I chose frosted blondies over Z gallery?

The husband and I stayed up late Friday night discussing what we should do on Saturday. We unanimously decided to go shopping and try to complete our never ending family room mess project. It's been a long time coming and we're slowly tackling the empty-room-with-no-furniture thing. Yay! The only problem is... we  don't have accessories to complete the look we're trying to accomplish. It looks a little bland and in desperate need of some Z gallery love to spruce it up a bit. 


So Saturday came around and I was totally NOT in the mood to go shopping. What? I know right? Julie Pia not in the mood for shopping? Check my temperature cuz something is definitely wrong here. I asked Mr. Pia if I could have a rain check because I wanted to bake instead. I'm sure he thought I had gone a little nutty, but he graciously accepted my proposal and said he'd be totally fine to stay home, lay in bed for the afternoon and watch movies... Shocker!!! I think it was the next best thing to Christmas for him. 


Well all I can say is... I may not get another chance to go to Z gallery with the husband for a very long time, but my belly is full of frosted blondie goodness and that's just as good as a new rug or picture frame if you ask me.


Holy smokes... this frosted blondie recipe is so dang GOOD! And so is the cookbook it came from. Have you heard of Keeping up cookbook? My friend Grace Ivory Rock put this beauty together and it's nothing short of wonderful. Not only is the cookbook itself beautiful, the recipes are tried and true gems of yumminess. Everything I've tried has been a huge hit with my family and that makes this mama extremely happy. I'm also a BIG fan of her first cookbook... Favorites. this 2nd edition, Keeping up cookbook,  or continuation is even better in my opinion. 


So... 


Go check out her website HERE and HERE to order a book for Mother's Day. You won't be sorry. It's worth every penny. 

Toni's frosted blondies


1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup quick oats


Cream together butter and sugars. Mix in vanilla and eggs. Ad remaining dry ingredients and mix until blended. Spread in an un-greased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Cool and frost.

frosting:
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
milk


Beat ingredients together, adding a small amount of milk to achieve the right consistency. Frost cooled bars. Slice and serve.

I completely stuffed my face eating the best  part... the edges.  Mmmm.....

Oh my! Pinch me now... I'm in blondie heaven. 


xoxo

Food makes me happy

Have you ever made Paula Dean's gooey butter cake? Supposedly it was Elvis Presley's FAVORITE dessert back in the day and I can see why... It's fabulous! But she uses gobs of butter and other naughty ingredients. It has to be one of the most artery clogging desserts on the planet. This cookie recipe happens to be a knock off of that cake without all the added butter and naughtiness. 

This recipe makes about 25 cookies so I always double it. My chocolate chip cookie recipe has 4 sticks of butter in it and this one only has 2 (if doubled).  I'm not saying it's healthy by any means but it gives you free rein to enjoy a few extra nibbles... ; )


Enjoy!

Gooey Butter cookies

1 box Duncan Hines butter recipe cake mix
1 stick butter, room temp
¼ t. vanilla extract
½ t. almond extract
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, room temp
1 egg

Combine all ingredients with electric mixer until well blended. Chill dough for 2 hours. Roll into balls (about walnut size). Roll balls in powdered sugar. Bake on un-greased cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar when completely cooled.

Home remodeling project...before/after

We've been crazily busily working on our house for the past 6 months. It's not that we really needed to make drastic changes,  but one of Joe's clients owed him money and wanted to work it off by fixing up our house. 

The first thing that needed our immediate attention was our stucco.  This project was actually a MUST because we had massive cracks that were causing all kinds of flooding problems. We also re-painted the house a touch darker to blend with the cornerstones. 

{BEFORE}

{AFTER}

{AFTER}

Our bathroom on the main level was a joke. An absolute JOKE! We basically gutted the entire room minus the toilet! 

{BEFORE}

{BEFORE}

{AFTER}

{AFTER}

The laundry room was perfectly fine but we decided to replace the door fronts, give it a fresh coat of paint and new granite (leftover from kitchen). 

