Name: Blueberry Hand Pies Recipe
Yield: 8 people
Ingredients: 1 cup blueberries (can be fresh or frozen); 1/8 cup white sugar (plus a little extra for sprinkling); 2 tbsp water; 1 tsp cornstarch; 2 round pre-made pie crusts; 1 egg

Maddox Home: Living Room and Entryway Makeover

August 29, 2018 by Jessica Leave a Comment

As y’all know, we moved from Louisiana back in May. It was a whirlwind and there was a lot that I wasn’t able to get done before I left. One thing that didn’t happen was to take pictures of my friend’s living room and entryway that I helped her make over. Fortunately she sent me some pics she took so I can finally share some of the projects that we worked on. I have already shared her kitchen makeover (see it here) and am excited to share this part now. If you are on instagram, you can check out #maddoxhomemakeover for some in progress pics I shared on my instagram account.

My friend really loves how Joanna Gaines and the farmhouse look she creates, so we went that type of style. It flows really well with the farmhouse style kitchen which is good since they are open to each other. It is so light and airy now!

Here are the main things we did that you can see compared to the before pics (which are below):

-We painted the walls in the living room Agreeable Gray (SW7029), the faux shiplap in Alabaster (SW 7008), and the foyer walls in Silvermist (SW 7621).

-I created a faux wood beam over the drywall drop down that separated the rooms (not sure what that is technically called?). It was so easy to do and really adds a wow factor! I was inspired by this diy wood beam by Jenna Sue Design Co. The length of the wood we ended up using to create seams where they met were a little large, so I ended up just staining some wood pieces to go over those instead of using metal. I stained them with Minwax Early American which is the same stain used on the vent hood in the kitchen.

-I ripped down some of this thin plywood to create strips to make a faux shiplap wall. Here is a great tutorial on how to do all that. It only took 2 (or maybe 3?) sheets to do this one feature wall and the entryway.

-We rearranged her furniture for better flow and shopped her house for decor. She bought a few things to add, like the big clock (from Hobby Lobby) above the tv and the corner chair (from Marshalls) and foot stool (from Wayfair), but most things were just paired down from what she already had.

-I made a sofa table to go behind her sofa. This gave her a place to add some extra lighting.

-I changed out her ceiling lights for her. She picked out this one for the living room and the foyer light came from Lowes too but I can’t find it online.

-She repainted her tv cabinet with chalk paint for a quick change.

-New curtains and curtain rods were added.

Isn’t it amazing what a difference just those changes make? I forgot to get pics of the foyer before we did that, but I believe it was the same pinkish tan color as the living room. The hooks make it a lot more functional and it’s become a cute drop off zone for their shoes and coats now. My friend still has some projects she wants to do for this space (like get new flooring), but her and her family are absolutely loving the change it made. It feels so peaceful and the amount of light they get is unreal! The colors really help make that more noticeable now too. I hope this inspires you to create and get to working on that to do list 😉 -jess

Want to share this post?

Blueberry Hand Pies Recipe

August 22, 2018 by Jessica Leave a Comment

This summer we have found several you-pick farms to go get produce from. One of the first places we went to was a you-pick blueberry field. It was the first time my daughters (and me!) had even done that. We picked a ton of blueberries and then I came back and found some recipes to try and even put together a few things I learned to create this blueberry hand pies recipe. I have made it multiple times, playing around with different aspects until I had it down to exactly what I wanted. I was inspired by this Simple Blueberry Syrup by My Frugal Adventures and love how it is a great filling for these hand pies.

*Scroll to bottom to get full recipe*
The blueberry hand pies call for simple ingredients: blueberries, white sugar, water, cornstarch, 2 pre-made refrigerated pie crusts, and an egg.

The first thing you do is mix the cornstarch with one of the tbsp. of water.

Then you add that, the blueberries, and sugar to a sauce pan. You cook it on medium high until it is boiling, then you let it boil for 1-2 minutes. After that, you turn it down to low to let it simmer 5-6 minutes, mixing occasionally. Next you let it cool and then stick it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. You want it nice and cold for cooking.

