The "Excavator's" Efforts

Remember this post about lil man playing the role of an excavator and planting seeds for basil and parsley? I have to tell you, this was a great idea to do with him. Every morning he asks about his plants and if they need water. It's the cutest thing!

Imagine his surprise when I announced I had something to share with him then proceeded to show him the seedlings pushing through the surface of the soil to get that glorious sunlight. His face beamed so brightly. Now, everyday he wants to see how big they are. I thought I'd share with you...

Getting big! Grow seeds grow!

Look how fun!

Next step, moving them to seedling pots. I'm going with an idea I found on pinterest- making seedling pots out of newspaper. I'll let you know how it goes!

Clothing Adventure Part 3: The Purge

Ah... Yes, I've been working out my wardrobe situation. I hate not knowing what to wear in the morning and staring blankly in my closet for 10 minutes a day. It drives me nuts. As you know, I've been reading and working my way through the No-Brainer Wardrobe (ebook by Hayley Morgan- click link on right to buy for $7.99).

I mentioned in the last post that I was getting ready to purge my closet. I did it. I spent a Saturday afternoon alone and decided I would work my way through the closet. It was so good to do and I feel great about it. Yes, I found it difficult, but it was definitely worth it.

I went through EVERY item in the closet. I tried most on to make sure they fit. If I had worn it recently, I didn't bother trying it on. I even went through things in the drawers (t-shirts, shorts, work out gear, camis, shoes). I left no stone unturned.

Having said that, imagine my surprise when I pull out a dress bag. Uncertain of what was in it, I opened it and pulled out a dress that has NEVER been worn and still had the tag on it. I remember I bought this dress about 7 years ago at Express when I needed a little black dress. Check it out....

Front detail

Bias cut hem... LOVE IT!

The tag in tact- BTW, I highly doubt I paid that price. You know me, I'm frugal

After I went through everything, here's what my closet looked like. I'll even put a before and after together- not that you'll notice much until you see the stacks of purged clothing.

Before the purge

After the purge and I was able to hang clothes from the drawers!

I didn't really get rid of any jeans on the top shelf. I have a dressy pair, gray pair, regular light blue pair, and another darker wash jean. I also own 2 other pair- bright blue skinny and cute dark flare jeans. I had just lost 2 pair to tears/holes.

The dress pants didn't change either. There are 2 pair of khaki capris up there (1 green 1 tan), a gray dress pant and black legging. I got rid of quite a bit of skirts and a favorite dress. I actually almost shed tears over my dress. We've been together for 12 years and to say goodbye was hard.  I'm certain more will be purged as I just realized I have 3 pair of black pants, not including the cropped black pants I wear year round. I've just gotta figure out which to keep and which to purge. All are different styles so all may stay.

The purge pile is overflowing. I have friends who want me to save it all for a June clothing swap, but I'm noticing the danger in this. I keep grabbing things out of the pile.... That's not purging.

I will not grab anything from this pile of 3 garbage bags... will not, will not....

Next up, I'll be piecing together outfits and adding a few things that I really want for in my wardrobe and a few things that will replace others (the basics- tees, tanks, etc.).


If you're interested in purchasing a copy of the book to learn more about what's happening here and help yourself through the process, click the button on the right. You can also visit The Tiny Twig's 31 days series about The No Brainer Wardrobe here.

Tasty Tuesday: Grilled Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

I have a favorite dip for parties- Buffalo Chicken Dip. I love it. I think it's fantastic. If I see a crock of it, I'll belly up to it like there's no tomorrow. Seriously, I love that dip.

I have a favorite sandwich- the all American classic grilled cheese sandwich. No lie. I love it. I could live on it. According to the doctor, my arteries wouldn't love it as much if I did that.

Now, imagine life with the two combined? Yep.. I found a recipe that does just that.

Imagine your life with meal planning when you know you'll have left over chicken breast and you have everything else you need to make this recipe... Even better.

I was perusing pinterest one day and saw this recipe. I added it to the meal plan for the day after lil man's tonsillectomy. I'd need quick and easy meals after holding a toddler for a few hours a day (no complaints). This was perfect.

Image from here

The recipe was good. You should be aware that the recipe is for 1 sandwich.

