creating solutions

 

Way, way, way back a long, long, long time ago I had a problem with our from entry, posted the following picture and talked about solutions.  It was weird, that same week in blogland it seemed like there were some other people dealing with the same problem.  Unsightly air return, thermostat in wrong place kind of problems.  People were putting fake mantels around the air returns and making boxes to fit around the thermostat.  I had this problem in our old house as well, so I knew just what to do{I just needed to get around to it}.

Fast forward a lot of months, and here is our entry way. 

 

Now, that looks better. 

 Easy access to the thermostat, the air can still return{or what ever it does in that thing} and I can feel confident about welcoming people into my house. 

 

Happy Friday y'all.  Enjoy a beautiful Fall weekend.  See you back here next week!

what was new is newer again

I am still loving our new kitchen.  The flooring, the appliances, the counter tops, everything has worked out perfectly.  That is everything but the wall color.  When I originally painted it blue, and then painted the attached hallway blue and then changed that hallway to green and lived longer with the blue, I liked it, but thought it wasn't quite me.  Along with the fact that I have a lot of blue rooms, because I have a lot of boys, I thought I'd give it another coat of something more interesting.

 

{before}

 Lucky for me, paint is never at a shortfall around here.  I had the chalkboard paint from another project and figured I had nothing to loose{hardly even time since there is very little wall space}.

 

 

{after}

 

I like it{famous last words}.  I think it blends better with the rest of our house and since there is such little wall space it hardly makes an impact.  I like the stark contrast between the black and white and I like how it makes the hardware pop. I have used chalkboard paint for so many things because I love the finish, even if I'm not going to write on it.

 

 

 

However, it's more fun if you do.

 

 

Now, what to do with this little space? 

pinterest in action

This is a post about scarves.  That's it.  I'm not bringing back "what I wore Wednesday"{I promise} because my clothes are a wreck and my bedroom mirror is always dusty{seriously, that's dust-not poor photo quality-I have since taken care of it!}.  I am however, trying to actually do something with all the Pinterest "pins" I have collected.

 

 

I love scarves, and I bet you do too.  Definitely the best accessory around- cheap, cozy and colorful.

 {source}

 

I spied this idea off of a pin that Tisha marked on Pinterest. Friends who love to organize, it's important to have several of those in your life!

 

 I had all the makings{well, not quite, but close}. It's not as pretty, but it's in my closet doing it's job. 

I may have to start another hanger as this one looks like it's hanging a little low-huh?  Well, you get the idea.  My scarves aren't taking up precious drawer space, nor are they on the closet floor{their home previous to this}.   Pinterest in action-now on to the 100 recipes I have tagged...

Just saying

 

The temperature outside has dipped below 80 degrees.  You know what that means. Pumpkin Bars!

 

 {The dollop of frosting on that knife was rightfully mine!}

 

Here are a few other things I'm making this week:

 

Chicken Marsala with Sage and cremini mushrooms

 

 

Baked gnocchi with ricotta and marinara{store bought gnocchi}

 

 

Baked eggs in tomatoes

 

*note* the pumpkin bar recipe calls for 1 cup veggie oil.  I used a 1/2cup oil and 1/2 cup sour cream instead. It turned out really well.  thinking about trying all sour cream next time.

 

 

 

little yellow dresser

Earlier this week{I know, this IS my third post} I showed you the dresser I was painting and wanted to share the *almost* finished pictures and ask your opinion about something very important...knobs.

 

 

This is the dresser before.  It was Sloan's changing table, turned little boy dresser. 

I have repainted, selectively sanded, and glazed it...

 

 and now it looks like this.  While it's still Sloan's, it's in his new{to him} room and....

 I can't decide which knobs to use.  Please weigh in.  All these knobs are from Hobby Lobby{so mad at myself for EVER buying them from Anthropologie}. The Hobby Lobby knob selection rocks and I think they are virtually always on sale.  I should probably show you the rest of the room, but it's not ready for any big reveal.... 

still hunting for more paint-by-numbers, bedding to buy, and I have stuffed animals to wrangle into bins I have yet to find.  Just another almost finished project. Although lets be honest, just almost finished is my happy place.

