Sewing Room Makeover

Warning: This post is going to be waaaaaay picture heavy. More like picture obese but I am too excited by this project not to share!  Recently my serger went on the blink (crrrrry!) so I had to take it in to the shop to be serviced and repaired. (By the way, if you are in the Morristown, TN area check this guy out. He did a fantastic job with my machine!) I decided that since there would be no sewing for about a week that I would accomplish a task that I have wanted to do since we moved into this house almost 3 years ago - paint the sewing room. Sounds simple enough right? But, the sewing room has floor to ceiling paneling. Ah yes, I'm sure that was all the rage and lovely and all in the 70s but it's not really my cup of tea. Inspired by the awesome couple at Young House Love who promised you could paint an entire room under $50 and an in afternoon (yeah, I want my money back on that guarantee!) I decided to tackle the task. I knew it was going to be a big job and it was. Mostly because I'm a bit slap happy with the paint. I don't like to tape and I don't like to move thing. So had I emptied the room first it might have been a quicker project. The built-ins took more time than I expected but boy was it worth it. 

Lessons learnt in the process: 

- If you're thinking of tackling a job like this just go into it realizing it is a big job. 

- The primer STINKS but it sticks like glue and no way is that paint coming off! 

- You should probably empty the room first. It helps you keep paint off stuff. ;)

Wanna see the results?

BEFORE...

Well, these are actually form a few years ago when we first moved into the house. I took some actual "before" pictures but my phone died a week later and I lost them all. But you'll get the general idea. Not bad. TONS of space (I used to sew on my dining room table at the old house so this was heaven to me!) Just not very inspiring, ya know?

 AFTER!!! 

The built-ins!

 The jars up top are baby food jars stuffed with ribbons, lace, etc

 Basset Puppy Photo Bomb!

View from the door...

 I wonder what that Chevron curtain is hiding???

 Ta-da! All my crap...er, important craft stuff ;)

 Just 'cause he's cute :)

 Everything within arms reach. I plan on getting little cup hooks for the space below the shevling to hang scissors, cutters, rulers, etc. But I'd have to find those things first...

 More prettie...sigh...

 Ribbons in a jar are fun. Ribbons in a bottle are even MORE fun!

These are waiting to be filled with buttons.

More pretty stuff!

Have I told you just how much I love this space? I walk in here and smile. I'm also a lot more inspired to create new stuff (blog posts on that to come!). So painting paneling, yes it's smelly and a bit time consuming but soooo, soooo, sooooo worth it. 

C

PS: Did you notice the newest addition to our family? He's a basset Hound. His name is Bingo. I'll let you figure out why ;)

Ten Second Pretty Storage Box DIY

I am in the process of making my "mud-closet" (it's like a mudroom, in a closet) and when I have a project I walk around my house looking for things I can re-use which is probably why my house will never be "done." I found a stash of these little woven boxes at the $1 store recently and thought they were pretty cute and hey, can't beat a $1 , so I bought a few.

Cute right?

Well, they were being used in the art supply cabinet but they have been "reassigned." I decided to use them in the mud-closet, one each for me and the husband to throw our miscellaneous belongings (keys, wallet, etc) in when we walk in the door. But as I was carrying them out of the craft room something caught my eye. Ten seconds later I had this...

Squeeeee! How much cuter is this?!?

Want to see how I made it?

It's a door knob I "rescued" (yes, rescued - it needed a good home) from the clearance bin at Hobby Lobby. I paid $1 for two of them. They usually run around $2.50 but with a coupon they can be even less. I just shoved it through the weaving of the basket and tightened the bold. Yes, it does stick out on the other side but that doesn't bother me. You could probably find some shorter ones.

Here's a sneak peek into my work-in-progress mud-closet...

The inside of closets are reeeally hard to photograph by the way...

$2, ten seconds and done. Now this is my kind of DIY!
-C

We All Gotta Learn To Go. Doesn't Mean I Have To Enjoy It!