{BEFORE}

{AFTER}

 {AFTER}

We had the most obnoxious black lockers right here. They really didn't serve any sort of purpose, so we decided to make good use of the space and gussy it up a bit. I'm so happy with the way it turned out. Each of my kids get their own drawer for shoes and a few hooks for coats and back packs. The mess is safely tucked away behind closed doors. It feels good to be organized again.

{AFTER}

Just look at this mess... YUCK! Notice that green paint color? We re-painted the entire house. The main color we chose is called HUSH by Benjamin Moore (pottery barn). It's a great neutral/light color because I was getting tired of the darker tones everywhere, especially the yellowy beige color. You'll have to notice the new paint colors in the pictures below.

{BEFORE}

Out with the old... in with the new! Can you believe this floor? My husband LOVED this floor but I was sooooooo excited ready for a change. 

{BEFORE}

{AFTER}

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I had a hard time deciding between these two pieces of marble. I went with the lighter version because I tend to gravitate toward lighter colors in general. I think I made the right choice.

{BEFORE}

This picture shows the floor almost finished. That green paint color makes me want to hurl now that I see it in this picture. What was I thinking???

{BEFORE}

I decided to completely get rid of the useless desk area and turn it into a homework station. I am so happy with the way this turned out. It is AWESOME!!!! 

{AFTER}

You can't believe how much junk stuff I can fit behind these doors. It's great!

{AFTER}

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We decided to add a bay window over the sink because I've always wanted to grow an herb garden in my kitchen. This was my guilty pleasure and I LOVE IT!!!!!

{BEFORE}

{AFTER}

{AFTER}

Here are a few things I love about this kitchen. I love this spice rack. It's great because I can see every single spice front and center.

{AFTER}

I love that I can throw stuff away and hide it from the world. I basically scoop everything off the countertop into the garbage and close the door. It's genius.

{AFTER}

Meet our cereal drawer. We had the cabinet guys measure our largest cereal box so that every single box would fit perfectly into this easy to reach drawer. It holds between 12-14 boxes. Sweet eh?

{AFTER}

This little beauty is so cool. It's a microwave drawer. Again I was thinking about how convenient it would be for the kids. I think it's pretty awesome but Mr. Pia thinks it's pretty lame. O'well... you can't win `em all right?

{AFTER}

I LOVE THIS DRAWER!!!!! It actually happened by mistake but that's another story for another day. I love how convenient it is while cooking. Everything I need... at my fingertips!

{AFTER}

What a sad front entryway. The before wall color was Kwal paint... Sienna Sand. I loved the color but got sick of it after eight years. I like the new color so much better. 

{AFTER}

We painted the living room and dining room Silver Sage... Sherwin Williams (discontinued color). It's just a nice soft peaceful color.

{AFTER}

{AFTER}

We're pretty much finished with everything except for 3 kitchen chairs that are back ordered and family room furniture.  It feels amazing to have our house to ourselves without a bunch of stinky worker men in sight. Ahhh..... nice and peaceful...

{AFTER}

We're so happy we can finally close this insane chapter of our lives and move on to bigger and better things, like serving others and spending quality time with our family! 

ahhh.... all is well in the Pia home again... all is well.

St. George Las Palmas spring break re-cap

Hello Sunshine!


Boy did we have fun in sunny St. George. Thank goodness for spring break because we needed it desperately around here.  The weather was PERFECT. The kids were beyond PERFECT. The entire trip was PERFECT from start to finish. 


Joe and I both remember spending time in St. George as kids. We have such fond memories vacationing there with our families. I hope
our kids will feel that same amount of joy and fondness over the years as we make lots and lots of memories together.  


My Mom drove down with me Monday morning because Joe had to work until Thursday. I know I've said this before, but my Mom ROCKS! She played games with the kids every chance she got. Even pool-side cards. 

 I wonder what Chan's thinking right now. 

The boys had a great time playing water games. This particular game was a guessing game that they played for HOURS.

 Brynerz was in swimming HEAVEN. She is such a lil' fish. 

