The Armor of God

The Armor of God

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

What do I want for my boys? The same every mother wants.  For her boys to know how to equip themselves for the work of the Lord, be it in battle or in every day life, which can be a battle in and of itself.  We pray over our first born every night that God would give him the heart of David and the wisdom of Solomon, that he would make him a blessing and establish the works of his hands.  When my second son came along, this verse is what God laid on my heart to pray over him.  I made this chalkboard print to hang in his room as a reminder.  We are so blessed that God entrusted us to take care of our two little boys.  They are both so unique and wonderfully made, we pray that His image is seen through their lives and actions when their young and old.  Our Kids Pastor told me that he chose each of them in the order that he did for a specific purpose.  I hadn't really thought about birth order being specifically chosen, hand picked by God until he said that to me.  I mean, it's completely obvious, right? 

I love being able to combine and use my passions and share them with you.  Design is a growing passion of mine and something I am continuing to develop on a daily basis.  There are 4 different variations for you to choose from but I think the 2nd one is my favorite.

 download here

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Coconut Cupcakes

This was one experiment gone right.  Very, very right. 
My husband came home saying those magic words again, "honey, we have a potluck on Saturday."  No problem.  Except these may not make it to the actual potluck.  The texture of the cupcake is like that of a pound cake but is airy like an angel food cake.  I'm not sure I can come up with words to describe just how great these are.

Let's be honest, your cupcake falls over too after you take a bite.  Photo-opp!

Ingredients:

1 box of white cake mix
1 cup of canned coconut milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup of oil
1 teaspoon of almond extract

For the frosting:
8 ounces of cream cheese (room temp)
2 sticks of butter (room temp)
5 cups of powdered sugar
4 tablespoons of canned coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
3/4 cup toasted coconut for garnish

Directions:

1.  Preheat over to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with cupcake wrappers.  (the cuter the better)
2.  Combine cake mix, coconut milk, eggs, oil and extract and mix on low until combined.
3.  Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop out batter and spoon into cupcake pan.  Equal scoops, please!
4.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
5. While cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting.  Combine cream cheese and butter and whip with coconut milk.  (I use my whisk on my Kitchenaid mixer, not the paddle) add extract then slowly add powdered sugar until it's all combined.  Turn on high to whip for 45-60 seconds.  Toast the coconut by putting 3/4 cup of coconut in a skillet on the stove over medium high heat.  Stir frequently for 5-6 minutes or until coconut is toasty brown.  (you can also do this in your oven on a baking sheet)
7.  I used a frosting bag and cut a one inch hole in the bottom (ziploc bag would work well too).  Pipe the frosting on the cupcakes.  As you squeeze the frosting bag, push down, then pull up to create the large fluffy clouds.  Top with toasted coconut.

I did not refer to any other recipe while making these cupcakes.

DIY Chevron Wall Art

We walk by the living room and just stare.  We sit in the living room in just stare.  We love how much more complete these make our home feel.  What's even better, is that the blue furniture doesn't bother us anymore.  We are almost finished with the tutorial!  It should be up within a day or two.  Oh..what's that sound I hear?  It's the saw!  My husband is starting on our Rustic X coffee table!

Have you made these?  Please share your pictures!

The Weathered Palate

Why the change?  Brandability.  As I researched domain names, I found that Birds of a Feather has been taken by several different people. In thinking of what my blog is and who my audience will reach, I settled on The Weathered Palate.  Get it?  Yes, it's a play on the word "pallet".  I have enjoyed making things out of old pallets but at the same time I love giving a fresh taste to dishes that need livening up, to palates that are tired of the same thing over and over again (says the woman who just made her husband eat Mexican food for a week).  So welcome to The Weathered Palate.  I hope that you will find what you're looking for. 

