The hit TLC TV show “Extreme Couponing” has piqued the interest of more than a few people who want to realize the same type of savings as the shoppers who demonstrate their techniques and receipts for the show’s cameras.  Even I have made an effort to learn more about how to save money with coupons.  Very quickly, I discovered that it can take a lot of time, energy, and organization to coupon to the extent of the show’s characters…three things I seem to have in short supply these days.

I still have lofty goals of making a shopping trip where I pay little or nothing when I walk back out the door, but for now, I’ve settled for buying items that are on sale.  I like to create a weekly meal plan and it begins with the local grocery store’s weekly advertisement.  I scout out the good deals, hope that I can pair them with some coupons out of my clippings book, and usually leave the store satisfied that I’m feeding my family for less money than if I’d gone into the shopping trip without planning.  Just having a framework for the meals of the week helps me to feel more organized and relaxed about the busy days ahead.  Scouting out deals and planning the trip to the grocery store takes some of my precious time, but the investment up-front is worth the peace of mind and satisfaction that happens afterwards.

Saving money and great deals don’t just happen in the aisles of your local grocery store.  Many deals can be found online at your favorite retailers.  Always be sure to scout out the store’s website you want to shop at to find a link to their deals and/or coupons.  It’s a great way for you to pick up items that you love for a price that you will love even more.  If you are a fan of rustic and log furniture, you can shop the best prices every day at JHE’s Log Furniture Place.  This site also frequently offers additional deals on their Current Discounts page.  Be sure to bookmark this page to visit whenever you are shopping for log or reclaimed wood furniture.  Saving money is great, and when you can save on something you love and looks great in your home, it feels even better.

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Are you like me…do you have a log chair that has weathered sooner than you had anticipated?  Did you order it in a natural finish with the intention of slapping a clearcoat on it once it hit your doorstep, and now it’s a year (or two, or ten) later and the sealant is still in the can that you bought it in?  Fear not, there is a way to refresh your log outdoor furniture and bring that “new cedar wood” glow around again.

There are many chemical-based solutions available for cleaning and stripping weathered wood.  A trip to your local hardware store will yield many choices.  However, the thing with “natural wood” furniture is that you would like to keep it as natural as possible, right?  There is a cleanser available that won’t harm your kids, pets, or the environment.  It’s a white powdery wonder that (usually) comes in a little box…baking soda!

Fill a 5-gallon bucket with water and add some baking soda, mixing until the soda has dissolved.  Then, using a brush or a handsprayer or a roller, soak down the chair with the solution.  Immediately use a power sprayer on the chair, washing away all of the gray areas and leaving fresh, clean cedar wood.

Using this method, you can get an older, more weathered chair to match a new addition to the outdoor log furniture family.  At my house, a Contoured Comfort Log Lounge Chair had claimed a corner of our porch as a home for nearly a year when another one came to join it.  In order to match up the weathering process (and prepare them for a staining project), we applied the baking soda treatment with great results.  If you are on a budget and can only add a piece or two of outdoor cedar furniture at a time, baking soda will be your friend year after year.  Start your Contoured Comfort chair collection for just $103.94!

Baskets are such a versatile accessory in home décor.  They can hold a variety of objects and look great doing it.  Baskets can be found in nearly every shape and size that hold everything from tiny trinkets to enormous eccentricities.  They may be painted or stained, natural or decorated.  You may choose to fill them with decorative pieces and put them out on display or use them to stash away important items that aren’t so attractive and cover them with a matching lid.

People who like to decorate in a primitive country style use a lot of baskets , sometimes just for their aesthetic value.  Rustic ladders are hung from the ceiling and baskets are then hung from its rungs.  Woven wooden vessels occupy the space between kitchen cabinets and the ceiling.  Dashes of color and texture are tucked into baskets and placed into nooks and crannies for an instant dash of rustic decor.

The Camp Store Log Standing Basket Tree was created from cedar logs with the purpose of displaying small merchandise items in a pet store.  However, it can become a very effective way of displaying your cherished basket collection.  It can also serve as a decorative way to store your kids’ toys or stuffed animals, craft supplies, magazines and reading material, even clothing and socks.  The four swivel castors hidden under the base make it very portable and easy to move from room to room, if you so desire.  This basket tree comes complete with 12 -½ bushel baskets and can be yours for the affordable price of $299.

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I used to be an avid bicyclist.  At least four days a week, I was out riding my bicycle.  At that time, it was as much of a social activity as it was physical.  Many of my friends would ride along, and we would make our way at a casual pace until we decided it was time to stop for a cold beverage.  Part of the beauty of a bicycle is that many of the things you will want or need on a ride can be packed on the bike so it’s very handy when you need it.  This was also true for beverages.  Some of the riders actually engineered cooler trailers that doubled as a DJ stand.  Needless to say, I had some great times out on the bicycle trails.

