Ballard Business: Its finished!!!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Its finished!!!

After four months - it is finally competed. Well, sort of. Enough for her to start playing with it. I still have lights, decor, and little things I will add along the way - but for now she gets it!
I stayed up until 3 am getting it finally ready and when she saw it in the morning she didn't know what to expect. She just said "Oh! How Cute!!!". But we aren't really girly in our house so none of us knew what to do then! All the boys had sooo much fun helping with it all these months and were thrilled to watch her play in it. Now - each day I hear her quietly in her room just playing for hours with her dolls. I just love that princess...

The top was the idea of the boys, to keep it flat and add a playground there. SO its hard to see but there is grass, a playground, and garden for her to play in. This room matches her own room, the same paint, colors and fabrics. The doggy resembles our little KC that we lost last month and the fence is just like the one she has over her bed.

This bathroom is not quite finished. Mikey picked out all the colors here. We couldn't find the shower but are still searching every store to get it! I tried to build one myself but just couldn't make it happen.

This is the library. We made a bean bag to match the ones in our library, found some mini ABC blocks to decorate with and refinished the rocking chair I found at Di and sewed pillows for it! After getting tired of so much staining, my friend Nina helped me pick out lanolium for the floor - and that was soooo much easier!

The sled was from DI too and when I found it I just had to have it all the wall - it is so cute!

My mom helped me do this room and made the bed spread, pillows and curtains. I found the dresser at DI and built the lamp myself. Karly loves this room.

The living room was so fun to do. NOONE sells couches unless they are for Barbies or of plastic. The real miniatures were just too small. So with a box, small knobs, material and foam - Mike and I went to work! The fireplace was so fun and we used a picture of our family for the mantel. One of my cute 13 year old neighbors helped me with the piano! We have lots more to do to fill up the entertainment center, but that will come in time...

My mother in law made this chair for the living room and it matches perfectly!

I think the kitchen is my favorite place. Probably cause it has the most details. I had to do all of it from scratch - so it took the most time. Used pebble spray paint for the granite counter tops, shelf knobs for the legs and wheels for the seats. Found an old box of glued in dishes from the DI and cleaned them up for the cute dishes in the cupboards. She loves playing with them!

Ruby (my 13 year old friend) hand made all of this food! You can not even begin to see all the detail, but she does it all with clay and then bakes it. We have pizza, milk, cupcakes, cookies, banana's and veggies - all the right size! They are so amazing, its one of Karly's favorite things about the dollhouse.

The best part about doing this huge project for me was that it really helped me feel more love for my daughter. The whole family had a such a great time over the last few months doing this for her. Everyone knew she could never go in the garage and it became of family obsession of finding ways to keep her out. The boys were amazing! Thanks to Nina and Ruby and Steph for being such great friends and helping me so much in this journey. Mike - couldn't have done any of it with out you - thanks for being the head engineer babe.

Enjoy Karly - for many years to come

7 comments:

Buzybugs pixie.blogspot.com said...: I LOVE it.. How fun and SO creative. Great work- did she LOVE it??; January 16, 2011 at 2:23 PM
Chatty Natty said...: Ok I had to keep reminding myself that this is a dollhouse and not your real house. HOLY SMOKES girl....you definitely deserve mother of the year mother of the decade or century. Wowzers!!!!; January 16, 2011 at 8:10 PM
reyesohana said...: Kelly,
You have SO inspired me :) You did an amazing job!
Can I call and have a chat with you about what it takes to do one of these? What a treasure for your princess :) And with my Ka'imi being only 10 months, maybe I could get it done by the time she is ready to play with it :)
Michele; January 16, 2011 at 8:48 PM
Marion said...: That is crazy. I want to live in that house. What an awesome present.; January 20, 2011 at 4:04 PM
Julie Moore said...: I am seriously speechless!!! Too cute Kel - it's AMAZING!; January 20, 2011 at 10:03 PM
Swanky Mommy said...: SHUT UP!!!! You kill me with your craftiness. I want to be you when I grow up. Err . . . . :); January 27, 2011 at 9:00 PM
Oh, Sweet!... said...: Kelly, You are AMAZING!!! What a fun project! I can't imagine how much fun you had! What a treasure! I wish I had a girl to have some fun 'girlie' things like a doll house. WOW, I am in awe once again!; February 13, 2011 at 10:18 PM

From My Kitchen

I got this from my Aunt Steph and served it at my little brother's wedding. Since then I can't even count how many times people have asked me for the recipe. I could probably eat it for a week straight and still LOVE it! Combine: 1/2 c. red wine vinegar 1/2 tsp. fresh basil 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning 3 cloves of minced garlic 1/2 tsp. oregano 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 T. sugar 1 T. parsley or chives Mix well then add 1/2 c. olive oil, 5 to 6 Roma tomatoes (diced) and 1/2 red onion sliced very thinly. Marinate for several hours or overnight. When ready to serve mix 3/4 c. mayonnaise & 3/4 c. Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Cut 1 loaf baguette bread into thin slices. Spread with mayo-cheese mix. Top with one tablespoon of tomato mixture then sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Broil about 5 minutes till crusted and serve promptly.

Frosted Cinnamon Rolls

Quick Cooking

Add into bread machine:
1 c. warm milk *
¼ c. water *
¼ c. butter *
1 egg *
1 tsp. salt *
4 c. flour *
¼ c. instant vanilla pudding mix *
1 T. sugar *
1 T. active dry yeast *

Cook on dough setting until finished. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and roll out to 17 in. x 10 in. Spread with ¼ c. melted/softened butter. Sprinkle with 1-2 c. brown sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon.

