Things that made you wonder in 2012

Here I am, managing to squeeze one last post in for the year. And, what a year it's been! Ready to take a trip down memory lane with me?

First up, our Diamond wall. We've enjoyed this feature for a solid year now. We completed it this exact time last year! I still love it. That says a lot since I tire of things really quickly.

DIY Diamond Wall Tutorial

Then, I got roped into replicating my friend, Pam's, nailhead ceiling for a friend/client. This project had my neck and thumbs hurting/numb for way too long afterwards! It's super cool looking though, if I do say so myself.

Nailhead trim ceiling treatment

Can't forget my friend, Katie's, golf nursery and her over the top Golf themed baby shower. 

Nursery Reveal

Bryn's room got a complete overhaul and turned into a Woodland Wonderland.

Woodland Room Reveal

A house isn't complete without a giant monogram painted on the wall, now is it?!

Painted giant F

Tons of great Random Acts of Kindness were completed throughout the year. Jenn, from The Former Miss, was kind enough to create these awesome RAK cards that are now available as a free printable.

RAK card printables

My dad helped recreate this awesome surfer in my client's son's room.

Surfer Boy Room

This kitchen was completely demolished and brought back to life as a real beauty!

Kitchen Remodel Before and Afters

John showed off his crazy skills as he constructed the wall of shelves in our guest bedroom, complete with black paneled ceiling (not pictured).

DIY shelves and plank ceiling

My clients' office was spruced up with a little Burberry wallpaper and amazing accessories.

Office makeover before and afters

Then, their son welcomed a new friend into his room...Rob the Robot.

DIY Robot

And, then there's the mirror wall. Love this one!

Mirror Wall Dining Room Before/After

I'm extremely grateful to each and every one of you that has made this year possible. Whether you kept me working, cheered me on or continued to be a faithful reader, please know that I deeply appreciate you. Here's to looking forward to a creative and productive 2013. Huge things will be happening in the Frieling household.

Client Living Room Snippets

Is anyone else having a hard time figuring out what day it is? Throw in a holiday and the hubby being off work and everyday seems like a weekend. I'm having trouble figuring out which way is up right now!

My clients made it home yesterday and walked into their fully furnished living room! They've been living without furniture since summer, but good things come to those who wait.

I'm only giving you snippets of their gorgeous room today because we're still waiting on a few key pieces to be delivered. We have some tweaking to do, but you can definitely get a feel for the direction things are headed with these shots.

This fabric is to die for. I may or may not have tried to talk the delivery men into taking it to my house instead.

Lots of color injected into the room through fun accessories.

What's a room without a fiddle leaf fig tree?!

Does this Chesterfield sofa even need descriptive words? Nope...I think it speaks for itself!

Oh, that chandelier! Its simple elegance really makes a statement.

Aren't these accessories fun? I only added the jug and the apple, everything else came right out of their cupboards.

Well, that's it for today folks. Here's to wishing you all a Happy New Year! I may sneak in one more post before 2013 but it's likely that I'm calling this year a wrap.

I got it!

Hello, friends! We had an amazing time traveling and celebrating with family over the last week. I stopped to count my blessings as I realized how fortunate we are to have family members we enjoy being around and who make hanging out and doing nothing lots of fun!

Before Christmas, I shared that I was hoping to decorate with magnolia leaves this year but couldn't find an affordable option. I told you all about it here and also told you I'd be stalking the after Christmas sales to snag some up for next year.

Well, guess what I found at Pottery Barn yesterday?...

The exact Magnolia Leaf Garland I was stalking hoping to score. But, wait, it gets better! They only had 2 left and they were pre-lit. I was so pleased to gaze at that little price tag and see that I was about to purchase 2 garlands for less than the original price of one. Yep, certainly a great deal and well worth a bit of delayed gratification!

I was hoping to pass this steal onto you guys but it doesn't appear to be on sale on the website. Guess you'll have to make a quick run to the store if you're interested.

Merry Christmas!