 Now, here's the problem. It calls for blue cheese. I can do it sometimes, but there's a certain kind of blue cheese I like and I thought I grabbed the right brand at the grocer, but since it had been a while, I was wrong. Hence, it was good, but not as good as it could have been. If you love all kinds of blue cheese, you'll have no problem with it. Next time, I'm simply leaving out the blue cheese. And, yes, there will be a next time!

Click the link for the recipe from closetcooking.com.

Join me at 33 Shades of Green's Tasty Tuesday. Let's see what else is cooking!

Making a Terrarium

I was reading this series of posts by Nesting Place about plants and using them in your home. Those of you who worked with me while I was in the business setting know I love to have plants around. In my house though, I've always had difficulty; however, I put it all aside to see if I could breathe new life into our home with plants. Besides, lil man likes to take care of things and play with dirt, so why not teach him how to care for plants, right????

One of the things that Nester presented was a terrarium. I fell in LOVE! I've seen them and know a fantastic teacher who has 2 in her room. I've thought about emulating them for the past 5 years and moreso recently this fall when I decided my school fish aquarium needed to go. I was sick of caring for it. I decided I would start small so I headed over to the thrift store for a glass bowl. I found one, but it was too small for what I wanted. I got another at Marc's for $1.99.

Next, I had to find plants for the terrarium and the other supplies. I finally had everything and was ready to go!

Step 1: Wash out the bowl (just a preference I have) and make sure to dry it well. Gather supplies (charcoal, potting soil, rocks, filter/cloth, plants, figurines).

Step 2: Put river pebbles in the bottom.

Step 3: Add a coffee filter, piece of cloth or newspaper to the top. It prevents the charcoal and soil from mixing with the rocks which would defeat the purpose of the rocks for drainage purposes. I didn't know this until the kind lady at Donzell's told me. She was amazing and had made a beautiful fairy garden and bunch of awesome terrariums.

Step 4: add charcoal

Step 5 add potting soil (I already had this from previous projects).

Step 6 add plants and figurines.

Before figurines.... don't mind the guy on the cover of the newspaper.... I just didn't feel like working on the floor and chose to put paper down instead.

Side view... I'm thinking we'll add some sand or something mulch too... It's a work in progress.

From the top. I must say, I chose my 2 favorite dinos for this!

This process didn't take long to make once I had everything. It took longer to pick out the plants I wanted than anything else! I chose to put dinosaurs in the terrarium because lil man is loving dinosaurs right now. I figured it would give him something to enjoy and we can take them out to change the theme later.

I'm joining up at Nesting Place for a plant linky party. Stop on over and check out the other terrariums people have made!

A Clothing adventure Part 2

I know it's been a week since Part 1, but bear with me while I work through The No Brainer Wardrobe. I'm following the guidelines and action items to a T so I can help you see the process. I needed to spend a week pinning clothing and searching styles I like, so I did.

After pinning I too a look at my Pinterest style board to see what I had pinned. I noticed clean lines on the majority of the pants with a slight flare/bootcut to them. I noticed layers and layers and scarves of all styles. Lots of t-shirts too. What surprised me was the amount of dresses and skirts as well as non-jean outfits. I've always been a jeans person... What's up with this???

So, I then perused my closet to see what I had that was my favorite. Now, I need you to bear with me. I live in a house that is close to 100 years old. The closets are the width of a door and just deep enough for hangers. Here's a pic of my closet in between seasons.

My scarves and belts.

No room for everything, so whatever pants can be folded without a lot of wrinkling go on the top shelf. Tons of hangers everywhere and lots of clothes I don't wear in there.

Running and tennis shoes on top and other shoes throughout- doesn't include the ones I keep down stairs that are my usual go to shoes.

My boots: Red/Brown westerns (under the gray), Gray (my new fave), Tan Wedge heels, black kitten heels, brown suede-like 3 inch heels, and cute little black booties.

I was supposed to get my 10 favorite things, but I don't really know what they are! Guess I'll be peaking in the closet a little longer every morning until I figure that out!

OH! I have to say in reading the book, I noticed there is a mention that 50-60 articles of clothing is plenty. I thought that was a lot.... until I started counting how many were jam packed into the closet. It's also important to know that there are clothes in my 2 dressers and bins upstairs that are off season clothing (dwindled down to 1 bin instead of 2) as well as clothes in the laundry (you know how that cycle never ends!).