Roll up into jelly roll and pinch sides to seal. Cut into 21 slices and place in 9 x 13 pan and 9 x 9 pan greased pan. Let rise in warm place for 45 minutes or until doubled. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Cool on racks for 5 minutes and frost with the following:

4 oz. softened cream cheese *
¼ c. softened butter *
1 ½ c. confectioners sugar *
1 ½ tsp. milk *
½ tsp. vanilla extract *

Beat together and frost warm rolls.

Homemade Orea Cookies

Our Favorite Sausage Gravy

1 lb. pork sausage

1 onion, finely chopped

1 green bell pepper, finely chopped

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

2 T garlic, minced

4 T unsalted butter

salt and pepper to taste

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon minced fresh sage

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

2 cups milk, divided

2 cubes chicken bouillon

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

In a skillet on medium heat cook pork, onion, green pepper, red pepper flakes, and garlic until pork is crumbly. Drain off excess fat, but leave a small amount.

Combine butter, salt and pepper with the meat mixture and stir until butter melts. Slowly sift flour over the top. Mix gently and allow mixture to cook for 5 minutes. It will burn, so do not let it sit unguarded. Don't forget to scrape the bottom of the pan. Add the sage and thyme (if you used Italian seasoned sausage, omit sage and thyme)

Slowly stir in milk, about a half a cup at a time, and incorporate it well. When the mixture thickens, add more milk. Do not let it boil vigorously, or it will burn. Add chicken bullion and let cook for five minutes. Again, if it thickens too much, add more milk. Adjust taste with more salt and pepper if needed.

Just before serving, add the parsley, and about a 1/4 cup more milk; the gravy will thicken quickly as it cools.

Chicken Rolls

Nola's Pizza Sauce

I have looked for a great homemade pizza sauce and this one has past the test so far....

Combine in sauce pan:

15 oz. can tomato sauce or blended diced tomatoes

¼ tsp. oregano

¼ tsp. dried thyme

¼ tsp. salt

½ tsp. lemon juice

1 ½ tsp. sugar

¼ tsp. dried basil

¼ tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. pepper

dash of onion powder

Heat until bubbly, then turn down to low and simmer for 30-60 minutes. When cooled store in fridge in tightly sealed container. Double the recipe and freeze some too. Use for pizza or dipping sauce for bread sticks.

Croissant French Toast

Great Cooking Magazine

Vanilla Sauce:

1 T. Flour 4 egg yolks

1 T. Vanilla extract ½ c. sugar

2 c. whipping cream

2 scoops vanilla ice cream

Combine flour, yolks, vanilla- set aside. In saucepan over medium heat, bring cream and sugar to boil. Remove from heat and add small amount of cream to egg mixture. Return all to pan, stirring constantly. Bring to gentle boil and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in ice cream until melted. Set aside.

Berry Sauce:

2 c. raspberries 2 T. Sugar

Combine in saucepan and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Beat 3 eggs and dip 8 slices of croissants in mixture. Brown both sides on griddle in butter. Serve with vanilla and berry sauces on the side.

Homemade Pretzels

Dissolve: 1 T. yeast

1 ½ c. warm water

Combine: 4 c. flour

1 ½ tsp. sugar

¾ tsp. salt

Add yeast water to flour mixture and mix well until blended. Knead until smooth and elastic. Shape (they grow twice the size, so make the pretzels thin- about ½ inch wide) and place on greased pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or on convection speed for 10-12 minutes.

After baking brush with butter, then sprinkle with kosher salt (this can be done before baking as well) OR cinnamon sugar. Great activity for groups of kids.

Apricot Chicken

My dear buddy Liza brought me lunch one day during a tough time in my life (Law School, 2 toddlers, & RS President among other things...) It was SO yummy and each time I eat it I remember her thoughtfullness that touched me that day.

1 pkg. Onion Seasoning Mix
1 jar Apricot Jam
1 bottle Russian Salad Dressing

Mix and pour over 4 chicken breasts in sauce pan. Simmer for 20 minutes until chicken cooked through (works great in crock pot too). Serve over rice and veggies or mashed potatoes. Such a great food storage recipe. Love you Liza!

ps-other weeks recipes are found below

Green Beans with warm Bacon Dressing

I love this with FRESH green beans from our local market!

3 slices bacon, chopped

1 large shallot, minced

½ c. chicken broth

1 Tbs. cider or red-wine vinegar

1 lb. green beans, trimmed

In skillet, cook chopped bacon till crisp. Remove and set aside. Add shallot and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and vinegar, and bring to boil over high heat; cook for 2 minutes. Reduce to low and keep warm. Boil 4 quarts of salted water. Add beans and cook for 5 minutes, or until they are crisp-tender. Drain well. Whisk warm dressing and spoon evenly over green beans, then sprinkle with bacon. Makes 6 servings.

Kelly's Favorite Bruchetta

Combine:

1/2 c. red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. fresh basil

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

3 cloves of minced garlic

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 T. sugar

1 T. parsley or chives

Mix well then add 1/2 c. olive oil, 5 to 6 Roma tomatoes (diced) and 1/2 red onion sliced very thinly. Marinate for several hours or overnight.

When ready to serve mix 3/4 c. mayonnaise & 3/4 c. Parmesan cheese in a bowl.

Cut 1 loaf baguette bread into thin slices. Spread with mayo-cheese mix. Top with one tablespoon of tomato mixture then sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Broil about 5 minutes till crusted and serve promptly.