From our house to yours...

May your house still believe in the magic of Christmas with Santa. And, may the spirit of Christmas fill your heart with God's love.

Love, the Frielings

Christmas Recipe Favorites

I'm mixing things up today. If you've been hanging around long, you know I'm not one to offer up recipes. That's simply because cooking is not my gift/talent. It tends to be something I do out of necessity...wouldn't want my little ones starving, now would I?

Anyway, I've found several go-to recipes that help get me through our Christmas gatherings. One thing you can count on is that these recipes are easy! So, if you're in a pinch, go ahead and add these to your list. Yummy, festive and quick...does it get any better?

I made this little appetizer for a party several weeks back and they didn't disappoint. I'm a sucker for anything cranberry. I used spinach tortillas to kick it up a notch in the red/green Christmas color scheme department!

Cranberry Feta Pinwheels {via food.com}

Ingredients:
1 (170 g) package dried sweetened cranberries
1 (250 g) container cream cheese spread
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onion
4 large flour tortillas or 4 large wheat flour tortillas or 4 large spinach tortillas


Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients except tortillas, mix well.
2. Divide and spread mixture evenly among tortillas.
3. Roll up tightly, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least one hour.
4. To serve cut into 12 slices.
5. A nice variation is to add thin slices of ham on top of the spread before rolling.

We're done with appetizers, now it's time to move onto dinner...

Tortilla Soup is quite possibly my favorite food on this earth. Seriously, it's the only thing I order when we go to Mexican food restaurants. I like to think of myself as a tortilla soup connoisseur! 

I started making Rachael Ray's recipe several years ago and it's now one of our Christmas traditions. After the festivities have died down, my parents and father-in-law come over for a big 'ol bowl of soup. Love it!

Rachael Ray's Tortilla Soup {via foodnetwork.com}

Ingredients

• Vegetable or corn oil, for drizzling, plus 2 tablespoons -- 2 turns of the pot in a slow stream
• 3 ears corn on the cob or 2 ears fresh-frozen cobs, defrosted
• 1 red bell pepper, split and seeded
• 1 pound chicken breast tenders
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1/3 palm full
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/3 palm full
• Salt and pepper
• 1 small to medium zucchini, small dice
• 1 medium yellow skinned onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 to 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (medium to hot heat level), chopped -- available in small cans in Mexican and Spanish food section of market
• 1 (28-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 3 cups chicken stock, available in re-sealable paper containers on soup aisle
• 4 cups blue corn tortilla chips, broken up into large pieces
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar or pepper jack cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Garnishes:

• 1/4 red raw onion, chopped
• 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley leaves
• 1 ripe avocado, diced and dressed with the juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions

Heat a grill pan to high and a soup pot to medium-high. Drizzle oil on corn and place on grill pan. Add red pepper to grill with corn. Char vegetables 10 minutes, total, turning occasionally. Remove to cool, 5 minutes. Remove charred skin from the pepper.

While vegetables cook, dice chicken. Add 2 tablespoons oil to hot soup pot. Add chicken to pot. Season with poultry seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper. Lightly brown the chicken. Add zucchini, onions, garlic and chipotle peppers. Cook vegetables with chicken 5 to 7 minutes to soften. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and stock. Bring soup to a bubble, reduce heat to medium low.

Scrape corn off cob and add to soup. Chop grilled red pepper and stir into soup. Add chips to soup in handfuls and fold in. Serve soup immediately with scatter of shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Top with any or all of the suggested garnishes.

Yay, dessert! This recipe literally was added to my stash yesterday. I saw this yumminess over at Celeste and Pearl and gave it a try. One word...sinful! 

Paula Deen's Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cookies 

I N G R E D I E N T S :
8oz. (1 brick) Cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 c. Butter, softened (1 stick)
1 egg
1 t. Vanilla
1 (18-ounce) box red velvet cake mix
Powdered sugar, for rolling/dusting

Jump on over to Celeste and Pearl for the remainder of this recipe.

