Pretzel Salad- Love It or Hate It?

I am sure I may have mentioned that I am not from the South. 

(I don't know for sure, but this recipe seems Southern to me.)

But,

I have been to a few church potlucks in my time. 

In all my socializing at church suppers I never once came across this Jell O salad. 

The first time I had it was at a family gathering. 

Granny Vi's sister Claudine made it for us.   

This darling little lady started coming to family lunch when she moved to Dallas. 

She brought what has become one of my favorite desserts. 

It is called Pretzel Salad but I really think it should be called something else. 

Like Layered Jell O, Pretzel, Cream Cheese Wonderfulness.

I knew that I had to have the recipe. I love anything with cream cheese.
Warning this dessert is completely processed.

Pretzel Salad

Layer 1 

2 cups broken pretzels

1/4 cup sugar

1 stick of melted butter

Toss sugar and pretzel pieces together and put in a 13x9 greased pan. 

Pour melted butter over the top and bake @ 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until brown. 

Cool

I did half of our pan with gluten free pretzels.

They were yummy.

Layer 2

 8 ounce cream cheese

8 ounce whipped topping. 

1 cup confectioners sugar

Mix together and spread over the cooled pretzel layer.

Make sure to get the cream cheese mixture all the way to the edges of the pan. 

Don't allow any pretzels to poke through the cream cheese. 
The cream cheese provides a leak proof barrier.  

Layer 3

2 boxes 3 ounce strawberry Jell O

2 10 ounce frozen strawberries in syrup (not the whole strawberries) 

2 cups boiling water

Mix water and Jell O and stir

Add slushy strawberries once Jell O is dissolved.

Pour over cream cheese layer and cool.

If the Jell O mixture leaks into the pretzels they will get soggy. 

Rebekah and I crazy about this dessert.

It is sweet and salty and tangy all at the same time. 

 I don't know if this is a Southern recipe or not but I had never heard of it before. 

I love it so much that if I were to encounter it at a potluck, I  might have to employ one of my favorite mottos-

"Life is short, eat dessert first."

But...it is called a salad.  

hmmm

Either way I am sure I would feel that potluck anxiety.

Do you know what I am talking about?

That fear that your favorite potluck staple with be gone by the time you get to that spot down the line. 

Have you felt it too or is it just me?

I am completely aware that there seems to be a love/hate relationship with this concoction on the internet.

Really I don't care. I think the reviews are mixed in my household as well. I made it for Bekah and I for our

birthday-Mother's Day celebration so I didn't think it mattered if the guys were completely on board with it. :) 

Sprinkled with pretzels,

Katie 

Updating A Diamond Necklace

Totally switching gears today, but I am so excited about one of my latest ideas.

I love jewelry.

 I have the sweetest husband and he indulges my wish for some bling.

We may be sitting at a garage sale table or sleeping on a garage sale bed (not the mattress, people) but I like jewelry.
(Trade off)

I have been wearing either white gold and/or silver consistantly for about 5 years or so.

 A few years ago the fashionistas said yellow gold was back in style. I was thrilled but it wasn't back for long, maybe a season or two. 
Bill got me a heart necklace similar to this one for our 15th anniversary. 

Source: Ebay

I loved it and wore it everyday for years and years. 

 I haven't worn it for more than a day or two at a time for the last 10 years or so.

I noticed it in my jewelry box the other day when I was looking for something else. It seemed a little wasteful to have something like that laying around. I don't think I will wear it much until gold comes back in style. Not that I care so much about that, but everything else I am wearing lately is white gold. 

Getting the diamonds reset just does not make sense. Last time I had to have a stone set it was $35.00 for one stone. 1,2,3,4,5, ummm. NO!

I had my anniversary band Rhodium dipped two years ago. It cost $30.00 and it didn't really work on a ring because of all the cleaners I use at school.  I figured a necklace wouldn't come into contact with any chemicals.

So I dropped it off at my jewelers.

I couldn't wait to pick it up.

Wow!

$30.00 is all it cost to have a piece Rhodium dipped. 

I was amazed. I love it and will wear this updated version of a gorgeous piece.

It got me thinking. 

What else do I have to dip???

Do you have a sentimental piece you aren't wearing? 

Have it Rhodium dipped at a reputable jeweler.

Sprinked with Rhodium,

Katie
Linking with,
Between Naps on the Porch  
My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia  
Coastal Charm  
I Gotta Try That  
Ivy and Elephants  
Savvy Southern Style 
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From My Front Porch To Yours 
French Country Cottage 

Thankful- Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day. 

So thankful for each and every woman in my life that has come along side me in the journey that is motherhood. 

There have been so many women over the years that have encouraged, inspired and stood in the gap for my mom who lost her battle with cancer when I was 10.

I wish I could list them all.

They have come to my aid so often when I needed my mom. 

Many times it was the little things;

 taking my children for an afternoon if I had a migraine, bringing a meal,

helping me "sweep" the carpet in a crisis because the vacuum was broken (and I couldn't stand the crumbs one minute longer),

putting a load of laundry in the washer for me,

holding my hand while I waited for scary news,

doing things with me that mom would have done, 

listening as I ramble on about DIYing,

being a cheerleader for me,

encouraging me to try new things,

making me LAUGH 

and 

loving me unconditionally.

My heart is full of gratitude for all of you. 

Thank you for being the hands and feet of my mom and of the Lord.

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Have a blessed day,

Katie

Linking with,
The Brambleberry Cottage 

Shabby Chic White Bedding

You're more than welcome to think I have a problem. 

I know I do.

