Friday, May 31, 2013

Favorites Friday #13: All things fun!

Welcome to another Favorites Friday, where I share some things I am loving this week.



1. Ross Dress for Less mod dress: This cute dress a friend found for me at Ross, as she remembered I was in desperate search for a "british '60s mod dress" for the character I'm playing in "Odd Couple" in June. It was only $16 and fit perfectly. I'm looking forward to gathering accessories to match it!
2. Magnum New Guinea Impatiens (from Lowe's Garden Center): These pretties have been bringing their lovely color to my front porch. I found two of them sitting among large greenery at the local Lowe's Garden Center (they were the only two of their kind there). So far they've been doing quite well, except for today's heat wave. Hopefully a good watering will perk them back up.
3. Lean Cuisine's Apple Cranberry Chicken: I must be on a cranberry kick, because when I saw this at the store, I just had to try it. I was pleasantly surprised with how good it tasted!
4. Kat Kong by Dav Pilkey: A co-worker gave me this cute picture book. I don't have kids, but I aim to save it for my nephews (and future children) to enjoy- as it is right up my alley of humor.
5. Dropbox: I love their app and their site online. I hope to be able to save up to afford an upgraded account someday, as I find they are so much easier to use to back things up than getting out all the cords and manually backing up via my giant external hard drive. You can backup on the go, or from home with Dropbox!


Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Friday!
-M

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Thrifty Thursday: Dollar Store Foam Sign Blinged and Cat Litter Cart

Hey peeps. Just popping in for a quick Thrift Thursday!
 Here are a few projects that we've done recently around the house, using things from the Dollar Store and other thrifty places.
We made a Powder Room Sign from a Dollar Store foam sign, and a Cat Litter/Food Cart for the bathroom from a yard sale find and Dollar Store containers.



First, we'll start with the
Powder Room Sign
  • Foam- $1
  • Bling jewels- $1 (on sale in Dollar Bin at Michael's)
  • Used Cricut, white paper and Xyron X adhesive

This project was quite easy, and serves the purpose of showing all my friends where the heck the bathroom is! lol
So our powder room is very purple, so when at the dollar store the one day, I saw this foam sign. I just had to make it into a powder room sign.

I cut out the letters on my Cricut (I used a Halloween cartridge for the letters).

I then ran the letters through my Xyron X adhesive.

Adhered the letters and the bling, and tada! Finished blinged sign for very little cash!




And now onto the
Cat Cart
Microwave/TV cart found on online yard sale site- $15
2 red buckets (adherd letters to front with cricut cut letters) - $2
2 scoops- $2
2 white tubs (one for a backup)- $2
1 floor mat- $1
1 box of cat litter liners- $1
Red Tray (from Target on sale during after Christmas Sale), litter, food, bowls, red place mat- all already had
(Total cost of project- $23)


We found this cart on an online yardsale site.


We really wanted to have a way to have our Cat's Litter contained, and able to be moved to another room when guest stay over (since right now this is in our Guest/Hall bathroom).

I added letters to the tubs (originally we got yellow since we originally planned to put this in our master bathroom, then realized it didn't really fit well there, but fit perfectly in the hall bathroom).
The tubs and everything fit PERFECTLY on the shelf. We added the floor mat to the inside, and it worked great too.

 (original yellow ones, which will become planters eventually for outside)


Down the line we might cut a hole in the side so we can keep the doors closed, but for now, this works- closes right up and rolls down the hall when people are over.



We put Wendy's food bowls on top, so her food wouldn't get all over the place, and gives her exercise to jump up to it.

(Wendy got all sleepy after all the new fun stuff!)

All in all, 2 projects with Dollar Store and yard Sale items. It's fun to be thrifty, isn't it?


Have a Thrifty Thursday!
-M


Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Work it! Wednesday: The drama of Yardwork

Hey gang, welcome to another Work it! Wednesday.


So what all are we working on these days, besides playing video games, practicing for theater productions and working our butts off?
Well...
I've been slowly trying to update our front porch with some springy decor...

My hubs painted the storm door, but then realized he didn't get enough paint to finish the trim...so we have to finish that. lol...

We got some lovely little flowers for out front to put in my cute Dollar store planters. :)

We took down those two trees on the side, as they served no purpose at all, and are starting to plant a garden where the "green squigglies" are. lol. (This was taken before we did a lot of yardwork and painting)

Eventually we want to get flowers/bushes for the outside of the fence...

