Thursday, July 11, 2013

The summer

So I will start with a brief list of some of my "new things" the past few months.  If I am super awesome I will also update this post laster and include the links to the blog entries about them with any recipes etc......but don't get your hopes up.

Redid the table
vegetarian enchiladas
chocolate eclair cake (different and better recipe than the one last year)
key lime cheesecake
direction ribbon
book volunteering
fancy clipboards
labeled supply box


Ok like I said short list....especially considering that I have had most of the summer so far....just saying. (That does remind me I worked LAST summer for 3 hours at a fireworks stand sorry no more tangents)

I know that I mentioned in November or December how nice and yet different it was to have vacation/time off that was actually down time and time off.  Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring Break were all mostly like that, little to do, decent amount of down time and then back to the grind.  You would think that with this break being LONGER that I would have this mixture of down time, perfect relaxation, and pinterest projects galore.  Well let me start by saying I have no idea HOW it happened but that perfect down time isn't coming around this summer.  Maybe it is the 16 day heat wave that leaves me no desire to breathe, maybe it is the fear of the unknown lists of things that I need to get done, like I think I am forgetting something on a constant basis.  Maybe it is my inability to run a single errand without coming home with something that I absolutely positively must have going into next year.  It really could be any combination of all of these things, I am not sure.

For one, I feel like this is my LAST week of down time vacation....just a heads up it is Thursday and  I have pretty much been trying to be productive most of this time.  I am not sure if I over committed myself, or if some of that to do list was just a little bit too long.  This summer has been an adventure, and a part of me is ready for next year in a way that I can't wait for this summer to end, I want to move on.  There is another part of me preparing for next year in a way that I am worrying I am missing something big or forgetting something.  I guess I will update as time goes on about my plans for the next two weeks, and then it will be a little bit more apparent why I feel like this is the last week that I have of down time.....ahh the adventure!

Thank you to my SEVEN loyal followers! I am glad I have people still following an ambition that is probably not a lost cause!

Grey table

Ok first thing is first, I need tperfect rug underneatho update the blog with pictures, because words will not do this justice.

Now I try to make my words do justice until I log into the app via android (actually that is another new thing!)

A few weeks ago one of my dearest friends and her husband were over to eat and the topic came up between us lovely ladies about redoing furniture.  I mentioned that I had been considering redoing my dresser (really for quite a while) and I was debating a nice grey color.  As we are talking I look into my dining room and I kept thinking, you know what would REALLY look good grey is that table right there.  Ever since the idea popped into my head I knew that it was going to happen, and I couldn't get the idea OUT of my head.  Fortunately I have SEVEN chairs for my dining room set.  Random I know, but that made one thing very easy......if I messed up I would still have a perfectly good dining room set.  So of course I started with the broken chair (that I now have to fix).  After work one day I ran to lowes and asked for the best primer they had.....not gonna lie I had NO DESIRE to sand any anything....the lazy way of doing the project!

The great people in paint directed me to a gallon of primer.  Of course it only came in a gallon so if you are looking into doing a project and need primer you know who to call.  I got a quart of paint, and with just one chair left and a few touch ups it looks like it will be enough, but it will be REALLY irritating to have to buy another quart for minimal painting.  I started with the grey because I had black cushions, my thought being, I won't have to sand, varnish, or redo the cushions.  As soon as I did the first chair my thoughts were that the black would do until I found fabric I was thrilled with....but that the cushions would also need updating.

Now that it is in my dining room (though a few upside down places need touched up when I do the last chair) I totally love it.  Enough to be bothered to DEATH when there is stuff cluttering it, enough to NEVER use it as a craft table again.  We did have to sand the table top because of my paint and glue spills embellishments.  I am very thankful to my dad for his air sander which made that a quick and painless job.

For the cushions I looked around at fabric stores with no success.  If there was a fabric I might be happy with than of course there wasn't enough of it.  If it was a fabric I LOVED my husband pointed out that it looked like a face, you can never un-see that, and I am very grateful I hadn't bought the fabric yet.  As I was running some errands at Target the corner of my eye caught what I thought would be perfect.....a table cloth of all things! The best part? The tablecloth cut PERFECTLY into 6 pieces that were the exact size I needed! Pics to come as soon as I can possibly figure it out! This is a project I am very pleased with!

Pictures are before,  first 'practice' chair with old cushion,  during, chair after,  and the complete set!

