WFMW...My Little Multi-Purpose Space

One day, down the road, I would love double love to have a multi-purpose room, bonus room, whatever you want to call it.  My hubby has an office/man room, and he has generously offered it up to me any time I need the space, but its just not the same.

I love our home.  But it does not have a space for me to:
-organize and clip coupons
-sew
-get crafty
-write out bills (correction: my hubby does this, maybe I would do it if I had the space :)
-bible study
-anything else my little heart desires.

I gave it up and decided to turn my dining room into my multi-purpose space.  We don't eat in there often anyway so why not?

The dining room hutch has always been used for decoration.  I needed space.  The table is completely cleared off and we rarely eat on it.  I needed a flat surface.


Dining room with carpet + 18 month old = I am not willing to go there (often).

I used the empty space on the top of the hutch to house cookbooks, bible study materials, and a basket that holds pens, notepads, coupon books, and other random needed materials.

I used the drawers for crafty stuff.  I also keep my sewing machine and craft baskets in our master closet, so The Wookster isn't tempted to get crafty himself.
  

I have a 3 drawer organizer on the bottom shelf of the hutch (not shown), along with a basket of cars to keep Wookie busy if I am working here while he is awake.

Its not the bonus/multi-purpose room of my dreams, but it WORKS FOR ME!

WFMW...Removing Sticky Tags from Glass

Its  WFMW at Kristen's blog "We Are THAT Family"

I love to purchase picture frames from one "particular" store.  I will not mention Particular Store's particular name because I am about to rant about their tagging system.  Come on Particular Store people...does it make sense to stick your super sticky barcodes to the glass of picture frames.  Is their no other way????  I could name you one: its called THE BACK!

Anyways, normally I spend several valuable minutes scrubbing and scratching these off with alcohol and a cotton swab.  It works, but not well, and surely not quickly.

Today I tried spraying the tag with a little glass cleaner.  I then let it sit for oh maybe 30 seconds, and then I brushed the tag RIGHT OFF with an old toothbrush.  This was incredible easy and I was not the least bit aggrivated.

Well Particular Store, at least you are keeping the glass cleaning companies in business.

It's Fall Y'all !

I love fall!  The weather, the pumpkin patches, the trick or treating with friends, the Mountain Trip, the leaves changing, the novelty!

Here are a few of my favorite fallish decorations for our home!


I got this "Pixie in a Jar" idea from The Shabby Nest.  After you finish here, head over and check out her Halloween Pixies.  I dropped the pixie, and went more fallish.  I love it.  Hopefully it looks like The Wook is peeking over the pumpkin?  That's what I was going for, at least.

I added his fall home apothecary jar, in with some others filled with candy.

A pumpkin here and there...

A seasonal basket for our backyard play shoes...

 Our friendly scarecrow and kitty candy dish (another blatant clue we are cat people).

 

A fun fall wreath...sort of.

 And my favorite fall decor....

Pictures of The Wookster's first Halloween!!!

And YES! Those are the ones that landed him on the CBS evening news...his 15 seconds of fame.

Thanks for reminding me.

French Fry Cooler System

The next time you begin to shop around for your next family vehicle be sure to keep in mind ALL the features you will need.
Especially this one:

How many french fries can you cool simultaniously in your vehicle's air conditioning system?

Our Toyota Sienna can cool five fries per vent!

I would like to thank Kristen at We are THAT Family for sharing this idea, long before my Wook was a french fry eater.  It nearly saved him from the screaming fits of starvation, this afternoon.  You can check out her geniusness HERE.

Menu Plan Monday

Since it is nearing the end of the month, we will eat several meals from the freezer, this week and next.  Here are our meals for the week:

Sunday: Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings, Sweet Peas
Monday: Grilled Fish Fillets, Sweet Potato Fries, Broccoli Rice Casserole (leftover from Saturday)
Tuesday: Chicken Pot Pie, Peach Slices (making this for a friend who just had a baby)
Wednesday: Freezer Meal: Hamburger Helper Salisbury Steak, Green Beans
Thursday: Freezer Meal: Parma Rosa Chicken Penne, Garlic Toast, Stewed Zucchini
Friday: Leftover Buffet!
Saturday: Grilled Cheese, Tomato Soup

Farm Heritage Day

I would love to go back to a simpler way of life. (As long as I could take my Tivo, flat iron, and coffee maker with me.) Think it would fit on my wagon????