It’s potty training time at the Princess house. Have I ever told you just how much I detest potty training? Seriously, kids should stay in diapers until they are capable to changing them themselves. Diapers are just so so much easier. I’ll never forget when we first started PTing the BP. I don’t know what possessed us to PT her right before a long trip but the month we started to PT we took a trip to Fl. Kentucky to Florida. 12 hours in a Corolla packed to the brim with a two year old. Fun. Like having your eyelashes plucked, fun.  She very quickly figured out that if she yelled, “Potty” we would pull the car over, stop and get out. Unfortunately sometimes she would go and sometimes she wouldn’t and when you’re PTing you don’t dare assume they are crying ‘wolf’ because that will be the time they do need to go. We must have seen every nasty, disgusting gas station bathroom between KY and Fl. And I’m not talking about the nicer ones (it’s all relative) that are inside the store. I’m talking about the kind where you have to go inside and get a key, drive around the side of the building and pray you won’t find a dead body inside, kind of restroom – you know the ones.

PT is annoying. You have to take extra clothes with you. There’s no telling them to ‘hold it’. It’s one thing cleaning up diapers (and I use cloth!) but cleaning up underwear grosses me out (I’m weird like that).  At least once a day you will get everyone in the car, buckled and be pulling down the driveway when someone will scream, “I have to go potty!”  You will say the word potty so frequently that you will insert it into every sentence quite by accident. “What time is the potty, er, I mean party?” You will begin to ask your spouse, friends and even your UPS man if they need to use the potty as they leave your home.  Potty training just plain stinks. Literally.

Now I use the term ‘Potty Train’ fairly loosely. My method is basically to make a potty available and let them figure it out – I’m lazy like that. So LP has used the potty on her own accord a few times (she’s 20 months). She’ll tell me, I’ll strip her, she’ll go. And we all dance and cheer around the house. If you don’t have kids then this might sound like a ridiculous thing to do – just you wait until YOU have kids ;) The problem I’m having is that she seems to be a bit of an exhibitionist. She’ll tell me she has to go then she strips herself and runs away from me. Naked.  I then proceed to chase her around the house trying to put her diaper back on as she screams, “No, no, no!” I would let her stay naked but its butt-cold degrees outside and she can’t be trusted to use the potty. Sigh. I think I am actually going to have to make an effort to PT this one. I think she’s ready. She’s started removing her clothes and clean diaper during her nap only to promptly pee in the bed. I’d say that’s a readiness sign. For now I have to put her in zip up PJs which thankfully she hasn’t figured out how to unzip – yet.

I saw this the other day and a lot of bloggers I read think it is terrible.

 

 

 

I think it is brilliant. I know a lot of people (not naming any names…me) who have their potty in the living room and use the TV to bribe, er, give incentive for their kid to use the potty. Getting them to sit there long enough is half the battle. This eliminates (pun absolutely intended!) that. And there aren’t many parents I’ve met who don’t use some kind of “incentive” when PTing. Stickers, M&Ms, TV time, etc. We all do it. So, I like the IPotty. Yes, I am a terrible, terrible parent.  

-C

Closet to Mudroom Plans

One thing that has caught my eye recently has been mudroom makovers. If you don't know what a mudroom is it is a room or area at the entry way of your house that is designed to hold all the "stuff" you cast off when you walk into the house. It also holds all the "stuff" you need as you walk out the door. Coats, gloves, bag, wallets, etc. Currently our "stuff" is scattered in various places around the house and when we walk out the door I am walking from room to room gathering what I need. Daiper bag in the hall. Wallet and keys in the kitchen. Kid bag in the bedroom. Sunglasses in the bedroom. Keys, where on earth did I set down my keys?!? Sound familiar? Phew, so I'm not the only one! Unfortunatly in our home the entry way is not designed to host such an awesome coming and going command center.We do however have a closet right at our entry way. Its a pretty good sized one too. If you didn't know this already I kind of have a thing for removing doors (cabinet doors, closet doors, etc). I was looking at it the other day with that "I wonder if" look on my face (husband disappears when he sees this look) and thought, how about removing the door and making my closet the mudroom!!! How awesome would it be to have a special beautiful space all organized for easy coming and going? So I might be dreaming but I could totally see how I could make this work. So I googled "Closet as mudroom" because I know I am not the only genius who has had this epiphany and I came up with several fabulous ideas.