Now I'm moving to the organizing/categorizing/purging the closet phase. Mind you, I just assembled 2 bags of clothing to send off somewhere 2 weeks ago. Some of the clothes had tags on them. I've had them for a year or more and never wore them because I didn't like the style or material. Like I said, a lot of what I have is hand me down or gifted clothing. I don't mind it, it just doesn't always work out. I'm learning not to feel guilty about that! I'll be back Wednesday with a post on what I've gotten rid of and what I'm keeping.

Also, if you're interested in purchasing a copy of the book to learn more about what's happening here and help yourself through the process, click the button on the right. You can also visit The Tiny Twig's 31 days series about The No Brainer Wardrobe here. If you haven't read The Tiny Twig, you really should. Hayley is amazing and I don't even know her personally, but I would love to be her BFF. :) So inspirational.

Winner announced!

Wow! Thanks everyone for entering the contest for the bird's nest pendant. The winner is: #3 Janet Boyantan with the comment: "I have never hosted or been to a craft party, but it sounds like fun. I am not artistic, so I envy those of you who can do such pretty work. Thanks for the chance to win the nest charm."

Congratulations, Janet! I'll be contacting you via email to get additional information.

Please stop by frequently. You never know when I'll give something else away- or what I'll be up to!

Pretty lighting

I have a thing for jars. The sad thing about it is I don't have much storage space for them. I keep those I can on the very top shelf of my cabinet- a space so high that they are out of the way. Recently, I was running out of room for jars and needed to do something with them. I searched the net for new ideas for mason jars. I came across some really cute lace covered jars that house votive candles at Anna Boo's House.

Since my cousin was getting married, I thought these might be cute for center pieces since she wanted something simple. I went ahead and got the lace for the jars and made some up. It took me a while to get to this project as sometimes happens.  For whatever reason, I hesitated in getting around to them. They didn't take long at all! It was simple and easy. I'll explain how to do it after I show how cute they are lit and unlit! :)

So easy to do, fairly cheap and quick!

You want to make one of your own you say? I'll tell you how I made mine.... Please forgive me, I forgot to take pics of a couple of basic steps but I think you'll forgive me as they are really simple steps.

Supplies:
Jars any size and clean. I simply use jars from salsa, pasta sauce, etc.
Lace- amount depends on the thickness, how many layers you want to do and size of jar. I went with 1 yard for each jar even though I knew it would be too much. I like left overs as I can use it for other things.
Spray adhesive
Scissors
Flexible measuring tape.
Newspaper

1. Measure the circumference of the jar.

2. Cut lace at the length needed to go around the jar.

3.  Put newspaper down and place lace laying flat on the newspaper.

4. Using spray adhesive, spray one segment of lace and quickly wrap around the jar.

5. Repeat the steps for each segment needed to complete the jars.

6. Allow to dry

7. Insert votive candle, light and enjoy the ambiance of candle light in unique designs as it flickers on the wall.


Ta-da! Not to mention, these would be cute gifts for teachers, housewarming, etc.

Tasty Tuesday: Knock You Naked Brownies

I figured you missed my reviews of the Pioneer Woman's cookbook recipes. So, since I acquired the new cookbook for my birthday, I've been cooking out of it while also working my way through the old cookbook and my Pinterest recipes.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I held my monthly craft party. If you are not part of one, you should be and if there isn't one around you, start your own! They are so fun.

Back to the topic at hand- the menu. I was lazy. Still not wanting to really cook and was stumped for ideas (how that could be with my plethora of cookbooks, saved recipes on cards, print outs and pinterest, I don't know). I decided to just do a pizza, salad and brownie combo. The pizza was take out- I was all about KISS (Keep it simple sister). Remember, this was also when the two-year-old Cheri wanted to take over in the diet department. 

The salad was a recipe from a friend where I used to work. I'll share it here one day as it's a favorite of many. Hopefully, she won't mind but seeing as to how she passed it out to all who wanted it, I figure there's no secret.

The brownies were the PW Knock You Naked Brownies. Click the link for the recipe.

Photo from Pioneerwoman.com

These were so delicious... very rich but soooooo good. Yes, what she says is true- pass them to those you love or that you want to love you back. They certainly will!  I gave them to my students and they were so happy and excited- exclaiming throughout the day that they loved the brownies, the best they ever had. Being the smart teacher I am, I gave the brownies to the kids at the end of the day (like last 10 minutes of the day). Parents, don't hate me. 