Each September we travel about 45 miles to Zebulon. Their county's horse club hosts "Farm Heritage Day". We love it for its non-commercialization, and tomato sandwiches.

Where else can a boy.....

ride a tractor


milk a goat (not my boy this year!...we are still randomly asking for the mi-mi's, and I didn't care for the breast pump memories this brought back) But check out the random victims/children.


and eat a most delicious ear of corn...that you chewed very little of, as evidenced the next day.


and meet some new baby animal friends


and pose for the most heart warming picture your Mommy could ask for...



ALL IN ONE AFTERNOON????

It was fun-tastic. Except for the grouchy lady who scared my boy half to death griping and complaining about how my hubby was holding him on the itsy bitsy pony. Can you hold him wrong on an itsy bitsy pony, and if so is it necessary to give gruf instructions while the pony is still moving? We did realize that we will not be using Pegasus Riding School in the future.

But other than that we had a blast! Yee-Haw!

Falcons Season Opener...My Lucky Hubby

So my hubby won his THIRD set of sports tickets THIS MONTH. The guy is lucky.

When we dated in college, I can't tell you the number of times he ended up on the radio winning tickets. I will never forget the time my shy hubby did his "Chunk loves chocolate" (Goonies impression) without even being prodded. He's a keeper.

Well its been Braves tickets, Falcons with the guys, and now Falcons with the Fam.

These were 9 rows behind the bench and very close to the 50 yard line. It was the season opener and we really enjoyed watching Wook, watch the ball.


There was little flailing and just brief moments of stiffening and accidentally kicking nearby spectators. No one gave us ugly looks, at least.

We even made it half way through the third quarter...and as Kristin at We are THAT Family always says "Leave when everyone is still happy". We did just that.

Here are some of our self family portraits. Wook would smile until just before we took the pictures, and then he would lean over in my lap or make an "I am not having fun" face. He was totally doing it on purpose.







Until we snapped this last one...I will take this grin any day!

Works for Me Wednesday...REAL SIMPLE

Its that time again, thanks Kristen, at We Are THAT Family, for always inspiring me to find something that Works for Me!!!

I love love love me some Real Simple.
I just received my latest Real Simple Email Newsletter. Check out their website above to start getting yours, too!

Their latest fabulous ideas were new uses for old things!

Several of the ideas are goodies that I have already tried out like...


Using my flat iron to iron Wookies small shirts and between buttons and collars.


This worked really well in my first grade classroom to keep cords safe and out of reach. It allowed me to pull out just the length that was needed!


A toothbrush works great to silk a few ears of corn. When we put up large quantities, I like to use a bigger brush.


I used to use The Wook's baby socks as a cell phone case when I had that horrid "Chocolate" phone.

Here are a few that I can't wait to try!!!!!


I am definitely going to have to try this with my boy. I think The Wookster will love it, and small eggs would fit very well in his cute little hands. I am thinking Baby Goldfish.


So, I love the idea of using shower curtain hooks...but not for purses. I am seeing these hanging on a towel bar in the bathroom when we have a house full of kids who can't keep their towels off the floor. Ya with me???


Can you say Mint Juleps?


These would be fun at a child's birthday party or baby shower!



This is just too creative. The newsletter said that the Lifesavers that come in the rolls work best. The bagged version have larger holes. Good to know.


This would be perfect to keep in our van. Dirty diapers, old juice boxes, just general trashiness that the hubby always ends up cleaning up.


How fun would these be next year for the 4th of July???


Very creative use for paint chip samples! We don't host that many parties where place settings are needed but creative!


What a cool idea for a cookout...and easy cleanup. This would also be great for the lake or beach!!!