DIY Pallet Wall Art

This piece is inspired by something we saw in Hobby Lobby.  Yes, we are the people who walk around a take pictures of things we like and can make ourselves.  Don't forget that my motto is, "I can make that myself!" We got the pallet for free but had to buy the screws for $1.97 so this project cost us a whopping $1.97.  How amazing is that?  This piece turned out incredible and is worth so much more than what it cost to make.

We started by breaking a part two different pallets.  The price is great, but it takes so much work!  My husband and I agreed that we may just buy the wood next time. 

  We used 6 of the large pieces and 2 small pieces and did not cut them down in length at all.

 The pallet is 4 feet wide and little over 3 feet tall. 

We used some of the smaller strips from the pallet to use to mount the pieces together.  We did have to cut the strips down  to fit the way we wanted it to.

The wood is really hard, so my husband pre-drilled the holes before screwing the pieces together.  We used 1 inch screws, but really should have used 1 1/2 inch screws.

We stained the pallet using our Homemade Antique Stain.  We LOVE this stain!  It's so beautiful and creates a really rustic look.

I used white acrylic paint and a dry brush to paint on the heart.  I didn't even have to sand it down, this is how the heart turned out.  Absolutely perfect.  I couldn't be more happy.

 

 

Living Room {Part II}

It has been so fun working along side my husband to transform our Living Room into a place we want to be.  Do you have a room like that in your house?  A room that you want to want to sit in but you end up avoiding it instead?  That's how we have felt about our Living Room for quite some time.  I mean, have you seen the before pictures?  It definitely needed some work!  I've been wanting to buy new furniture ever since we moved in but we kept having babies instead!  We decided to take things we have around the house and make it into a room that we want to be in.  The couches are pretty comfortable but the hand me down decor is starting to date itself.  It's the first room people see when they walk in so we want it to set the tone for the rest of our house.

Our To-Do List included:

1. Paint the walls {check}
2. Make new pillow cases {almost check...3/5 are complete}
3. Hang curtains {check}
4. Paint the clock {check}
5. Make new sconces
6. Make "new" pallet wall decor {almost check}
7. Build end pieces
8. New curtain tie backs (I added this one)

We are almost there!  I am experimenting with a few accent pieces that I'll share if they turn out.  They are one of those, "I wonder what would happen if..." experiments.    

This weekend we should be able to start working on our Rustic X tables.  We are going back and forth between building the end tables or a coffee table.  We think that having a coffee table may make the room look a little more complete but haven't quite made the decision yet!  The yellow clock is, yes, very yellow.  We have more yellows coming in other places that will help bring a balance to the room.  It's not done, but we're so happy with what we've accomplished!

Thank you to my amazing MIL for doing such a PERFECT job on our pillows!

Summer Peach Salsa

That's right.  Summer Peach Salsa.  It's drinkable good.  You have to have fresh, ripe peaches to make this salsa.  Soft mushy, juicy peaches.  Oh my gosh, my mouth is watering.  I need to go make more of this, right now.  Even though this recipe makes quite a bit the batch you see in front of you is already gone.  Thankfully I have ripe peaches sitting on the counter that will be perfect!

We eat this salsa with everything but our favorite paring has been on top of quesadillas made with my Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken.  Absolutely delicious!

Ingredients:

7-8 peaches
1/2 red onion
3/4 red pepper
1 handful of cilantro
1/2 jalapeno
1 tablespoon lime juice (half of a lime)
1 teaspoon of salt

Directions

1.  Peel and dice the peaches and put them in the bowl of your food processor.
2.  Roughly chop red onion, red pepper and jalapeno.  Add to the bowl of food processor.
3.  Add cilantro, lime juice and salt.
4.  Pulse to your desired consistency.

Note: Sometimes jalapenos vary in how hot they are.  You want to be able to feel the heat of the jalapeno in each bite so you may need to add more depending on how hot your jalapeno is.  Same with the red onion.  I find some are stronger than others so I start with a little and add more depending on how strong it is.

This is the perfect blend of spicy and sweet.  It is so incredibly refreshing during the summer.   I may need to can a years supply of this stuff.