asked him to pick up a half-moon dresser/drawer pull. I wanted something cute to hold the chalk. He picked out a great one!

A couple of screws later and this baby looked awesome!!

I bought a pack of chalk and a couple of cute baby things to hit my $30 mark... and AMY LOVED IT!!! She set it out for her hubby to hang the next day!!

I love budget Christmas gifts... it's a great chance to make your friends something you know they will love. Try this one... it is super easy!!

My sweet boys

2010-02-17T23:10:00.008-05:00

I love these little guys. They are my buddies and they make me pretty happy! They try my patience... and make me laugh! They are the perfect combination to each other and the best fit for me. They are my little shadows which makes it so easy to catch their super cute moments with the camera!!

- A little blurry but sooo sweet!

- Sweet puppy love!

Love these faces!!

I'm in love!!

2010-02-15T16:39:00.000-05:00

I live for my kitchen most days and everything in it... and I swear it's the little things!! Boyfriend and I went shopping one day at one of my favorite stores (Cost Plus World Market) and I came across these little cuties and I had to have them! Who knew something so small could make such a big impact in my kitchen!!

I LOVE THEM!!

SNOW '10

2010-02-10T21:56:00.001-05:00

I live in Atlanta and have lived here my whole life. Being born and raised a peach does not lend itself to very much snow in the winter. Well... it hasn't in the past anyway. This year year however, has been our exception. We have seen two pretty major snow days ... and several flurry filled mornings this winter. I love snow!! I hate being cold but really really do love snow!! It is so pretty! I had to go outside and take some pictures... I could hardly believe how much snow had fallen and better yet... that it was sticking!! Snow never... ever sticks in Georgia!!

Walking around in the snow taking pictures!

So calm and quiet...

My cute puppy Bailey in his snow gear!!