Here is Dana Miller's version over at House*Tweaking of what I want to achieve. I love, love what she did here.

I also came across this transformation HERE. The author of this blog used some self assemble Martha Stewart benches and shelving. How cute is that?!?

So I plan to do a bit of a mixture of them both. Originally, I planned to build some Ana White benches but I started to look around at what I had that I could make a bench out of. My eyes fell to my pile of pallers (yes, I keep a pile on hand. What can I say, I live next door to an office supply company, when they get a good batch in I snag it!) The idea of a bench with a lid is cute and all but doesn't that just lend itself to being filled with crap? So I'm going to make this: 

Don't you just love it? I'll probably add some spacers between the pallets to make the spaces deeper for baskets to hold shoes and what not. You can check out the tutorial for this here.

So here are the things on my "To Do" List:

1. Clean out closet (groan!) 

2. Paint said closet

3. Measure closet and build bench

4. Install hooks and shelving

5. Shop for cute baskets and accessories. (yay)

I'm really excited about about this project. I just hope it turns out as awesome in real life as it looks in my head! Now I just need a warmish day so I can spend some quality time with my sander. 

-C

Cleaning the Dishwasher. What??

Back and blogging baby! Sorry I've been slack, things have been nutso!  Thought I'd start my "comeback" by share something  I found out today that kind of shocked and surprised me. I consider myself a pretty clean person.  This doesn't mean that toys aren't all over the floor of my living room and shoes don't litter the floor, it just means that for the most part things are at least clean. For the most part. However today I cleaned something I have never, ever cleaned before and I don't know why it has never occurred to me to clean it. Seems you are supposed to clean your dishwasher. I know, who knew right? I mean, isn't it like a bar of soap? Always clean? Ok, maybe a bad example. ;)  But really, how bad can it be? Turns out, pretty bad. Yeah, as in I-want-to-run-all-my-dishes-through-my-now-clean-dishwasher bad. Twice.

Thankfully, cleaning your dishwasher is not necessarily a tough thing to do. Now I don't claim to be a professional cleaner so continue at your own risk but this is how I did it:

Note: I also used this tutorial as a guide. It's great with some wonderful suggestions so go check it out.

Supplies:

• Hot water
• Vinegar
• Your child's old Hello Kitty Toothbrush (Hello Kitty optional)
• Paper Towels
• Wash Cloth/Rag
• A Strong Stomach

Steps:

1. Start with a "clean" dishwasher:

2. Fill your sink with hot water and add 1-2 cups of vinegar. Remove the top and bottom racks. Wipe down with a gentle all purpose cleaner or your vinegar/water mix.

3. Remove and disassemble the parts in the bottom of the dishwasher. Check your manual for instructions on how to do this. If you don't have the manual just remove what looks like will come apart easily, don't force anything. Wash these pieces gently in your sink of water/vinegar. Use a toothbush or other pokey cleaning object (toothpick?) to get into any holes or crevices where particles of food might be hiding.

4) Now survey the scene (try not to gag!) Here's what I found:

How embarrassing!!!

5) Take your toothbush and scrub all those edges where gunk and gunge might be hiding. Rinse and repeat until it is all gone.

6) Wipe out the inside with your water/vinegar mix.

7) Now put everything back the way you found it. Step back and admire your work.

Optional:

At the end I threw in a couple of cups into the bottom of the dishwasher and did a light wash on SUPER hot. Couldn't hurt ay? ;)

Want to see what the water looked like after all that scrubbing and washing?

You know what this means right? It means that this is what I was "washing" my dishes in. Gag! Nasty! Ewwww!

So I'm going to add this to my quarterly house cleaning duties. I also think I am going to become super vigilant about rinsing my dishes before washing them. Now I'm starting to wonder, what other things have I supposed to have been cleaning but didn't know it? Maybe I am grosser than I thought...sigh.

- C

The Cheats Guide to Christmas...

It's beginning to look a lot like..chaos!