Five years and two kids later, my bike carries more dust than beverages.  I recently took one of them down and fastened a trailer to it, but now I’m towing my son instead of a cooler.  He instantly loved riding in the Burley, and I’m happy know that I have a budding bicyclist in the house.

One of the challenges I face, albeit a small one, is that my tow bicycle does not have a kickstand.  In my bicycling world, it’s a faux pas to put a kickstand on your bike unless you have a VERY good reason.  Anytime you need to step away from the bike, you either teepee it with someone else’s, lean it up against something solid, or lay it down carefully (chain ring side up) on the ground.  The problem is, with a trailer attached to the back of it and a little boy that is VERY excited to climb into it, none of those are really good tactics.

I arrived at the decision that I need to put a nice solid bench outside my garage.  It will serve two purposes:  one, a reliable resting spot that my bike can’t scratch and two, a seat for my eager two-year-old to wait on while I get ready for our ride.  Of course the bench must fit in with the landscaping, so a half-log seat on log legs is perfect for my situation.  You can get your own North Woods Half Log Bench at an affordable price of $179.  Park your bike, butt, or bucket on this bench…it is sturdy enough for almost any purpose.

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Here in the Heartland, the weather has a habit of changing suddenly.  I remember, growing up, that people would laugh and exclaim, “if you don’t like the weather now, wait a few minutes”.  While that is still true in Iowa, I have also found some wacky weather changes when I’ve lived in other parts of the country.

We have been fortunate enough to experience some unseasonably warm temperatures over this past winter and especially in the early spring.  A town in central Iowa has a well-known and highly attended tulip festival every spring.  This year, the tulips will be done blooming before the festival gets underway.  Trees are leafing and the grass has been mowed more than a couple of times.  We are all in awe of the long string of 80 plus degree days.

But, this is Iowa.  And the weather will change.  Frost warnings have been issued over the past couple of nights, and everyone is worried about the tender young plants and blossoms that have sprouted everywhere.  News stories abound about farmers who have gambled on planting corn early and wineries whose grapevines have already sprouted young clusters of fruit.  Questions have been raised about how best to protect those crops that are lying prone out in the fields.

This morning I was greeted by a strange sight as I pulled into a local garden store.  In order to protect their outdoor plants, they had taken the view of Florida citrus growers.  Icicles hung everywhere, evidence that all of the outdoor areas had been coated with a fine spray and allowed to freeze, therefore suspending the life in the tender young leaves and allowing them to spring back to life once they thawed.  A wooden arbor, much like the Rustic Natural Cedar New England Deluxe Arbor, dripped with iridescent icicles that were gleaming in the sun.  It was a surreal sight.  Luckily the cedar wood that made up the arbor is much more naturally resistant to weather than its tender spring friends.  Hopefully these cold temperatures will pass soon, the threat of icicles will be gone until next winter, and all of the spring finery can get back to the business of blooming.   Purchase your own arch, minus the icicles, for $789 and free shipping to your front door.

The Rustic Natural Cedar New England Deluxe Arbor is now only $789.00. See the page for more details.

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Lately my mailbox has been bombarded with an onslaught of catalogs. Not only is spring the season for planting flowers and vegetable gardens, but it also must be a good time for purchasing outdoor furniture.  All the shiny pictures and lovely ideas that are displayed in the catalogs are certainly fuel for igniting the desire to furnish my outdoor areas.  It would be very easy for me to go crazy with mail order purchases, buying sturdy furniture and bright pillows and even gaily-colored strands of outdoor lights.

One of the most recent catalogs to pass over my dining room table features Adirondack chairs that boast the title of “all-weather”.  These particular chairs and their accessories are made from a very green, sustainable material that is the result of recycling plastic milk containers.  They are available in a variety of fun colors and truly are not affected by Mother Nature’s elements since they are crafted from impervious plastic.

However, one of the downfalls to those chairs is their lack of character.  Outdoor furniture that is constructed from wood has a natural grain, color variation, and an earthy, organic presence.  This chair is crafted from cedar wood, which is naturally weather resistant.  It has an attitude, a fierce independence that sets it apart from any plastic piece of furniture that tries to copy it.  If you want a nice bright blue chair that looks pretty but a little too unnatural for its surroundings, take a look at the plastic chair.  But, if you are looking for an Adirondack with an attitude, look no further than the Rustic Natural Cedar Adirondack Chair.

The Rustic Natural Cedar Adirondack Chair is available for $134.00. Check out the page to learn more.

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The season of spring brings with it some very delicate but welcome flowering friends.  After a winter of cold and snow, the first glimpses of color are an exciting indicator of warmer weather and longer days.  Although those fragile blooms don’t last very long, they are certainly enjoyable while they wave their cheerful hellos.

Inside the house, the winter still casts its drear.  Flowers can really brighten up an interior space.  Bright tulips and fragrant hyacinths make a wonderful addition to empty nooks and crannies.  Spring can be as cheerful inside the house as outside.

