Laundry Room.... finally

I wish I was a decorator with lots and lots of time and money.  Then I would have the house that is on my Pinterest boards.  And then you would come over and we would drink wine and talk about my amazing house.  You would pin my house to your pinterest board with captions like LOVE IT!, Have to have,  Check out this lady and her amazing house, Want!....

For now, I have this blank and cluttered slate with stains on my carpet, crayon on my walls, flat paint, and serenity.  OH and my laundry room.  I've got my little laundry room.

Most of the accessories in the room are recycled (red and yellow spray paint baby).  Over the course of several months I purchased a few pieces using my regular household budget.  The painting is from Home Goods ($29.99) and I wasn't planning on spending that much on any single piece in the room but I couldn't pass it up.  SO adorable.

I  painted the door navy blue to cover up the scuff marks and finger prints.  The red rug was from Kohl's ($10 with a coupon).  It is not washable and it gets super dirty from the lint and laundry room stuff.  Read the care tags folks!

The red hooks were once white hooks from Lowe's that I bought for another project and forgot about.  (Look at sweet baby Liam)

And then there is the light.  My second favorite piece after the art but the piece that I am most proud of because it caused so much consternation in my life.

 

Here is the Before, a fancy contractor grade boob light.  I have lots of these in my house.  I really want to make a drum shade in my eating area so I thought I would start with a DIY trial in the laundry room.  Some of the tutorials include embroidery hoops (which I probably have if I wasn't too lazy to look) but I found this lamp shade at Lowe's for $5 and some red fabric for $3.  

 That's where the idea came to a screeching halt.  I was challenged by that ugly space between the existing light fixture and the shade.  I was challenged by the dimness of the light.  I was challenged by the task of securing the new fabric. I was challenged,  PINTEREST FAIL (again).

I spent months trying to figure it out.  I would get the ladder out, try to reconfigure, Kevin would come home, bump into the ladder (as unimpressed with my handiwork as I was), and I would put everything away.

Right before Christmas, Kevin gifted me with an afternoon to run around by myself.  I spent most of my afternoon on Junior League business but in between I stopped by Lamps Plus on a whim.  First time!  And I found the light.  It was more than I wanted to spend ($60) and I didn't believe the saleswoman when she told me that the light was a special order that usually goes for almost $400.  I was so incredulous she finally pulled it up on the inventory and showed it to me. 

 

I bought it thinking that I would bring it back the following week.   Once I saw the same fixture on Joss and Main for $325, I was sold.  It took several tries but I finally got the new light wired and installed.  I have never been so surprised to see a light turn on when I flipped the switch.  I love it.

The total cost for the project (including the Pinterest FAIL products) was just under $200.  

One room down, 12 to go.  At this rate, I will be done decorating this house by the time Patrick is in college.
 

DIY Cleaning Supplies

Oh Pinterest.  You are a full-time job my friend!  You make me cook and clean and mommy ALL day long.

One of my favorite Pinterest discoveries is DIY cleaning supplies.  You know I love buying cleaning supplies but it is so expensive and toxic and all that.  So as my cleaning supply cache has dwindled I have started making my own.  I pin all of these to my home management board, there are lots of others there too.  I just haven't tried all of them yet.

Mama Lou's Top DIY Cleaning Supplies

1. Granite Cleaner from 320 * Sycamore.  I finally have granite!  We love the granite in our new house but I have been SO disappointed with the expensive granite cleaners.  Streaky weaksauce!  This cleaner is cheap and easy to make (rubbing alcohol, dawn and water). I'm on my second bottle.
2. Stain Remover from Modern Day Moms.  I've used this on several different stains (BBQ sauce, Ink, stains of unknown origin) and it has worked like a charm.  I haven't used it on the carpet yet but that's next.  And again super easy (dawn and peroxide).
3.  Spray Starch from Crazy Mom Quilts.  Kevin started wearing shirts and ties to work and ironing, ironing, ironing.  I had store-bought spray starch with a broken non-clog spray valve.  It took a bit of coaxing but I got him to use it.  I added more starch (cause I like it heavy) but it works really well.
4. Shower Cleaner from Simple Organized Living.  I love the way this cleaner works.  And another easy recipe: vinegar and Dawn (notice a theme here?)

