Painting the Town- Actually Just the House

We recently moved to a new town and to a new to us house.  The paint colors were not quite what we would have picked so there has been lots of painting going on!  I am color challenged and made frequent phone calls to my very talented Sister-in-law for direction.  I learned a few things that I want to remember for the next time that we have to paint. 

Paint chips don't work for me.  I really need to see samples painted onto a large piece of poster board and tacked to the wall where I'll be painting.  Valspar and Benjamin Moore paints have some of my favorite colors. 

Under the direction of my decorator SIL I painted the back of the living room shelves a bright spicy orange.  I tried two different kinds of paint there.  The first kind:  Behr Ultra went on thick and creamy- very nice.

The second kind- Valspar- ick.  It was thin, runny and splattered and dripped everywhere.  The color I picked for this spot was a Valspar paint and Home Depot's match wasn't quite right- that is why I ended up going with the Valspar.  I also had to paint four coats of paint and that was over primer and a layer of the Behr.... so, in the future to save time I'll be using Behr paint when choosing between the two brands.

I also found the ONLY paintbrush that I can paint a straight line with.  It is called Ziber and I get the two inch angled sash with the long handle- the short handled version had softer bristles which I didn't care for.  This paintbrush is at Home Depot.

The previous home owners had a good tip if you want to upgrade your switch plates.  They had painted them (and the screw tops) with Rust-Oleum Hammered paint and primer in one spray paint.  It's an inexpensive way to jazz up the 25 cent white plastic outlet and plate covers.  It gives them a rustic metal looking finish- I think there are six metal finishes to choose from.

We broke down and hired a painter to help us get things moving.  It was pretty sweet to go about my daily routine and at the end of the day have two more rooms painted!  Those are the tips I want to remember for the future... hopefully we won't be painting too much more for another ten years or so :)

Where to Buy Large, Chunky Beads

I love the fun necklaces with big chunky beads.  I hit my local craft stores trying to find large beads to make a few necklaces of my own.  Our town only has two craft stores.  I didn't find much.  The beads either looked cheap- perfect for a four year old playing dress up- or they didn't have the colors I needed.  I had a "duh" moment and looked for beads at etsy under the supply category.

I found these pretty glass "pearl" beads and purchased them for two different necklaces.  I purchased two different shades of gray and some cream beads and crystals.  I tried to find beads that were at least 14mm.  My local craft store carries the smaller sizes.

For my match everything, all cream colored necklace I purchased a few large glass crystals to add texture and sparkle.  They were a nice addition.  I personally prefer cream pearls to white- but that is just me.

I found some yellow beads here... for some reason a large, pretty yellow bead is nearly impossible to find.  These are 20mm- very nice size!

I did find out that making a necklace with tons of beads can get expensive (my gray pearl necklace-yikes)! You can probably buy one already made for less money.  But if you are trying to match a specific outfit or need some craft therapy go for it.

September 1 we went back onto our modified Dave Ramsey budget so there is less shopping and more saving going on at our house now   ;0)

J.R. Watkins Cleaner

Let me preface this by saying that I grew up in a home surrounded by over twenty navel orange trees- can you imagine how great it smelled when the orange blossoms were bursting out all over the place- amazing!!

Then in December/January when oranges were perfect for eating they became the staple of my diet.... delicious... best oranges ever!  Understanding my history may lead you to believe that I am biased, and maybe I am, but I've got to tell you about how delighted I was to try J.R. Watkins Tub & Tile cleaner in orange citrus scent....  this is just me, a mom who grabbed it on sale on an impulse buy (no company endorsement stuff going on).... and I really like it.  It cleaned my yucky toilet exterior and my bathroom smelled heavenly while I worked..... sigh...

Products I Like

Long time no post- just busy doing other fun stuff.  I did want to share a product review or two- so that I can look back and remember what brand I liked.  Here are some popular items at our house:

Ghirardelli Hazelnut Heaven Intense Dark Chocolate.  The sweetness of the hazelnut tones down the dark chocolate and makes for a very tasty treat.  So, hard to keep it to a nibble and not just consume the entire bar-

Garden of Eatin taco shells.  I found these at the local health food store.  They actually taste like corn tortillas did when I was a kid growing up in Arizona.  By that I mean, you can taste the corn.  Rubbery if zapped in the microwave.  Delightful crunchiness when warmed in the oven. These are the ingredients: Organic stoneground yellow corn masa flour, expeller pressed high oleic safflower and/or sunflower oil. Yummy.