Once the filling is cooled, pull out the refrigerated pie crusts and place on top of each other. Then cut it into eighths. I start by cutting it in half, then fourths, then eights.

Place 8 of the pieces on a parchment paper lined baking pan. (Make sure the pan has short sides in case the sauce leaks.) Then mix one egg with 1 tbsp. of water to create an egg wash. Brush the egg wash onto the edges of each piece.

Pull out the blueberry mixture and add a spoonful to each piece. I personally like this amount (as do many others who have tried these) and it uses up all of the sauce. However, my husband would prefer more filling. The problem I had with that is they seemed to leak a ton more when I really tried to cram a lot in there. So, you can totally double the blueberry mixture so you can add more and then have some leftover if you like.

Then you place the other 8 pieces on top and push down all the edges. You can use a fork to add a pretty pattern on the edge and help secure the layers together. Then brush on the egg wash on top of each piece and sprinkle on a little bit of sugar.

I baked mine for 22 minutes at 375 degrees/F, but I suggest starting to keep an eye on them around the 15 minute mark to make sure they aren’t cooking too fast.

Once they have cooled, they are such a great snack to eat by hand. We have toted these around with us on summer adventures and we have also put them on plates and topped with ice cream and whipped cream. It’s also a great recipe to make and give to others. Be inspired to use local ingredients and share with those around you. Happy baking 🙂

Blueberry Hand Pies Recipe

An easy recipe to create 8 individual blueberry hand pies.

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

1 cup blueberries can be fresh or frozen
1/8 cup white sugar plus a little extra for sprinkling
2 tbsp water
1 tsp cornstarch
2 round pre-made pie crusts
1 egg

Instructions

1. Mix the cornstarch with 1 tbsp of water.
2. Add cornstarch/water mixture, blueberries, and sugar to sauce pan. Cook on medium high until boiling. Let boil 1-2 minutes and then turn down to low for it to simmer for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Allow blueberry mixture to cool completely and then chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
4. Once chilled, place some parchment paper onto baking tray with edges. Then turn on oven to 375 degrees/F.
5. While oven is warming up, take out the two refrigerated pie crusts and lay on top of each other. Cut into halves, then into fourths, then into eighths.
6. Place 8 of the the pieces on the parchment paper. Mix one egg with one tbsp. of water. Brush egg wash onto top edges of these 8 pieces.
7. Get blueberry mixture from fridge and add one spoonful to the middle of each piece. Then place the other 8 pieces on top of these and push down the edges all around to seal in the blueberries. Use a fork to add a decorative touch to all the edges.
8. Brush egg wash on top of all 8 hand pies and sprinkle on a little bit of sugar. Place in oven to cook for around 22 minutes. *I suggest keeping an eye on them once at 15 minutes and on until they are light brown as each oven can cook differently.* Allow to cool before handling. Eat by hand or serve with ice cream and/or whipped cream. Yum!

Recipe Notes

If you desire more filling, simply double the blueberry mixture recipe to: 2 cups blueberries, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tbsp. water, and 2 tsp. cornstarch.I have found that they tend to leak more with the more filling in each one, but some might desire more blueberry/dough ratio.

Want to share this post?

Faux Succulent and Wood Blocks Install

August 14, 2018 by Jessica Leave a Comment

A while back I came across these cute faux succulents that were on clearance at Target. For only a dollar something each, I just went ahead and got them. Didn’t need them at that moment per say, but it was such a good deal and it’s something I figured I could use at some point. Then came time to decorate this foyer area. I also happened to come across this amazing wall install by Britney Jay {here} and knew it was something I could use the succulents for. So I used up using some leftover wood I had in my garage and the succulents and got to making.

I laid out my pieces and made sure the wood grains were all going the same way. Then I taped the middle ones so I could half stain half paint them. I used Minwax Dark Walnut to stain. Then I used a texture paste I had in my craft closet to create a fun textured look for the ones that would be painted. Then once painted white, I lightly used some gold paint to go over edges and ridges for added depth.