And my all time favorite new use for something old......
I love to paint anything if it says still long enough, but I HATE the cleanup, especially when I am in the middle of a project. I can't wait to try putting an old grocery sack on my brush when I am in the middle of a project. According to Real Simple this can save your brush for a day or two. This will come in handy when we get around to finishing our laundry room.

Do you have a creative new use for something old? Please share it in the comments!!!!

Twice Baked Potatoes

On Friday night, we had some friends over for dinner and I tried a new recipe. I don't make a habit of trying new dishes, that I have never made, and serving them to my friends...but I figured they would still love us, even if these tanked! It turned out that they were really yummy. They reminded me A LOT of potato skins, but with a little more meat on their bones! So here is the recipe for Twice Baked Potatoes:



You will need:
6 large baking potatoes
8 slices of fried, crumbled bacon (I cheated and bought the real bacon bits)
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup of milk or half and half
2-3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 green onions sliced

-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
-Bake the potatoes for 1 hour. I placed mine in a baking dish and covered tightly with foil.
-Cool potatoes 10 minutes.
-Slice potatoes in half lengthwise, and scoop out flesh. This was the tricky part. I used a melon baller to begin with, but left some potato flesh around the edges when they started tearing.
-Place skins back in a greased baking dish.

-To scooped potatoes...add sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese, and 1/2 of the onions. Mix well with a hand mixer.
-Spoon mixture into skins. You will have some left over and these make great loaded mashed potatoes.
-Top with remaining cheese and bacon.
-Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
-Top with remaining onions.

Frugal Friday Finds...well Saturday actually!

I have been unable to go hunting lately. I don't mean the kind of huntin' where you tote a gun, wear your boots, and shoot at poor lil animals (not that I am against any of that..I am a member of the NRA!) I mean the kind where you get to dig through other people's stuff!!! The best kind of huntin'...YARD SALES.

You may call them Yard Sales, or for the fancy folks "Garage Sales", or my Mississippi friend calls them "Rummage Sales". (That one sounds more like a racoon in the hurby curby to me!)

Whatever you call them....there is nothing like them. And on Saturday we hit the jackpot, and only hunted at a few sales! I wish I had taken more pics!!!!

1. My hubby found a Scott's seed spreader in great shape for 2 bucks! While at Lowe's, we had to compare our price to theirs, and we saved at least $18.

2. A Little Tykes kitchen in great condition...needed a few wayward crayon marks removed (a steel wool pad and vinegar/water mix worked great for this) for 15 bucks! This one is going to G-Mommy and Pop's house, and they graciously paid for it.

Then we went to one of the best yard sales I have ever seen! I wanted to hug the lady hosting it. It was laid out strategically where you didn't have to dig much, and she didn't mind my child touching EVERYTHING (toys that is). She probably knew I would buy more if he could play with things!!!! Her prices were very fair. One of those where I couldn't ask her to come down. Her toys were CLEANED UP, and they WORKED! Can you imagine? Lets take a moment of silence for her Yard Sale Skills!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's what we purchased from the Queen of Yard Sales:

Wook's Halloween Costume (see pic ....can't post one of him in it because it would be so cute you couldn't stand it!!)



Her son wore it once...looked brand new from Babies R Us...$5.
You may not remember his $5 Scarecrow costume from last year that landed him on the CBS evening news! We still have it saved on Tivo of course.



Both have been bought on consignment, and in great shape. I hope I never have to pay full price for these! If I try to...you have permission to slap me!

Fisher Price Dino/Ball Toy. This looked out of the box! It lights up when he puts the ball in different holes. They come out of the dino's mouth, down his tail etc. He loves it. $5

Fisher Price Little People Airplane (with all the passengers and luggage). $2

Fisher Price Little People Dinosaur Family Set (with all the pieces) $2

That makes the total for the day $16. My hubby doesn't really like spending money...but even he was impressed. Have you hit a good sale lately? Tell me what you saw when you went huntin'...or diggin' through other people's stuff?

TA-DA...Mail Organizer Makeover...After 3 months!