The excitement of the season can be added to your home in a variety of ways.  The first and most obvious choices are either cut flowers or bulbs that have been planted in pots and forced to bloom at the most opportune time.  While these are great choices, they are limited in length.  Unless you want to refresh your supply of cut flowers often, or have staggered your bulb plantings, blooms will only last a week or two.

Adding artwork that celebrates the season of spring is an enduring method for enjoying the first blooms of the season.  Spring Bulb Still Life by Danhui Nai is a print that portrays the excitement of hyacinths, daffodils, and iris.  A couple of the pots in the picture are bubbling over with new blooms eager to join the party.  This is a print that will accent many different styles of home decor.  Your rustic log furniture will provide a perfect accent for your spring palette of color.  Combine artwork such as this with actual spring blossoms to add the unmistakable smell and sight of spring to your home.

Priced at $31.99, check out this page to learn more about the Spring Bulb Still Life by Danhui Nai.

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I love our house.  It is so cozy and perfect for us.  However, I’m always looking for ways to accessorize and add accents that will give our perfect little house “pop” to make it stand out.  Since it is new construction, I basically have a blank slate to work from.  Even the landscaping has not yet been established.  For this project, I want to begin with what is probably the most prominent focal point on a house…the front door.

The color of our house is a muted olive green mixed with tan.  The trim is brown, as is the shutters and the garage and front door.  Although these are nice earth tones that are quite pleasing to the eye, they are also a bit drab in so much volume.  I want to paint the door with a hue that will be the foundation for the colors in the landscaping and the outdoor accessories in the yard.

The quest for the perfect color has led me to two different options.  Because I love old barns and primitive patriotics, a cranberry red was the first hue that came to mind.  That is a color that will mesh well with the tannish green and brown of our house and it’s a nice warm color that can easily be complemented with flower colors and bits of rustic outdoor decor.

Red is a wonderful color, but many people adorn their entry with it…including our neighbors.  I like to be a little different, so further thought has led me to contemplate a bold copper or burnt orange color.  It’s unique, but still warm, and has all the benefits of the red paint.

Not only does changing the color of the door provide that little something to help your house stand out from the crowd, but replacing the trim around your doors and windows can have the same effect.  If you love the look of logs but have a home that has regular siding, you can show off your love of the rustic look by adding half log trim.  This is a truly unique look that probably none of your neighbors currently have.  These cedar logs are available in 8 foot lengths so you can cut them to fit into any trim areas.  Just paint your door with a pop of color and replace the existing trim with half log pieces for the perfect rustic front door decor.

Ah, the season of spring is such a refreshing time!  I’ve been watching the robins return from their winter holiday, running all over the lawns in my neighborhood and stopping occasionally to pull a worm from the ground.  I’m anxiously awaiting the green hue to return to our grass, signaling the beginning of another growing season.  My husband is probably not as excited as I am about seeing the grass grow.  But perhaps my most anticipated event this spring is to break ground on the landscaping project around the front of our house.

Of course, this is a very large project that I don’t expect to tackle by myself.  We are employing the help of some very capable professionals to do most of the difficult work for us, but I still want to jump in and get my hands dirty.  There is something very satisfying about digging in the dirt.  Putting plants in the ground feels so primal, and watching them grow and blossom is all the more gratifying.  I particularly enjoy the reward of sitting and relaxing with my flowers and herbs all around me.

An easy way to reap those rewards is to add a seating area into the landscaping we are putting into place.  The Rustic Natural Cedar Planter Bench is an ideal way to add some visual interest into your landscaping by drawing the eye up off the ground and easily incorporating planter boxes for annual flowers.  The bench is firmly fastened between two cedar planters and is a sturdy place for you to sit while you water, deadhead, or merely just enjoy the fruits of your labor.  This configuration is portable too, especially if you add some locking heavy duty casters underneath the planter boxes.  With this in mind, you may want to begin with your planters on one side of the house in the spring and fall, then migrate it to the backyard for the summer.  It’s all up to you.

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Do you remember the 80’s?  It was a wonderful time in history, marked by innovative music, big hair, Aqua Net hairspray, and a language all of its own.  Maybe it was because I was in my middle and high school years during the 80’s, but it seemed to be so much more carefree and laid back than the times we are currently experiencing.

Many notable things were described as “rad” or “awesome”, and when extra emphasis was needed for the cool factor, “totally gnarly”.  If a person were to try to use those adjectives today, he or she would likely receive a raised eyebrow or a headshake with an eye roll.  Unless you are still stuck in the 80’s, those words have a much different connotation today.

There is, however, at least one thing that you can still call “gnarly” and it won’t be considered a faux pas.  The True Blood Extremely Gnarly Aspen Log Bed exemplifies both the modern and past meanings of the word “gnarly”.  It is a rustic bed constructed of twisted, gnarled, and weathered aspen logs and is high on cool factor.  Whether or not you are a fan of the 80’s and the language that went along with that decade, I think it’s fair to say that you will admire this totally gnarly log bed.

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