A couple of notes, I accidentally bought the  concentrated Dawn.  I've used it all now but I think next time I will use whatever dish soap I have on hand.  Your vinegar should be regular vinegar, Costco has the huge bottles cheap.  Get a big bag of baking soda too while you are there.  I use the combo of the two to clean drains.  Baking soda is a great odor remover for your carpets, towels, etc.

Other dual purposes:
1) Pledge for my stainless steel
2) Dryer sheets to clean baseboards
3)Vinegar for the windows
The list goes on and on.  Happy homemaking.

Food of Love Baby

Soup.  This is the time of year for soup, you can't beat it.  And I can't stop myself from making it.  I blame my mother, the soup queen.  One pot! Veggies included! Bread and Butter! A big pot of love! 

In the spirit of soup season, I wanted to share one of our favorites.  Pasta e Fagioli, minus the pasta.  Frankly I don't know what fagioli is but I think I still put that in there.  This is an Olive Garden knock-off by Top Secret Recipes guru Todd Wilbur.  Go get the recipe here and I will tell you about my version.


Patrick asks for this soup by name, as in, hey can we have that soup with the meat and beans.  If you have ever had dinner at my house during the winter you have probably had this soup.  I made this soup for kids before I had kids and they have all loved it (except Keith, who would probably eat it if I put the pasta back in it which I hadn't really considered until this very minute...hmmm.).

Other than dropping the pasta (because really this soup is plenty hearty and who wants to get another pot dirty), I also put an extra can of V-8 in instead of the tomato sauce.  With or without the pasta the soup isn't very brothy and this gives it some more liquid.....some lovely liquid veggies. 

A little bit of this.

As much of this as you want....

A bit of meat and wonderfulness in a bowl is all yours.

You can top it with fresh Parmesan and we love it with bread and butter (I mean: we love bread and butter)  You may be tempted to skip the vinegar but it is a necessary addition.  Dig in, you will love it.  Plus this is pretty cheap too...

Living in the "BEFORE"

Do you remember that old HGTV show "Before and After"?  It was great.  The host had a mustache that could have had a show of its own.  That wasn't what we liked about the show (however amusing), we just liked to see the pay-off..... old and dingy turns new and fancy.  Maybe this is the same reason I like a good makeover movie (almost watched Devil Wears Prada last night!).....

If you spend any time at all (or perhaps hours on end whilst your husband is at work) on decorating blogs you have been exposed to plenty of "before and after" shots.  In fact one of my favorite sites is "Better After"  a blog devoted to all of the great Before and After stories in the blogging universe.  This is the kind of stuff that inspires me (and makes me feel kind of small and insignificant).

Here's the problem (you have to have a problem, it's part of telling a story): our house is a BIG, FAT before.  And not in a crazy tartan wallpaper, dark wood paneling, hunter green carpet kind of a way.  More in a beige on beige, blah tract home kind of a way.  I know, you had this problem too and you painted it.  Good for you.  My problem is bigGER.  There is not enough valspar to deal with this issue(z).

On Wednesday, we stripped Serenity of the Christmas Clutter (tree is still up, just bare and dry).  Yesterday we went to Home Goods (where I have been known to spend hours on end) to look for a new something for over the fireplace.  We didn't find anything that made us jump up and down so we left empty-handed.  This is quite mature of us since we have been known to grab whatever is available in the moment only to hate it a year later.

While we were in Home Goods we couldn't help but bemoan the amount of stuff we need to do to our house.    Let me tell you all about it.
OUR BEFORE
1) The Kitchen

2) The Family Room

3) The Dining Room

4) Keith's Room

5) Our Room

6) The Boys' Bathroom

I could go on but for the purposes of this post I will keep it at six.