 My cute lil' friend playing cards with my Mom again. 

 This girl cracks me up non-stop. I wanna just pinch those cheeks.

Bryn hit the jack-pot when it comes to friends. She had a new friend to play with everyday... lucky girl!

 Getting thrown into the pool by Bri.  The minute Bryn hopped out she said, "Let's do it again"!

 Cards, cards & more cards.

Every time I turned around my Mom had the kids playing a game. I don't remember the TV being turned on once during the day. Gotta love it!

This is where our trip took a little dive for a minute. Apparently my sunscreen had expired. Darn it! This little cutie got FRIED!!!!!! I'm definitely NOT getting 'Mother of the year' for this one. 

 Bryn pretty much had to wear a visor for the rest of the trip. Luckily, she didn't seem to mind. 

 She and Lynds found a fun little place in the shade to play house. Well, mostly shade!

 Joe and Brynerz in deep conversation. 

 We took Bryn and Mason to the RED CLIFFS with a bunch of friends. Have I ever mentioned that Bryn is a huge dare devil and she freaks me out??? She seriously has ZERO fear!

Luckily Joe had phone service(AT&T) out in the middle of no where (shocker!!!!). He was thrilled to check his email. 

Two of my great friends... Lori and Amber.

See what I mean about Brynerz being a little dare devil. She hoofed it up to the top of this cliff before anyone knew she was gone. Joe had to frantically climb up to make sure she was ok. As soon as he reached her she was off again.

 Mason enjoyed jumping off the side of a cliff into the FREEZING COLD water.

 He LOVED this part of our adventure.

 You can almost understand what he's saying here.... IT'S SOOOOO COLD!

 The kids wanted to go further up the canyon and I'm glad we did. It was absolutely gorgeous!

 Joe helping the kids cross this ledge via a rope

 Our cute neighbor and his sweet son Matt

 Another fun waterfall

I was so amazed with the beauty all around me. Every chance I got I snapped shots of the red rock contrasting against the blue sky. Definitely one of my favorite things about St. George. 

My friend T and her cute mom Janice. I feel bad this was the only tennis picture I took. We had such a great time playing tennis with our kids and friends, but unfortunately I was having way too much fun to stop and take pictures. Las Palmas has pretty great tennis courts. 

 We had so much fun hanging out at the pool. Las Palmas also has fantastic pools. There's something for everyone.

 Another cute friend for Bryn. 

 Mason took this picture of the palm trees. I'm glad he sees the beauty around him as well. 

 Quickly checking my emails. Gotta love technology. 

 I'm sure Bryn and Lydia are begging me for money. 

 Mason took this picture of himself. I just LOVE those freckles!

 Skipbo anyone?

 I don't think these kids ever got tired of card games.

Well Saturday night my Mom decided she'd had enough fun in the sun, so she offered to take Bryn and Mason home with her. I was really glad because they were pretty red and needed a break from the sun as well. Joe and I stayed one more night with our big kids and celebrated Easter with the "K's" Sunday morning. 

 Chan used his shoes as an Easter basket. Funny kid!

 Joe chillaxin' in the corner watching the kids find their eggs.

I think the kids had a pretty great time. Chan's friend Zach drove down with us. He pretty much blended right in with our crazy family. Hopefully he wasn't too traumatized and will want to come again.

We decided to hustle home because CC was preparing a wonderful Easter dinner for us. It was lovely as usual. We got to see our new Niece and Nephew again. They are sooooooo stinkin' cute. I can't imagine life without our big crazy family. We have so much fun together. 

CC announced her engagement and upcoming marraige to a wonderful man named Dave. Everyone was so excited for her except little Brynerz as you can see in this picture. She was basically DEVASTATED!!!!! She does NOT like the idea of a man taking her Grandma away from her. I think she'll be fine eventually, but it may take some serious time and convincing.

 Berkley is really excited for CC and wanted to practice a few hairdo's for the big day. We couldn't be more happy for her. She deserves all the happiness in the world and it's definitely her turn. 

Happy Easter to you! xoxo