Unsweetened Almond Breeze with Coconut milk- I use this with frozen fruit (banana, mango, papaya, and pineapple) to make tropical tasting fruit smoothies.  I want to try a smoothie with chocolate and see if it tastes like a mounds bar...

Do you spend a small fortune on printer ink?  We do.  We tried switching brands of printers and that didn't save us any money.  We switched to a  laser Brother HL-2270 DW.  The ink cartridge costs $45 and is supposed to print 1600 pages. Very nice quality printing.  It only prints in black and white- but that is all we need 85% of the time.  We kept the old printer (for color) and added the new and are hoping for some big savings in the ink department.

Healthy Treat

My current healthy obsession- Fage Greek yogurt with honey.  

Yummy Healthy Meals

I found out that I don't like roasted cauliflower last week.  The flavor doesn't dance on my tongue - it had a funny sweetness to it.  No, the flavor just kind of rolls over like a sluggish couch potato.  Ick.  However, in my experimenting I found a few healthy recipes that I do like.

Southwest Chicken.  I added about 1 t. chili powder and 1 t. cumin to the recipe and I chopped up the chicken when I served it- so it was kind of like a stew or casserole rather than a piece of meat with stuff on the side.   My husband asked that we have it again.

Beef Stew.  This beef stew does not have tomatoes and the other flavors really shine through.  Allow each person to season their bowlful with some of Jane's krazy mixed-up seasonings original mixed-up salt.  It is worth a trip to the grocery store to get this stuff.  SUPER good!

By the way, this salt tastes amazing on pot roast, too.

Random Product Reviews

I thought I'd share a two more wonderful products.  First, my husband put in a new disposal and this thing is awesome.  It can chew up anything.  It is the waste king L-8000 legend series 1.0 horsepower disposal.  It's a  nice kitchen upgrade that gobbles up all the carrot peelings when my husband makes me carrot juice... he's amazing.

Other products I love are the school uniforms from academy sport.  I LOVE school uniforms.  It takes the kids three seconds to get dressed for school, no tears and no stress (unless I forgot to wash them).  

At first I purchased their uniforms at Target.  I tried the Cherokee and the Circo brands.  Those brands didn't fall apart or get torn.  It's just that we have the world's hardest well water.  Every time I washed those clothes it was like they were getting sand blasted.  After two or three washes they looked like they had been well, sand blasted- like the clothes were fifteen years old, faded, ratty, ick.

This year we tried the Austin brand of clothes from Academy.  They were a little more expensive up front but somehow they have survived the sand blasting laundry much better and after six months are still looking pretty good!  But I need to buy some more today because Junior seems to have grown three inches and his little ankles are starting to stick out :o)

Photo Prop- Cute Rug- nice price

I cruised through the clearance section at my Wal-Mart today.  I'm not sure what they are doing but at the front of our store there is a weird clearance section- it has hunting stuff, Christmas decorations, toys, just odds and ends.  In that section I found this super cute rug that would make a great photo prop for baby girl or for Valentine's photo shoots.  It would add so much texture, etc.  The price is $14.99. The rug is made by "American Kids" and it is 24x40 inches.

These rugs are very easy to make- but they use a surprising amount of fabric and a take great deal of time.  So, I felt like it was a good purchase- I'd love to photograph it on a rustic white floor with a chubby baby girl plopped on top.

Favorite Things

I've noticed several blogging buddies sharing a few of their favorite things.  I'd imagine a few of you have a gift certificate to use or a gift exchange to make.  So, I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and share a few things that I have enjoyed.

I love my American Eagle Jeans.  Photo from their website.  I bought my first pair at Ross- then went to American Eagle for more (Ross was out).  I have very long legs and their jeans fit great!  My petite, vertically challenged hairstylist raves about how their petite jeans fit, too.  Most complimented jeans I've ever owned... enough said.

I love my apple peeler, slicer, corer because my husband LOVES apple crisp- and this is the tool of choice for easy baking- I use it to make applesauce too.

