Upright and Caffeinated

For everything in life that keeps you on your feet! I share simple DIY projects and crafts, home decor ideas and helpful tips as well as easy recipes for week-night meals.

Quartz Vs. Granite Counter Tops

Let's get ready to rumblllllllle!  I put samples of quartz and granite to the ultimate test to see which material came out on top.  There was a clear winner and I can't wait to share the results with you!  If you are looking to replace your current counter tops or building a new home, you don't want to miss this comprehensive evaluation - my quartz vs. granite counter tops challenge!   Backstory We are currently building a house and with that comes the picking and choosing of every ... View Post

How to Save Money for a House

If you are a frequent visitor of this site, you may know that we are in the process of building a house.   If this is your first time here, welcome, I'm so glad you came by to visit!  I want to share with you how to save money for a house, but specifically, how we saved for the down payment for our home in one year. That's right, it took us one year to save enough money for the down payment for our dream house. Before we started saving, we weren't quite living paycheck to paycheck, but we ... View Post

DIY Magnolia Wreath

Do you love a good, cheap DIY project?  I made a DIY magnolia wreath for under five dollars.  Yup- less than $5 is all it took to create this simple and lovely wreath.  Magnolia wreaths are super popular and you can find them online ranging in price from $40 to $100.   Fixer Upper Inspired Wreath The magnolia wreath has skyrocketed in popularity due to the HGTV show, Fixer Upper.  If you have not seen the show, it is worth catching on TV or set your DVR to record an episode.  The ... View Post

Deviled Eggs on a Spoon

Have you ever searched for the best way to hard boil an egg?  The goal is to get the bright yellow yolk at the perfect consistency and an easy-to-peel egg.  Am I right?!  You've probably read about adding vinegar to the water, putting cold eggs into boiling water, adding eggs to cold water and letting them warm up to a boil with the water, cover the pot, keep it uncovered, run eggs under cold water immediately after boiling, use old eggs...the recommendations are endless.  Everyone has their own ... View Post

Kahlua Chocolate Truffles

I have a theory that the only thing better than chocolate is alcohol-infused chocolate!  This recipe combines the best of both resulting in a delicious spiked dessert.  These Kahlua chocolate truffles use simple ingredients and will impress any guests. This recipe is simple, but a little time consuming if you make your own brownies.  If you want to speed up the process, go to the area in your grocery store that has the day old baked goods and grab a container of brownies. What you ... View Post

Sharpie Mug Tutorial

I have seen Sharpie mugs all over the internet.  Basically, it is a simple coffee mug that is decorated with Sharpie Paint Pens.  These mugs are easy to customize and make a simple, inexpensive gifts.  Who doesn't love something that is personalized just for them?  You can literally put anything on your mug that you can draw, write or trace!  I love a good, easy DIY project, so I'm sharing this Sharpie mug tutorial with you today. For this particular project, I wanted to use my blog name. ... View Post