I am down to the final parts of my sign for out front. This was the basic layout, but mine will be a lot more colorful and probably not nearly as slick as this one (since I can't paint a straight line to save my life) but from the road it should be fine. haha

Plans for the backyard- tire swing eventually, and fire pit?

We have started a compost pile to the left of the shed. We just are stumped what to do with the rest of the backyard.

My next task is to tackle that crazy rose tree/bush (on the right below) and the weeds that have started to overrun it.

Finding uses and fun things to do with the Letterpress letters I got from a co-worker.

Hubs and I converted a tv stand/microwave cart into a cat-litter/food tray kitty cart for the bathroom.

Spending lots of time with our kitty Wendy...

And we finally finished out giant dry erase board for the kitchen!


Thanks for stopping by, and hopefully later in the week/month, we can get some of the unfinished projects done!

 Have a great Wednesday!
-M

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Pinspiration #14: Inspiration after the holiday weekend

Welcome to another Pinspiration day! (Just a day late, since it was the Holiday weekend). Anyways, here are some inspiring things I've found on Pinterest this past week!


Source: http://stampawaywithme.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/design-team-inspiration-with-jean-martin.html

Source: http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/roasted-greek-potatoes-with-feta-cheese-and-lemon/

Source: http://www.cometogetherkids.com/2011/05/how-to-do-custom-lettering-without.html

Source: http://www.eucharisteo.com/2012/07/summer-twister/

Source: http://www.instructables.com/id/Storing-garden-tools-with-style-aka-Zombiewall/?ALLSTEPS



Also, I'm having a Blogiversary Link Party going on right now, so Link up your projects from the past month and help me celebrate being a blogger for the past 5 years!
Have a great day!
-M

Monday, May 27, 2013

It's my Blogiversary, and I'll Link Party if I want to...

Hey peeps! So yesterday (Sunday) was my official 5th Blogiversary! Holy Cow! I can't believe I've been blogging that long. Some years I blog more, others I blog very little- but that's how live goes, doesn't it? I started blogging to give me something to keep calm when planning my wedding and a place to show my crafty projects. Now its become so much more!


Anyways, since Tuesday is the last Tuesday of the month, that means it is Totally Tuesday Link party time. So I thought I'd start it early, for my Blogiversary!



So, link up ANY project, recipe, etc. of yours from the past month (May). Please no giveaways, advertisements or your own link parties please. Other than that, have fun! Check out others links and say hello!
If you have a place to put my button (in the sidebar) I would love for you to add mine to your blog, if not, no biggie.
So without further ado, Link away!



Happy 5th Blogiversary week!

-M

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Memorial Day weekend!

So sorry I've been kind of MIA this week (especially not getting my favorites on friday to ya'll). I've been SWAMPED with stuff in full-time job land. Anyways, I'm taking a quick break this weekend to pop on to get a shout out to all our veterans, current and fallen soldiers. I could never do what you guys have done for our country.


I'll be remembering ya'll via the big Memorial Day parade in our town on Monday, and bbqs tomorrow.
Sending virtual hugs to all of those that should be remembered and honored!
I hope everyone enjoys their weekend (I'll be working Memorial Day evening at work).
-M

Monday, May 20, 2013

Pinspiration Monday: Tips, Tricks and a Tasty Treat

Welcome to another Pinspiration Monday!


Here are some things that have inspired me on Pinterest lately. I found specifically the coconut crunch chicken to be quite coincidental- as I actually had something very similar at a wedding (during their cocktail hour). Tasty! Also, the photo tips are a must-have-pin, as I will be acquiring a digital SLR later this year, and I'm prepping myself to be using it!
Have a great Monday!


1. Lilac Saloon's Felt Wallflowers
 
Source: http://www.lilacsaloon.com/runningstitch/2010/08/wallflowers-in-aqua-red.html

2. This Thrifty House's Iron On Wall Art Tip
 
Source: http://thisthriftyhouse.blogspot.com/2010/09/iron-on-wall-art.html

3. The Cozy Apron's Coconut Crunch Chicken Strips
 
Source: http://thecozyapron.com/a-cozy-appetizer-coconut-crunch-chicken-strips-and-letting-love-be-the-inspiring-guide/

4. Lisa Storm's A Man's Life Scrapbook Layout
 
Source: http://www.bhg.com/crafts/scrapbooking/layouts/family-friends/heritage-scrapbook-layouts/#page=12

5. Totally Rad's Quick Reference Guide To Manual Mode
 
Source: http://www.gettotallyrad.com/blog/your-guide-to-m-mode/


Thanks for stopping by!  


You can follow me on Pinterest, and follow the Pinspirations board too!
-M