And the AFTER.... TADA! crickets
I've got nothing.  Well, maybe nothing is an exaggeration.

I've got ideas. Because the ideas aren't hard, it's the execution of the ideas that I find so challenging.  I keep no less than five lists/compilations of my ideas.  Here's a peek at "Idea Box"

So this year we are going to do it, I have no money and no time but we are going to make it happen.  And "we" is me until June because Kevin is going to work on conquering his Masters (including a thesis!). Some of the major projects (Mr. Kitchen!  Floors, counters, remod.) will have to wait due to funding and time  but I'm going to spruce and organize and paint (grrr. I hate painting) as much as possible with the time and money I have.  I am going to be an after (in at least 6 rooms).  I will promise you that I will get distracted by a million other things that need to be spruced, organized, and painted.  I just figure that six specific project rooms in twelve months is possible, even on my schedule.

And I'm going to remember The Nester's famous advice “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful”.  

The easiest yearlong project EVER

Last year, Thrfty Decor Chick made really cute gift tags from recycled Christmas cards.  As far as crafts go this is my speed.... Cheap, fast and easy.  Flashback to Christmas 2008.  Not only did I make a special trip to Joann's to buy a pretty punch, I kept the bin that is full of old cards out, and I kept my card storage out.  I was ready!  All year long.....  I finally got to it in late November (2009).  Not quite a full year after launching the project but pretty close.  I was able to work on the 2008 cards that were still hanging out in the Christmas card storage snowman, and that covered all of the gifts for 2009.

Tonight, I conquered several years of Christmas cards and found a $100 bill for my trouble.... worth the wait, no?  Oh and by the way, I was too lazy to get up and grab my camera, (sitting on the counter 4 steps away from my perch) so you get some marvelous phone pics again.  ENJOY, I'm such a slave for my art.

Meet my puncher.  Square.  I couldn't find the rectangle one like TDC's.  Can you see my Benjamin?  I sorted through hundreds of cards and letters and pictures.  It was kind of fun to see all of the memories from our friends and family.  I haven't been through all of the cards for a long time (ok never). 

I did this project with "help" aka Keith so you know it is easy (his favorite cards include Baby Jesus.  He would "pick" what to punch: Baby Jesus and help me line it up and punch it.  Then he would kiss Baby Jesus and run over to show his brother who would respond: I know what Baby Jesus looks like!).  You take a super cute card, because that is the only kind of card you all send to me.  If you are lucky the card will have several opportunities for punching.  This snowman card (KZ shout out!) not only has cute snowmen to punch but cute background too.

See look...  Cute with a scalloped edge x 3.    If I had a rectangle puncher or a different shape I am sure that I could get several from a card like this.  But that would require a trip out of the house and real clothes and *sigh* Riverpark is NOT vacation.  So, now you just punch a hole and write your recipient's name on the blank side and you are ready to gift.

About a thousand times.

OBSERVATION (free of charge): Christmas cards have changed A LOT.  As in, hardly anyone sends an actual card anymore.  Don't get me wrong, I love the pictures and creativity.  And I can't remember the last time I purchased an actual Christmas card.   Do you think Hallmark has noticed?

You can make that...

That's what my husband told me when I was soliciting his opinion on these super cute clip boards I found on etsy (I LOVE ETSY).  I was shopping for teacher gifts and thought the clip boards were cute.  He snorted and told me that I have all the materials to make them myself.  Huh, I hadn't thought of that.

So off I went to inspect my stash of scrapbook paper and supplies.  I was unimpressed and set out to purchase the things my husband was confident I already owned (snort). Patrick's teacher is on maternity leave so everything was multiplied by two because I wanted one for both his teacher and the sub.

Oh My Modge Podge (yes, I call it Modge Podge.  We are down like that), it has been too long my friend. Oh how will we work together next?

Paper (on sale at Michael's) $1

Clipboards $2.79 each

Ribbon (some of what I used I did have in my closet) $1

Mod Podge $5.99

I used the directions from the Michael's site.  And here we are.....