They were not hard to make. The hardest part for me, was melting the caramel. Yep, it took much longer than I anticipated but it could be because I had to buy the hard caramel since that's what my grocer had.

Should you make these, yes, you should- but only if you want to be kind and give some away. Do not - I repeat Do not- keep them in the house for yourself. They are not low calorie, fat free... they will just add to your hips and thighs instantly. Simply eat one and then pass them along. You will be loved.


Join me over at 33 Shades of Green for Tasty Tuesdays. There are many more great recipes on that site!

March craft party and give away!

*** Winner announced here***

Every month I host a craft day. The crafts are generally pre-arranged so everyone is aware of what we'll be doing and for the most part, the ideas come from Pinterest (bet you couldn't have guessed that!).

In March, I hosted a jewelry making party. We made earrings and birds nest necklaces. I can take absolutely no credit for knowing anything about jewelry making- although, now I know a little so watch out! I invited my husband's creative cousin to come over and help us with our jewelry making venture. This wonderful man has made jewelry and sold it so I'm all for help from an expert- even if you dabbled in jewelry making for a week, you're an expert in my opinion! The good thing, Chris had more than a week's worth of experience so he was REALLY good!

The day started by learning to make earrings. We each made 2 pair of earrings that we got to keep. Then Chris showed us the birds nest necklaces he made to demonstrate for us how to do them. We each sorted through billions (no exaggeration there) of beads, chose our wire color (brown, copper or silver) and followed his instructions. These necklaces did not take long and I must say we had to call on Chris a little to help at the beginning and end to make sure we were following everything as planned so the necklaces remained intact. I kind of felt for him as we all needed assistance at the same time! :) He is so patient.

Here are the pics of the day- not taken by me, but by my hubs so please forgive the quality. He believes in AUTO mode and I'm working my way out of it. Of course, thanks for your understanding when I take pics too though!

If you can't find a sitter, bring the kids. It adds to the fun. Dads have been known to hang out and watch them or watch TV while the kids play around them. It's fun for all!

This proves that the kids love spending time playing together. Fun isn't had until the house is covered in toys.

My collection. Yes, one of these will be given away

My necklace that I made. Wish it wasn't so blurry and I'm too lazy to go up and take another pic.

Pretty silver necklace and the proud creator! 

Matching earrings.

We all had so much fun. Afterwards, those who could go went with us to a winery while the teens watched the kids. It was such a great craft night.

Yes, I mentioned a give away. I'm doing a giveaway of one of the copper birds next charms- below. You have a chance to win one to own and sport!  You would need to get a chain for it. In order to win, leave a comment below. Simple as that. It would be more fun if you let us know what crafts you like or if you have ever hosted or been to a craft party. What did you make???

All entries must be in by Friday, April 20, at 8 PM. Winner will be announced Friday night!

Changing it up.... Again....

Remember this post about my dining room and how I wasn't sure how hubs and I felt about the dining room redo I designed on a whim under pressure?

As we do, hubs and I decided on a Thursday night that we would change the color. He hated it. I liked it but wasn't in love with it. He headed to Lowe's and picked up the paint I chose for the room and another paint that he wanted for under the chair rail.  We both decided white for the chair rail and crown molding.

The journey to changing the room began at 10 pm on Thursday. We got the first coat of paint on by 11 (including the cut in work). I was surprised. We waited a while then put the second coat of paint on the bottom. Interestingly enough, we didn't need a second coat on the top - only places where hubs had missed in painting. He truly detests painting. I don't mind it. I hate rolling paint, but love doing the trim work. Weird, I know. Most like rolling and hate trim/cut in work.

We finally crawled into bed around 1 am after cleaning everything up. We did not remove tape until the morning. I normally do not let the paint dry 100% before removing the tape (90% seems best to me as it prevents peeling and tape painted to areas). We still had the chair rail and the crown molding to paint.
At this point, the colors looked like country blue and cream. It reminded me of the country decor from the early 90s late 80s. I was ready to start hitting up the thrift store for a goose/duck.

Remember ducks like this???  Image via

It's important to know that I had just painted these a beautiful teal on Monday. Here it was Thursday/early Friday morning and I was going to have to repaint it. UGH! Now, yes, I do like trim work but I HATE climbing a ladder.