Hope these help you out, friends. We're traveling this weekend to see my brother and his family. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that Christmas is here. Didn't 2012 just begin? When did we start living in warp-speed?!

Enjoy your weekend!

Random Act of Kindness # 61

Have you heard it? The kindness this week has been so apparent that it's almost audible! Several of you forwarded me Ann Curry's #26Acts of kindness and can I just tell you that I love what I'm seeing?!

I'm going to credit my friend, Lisa, from Shine Your Light, with the original movement, but we'll share the love with Ann, too. Lisa and her kiddos came up with a great list of RAKs and she even offers printable RAK tags.

Here's my challenge for you today, friends...

Yes, tragedy is often our wake-up call, but it's up to you to keep the movement going. Don't get relaxed. Go through every day with your RAK eyes on. You'll be amazed at how many opportunities are right under your nose. Simply put, think of others first and yourself second!

If you need some crazy good RAK ideas, click on either link above. You won't be disappointed.

Now...go out and be kind, friends!

Client Living Room Moodboard

Work has been amazing this week! My clients are out of town and have trusted me to do their living room installation while their gone. Their furniture was delivered last week and I've been accessorizing like nobody's business. Headed to pick up their rug as the last piece of the puzzle today.

Here's the moodboard that provided our jumping off point. This was primarily used to help them visualize the sofas they were considering. You're going to flip when you see these beauties in person in the after pictures. See that cool chesterfield sofa?...It's white leather. And the curvy navy sofa?...It's a navy and cream geometric print. So pretty.

The art we found sent us in a slightly different direction in terms of color scheme, but it turned out great. My client likes lots of color and that term was definitely achieved. Check out the ottoman that's still to be delivered...

And, here's the chandelier that's hanging in the breakfast area near by.

There's so much much more I want to show you but I need to be careful just in case they're being sneaky and trying to catch a glimpse while on vacation. ;)

Can't wait to show the final shots!

Transparent Tuesday: Dealing

I've thought and thought about this post and what angle I should take concerning last week's horrific event in Newton. Honestly, I don't have anything to say that hasn't been said already.

So, to sum things up and be blunt...Sometimes life stinks.

{source}

I'll leave the words as few and choose to pray my way through the questions and wonder.

If you're in need of prayer, I'd love to talk to God with you. Let a comment or send me an email, friends: dfrieling1@gmail.com.

Robot Room Update

Remember Rob? I told you how to make him in this post and he's even had a few upgrades since he was first created. His talented owner figured out a way to make his eyes light up. So fun!

The rest of "Rob's" room has seen a few updates as well. A handful of posters were matted and framed, like the one below.

Then this wall creation came to life...

Attached with these...

Throw in some hooks and buckets...

And, bungee cords, of course...

And you get this...

A place to hang all your treasures that has the flexibility to change as need be. Add a few things or take a few away, I have no doubt this wall will be put to good use for years to come.

Stay tuned for one more update. Gotta show you the great bedding and gears above the bed!

Client Entry

I finally made it over to snap a few shots of my clients' entry and their crazy cool lamp. I shared their entry moodboard previously but now you get to see the real deal!

I love how the light dances around on the table and accentuates the curvature of this space.

The first thing you'll want to do when you see this lamp is touch it! It's so intriguing and draws you right in to try to figure out how it's constructed. My first thought when we saw it in the store was, "I could so make that out of ribbons!" But, as I looked a bit closer I quickly decided I should leave this one to the professionals machines.

I decided to keep the tabletop clear and the art simple so the light becomes the main attraction.

The Solis Lamp comes in three different sizes and is marketed to be displayed in groupings. Powerful impact, but a bit pricey when multiples enter the picture.

You can hang it a couple different ways or use it on a tabletop like we did.

{Solis Lamp from Pablo}

Kinda fun, right? Know what I love most about their entry? It's original and it's unexpected. What a great conversation piece as guests enter their house!

Happy weekend, friends.