The chairs beforehand,  I recovered them with this fabric about 5 years ago. 
Work ststation during 
Complete!!!!  Though I do need s perfect rug underneath.  

Scholastic warehouse sale

If you live towards the center of a fairly large area and are lucky enough to have a Scholastic warehouse near you, you are probably aware of the sale that they do in December or June.....you know the huge one where books go into big discounts.  If you aren't sure what I am talking about stop reading now and go Google the one nearest you.  Go.  NOW!

Ok anyways now that you all know what I am talking about I have to admit it is a great experience.  Books of all shapes and sizes, and there are tons of them at huge discounts.  (I am really going to regret sharing this best kept secret later...) If you volunteer your time at this sale you basically get books out of the deal.

Now if you know me and the adventures in life you know that I am in need of some.....so the first week of my summer vacation and that is where I was.  Book heaven but I got some really good ones and totally consider it worth my time.


Sunday, June 23, 2013

glitter clothes pins

Ok this is a post that I am actually writing in the moment and will (probably) post as soon as I am done....small little victory dance?  Though I won't be done with it....I need to download the blogger app to my new phone so I can add pictures to all these new posts I am suddenly writing!

I had heard of the idea of glitter clothes pins in multiple places in the pinterest world....so when I saw it and then got some glitter at a decent price I knew my life would not be the same without them.

I read multiple ways of doing this on Pinterest and Ia m not sure if I used my own way or if I adapted it from several different sources, but if you DO feel that you are the original poster please contact me and I would be happy to add a link.

So I got 36 clothes pins for a buck at the d-tree----seriously awesome! I had tons of mod podge sitting around and I got a nice set of super fine glitter at  Michaels.....so the project was pretty well priced as well.
1. I started with a foam brush and added a layer of mod-podge then sprinkled the glitter.
2. After that I let the glitter and mod podge dry at least an hour
3. I used a piece of scratch paper to thoroughly tap off any excess glitter and then returned it to the container.

From here I either did another layer, or I sealed them depending on how thick the colored glitter.

4. For the last layer I used a foam brush that had a little bit of water on the brush.....only because it hadn't dried by sealing time.....and I do feel that it helped the mod-podge disperse without making a huge disaster and leaving gross clumpy glitter high and low.  I let it dry and sometimes did a second layer of mod-podge to seal it.

I just finished the second half of this project yesterday, I got E-6000 (the grossest strongest smelling glue I have ever worked with!) and used it to glue magnets and thumbtacks to the back. I made more thumbtack ones than magnet ones, but I also snagged a few for our fridge and they look really cute holding the wedding invitations we seem to suddenly be getting in the mail again!

Fun little project....I will post my uses of them later dear friends!

Guiltless cheese dip

This is the cheese dip that I made with the cheesy pretzel bread in my previous post....I had mixed feelings about it.....what I SHOULD have done was follow the recipe and use cheddar cheese....extra sharp white cheddar would have been even better....but I hate going to the store and so I used a colby//jack blend that was in the fridge.  The pretzel bread was totally the better part of this recipe....but I would be willing to try it again with some white cheddar.

Check out the orginal post here and when they suggest a cheddar cheese remember that they actually mean it!

Cheesy pretzel bread

Ok this was seriously one of the BEST things that I have made in ages.

I also made a yummy cheese dip.....and another time that I made the same recipe I stuffed it with a white cheddar cheese.  Seriously I made this like 3 times in two weeks. (a few months ago you know me and blog updates!)

It was interesting with the whole baking soda bath thing.....threw me off and bubbled something crazy....and YES it is hard to justify washing a GIANT stock pot because it had water and baking soda....but the recipe was really really good.

Check out the original post here.  Hopefully I will add a pic or two from my phone....but we all know how that actually goes!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Update----yes i am still here!

Ok it has been a few months since my last update.  I really should let you all know that things are going SO WELL and are full of A LOT of adventure!  That being said there are a TON of things that I will soon be updating on my new things list.....but that main update won't be tonight, this is just to let my 7 followers know that I am still alive and kicking and yes I do plan on updating soon!

Some new things I hope to write about soon (and you know me I could get a huge list going in the next few days) are:

ice cream bread
glitter clothes pins
snickers apple salad (or did I do that one already?)
DIY clipboards
DIY gel manicure
chocolate souffle

really I am sure that there are more but life is quite an adventure, I am tired, and there are way too many totally cool awesome things going on right now to blog about.

Don't worry I will have lots of adventure to share soon!