I wrote about my new bedding last spring. (Only about 5 of you saw it so you might want to pop on over to have a look.) 

I went out that day looking for white bedding. They didn't have anything so I got this darling Chapps by Ralph Lauren bedding instead. 

I got it at Tuesday Morning at a steal of a deal. 

 We started changing the other elements in the room in an attempt to lighten it up. The only colors left are some smokey blues, purples and green. 

I have been stopping in at Tuesday Morning every week or so convinced that this spring they would get in some all white bedding. 

I finally gave up. 

They had some duvets (never again)

and some matlesse coverlets (we already had an off white one.)

I wanted a fluffy comforter.

I found the new dust ruffle at Kohls. 

It had some unfavorable reviews but I love it. The material that covers the box spring can tear but the fabric on the bedskirt is lovely.

I kept searching and found the comforter at Target.

It is Shabby Chic for Target by Rachel Ashwell. 

Of course she would have the ruffled goodness I was looking for. :)

The reviews for it said the comforter was too wrinkled. I don't think so. It has a casual look and most of the wrinkles came out after a few days. 

It came with two king size pillow shams.

The shams look good with the antique lace of our other pillow cases. 

 The tray from the dining room table looks adorable. 

I may need to head out to the garage to make another one. 

 

This is a different look for me. 

Usually I have my comforter folded at the edge of the bed but most comforters are way too hot for summers around here.

I don't think this one will be. 

I'm completely smitten with the white against the dark brown furniture. 

Finally,

I have my white bed. 
Bill said, "New comforter?" 
Usually he doesn't notice. 
I guess all the white was a little more dramatic than I thought it would be.

I am hanging on to the floral set. I usually keep one comforter in reserve in case we need a change.

Katie
Linking with,
French Country Cottage  
The Charm of Home  
Common Ground  
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Savvy Southern Style   
Funky Junk Interiors

Bathroom Update III

Things are rolling along with the bathroom. 
This is what it looked like last summer. 

I prettied it up as much as I could but the tub was turning wacky colors.
  
Bill took a day off of work to do the majority of the demo. 
He smashed the cultured marble jetted tub into pieces and carried it out in contractor bags. 

We haven't used the thing in ages yet there was still water in the hoses. Yuck!
Next he demo-ed the shower.
As we suspected there was mold. 
It was primarily under the shelf 
but, it was also in the back left hand corner.

 Bill was not happy to see that the builder didn't bring the stud all the way to the sill plate. The wall moves if you push on it. 
The tile guy came to measure and to take a look at what construction will need to be done to rebuild the pan, fix the stud and repair the sill plates and then tile.  
He said that his part should only take about a week and a half.
He sent me back out to look at more tile samples. 
I need floor tile
 wall tile for the shower
 tile for the shower pan
bullnose edge tile 
and a boarder tile
I have picked all the tile except the tile for the shower pan. 

The next step was finding the vanity.
It was an ordeal.
We didn't want to keep our vanities because they are too narrow. Each section is only 24 inches wide. 
It doesn't have very functional storage and it is low. 
We want a more modern height hopefully with more drawers. Something that looks like furniture.

We searched and searched the internet. We were going to buy something from Seconds and Surplus, a local builder's supply outlet, but realized that getting a 67 inch vanity with a granite top and two sinks up the bend in the staircase would be impossible and these tops don't come off with out possibly cracking.

So I decided that we needed two vanities 30 inches wide. 
We can center them under the light fixtures.
We went back to the big box stores to look at their selection in person. 
I am glad we did. I wanted white. The white cabinets weren't true white, they weren't even off-white, they were cream.

Here.

The only one that was white had a Carrera Marble. Soaps, lotions and cleaners can etch the surface of Carrera. I don't want to have to nag my better half about chemicals on the bathroom counter. If the cabinet had been a regular shape I think we would have gotten two of these and replaced counters when they were worn out but these cabinets had an odd shape. The MDF was also chipping on the floor model.

I thought about getting a buffet and retro-fitting it for sinks. 

Typically they aren't deep enough.

We went to Home Depot and played with the ready made unfinished cabinets.

Here.
I actually really liked this option but Bill would have had to add feet and some other stuff to dress them up a little. 
It would have been about $350.00 for three cabinets. Very affordable but granite and sinks would have added to the cost. Again, Bill wasn't impressed with quality.
We looked at the custom cabinet options but felt they were expensive. 
Bill just kept pointing out that basically these are just boxes with doors. He could build them if he had time.  

                                          Traditional Bathroom Vanities And Sink Consoles by Other Metro Amazon

I went back to the surplus store in Dallas hoping to find something in a French style that I could paint. There was nothing with a white sink. I could live with a lot of things but I felt that the color of the sink had to match the color of the tub. I finally decided that I wasn't getting white vanities and could live without them. I will have plenty of white elsewhere. 

Instead we are getting these.

We weren't wild about the iron curlicues, but we feel we can change those out to something else. 

They have black granite and white sinks and I can always paint them gray later like our designer suggested. 

I don't know why I debated these. They have the cleaner lines we were going for and Bill liked them so much better than the other French Provincial vanities we saw.

Very cute, just not us.

I ordered them today and we can pick them up later in the week. 

I have a fairly light aesthetic in my living room and I love the pop of black from my entertainment unit. 

I think these vanities will give that same pop to my bathroom.

I will show you the tile selections in my next post.

My glammy tub is in and should be delivered as soon as the rest of the faucets come in. Once everything arrives the plumber will come to move drains and supply lines. 

Katie

Linking with,
Between Naps on the Porch  
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia 
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