I like my Avon waterproof eyeliner- I have small, deep set eyes- and often find myself with colorful raccoon eyes by midday. This eyeliner stays put. I do have to reapply it if I'm going somewhere in the evening. I wait for sales to purchase it half off with free shipping.  1/16/12- when I tried wearing this under the lower lash line- it smeared... just fyi

And for the kids- I know I've mentioned it before but this plasma car has been the most popular gift ever.  Admittedly our home is perfectly set up for the indoor use of this little gizmo.  We have "miles" of tile and a full "loop" so the kids can race all around the house.  It is kind of expensive but considering how popular and for how many years this has been used- almost daily- I'd say it's worth the price!

There you go- a few ideas- I hope they help!

Hobby Lobby Wrapping Paper= Love

Just thought I'd mention how much I LOVE the wrapping paper at Hobby Lobby.  It is thick, beautiful, and comes in HUGE quantities (seriously, I only purchased two rolls of wrapping paper this year and unless we give each child an elephant we'll have TONS of extra paper).

They print up coordinating sets of cute paper.  So, you don't even have to think.  You just pick out your favorite and one or two of its partners.  They also offer matching tags, ribbons and bows.  They put it on sale half off almost every week in the month before Christmas- it is the best priced paper I've seen- much better than dollar tree because you get SO MUCH paper.

But my very favorite part- there are faint cutting lines on the back of the paper so that your scissors have a path to follow :o)

Dreamy.

Adorable Halloween Clip Art

I found the CUTEST Halloween clip art today.  It costs a dollar and you can download several graphics... all of them SUPER adorable.  Check this out.  Look up all the Halloween clip art by Kristi W designs.  Please don't try to swipe the files from my blog- this is too sweet a deal to miss!

I used the graphics I purchased to make Halloween Don't Eat Pete Boards for my activity day girls.  If it wasn't a copyright violation I'd give you the file of the game board I made- because they turned out amazing -if I do say so myself! 

I put the "boards" in a plastic sheet protector to keep them clean and pretty.  I'm going to give these to the girls with a little bag of corn candy so they can play their game at home with their families.

Bumper Cereal Product Review

Since I'm on a product review kick I thought I'd throw one more out there.  Mother's Bumper Cereal.  I've tried their peanut butter and their cocoa flavored cereals and they are VERY sweet and yummy- I occasionally eat them- just as a dessert.  I used to mix these flavors together and have a version of Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cereal.  I'm sorry to see that they have added artificial coloring to the cocoa cereal.... too bad! I guess I'll just stick with the peanut butter version.

Here is the ingredient list for the peanut butter cereal from the Mother's website:

CORN FLOUR, UNSULPHURED MOLASSES, NATURAL PEANUT BUTTER (GROUND PEANUTS, SALT), OAT FLOUR, RICE FLOUR, HONEY, SALT, NATURAL MIXED TOCOPHEROLS (VITAMIN E).

These are so light that they probably have no fiber or real nutritional value- but they do taste delicious. 

Orly Won't Chip Nail Polish Review

Now that it is the end of summer and you won't be wearing flip flops everyday I thought I'd share with you a pedicure tip... silly me.

I occasionally (five or six times since birth) have gone to a salon for a pedicure.  One of the things I love most is how long the polish looks beautiful and shiny.  After paying for my last pedicure- and cringing at the thought of how many photography books I could have bought instead- I decided to try to get the look myself. 

While I'm not that steady with a brush I love Orly Won't Chip Top Coat.  It stays super shiny for at least two weeks.  I did get one tiny chip when I used a lower quality polish beneath it- but it's good stuff.  My toe nails have had the same color on for at least three weeks (including tromps through the garden) and while the shine has faded some it still looks pretty good.  I'm impressed!

Another Healthy Cookbook

I found another cookbook that I like.  It is called Quick and Easy Meals .  I believe it is from the editors of Diabetic Living Magazine.  I found the recipes to be made from mostly fresh ingredients and whole grains.  They are not necessarily low in fat. Some recipes call for egg substitutes.  I'm not adverse to eggs- so, I just use fresh eggs (from our chickens).  Contrary to the one review on Amazon very few of the recipes called for sugar and those that did called for very small amounts- like 1 Tablespoon.