I initially used a construction adhesive to glue on the succulents, but some fell off. I thought it would be a really strong way to hold them in place, but it wasn’t. At that point I just used a hot glue gun and that seemed to do the trick. I also ended up using my nail gun to attach the wood to the wall since this was in a kids area. It makes them super secure and then they are flat on the wall. You could of course use a different mounting technique that is easier to remove them if you wanted. I think it is something that would be really cute as home decor too. And you can play around with the size of wood and plants you use to create a one of a kind look.

Also, see that cute bench? My amazing friend Ashley made that! It was the perfect touch for this waiting area. And the two pillows are covers and inserts from Hobby Lobby for anyone interested in that info. -jess

Want to share this post?

Faux Concrete Countertop DIY: My Experience

August 11, 2018 by Jessica Leave a Comment

A few months ago I shared about an almost finished bathroom remodel that I worked on in four bathrooms at our church. It was such a great budget friendly remodel and one of the cost saving parts was doing a faux concrete countertop to cover up the laminate that was there. This brought cohesion to the whole bathroom style and I was able to do a women’s and men’s bathroom for under $40. I learned a lot and wanted to share my experience for anyone else researching to determine if this is something they are interested in completing. I know I researched a ton and the more diy testimonials and tutorials there are the better. Some of the online tutorials and info posts I looked at were these:

A Beautiful Mess: Concrete Countertop DIY and Concrete Feather Finish Countertop (their first post was my biggest inspiration because that one had curved edges like the one I was working on! They look like they did a much better job than I did though hahahaha).

Lovely Imperfection: DIY Concrete Countertops Over Laminate Surfaces

Blesser House: DIY Feather Finish Concrete Countertops

Little Green Notebook: DIY Concrete Countertops (in a laundry room)

The Palette Muse: $100 Room Challenge Concrete Countertops (in a bathroom; included doing the sink!)

Designer Trapped: DIY Vanity Makeover Using Concrete Overlay

First off, let me begin sharing about these countertops. They are laminate but have a curved front edge. Many of the tutorials online appear to have all straight edges. Now some of the sides were straight and I have to say that this process works best on straight edges. I sanded the laminate some to help with adhesion, but it was still a battle to create a quality look and thickness on those curved edges. So, if yours are curved, be aware of this. You will want to take some extra time on the curves and I ended up just using my hands (which had a fitted latex glove on to protect my hand) to apply it there. The straight edge tools people suggest using just didn’t work very well for those spots for me.

Secondly, since these are countertops in a bathroom, I was not worried about making it food safe since no food should be in the bathroom hahaha. That made the process even less expensive and faster to accomplish. So I would recommend this type of diy project very quickly for a non food space and be more hesitant to for a kitchen type space. The products I ended up using were all from Lowe’s: TEC Skill Set Indoor Skimcoat and Floor Patch and Quikrete Cure and Seal (which, again, I used since this wasn’t a food surface).

I first began by sanding the countertops to help create a surface that the skim coat will adhere to nicely. I just sanded by hand for this versus using a sander. Then I cleaned and taped up some paper to protect the cabinets.

I mixed up a small amount of skim coat at a time until it was the consistency of peanut butter as I had read. After doing this a lot, I found that I liked it actually a little wetter than that consistency. It made it easier to apply and still dried very well and rock hard. The skim coat dries on the fast side, so that is why smaller batches is a good idea. The first coat was the hardest to do for me. It was very rough and didn’t fully cover which I expected from the other posts I read. I saw how many people would use their sander at this point and in between each coat to smooth it down, so I did that at this point. I totally regret doing that! The dust it created was unreal. Covered everything. Even created a layer of dust on the walls that I had to wash off. What I discovered is that I preferred to lightly sand in between each coat to get any “sharper” spot smooth, but the next layer I applied would fill in the crevices and such well, smoothing it out on its own. I also used a flat metal and plastic scraper to see which one I liked best. They were both okay, but it was good to have a larger and then smaller one to go around the edges of the sink and close to the walls. Another thing, which I mentioned earlier, was that I also really liked the result of using my (gloved) hand to spread on the skim coat for the layers after the first one. I could feel the surface and level out some spots nicely and it was easier doing that on the rounded edges. If you use gloves, make sure you have a few pairs as you will need new ones for each coat.