So I know its only been 3 months since I last posted.
A LOT has been going on, and I needed a break from some things!
I am back to reading my favorit-o blogs regularly. Its like catching up with an old friend.
I am picking up right where I left off...with my Mail Organizer Makeover!
Here is the before:



Thanks for your input and suggestions. I went with black because I didn't want to recover the note section. Call me lazy! The writing was done in gold paint pen. I am, however, trying to decide whether to "shabby" it up a little. The only thing is once I sand it, if I don't like it, I have to do the ENTIRE thing over again. Hmm.



Let me know what you think!

Frugal Friday... Mail Organizer...Help Me!!

So I scored this little baby at the local antique/flea market, thanks to Mama.

I know exactly where I want to put it...on the wall outside our office! It will be used for important notes, bills to be paid, receipts, things to be filed.

My problem? I have no idea what color to paint it. I know the "Season's Greetings" has got to go, and I don't like the deep red, but I like the little deco on each slot. I have plenty of ribbon, but don't want to start with that until I know what color to paint it. Of course I want it to look shabby. Hmmm?

What do you think? Please leave a comment and share your ideas!

Bad Dreams

This morning I woke up with a pit in my stomach. That sick feeling I sometimes wake up with and for a moment I don't know why I feel so depressed and lonely. I had a bad dream.

Sometimes I have a terrible dream and my hubby has to wake me up out of it because I am crying. Once in awhile he is surprised to find that I am angry with him in my dream and I not so gently express to him "DON'T TOUCH ME!!!!!" After a few minutes I am fine and we laugh about it. I tell him all about my dream and secretly it makes me want to squeeze him even more because I know the things I dreamed are so out of character for both of us.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have bad dreams all the time. Just the other morning, I dreamed that I was chatting it up with Matt Damon. (nothing sexual...get your minds out of the gutter ladies). I don't even find him attractive, but it was quite the pleasant dream for some reason. Thanks Mama for calling and waking me from this one abruptly.

This morning it was not pleasant.

I woke up depressed and lonely. I dreamed that my husband had signed up for the Army Reserve without telling me. Ludicrous I know. The really bad part was that he had been called up to go for a tour of duty to Iraq. All I remember is telling him goodbye and being over at my parents home, they were consoling me. I was so angry with him. I was screaming and wailing and pitiful. In my dream, my heart was broken.

When I woke up at 7:16am. I laid there thinking about what I could remember of it. My mind started to wander. I started to really consider what that dream would feel like as a reality. I thought about what I would do without my husband everyday. I started to consider the real Mommies and wives who are waking up each morning without their husbands because they are serving.

I didn't pause enough on Memorial Day. I didn't think and pray as hard as I should have. I was just happy to have my hubby off of work that day, and home with us.

To all the women who wake up like this each morning. I'm going to start praying for you. I don't know what I would do in your shoes. I want this war to be over and for our guys to come home. To all the wives and husbands of these courageous men and women, I am thankful for your strength and sacrifice those soldiers can serve our country. So that we can have all that we do, that I take for granted.

WWFW....Cock-a-Doodle-Doo Decor, and More

This has been a whole week of Works for Me, more like Workin' Me Tail Off.

We finished painting our dining room. You can check it out here.

After all that painting, I decided I would hire an interior designer next time. He is really smart and oh so handsome...
He thinks we should go with Rye in the living room.

Maybe I should take his advice so that I don't have to re-tint and re-paint?

I am still working on the Baby Spoon Art. I am up in the air about the frame and yada yada. You can check that out here.

I guess the only "finished" project I have to share is This Cock a Doodle Do Decor!
So what can you do with one unused dinner napkin from Aunt "C"'s cookout...
that your hubby held onto because he doesn't like to throw anything away...
but you are glad he didn't toss it because it inspired you...





I love roosters, the decor variety, not the one's that wake you up way too early in the morning!

And what do you do with that same napkin and an old chippy, crackly fiesta ware platter that is just screamin' "deco me too while you're at it"...



And scoring this next baby at the local antique mall really Works for Me. Thanks to the Mama for purchasing it so that I can get my craft on!!!!!!!!!


I will be working on it for the next few days and hopefully have an update on the makeover in time for Frugal Friday Finds.

Spray paint cabinet here I come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!