This book has a large selection of salads and quite a few soups too- they all look delish!  We tried the Mexican chicken, avocado & orange salad for dinner- I improvised on the chicken and will have to try it again following the exact recipe- but I really liked the citrus vinaigrette dressing and intend to make the salad again- maybe just omitting the chicken.... or as I said, actually following the recipe :o)

I love cookbooks with pictures and this book has a picture for every recipe.  I'm looking forward to trying more of the recipes! 

And while I'm thinking healthy- I LOVE this whole wheat banana bread!  I didn't measure the bananas- I just used two very large ripe ones and I only baked the bread for 45 min.- it was perfectly done and very tasty- I actually hid a slice or two in my room to eat after the hungry hordes subsided.

Creating a Dress Up Kit for Kids

My kids are beginning to outgrow the dress up phase of their childhood.  Too bad because there are some great priced dress up products to be found at The Ribbon Retreat.  Tutus for six dollars.  Headbands for ninety cents... a few of these added to the dress up box could inspire some fun pretending.

I find the dress up section at Magic Cabin inspirational.  I've mentioned it before- my kids favorite dress up accessories are their "play silks".  We made our own.  We just browsed through Hancock's fabric and purchased a yard- or less- of various magical looking fabrics -Every now and then I see something in the remnants bin that will work so I bring it home for the kiddos.  Just this week my little guy was running around the house with a cape tied over a sash- both concoctions he had made using his "play silks".  I love the magic that children bring into our home!

Buckwheat Pancakes for Breakfast

For breakfast I tried these Arrowhead Mills buckwheat pancakes- yummy!  I topped them with chopped fresh strawberries sweetened with a tablespoon of melted honey.  Very filling and very tasty.

Cookbook Review

I've been trying to eat less sugar and preservatives- and trying to consume more whole grains and vegetables. And can I just publicly announce that I really, really miss the sugar!!!  

I realized that most of cookbooks I own aren't very helpful in this area- they have gorgeous pictures of amazing desserts.  Even the main dishes are made with lots of processed ingredients and people put sugar in the strangest things....  So, I splurged and purchased two new cookbooks. 

I found the Power Foods cookbook on Amazon for $15.  It has lots of extra information about healthy foods to include in your diet- but so far, I've just been focusing on the healthy recipes.  I've tried the walnut- crusted chicken (I replaced the walnuts with pecans) and the lemon chicken with avocado-corn salsa chicken and both were excellent! 

I'll let you know how the other cookbook is (if I like it)- just browsing through it I noticed several unusual ingredients and the recipes seem to call for quite a bit of sugar... so, we'll see.

Bissell Carpet Cleaner: A Review

I have cream colored carpet.  I live on about an acre of land.  I live in Texas where the wind blows and the dust piles up.  I have kids (sometimes 2 sometimes 9).  I garden.  I have chickens.  I have an outside dog.  I have spots all over my carpets.  I can get wonderful results when I get down on my hands and knees and scrub using Resolve carpet cleaner. Wednesday I spent a full hour scrubbing just the computer room....  I decided to buy a carpet cleaner.

I purchased the bissell quicksteamer powerbrush.  I followed the directions.  I still have spots.  I was going to return the machine until I emptied the dirty water tank and gagged at how black it was- really disgusting- maybe I'll keep it. 

I'm torn.  All spots will still have to be removed by crawling around on the floor with a scrub brush.  However, a follow up with the bissell removed lots of gucky grime and (using the bissell products) leaves the house smelling nice- they say it will help my carpets last longer as well.  It is a very easy to use machine.  Easy to assemble.  Easy to fill.  Easy to empty the dirty water tank- just don't look at what you dump out- ick!
 

Long Exercise Pants

Picture from Target

I'm tall and have a 34"/ 35" inseam.  It's a bit tricky finding pants that are long enough.  So I was tickled when I found these Champion extra long boot cut Exercise Pants at Target.  I held them up and thought they were too short- but when I put them on they just stretched right out and- hurrah- I can exercise without the whole high water thing going on. 

There is one problem- they are so comfortable that I don't want to take them off and often end up lounging in them all day~