What say you?

NEXT PROJECT!!!! My balls!

I have always wanted to add a wreath to my light fixture.  I just never got around to it, this year we made an ornament wreath and it now adorns the fixture in the dining room.  I have a thing for bright Christmas ball ornaments.  Somehow, when they hang out together, they are even prettier.  I need more!!!!  But I'll wait.  This was a no-cost 15 minute project.  I used ribbon that I had in my closet and all of the balls were from my stash.  I love projects like this!

Next Project: MAKE-UP
My sister and I don't fight anymore.  We haven't had a real argument for years.  But if you asked our mutual friends they would probably tell you that we are prone to (public) sisterly squabbling, that they find hilarious no doubt.  Anyway, presents for our children are a sore subject.  Especially when I buy nail polish and chapstick for Abby (heh).  So when I saw what Emily at Not So Idle Hands created, I knew I had to create my own faux make-up for my darling nieces (x4).  And it is another cheap and quick project!

Step one: Buy make-up at the Dollar Store.  I would have used recycled make-up but I went on an unprecedented cleaning frenzy a few months ago and threw out a Walgreens worth of old make-up (yes, I have a problem).  I found these at the Dollar Store.  By the way, Dollar Store make-up STINKS!  Can anyone wear this without getting a rash????

Step 2: Find old nail polish (possibly buried with your button collection, as though I would ever mend an actual button).

 Step 3: Assess your strange preferences in nail polish and wonder what you would do if you still painted your own toenails.  Decide that you are grateful that your current love of red toes didn't span the years and also decide that although you might have had odd taste in blue and purple nail polish, it is paying off right now.

Step 3: Work with your partner to open all of the packages and remove the real make-up from their little dishes. 

Step 4: Coordinate colors based on the girls' personalities and pour.

Step 5: Oh and Ah over the beauty (that's your partner's job)

Step 6: Wait for it to dry.
One problem: the smell is a bit much.  Kevin wanted me to put it outside to limit the number of brain cells killed for this project.  It was pretty cold in the garage and the nail polish shrunk.  I am going to re-pour tonight and see what happens.

AND FINALLY:
The running joke in our office is about the one stapler that actually works.  We all pass the broken staplers around, swipping the only operational stapler from the current owners desk.  So, (since I'm the best boss ever) I bought each staff member their own (high quality stapler) and put a personal touch on each one.  I love this (mama lou original!)  Bling bling.   Hmmm.... What other office products need a little something?

 

I'm done!!!!  Off to our office party..... we're going to the MET! shhhh.......

My first freezer day

This is probably only interesting if you are me, so you are excused from reading this blog entry..... Another blog confession:  I buy and serve far more pre-packaged (somewhat overly processed) dinners than I would like to, given perfection.  I have been contempleting this situation for some time and have tried various methods that pay attention to nutrition, time, taste and money.  There is no easy solution to making nutritious, cheap, quick meals.  Money Saving Mom routinely sets aside a day to cook freezer meals, freezer meal starters and whatever else tickles her fancy.  I have never tackled multiple dishes before but I have had some success in freezing foods.  Usually it is an unplanned event.  I might have a giant zucchini that needs to be used, or too many meatballs, or too much chili.  Whatever, it is sporadic.  As much as I have been planning a cooking day, this cooking day was a bit unplanned too.

