Staircase Wall Gallery~ Organized Chaos

I stumbled across this template for a stairway wall gallery ironically on a blog that I used to stalk back when I was not a blogger, this stairway looks really close to mine I used the tips from the post via Our Humble a-{Bowe}d 

(don't you just love the play on words?)

Photo's of staircase

I really want to put one of my favorite photos of each of my girls on the wall, I am having trouble obtaining a baby picture of my bonus child, I want the wall to highlight the children.

The shadowbox has a ceramic cross encircled with John 3:16 and was given to me by one of my favorite supervisors ever. I never had just the right place to hang it so it always found a spot on a counter top or shelf; I think the wall gallery will be a perfect place for it. One of the large collage frames has photos of the children, my bouquet, my husband and I during our first dance and my hands which I had done in henna for the wedding. 

I have a large collage frame that has photo's of just my husband and I taken during our engagement photo sessions, which by the way were the most fun we had together planning the wedding even though it was a lot of work. I noticed a crack in the frame so now I don't know if it will make the wall or not.

As I had mentioned in a previous post, I was smitten with an etsy seller's print "What a difference a Day Makes" and I decided I had to have one. I worked with Colleen on the print and because we are a blended family, we decided on just the right touches to make the print special. I have the perfect spot for the print. I am going to do a photo gallery going up the staircase- I hope the print makes a statement there.

I adore this print! Everyone comments on it already and it isn't even in its proper place.

The obsessive personality in me is struggling with the layout, I have taped, re-taped, snatched down, abandoned photo ideas and layouts about 20 times since I started this project. I really need to get it done because we are about to order our bed (finally... I am doing the happy dance) next week and I don't to still have a project to complete because the bedroom is going to be a big one for me.  

If you have any wall galleries, how did you decide what goes and what made the cut? Any tips?

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with a White Chocolate -Cream Cheese Frosting

Here is another cupcake recipe that will grace the display at my son's birthday party, strangely enough... There are some absolutely dull vanilla cupcake recipes out there... Luckily- I stumbled across this recipe and I love it! This cupcake is divine, these are sure to be a hit at the party (I hope all of them are a hit honestly)! I made a white chocolate vanilla cream cheese frosting and adapted this recipe I found online. 

I have been asked to decorate two birthday parties and one baby shower in addition to my own planning for my children. I have been really busy but I am enjoying myself so much! I will be sure to share those parties with everyone.

Brunch in the Making

Trial Brunch 

I have been tossing around the idea of a ladies brunch for quite some time and have thrown the idea out out of the window partly because I want to make the day simple and fun and do lots of pretty decor. I struggle to make the day fun without going overboard and I want delicious foods that require absolute minimum effort.

I got my wish on two ideas thanks to my DVR and an episode of Big Daddy's House! Since this is a trial run, I will have to post these two items plus the others as soon as I have my brunch.

In the meantime, I give you -

Pancake Muffins topped with Brown Sugar Cured Bacon and Caramel Cream Cheese Glaze.

I adapted my muffins from this recipe. I decided to do a mildly sweet cupcake with my own pancake batter and included cinnamon in the batter for a little more umph! 

I made a frittata with Montery Jack Cheese, Chives, Onion and Bell Pepper with a nice sprinkle of Turkey Bacon for my husband since his pancake muffins were not topped with anything. (He doesn't eat pork)

This was a really fun way to bake on a Saturday morning/early afternoon. I am so excited now to put together a menu and have some friends over to share in good food and conversation.

Knock-off El Pollo Loco BBQ Black Beans

I have an confession - I am obsessed with EPL's black beans, I can eat a large container of them for lunch or dinner four out of five days a week, I absolutely love them. I am really monitoring spending nowadays since I have newly become a stay-at-home mommie. This is new to me and took a lot of prayer and faith, I am loving being able to be with my children and I am proud to say I am also back in school.




Back to the El Pollo Loco's lovely food - well the good thing about them is they are in walking distance from my home! I love that place and they pretty much know my order when I arrive. In the past few weeks however, I must admit I have been a little frustrated with EPL... they haven't had any of their BBQ chicken, I mean imagine my disappointment when I couldn't order my beloved 3 piece white meal with double black beans and a loco salad. 

I decided I could do the recipe myself and never have to be frustrated about EPL. I seasoned the chicken with lime and lemon pepper, a bit of garlic powder and a bit of onion powder and let the chicken develop in flavor, I then broiled it on a low temp and added the bbq sauce toward the end of the cooking process. 

Here is the recipe I found for the BBQ Black Beans


Because I am not a canned food kind of girl, I used a package of dried beans, I soaked them over night, then cooked them in water only until tender, I then added the ingredients from the recipe. 


For the spinach salad, I made a balsamic vinaigrette that I go to frequently from Emeril Lagasse. This meal was devoured by my family, I was really pleased with the outcome.




Are there any restaurant recipe's you are able to duplicate for your family?