Thrift Store Run

I had taken a break from the thrift store, mainly because they hadn't had many new donations. I have been waiting for the weather to get warm and people to get motivated to donate again. Our local thrift store is directly related to our local hospital-- so I feel pretty good about donating and buying knowing that I am helping a good cause. I save money and donate to charity all at the same time. Don't get your hopes up... I had this shelf, but it needed to be painted white to be hung in the gray bedroom. It was just in the basement for my spray paint party on Sunday. On to what I found at the thrift store... a picture with a frame ($6) and a lamp ($4.50). I forgot to take a picture of the beautiful painting (insert sarcasm) that was in the frame. I have been looking for a large frame to paint white and put a chalkboard inside to mount on the kitchen wall. This project is to be continued... This is the frame... more closeup pictures to come. The lamp... just the height I was looking for, but it needs spray paint. I was just going to do black, but I was out. Can you believe I ran out of black spray paint? I used the bronzed metallic spray I used on the kitchen cabinet knobs. Always remember to tape off the electronics before spraying. What do you think? Pretty good for a $4.50 lamp.

Bird Houses for Relay for Life

Our Relay for Life team at church is doing an auction of bird houses. I was given a blank slate and a deadline... this is how it was done with things I just had around the house. Leftover wainscoting from the bathroom was added to the roof. The roof was painted white from extra white paint I found in the basement. The house was painted the same color as the new bathroom walls and the base was painted a green color I found in my acrylic paints. I took some dark brown paint to age the paint and bring out the details of the house. I added vines to the sides... I stuffed some extra moss in the holes to appear like their was a nest inside. I can't wait to see how it helps our relay team raise funds for cancer research!

Some Spring Decorations

The little birdie was only $1.99 from Gordmans. The white container was on clearance for $4. I took styrofoam from my new table and used it instead of buying expensive floral stuffing for the bottom of the container. I added white hydrangeas with white floral buds - about $5 with some moss filler. This little chickie was only $1.99 too. I took a small 99 cent wreath and glued some moss to make a small nest. The eggs were already spring colors, but I "flicked" brown paint on them to distress them slightly. I know "flicked" is a very technical term, but I don't know what else to call taking watery paint and flicking it in the direction of the eggs. What are your favorite new spring decorations?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bars

This might be my husbands favorite new recipe... to eat. He occasionally asks for rice krispy treats, but they are pretty boring to me. Pampered Chef came through for me again with an awesome recipe!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bars

¼ cup dry-roasted peanuts 3 cups mini pretzel twists (about 1 2∕3 cups coarsely crushed), divided 3 cups crisp rice cereal ¾ cup butter (1½ sticks), divided 1 bag (10.5 oz) miniature marshmallows ½ cup light corn syrup, divided 1 bag (10 oz) peanut butter morsels 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Coarsely chop peanuts using Food Chopper; set aside. Place pretzels into large resealable plastic bag; coarsely crush using flat side of Meat Tenderizer. Set aside ¹∕3 cup of the pretzels. Place remaining pretzels and cereal in Stainless Mixing Bowl.

Place 6 tbsp of the butter in Classic Batter Bowl. Microwave on HIGH 30–45 seconds or until melted. Add marshmallows; microwave on HIGH 45–60 seconds. Stir until marshmallows are completely melted using Mix ‘N Scraper®. Immediately add marshmallow mixture to mixing bowl; mix thoroughly. Spread crust evenly over 9x13 pan; firmly press into pan using waxed paper.

Combine 2 tbsp of the butter and half of the corn syrup in Small Micro-Cooker®. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH 30–45 seconds or until melted. Stir in peanut butter morsels; mix until melted (mixture will be stiff). Spread peanut butter mixture over crust using Small Spreader.

For ganache, place remaining butter and corn syrup in Small Batter Bowl. Microwave on HIGH 30–45 seconds or until melted. Stir in chocolate morsels; mix until smooth. Spread ganache evenly over peanut butter mixture. Sprinkle with peanuts and reserved pretzels. Place in freezer 5–10 minutes or until ganache is set. Cut into 24 squares; cut squares in half.

Earings For My New Bathroom

Is it silly to think of your wall hangings as your rooms earrings? Just like adding jewelry to your outfit, what you put on your walls takes the room up a notch. The previous post included one of the "earrings". I'm getting so excited to hang this stuff up!

I found this picture in a resale shop in town. Can you guess how much I paid... $5. This piece will help bring out the wall color and introduce the dark brown color I'm thinking of using for the towels.

This hanging vase was a Christmas gift from my grandma. It's very elegant and will help me bring in a natural element to the room. I was thinking of putting small sea shells in the bottom. I'll look for natural colored flowers and a just a few stems for this.

The man is starting to think like me...

Two become one when you get married... but as the years pass it really happens. My husband has started thinking like me. He suggested this re-purpose project! I'm not sure if he's getting creative or trying to save money on the bathroom.

This black mirror/ picture thing was in our entryway (if that's what you can call it) in our first house. I had a picture of our engagement and wedding. I'm not sure what I'll put in the picture area, but for now it just has some fabric swatches. Since the bathroom has white I just sprayed it white and distressed it. I used the same knobs.

I'm not sure what I'll fill it with, but I'll think of something. Leave a comment if you have an idea.

I'd say he's got some great ideas and I didn't do too bad on actually completing the project.

Almost complete bathroom update

It's almost done!!! We're missing a working toilet, but it's in the right place. Soon I'll post the finishing touches. The end is my favorite-- not because it's almost complete, but that's where I get to do my work with little touches to bring everything together. The lights are hung...

The trim is on and painted...

The tub is caulked... The mirror and towel bar are hung... The sink and faucet are working...

It's almost a complete bathroom... The curtain is hung to hide the peach tub. We're just missing the toilet seat... and a little toilet paper :)

There's no more mouse in the house

I knew the day would come when we would get a mouse in the house. We have a large open field across the street and the day finally came. Kolin opened a cabinet and there it was.... mouse poo... For about a week we tried to kill it with the old snap traps, but the peanut butter wasn't cutting it. We just kept finding poo in the empty cabinet, but no mouse. We even found it in the drawer next to the cabinet. I finally bought the glue traps and we got him the first night... in the middle of the counter!!! What would you do if you had a live mouse stuck in super duty glue on your counter? Well my husband decided to put a bowl over it until we were able to dispose of it. Don't worry he didn't use the pampered chef ones :)

Gotcha little mouse!!!