All in all, I did three coats on each countertop. I will be honest though, I probably could have done one more coat on the rounded edges. But, I was out of skim coat and didn’t want to buy a huge bag just to do that. Plus it still looked great anyways! After it was really really dry, I did two layers of the concrete sealer. It changed the color only slightly. The first layer didn’t make a big difference, but the second coat gave it more of a sheen (which I thought looked really nice). After the bathrooms began to be heavily used again, the water and soap did create darker spots. I thought it looked really awesome and added character, although others might not like that. The sealer seemed to be good, but I suggested that they later add a layer of polycrylic for even better protection and waterproofness. Or at least another layer of this sealer. I had read some others who had used polycrylic and had great results. Even though I didn’t technically use it yet on skim coat, I have used it on so many other materials (wood, paint, ceramic, etc) that I do not doubt its abilities to do a good job in this circumstance.

All in all, such an easy (but slightly time consuming since you have to wait on drying times after every layer of skim coat and sealer you do) and cost effective way to update countertops. Maybe one day I will end up doing it again.

Want to share this post?

DIY Slat Wall

May 23, 2018 by Jessica 2 Comments

DIY Slat Wall | happy together
If you have been following me on instagram then you know that we recently made a move back to the East Coast from Louisiana. It’s an interesting story that isn’t quite finished so I can’t share it all yet, but we are still in transition for a bit. I was able to get my computer and all the things needed to make it work lol so I’m happy to share one of my last projects I completed before our move. I have to say that it’s probably my favorite wood wall install to date. It’s called a diy wood slat wall and I was surprised at how easy it was to do. Plus, I absolutely love how it looks and how it smells!

DIY Slat Wall | happy together
There is this room at the church we attended called the fellowship hall. It’s just one of those general purpose rooms and one of the last major rooms that was in need of a little lovin’. The stage is kind of dark because there is no lighting up there (but don’t worry…. dimmable ceiling lights are suppose to be added at some point lol) so adding the wood really lightened it up. Once everything else in the room is completed it will complement all of the other changes as well. I came across this tutorial on how to do this type of wall here and brought my idea to the people who make the decisions. I outlined the few different ways we could go about it and they decided to go with cedar for the wood so it would tie in to the foyer and that meant it didn’t need to be stained, etc. Locally the sizes of the cedar that were available and that we used were: 1″ x 4″x 8′ and 1″ x 2″ x 8′ for the main wall and then the outer edges were 1″ x 8″ and the middle two were 1″ x 12″. This wall needed to be done quickly, so I didn’t have time to be ripping down all the wood to be a different size.

DIY Slat Wall | happy together
I sanded all of the boards and then nailed the 1″x 2″ ‘s to the 1″ x 4″ ‘s at home and then brought them all up to put in place. The wall was around 26 feet across so I was able to create three 8 foot sections and then cover the seams with larger wood that would run vertically.

DIY Slat Wall | happy together
I also just cut the wood to fit around the electrical outlets because the voltage in this building is very high so I don’t mess with those. Plus, it would have been a while to get someone out to come pull them out and get them sitting on top of the wood. Since this is the back of a stage, it’s really not a big deal. The one thing I wish I had done was made the cuts for underneath the outlets right from the piece I had to cut so it would have looked more continuous, but hind sight, right? lol Again, still not very noticeable.

DIY Slat Wall | happy together
And the great thing is that since cedar is so lightweight I was able to install all of this completely on my own. I just shut the doors, put on some worship music, and got to work 🙂 And honestly, the actual install took me from around 9am to 2:30 pm. It would have been even quicker if I hadn’t needed to cut around outlets…..oh and I did have to run and get the 1″x12″ pieces too since the 1″ x 8″ ‘s I originally had didn’t cover the two middle seams. It’s a great modern look and makes for such a great feature wall. If you are thinking about doing a diy wood slat wall, I give it a thumbs up!

DIY Slat Wall | happy together

(find rug used on stage here)

Want to share this post?

« Previous Page