Our ceilings are about 10-11 feet tall- guesstimating. I couldn't just stand on a chair to paint the crown molding. A chair is as high as I like to climb. Nope... I had to get out the old rickety wooden ladder my parents handed down to us 12 years ago (no lie this thing has such a sway to it you at times feel like your balancing yourself upon the Leaning Tower of Pisa).  I climbed this thing probably 18 million times between Monday and Friday with painting the crown molding.

I woke up Friday early with my son anxiously waiting to go to the play date at the park. I had an insurance adjuster coming out to look at the roof after a bad storm that knocked over our metal basketball hood (that was in cement none-the-less) in the afternoon and book club at my house at 7:30 that night. To say it was a busy day is an understatment.

Hubs was off so he started on the chair rail while I was at the park with the lil one. I was gone 2 hours and somehow only 1 coat of primer and 1 of paint was applied to the chair rail... nothing to the molding. hmm....

When I got home, we had lunch then the adjuster arrived. Hubs worked with him while I cared for lil man and started painting the 2nd coat on the chair rail and first coat of primer on the molding.

Up and down, up and down, up and down I went pushing the ladder and painting while lil man begged for more this or that. Finally, I put him down for a nap- now momma can work! I finally finished painting everything at 6 pm. I still had treats to make for book club. Hubs ran to the store for me to pick up what I needed. I changed quickly and made dinner. I threw together some goodies. Everyone would forgive me after all once they heard what they day was like. Besides, they don't really care as it's about being together and having adult conversation.

I pulled out a spread of goodies and the guests arrived. Life was good. We all enjoyed ourselves and I love my new dining room. Love it. Thank goodness for the white chair rail and molding that takes away the country decor look.

Tell me what you think...

The kiddo wanted to pose for a picture.

Isn't that the cutest face? totally off topic, I know, but sometimes that's how I roll.

The curtains still kinda work.

Now with the light off to reduce glare. I need to change out the globes so the light bulbs aren't sticking out.

Pic was hiding in the basement. Found at Goodwill for $7. It works for the time being.

No way was I giving up the sunburst mirror. The door isn't supposed to be the focal point in this, but oh well.

Stuff on the wall. Lace jar, garage sale vase and cute owls that were a gift.

The C is not finished. I'm thinking of Zentangling it or wrapping it in twine or yarn. We'll get a pic in the frame soon.

Don't know what the circle is in the pic but whatever. Still nothing on this wall, but there will possibly be shelves or some cool bright white dishes in random arrangement.

Lil man got a hold of the camera to give you a toddler's eye view of the room. Love that kid!

I really love it. I liked my fun color, but this will be so much easier to change decor with and looks much cleaner.

Ever had to repaint something within a week of completing it because it didn't work for you? It's quite the venture, but works out in the end if you are happy with it.

Guess I can cross redo the dining room from the 2012 home goals & goals! :)

A Clothing Adventure- Part 1

You see that up there? That "Part 1". Yep, I'm going to write about my clothing adventure in many parts as I work my way through this GREAT eBook The No Brainer Wardrobe by Hayley Morgan at The Tiny Twig.

I stumbled across this wonderful blog during a 31 days series in October hosted by Nester at Nesting Place. I loved it! I read each post daily - first thing in the morning. Hayley's ideas made perfect sense. Then she posted that she wrote an ebook about getting dressed in the morning. Ya see, Hayley is all about less fuss so you can have more passion- LOVE IT!

I bought the ebook ($7.99) and started to read it. I worked my way through and enjoyed every moment. Her ideas did begin to change my perspective on clothing and getting dressed. Well, now spring is here (supposedly as a blizzard is going on outside these walls) and I'm doing that seasonal cleaning of the closet.

I decided that since I was at a great pivotal moment in my wardrobe's life, I would work my way through the book again; this time more deliberately.

Day 1 started today. I went through my winter clothing and started sorting it into piles - throw away (due to stains, holes and the like), keep, and donate. I ended up with 2 bags of donate and I'm not 100% done.

Then I took a break and read more of Hayley's book. The first action item asks about how you feel about getting dressed in the morning; how long it takes you to get dressed in the morning and if you have a bunch of clothes you buy yet still feel there is nothing to wear.