This year I totally stink at being "that mum". Actually, I stink every year. Every year I think, "Next year I will do better. I will make dozens and dozens of Christmas cookies. I will decorate the entire house. I do a craft with the monsters er, angels every day. I will adopt a kid from the tree in the mall. We will sing the songs and burn that yule log (whatever that is) and have a proper Christmas!" And every year, fail and so far this year I haven't done all that well either. For one I've been crazy busy opening a business (another post for another day but that is one of the reasons why the blog has been all crickets) and second, Christmas has kind of snuck up on me this year. Which it should not have because well, my house has been set up for Christmas since the week before Thanksgiving (thanks MIL!). I realized tonight that, gasp, I haven't made the girls' Christmas dresses this year! I know, I know! Worst mother of the year. To make matters worse, I (brace yourselves) went to JCP tonight and BOUGHT one. Yes one, LP doesn't even get one this year. I am a horrible, excuse of a mother. ;)

So this year, I've decided to cheat at the whole decking the halls and all that holly, jolly stuff. Here is my checklist of ten things we are going to get done and then I am calling it good. I promise (yeah right!) that next year I will do better. Next year call me Martha S. because it is ON!

1) Bake Cookies.
You HAVE to bake cookies for Christmas, HAVE to. But ummm..when I say "bake" I use that term loosely. A box of store bought shortbread cookies and boxed icing totally counts. ;) Or if you're feeling REALLY keen, try this recipe...it's a winner. (Tip: Read the reviews, they'll help).

2) The MiniVan Express
Does sitting my kids out in the driveway to look at our own lights count? No, oh, ok. This I can do. Fake tickets. If necessary drive through McDs for hot chocolate (watch out, I've heard it's actually hot!) and maybe a donut or two if I don't have time to make something. Easy.

3) Elf on the Shelf
One year when I am a cool mum I will do all the fun stuff I see all over Facebook and Pinterest of the Elf getting up to mischief around the house but this year the princesses are just content to find "her" in different locations around the house. Did you know that there are 24 days before Christmas in December and did you know you run out of hiding places after about day 7. Seriously.

4) A Giant Colouring Christmas Tree

How cool is this to encourage your kids to write on the walls!?! Yes. We are doing this. Tomorrow actually. A purchase of Magic Erasers might be in order. Also, this is the craft that keeps on crafting. No need to find a new and exciting thing to do every day just add to the tree. Glitter, stickers, paint, left over peanut butter and jelly. Fun times.

5) Visit Santa.
Do this on the cheap, do not be suckered into buying the mall Christmas photos. If necessary buy one of those long range telescopic lense things. Yes they're more expensive but it's the principle! Or find a Bass Pro Shop, they're free there ;)

6) Read the Night Before Christmas
In your best British accent. It's more fun that way. Trust me.

7) Read the Story of Jesus' Birth
Just because that one never really gets old :)

8) Take a Family Photo in Front of the Christmas Tree
It's a team building exercise for you and your spouse. If you can survive that you can survive anything. You get extra points if you have pets.

9) Make a Gingerbread House
Every year I've wanted to do one but never got around to it. Walmart sells a kit so this year, no excuses.

10) Have your Husband Make a Christmas CD
Then proceed to mock every song and replace words with very similar words until he is also singing the wrong words. Good times.

And that's it. Memories will be made. Fun will be had by all. Next year, I will do better.

Merry Christmas to all...and I hope you survive it.

C

My Easy Thanksgiving Menu 2012

For the past few years I have hosted Thanksgiving. Me. The Kiwi. I don't think we even have turkey's in New Zealand, do we? Now brace yourself, what I have to tell you might shock you. We do not celebrate Thanksgiving in New Zealand. Surprisingly, it's not really all that important to us that the pilgrims came to America and had a meal with the Indians and they all sat down together afterwards and sang kum ba yah. I know, I know, you think this is a universal holiday and that the rest of the world does wat you all do but really, we don't. ;) I tell you this because I have multiple conversations every single year with people who assume that we in new Zealand celebrate Thanksgiving. Actually, I had one last night at Zumba (you know who you are!) and it always makes me laugh. But honestly, it is my favorite holiday and I have whole heartedly adopted the tradition. A whole day devoted to food and shopping? What's not to love?!?