 

 

make this

 

Pinterest and good friends, it's about all this girl needs during the week{besides hugs and kisses from all my boys}to feel good.  Tisha{my wonderful friend who moved away and I miss so much}inspired me to make my own laundry detergent.  On a quest to continue to save money, this seemed like a great opportunity to cut my Target bill a bit. There are a lot of "recipes" on Pinterest, but this is the one I settled on.   It took just minutes to assemble and guess what?? It took the funky smell out of my towels that I had been trying for a week to get rid of{have you ever had towels get funky....it's gross}.  

 

 

I'm not sure how many "recipes" all this will make, but I'm thinking it adds up to just pennies a load.

They suggested putting this in a blender to work into an even finer powder, but I honestly do most washing on warm so wasn't worried about the soap particles dissolving{you might want to bring out the blender if you wash on cold}. I might be imagining things, but I swear my laundry seems cleaner than ever before and if nothing else, my husband really thinks I'm taking my budget seriously{which I am...really}.

It's that time again{updated}

Time to play catch up on the blog.  September is the new December and I said the same thing about May.  Geez, things are busy around here. I really want to get back to blogging but all these darn steps.  Project, picture, edit, type something creative....it's more than I want to do right now.  I am, however, loving the kids back in school{!}, my NEW car, and finishing some projects that have been on my list. More on those projects later....

 

 For now I will share the gray minivan good-bye picture.  *Clearly * no tears here, although Todd said he was feeling sad about seeing it go.  Really?? I get it, he's strange AND I guess for a family that moves a lot we are bound to get emotionally attached to something since it can't be our houses.  What really makes me emotional about this picture is how big my kids are.  I know they're growing, but I must seriously be shrinking as well.  I have two years. After that  I'll be trying to hoist myself onto something just to be seen alongside these people.

 The quality of these following pictures are not so great, but you get the idea.  I have a BRAND SPANKIN NEW minivan.  I know, how could someone get so excited about a van.  I'll tell you who, someone who "did her time"{yes, like a prison sentence} in a grungy, hail damaged, breaking down minvan. 

*update* I had to add a new picture of my beloved minivan.  Just so you can get a look at the inside{which is what I really love about this car}.  Not to bad for a dreaded mini-huh!?  I had no idea I would be all about the gadgets-but bluetooth is waaaay awesome.  When I'm driving the kiddos around{keep in mind-yelling at them not to put their feet on the leather!}I feel like I'm in my dream car{that would be a Toyota Sequoia-I dream big}it's when I'm walking up to this car that I'm always shocked it's a van.  And that's when I remember my place in this world.  It's good to know right where you belong ;)

 

Todd says Holden should get used to the feeling of sitting behind the wheel. Apparently we will have this van long enough to be his first car.  I already feel sorry for him-ha!

 Ok, so on to the rest of what's going on.  Holden is running cross country this season.  What a great sport.  I mean, if he can master running he will have a sport and good health for life.

 

 The starting gun goes off and the they all run off into the trees following a guy on a bike-it's crazy{clearly I knew nothing about cross country}.  He ran over a mile, and I was one proud mama. 

Uggg, I've been baking.  I love to make goodies for this household, but these were way too yummy to have around.  I can resist most things I make.  Cookies, cakes, breads are not a problem, but anything resembling a brownie is dangerous. {recipe here}

Asher celebrated his 7th birthday with all his buddies playing laser tag. What a fun bunch of kiddos.

 

I am painting...things that I've painted before but feel like painting again.  Nothing leaves my house without at least one coat of paint and one round of re purposing.  This chest is on it's second life.  After a little mucking up with my antiquing glaze it will be good to go for a couple more years.

 

Sooo, I'm off to the school for yet another fund raising good time.  See you here later this week.

 

Today...

 

this guy...

 

 

turned 7! 

 

Happy Birthday Asher, we love you!