My perspective: I hate getting dressed in the morning. I'm a mood dresser. Sometimes I know what I want to wear (usually it's a dress since they are simple) and it can take me FOREVER (like 15 minutes or so) to pick out something to wear. The majority of the clothes I have are clothes I've had for a while or were given to me - hand me downs and gifts. That makes it hard for putting together ensembles when you don't have things to coordinate!  It's no wonder I have no clue what my style really is as I haven' really spent time shopping for my own get up and usually when I go shopping, I feel so overwhelmed by all the choices that I walk out empty handed or with a piece that I have no clue what to do with.

Yes, this is my confession to not knowing a thing about fashion. This is going to be my journey into finding my style or at least figuring out how to make getting dressed in the morning easier and less time consuming. If you're interested in purchasing the book for yourself, feel free to click the link for The No Brainer Wardrobe on the right of your screen!

The Excavator Part 2

Remember how I briefly mentioned planting seeds and putting plants in the house? The day I bought the seeds that were planted, I also picked up 2 cheap succulents at Lowe's and a cute glass vase a the thrift store. Since lil man was loving planting seeds so much, I decided to let him also plant the succulents in the vase. I gave him his choice- the big glass vase with both succulents inside or 2 small ones that would fit 1 succulent each (a steal for $0.20 each). He chose the big vase. I know why- more dirt to put in there= more time playing excavator! He's a smart kid.

With some assistance he planted our succulents and watered them. I went outside and grabbed sand from the sandbox for the top as decoration (later learned this wasn't wise). Lil man loved being able to play in the sand then decorate the top of the plants with it. He then got to take the left over sand into the living room and watch some TV (so mommy could shower). I put the sand in a very big Rubbermaid bowl, gave him a spoon and a cup. He loved it... The sand still got everywhere.

Fast forward to 4 days later. I tell him to play while mommy gets a shower (one day I'll get this done before he wakes- which is my usual MO, but I was painting this morning). Imagine my surprise when I come down the stairs to find a succulent taken out of the vase!

I asked him what he was doing. His reply, "I was playing excavator, Mommy". DUH! Why didn't I think of that??? I quickly picked up the plant and put it back into the vase. I hope I've saved it's little life- only time will tell. If not, I'll be headed to Lowe's to take advantage of the 1 year plant guarantee!

After fixing the plant.... It's the sunburst- yeah, the one sticking up a little in the back....

Pinterest Success- Again!

Golly, I have to admit I enjoy Pinterest. It's a great site for ideas- if you aren't already aware of what it is. It is essentially a bookmarking site for your favorite things, but it allows others to see what you're "pinning" to your online cork board/idea board. If you don't have pinterest access yet, send me an email (sharingcheri@gmail.com) and I'll give you the hook up.

Anyway, I pinned a sunburst mirror from Our Humble Abowed, well, it was actually a pin a friend had and I repinned it as something I wanted to make.


I followed the tutorial and here is what I got:

Oh fantastic... beautiful... wonderful...

Brightens my day....

Love love!

I can't believe I did this!!!!

I LOVE IT! It's one of my favorite pinterest things thus far and I've made 5 pinterest "crafts". I love the colors too. They go so well with the curtains. I hung it temporarily just for the pics. I want to hand a better picture hanger on the back and if it stays in that spot, I'll have to move it down a little.

It makes me happy. The hardest part of this is gathering the sticks and cutting them down. I used a hacksaw and mitre box for my cuts, but the tutorial shows wire cutters work well too. I was nervous about my spacing and making sure to glue everything in the right place. There was one spot where things were tight, but you can't tell when it's up.

The whole project cost me $2.80. 2 paints were $0.39 each with coupon at Michaels and the mirror was $1.99 with coupon. I used a 10" mirror instead of a 7" as shown in the tutorial. I only needed to use 50 sticks which is the same she used in the tutorial.

Funny story about the sticks. I asked the woman at the paint counter at Walmart (a store I can't stand but that is 5 blocks from my house- literally) if I could just buy some cheaply. She said no to just take what I needed. I didn't want to hoard so I grabbed 15 the first time then 10 on subsequent trips until I hit 55 sticks (just in case I cracked one or something happened like a 2 year old decided they were drum sticks).

I love it. It's my favorite thing in the dining room. What do you think???