I have fine tuned my holiday menu and seeing as I need to write my shopping for tonight I thought I would share what I do.

Turkey:
This is the recipe I use: A Simply Perfect Roast Turkey. Don't be put off by the amount of basting it requires. It really is not time consuming at all. The way I see it I am already in the kitchen so it's no big deal. I just set the timer at 30 minute increments and make a note how many times I've basted.

I can never find "turkey broth" so I just use chicken broth. The turkey is super moist and yummy and has been perfect every time...knock on wood!

Stuffing:
I use a recipe I found in a Taste of Home Magazine. It is a Cranberry Pecan Stuffing I don't use it to stuff my bird. I usually just cook it in a dish and serve on the side. It makes a big dish and reheats well for leftovers. It has a lot of flavor and is a little more interesting than ordinary plain stuffing.

Potatoes:
I do a make ahead recipe that I can do the night before and just reheat on the day. One less thing to worry about preparing. Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes You can make these the night before then put them in the crockpot for 6-7 hours until ready to serve.

Veggie 1:
My family LOVES this Creamed Corn with Bacon dish. It's really quick but tastes like you've had to do something really special to it. I just use frozen corn and it is so good!

Veggie 2:
Broccoli with Lemon Sauce We make this a lot here. I am not a green bean fan (sorry, I know it's considered a Thanksgiving staple!), actually I'm not a green anything fan but I could eat this broccoli and lemon sauce all day. This record does work with lemon juice but try to use a real lemon if you can, I think it tastes a lot better that way.

Cranberry Salad:
This recipe is a family recipe that belongs to the husband's grandmother. Warning, it makes a HUGE bowl full but it is so so good!

Ingredients:
3 x pck cherry jello
1 x small can crushed pineapple
Juice from the crushed pineapple
4 finely chopped apples
1 lb raw cranberries grinded in mixer
1.5 c sugar
1.5 c hot water
1 c chopped walnuts (optional)

Dissolve Jello and sugar in hot water. Stir in juice from pineapple. Add chopped apples, grinded cranberries, and nuts (optional). Refrigerate until set (overnight is best).

Bread Rolls
I just use the recipe that came with my bread maker for this. They're just plain simple rolls and that in and of itself makes them awesome :)

Ingredients:
1 x egg
1 c + 1 TBSP of water
3 TBSP Oil
3 TBSP Sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/4 c bread flour (make sure you use BREAD flour)
1.5 tsp yeast

Dump it all in there then hit your roll cycle. When finished, divide into pieces and shape. Place on baking tray and let rise (if you want, I never do and mine always turn out perfect). Bake at 350 F for 15-25 minutes.

Pumpkin Pie:
I LOVE this pumpkin pie recipe. I can't remember where I've found it but I've been making it for the last 7 years.

Ingredients:
1 x 15oz can pumpkin
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
Dash of salt
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. whipping cream
3 x eggs
Bag of Heath Chocolate and Toffee Pieces
2 x 9" frozen pie shell

Mix in a large bowl the first 11 indigents. Mix together really well. Sprinkle Heath pieces in a layer onto the inside base of your pie shells. Pour mixture into pie shells. Bake at 375 F for 1.5hrs or until done. Let cool then top with whipped cream and sprinkle with Heath pieces.

I only have one oven so I make a cooking plan. Here's what I do:

Wednesday:
- Make Potatoes
- Make Cranberry Salad
- Make pies

Thursday: (we eat around 2pm)
- Start with the turkey around 9am. Have the turkey in the oven by 9:30am.
- Make the stuffing and have it ready to put in the oven when the turkey comes out (around 1:30pm)
- I cook the bread at the same time as the stuffing. The temps are a little different but I find it still comes out fine.
- The corn and broccoli can be made on the stove top so you can make those at any time before it it time to eat.

By making some things ahead on the day it makes being in the kitchen a lot less stressful. So there you have it. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

- C