 I was shopping without a list at Costco on Friday night and 8 lbs of hamburger jumped into my cart when I wasn't looking.  The hamburger also invited friends amounting to almost $700.  I thought I might win some prize at check-out, no such luck.  I did however, successfully floor my husband.  He even got the calculator out to make sure there wasn't some kind of error on my receipt.  Still waiting for that prize......  Anyway, I bought hamburger thinking, "oh I can make some meatballs and have a freezer day."  Knowing full well that freezer day doesn't work that way, I proceeded on with my little half-baked plan.  I wanted to make:
1) Pizza dough (we eat a lot of homemade pizza.  I usually buy Trader Joe's premade dough and freeze it.  It costs a couple of bucks a bag, but I figure I can make it for a fraction of the cost.)
2) Pizza Sauce (I don't like the bottled pizza sauce and regular marinara is to watery and expensive.  This is a test)
3) Meatballs (Costco's frozen meatballs are nasty.  Thank goodness my boys would eat them so they didn't go to waste.  I prefer my Giada meatballs which I regularly freeze a portion.)
4) Macaroni and Cheese for Keith (Considered doing some healthy alternative to the blue box.)
5) Shepherd's Pie (Made 2 of these last winter on a whim and everyone loved it.  Great healthy one dish meal.  Kevin's favorite.)
6) Banana Bread (Another repeat performance)
7) Chili

First thing I learned from Money Saving Mom?  Get rid of the kids.  Thanks to Mr. Television, the boys happily colored and rotted their brains for 2 hours while I cooked and washed dishes. There was some meatball damage at the hands of Mr. Keith but other than that it was very smooth.



My planning time amounted to cruising the Internet for recipes 15 minutes before I was ready to cook.  No luck with that so I resorted to my tried and true Meatball recipe .  I can call it mine because mine isn't exactly the same as Giada's.  I also got out my Shepherd's Pie recipe (this is one of the only Rachael Ray recipes that I actually like).  I didn't have a pizza sauce recipe just a compilation of recipes in my head (bad news).  I ditched the Macaroni and Cheese because I bought a Costco size back supply of the blue boxes (shame).  I made banana bread the night before and was shocked that my dozen frozen over-ripe bananas only yielded two loafs of banana bread.  Oh well.  I forgot about the chili while trying to figure out how to divide an odd amount of meat into double and triple recipes for the meatballs and Shepherd's pie.  And I ran out of time for the pizza dough.

I thought I had ingredients for everything.  I thought wrong....  I didn't even have recipes ready for everything, let alone ingredients.  At the very least I figured I had the supplies to make pizza sauce.  One can of crushed tomatoes, this is perhaps the only point in my tenure as a mother and wife that I haven't had any tomato products in my pantry.  How is it possible that I can run out of tomato sauce, paste, petite cut tomatoes, whole tomatoes, even bottled sauce at the same time! I pushed ahead, dumped my impromptu recipe (don't ask me to repeat it, it is embarassing) into the crock pot and figured I would have time to go to the store.  Hmmph....

I love my Calphalon.  I don't use my pans enough.  The grazy loved coming together in this pan.

The ap for this?  Convert units.  I should have used this before I started cooking to make the doubling and tripling easier.  I will definately use it when I do my holiday baking (and freezing).  There is nothing worse than getting to the point in your recipe that requires 3 teaspoons of something and now you have to triple it and you know it will take longer to convert it in your head but really putting 9 teaspoons of anything in a recipe is just ridiculous.  Thank you iPhone.

Almost done, Meatballs ready to be balled, pizza sauce cooking, Shepherd's Pies cooling (I extended the recipe to make three pies instead of two.  I think it is enough filling in each.  I'll let you know)

The meatball tools.  I know I could flash freeze the meatballs and they would be perfect little balls but I like to use the cookie thing to get even portions and I have had a lot of luck with Press and Seal.  Normally I would use the freezer grade but again with the planning and preparation (there wasn't any).  

The result is round meatballs with flat bottoms.  No worrying about losing a meatball when somebody sneezes and perfect for meatball sandwiches.  I like a smaller meatball because they defrost and cook faster and the boys can handle them.  Besides, there is just something gross about a huge ball of meat, but that's just me.  And I made 134 meatballs in no time at all.  We will eat the meatballs in soup, on pizza, sandwiches, and of course with pasta.  They are good in lasagna too.

So that's it.  I am now plotting my baking day which will include the pizza dough that got left out.  We are eating one of the Shepherd's pies tonight.  Perfect for a cold rainy day.